Tron Kirk, 38 Parnie Street, Glasgow

The Tron Kirk, located at 38 Parnie Street in Glasgow, was designed by James Adam and built between 1793 and 1794 to replace the 16th century City Kirk, of which only the Tron Steeple remains. A Baroque screen wall and gateway were added to the east wall, creating a courtyard, by J J Burnet between 1899 and 1900. In 1981, the church was converted into a theatre by McGurn, Logan and Duncan, resulting in the loss of most of the original interior.

The exterior of the Tron Kirk features a simple, plain, and symmetrical design, with the main elevation facing north. It consists of a 7-bay, 2-storey structure with advanced end and centre bays. The walls are harled, and there are single light windows with painted architraves. The central bay has a three-window bowed section with an architraved doorpiece, dentilled cornice, and fanlight. The end bays also have similar doorpieces. Most windows are single light, primarily with multi-pane fixed glazing. A moulded eaves cornice and piended slate roofs complete the exterior. Below the first-floor window in the centre, there is an inset panel featuring the City Coat of Arms.

The end bays are bowed at the rear and serve as stair towers. The long flanks consist of four bays with margined windows, while the rear elevation includes two large round-arched windows.

Internally, the church was largely altered during its conversion to a theatre around 1981. The original church had a gallery, which has now been transformed into an auditorium that retains the pews. A central Adam saucer dome with notable original plasterwork remains intact, although the ground floor layout has been significantly changed.

The Baroque-style screen walls create a small courtyard in front of the theatre and serve as the main entrance to Chisholm Street, while also concealing an air shaft for an underground railway tunnel. The walls are made of boldly channelled polished ashlar masonry, which has been cleaned. The main gateway to Chisholm Street features elaborate cast-iron gates on the left, with a lugged cavetto and roll-moulded doorway topped by an oversized arch with pronounced voussoirs, dated 1909. The balustraded parapet has end finials, and the left side partially refaces the original wall. The extreme left wall connects to cast-iron railings.