About
St Bride's Church in the village of Douglas, South Lanarkshire, was the parish church and then the mausoleum of the Black Douglases, one of the most powerful families in medieval Scotland. Romanesque fragments show a church of the 1100s, but much of what stands is of the 1300s. Sir James Douglas, Robert the Bruce's close friend, is said to have slaughtered English troops inside it in 1307. After his death in 1330 his son Archibald the Grim adapted the church for the family's tombs, and three canopied monuments survive: Sir James as a knight drawing his sword; Archibald, 5th Earl and Duke of Touraine, in robes of state with a ducal coronet; and James the Gross, 7th Earl, with his wife Beatrice Sinclair in a rare double effigy. Its clock of 1565, said to be a gift from Mary, Queen of Scots, is probably the oldest working clock in Scotland. The interior is seen by arrangement by phoning 01555 851 657.
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- St Bride's Church, DouglasBy arrangement only (call 01555 851 657): 10:00 – 16:00last entry 15:30
Opening times may change at short notice.
Historic Scotland: 'St Bride's can be accessed year round but needs to be arranged in advance. Call 01555 851 657 to arrange a visit.' 1 April to 30 September: daily 9.30am to 5.30pm, last entry 5pm. 1 October to 31 March: daily except Thursday and Friday, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3.30pm. Closed 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January.
The church is no longer used for worship. The exterior and the churchyard can be seen at any time; the tombs are in the roofed chancel, opened by arrangement. Reviewers in 2025 found no keyholder notice or opening times on the plaque after recent repairs, so phone ahead. No toilets or other facilities.
Photo: The ruined nave of St Bride's Church, Douglas, with its round-arched doorway and clock tower, gravestones in front, under a blue sky. WeeHolly, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:01669_Ruins_Old_St_Bride%27s_Church_%26_BG,_Douglas_002.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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