Tain Free Church Of Scotland Church, Queen Street, Tain is a Grade B listed building in the Highland local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 25 March 1971. Church. 1 related planning application.
Tain Free Church Of Scotland Church, Queen Street, Tain
- WRENN ID
- fossil-doorway-rowan
- Grade
- B
- Local Planning Authority
- Highland
- Constituency
- Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP: Jamie Stone (LD)
- Country
- Scotland
- Date first listed
- 25 March 1971
- Type
- Church
- OS grid reference
- NH 779 820
- Coordinates
- 57.81092, -4.05547
- Source
- Historic Environment Scotland listing
Description
The Tain Free Church of Scotland, located on Queen Street in Tain, was designed by Maitland and Sons and built in 1891-1892. This Italianate church features an ashlar stone front with dressed and coursed rubble on the flanks and rear, complemented by polished ashlar dressings. The building is rectangular in shape and has an ornate, pedimented seven-bay north frontage facing Queen Street, highlighted by a tall open campanile at the northeast corner.
The central three bays are flanked by giant fluted pilasters that support an entablature and pediment. The wide central entrance is flanked by Ionic columns that support a segmental pediment, with three pilastered and key-stoned round-arched windows above. The outer balustraded bays contain architraved windows, all linked by a moulded cill course, a moulded string course, and a cornice.
The campanile features a tall, advanced lower stage with channelled angle pilaster strips and a modillioned cornice. The second stage is arcaded and has Corinthian angled pilasters that support an upper arcaded domed drum, which is adorned with paired engaged Corinthian columns and topped with ball and apex finials.
The flanks and rear of the church consist of six bays, with five paired round-headed ground and gallery windows featuring moulded cills. A large bull's-eye window is located on the south gable, flanked by single round-headed lancets.
Inside, the church boasts a rich galleried interior with original fittings. Notable stained glass includes a memorial window to John Fraser by Douglas Hamilton, created around 1965, and two windows by Mary I Wood from 1968.
Local climate
Tain Free Church Of Scotland Church, Queen Street, Tain receives an average of 910 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 69% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 71% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 54 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 94% of listed buildings. Of these, 36 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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