Gorebridge Parish Church, Hunterfield Road, Gorebridge

Gorebridge Parish Church, Hunterfield Road, Gorebridge

A cruciform Gothic church built in 1837–1838 and substantially altered by Hardy and Wright in 1884–1885. The church is constructed of tooled and snecked sandstone on its front and south-west transept elevations, with sandstone rubble used elsewhere. It features an octagonal spire and slate roof with decorative clay ridge tiles.

The south-west front elevation presents the principal façade, with a central gable wall rising from a base course and string course running the full width. Three central ground-floor lancet windows are arranged below a large tracery window with hoodmould and floriate label stops; a small lancet ventilation slit pierces the gable apex. To the right stands a stair tower with an arched moulded doorway flanked by buttresses, its hoodmould finished with decorative stops. The recessed door retains its original decorative iron hinges; replacement stone steps with new treads lead to it. Above is a lancet window with a narrow niche in the apex. To the far left, the steeple is accessed through a moulded pointed-arched doorway with hoodmould and carved leaf label stops; the recessed two-leaf door also features decorative iron hinges, with replacement steps and handrails. Clasping buttresses flank this entrance. A trefoil lancet window sits above the steeple door, with blocked rectangular openings in each steeple face and moulded lancets with timber louvres in the bell tower stages. A weathervane surmounts the steeple.

The north-west elevation features two tracery windows in the transept and two in the nave, with two buttresses to the nave and a truncated tracery window to the far right. A small modern addition to the steeple and a modern church hall extend from the north-west transept (not part of the statutory listing). The north-east elevation shows a gable largely obscured by the church hall, with an air vent in its apex and a rose window below. The south-east elevation displays two tracery windows in the transept gable and two in the nave elevation, with two buttresses to the nave, a truncated tracery window to the far left, and a single window below. A lancet window lights the stair tower, below which stands a stone wall memorial to local surgeon John Symington.

Throughout, windows are set within chamfered surrounds. Stone coping crowns the gables; skewputts are present on all but the north-east gable. The central south-west gable features a kneelered gable with stone finial, and the stair tower gable is topped with a stone cross finial. A north-east gable apex stack rises through the slate roof.

The interior is finished with dado timber panelling below white-painted walls. Single arched timber doors to left and right in the south-west wall open into a vestibule, above which a panelled gallery is supported on two cast-iron columns. The nave contains three sets of timber pews accessed by a stone spiral staircase in the stair tower. A boarded pine floor and carpet run through the nave with a central aisle and timber pews to either side; two steps lead to the altar. The north-east wall holds the altar, behind which a timber reredos is set in a recessed arch with hoodmould and label stops. To the right of the altar stands a marble wall monument with Celtic design commemorating David Wilkie Wilson, a former minister. Original church pews line the transepts, each with a panelled gallery above supported on timber staircases and pews. Curved moulding with stone corbels runs above each gallery. The open timber roof construction features scissor bracing and collar beams with angle struts, all supported on stone corbels.

A church hall has been added to the rear, constructed of rubble sandstone with tooled surrounds to openings and quoins. Its north-west elevation contains a single window. The north-east elevation has three windows with eight fixed lights and a single window to the far left. The south-east elevation features a catslide addition to the south-east gable with a modern door and flanking windows. The hall is roofed in piended slate with lead ridges and a raised central air vent. The interior is finished with timber dado panelling.

The boundary wall, dating to circa 1959, is built of sandstone rubble with chamfered stone coping to the front and rounded coping stones elsewhere. Cast-iron entrance gates access the church from the south-west, with steps leading to the building; further cast-iron gates provide access from the south-east.