St Teresa's R C Church, 86 Saracen Street, Glasgow, Glasgow, Glasgow

Description

Alexander McAnally, 1956-1960. Romanesque, near T-plan Roman Catholic church with square-plan tower to NW. Steel frame, concrete casing; red brick; cream dressings. Shallow buttresses divide nave windows. Round-arched window openings.

N (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 3-stage tower with helm roof to outer right; single opening at 1st stage; single openings at 2nd stage flanking dressing which rises to round-arched louvred 3rd stage; single openings flank gabled hoodmould over; eaves course; helm roof; cross finial at apex. Gabled entrance to left; 3 pairs of 2-leaf timber doors to advanced gabled entrance; reliefs of St Mungo and St Andrew within gable; diamond frieze links pair; cross at gable apex. 3-light round-arched window aligned above; cross finial at gable apex. Small single windows flanking entrance doors. Small single window and timber door to outer left.

S (REAR) ELEVATION: strip window to sacristy to outer right (originally boy's sacristy); bowed leaded window to priest's sacristy; single square windows to transepts; 5-light strip window to chancel; single windows flanking (lower height); cross to projecting gable; single windows to re-entrant angles.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: 11-bay, grouped 3-7-1. 2 single windows to advanced single storey sacristy to outer left; strip corridor window to single storey section to penultimate bay to left, timber door to re-entrant angle, 3-light window above to gable; 5-light strip window to chancel; single arched window to lower height flat-roofed section, abbreviated pair of nave windows above; 7 pairs of nave windows, single window to outer right, divided by deep buttress; 3 pairs of windows to advanced confessionals to left, 4 pairs of windows to advanced function rooms to right (steps lead to timber door to re-entrant angle to left), recessed single window to outer right; 3 single windows to central recessed section.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: 10-bay, grouped 1-1-5-3. 3-stage tower to outer left; steps to advanced gabled doorpiece at 1st stage; 2-leaf timber door; leaded rectangular light at 2nd stage; St Teresa at 3rd stage; single openings flank gabled hoodmould over; eaves course; helm roof. 7-light bowed chapel bay to left; abbreviated paired nave window above. 5 square openings to lean-to aisles at ground, 5 pairs of nave windows aligned above; 3 single windows to canted mortuary bay, pair of nave windows aligned above; single window at ground to right, pair of nave windows aligned above. Steps to advanced gabled entrance porch to outer right; barley-sugar arcaded railings; 2-leaf timber door; 3-light square strip opening to right; 3-light window above to gable; 5-light strip window to chancel.

Leaded and stained glass windows. Grey slate roof (hipped to chancel), aluminium helm roof to NW tower.

INTERIOR: reworking by Page and Park, 1995 to rear of nave creating stepped sequence of glazed timber, barrel-vaulted function rooms. Oak pews; tiled floor. Stations of the cross depictions beneath nave windows and incorporated into stepped Page and Park reworking. Arched braces rise from strip pilasters dividing nave windows; iron lanterns to each pilaster; geometric detailing to ceiling. Timber organ gallery over entrance porch with figures by H A Heinzeller of Oberammergau. Iron-worked screen and marble font to bowed chapel bay. Marble work to chancel by Mortimer, Willison & Graham includes pulpit and altar table; timber elders' chairs; elaborate timber panelled arched canopy over figure of Christ on the cross; flanking round arches. Iron screens to flanking side chapels; mortuary chapel to W. Stained glass by Guthrie & Wells, metalwork by Thomas Bogie & Sons.

GATEWAYS, BOUNDARY WALLS, RAILINGS, STEPS AND PIERS: brick gateways to N and S of W section to site; kneelers at base of gabel rise from coped square-plan pillars. Cross at apex to N; 'Saint Teresa's' inscribed within arch. Coped low brick wall to W; railings surmount; crosses within arches delineate sections. Coped brick, render and rubble wall to N elevation. Railings to E and S elevations. Railed steps and coped piers lead to presbytery.

PRESBYTERY: Alexander McAnally, 1934-5. 2-storey, 4-bay near U-plan presbytery. Horizontal brick stretchers; cream dressings to base course, main doorpiece, 1st floor cill course; eaves course and window mullions; vertical stretchers to ground floor windows at cill and lintel height create band courses (additional course to dressing breaks at 1st floor cill course); cornice; blocking course.

S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 3 bays to right at ground slightly advanced. Steps to shallow square-headed keystoned entrance to penultimate bay to right. 'S' and 'T' flank cross within keystone; recessed glazed timber door; sidelights; 2-light window aligned above at 1st floor; flanking single windows at ground and 1st floor. Wall breaks eaves to outer left; central blind opening at ground rises to form wallhead stack.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: canted 3-light bay windows to outer bays at ground and 1st floor; 3-light windows to central recessed bays at ground and 1st floor.

N (SIDE) ELEVATION: 2-light windows to outer left and penultimate bay to right, at ground and 1st floor. Single windows to remaining bays at both floors; wall breaks eaves to outer right forming square projection; wallhead stack rises from centre.

E (REAR) ELEVATION: 6-bay, grouped 1-4-1. Advanced central canted entrance to penultimate bay to right in recessed 4-bay section; glazed timber door; small flanking windows at ground to canted section; stair window above at 1st floor; 2 single windows flanking at ground, single windows aligned above at 1st floor; single windows at ground and 1st floor to advanced corner bay to outer left. Left re-entrant angle blind; 4-bay to right re-entrant angle; glazed timber door; letterbox fanlight to penultimate bay to left; single window aligned above at 1st floor; flanking single windows at ground and 1st floors. Single window at ground, 2-light window at 1st floor to advanced bay to outer right. 2-light windows at ground and 1st floor to bay to outer left; boarded square opening at ground, stained glass window at 1st floor to bay to outer right.

4- and 5-pane timber sash and case windows (some interior glazing); textured, leaded glazing to bathrooms and stair windows. Grey slate roof; rooflights; wallhead, ridge and pitch coped stacks. Circular cans.

INTERIOR: timber fireplaces, panelling and fittings to rooms; glazed timber stair; original Art Deco tiling to 1st floor bathrooms.

Square-plan pillar to S of presbytery; 'S' and 'T' inscribed within roundel. Garage to E of Presbytery.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Occupies ground of earlier Craigbank House and Roman Catholic church. Continues the use of brick in Roman Catholic church architecture, perhaps most famously developed in the inter-war period by the Gillespie, Kidd and Coia practise in Scotland (for example, St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Greenock). Close parallels can also be found in post-war European modernism (such as the brick monumentality of Aalto's S?yn?tsalo Town Hall, 1949-52). As noted by M Glendinning, it is of interest that the main basilica of St Teresa's at Lisieux, is a dominant Romanesque 1920s structure, thus St Teresa's, Glasgow also follows in a historical Romanesque tradition. Page and Park's reworking of the interior was awarded the Europa Nostra Award, 1996. The helm roof to the SW tower is a notable landmark in the local area, and the interior fittings to both the church and presbytery (especially the bathrooms) are of high quality.

External Links

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