Presbytery, St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow is a Grade A listed building in the South Lanarkshire local planning authority area, Scotland. First listed on 17 February 1992. 4 related planning applications.

Presbytery, St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow

WRENN ID
forgotten-belfry-jet
Grade
A
Local Planning Authority
South Lanarkshire
Constituency
Rutherglen MP: Michael Shanks (Lab)
Country
Scotland
Date first listed
17 February 1992
Address
Presbytery, St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow, G73 2SL
OS grid reference
NS 614 615
Coordinates
55.82759, -4.2138
Source
Historic Environment Scotland listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, located on Main Street in Rutherglen, Glasgow, was designed by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia between 1934 and 1940, with sculpture work by Archibald Dawson, later followed by Mortimer, Wilson and Graham. This basilican-plan church is constructed of red brick with some contrasting ashlar dressings. The narthex features a stark, massive street facade that rises in a pylon-like manner, showcasing five tall arcaded bays at the ground level and triple entrance bays adorned with stone detailing, including bas reliefs over the doors depicting St Columba and his tutors. Sculptured figures of Christ and the evangelists are placed in niches above. The church has complex flank elevations, with side aisles connecting taller elements and very slender, tall transepts that are canted at Kirkwood Street, featuring a door alongside. The design exhibits Italian Romanesque influences, with openings that are mostly round-arched and slated roofs.

Inside, the church has a flat timber ceiling supported by massive laminated timber beams over lightweight corbels. The arcades are all round-arched and lack capitals, leading to narrow passage aisles that open into the nave and an apsidal chancel. The arches to the side chapels resemble an ambulatory, with chapel barrel vaults painted in contrasting styles. The Sacred Heart chapel was designed by Walker Pritchard, while the Lady Chapel was created by William Crosbie. Statues within the church were crafted by Coia, and the Sanctuary Lamp and organ are from a previous church, created by R Baird of Airdrie in 1853. The Stations of the Cross were made by Miss MacGeechan, and there is a baldacchino. The church is set behind a brick boundary wall.

The presbytery, which faces Kirkwood Street, is two storeys high with a piend roof that is also slated and constructed of red brick. It features small-paned windows, with larger ones having timber mullions and transoms. The entrance bay is tall and projects off-centre, showcasing stone carvings by Jack Mortimer that commemorate the history of the Roman church in the area, along with a large panel depicting the Good Shepherd. The presbytery also has a prominent eaves cornice.

Local climate

Presbytery, St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,220 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 81% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 53 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 94% of listed buildings. Of these, 28 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.2°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 4 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. St Columbkille's Roman Catholic Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade A 49 m
  2. Mercat Cross, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade C 100 m
  3. 147 -149 Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade C 103 m
  4. 141 -143 Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade C 105 m
  5. Town Hall, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade A 119 m
  6. Post Office, 159 Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade B 122 m
  7. Rutherglen Tower And Fragments Of Old Church, Rutherglen Old Parish Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade A 146 m
  8. Lych Gate, St Mary's Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade B 148 m
  9. Dr Gorman's Statue, Old Parish Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade B 162 m
  10. Rutherglen Old Parish Church, Main Street, Rutherglen, Glasgow Grade B 166 m