John Street United Presbyterian Church, 27 Cochrane Street, Glasgow

John Street United Presbyterian Church, located at 27 Cochrane Street in Glasgow, was designed by architect J T Rochead in 1859. This former church, built in the Palazzo style Italianate, has been converted into a bar on the ground floor, while the first floor remains derelict as of 1988, with much of the interior fittings removed.

The building stands three stories tall with a basement, featuring 11 bays facing John Street and 7 bays on Cochrane Street. It is constructed of polished ashlar stone that has been cleaned, with bold rustication at the ground level. The end bays on each facade are slightly advanced, showcasing round-arched doorways framed in a Gibbsian surround, complete with central consoles that support bracket keystones. The ground floor features elaborate panelled doors, and all openings have moulded recessed reveals, with windows fitted with plate glass.

The first floor, which was formerly a galleried church, is double-height. The end bays are flanked by pilasters and solid masonry, which include elaborately architraved blind niches. The inner bays feature an Ionic colonnade with full-height windows that are directly glazed between the columns, creating the appearance of engaged columns rising from a glass wall. The leaded glazing includes some acid-etched glass.

Additional decorative elements include a frieze over the doors and a cornice above the ground floor. The columns support an entablature and a mutule cornice, while a deep panelled parapet with intermediate die piers conceals some chimneys and features single octagonal cans. The original piended slate roofs included octagonal ventilators.

The eastern flank of the building is made of harled rubble and retains 5 of the original 9 colonnaded windows, while others have been blocked by an adjoining building that has since been demolished.

Inside, the original interior has been replaced by an inserted ground floor. The upper floor has been partially gutted, with steel beams added for a proposed additional floor, which connects to massive columns with ornate Ionic capitals. The windows on the east and west sides are divided by columns, with the west side partly blocked, and the north side features a 5-bay arrangement. The decorative stained and painted glass includes a round-arch design. The large open room previously had curved angles and a coomb ceiling, of which some remnants remain as of 1987, along with partial survival of exquisite plasterwork featuring an oval centerpiece and a trabeated border.