St Ninian's Episcopal Cathedral, Atholl Street, Perth, Perth, Perth and Kinross

Entry Name: St Ninian's Episcopal Cathedral, Atholl Street, Perth

Listing Name: Atholl Street and North Methven Street, St Ninian's Cathedral (Scottish Episcopal Church)

Listing Date: 20 May 1965

Category: A

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 384943

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB39314

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200384943

Location: Perth

County: Perth and Kinross

Town: Perth

Electoral Ward: Perth City Centre

Traditional County: Perthshire

Tagged with: Gothic Revival Anglican or episcopal cathedral

Description

William Butterfield, 1849, with various later alterations including 1901-1911, JL & FL Pearson (see Notes). Important Gothic cathedral with exceptionally fine interior components. Buttressed and crocketted with transept crossing and clerestorey, with 1908-11 FL Pearson Lady Chapel, Chapterhouse and vestries to SE, linking to 1936 Tarbolton & Ochterlony former school (currently day centre, 2009). Situated on corner site. Squared and stugged sandstone with contrasting smooth margins. High base course, hoodmoulding, decorative parapet. Pilaster buttresses at clerestory breaking eaves. Pointed arched lancet, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-light Gothic tracery windows. Some rose tracery windows to gables. Tall, spired fleche with open bellcote to crossing.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: EAST ELEVATION (KINNOULL STREET): buttressed, with large 5-light tracery window with small circular window above and Celtic cross to gable apex. Ornate octagonal crocketted clasping corner pinnacles.

To left: lower polygonal-apsed Lady chapel with crocketted finials and trefoil openings piercing parapet. Single-storey vestry corridor links to gabled chapterhouse to left and 1936 extension to far left.

NORTH ELEVATION (ATHOLL STREET): with pointed-arched doorway with central stone mullion and pair of boarded timber entrance doors with decorative metal hinges. Decorative carving to tympanum.

Predominantly stained glass windows or small, leaded glass panes. Grey slates and some leaded roofs.

INTERIOR: (seen 2009). Fine interior decorative scheme. Steeply pitched ceiling with elaborate timber work. Timber wagon roof over chancel. Pointed arches to nave with quatrefoil-plan piers. Crocketted and finialled stone arcaded sedilia to sanctuary walls at E. Rood beam, 1924 Sir Ninian Comper with Crucifixion scene. High altar baldacchino by F L Pearson with statues of saints and biblical scenes. Many stained glass windows.

Lady Chapel with timber vaulted ceiling.

Statement of Interest

Place of Worship in use as such. Consecrated in 1850, this was the first cathedral begun in Britain after the Reformation and is important both architecturally and historically. It was begun by the renowned ecclesiastical architect William Butterfield and has undergone a number of alterations and additions. The exterior of the building is Gothic in style and it is an important part of the streetscape in Perth. The interior has a fine ceiling and a number of important and distinctive features.

The building has had a number of building phases, beginning with Butterfield's work in 1849. Only one complete bay of the nave and the three bays of the aisle walls were built at this time. The nave was completed in 1888-90. In 1901-1911, extensive alterations were carried out by FL and JL Pearson. The West end was built and the East end recast with similar octagonal pinnacles. The Lady Chapel was added in 1908-11. Alterations were also made at this time to the interior with new choir stalls, pulpit and high altar, amongst others and including the elaborate baldacchino. John Ninian Comper was one of the most distinguished Gothic church architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and he designed a rood screen for the cathedral in 1924. This was removed circa 1985, leaving the beam. The Butterfield reredos is now divided between the vestries. There are a number of high quality stained glass windows.

In 1936, the Edinburgh architects Tarbolton & Ochterlony built a school, adjoining the cathedral to the South. This is now a day centre and offices (2009) and is linked to the cathedral.

William Butterfield (1814-1900) was a major British architect of the 19th century of international repute, whose work is predominantly ecclesiastical. His work is found mainly in England and includes All Saints Margaret Street in London and Keble College in Oxford. In Scotland, he was responsible for the Cathedral of the Isles on the Isle of Cumbrae (see separate listing).

JL and FL Pearson were father and son architects, based in London. John Loughborough Pearson was the architect of Truro Cathedral.

List description updated as part of Perth Burgh Resurvey 2010.

External Links

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