The new Alloway Parish Church was built in 1858 by James Baird of Cambusdoon who dismissed strident local objections that it spoilt the view of the adjacent Burns Monument. It was extended in 1890 and the result is an individual Gothic Church of character; the tracery of the windows in the gable ends being especially good.
All the windows in the Church and in the porch have very high quality stained glass windows. These span the life of the building right up to the newest window which was installed in 2001. Of particular interest to Burnsians is the Burns Memorial Window, designed and installed by Susan Bradbury, and dedicated in 1996 – the bicentenary of the death of Robert Burns. It shows the river Doon and the Auld Brig with animals, birds and flowers from Burns’ poems and, of course, a ploughing scene. The star seen at the top of this window, shown as it actually does appear in the East above the Auld Brig, was my idea. ‘The Star o’ Rabbie Burns’ – not a song written by the poet – declares truthfully, “He shines by night and shines by day’. I could suggest that as there are none of Burns’ women depicted in the window the ‘Eastern Star’ represents them. The money to install this window was raised from sponsors, individuals and Burns Clubs worldwide.
