Parish Church, High Street, Peebles

The parish church, located on High Street in Peebles, was built in the early Gothic style between 1885 and 1887 by William Young. The chancel was reconstructed in 1937 by J.D. Cairns. The substantial church features crowstepped gables and a southeast tower with a crown spire, accessed by a wide flight of steps. It is constructed from cream sandstone, with squared and snecked stugged rubble and ashlar dressings. A base course is present, and the building incorporates pointed-arched openings with hoodmolds and label stops, crowstepped gables, and a string course above the ground floor.

The four-stage tower has battered angle buttresses. It includes a moulded doorway on the east side with a boarded door and decorative iron hinges. The second stage features a lancet window and a coat-of-arms (previously from an earlier 18th century church) on the south face, with a bipartite window carrying a vesica-shaped opening. Rows of four lancets are above the sides. The third stage exhibits a clock face on each side, and the fourth stage has two tall, louvred lancets on each side. The open crown spire features a trefoiled parapet, crocketed finials, and a weathervane.

The east elevation of the nave is gabled, with a projecting gabled doorway at the center, featuring a deeply chamfered roll-moulded arch. Flanking windows are present, with a large five-light window with elaborate tracery above, and a cross finial to the gable. The tower is situated to the left. To the right is a slightly projecting gabled bay with a doorway similar to the tower, and a three-light window with a traceried head above.

The south aisle elevation has four bays and is divided by battered buttresses. The outer bays feature three or four lancets and three-light windows above. The center bays are gabled with tall three-light transom windows. The north aisle elevation likewise has four bays, incorporating quadripartite lancets in the outer bays, bipartite lancets in the center bays, and three-light windows above. The easternmost bay shows the return of a projecting gable to the east front. The west gable features a projecting chancel and a rose window in the gablehead.

The windows have square-pane leaded lights. The roof is green slate with red ridge tiles, incorporating a moulded eaves gutter and gutterheads.

The interior is notable for an imposing four-bay ashlar nave, supported by round piers on tall octagonal bases. The westernmost bays are partially obscured by a U-shaped gallery with trefoil-headed panelling to the balustrade. The chancel was reconstructed in ashlar in 1937 by J.D. Cairns, and retains some earlier furnishings, including a pulpit by P. MacGregor Chalmers (1913) and a white marble font gifted in 1898. A comprehensive stained-glass scheme, executed by Daniel Cottier of London, is present in the east window (1887), the south and north galleries (1893), aisle windows, and the rose window (1899). The church organ was originally built by Auguste Gern (gifted by the Thorburn family), and was later moved into a new chamber in 1937 where it was rebuilt by Henry Willis, with further alterations in 1988. A brass eagle lecturn, gifted in 1897, is also present. A modern entrance screen by Miller and Black Architects (1963), gifted by Madge and Eleanor Ramsay-Smith, incorporates original cast-iron columns encased in stone.