Former Innerleven East Church, Den Walk, Methil (Excluding Later Hall Addition To Rear)

Heritage listing

Category B Date Added 19/03/2015 Local Authority Fife Planning Authority Fife Burgh Buckhaven And Methil NGR NO 37195 00256 Coordinates 337195, 700256 — Robertson and Gordon Architects, 1939-41. Transitional (former) church with wedge-plan, helm-roofed tower and angular roof, located on triangular site between Methilhaven Road and the north end of Den Walk, Methil. Rendered rubble. Later, flat-roofed hall, dated 1963, and adjoining square-plan outshot to the rear are not considered of special interest at the time of listing. Projecting chancel to centre of symmetrical west elevation, flanked by flat-roofed transepts of bull-faced ashlar. Recessed porches where transepts meet chancel. 2-stage tower to north elevation with polygonal helm-roof and slated cap. Droved, polychromatic ashlar surrounding tower porch entrance. Multi-pane leaded metal windows. Slate roofs. — The former Innerleven East Church (1939-41) is a distinctive example of a transitional, proto-modern church of the inter-war period in Scotland and one of the first commissions by the renowned Scottish architect, Alexander Esmé Gordon. The building has an unusual plan-form and stream-lined, angular design referencing European expressionist styles of architecture. It demonstrates a clear move away from historic-revivalist church architecture of the period toward a more progressive or modern design ideology and may be seen as an early manifesto building for 20th century church design, reflecting many of the ideas that would later be captured in Gordon's influential book 'The Principles of Church Building', published in 1963. Church building programmes in Scotland began to decline after 1900 and more markedly after the First World War and the re-unification of the Church of Scotland with the United Free Church i

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.