John Knox United Free Church Of Scotland, Gerrard Street, Aberdeen

John Knox United Free Church of Scotland, Gerrard Street, Aberdeen

Built in 1898–1899, this is a symmetrical classical church of two storeys with a rectangular plan. The principal south elevation features channelled pilasters and a pedimented central bay. The building is constructed of bull-faced coursed granite on the principal elevation, with coursed granite rubble (in Aberdeen bond in places) and dressed margins to the side and rear elevations. The ground floor on the principal elevation and the southernmost bays of the side elevations have a bull-faced base course with moulded chamfer to the top, alternating courses of polished and bull-faced granite, and a moulded ground floor cill course. The fenestration is regular throughout, with round-headed windows to the first floor of the side and rear elevations (excluding the centre bay to the rear).

The principal south elevation displays a two-leaf timber panelled door with a sunburst fanlight in a hood-moulded round-headed opening with imposts and a pronounced keystone featuring carving of John Knox's head. Architraved windows flank this central door. The first floor has a bipartite window to the centre bay with a low stone balustraded parapet, and a blind oculus containing a cross set under a hood-moulded blind semi-circular arch with a prominent keystone. Flanking the centre bay are channelled pilasters each surmounted by paired Egyptian-style pilasters, flanked by flattened scrolls and supporting a pseudo-broken pediment with cross finial. To the outer right and left are channelled quoins surmounted by square-plan panelled plinths with segmental pediments clasping large domed finials. The elevation is divided horizontally by a dividing band between ground and first floors, a first floor cill course, a band course, and a main cornice with corniced parapet above.

The east side elevation features a very slightly advanced corniced section to the ground floor with a two-leaf timber-panelled door in a hood-moulded round-headed opening with pronounced keystone and imposts. Flanking this door are hood-moulded round-headed margin lights with imposts. To the centre bay of the ground floor is a small single-storey, piend-roofed wing of bull-faced granite with polished margins, eaves band, cornice, and blocking course. A flush timber door to the south has a blocked fanlight.

The west side elevation has a very slightly advanced corniced section to the ground floor with a two-leaf timber-panelled door in a hood-moulded round-headed opening with pronounced keystone and imposts. Flanking this are hood-moulded round-headed margin lights with imposts. A single-storey linking corridor to an adjoining hall extends along the ground floor.

The north rear elevation features a projecting single-storey range of offices with a lean-to roof to the ground floor, and a circular window to the centre bay of the first floor.

Glazing is predominantly three-lying-pane in timber windows, with several windows to the side elevations featuring small stained-glass shields to the centre. The bipartite window to the principal elevation has four-lying-pane glazing in timber windows to each half. The pitched roof is of grey slate with stone skews and skewputts. At the apex is a large ornamental timber ventilator with a finalled pyramidal roof. The rear elevation has a corniced gablehead stack with circular cans.

The interior is entered through the south door via a corniced and architraved inner doorpiece into a square lobby with a groin vaulted roof and dentilled cornice. To the left and right are basket-arched openings with classical timber and glazed doors and screens featuring leaded multi-pane glazing. The screen to the right bears the date 1900. Flanking the lobby on the left and right are gallery stair halls with dog-leg stairs featuring timber newels and paired balusters.

The rectangular main auditorium has at its north end a basket arch with coffered soffit flanked by Ionic pilasters, leading to a recessed galleried chancel. The north wall of the chancel contains a stained glass window with a central roundel depicting Jesus and the Lost Sheep. The chancel ceiling is divided into three compartments and has a dentilled cornice. A U-shaped gallery is supported by Ionic cast-iron columns to the ground floor. To the first floor on the east and west sides is round-arched arcading supported by Corinthian cast-iron columns with ornate plaster cartouches to the spandrels. The gallery parapet features blind basket-arched arcading. The ceiling is divided into three sections (east and west galleries and a central section). The central section has a dentilled cornice with consoled projections marking bays, and is divided into three sections, each with a ceiling rose inside an inner cusped border and large outer reeded border. The gallery ceilings are lower and partly coombed. Dark stained timber pews and wall panelling are framed by architraved and corniced doorpieces. The north gallery stair halls have dog-leg stairs with ornate cast-iron balusters and newels.

The church hall is a single-storey rectangular-plan building with neo-Gothic details and an unsympathetic modern extension to the rear. It is constructed of coursed tooled squared granite with paler long and short quoins and dressings to the principal elevation, and coursed rubble to the side elevations.

The principal south elevation of the hall is a single bay. A tripartite window with lancet relieving arches is set in a pointed overarch with blind tympanum. The window has chamfered reveals, cill and mullions, and a hood-mould. Stone skews with a single step midway up the pitch are topped by simple blocky pinnacles surmounting the skew steps and corbelled skewputts, with a finial to the apex of the gable.

The east side elevation has a recessed doorway to the far left and two dormer-headed windows breaking the eaves.

Glazing to the hall consists of 10-pane glazing to the side elevation and the centre light of the tripartite window, with 5-lying-pane glazing to the flanking lights of the tripartite window. The pitched roof is of graded grey slate with terracotta ridge tiles. Two shouldered, corniced wallhead stacks are on the west elevation, with a corniced gablehead stack on the north elevation. All stacks have circular cans.

The interior of the hall has a partly coombed ceiling with a moulded cornice and two cast-iron ceiling roses.

Forming the boundary between the pavement and the church buildings to the south are stone and concrete coping surmounted by cast-iron railings and gates with ornate fleur-de-lys style finials.