Cottiers is a theatre located in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It also operates as a bar and restaurant. Cottiers occupies the building of the 19th-century former Dowanhill Parish Church.

Early years of the church

The church building was built to serve as the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of the Dowanhill United Presbyterian Church. It was designed in the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style by

William Leiper William Leiper Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (1839–1916) was a Scotland, Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh.

, and was built between 1865 and 1866. The foundation stone was laid on 4 August 1865 and the building was opened on 11 November 1866. The congregation became part of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

in 1929, and the church was renamed Dowanhill Parish Church.

Works of art

The building includes a collection of notable frescoes and stained glass windows by

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838 – 1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. ...

. The building was renamed Cottiers in honour of

after the church was converted into a theatre.

Closure, conversion and present use

The church served as a

of the

until 1984, when the Dowanhill congregation united with the East Partick congregation forming East Partick and Dowanhill Parish Church. That same year, the church building was bought by the Four Acres Charitable Trust which converted the building into a theatre, an arts centre with a bar and restaurant. The building was restored during numerous phases starting from the 1980s and going as far as 2012."Restoration"
''Cottiers''. Retrieved on 16 August 2020.

References

{{Scottish Theatres 1865 establishments in Scotland 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Former churches in Scotland Listed theatres in Scotland Music venues in Glasgow Restaurants in Glasgow Theatres in Glasgow