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Summary

Description

John Starforth, 1874; Norman Reid (consolidation and modernisation), 1965. H-plan Gothic church on prominent corner site with square-plan steepled tower to SE corner and adjoining Tudor hall and offices to N. Predominantly bullfaced snecked sandstone with ashlar dressings. Base course, eaves course. Staged buttresses. Lancet windows, predominantly in groups of 2 or 3 in overarches beneath hoodmoulds; sloping cills; stop-chamfered margins; geometric tracery. Timber-boarded doors with ornate wrought-iron hinges, in shouldered openings.

S (LONDON ROAD) ELEVATION: 5-bay elevation defined by buttresses. To centre, 3-bay gable: 2-leaf door to centre with engaged colonetted gablet porch; flanking to left and right, paired colonetted bipartite windows. Above, tripartite window to centre with bipartite windows to left and right; scalloped triangular opening to gablehead. Buttress to left terminating in gablet and pinnacle. To outer left bay, door in pointed overarch to ground, bipartite window above; quatrefoils set in roundels to frieze below eaves. To outer right, advanced tower (see below).

SE TOWER: slightly battered square plan 2-stage tower with octagonal stone spire. To 1st stage: frieze of roundels and stringcourse dividing 1st and 2nd stages; to S elevation, door in pointed overarch to ground, single lancet above, triple lancet further above; to E elevation, bipartite window; to N, blank wall with quadrant stair tower to re-entrant angle. To 2nd stage: angle buttresses; bipartite louvred window to each elevation; pinnacle to each corner. To spire: to base, single louvred window to each elevation with lucarne above; gableted stringcourse above; spire surmounted by weathervane.

E (EASTER ROAD) ELEVATION: 6-bay elevation, bays defined by buttresses. To outer left bay, advanced tower (see above). To outer right bays, 2 advanced gables; tripartite window to each gable with smaller tripartite windows beneath and vesicas to gableheads. To centre three bays, tripartite window of lancets with small triangular windows below to each bay. 3 ventilation gablets to roof.

W ELEVATION: as E elevation, but to far right bay, tower replaced by projecting canted bay with piended roof with brattishing; bipartite window to alternate faces; quatrefoils set in roundels to frieze below eaves.

GLAZING etc: predominantly square leaded panes with coloured borders; some small amounts of stained glass to larger windows. Pitched graded grey slate roof; stone skews and moulded skewputts. Some cast-iron downpipes and ornamental hoppers.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND RAILINGS: stugged, snecked sandstone with ashlar saddleback copes, piers and gatepiers; modern railings.

INTERIOR: T-plan, 6-bay galleried interior with aisles to E and W to 2 bays nearest N. Simple timber pews with umbrella stands; modern organ. Rose window to N end. U-shaped gallery supported by cast-iron columns and brackets; timber blind Gothic-arched parapet. To aisles to gallery, stilted pointed arches. Timber cut roof. To S entrance hall, timber memorial panels to wall; ribbed pointed tunnel vaulted ceiling with ornate bosses; to either end of hall, stair halls with stone cantilevered stairs with cast-iron balusters.

CHURCH HALL AND RELATED OFFICES: predominantly 1874; extended to E and W, Sydney, Mitchell and Wilson, 1902-3 (see Notes). Adjoining the church to the NE. Bullfaced snecked sandstone with ashlar dressings. 1st floor cill course. Mullioned windows with stop-chamfered margins; transomed to outer right bay. To S elevation, window to far left to ground and 1st floors; buttress to far right. To E elevation, 5-bay elevation with gabled bay to far right. To ground floor, to 2nd bay from left, 2-leaf timber-boarded door with cusped 4-light mullioned window above in pointed opening; to outer left and right bays, tripartite windows; to 4th bay to left, door with small window to left. To 1st floor, single windows to 2nd and 4th bays from left, bipartite windows to 1st and 3rd bays from left, tripartite window to outer right bay. Predominantly 12-pane timber sash and case windows. Pitched graded grey slate roof; stone skews and gablet skewputts. Shouldered wallhead stack and gablehead stack to S elevation; gablehead stack to E elevation; all stacks corniced with circular cans; cast-iron down pipe with ornamental hopper. To interior: part-aisled hall; basket-arched bays; pointed-arched windows to E aisle; timber scissor beam roof (partly ceiled) with ornamented spandrels.

Statement of Special Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such.

London Road Church is listed as a good example of the work of John Starforth and of later 19th century Gothic Revival architecture. It also has great value as a strong streetscape feature in a prominent location.

London Road Church was originally built as a place of worship for a United Presbyterian congregation. The United Presbyterian Church united with the Free Church in 1900, and the Free Church united with the Church of Scotland in 1929. London Road Church remains a Church of Scotland Church.

The church was built with a Sunday School building attached to the N. This building was enlarged in 1902-3, and the new front elevation was brought to up to the building line of Easter Road.

In 1909, several members of Reverend John Anderson's Bible class decided to form a cricket team, which became known as London Road Church CC. The club continued to be affiliated to the church until 1952 when conflict surrounding the playing of cricket on Sundays caused the club to cease the connection and became London Road CC. In 1992 the club again changed its name, to Murrayfield CC, to reflect the location of the ground the club had found after many years without a permanent location.

References

Bibliography

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