Description

John Paterson, 1867. Multi-faceted, rectangular-plan, Gothic church with three-sided, gabled apse to front flanked by square-plan, 2-stage clock tower with splayed-foot spire to W and pyramidal-roofed porch to E. Pointed-arch openings. Pink stugged ashlar sandstone to principal elevation with pale sandstone dressings. Sloping plinths; cill course; moulded eaves course. 2-light, Y-traceried window to leading face of apse; single lancet windows elsewhere. Variety of tall cast-iron finials to gables and roof.

Trefoil windows to entrance porches. Plate-traceried rose window to N gable end with bellcote to apex. Lower vestry block adjoining NE corner with tall coped stack.

Multi-pane leaded glazing in fixed timber windows. Timber-boarded and panelled doors. Grey fish-scale slates. Moulded skews to gables.

INTERIOR: Scissor-braced roof. 3-bay cast-iron arcades to aisles with cylindrical piers and traceried spandrels. N end: pulpit set within arched recess below rose window; Gothic communion table circa 1926. Box-plan pipe organ to NE corner.

Stained glass: Agnus Dei and Evangelist symbols, 1963 to aisles. Chalice and cross and XP monogram, 1965 to apse.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAINLINGS: Low, stepped and coped rubble wall fronting road with finialed cast-iron railings and gate.

Statement of Interest

Place of Worship in use as such. Prominently sited on high ground to the SE end of the town, making a strong contribution to the character of the area. The triple gabled apse to the principal elevation is particularly significant in this respect, and shares characteristics with other examples in the region such as Traquair, adding to its wider significance. Good quality materials are employed throughout, with the plethora of finials adding to the varied composition. The interior is characterised by a lightness of touch with slender cast-iron arcades and scissor beam ceiling, all defining its architectural interest.

The building wasd originally constructed for a United Presbyterian congregation. The bell at the N gable came from Bowden Free Church in 1879. The church contains a number of good quality fixtures including a heavy marble octagonal baptismal bowl of 1872 on a timber stand; a panel of the ministers of the church; a cradle roll and a hymn board of 1956. The vestry currently (2009) displays a photograph of the church taken shortly after its opening in 1868, revealing that the principal elevation remains unchanged other than the glazing pattern within the apse.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q77781734

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)