Description

Clarke and Bell, 1869-70. Gothic T-plan church with tower and transept. Stugged, squared and snecked red sandstone, ashlar margins and dressings. Base course, angle buttresses; pointed arch windows.

W (MAIN) ELEVATION: entrance tower with tall broached ashlar spire; broad gable to right, lower bay of aisle to outer right.

TOWER: 2-stage with tall ashlar spire, pinnacled pier buttresses. Slightly advanced sawtooth gabled door surround, pointed arch door, moulded on colonnettes; boarded 2-leaf door, cast-iron hinges; window on left return similarly treated. 2-light, Y-traceried louvered wndow at belfry stage, gable breaking into spire, small lozenge-shaped light below, ashlar broached pire, lucarnes, cruciform arrowslits at upper stage, corniced, weathervane.

Broad pinnacled gable to right, 4 small lancets at centre ground, string course stepped over, angle buttress to right; large 4-light nave window incorporating large wheel tracery, hoodmould. Transept bay recessed to right, 2-light window.

S ELEVATION: 5-bay aisle with gabled transept to right, single storey vestry to outer right. Gable of aisle to outer left, diagonal buttresses, 3-light, 3-centred arch window, 2-light window above.

4 pointed arch windows symmetrically disposed to right at ground, clerestorey. Broad gabled transept advanced to right, 2 cusped plate traceried windows at ground, wheel window at upper stage, pointed arch window on return. Single storey vestry block advanced to outer right, gabled door clasping to right, Caernarvon arched window to right.

N ELEVATION: tower to right, 4-bay nave transept to outer left.

Leaded windows. Grey slate roof, ashlar awtooth coping to skews.

INTERIOR: unaltered interior, ogee ribbed roof supported on slender colonnettes, floreate capitals. Horseshoe gallery; wooden pews. Communion table at E end, organ recessed in arch behind, now with mechanical workings. 3 stained glass windows to heritors.

BOUNDARY WALLS, RAILINGS, GATEPIERS: ashlar gatepier with domed corniced caps, low squared and snecked boundary wall with saddleback coping, cast-iron railings.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. The church was built to accommodate the increased congregation of Bonhill parish. It was based on the design of Blantyre parish church, also by Clarke and Bell. The chief heritors were Alexander Smollett, Archibald Orr Ewing and Dennistoun Brown.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17847650

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)