Newhaven Church Hall, 7 Craighall Road, Edinburgh

Newhaven Church Hall, 7 Craighall Road, Edinburgh

A Neo-Perpendicular church designed by John Henderson in 1836, set prominently on a sloping site. The building comprises a rectangular-plan structure of three bays by four bays with nave and aisles, a gabled west front, and a crowning belfry with pinnacles. The main front is finished in polished ashlar with architraved and chamfered windows, while the north, south and east elevations are rendered in rubble with long and short stugged surrounds to the side openings. The building features a projecting base course, raised margins, and hoodmoulds to the pointed arched windows, with a stepped hoodmould above the entry.

The west elevation on Craighall Road is a symmetrical, three-bay facade. A two-leaf timber Tudor-arched and panelled door is set within a polished and chamfered doorpiece. Above it sits a large traceried window set in a four-centred arched recess with projecting sculpted stops, a stone Y-mullion to the centre, and timber mullions either side. The corbelled, gabled open belfry features sculpted finials and side gablets, flanked by buttresses. The timber traceried windows to the aisles are set in pointed arches with hoodmoulds and chamfered cills.

The north and south elevations are four bays in length, each containing three-light timber-traceried windows set in pointed arches with coped gablets above and sculpted finials (the majority now missing). The north elevation has a projecting string course, whilst both elevations feature a variety of single openings to the ground floor with droved and chamfered surrounds.

The south rear elevation contains an extended chancel added in 1899, featuring a five-light timber-traceried window set in a pointed arch with a sculptured fleur-de-lys finial, flanked by transomed windows in recessed aisles.

To the rear, a single-storey, four-bay hall (built 1862-3) has a timber boarded door with chamfered and shouldered surround, and single windows to each bay with stone mullions and transoms. A flat-roofed additional vestry and session house of 1899-1900, designed by William McLachlan, stands to the southeast, featuring a shouldered doorway with an arched panel above inscribed "ORA ET LABORA", and a variety of single windows. Enclosing the site to the rear is a two-storey, four-bay schoolhouse (1862-3), now a private residence, facing east. This contains a four-light window in the central bay of the west elevation, three-light windows to either side and to the north and south elevations, and twelve-pane timber sash and case windows.

The main block features leaded and stained glass to the large windows; timber astragals to multi-paned ground floor windows to the north. The chancel contains a five-light window, with five-light windows divided horizontally in the flanking aisles. The main block has a grey slate roof in diminishing courses, with pitched roofs to the hall and schoolhouse.

The entrance is marked by square-plan ashlar gatepiers with projecting cornices and ball finials, flanked by square-capped piers. A low coped ashlar wall fronts the property, with a coursed and stepped coped sandstone wall to the entry. Iron railings dating from 1870 remain in place. A stair to Park Road along the south boundary, built in 1892, features round-headed coping, stone treads and square capping.

The interior was remodelled in 1936 using furnishings from the 1890s. A figurative war memorial in the porch (1919) was created by Hamilton of Glasgow. A stone staircase to the organ gallery lies to the east of the vestibule, with stone treads and cast-iron balusters decorated with fleur-de-lys detailing. The aisles feature flat roofs and timber boarded dadoes, whilst the nave is arched and lined with thin Doric columns running west to east. Subdued stained glass windows by Ballantine & Son occupy each bay, with naive figures and subtle colours to the north aisle inscribed "I was sick and ye visited Me.." (1858). The original east end window was reused in the chancel extension of 1899, featuring decorative and jewelled colours depicting the Good Samaritan, Christ and the little children in the south aisle. The organ, built by Conacher & Co in 1883, was rebuilt in the west gallery by Gray & Davidson in 1936, with a panelled balustrade featuring pierced detailing. The furnishings include a pitched pine pulpit by William Watson & Sons (1890), a pitched pine baptismal font (1892), and an oak communion table (1900). Painted timber pews remain in situ, modernised in 1875.