St Mary The Virgin Episcopal Church

A Scottish Episcopalian church, built in 1982-84 to designs by Frank Burnet, Bell and Partners. It includes an adjoining, asymmetrical interlinked arrangement of church hall, offices and rectory, of pale orange brick construction, forming a Z-plan. The building is located on a rocky outcrop in a residential area of Port Glasgow.

The church hall and offices adjoin to the north of the church. The rectory adjoins the complex to the northwest and is set around a recessed courtyard area.

The church has a distinctive A-frame roof structure, rising to a gabled peak to the east elevation. There is an apsidal sanctuary projection with a lean-to roof light at the east end and a smaller, lower baptistry projects from the west end. The former bronze-coloured, standing seam roofing panels were replaced by a grey membrane covering in 2021. The rectory retains its bronze roof panelling (2024).

The interior of the church and church halls (seen 2019) have dark stained woodwork, including a steam moulded and glued, laminated timber frame roof structure which appears as the massive hull of an upturned boat. A glazed waffle-grid screen separates the northside chapel. There are exposed, reconstituted stone block walls and dark timber parquet floors. The vestibule has a timber-panelled ceiling and louvred windows.

There are some features salvaged from the earlier church of St Mary The Virgin (located near Newark Castle). These include a carved altar, carved font, a stone dated 1856, an eagle lectern and carved timber pews. Stained-glass windows from the earlier church are set within later 20th century surrounds. The names of those killed in the two World Wars appear on the front of the choir stalls. The small side chapel (Epiphany Chapel) to the north has stained glass representing the Three Kings and an icon of the Virgin and Child.

There are plain brick gatepiers and a brick boundary wall with stone coping at the south entrance to the church from Bardrainney Avenue.

Historical development

The church opened in 1984. It replaced an earlier Episcopal Church of St Mary the Virgin, with parsonage and schoolhouse (built 1856-7 and located near Newark Castle), which was demolished in 1977 as part of the A8 dual-carriageway development scheme.

Strathclyde Regional Council met the cost of the new church, which was designed by Frank Burnett, Bell and Partners in 1982 (The Scotsman, 1982). A condition was placed that the stained-glass windows and some of the dedicated furniture and fittings from the old church should be incorporated into the new building.

The metal roof covering in bronzed finish was replaced with a grey plastic membrane covering in 2021. The roof light above the altar was also replaced at this time.

The church complex is otherwise little altered and continues to operate as a place of worship (2024).