In 1593, about the time of the Reformation, a parish church, in the form of a cross, was built on the site of the pre-Reformation Church, dedicated to St. Inan. In 1754 the front wing was enlarged, and a new belfry and clock was added about 1800. The old bell, still in position, bears the following inscription: "This bell was given by Hew Montgomerie, sone of Hessilhead, anno 1614, and refounded by the Heritors of Beith, anno 1734". The church early became too small for the growth of the population, and in 1633 an Act of the Scottish Parliament of King Charles 1st was passed "anent the re-edifying of the Kirk of Beythe" on some more convenient site for the parishioners "who cannot goodlie addresse and convene thameselffs thairto, be reason of the stormes of weather, and of the deep and evils wayes".
These good intentions were not carried out for one hundred and seventy years, and the old kirk continued to cling to the cliff, jutting out from the steep hillside, until in 1807-10 the new Parish Church, with its very prominent tower, was built a little further up the hill overlooking the old kirk. When the new church was built, the Heritors, to save expense of upkeep (yet with inexcusable vandalism), removed all the older portion of the Auld Kirk, leaving only the front with the clock and belfry standing. Fortunately, Robert Aitken, a Beith surveyor, copied the plan of the kirk in 1822, showing the ground plan, one of a few copies, one of which is in the possession of the writer.
In each of the four wings of the Auld Kirk was a "laft" or gallery, belonging to the territorial magnates of the parish, except the "toun laft" which was in the front wing, where the niches in the walls where the seats rested are still seen. Opposite the "toun laft" was the Giffen Laft; in the east wing that of Hessilhead, and in the west that pertaining to Braidstane. All were entered by outside stairs. Against the east wing was built a low-ceilinged two-storied building, still standing, called the Giffen aisle. The portion of the Auld Kirk left has no pretensions to architectural beauty. Its walls are five feet thick, built of rough rubble. In the front wall is a square moulded door with two round arched windows higher up. The bell was rung from the doorstep by a rope hanging down outside the church, and a deep groove worn by the rope may still be seen in the base of the belfry. The church appears to have been as plain inside as out. The floor is said to have been the plain earth, and whether there were pews or the worshippers, like Jenny Geddes, brought their own "cutty stools" is uncertain; the seats in the galleries were boards stretched from wall to wall, resting in notches. There was a small triangular gallery in the angle between the Town and Braidstane lafts called the Woodside laft, which is said to have been finely painted and carved. This faced the pulpit. The only decorative relic of the Auld Kirk left is the richly emblazoned coat of arms of the Giffen barony, taken from the Giffen laft and now fixed to the front gallery of the High Church.
The Auld Kirkyard was congested for generations, and when the Kirk was taken down, the site was filled with graves; even the interior of the portion remaining became the vaults of the Woodside family. The kirkyard has long since been closed to burials, and for many years was a pathless wilderness of docks and weeds until the late William King of Hillside, by public subscription, cut down the high wall, put in a modern front railing, levelled the inequalities and made paths through the grounds. It is curious that there are no sepulchral reminders of the old baronial families, the graveyard being thickly covered with both horizontal and erect tombstones, but unfortunately the inscriptions on the older ones have long since weathered away. The earliest inscriptions which can now be read only go back to about 1710.
Extracted from the official souvenir of the Pageant of St. Inan, 2nd September 1933.
Information supplied by Mr Robert Boyd; Drumbie House, Barrmill, Beith KA15 1JZ