Presbytery, St Augustine's Church , Dundyvan Road, Coatbridge

St Augustine's Church is a Grade B listed building designed by the architectural firm Pugin and Pugin between 1896 and 1906. It comprises a geometric Gothic basilican-plan church, a linked presbytery and sacristy complex, and a separate former school hall, all constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Church

The church is built in bull-faced red sandstone with red sandstone ashlar dressings. A prominent splayed base course runs to the north, complemented by string courses throughout. The design incorporates a polygonal baptistery to the southwest and a buttressed, canted apse to the east. The building features a gallery, a two-storey sacristy, and a presbytery linked to the southeast. A late 20th century garage projection extends from the southwest corner of the sacristy. The main body of the church is topped with pitched roofs of grey slate, terracotta ridge tiles, decorative cast-iron rainwater goods, straight stone skews, and gablet skewputts.

West Elevation (Entrance)

The west elevation displays a later stepped masonry entrance with a wheelchair ramp to the right. Three pointed arched hoodmoulded doorways with timber double-leaf doors feature geometric tracery fanlights. Above these sits a large hoodmoulded four-pointed window with a central niche and sculpture of St Augustine, flanked by two geometric circles and surmounted by a large circle window containing four smaller tracery circles. A dagger light pierces the gablehead, which is topped with a masonry cross finial. Square-plan buttresses flank the central section. Four-centre-arched geometric traceried windows light the flanking aisles, which are terminated by low buttresses.

South Elevation

The south elevation features multiple architectural elements across its bays. An advanced polygonal baptistery to the far left displays five hoodmoulded reticulated windows. A slightly advanced pointed arched porch with moulded and gablet skewputt stands to the right. Five lancet windows pierce the pitched aisle containing confessionals. A recessed bay contains a segmental-arched window. An advanced two-storey, stepped gabled gallery section positioned to the right links to the sacristy at the far right, with hoodmoulded pointed and segmental-arched windows and a doorway to the right return. Paired lancet windows to the far right are separated by a breaking eaves shouldered and gabled buttress.

East Elevation (Dundyvan Road)

The east elevation features a canted angle buttressed apse with a central narrow breaking eaves dormered geometric tracery window. Hoodmoulded pointed windows flank the apse faces, while a hoodmoulded circular window lights the right aisle. The pitched aisle to the left contains a hoodmoulded pointed arched window. A wrought-iron cross finial crowns the apse. The sacristy and presbytery are linked to the far left.

North Elevation (Buchanan Street)

The north elevation comprises seven bays. A low buttressed aisle to the right contains six segmental-arched reticulated windows. A hoodmoulded reticulated window to the far left serves a chapel and is separated from the aisle by paired buttresses. Six four-pointed continuous hoodmoulded windows occupy the clerestory level. Paired lancet windows to the far left are separated by a breaking eaves shouldered and gabled buttress.

Throughout the church, principal windows contain stained glass, while secondary windows feature diamond panes. Boarded timber doors secure the entrances.

Interior

The interior features a timber-framed entrance porch with diamond-paned coloured glass panels supporting a carved and panelled upper gallery. This gallery houses a large timber pipe organ, originally from Kilmarnock Town Hall. A decorative brass screen fronts the baptistery to the south of the entrance porch.

Five-pointed masonry arches with octagonal-plan columns flank the nave. The walls are finished in plaster, while the timber roof is beamed and bracketed with quatrefoil decoration. Original yellow pine pews line the nave.

The chancel is richly appointed. A white and green carved and pierced marble altar rail with elaborate brass and enamel gates frames the sanctuary. Extensive encaustic tiles pave the chancel floor. A green and white marble pulpit features carved figures of the Evangelists set in cusped panels with paired columns. A rectangular marble altar with carved Gothic-style panels stands beneath a large, highly decorative Caen limestone reredos set within the canted apse. The reredos features narrow tracery panels, a central pinnacled and columned tabernacle niche, a canopied niche with a Resurrection scene above, and carved figures of St Augustine and St Ambrose in flanking niches.

A Lady altar in the south aisle comprises carved white marble with pinnacled niches at each end, yellow marble inset panels, green marble columnettes, and later mosaic work to the central panels. A Sacred Heart altar in the north aisle features white marble with yellow marble and red mosaic plate tracery panels and red marble colonnettes. An octagonal white marble baptismal font with small green columns surrounding the base stands near the entrance. Panelled and carved timber confessionals with pierced cresting rails line the sides of the nave.

An Our Lady of Perpetual Succour shrine, dating to circa 1940, comprises opaque glass mosaic and gold leaf adorning the walls of a recess originally intended as a mortuary chapel. Stained glass windows depicting various saints and Christ are located at the east end of the church only.

Presbytery, Sacristy, and Gallery

The presbytery is a two-storey, M-gabled, square-plan structure in Tudor-Gothic style, linked to a two-room ground floor sacristy abutting the church. A first floor gallery opens onto the church to the west, with further presbytery bedroom accommodation to the first floor east. A substantial single-storey late 20th century garage extension projects from the southwest corner.

The presbytery and sacristy are constructed in red sandstone bull-faced coursers with red sandstone ashlar dressings, a base course, cill courses, and a moulded eaves course. Two, three, and four-light transomed and mullioned windows serve the presbytery and sacristy, while hoodmoulded reticulated windows light the gallery. Straight stone skews and gablet skewputts finish the eaves, with stone crucifix finials crowning the gable apex. Coped and shouldered bull-faced masonry stacks with circular clay cans rise from the roof.

The interior features encaustic tiles to the hall and a timber staircase with chamfered balusters and quatrefoil decoration. Original timber panel doors remain in place. The sacristy features timber arched beams and supports. The gallery is open-plan and stepped, with a timber-framed canted roof and a cantilevered carved and panelled timber balcony.

Hall (Former School)

Also designed by Pugin and Pugin in 1896, the former school is a two-storey, nine-bay rectangular-plan structure in Tudor-Gothic style, arranged as 1-7-1 bays. It is built in bull-faced red sandstone coursers with a base course and moulded eaves course.

The principal north elevation is symmetrical. The central section contains seven segmental 12-pane ground floor windows, flanked by full-height piended porch and stair towers (the left tower is stepped). A central breaking eaves gabled dormer with a four-light transomed and mullioned window occupies the first floor, with flanking segmental arched windows. Round arched breaking eaves gambrel dormers light the penultimate bays, with segmental windows to the outer bays. Plain gables finish the east and west elevations. The south (rear) elevation follows a similar arrangement to the north. The building is topped with pitched and piended roofs of graded grey slates, cast-iron roof-lights, and a coped and shouldered bull-faced stack to the east. Timber-framed windows are used throughout. The interior has been altered to provide church hall accommodation.

Boundary Walls, Gatepiers, and Gates

A stepped low coped bull-faced coursed wall with cast-iron railings encloses the east boundary at Dundyvan Road, punctuated by seven octagonal-plan gatepiers and piers with rounded and pointed caps. A coped random rubble wall, later rendered, forms the west boundary.