The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Drostan and St John the Baptist (medieval)
Parish church
Markinch is a village in Fife, Scotland. The present church of St Drosan and St John the Baptist consists of a 12th-century W. tower and post-Reformation nave, the latter orientated towards a pulpit on the S interior wall. It is possible that the central part of the E wall is medieval, but its date has yet to be proven. The church was enlarged by extending the south side of the church in the 17th century, with additional work on the church undertaken during the 18th century. Then, in the early 19th century, the church was extended on the N side and a new spire erected on top of the W tower. Extensive reorganisation of the church, including the blocking of the W tower arch, was undertaken in the 1880s. The upper stage of the W tower has double openings on the four faces, each of these having attached nook shafts with cushion capitals and a single en-delit shaft with four-sided cushion capital. Three stringcourses around the exterior of the tower separate the tower into four sections. The lower two stringcourses have a decoration of carved lozenges, but the top stringcourse is plain. Other carved decoration is found on a series of stones with chip carved saltires, three reused on the S exterior nave wall and one, now loose, found built into the N side of the church. This loose stone is definitely a voussoir and is presently kept inside the W tower. On the E face of the W tower arch is carved a simple cross with flared arms on one of the upper voussoirs, the date of the carving uncertain. North of the church, built into a separate building, is a worn medieval capital which is not of Romanesque type.