United Free Church, Main Street, Swinton

Heritage listing

Category C Group Category Details 100000020 - see notes Date Added 25/09/1998 Local Authority Scottish Borders Planning Authority Scottish Borders Parish Swinton NGR NT 83536 47477 Coordinates 383536, 647477 — Begun 1859; opened 1860; converted for use as church hall from 1932; village hall later 20th century. Well-detailed gothic style former Free church comprising rectangular-plan, 5-bay nave; square plan tower to S (incomplete spire); gabled porch set behind; single storey vestry at rear. Squared and snecked tooled cream sandstone; sandstone ashlar dressings. Stepped out at base to front; raised base course in part to sides; moulded cill course; sandstone eaves course. Ashlar quoins; long and short surrounds to chamfered openings (trefoil-headed and pointed-arched); sandstone mullions to bipartites; chamfered cills. Out-of-character, flat-roofed toilet block adjoined to front. SE (MAIN STREET) ELEVATION: projecting nave with 7 regularly spaced, trefoil-headed windows beneath central traceried window (bricked-up); moulded mask-stops to pointed-arched hoodmould; blocked trefoil opening centred in apex; cruciform finial. 4-stage tower recessed to left with narrow opening centred at 2nd stage; flanking chamfered angles with surmounting gablets; clock face at 3rd stage; pointed-arched window at 4th stage beneath finialed gable; incomplete spire. SW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: square-plan tower to outer right as above. Projecting gabled porch in subsequent bay to left with steps to pointed-arched entrance at centre; 2-leaf boarded timber door; 2-pane opaque fanlight; moulded mask-stops to hoodmould; surmounting cruciform finial. Bipartite windows in remaining 3 bays recessed to left. Single storey vestry to outer left with steps to boarded timber door in bay to right; bipartite,

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.