Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

SHANDWICK PLACE ST. GEORGES WEST CHURCH, (CHURCH OF SCOTLAND)LB27367

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
A
Date Added
14/12/1970
Supplementary Information Updated
22/07/2009
Local Authority
Edinburgh
Planning Authority
Edinburgh
Burgh
Edinburgh
NGR
NT 24504 73585
Coordinates
324504, 673585

Description

David Bryce, 1867-9; Sir Robert Rowland Anderson 1879-61. Broad-plan Roman Baroque church with later Venetian tower on prominent corner site. Ashlar with narrow vermiculated bands to tower base. Deep smooth ashlar base course and moulded cill course. Giant Order Corinthian columns to NW, SW and SE corners. Paired Doric columns flanking main entrance with divided segmental pediment above, 4-stage tower with octagonal belfry. Large keystones to windows; Gibbs surrounds to windows at W. Deep eaves with dentilled, consoled cornice. Ashlar parapets, balustraded to S. Gibbsian classical interior.

S (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: square-plan tower incorporated into SW corner, advanced to left, corniced window at ground, tall round headed window at 1st floor. Plinths supporting wrought iron urns flanking central pedimented doorway, 4 round-headed arcade windows above; Giant Order on advanced plinths. Corniced tripartite window at ground floor, round headed 1st floor windows.

W (STAFFORD STREET) ELEVATION: 7 bays arranged 1-4-1-1. Advanced outer bays with Giant Order Corinthian columns on ashlar plinths. Further bay to right (SW) incorporating tower base. Square headed Gibbsian 1st floor windows. Door to right flanked by paired pilasters, segemental pediment above. Round-headed Gibbsian windows at 2nd floor. Raised single storey stone porch to left re-entrant angle abutting apse (N).

N (QUEENSFERRY STREET LANE) ELEVATION: advanced apse, architraved and keystoned circular window, rose pattern glazing.

TOWER: 4-stage tower springing from corner bays of S and W elevations. Corniced and pedimented 2-storey 1st stage with clock face to S and W. Keystone to centre with carved detail of face. Pilastered 2nd stage with foliate entablature and dentilled cornice to top. Open 3rd stage with balustrade to base. Foliate entablature and dentilled cornice with balustrade above, urns to corners. Octagonal belfry with round arched openings; cornice to pyramidal copper roof.

Predominantly large 8 pane timber in sash and case windows. Delicate cast-iron urns to entrance and cast-iron lamp with large glass bowl to W elevation. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

INTERIOR: Gibbsian classical interior detailed in wood and iron. Entrance hall to front (now containing café, as of 2008) split level, with stairwells to left and right topped by large cupolas; later lift in stairwell to left. Paired columns to right and left marking original rear wall of hall, screen of Corinthian columns with timber and glass partition beyond giving access to large barrel vaulted hall to rear. 2-storey with U-plan gallery at 1st floor level. Central coffered barrel vault with further barrel vaults abutting to sides. Vaults supported by consoled brackets to side and slim fluted Corinthian columns to gallery with ivy leaf decoration; similar plainer columns directly beneath taking load to ground. Apse to N end with Composite Order; semi-dome with large splayed coffers arranged around circular rose window. Triangular open pediment above. Later organ casings to left and right at gallery level. Full-height round-arched windows to sides. Timber pews with scrolled arms to both ends arranged in U-plan mirroring that of gallery above. Carved timber font in front of entrance to hall. Timber communion table to centre with freestanding lectern behind on small raised platform. Further stepped platforms to apse; large timber organ console with elaborate scroll work and sunken panels to centre.

Statement of Special Interest

St George's West church is a significant church building with well articulated Baroque details and a large tower which dominates the surrounding streetscape and forms a significant part of the skyline. It was originally known as Free St.George's Church.

The church was designed by David Bryce and was built according to his design to the level of the clock. The original Bryce parts of the church are an excellent example of his confidence with Roman Baroque detailing, and the interior is a fine example of the way the classical language can be articulated in wood and iron. The original design of a three stage open tower with giant order Corithian columns was not built. Robert Rowand Anderson completed the design only 10 years later (1879-81) with a Venetian design based on the spire of San Giorgio Maggiore, one of Palladio's most recognisable spire designs. Anderson's near contemporary contribution to St. George's West was in harmony with Bryce's design. Using San Giorgio as the model would indicate Anderson's wish to complement in date and design Bryce's Baroque interior.

The first major addition was the organ in 1897 filling the two windows to either side of the apse. In 1930 the organ was rebuilt and a hall built out over a neighbouring building to the east, the entrance to which was through to final window of the gallery on the east side. The hall is now no longer owned by the church. The entrance was changed in 1976 with the rear wall of the hall removed and replaced with a glass sliding screen further forward and the side stairwells were walled in. There have been several alterations to the lay out of the pews, which no longer conform to the original plan of straight rows running all the way to the back wall on the ground floor.

(Category changed from B to A and list description revised 2009 as part of re-survey)

References

Bibliography

Ordnance Survey, Large Scale Town Plan, (1893-94); J Gifford, C McWilliam, D M Walker, The Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh (1988) p. 363; Youngson, The Companion Guide to Edinburgh and the Borders, (2001); West End Community Trust, Edinburgh's West End, A Short History (1984); V Fiddes, A Rowan, Mr david Bryce, 1803-76, (1976 Exhibition), p 54; http://www.stgeorgeswest.com/ (Accessed 22/2/08).

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

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Printed: 29/03/2024 07:32