Stobo Kirk

Stobo Kirk is an ancient church of the Church of Scotland. It is dedicated to St Mungo and is situated near the B712 off the A72 just 6 miles south-west of Peebles in the ancient county of Peeblesshire, now part of the Scottish Borders Council area. It stands near the confluence of the River Tweed with the Easton Burn.

It is believed there has been a church on the site of present-day Stobo Kirk since as early as the 6th century. St Kentigern, otherwise known as St Mungo, founded many churches during his time as Archbishop of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, and Stobo is believed to be one of his foundations.

Stobo was originally the 'plebania' or mother church with subordinate chapelries or churches at Dawyck, Drumelzier, Kingledoors, Tweedsmuir, Broughton, Glenholm, and Lyne.

A new church, the ancestor of the present building, was built in the 12th century, but is unusually on a NE-SW axes rather than the conventional E-W axes.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Scottish people were becoming weary of the rule of Rome. The church was becoming wealthy but the people were still poor and many voices spoke of reforming the church in Scotland. The people of Stobo were no different and when their canon, Adam Colquhoun, was succeeded by one of his two sons, it helped fuel the desire for a reformed church.

Stobo, part of the Parish of Stobo in the Diocese of Glasgow until the Protestant Reformation, appears to have retained much of the original 12th-century building, including windows, the nave and chancel, unlike many other Roman Catholic churches which were destroyed after the coming of the reformed religion. The tower was raised above first-floor level in the 16th century, and further major restoration was carried out in 1863 by John Lessels, an eminent 19th-century architect. Further major restoration work was carried out in 1929. The church exterior is not so inviting but the interior is of great interest and character.

Legend has it that St Kentigern converted Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin Sylvestris) or Merlin (the wizard associated with King Arthur) to Christianity and baptised him on a boulder near Drumelzier. Merlin had fled to the forest after Gwenddoleu had been defeated and killed at the battle of Arderydd near Arthuret in 573. There is a great rock at the spot known as the 'Altar Stone' and a stained glass window in Stobo Kirk commemorates the event.

Both the church and the graveyard are B listed.^{[clarification needed]}