A small ruin consisting of three arches of an old church, which stood on
the ancient site before the present modern structure was erected in the
immediate vicinity. The village of Kilconquhar is situated on a large
loch about one mile and a half north-west from Elie.
[Illustration: FIG. 1381.--Kilconquhar Church. View from South-West.]
The name is derived from the ancient Saint Connacher. There is little of
the history of the church preserved. It was granted in 1200 by Duncan,
Earl of Fife, to the Convent of North Berwick, and in 1266, after a
controversy between the Laird of Kilcomath and the prioress of North
[Illustration: FIG. 1382.--Kilconquhar Church. Plan.]
Berwick regarding the right of patronage, it was resigned into the hands
of the Convent.[176]
The three arches (Fig. 1381) are all that now survive of the old
church. They probably formed the arcade between the centre and side
aisle, but there is nothing to show how the rest of the building was
placed with reference to them. The north wall of the enclosure of a
burying-place (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1382) has an ancient look,
and may be part of the old church.
The arches have plain splays. The round pillars have caps formed by a
single hollow without any necking, and the bases are formed with a
splay. Both caps and bases follow the curve of the pillars. They
indicate a structure of very late date, probably about the time of the
Reformation.