Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

1874. Gothic church with tower, 5-bay aisled nave with angle buttresses. Squared and snecked rubble on stugged ashlar 1st stage, polished ashlar dressings with stugged ashlar quoins. Single and 2-stage sawtooth-coped buttresses; chamfered ashlar base course on rubble bed, moulded stringcourse incorporating hoodmould and architraved cornice. Pointed-arch openings, hoodmoulds, stop-chamfered reveals and stone mullions.

S (PRINCIPAL, HIGH STREET) ELEVATION: 2-stage gabled bay to centre with steps up to deeply moulded doorway with modern glazed doors and flanking adjacent lights, stepped 5-light window at 2nd stage with Celtic cross finial; 3-stage buttress of tower (see below) to right and 2-stage buttress to left; slightly recessed bay beyond to left with paired lancet, and further 2-stage buttress to outer left.

SE TOWER: 2-stage tower with spire: tall 1st stage engaged to N and W; S elevation with string course below paired lancet with hoodmould at 1st batter of flanking 2-stage buttresses, deep glazed quatrefoil at head of stage between buttresses' 2nd batter; E elevation with deep-set 2-leaf boarded timber door and decorative cast-iron hinges, string course extending from hoodmould and quatrefoil at head of stage as at S. Sawtooth-coped batter giving way to polygonal 2nd stage with gablet-coped, crocket-finialled, louvered lancet to each face and polygonal spire with narrow decorative band and cast-iron finial.

N ELEVATION: gabled bay with stepped triple lancet stained glass windows.

E (WHYTEHOUSE AVENUE) ELEVATION: 5-bay nave with dividing single stage buttresses and 2 small louvered dormer gablets above.

W ELEVATION: as above but with blinded door to outer right in gabled bay with flanking buttresses, and lower extension (hall) projecting to outer left.

Leaded glass with coloured margins; stained glass to N window. Grey slates. Coped ashlar skews with square and gablet skewputts. Cast-iron downpipes with decorative rainwater hoppers.

INTERIOR: galleried. Narthex with paired cast-iron columns supporting flanking stone stairs with decorative-cast-iron balusters and timber handrails; shouldered doorways and decorative cornicing. Nave and side aisles with panelled ceiling; polygonal cast-iron columns carrying timber gallery to S, E and W; arcade of pointed arches springing from stiff-leaf capitals. Timber bench pews to nave, tiered pews with panelled fronts to galleries. Pointed-arch, panelled timber doors flanking panelled base of pipe organ at N behind 2 timber balustered flights of steps with ball-finialled newel posts flanking canted pulpit with pointed-arch sounding board; stained glass window over 'framed' by pipe organ. Aediculed War Memorial plaque to NE.

Statement of Special Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. Pipe organ installed circa 1920 at which time a brass lectern was removed. The E wall was rebuilt in 1982 after fabric damage, the side pews were removed at this time. The Congregational Church had a number of meeting places, including an upstairs room in a flax dressers home and Cowan Street Chapel, before moving to this site in 1874.

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.