Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Hippolyte J Blanc, 1895. Perpendicular Gothic, Latin cross plan with projecting canted apse to S end of W elevation; adjoins tenement to N. Principal storey and basement. Squared snecked bullfaced rubble to W elevation; stugged squared snecked rubble to S and E elevations; ashlar margins and dressings. Eaves cornice. Predominantly regular fenestration; splayed cills; predominantly bipartite shouldered windows to basement; predominantly hoodmoulded 2-light windows with flowing tracery to principal storey.

S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: single bay gabled elevation with side elevation of canted apse to left; lower level obscured by modern concrete access ramp and steps. To centre of gable, tripartite window with cusped arched heads to lights; above, 5-light pointed arched window with flowing tracery and blind panels beneath, cill course; buttresses flanking windows; to gable apex, small slit opening. To left of windows, advanced crenellated porch with 2-leaf timber-boarded doors recessed in 3-centred-arched and archivolted doorway. To left of porch, side elevation of apse; bipartite window with simple tracery. Crocketted pinnacles to skewputts of gable; cross finial to apex of gable.

W (SIDE) ELEVATION: 6-bay elevation; advanced gabled bay (transept) to 2nd bay from left; projecting canted apse to outer right bay. To outer left bay, steps overarching basement recess leading to porch with parapet, timber-boarded door in 3-centred-arched moulded doorway and small window to left; behind porch, recessed chancel with roundel with cusped tracery. To advanced transept gable (2nd bay from left), 2 windows to basement; 4-light Tudor-arched window with panel tracery to principal floor; stringcourse above; small slit window to gable apex. To outer right bay, piend roofed projecting apse; bipartite window with cusped heads to lights.

E (SIDE) ELEVATION: 6-bay elevation; to basement, modern flat-roofed harled extension to 2nd, 3rd and 4th bays from left; outer right bay not seen. To advanced transept gable (2nd bay from right), plain 4-light and bipartite windows to basement; 4-light Tudor-arched window with panel tracery to principal floor; small slit window to gable apex. To outer left bay, bipartite window with cusped heads to lights.

GLAZING etc: predominantly plain glass, some modern; some coloured and leaded glass to tracery. Pitched roof; graded grey slates; stone skews and skewputts; red terracotta ridge tiles and apse finial; to centre of ridge, octagonal slate hung and timber ventilator with timber tracery and pinnacles. Some cast-iron rainwater goods.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: to W and part of S and E boundaries, stugged dwarf wall with chamfered coping, surmounted by wrought and cast-iron railings.

INTERIOR: principal floor now partly subdivided; to N end, chancel with timber panelling to lower half; Tudor-arched openings formerly giving access to E and W transepts now blocked in to form separate rooms; to side walls, stone corbels supporting timber beams of simple hammerbeam roof, now concealed above modern suspended ceiling. To basement, central hall with cast-iron columns.

Statement of Special Interest

Ecclesiastical building, no longer in use as such.Currently used as a community centre.

121 Montgomery Street is a well-detailed small Gothic church, designed by one of Edinburgh's most well known late 19th century architects. It also makes a valuable contribution to the surrounding streetscape. The projecting apse was originally intended to function as a cloakroom, with a retiring room below.

The construction of this church coincided with a trend of prolific tenement building in the area between Leith Walk and Easter Road during the last 3 decades of the 19th century. This area had originally been earmarked for one vast single development, a scheme known as the Eastern New Town or Calton Scheme, laid out and designed by W. H Playfair in the 1810s and 20s. The scheme would have been the largest and most ambitious New Town in Edinburgh, but despite an encouraging beginning the area quickly waned in popularity, mainly due to competition from new schemes in the increasingly fashionable West End. Large scale construction, mainly of tenements and shops, began again in this area in the 1880s. The tenement block, of which this former church occupies the SW corner, was constructed soon after the church itself.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.