The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Falkirk (now)
Parish church
Inside the church of St Modan is a section of Romanesque cross, carved on two sides with one of the original cross arms missing. Repaired in 1632-3, the church was rebuilt in 1810-11, with only the lower part of the central tower (likely to be 15th century) and the upper section of about 1740 preserved from the previous church. This destroyed, earlier church appears to have been cruciform in shape and was likely a later-medieval building. No other part of the early church fabric was retained, though a few carved medieval stones survive.
Country House
A large stone cross, now kept in Kinneil House, was found during excavations of the nearby Kinneil church ruins in 1951. It was built into walling of the S extension (Laird’s Aisle). Both the house and the church are located close to the Roman Antonine Wall, near one of the Roman fortlets. The stone cross is decorated with a relief of a crucified Christ, and its dates vary from the 11thc through to the 12thc.
Ruined parish church
The church is now ruinous, only the W gable and foundations remaining. The excavated plan of the church shows that it originally consisted of a rectangular nave and narrower rectangular chancel. A S extension was added at a later date; this is traditionally referred to as the 'laird's loft'. The church was disused from about 1670 and a fire occurred in 1745. Excavations show that there is likely to have been an earlier structure on the site, but it has not been determined whether this was a church or something else. The present building possesses no surviving sculptural features; a simple base for a nook-shaft was recorded in 1951 but subsequently went missing. The most significant item from the church is a large stone cross, excavated on the site in 1951, which is now housed at nearby Kinneil House (See: Bo’Ness, Kinneil House).