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Summary

Description

Ian G Lindsay and Partners, 1952-4; church hall circa 1965 and later additions. Unusual post-war vernacular, double height, 5-bay nave, L-plan church with dominant squat 3-storey, square bell tower adjoining W gable; on corner site. Rendered brick cavity walls; smooth rendered margins. Nave with tall, narrow window openings and glazed oculus to outer bays; glazed oculus to E gable. Tower with 4 windows at ground floor to W elevation and 2-leaf panelled timber door set in round-arched opening to N elevation with inscription panel to right; single windows at 1st floor; single louvred openings at 2nd floor; broached roof surmounted by octagonal, louvred lantern with bellcast roof, topped by weathervane. Roughly T plan, single and 2 storey church hall and session room adjoined to N.

3-pane fixed windows and 8-pane sash and case windows in timber frames to tower, multi-pane with top hopper in timber frames to nave. Pitched roof, grey slates. Precast concrete, straight skews.

INTERIOR: (seen 2012). Parquet flooring to nave, Caithness paving to sanctuary; raked gallery with timber pews to W and choir gallery with organ to N jamb of chancel, both with panelled balustrade, that to N canted; octagonal timber pulpit with inscribed sounding board above to S wall; barrel-vaulted ceiling of acoustic panels, suspended from steel roof trusses.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: low bull-faced stone walls with triangular cope and square-plan gatepiers to W. Iron railings and gates with St Margaret's cross detail.

Statement of Special Interest

Place of worship in use as such.

Colinton Mains Parish Church is a rare and unusual example of a post-war church building that has been influenced by rural vernacular architecture. The church is unique as an example of an entirely new building designed by Ian G Lindsay, one of the foremost authorities in Scotland on conservation and restoration. Inspired by historic church architecture, particularly 18th century churches in Caithness such as Reay Parish Church and Canisbay Parish Church (see separate listings), the church is a modern interpretation of traditional motifs with simple pared-down geometric forms and a skillful blend of modern and traditional building materials. Lindsay may also have drawn inspiration from the Canongate Kirk, which he altered and restored in various years from 1939 to 1963. The bright white render contrasting with the slate roof and dominant square tower makes the building a significant landmark in the post-war housing estate. A spacious interior is created by the lack of structural elements, through the use of a suspended vaulted ceiling.

The L-plan of the original church was a consequence of the need to leave space on the site to construct church halls and other ancillary rooms at a later date. Access was to be, as it is today, via the north jamb of the chancel. The seating capacity of the church is 425 however flexibility of space was crucial in the original design. Timber pews were only provided for part of the church, with chairs filling the rest of the space so that a small sanctuary for 100 worshippers could be accommodated around the pulpit including the north jamb and choir gallery.

Ian G Lindsay (1906-66) was an Edinburgh architect who worked on numerous projects throughout the country, restoring both small dwellings, ecclesiastical buildings and castles, including the historic town of Inveraray and Iona Abbey. Lindsay's method of combining historic fabric with new build, the design of which reacted clearly to its setting, was a new approach in conservation at this time and has informed the later development of architectural conservation both in Scotland and internationally.

References

Bibliography

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