Free Church, Chapel Hill, Rothesay, Bute

This is a simple Gothic-style Free Church, built in 1860 on Chapel Hill in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. Later alterations occurred in the 20th century. The church is a symmetrical, rectangular building with a three-bay front and a six-bay length. A prominent, angle-buttressed, gableted tower is centred at the front of the building, and there is a single-storey lean-to addition projecting from the rear.

The front of the church is constructed from droved yellow sandstone ashlar, with a polished angled plinth, corniced eaves, and roll-moulded, architraved hoodmoulds above the windows, with pointed arches on the ground floor and trefoil heads at upper stages. The sides and rear are of harl-pointed random rubble sandstone, with stugged yellow sandstone quoins and surrounds to the droved, trefoil-headed, chamfered openings.

The northeast (entrance) elevation features steps leading up to the advanced entrance bays, centred at ground level. The entrance has boarded timber doors set in pointed-arch surrounds, with a small window between. A rectangular panel above the entrance is dated 1860. A large, trefoil-headed window is located at the second stage, flanked by buttressed pinnacles. The spire above consists of an architraved string course, gabled trefoil lucarnes with louvred openings, engaged columns to the left and right, and a cast-iron wind-vein. Quatrefoil openings are set in circular surrounds in the recessed bays to the outer left and right at the second stage.

The southeast (side) elevation includes a single-storey lean-to projection on the far left, with single windows set between the buttresses in the remaining bays. Three trefoil-headed lucarnes are equally spaced above. The northwest (side) elevation has six single, trefoil-headed windows set between buttresses, with three similarly placed lucarnes above. The windows are predominantly opaque with metal glazing bars. The roof is covered with graded grey slate, with slate-hung lucarnes, and replacement rainwater goods.

The interior includes a central stone stair in the vestibule, and a raised door leading to the gallery stairs. The main hall was divided in the later 20th century to create a small hall to the northwest running parallel to the gallery, with the remaining hall extending southwest-northeast. The church has an open braced timber roof, a boarded timber dado, timber pews, and quatrefoil detailing in a raised, panelled pulpit. An ornate Gothic-style minister’s chair is also present, along with gableted stop-chamfered newels and a timber-panelled gallery on the northeast side.

The site is enclosed by low, coped boundary walls.