Old Parish Church, Montgomery Street, East Kilbride

The Old Parish Church in East Kilbride was originally built in 1776 by James Pollock and subsequently altered by Robert Pollock in 1818, who added a tower. William Pomphrey added a porch to the south elevation in 1862, and a vestry and war memorial were added in 1921. The church is a square-plan building with a piend roof, and features a four-stage tower crowned with a spire. The main fabric of the church and the first stage of the tower are constructed from coursed rubble, while the upper three stages of the tower are finished in ashlar. A band course runs at each stage of the tower. Raised margins highlight the round-arched doors and windows, which are finished with keystones and blocks at the springing point of the arch.

The east elevation is dominated by a central projecting steeple with a round-arched entrance door and a timber plaque displaying the date and architect above. An oculus sits above the door, and pointed arched windows are located at the second stage. Blind pointed arched windows are set into the returns of the second stage, while smaller pointed arched windows appear at the third stage. A clock is visible on all four faces of the fourth stage, flanked by mock-torelles, a half-crenellated cornice, and culminating in a crown spire and weather vane. A further door is located to the left, with a single window above. To the right is a single-storey, lean-to war memorial with a projecting centre containing a rectangular window with tracery. A segmental pediment, topped with a cross, surmounts the window and lists the names of those lost during World War I. Cusped lancet windows with hoodmoulds are set into the right return, with a fleur-de-lys and the date 1921 positioned between them, accompanied by a single window above.

The south elevation features a central, single-storey, crenellated porch with a tripartite window on the south face and a door on the right return. Above are a rectangular plaque, a blind square window, and an oculus. Large round-arched windows flank the central porch on either side, with single windows in the end bays at ground floor level and square-proportioned single windows above at the first floor.

The north elevation presents a round-arched door in the centre at ground level, with blocked openings in the outer bays, and three square-proportioned single windows above. The west elevation reveals round-arched windows in the centre at ground level, originally a door; single windows flank the arches, with three square-proportioned single windows above, and a modern door is set to the left.

The steeple has astragal glazing, while the church windows are small-paned, incorporating some stained glass. The roof is slate-covered, including a fleche.

Inside, wooden steps lead to each stage of the tower. The 19th-century clock, retaining its original green cast-iron frame and ‘gold’ cogs, is still operational, and an 1881 bell resides within the spire. The roof is supported by four full and two half-timber trusses, with access through a small opening in the upper gallery. The church interior is plain with wooden pews and a pentagonal gallery supported by slender cast-iron colonettes. Simple communion furniture is present, along with stained glass windows on the south front and a modern organ.