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Summary

Description

Thomas Pilkington, 1865-7, substantially rebuilt by James Macintyre Henry 1887; and further alterations 1920. Gothic, roughly rectangular-plan, multi-gabled church with double gables to transepts and octagonal tower to northeast corner. Polychromatic stonework; coursed whinstone rubble with stugged sandstone quoins and window margins. Battered base course. Main (East) elevation with pointed overarch on corner pilasters framing recessed screen with 6-light Venetian gothic windows and 3 circular windows above; finely carved capital heads and surface decoration; 2-bay session house to left. 1920 octagonal tower with gothic cupola to right. Paired gables to transepts with triple-light and trefoil windows over 4-light gothic windows; pointed quatrefoil dormers. Plain pitched and buttressed chancel to west end with truncated stack.

Squared and diamond leaded glazing. Grey slate roof with clay ridge tiles. Pyramidal-capped octagonal ridge ventilator. Sawtooth stone skews; apex finials. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: (seen 2008) large red sandstone chancel arch on moulded shafts housing large organ with finely stencilled pipes by J. Brook & Co, Glasgow. Open timber roof over side galleries to nave and east end on painted cast-iron columns. Two original carved stone capital columns to east end. Angled pews. Tongue and groove dado height panelling. Octagonal timber carved pulpit on sandstone base by Macintyre Henry. Stained glass memorials to World Wars. Later 20th century partition below east gallery.

BOUNDARY WALLS, GATES AND GATEPIERS: rubble wall with angled sandstone copes to E. Octagonal sandstone pyramidal-capped gatepiers and wrought-iron memorial gates to Rev J Y Walker, Minister 1917-51. Rubble wall with ogee clay copes to north; plain walls to north and south.

Statement of Special Interest

Place of worship in use as such. Innerleithen Parish Church is a fine Gothic style church originally designed by renowned architect Thomas Pilkington (1832-1898) in 1865 with comprehensive reconstruction in 1887 by James Macintyre Henry (1852-1929). As a combined work it has quality stonework detailing, an unusual plan shape and a fine galleried interior.

Pilkington was a prominent Edinburgh based Gothic architect who carried out a broad spectrum of work over his career including churches, villas, schools and tenements. He was known for ambitious idiosyncratic designs with fine stone detailing and polychrome stonework, as illustrated by the Innerleithen Parish Church. The main elements to survive of Pilkington's design are the East elevation, the battered base course and the lower walls with Venetian Gothic windows. Pilkington's original plan layout was an elongated octagon, but this was lost when MacIntyre introduced a new square chancel at the west end to house the new organ, and replaced the octagonal plan sides with double gables. Macintyre reused Pilkington's stone detailing in his reconstruction such as the quatrefoil gableted dormers. Internally much of the structure dates from Macintyre's reconstructions; he introduced the west chancel with its red sandstone arch, the double vaulted transepts and the new exposed timber roof structure. New columns support the galleries; only two stone originals with carved capitals remain. The octagonal tower was added in 1920. A photograph in Robb and Stevenson shows the church in its original condition as built by Pilkington with a tall central ridge spire. The church was built by local master mason Robert Mathison, as were most of the churches in Innerleithen. The adjacent church hall was built by James Macintrye Henry in 1887.

List description revised 2008. Statutory address changed in 2015. Previously listed as 'Leithen Road, Innerleithen Parish Church Including Runic Cross, Boundary Walls, Gates and Gatepiers'.

References

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