United Free Church, Morebattle

The United Free Church at Morebattle dates to 1866, designed by Thomas Pilkington, and has undergone substantial alterations and a change of use. It is a single-storey, four-bay aisled church, now significantly altered with the removal of interior fittings. The church is constructed of squared and coursed whinstone with stugged, droved, and polished ashlar dressings; the south elevation features whinstone rubble with sandstone ashlar dressings. Flush ashlar quoins are present.

The northeast elevation is arranged in two bays grouped centrally, with gables and paired windows at ground level. A bay to the inner right has an ogival, Moorish-arched window, with an intermediate lozenge-shaped panel above containing floriate carving. A string course sweeps over this panel, terminating in a fleur-de-lys at the upper point. A decorative foliate design adorns the cornice between the central two bays. The bay to the inner right formerly mirrored this design, but is now altered with an opening at ground level featuring an iron joist-lintel and concrete blinding of arch-heads, with a panel remaining in place. A circular panel featuring floriate carving sits between the two bays. The gablehead has a rose window with four trefoil lights, accentuated by carved, gentian-like and foliate radiating mullions. Outer buttresses are present to the central bays, chamfered above ground with foliate corbelling below the skew ends. The aisle to the outer left is set back slightly with paired lancet windows of a similar design. The bay to the outer right is also slightly set back and features a two-leaf boarded door set within a shoulder-arched doorpiece, flanked by short foliate-capitaled columns on pedestals, supporting an ogee-arched gable doorpiece. A chamfered corner incorporates rolled foliate corbelling below eaves-height.

The northwest elevation, only partially visible, displays a gabled bay with a bipartite window and a quatrefoil window to the gablehead. A gabled bellcote tops the apex, featuring a large ashlar fleur-de-lys finial.

The southwest (rear) elevation is gabled, with a single-storey platform and a piended addition to the centre, containing a bipartite window directly beneath the rose window in the gablehead. Another window is positioned to the outer right of the addition. A shoulder-arched boarded door is located on the return (east) elevation.

The church has clear, diamond-paned leaded lights and a slate roof. Ashlar sawtooth coped skews are present, along with an ashlar fleur-de-lys finial on the gablehead of the central two-bay group of the main elevation. An ashlar coped apex stack is located on the south elevation.

Internally, the church features a scissor-trussed roof with a high ceiling. Cast-iron columns support the roof, and coloured glass is incorporated into each rose window. An engine-pit has been dug into the floor in recent years.