Buccleuch Church, Old Edinburgh Road, Dalkeith

Buccleuch Church is an early English gothic church designed by William Burn in 1840, situated on Old Edinburgh Road in Dalkeith. The building follows a cruciform plan with a chancel to the east, transepts to the north and south, and a steeple to the west.

The exterior is constructed in polished ashlar with a moulded, coped base and cill course. A string course runs across the building, stepping over window openings which are topped with hoodmoulds. Another string course sits below the parapet. The buttresses are coped and gabletted, set off at angles with angle buttresses and pinnacles to all corners, though many pinnacles are now missing. Windows are lancet-shaped with moulded and hoodmoulded surrounds, chamfered cills, and nook-shafts to some surrounds. Panelled two-leaf doors provide entrance. The roof is covered in grey slates with moulded gablet-coped skews and features original rainwater heads.

The steeple stands advanced at the centre of the west elevation as a three-stage tower with angle buttresses to the second stage, rising to a height of 167 feet with a spire. A curved stairwell with two slits deep-set in the north-west re-entrant angle leads to a pointed-arched doorway with a roll-moulded and deeply-moulded surround featuring Corinthian nook-shafts. The doorway is recessed in a panel with roll-moulded and cavetto surround, decorated with cusped, cross and quatrefoil detailing. Blank shield motifs appear in a frieze above. Small lancets open to the north and south at ground level. The second stage features geometric traceried windows, two-light and quatrefoil, on the north, west and south elevations. The third stage belfry has louvred three-light lancets on each face with clocks recessed in moulded surrounds above. A moulded gargoyled course surmounts the stage, with pinnacles at each corner of the parapet (two to the east are missing). The broached stone spire features three bands of lucarnes, diminishing in size and positioned on alternate faces.

The nave has windows flanking the advanced steeple on the west elevation, with windows along the four-bay north and south elevations separated by buttresses. The transepts adjoin to the east.

The north and south transepts are advanced from the penultimate bays of the six-bay north and south elevations. Each has steps leading to a depressed-arched doorway, deeply moulded with nook-shafts and flanked by buttresses surmounted by griffins. Above is a stepped three-light window with nook-shafts and a quatrefoiled oculus in the gablehead. Windows appear to the west returns and two further windows with dividing buttresses to the east returns.

The organ chancel advances to the east with three round-arched windows at basement level. A stepped three-light window with nook-shafts appears above with a quatrefoiled oculus in the gablehead. A depressed-arched door to the basement of the north return and a window at the centre flank the chancel, while the south return features steps to a moulded depressed-arched doorway with nook-shafts and windows above.

The interior features painted plaster walls with boarded dadoes. A timber combed panelled roof with pendants extends throughout. The organ chancel and pulpit occupy the east end, with a screen to the west. An original Jacobean strapworked pulpit with sounding-board and steps from both sides stands prominently. A later strapworked organ case on either side of the pulpit fills the chancel behind. The organ was built by James J Binns of the Bramley Organ Works in Leeds in 1906. Doors flank the screen, with the vestry entered from the left door. A timber communion table, lectern dated 1925, and font complete the liturgical furnishings.

The transepts feature timber corniced doorcases and moulded and nook-shafted surrounds to windows on the north and south walls. A Jacobean veneered screen with three strapwork-detailed doors spans the west end. A pointed-arched doorway with a nook-shafted blank panel above sits within a full-height moulded and pointed-arched panel.

The vestibule beneath the tower is rib-vaulted with Corinthian colonnettes to a moulded doorway into the nave. An ornate hanging lantern shade hangs above. A turnpike staircase sits to the left. The bell-ringing chamber at the first stage is rib-vaulted with moulded reveals to windows.

Stained glass includes a window by Nathaniel Bryson from 1920 in the right window of the north transept and a window by William Wilson from 1962 in the left window of the south transept. The remaining windows feature geometric glazing with coloured glass margins, and coloured glass also appears in the vestibule lancets.

The boundary walls are constructed as coped rubble walls.