Roman Catholic Church Of Our Lady And St Finnan, Glenfinnan

Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Finnan, Glenfinnan

Designed by Edward Welby Pugin and built in 1873-4, this is a symmetrical five-bay nave and aisle Gothic church with a lower chancel, single-storey square-plan porch, and tower base to the east. The building is prominently sited on a hillside overlooking Loch Shiel.

The exterior is constructed of squared, coursed and roughly tooled granite with ashlar sandstone dressings. The unfinished tower has squared and snecked sandstone at its second stage. Architectural details include a chamfered base course, ashlar cill course, ashlar band course at clearstorey level, corbelled eaves course, and elaborate cross apex finials to the gables. Large geometric-traceried rose windows punctuate the elevations. Pointed-arch openings throughout feature predominantly chamfered cills and hoodmoulding, some with label-stops. Buttresses reinforce the aisles and are angled to the chancel and tower.

On the north elevation, a statue of St Michael and the serpent sits within an elaborately carved niche below a moulded string course with stops. A lancet window appears at the apex. A double-gabled sacristy to the left has a timber boarded door, and traceried rose windows light the flanking gables of the chapel and sacristy, each crowned with apex finials.

The east elevation displays traceried aisle windows and cusped lancet clearstorey windows. The porch and tower base occupy the right side, featuring a two-leaf vertically boarded timber entrance door within a moulded pointed arch surround. Blind trefoil carvings appear above the entrance and below a moulded string course. The sacristy sits in the re-entrant angle between porch and chancel, lit by a geometric traceried window.

The south elevation centres on two-leaf timber entrance doors with elaborate cast-iron door furniture, set within a pointed arched opening with hoodmoulding and carved floral label-stops. A large geometric-traceried window rises above the entrance, featuring moulded and banded ashlar cill course, hoodmoulding and label-stops, with a lancet at the apex. Traceried lancet windows light the lean-to aisle gables.

The west elevation mirrors the east elevation except for the absence of the porch.

The roof is steeply pitched slate with ashlar coped skews and carved gablet skewputts; ridge brattishing adorns the chancel. The tower base has a pyramidal lead-sheeted roof. Original cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative gutters and some decorative hoppers survive.

Interior glazing includes some original work and later stained glass to the rose windows. The aisle is separated from the nave by polished granite shafted columns with carved foliate sandstone capitals supporting a moulded pointed arch arcade. Original plaster relief Stations of the Cross are positioned between the aisle windows, although those in the sacristy have been removed. Walls are rendered and painted with a moulded string course below the clearstorey. Moulded corbels support pointed arched scissors roof trusses with small iron Jacobite roses at the springing points. A tall Gothic chancel arch features engaged slender sandstone cluster columns with carved foliate capitals.

A timber gallery over the entrance has a plain balustrade and is accessed by a narrow spiral staircase with timber boarded balustrade. An octagonal font with a low cluster column and quatrefoil decoration to the holder is accompanied by a carved pyramidal crocketted timber font. Original timber pews remain in place. An elaborately carved original altar has been moved to the Lady Chapel. A modern timber altar from a local church now occupies the chancel, with a simple panelled reredos dating to circa 1975. A wrought iron screen to the sacristy dates to circa 1975. The porch contains a two-leaf timber and glazed door, and a timber boarded door separates the porch from the sacristy, featuring a small square opening, possibly for confession.

A low timber belfry added circa 1980 to the east features a clay pantiled pitched roof and houses a large cast-iron bell with inscription.