Congregational Church

This is a non-Conformist church dating from 1842-3, designed by John Nichol of Edinburgh and Carlisle. It is constructed of calciferous sandstone ashlar with panelled pilaster quoins extending upwards as turrets, each topped with shaped scrolled pediments and speared ball finials. There are also shaped modillions and a cornice beneath an open balustraded parapet. The roof is not visible from the street.

The church forms part of a terrace and has a tall, single-storey, three-bay facade. The central panelled double doors are accessed by steps leading to a tetrastyle pilastered portico, finished with a console-bracketed cornice and shaped parapet. Cast-iron railings and a gate enclose a cellar void with steps leading down to a cellar door. A projecting bay above the entrance features alternate raised quoins and rises above the parapet as a Dutch gable with speared ball finials flanking a central shaft finial. A tall central window is framed with a stone architrave, console-bracketed cornice, and a mock heraldic scrolled festoon. Similar tall flanking windows complete the facade. A commemorative plaque notes the visit of US President Woodrow Wilson on 29 December 1918, and references the Rev Thomas Woodrow, who served as minister (at a different site) from 1820-35.

The interior is accessed through a porch separated from the main body of the church by a plaster screen with two doorways and frosted glass windows. Two flights of stone steps, with twisted cast-iron balusters and moulded wooden handrails, flank the entrance and lead to a balcony. The ceiling is rib-vaulted. The main body of the church has galleries on three sides, supported by clustered columns with Gothic wooden panelling. The east window is a large, round-headed window with coloured glass, beneath which is a rebuilt and enlarged organ from 1906. A stained-glass window depicting an angel is located on the left side of the east windows, dating from the World War II era. A barrel-vaulted ribbed plaster ceiling incorporates roundels. A 20th-century oak pulpit and patterned cast-iron altar rail are present. The church contains numbered oak pews from the 19th century and a 1913 marble plaque dedicated to James Robinson. The church opened for worship on 19 March 1843.