Hearse House, St Mungo's Church, High Street, Penicuik

Hearse House, St Mungo's Church, High Street, Penicuik

St Mungo's Church is a single-storey classical Georgian building of square plan, probably designed by Sir James Clerk and dated 1771. It was enlarged at the rear and side elevations in 1837 and 1880. The building is constructed of droved sandstone ashlar with squared and snecked rubble to the rear. It features a Doric portico at its principal elevation, round-arched windows, base course, and eaves course.

The south-west (principal) elevation is a near-symmetrical six-bay facade with an advanced three-bay Doric tetrastyle portico at the centre. The portico contains a recessed two-leaf, six-panel timber door, formerly used as the entrance, centred at ground level with the date '1771' inscribed above. The door is flanked by part-infilled round-arched windows, glazed above door height. A clock was added to the pediment in 1840 and is surmounted by urn and flame finials at the sides, with a crucifix at the apex. Large round-arched windows occupy the outer left and right bays. A recessed entrance wing to the right comprises a doorpiece with raised margins and corniced lintel incorporating a tooled panel with a Latin inscription. A modern two-leaf, four-panel timber door with glazed upper panels stands to the left of centre at ground level, with a round-arched window to the right of centre at first floor level.

The north-west elevation is four bays and features windows in two bays to the left at ground and gallery floor levels. An advanced two-bay wing to the left contains a two-leaf, four-panel timber door with a two-pane rectangular fanlight to the outer left at ground level, with '1800' inscribed in the lintel. A window sits to the left of centre above. A vertically-boarded timber door with glazed panels is centred at ground level at the re-entrant angle to the right.

The north-east (rear) elevation is three bays with regular fenestration at ground level. A tall round-arched window breaks the eaves in a gabletted dormerhead centred at gallery floor level, flanked by bipartite segmental-arched windows.

The south-east elevation is four bays, stepped back from the entrance porch, comprising a two-bay advanced wing to the left with windows in the bays at ground level. A window stands to the right at gallery floor level, with further windows at gallery floor to the right of centre and at the outer right.

The interior was refurnished in 1880. A three-sided panelled gallery on slender columns runs around the interior, including family enclosures with panelled timber gates. Vertically-boarded timber panelling forms the dado at ground and gallery levels. Simple timber pews are arranged throughout. A panelled timber pulpit, altar, font and lectern are present; the pulpit is centred at the south-west wall with a decorative organ behind, including a painted panel reading 'To the glory of God and in memory of the Fallen'. The altar features a cusped arch with trefoil and foliate decoration. Variety of stained glass windows date to the 1960s. Timber sash and case windows are fitted to the rear and south-east elevations.

The roof is piended grey slate, platformed on top, with lead ridges. An iron ventilator sits on the ridge behind the pediment. Cast-iron rainwater goods are employed. Rendered and lined wallhead stacks and a stack breaking the pitch are corniced, with circular cans.

The Hearse House is a single-storey structure of random rubble construction, positioned to the north-east of the church and dated 1800. It features coped skews. The south-west elevation comprises two-leaf vertically-boarded timber vehicular doors surmounted by a cement lintel, with a tooled datestone reading '1800' centred in the gable. The side and rear elevations are predominantly blank, with an infilled narrow opening to the right of centre in the gable of the rear. A grey slate roof with lead ridge covers the structure.

The churchyard incorporates remnants of St Kentigern's Church and the Clerks of Penicuik Mausoleum (listed separately) and contains a variety of gravestones.

The boundary walls are of semicircular coped rubble and saddleback coped ashlar. Tooled ashlar gatepiers with base courses, cyma recta cornices and ashlar caps support cast-iron gates with spear-headed finials. Bee-boles are listed with 39 High Street, Glebe House (see separate listing).

Iron gates with spear-headed finials are topped by ashlar copes surmounted by iron railings with decorative finials. A wrought-iron decorative gate centred to the principal elevation incorporates the initials 'MJD' and the date '1952'.