Paterson Church, School Place, Kirkwall, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

Entry Name: Paterson Church, School Place, Kirkwall

Listing Name: School Place, Paterson Church/East Church, Including Boundary Walls and Railings

Listing Date: 15 March 1999

Category: B

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 393124

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB46013

Building Class: Cultural

Also known as: Kirkwall, School Place, Paterson Church

ID on this website: 200393124

Location: Kirkwall

County: Orkney Islands

Town: Kirkwall

Electoral Ward: Kirkwall East

Traditional County: Orkney

Tagged with: Church building

Description

1847. 2-storey, 3-bay gable-ended hall church with slightly advance central bay and single storey 2-bay hall to rear; central columnar traceried window; shouldered, square-plan buttresses dividing bays; finialled, pinnacle, square-plan bellcotes to buttresses flanking central bay; similar, arcaded gablehead bellcote with blind oculus to corbelled base. Polished sandstone ashlar with polished ashlar dressings. Base course; cill course to flanking windows, continuous as hoodmould over door; hood moulds over windows (brackets to flanking windows); brackets and cope to eaves course. Round-arched openings; columnar mullions to central traceried window; aproned cills; single nook shafts to doorway.

SW (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: stone flight of steps to central moulded doorway; 2-leaf timber-panelled door; timber-panelled infilled fanlight; 4-light window below gablehead bellcote; tall window in each bay flanking.

SE (SIDE) ELEVATION: 7-bay: square-headed window in each bay at ground (timber panelled 2-leaf door with blocked, dated '1847' fanlight in opening to outer left); divided round-arched window with central circular light in each bay at 1st floor.

NW (SIDE) ELEVATION: 7-bay, identical to SE; timber-panelled door with rectangular fanlight at ground in bay to outer right.

NE (REAR) ELEVATION: 2-leaf boarded door with small-pane fanlight in bay to right with window in bay to left to NW elevation of single storey hall in bay to centre; 2 evenly disposed 3-light windows with central circular light; blind round-arched opening to gablehead above.

Leaded, stained glass windows; 12-pane timber sash and case windows to hall. Grey slate roof; stone ridge; stone skews; cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: MAIN CHURCH: encaustic-tiled vestibule with twin dog-leg stone staircases to gallery; cast-iron balusters with timber handrails; cast-iron columnar supports to U-plan timber gallery with carved blind arcade; timber pews; central timber-panelled organ case against NE wall; square-plan piers supporting triple lamp standard and decorative cast-iron balusters flanking steps to carved timber pulpit, (1871) and chair; organ behind; fielded ceiling with pierced circular ventilators. HALL: timber skirting boards and architraves; timber-panelled shutters and doors; cornice extant; fitted timber cupboards with uniting mutule cornice.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: squared rubble stepped wall with ridges ashlar cope; decorative cast-iron railings; similar gates with finialled spanning semi-circular arch.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such, 1998. A huge church, described as a 'preaching barn', (Burgher), the East Church, or Paterson Church as it was named after its minister from 1820 to 1870, is capable of accommodating a thousand people. W E Gladstone and Alfred Tennyson were given the freedom of the burgh in this church on September 12th 1883.

External Links

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