Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church, colloquially known as the Baptist Cathedral of Europe, stands at the west end of the High Street in
Paisley,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It has been a dominant feature of the Paisley skyline for over 100 years with its striking
crown steeple
A crown steeple, or crown spire, is a traditional form of church steeple in which curved stone flying buttresses form the open shape of a rounded crown. Crown spires first appeared in the Late Gothic church architecture in England and Scotland dur ...
rising to above the ground. The church is a
category A listed building
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
* Categories (Peirce)
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.
Thomas Coats
Thomas Coats
Thomas Coats (1809–1883) was a Scottish thread manufacturer.
Life
Coats was born at Paisley 18 October 1809. He was the fourth of a family of ten sons. His father, James Coats, was one of the founders of the Coats Group of Paisley. In ...
(1809-1883) co-founder of the world-famous J.&P Coats company was a
philanthropist and devout member of the
Baptist Church. He was committed to the well-being of his town, involved in the restoration of
Paisley Abbey, and in funding projects such as the construction of the
Coats Observatory
Coats Observatory is Scotland's oldest public observatory. It is currently closed for refurbishment as part of a 4-year long £42m transformation of the observatory and museum buildings. Located in Oakshaw Street West, Paisley, Renfrewshire, the ...
and
Paisley Fountain Gardens. After his death in 1883 his close family funded the construction of a Baptist church in his memory.
History
A competition was held in 1885 for the design of the church with the selection of six pre-qualified architects. Construction commenced in late 1885 and was completed by May 1894.
Hippolyte Jean Blanc was successful in securing his design.
In light of a dwindling congregation and significant ongoing maintenance costs, the final church service took place in August 2018. A campaign was launched to raise the necessary funds to renovate and re-purpose the building as an arts and culture venue.
Architecture
The church is built in the
Gothic Revival style in red sandstone, cruciform in shape with
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es along the nave and transepts. The central tower rises to an open
crown steeple
A crown steeple, or crown spire, is a traditional form of church steeple in which curved stone flying buttresses form the open shape of a rounded crown. Crown spires first appeared in the Late Gothic church architecture in England and Scotland dur ...
. At the front a set of stairs lead to four doorways, occupied by oak doors. There is seating inside for almost 1,000 people under the vaulted ceiling. Other features include mosaics, stencilled decoration, gargoyles, carved marble and alabaster. Above the chancel is a vaulted ceiling decorated with paintings of angels. On either side of the chancel the organ with some 3,040 pipes can be seen. Built by
William Hill & Sons
William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century.
The founder
William Hill was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot, on 30 October 1818 i ...
, the organ is one of only a few of its kind in Britain which has not been modified.
Current Use
The building is managed by the Coats Memorial Preservation Trust, and hosts weddings, proms and graduations, and corporate events. It is used as a location for television and film. Most recently, the former church and its grounds were used for scenes from Season 5 of the historical drama
Outlander.
See also
*
Baptist Union of Scotland
The Baptist Union of Scotland is a Baptist Christian denomination in Scotland. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Glasgow.
History
From the 1650s to 1869
Baptists first arrived in Scotland with the armies o ...
*
List of Category A listed buildings in Renfrewshire
This is a list of Category A listed buildings in the Renfrewshire council area in west-central Scotland.
In Scotland, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of "special architectural o ...
*
List of listed buildings in Paisley, Renfrewshire
This is a list of listed buildings in the parish of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a ...
References
*
{{Authority control
Baptist churches in Scotland
1894 establishments in Scotland
Churches in Paisley, Renfrewshire
Listed churches in Scotland
Category A listed buildings in Renfrewshire
Churches completed in 1894