St John's Church and graveyard including boundary walls and gatepiers, Glasgow Road, Camelon, Falkirk, Falkirk, Falkirk

Description

St John's Church, Camelon is a T-plan former parish church designed in a neo-Romanesque style by David Rhind in 1838 and built between 1839 and 1841. The church is located on Glasgow Road, the principal road running through the village of Camelon. It is built of squared and coursed rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings that include a projecting string and eaves courses. A chancel and aisle were added by 1924, designed by Peter Macgregor Chalmers in 1922.

The front (north) elevation is three-bay and gabled with a parapetted two-storey porch projecting from the centre, flanked by buttresses with pyramidal finials. The elevation is designed as a screen with projecting walls which conceal the narrower elevations of the nave behind. The porch has a tripartite window with impost mouldings and colonettes, over an arched entrance (now boarded up). The north gable is topped by a spired octagonal bellcote.

The west elevation is four-bay with a two-storey, single-bay pitched roof porch addition dating to around 1923 at the south. The east elevation is four-bay with a 1923 aisle addition occupying the two south bays.

The rear (south) elevation is gabled and is abutted by early 1920s additions. The central chancel has three rounded headed windows. There are five rectangular windows to the two-storey southwest porch and a small doorway in a single-storey addition to the southeast.

The openings are predominantly round-arched and have two-light windows with simple tracery and plain glazing. The roofs are pitched and slated with ashlar stone skews.

The interior, seen in 2018, was refurbished in the early 1920s and no apparent features of the mid-19th century decorative scheme remain. Features remaining from the 1920s refurbishment include the kingpost truss roof, the timber pews and the galleries over the north end and east aisle.

The church is set within a rectangular graveyard surrounded by a tall coursed rubble boundary wall with rounded copes, which dates to around 1840. There are square-plan ashlar corner and gate piers with pyramidal copes on the north boundary, running along Glasgow Road, and cast iron gates between the gatepiers.

The graveyard contains a number of gravestones which range in date from the early 1850s to the early 1960s but which predominantly date from the later 19th century. There are some gravestones attached to the boundary wall including one made of cast iron dated 1870 erected by James and Margaret Taylor.

Statement of Interest

Dating to 1838, St John's Church, Camelon is a good example of a small parish church which has been little altered externally and retains much of its mid-19th century character. St John's is a modest but notable example of a church designed in a restrained neo-Romanesque style, which was used for a small number of parish churches in the first half of the 19th century. It is also an early example of a church design by the influential 19th century Scottish architect David Rhind, the quality of which is consistent with the work of a prominent architect.

While the interior of St John's has been altered, its exterior and the surrounding graveyard, boundary walls and gatepiers remain largely unchanged. As one of the few 19th century buildings remaining in the village, they are distinctive features of the streetscape of Camelon.

Age and Rarity

Located at the western end of the principal street through the village of Camelon, a mile west of Falkirk town centre, St John's Church was built from 1838 as Camelon Parish Church.

Designed by architect David Rhind (1808-1883), the ground for the site of the church, along with substantial funding for its construction, was donated by Mr William Forbes of Callendar (New Statistical Account 1845: p. 23). The Perth Advertiser recorded in 1839 that the mason work for the church had been completed by William and James Galbraith of Lauriestown with stone sourced principally from the Brighton quarry. The church was opened in 1841 (Falkirk Herald, 1941: p. 4).

St John's was the first church to be built in Camelon and served the growing village community, many of whom were employed in nail making and other industries based around the nearby Forth and Clyde Canal (Ordnance Survey Name Book, 1858-61: p. 88).

The church is seen on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1859, published 1862), located at the western edge of the village, enclosed by a boundary wall and surrounded by a graveyard. Shown with a rectangular footprint, there is a small rectangular porch addition to the north and small square-plan chancel to the south.

The church is shown with the same footprint on the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map (surveyed 1895, published 1898) by which time an associated manse has been built to the northeast, on what is now Stirling Road.

By the early 20th century additional church accommodation was required due to increasing membership. In 1923 a new chancel and transepts were added to the rear (south) elevation and an aisle was added to the southern side of the east elevation. The additions were completed to the 1922 designs of architect Peter Macgregor Chalmers by architect J Jeffrey Waddell in 1923-24. The interior of the church was refurbished with new pews and upper galleries added to east and north. The renovations also included the addition of a new communion table and new stained glass windows in the chancel by Morris and Gertrude Alice Meredith Williams. At the same time as these renovations a separate church hall facility was built nearby on the corner of Brown Street and Mansionhouse Road and opened in 1928.

The congregation of St John's Church, Camelon merged with that of Irving Church, Camelon in 2003. Following the merger St John's Church was vacated and the building has been uninhabited since this time (2019).

The early 19th century saw an increase in new churches in Scotland as part of an extension programme by the Established Church. As well as repairing and altering existing churches, the programme built new churches to serve the populations of rapidly growing parishes, with the local landowner often contributing to the cost.

A newspaper article in the London Evening Standard in 1837 records the decision of a meeting of the local committee on church extension in Falkirk to build three new churches in the 'overgrown' parish in Bainsford, Laurieston and Camelon. While the churches in Bainsford, and Laurieston were not built, two churches were built in 1838-40 in the villages of Camelon and Haggs, to the west of Falkirk.

Surviving churches of the mid-19th century are not rare and can be found across Scotland. When considering such a prolific building type an early date and architectural design are important considerations. Authenticity, or closeness to the original fabric is also an important factor.

While the number of churches in Scotland was increasing in the earlier 19th century, the greatest period of church building occurred in the second half of the 19th century. During the Disruption of 1843 a number of ministers moved away from the established Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. Following this the Established Church commenced a programme of church building to rival the Free Church, increasing its number of parishes between 1843 and 1909 by over half.

The majority of surviving churches in Scotland date from this period after the mid-19th century, as urban populations continued to increase and competing church factions pursued ambitious building programmes. Therefore, while St John's Camelon is one of a substantial number of surviving 19th century parish churches, it has increased interest as it predates the boom period of church building in the later 19th century.

All buildings built before 1840 have a strong case for listing if their character is substantially intact. While small additions were made to the rear and east elevation of the church in the 1920s these were in keeping with the style of the building and did not substantially alter its form. The principal (front) elevation of the church in particular remains largely unaltered from Rhind's original scheme.

The building is a good surviving example of a small church designed in the neo-Romanesque style. It is a rare example of a church designed by the prolific architect David Rhind and one of only a few buildings dating to the earlier 19th century surviving in Camelon.

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior of St John's Church was refurbished in the early 1920s and few features of the 19th century decorative scheme remain.

Since the church was vacated in 2003 some of the 1920s interior fittings have been removed including the organ, the pulpit (panel detail carved by Helen Wilson c.1920 with First World War memorial inscription) and the stained glass windows in the chancel (designed by Morris and Gertrude Alice Meredith Williams in around 1923).

The interior features that remain from the Macgregor Chalmers's 1920s refurbishment scheme include the galleries with panelled timber fronts and cast iron columns, the kingpost truss roof and the timber pews. These features are typical of early 20th century church interiors but are in keeping with Rhind's earlier scheme.

Taking into account the loss of the majority of the 19th century decorative features, coupled with the removal of the notable features of the 1920s refurbishment scheme, the surviving interior is not considered to be of special interest in listing terms.

Plan form

The footprint of the church shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1859, published 1862) is largely rectangular. This is typical of parish churches of this period.

The rectangular footprint was altered with the addition of the chancel and east aisle in the 1920s to create a T-plan footprint. These later additions relate to the later development of the church and add to its special architectural or historic interest. The mid-19th century footprint of the church is also clearly still visible.

The internal arrangement has also been altered in the early 1920s according to Macgregor Chalmers and Waddell's scheme. The later 20th century removal of the pews under the main gallery and the creation of an entrance area through the erection of a glazed screen have had some impact on the special interest of the interior interest (see above).

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

St John's Church by David Rhind is designed in a neo-Romanesque style, which is characterised by round arches and sparsity of ornament. Although modest in scale, St John's Camelon displays distinctive architectural composition and some high quality stone work principally on the main front elevation. Rhind's particular use of the neo-Romanesque style here, and as at his other church at Haggs, can be described as 'unarchaeological' (Gifford and Arneil Walker: p 24.) This refers to the way that the designs did not attempt to accurately imitate historical examples but freely interpreted the style and often combined it with elements of an eclectic range of other styles. The church has minimal decorative ornamentation but has bold architectural details such as round arches which are typical of the Romanesque style. The design of Rhind's small churches, built for the extension of the Falkirk parishes, are grand in appearance despite their size and modest budget.

In the earlier 19th century the majority of protestant churches in Scotland were built in two dominant styles, classical and gothic. With classical styles denounced by some critics at the time as 'pagan' or 'Popish', and sometimes associated with the Catholic Church, this period saw the growing use of the neo-Gothic (Glendinning, MacInnes and MacKechnie: p. 234). This was particularly the case after the Great Disruption of 1843, when a schism within the established Church of Scotland saw the creation of the Free Church of Scotland. The dissenting churches, such as the Free Church, used the gothic style in their new buildings as a way to differentiate themselves from the Established Church and a great number of these new churches were built in the second half of the 19th century.

The choice of which style to use in church architecture was important during this period. But while the debate between classical and gothic became more forceful after the Disruption, a wide range of medieval styles were also being used in protestant church architecture during this period, including the English Perpendicular and the neo-Romanesque. The latter was used in a smaller group of parish churches being built in this style during the 1830s and 1840s. David Rhind built two churches in Falkirk in the neo-Romanesque style, St John's Church, Camelon in 1838-1840 and Haggs Parish Church around 1840. Another Edinburgh based architect William Burn designed a group of parish churches in this style including Bridge Street, North Esk Church, Mussleburgh (LB38260) in 1838, Gladsmuir Parish Church, East Lothian (LB12709) in 1838 and Thornhill Village Morton Parish Church (LB17357), built in 1841. Other examples of earlier 19th century parish churches designed in the neo-Romanesque style include Errol Parish Church by James Gillespie Graham, 1831 (LB11589) and Alyth Parish Church by Thomas Hamilton, 1837-9, (LB21037).

St John's Church was designed by the prominent Edinburgh-based architect David Rhind (1808-1883). Rhind was a successful and influential architect and designed numerous commercial and public buildings in Scotland. His reputation grew following his design of the head office for the Commercial Bank in George Street, Edinburgh, 1846-7 (now The Dome) (LB28862) Thereafter he became architect to the bank and designed branches across Scotland. He was a founding member and treasurer of the Institute of Architects in Scotland in 1840 and became the first architect to be elected President of the Scottish Society of Arts in 1855.

Rhind designed or worked on five churches in Scotland of which St John's, Camelon was the first. It was followed by the remodelling of 69 & 71 Constitution Street, Edinburgh, former St John's East Church, Leith (LB27192) in 1839, Haggs Parish Church, Bonnybridge, in 1840 (LB1962), Caddonfoot Parish Church (LB18) 1861 (and extended by him in, 1875) and Hobkirk Parish Church, Roxburghshire, (LB8396) in 1862.

The first three churches Rhind designed (St John's, Camelon, former St John's East Church, Leith and Haggs Parish Church) were built early in his career and are designed in a mixture of the neo-Romaneque and Gothic Styles. Rhind was a member of the Established Church of Scotland and this association may have led to the commissions for these churches.

The chancel and aisle additions to St John's Church were designed in 1922 by Peter Macgregor Chalmers (1959-1922). Macgregor Chalmers was a foremost ecclesiastical architect of the late 19th and early 20th century, primarily undertaking new commissions, additions and restorations for the Established Church in Scotland. The additions made to Camelon Church, although small in scale, are notable for the sensitive way in which they reflect the existing neo-Romanesque style of the church and limit the impact to its exterior form.

Setting

The church, with the surrounding graveyard and boundary walls, is prominently located on the principal road running west from Falkirk through the village of Camelon. Although set back from the road within the graveyard, the church occupies an elevated position and is prominent in the streetscape.

The immediate historic setting of the church within the graveyard surrounded by boundary walls has not changed from that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1859, published 1862).

In contrast, the wider setting of the church has been altered by substantial later 20th and early 21st century commercial and residential development. The church is notable in the streetscape as one of the few buildings on Glasgow Road and Camelon Main Street dating from the 19th century.

Other buildings in Camelon dating to the earlier 19th century include the Union Inn (LB31233) which dates to around 1822 and the Former Rosebank Distillery (LB44184) which dates to around 1840. Both buildings are located to the southwest of St John's church by the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The church retains its associated manse on Stirling Road and church hall on the corner of Brown Street and Mansionhouse Road. Although these buildings are not inter-visible with the church they contribute to its setting by demonstrating the history of the use of the building through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations.

Close Historical Associations

There are no known associations with a person or event of national importance at present (2018).

Statutory address and listed building record revised in 2019. Previously listed as 'Camelon, Church of Scotland, Glasgow Road, Camelon'.

External Links

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