Cadder Parish Church, Cadder Road, Cadder

Designed by David Hamilton in 1825–29, this plain Early English broad-plan church was altered in 1905–08 and 1914 by Stewart and Paterson, then renovated in 1980. The building features a square-plan, crenellated bell tower to the west and a later chancel (1905) flanked by an organ chamber and vestry to the east. Construction includes coursed, horizontally droved ashlar of various sizes to the west elevation and squared, stugged sandstone rubble to the nave, with a projecting three-tier ashlar base, ashlar dressings, and a simple moulded eaves course. Horizontally droved rubble tabs (heavily repointed with coursing scraped out in places) and smooth ashlar appear on the corner turrets. The three-bay entrance elevation has a central advanced four-stage tower with octagonal buttresses. Hoodmoulded Y-tracery windows feature on the north and south elevations, and a prominent hoodmoulded, pointed-arched panel window dominates the east. Most openings have raised, double-chamfered architraves, some with hoodmoulds.

West (Entrance) Elevation

The three-bay gable end features a four-stage central bell tower flanked by low two-stage stair chambers. Entry is through a broken-arched, two-leaf timber boarded doorway at the tower's base, with a simple raised, splayed three-order architrave and plain hoodmould. Octagonal clasping buttresses rise to the tower's full height, with set-back buttresses extending to the second stage. A moulded stringcourse sits above the doorway, and round-arched windows with labelled hoodmoulds appear on the second and third stages. Between the third and fourth stages is a moulded oculus with a carved datestone inscribed '1829'. A large broken-arched two-light panel-tracery window with raised architrave and headstopped hoodmoulds crowns the tower.

North Elevation

The four-bay nave features identical tall broken-arched Y-tracery windows, with ashlar strip quoins left and right. To the left, the 1905 extension comprises a vestry with the chancel set behind. A projecting doorway to the vestry has a stop-chamfered architrave. To the left is a tripartite window with stone mullions, moulded reveals, and smooth ashlar tabbed surrounds. A projecting plain stringcourse runs above the doorway. The parapet has moulded copes. Set-back buttressing supports the chancel, with a sloping dripstone course at mid-height. A stair chamber on the right return features a stringcourse below the wallhead parapet with plain coping. The bell tower's two upper stages appear to the right, with a simple round-arched window and a large broken-arched two-light panel-style window above.

East Elevation

The three-bay elevation features a central advanced gabled chancel (1905) with flanking vestry and organ chambers at ground floor level, while the nave wall recesses at first floor. A prominent pointed-arched panel window (formerly on the east nave wall) dominates the chancel, with a moulded ashlar plaque below dated '1909' describing the church's renovation. A stringcourse continues from the flanking wings to the chancel. A tripartite shouldered window sits in the lower chancel wall at ground floor, with a doorway to the left entering a sunken chamber. Narrow rectangular openings serve the chambers, with stepped wallhead parapets and moulded coping. Broken-arched single-light windows appear on the nave walls behind.

South Elevation

Identical to the north elevation.

External Features

Diamond-pane leaded glass fills secondary windows, while stained glass occupies principal windows. Modern (2004) timber boarded double entrance doors feature timber panelling in the archhead. The pitched roof is covered with grey slate.

Interior

Entry through the bell tower leads to tall round-arched openings on either side accessing flanking stair chambers. A large segmental-arched opening with carved pine war memorial architrave leads through the west nave wall into a vestibule under the gallery, separated from the main church by a carved pine and leaded glass screen (remodelled 1980). The four-bay nave interior has a gallery at the upper west end with an intricately carved oak front incorporating heritors' coats of arms, supported by thin cast-iron columns. Wooden bench pews fill the nave floor. Three sections divide the nave roof: a narrow segmental barrel vault with queen-post truss bracing, each emblazoned with heritors' coats of arms, flanked by flat ceilings with a moulded frieze between flat and vaulted roof sections. A segmental chancel arch (1905) to the east features engaged clustered columns, with an oak pulpit to the left and an octagonal stone baptismal font to the right. Wooden two-leaf doors in the east nave wall (1905) lead to the vestry and organ chamber. Single-light broken-arched stained glass windows (James Noble windows) flank the chancel arch at the upper level. The central east nave has a raised floor level stepping up to the barrel-vaulted chancel, with pine panelling on lower walls and an organ to the right (pipes set in a shallow pointed arch).

Stained Glass Windows

The stained glass tracery window in the upper east chancel wall is the Gardner Window by James Ballantine & Son, installed in 1891 (six upper panels date from 1908), depicting 'Our Lord, blessing little children'. The James Noble windows on the east nave wall by Ballantyne & Gardner of Edinburgh, installed in 1896, depict 'Enoch - a good servant of god' and 'Jonah - an example'.

Stained glass fills the nave windows across four bays from east to west (two western bays intersected by the gallery). First bay north: the Reverend James Watt Window by Alf Webster, installed 1914, depicting 'And now, abideth Faith, Hope and Charity'. First bay south: Marion Bell Window by Alf Webster, installed 1914, depicting 'Prayer and Praise' and featuring Cadder's link with Glasgow Cathedral. Second bay north: War Memorial Window by Stephen Adam Studios, dedicated 1921, depicting 'Supreme Sacrifice' (showing Crucifixion and Christ calling disciples to follow him in service and sacrifice). Second bay south: War Memorial Window by Stephen Adam Studios, dedicated 1921, depicting 'Sacrifice' (as expressed in the story of Abraham and Isaac, and images showing devastation of war). Third bay north: plain leaded glass. Third bay south: Millennium Window by Crear McCartney, dedicated April 2001, depicting 'Jesus Christ - Yesterday, Today and Forever'. Fourth bay north: Robert Findlay Window by Sadie McLellan, dated post-1961, depicting 'Seedtime and Harvest'. Fourth bay south: Thomas Warren Window, artist unknown, dated 1908, depicting 'In my father's house are many mansions.'

Churchyard

A large churchyard lies south of the church, containing several memorials of note, the earliest dating from 1636. On the east side stands a cast-iron and granite memorial dated 1869, with a cast-iron frame containing an inset granite stone. The trefoil-shaped cast-iron advanced pediment to the head features a bulbous crocket finial. A circular recessed casting in the trefoil head contains a quatrefoil centre, with an ogee arch and flanking round arches to the top inside frame margin, plus splayed stepped sides.

To the southwest stands a tall simply decorated obelisk memorial dated 1847, with a three-stage base (splayed top edges), a plain tapered yellow granite central section with projecting frieze, thin cornice above and plain triangular pediment, topped by a tall plain tapered obelisk stone, piended at the head.

Immediately northwest of the church lies a simple lying stone dated 1834, protected by a tall Gothic-style cast-iron grille mort-safe set within a rectangular-plan stone boundary. The grille features geometrical tracery at the base consisting of trefoil-arched arcades and quatrefoils, simple barred stanchions above with a pointed-arch arcaded frieze to the head, and pointed quatrefoil finials above. Fluted cast-iron pillars at the corners are topped with urn-shaped finials.

Watch-House (1828)

Located in the northeast corner of the graveyard, this structure is built of coursed tooled ashlar with raised polished ashlar quoins, a projecting ashlar base course, raised splayed ashlar margins to openings, and a projecting ashlar eaves course to north and south sides. Bargeboarded gables appear on the east and west ends. The three-bay principal west elevation has a dominating rectangular doorway to the centre with rectangular hoodmould, flanked by round-arched windows. Cast-iron grilles protect the doorway and windows. Pairs of small round-arched windows with thin grilles appear on the north, east, and south elevations. Grey slate tiles cover the roof, with capped octagonal gable stacks on east and west ends. The west stack is a dummy; the fireplace is located on the interior east wall.