St John Cantius And St Nicholas R C Church, West Main Street, Broxburn

Church 1881, spire, 1890, Thornton Shiells and Thomson, Edinburgh, architects. Early English, nave and aisles, with semi-octagonal chancel. Snecked rubble with ashlar dressings. Base course and plinth course. Aisles have gablet roofs, 3 to individual bays slightly extended. Spire in liturgical SW corner, 3 stage with buttresses, lancets at ground, first and second, lat-named louvred. Belfry stage octagonal, with engaged pillars at corners of tower terminating in plain finials. Top of spire octagonal, with lucarnes, and iron finial. Liturgical W front treated as entrance, with slightly projecting porch, vertically timbered door with ornamental iron hinges. Gablet above, with cross finial. Flanking lancets with hoodmoulds linked to string course. West window central 2-light with cinquefoil inhead, flanked by lancets, with linking hoodmoulds. Vesica window in apex of gable, which has cast-iron cross finial. Spirelet with lighter iron cross on NW buttress. Paired lancets in W front of aisle. INTERIOR Arcades cast-iron, slender, with ornate stiff-leaf capitals. Arch ribs with coffered panels between. In aisles beams supported on columns and corbelled brackets. Apse ribbed, springing from corbels, spandresl compartmented, with trefoil recesses. Original high altar replaced by modern reredos, original pulpit removed. Side altars with nihes to right and left of chancel with arched recesses, single compartment on left, tripartite on right. Plain confessionals in extended bays of aisles flanking chancel, baptistry in extended bay to left of porch. Rear gallery. SACRISTY linked to body of church, part steeply gabled with paired lancets, part shallow-pitch roof with 3 light decorated window latter probably added. Roofs slated, with lucarnes in roof of nave. SHRINE Later - late 19th century, in memory of Henry, 12th earl of Buchan, died 1857. To E of church, small roughly square building in decorated gothic. Base course and plinth course. S ELEVATION Arched doorway with red granite nook shafts, moulded head and hoodmould. Blind ogee-arched niche at gable head with nook shafts and hoodmould. Angel with sword as finial. Door wooden 2-leaf with wrought iron grilles and hinges. E AND W ELEVATIONS Gableted, with 2 light window, vesica head, hood mould, flanking stepped buttresses with gablet head.