Portland Church, St Meddans Street, Troon

Portland Church, St Meddans Street, Troon

Portland Church was designed by Thomas Lunan and Henry Edward Clifford and built in 1914. It is a near-symmetrical Perpendicular Gothic church with single storey halls attached at the rear.

The exterior is constructed of squared and snecked bull-faced cream sandstone with polished sandstone dressings. A raised base course runs along the front, with moulded eaves and a polished parapet to the nave. The building features polished quoins and polished long and short surrounds to chamfered openings, with sandstone mullions throughout. Pointed-arched windows have moulded reveals and sandstone tracery with trefoil-headed and rose detailing. Chamfered cills are present on all windows, and deeply recessed doors feature moulded reveals. Buttresses project at intervals. The roof is tiled with raised skews, and decorative cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted.

On the north-west elevation facing the street, a large 5-light perpendicular traceried window is centred in the gable, with flanking angle buttresses beneath boldly gabletted finials. A small louvred bipartite opening is aligned beneath the apex with a cruciform finial above. Two porches occupy the ground level: the outer left comprises a 2-leaf timber panelled door in a pointed-arch surround to the right, with a depressed-arched glazing row set in a square-headed tripartite opening in a bay to the left, angle buttress, and crenellated parapet. The outer right porch features a 2-leaf timber panelled door in a pointed-arch surround, angle buttress, and crenellated parapet.

The south-west elevation has a 4-bay nave with two 3-light pointed-arch traceried windows breaking the eaves course and flanking a central buttress. A gabled bay advanced to the outer left contains a depressed-arched glazing row set in a square-headed tripartite opening with buttressed angles. A gabled bay advanced to the right (forming the taller south transept) contains a 3-light pointed-arch traceried window with a small louvred bipartite opening centred beneath the apex and buttressed angles. A 2-leaf timber panelled door in a pointed-arch surround serves as a side entrance in the penultimate bay, with a depressed-arched bipartite window in the bay to the outer right.

The adjoining rear halls are arranged in a U-plan with segmental-arched openings and overhanging bracketed eaves. These halls comprise two depressed-arched tripartite windows flanking a central buttress, a 5-light depressed-arched glazing row in a segmental-arched recess centred in a projecting wing to the outer left (with swept, skewed gable), and a 4-light square-headed glazing row in a segmental-arched recess centred in a projecting wing to the outer right (with skewed gable).

Glazing throughout is predominantly small-pane leaded work, with a stained glass window to the south depicting a World War I memorial of the Ascension, probably a Glasgow work.

The interior walls are of squared and snecked sandstone ashlar. The nave is arcaded, with a large chancel arch. Narrow side passage-aisles are arcaded, and the ceiling comprises boarded timber hammerbeams. Transepts and aisles are vaulted. The interior features boarded timber dado panelling and timber pews throughout. Timber chancel furnishings are present, with decorative carving to a blind timber balustrade enclosing the north gallery, decorated with regularly spaced stencil panels. A 2-leaf part-glazed timber panelled door is centred beneath the gallery, flanked by small-pane glazing rows enclosing a vestibule. A polygonal stone pulpit stands to the east of the chancel arch with an organ set within. A polygonal font is positioned to the west.

The site is enclosed by a stepped, low coped rubble boundary wall with taller coped piers flanking the north-west and south-west entrances. Cast-iron gates are set into these piers.