Castle Semple Collegiate Church

A rare surviving example of a small Scottish collegiate church, founded by the Sempill lords and still sheltering the tomb of one who fell at Flodden.

Castle Semple Collegiate Church stands roofless near the eastern end of Castle Semple Loch, a little west of Howwood in Renfrewshire. John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill, founded it around 1504 as a collegiate church — a foundation staffed by a provost, six chaplains, two boys and a sacristan, established to maintain a round of prayers and masses. King James IV thought it worth a visit, calling at the New College on 26 July 1505 and leaving an offering of fourteen shillings. The building is a plain oblong, roughly seventy feet long, ending in a three-sided apse at the east, with a squat square tower rising from the centre of the west wall. Its double windows show late survivals of Gothic tracery. The eastern apse was added in the sixteenth century to house a large monument to Lord Sempill, who fell at the Battle of Flodden in 1513; a carved slab nearby remembers Gabriel Sempill, who died in 1587. The roof was stripped away during the nineteenth century, and ivy has since spread across the walls and worked its way inside. The church is now a scheduled monument.

What follows is drawn from published sources, with each claim labelled by how firmly it is established.

What to look for

The three-sided east apse, added in the sixteenth century to hold the Sempill monument

The square tower projecting from the centre of the west wall

The large monument to the Lord Sempill killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513

The carved slab commemorating Gabriel Sempill, who died in 1587

Double windows showing late survivals of Gothic tracery

Plan your visit

Location: General area near Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire

This is a sensitive or fragile site, so we show only its general area. Please check official heritage sources for access before visiting, and take care not to disturb it.

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