History in Structure

Viewforth United Presbyterian Church, 70 Leamington Terrace, 68, Edinburgh

A Category B Listed Building in Morningside, Edinburgh

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Coordinates

Latitude: 55.9382 / 55°56'17"N

Longitude: -3.2073 / 3°12'26"W

OS Eastings: 324678

OS Northings: 672337

OS Grid: NT246723

Mapcode National: GBR 8KL.TT

Mapcode Global: WH6SS.P0WK

Plus Code: 9C7RWQQV+73

Entry Name: Viewforth United Presbyterian Church, 70 Leamington Terrace, 68, Edinburgh

Listing Name: 68-70 (Even Nos) Leamington Terrace, Bruntsfield Evangelical Church and Hall Including Boundary Walls, Gatepiers, Gates and Railings

Listing Date: 30 January 1981

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 363579

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB26772

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Edinburgh, 68, 70 Leamington Terrace, Viewforth United Presbyterian Church

ID on this website: 200363579

Location: Edinburgh

County: Edinburgh

Town: Edinburgh

Electoral Ward: Morningside

Traditional County: Midlothian

Tagged with: Church building Architectural structure

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Description

J Russell Walker, 1882-3. Early French Gothic with corner tower and octagonal belfry; transept-style gable to Westhall Gardens. Squared and snecked sandstone; polished grey sandstone ashlar dressings. Dividing string courses; stepped buttresses; capped, finialled octagonal turrets.

TOWER (LEAMINGTON TERRACE ELEVATION): 7-stage buttressed tower. Single rectangular light to ground with gabled hoodmould. 2 rectangular lights, rising from left to right, to stage above. Pierced oculus to stage above; dressed moulding. 2 round arch slit windows. Pointed arch louvred openings to 4th stage; hoodmoulds. Arcade of 4 narrow pointed arch lights; flanking blind pointed arches to corners. Narrow pointed arch louvre opening to final stage; hoodmould; capped by gable attached to base of octagonal extinguisher.

TOWER (WESTHALL GARDENS ELEVATION): steps to gabled chamfered doorpiece; 3 nook shafts with floreate capitals; stepped cornice; tympanum pierced by 3 circular motifs; voussoirs to mouldings; hoodmould; finial; boarded door with ornamental strap hinges. Other stages as to Leamington Terrace elevation.

LEAMINGTON TERRACE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: steps to hoodmoulded gabled doorpiece; 2 timber doors with ornamental strap hinges; single nook shafts flanking; foliated capitals; moulded, pointed arch to each door; oculus; small round motifs; quatrefoil with central oculus set in circular moulding to tympanum above; 3 half colonnettes flanking; "Bruntsfield Evangelical Church" appears in relief on hoodmoulded voussoirs; decoratively carved trefoil to head of finialled gable; label-stop to cill; dentilled moulding to gable. Flanking, finialed gables; single light trefoil head windows; dentilled moulding to gables. Pair of wheel lights; 6 oculi around central oculus; 3 pointed arch lights with floriated colonnettes beneath wheel; moulded, chamfered, pointed arches to triforium; hoodmould. Wheel light to gable; 6 oculi around central oculus; flanking carved rosettes; large, carved, Celtic cross finial to gable. Blind arcading to pinnacles to buttresses above parapet level. Chamfered bay to outer left; 3 narrow lights, descending from left to right; band course; band of rectangular lights to eaves. Tower to outer right (described above).

WESTHALL GARDENS ELEVATION: tower and entrance to outer left (described above). Pair of hoodmoulded plate tracery windows to 2 upper floors to right. 3-light trefoil-headed windows to triforium and clerestorey in 2-bay gabled transept; continuous flanking colonnettes; dividing moulded square panels; quatrefoiled plate tracery with central oculus to head of moulded pointed arch; voussoirs; hoodmould. Pointed-arch arrow slit window to head of gable; hoodmould; flanking panels of recessed moulded quatrefoils; blind oculus set in square panel to centre; finial with carved foliage.

Timber door flanked by single-light windows in penultimate bay to right; dog-tooth mouldings; 3 pointed arch windows aligned above, descending from left to right. Pointed arch mullioned tripartites to both floors of bay to outer right; moulded oculus to centre of gable; open belfry with pyramidal roof to ridge of roof behind gable.

Leaded bars to window panes. Grey slate piended roof with pantiled ridges; skews. Gablehead stack to outer right of Westhall Gardens elevation. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR AND HALL: hall leading from entrance to right of Westhall Gardens elevation; access to ground floor of main church to left. Timber panelling dominates interior, formerly galleried, now roofed over and insulated to exclude high-roofed upper sections; original planked pews; iron columns break through modern suspended ceiling to support arcades to timber tunnel roof above; side galleries carried by timber trusses; William Burges-style Gothic pulpit; new screen wall at back of main church, with vestibule behind; band of green stained-glass windows. 2 boarded timber doors to entrance hall at back of main church (to Leamington Terrace); stairs up to galleries; stepped gallery at rear, lit by triforium windows; corinthian capitals to arcades; suspended ceiling elaborately trussed; organ loft beneath mincer-plate window at opposite end; Norman and Beard 1903 organ; original gold/cream paintwork behind organ loft; pneumatic organ pump; original fittings to caretaker's flat include range and cast-iron fireplaces.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS, GATES AND RAILINGS: coped quared and snecked rubble boundary walls; corniced gatepiers with pyramidal caps; iron railings and gates.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Spire an important landmark in views from Meadows and Bruntsfield Links.

External Links

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