A plain 1843 Free Church gained a picturesque sandstone porch, clock tower and minister’s library fifty years later.
Quick facts
- Date
- 1843; porch, tower and library added 1893
- Architect / designer
- Original designer unknown; 1893 work gifted by Mr Wood Brown
- Type
- Former Free Church with clock tower
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB13349)
- OS grid reference
- NT 64780 43130
Architecture and continuing use
The long whinstone church has sandstone dressings and crowstepped gables. Its later porch projects beneath a corbelled circular belfry with four clock faces, an arcade, pepperpot roof and dated stone, creating the most elaborate part of the composition.
Its story
The congregation formed during the Disruption of 1843. In 1892 Mr Wood Brown offered a porch, tower, belfry and library, and the work was dated 1893. Original fittings had been removed and ecclesiastical use had ended by the time of the 1992 survey.
Why it is included
Category B listing recognises a prominent former church whose contrasting campaigns express both the rapid establishment of Free Church worship and later benefaction.
What to notice
- The change from dark whinstone to pink and cream sandstone.
- Four clock faces above the corner porch.
- Crowsteps and fleur-de-lys finials along the roofline.
Reading the surroundings
View from public space and respect adjoining homes. The interior is not assumed accessible and the tower should not be approached beyond any private boundary.
Timeline
- 1843 A new Free Church congregation and building emerged during the Disruption.
- 1892 Wood Brown offered an ambitious group of additions.
- 1893 The porch, library and clock tower were completed.
- 1992 A survey recorded that worship had ceased and fittings were gone.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
No reliable current interior use was located; the record therefore treats the building only as a former church.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Old East End Church, LB13349 — Current designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: LB13349 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
Location
OS grid reference NT 64780 43130 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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