High Kirk Of Rothesay, Rothesay, Bute, Rothesay, Argyll and Bute

Description

Robertson Buchanan, Rothesay, 1796; later additions 1906. Near-rectangular-plan 2-storey, 3- by 4-bay church with single bay projections to N (entrance 1796) and E (entrance from 1906). Predominantly harled; red ashlar dressings; polished sandstone margins. Raised base course; moulded eaves. Round-arched windows inset within square-headed surrounds. Pitched single storey, 2-bay random rubble outbuilding to E.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 3-bay. Pedimented 2-storey wing advanced at centre; tripartite timber panelled door at ground; surrounding pedimented doorpiece; pilastered quadripartite glazing row centred beneath apex at 1st floor; architraved cill; cornice. Single windows recessed at ground flanking entrance; round-arched windows at 1st floor.

N (SIDE) ELEVATION: 3-bay. Pedimented single storey addition advanced at centre; tripartite window at ground. Single windows recessed at ground flanking projection; round-arched windows in all bays at 1st floor centred beneath pediment; timber bracketed bell-hood at 1st floor off-set to left of centre (bell missing).

W (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay. Single windows at ground in bays to outer left and right (central bay infilled). Round-arched windows in all bays at 1st floor.

S (SIDE) ELEVATION: 4-bay with 2-leaf boarded timber door centred at ground. Full-height round-arched windows flanking entrance; single windows at ground in bays to outer left and right; round-arched windows aligned above.

Predominantly 12- and 15-pane timber casement glazing; decorative stained glass at sides and rear; opaque glazing to remaining openings. Graded grey slate piended roof.

INTERIOR: recast 1906. Timber panelled dado to side entrance; timber panelled doors. Main hall running E-W; boarded timber dado; timber pews; painted Corinthian columns supporting timber panelled gallery to N, E and S; plaster cornice; 2-tiered chandelier (circa 1800) centred beneath foliate ceiling rose; decorative circular vents. Stair to raised polygonal pulpit to W comprising arcaded base, decorative timber panelling, pilastered divisions; corniced timber backdrop; flanking polygonal organ casings

OUTBUILDING, W (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: boarded timber door at ground in bay to outer right. N (SIDE) ELEVATION: single windows at ground in bays to outer left and right.

12-pane timber sash and case windows. Graded grey slate roof; raised stone skews.

GRAVEYARD: interesting variety of gravestones to E, S and W.

BOUNDARY WALL, GATEPIERS AND RAILINGS: stepped coped random rubble wall to High Street; square-plan sandstone gatepiers, raised base course, pyramidal caps. Decorative cast-iron railings between piers; 2-leaf entrance gates.

Statement of Interest

By 1692, Rothesay's original parish church which stood on this site was in a state of ruin. Consequently, a church, with walls "sixty-two feet long, by twenty-two and one-half feet broad, with an aisle projecting nineteen feet within walls, and twenty feet in width" (Hewison p300) was built on an axis running N-S, with the Earl of Bute's gallery running E-W. There was accommodation for approximately 500 sitters. By 1795 the church was again in a ruinous state and was replaced the following year by a taller, piended structure based upon the alignment of the older building, with large round-arched windows to the south and a pedimented single storey projection to the North. In 1906 the entire building was reorientated about 90 degrees - the interior being recast and a 2-storey pedimented entrance block erected to the E (thereby leaving the large round-arched windows at the side). Said to have been modelled on the Gaelic church of Greenock. Relatively intact both inside and out. The Bute Mausoleum is listed separately (see separate designation record). Rothesay is one of Scotland's premier seaside resorts, developed primarily during the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and incorporates an earlier medieval settlement. The town retains a wide range of buildings characteristic of its development as a high status 19th century holiday resort, including a range of fine villas, a Victorian pier and promenade. The history and development of Rothesay is defined by two major phases. The development of the medieval town, centred on Rothesay Castle, and the later 19th and early 20th century development of the town as a seaside resort. Buildings from this later development, reflect the wealth of the town during its heyday as a tourist destination, and include a range of domestic and commercial architecture of a scale sometimes found in larger burghs. Both the 19th and early 20th century growth of the town, with a particular flourish during the inter-war period, included areas of reclaimed foreshore, particularly along the coast to the east of the town and around the pier and pleasure gardens. (List description revised as part of Rothesay listing review 2010-11).

External Links

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