Hall, St Machan's Parish Church, Church Street, Larkhall, Larkhall, South Lanarkshire

Description

Dated 1835, spire erected early 1860s, second gallery storey added, 1888 (dated). 2-storey, galleried, rectangular-plan church with square-plan 2-stage tower and octagonal spire to centre, built on ground rising to NE. Polished cream sandstone ashlar with polished dressings. Base course; cavetto moulded cornice to pediment; coped blocking course. Chamfered reveals and hoodmoulds to ground floor windows; square, traceried windows to 1st floor.

TOWER: string course dividing 1st and 2nd stage; machicolation detail below cornice at 2nd stage; gabled clock with trefoil detail above to each side above; continuous hoodmould over blank and louvered sides of spire; alternating circular and trefoil motifs to upper reaches of spire; weather vane. Chamfered reveals to pointed-arched openings; gabletted angle buttresses at 1st stage; pinnacled angle pilasters above. Rectangular-plan Church Hall, 1903, adjacent to S of church.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: tower in bay to centre: window at 1st stage; steps to pointed-arched doorway with boarded door and fanlight to each side; 3-light window (tall light to centre) to each side at 2nd stage with crucifix motif above; clock to each side at base of spire. Window at ground with 3-light traceried window to galley floor above in each bay flanking.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: 3-bay with gabled square-plan organ recess to centre. 3-light window, set high to gabled projection to centre; crucifix finial to gablehead above; crucifix finial to main gablehead set behind; window to left and right returns. Window at ground with 3-light traceried window to gallery level above in bays flanking.

N (SIDE) ELEVATION: regularly fenestrated 4-bay. Single window at ground with 3-light window at gallery level to 3 bays to right; slightly advanced gabled door at ground with 3-light window above in bay to outer left.

S (SIDE) ELEVATION: regularly fenestrated 4-bay, treated as N side; piended connecting projection to church hall to outer right.

Fixed stained and plain glass windows. Grey slate roof; slate to rear addition; slate to connecting bay; tall ashlar coped stack to SE; ashlar coped skews; cast-iron rainwater goods with some uPVC replacements.

INTERIOR: barrel vaulted roof over 'nave' with exposed tie beams; timber panelled U-shaped gallery with turned balusters continuous round W end on cast-iron columnar supports forming shallow 'aisles' to N and S; clapboarding to dado height; timber pews, tiered to gallery; carved timber organ screen with pipes exposed above to E end; steps to octagonal timber panelled and carved pulpit behind carved altar; portable timber lectern and octagonal font on columnar cluster pedestal; architraved and corniced timber panelled and stained glass doors.

CHURCH HALL:

Alexander Cullen, 1903. Single storey, 7-bay rectangular-plan church hall with oriental details, pagoda ridge vent and swept gablet to pilasters. Bull-faced grey sandstone ashlar band below stugged and snecked grey sandstone ashlar. Droved dressings. Base course; eaves course overhanging eaves and exposed rafters to central section; cornice and coped blocking course to gabled ends. Chamfered reveals to windows; hood moulds; bays divided by oriental-style pilasters.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: bays divided 1-5-1. Window in each bay to centre. Square-headed 3-light traceried window in each flanking advanced bay; 6-step stone flight to deep-set 2-leaf part-glazed boarded door in right return of bay to right.

S (SIDE) ELEVATION: gabled wall with transomed and mullioned 3-light window to centre with single window to left.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: wide gabled wall with 5 basement lights to centre with 3-light mullioned window to gablehead above. 2-leaf part-glazed boarded door to outer right. Timber door with bipartite window flanking to left.

Grey slate roof with horizontal continuous roof lights to each side; red clay ridge; octagonal, louvered ridge vent with spike finial; plain bargeboards to gable sides. Fixed stained glass leaded windows. uPVC rainwater goods; some cast-iron rainwater goods to sides.

INTERIOR: timber-framed main hall space with exposed collar braces and tie beams on cast-iron supports; part-glazed folding doors forming screened enclosures to S end; part-glazed folding screen separating vestibule from main hall; clapboarding to dado height in vestibule; corniced fire surround with Arts and Crafts heart motifs.

WAR MEMORIAL: square-plan marble columnar memorial commemorating World War II sited on slope in front of church; battered bull-faced sandstone base with cornice and cap, inscribed with names to W side.

GATEPIERS AND BOUNDARY WALLS: 2 sets of square- rising to octagonal-plan gatepiers to left and right extremities of site; polished cream sandstone ashlar with blind slit to every other side of octagonal section; swept cornice. Bull-faced low wall with tall upright to centre, with ridged ashlar cope. Replaced wrought-iron railings and double gates.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Plans for the original single storey building were drawn up by Baillie Robert Henderson, a Hamilton wood merchant and carpenter, and the foundation stone of Larkhall Chapel, built as a Chapel of Ease, was laid on 26th June, 1835. By the 10th January the following year it was completed and was opened for worship. It was constituted as the quoad sacra parish of Larkhall in 1837. The 1860s saw the spire added, and in 1888-9 a second storey containing galleries was added. On the creation of the United Church of Scotland, in 1929 Larkhall Parish Church was renamed St Machan's church hall, designed by Alexander Cullen of Hamilton stands adjacent to the church and was completed in 1903 at a cost of £2,500. Cullen had a hand in the design of many buildings in the area, being particularly prolific in the village of Rosebank where he designed the Popinjay Hotel and the buildings opposite in the Tudor style, (see separate list descriptions).

External Links

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