St John's Kirk, Balta Sound, Unst

St John's Kirk, located in Balta Sound, Unst, dates back to 1827 but was significantly reduced and rebuilt in 1959. It is a three-bay, one-storey hall church constructed with harl-pointed rubble and harled walls. The building features some droved sandstone dressings and concrete dressings, including margins, a doorpiece, and a belfry. The base course and margined openings are present on the south elevation, with projecting cills for the windows.

On the south (principal) elevation, there is a gable on the left with a tall round-arched window at the center. To the right, an entrance door is set in a square three-stage tower, which has a round-arched surround with a keystone. This entrance features a two-leaf panelled timber door and a radial fanlight above, with an oculus centered above that. The upper stage of the tower includes a concrete arcaded open-work belfry.

The east elevation consists of four bays, with the outer left bay obscured by the advanced tower. This elevation has a round-arched window at the ground level, with upper stages that match the south elevation. The bays to the right include tall round-arched windows.

The north gable features a tall round-arched window at the center, while the east elevation has a single tall round-arched window to the right of center. The left side of this elevation is obscured by a church hall addition.

The principal windows have 22-pane timber fixed-lights, and the north window includes stained glass. The roof is covered with modern concrete tiles.

Inside, the church has two-leaf panelled timber inner entrance doors with glazed uppers. The nave features timber fittings, including vertically-boarded wainscoting, horizontally-boarded pews, and a modern polygonal timber pulpit.

The church hall is a T-plan structure made of harl-pointed rubble, with a two-bay elevation to the west and blank gables to the north and south. It is linked to the church by a cement-rendered and lined addition.

Boundary walls and gatepiers include a small rubble-walled enclosure to the east of the church, marking the extent of the original church. The east wall has an advanced section at the center with an infilled lower portion of a former entrance door. There is also a rough rubble wall along the road, topped with stone urns on square concrete gatepiers.