Coats Memorial Church, High Street, Paisley

Coats Memorial Church, designed by architect H J Blanc in 1894, is a Grade A listed building located on High Street in Paisley. This cruciform church features a central tower, a nave, and aisles, all raised on an undercroft. It showcases 1st and 2nd pointed Gothic architectural styles, constructed from snecked rubble with ashlar dressing. The south front is approached by a broad flight of steps, with gabled entrances to the undercroft on either side.

The church has three gabled porches with recessed entrances, nook shafts, and cusped bands around the doors, paired at the center with a carved tympanum. Large five-light traceried windows are present, along with a triple lancet above in the south gable, which is flanked by octagonal turrets. The nave consists of five bays, while the transepts have two bays, each featuring four-light traceried windows in the clerestory, separated by flying buttresses. The transept gables mirror the south front with five-light windows, three lancets below, and small flanking turrets. Various vestries and offices are symmetrically arranged around the chancel, with three lancets at the north end. The church is topped with a slate roof.

The three-stage central tower supports an open crown, with the first stage being blind. The second stage is buttressed to the east and west, featuring groups of three lancets, while the third stage has two two-light belfry openings on each face, complemented by angle pinnacles.

Inside, the nave is supported by clustered piers that hold pointed arches and a clerestory. The wooden coupled roofs of the nave and transepts are stencilled, while the crossing and chancel are stone-vaulted with painted panels. The interior features intricate carvings on capitals and spandrels. Notable furnishings include high-relief alabaster panels beneath the north window, a marble pulpit with alabaster reliefs designed by Blanc in 1906, and a deep marble font located behind the Communion Table. There is also a brass and pewter lectern and all original light fittings. The ancillary rooms around the ambulatory have stencilled walls and elaborate oak fireplaces, while the undercroft halls have been modernised.