St John's Church And Churchyard, Mid Yell, Yell, North Isles, Shetland Islands

Entry Name: St John's Church And Churchyard, Mid Yell, Yell

Listing Name: Mid Yell, St John's (Mid Yell) Kirk (Church of Scotland), Including Church Hall and Churchyard Wall

Listing Date: 18 October 1977

Category: C

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 352736

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB18646

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200352736

Location: Yell

County: Shetland Islands

Electoral Ward: North Isles

Parish: Yell

Traditional County: Shetland

Tagged with: Churchyard Church building

Description

1832, with alterations of circa 1890. T-plan galleried and gabled symmetrical kirk with entrance door in gable of N jamb and entrance porches to E and W gables; church enclosed by square churchyard with 2 x 1-bay church hall (of 1893) at NE corner. Harled walls with droved ashlar margins.

CHURCH: N ELEVATION: symmetrical, gabled N jamb advanced at centre, stone steps rising to 6-panel 2-leaf timber entrance door centred at ground with 2-pane metal fixed-light in gablehead above; 4-pane metal fixed-light in sides of jamb and N elevation of S range.

W GABLE: 3-pane metal fixed-light and vertically-boarded timber door to W and S sides of gabled porch centring principal gable; 12-pane timber sash and case window centred in gablehead above.

S ELEVATION: symmetrical, tapering harled buttress at centre flanked by segmental-arched stained glass windows with timber tracery.

E GABLE: mirrored image of W gable.

Purple-grey slate roof with droved sandstone ashlar skew-copes; bell-cote to N gable comprising harled square plinth to corniced, droved ashlar, bird-cage bellcote.

INTERIOR: vertically-boarded timber wainscoting to ground floor, panelled and crenellated vestibule screen to N jamb; horizontally-boarded pews raked and facing to pulpit (grained as mahogany) centring S wall; raised platform enclosed by balustrade with stop-chamfered and urn-finialled stanchions, vertically-boarded timber base to panelled and canted pulpit accessed by timber stair to W, fluted pilasters flanking round-arched panel to sounding board rising to corniced octagonal canopy with ball-finialled ogee dome. Panelled fronts (grained as mahogany) to galleries in E and W jambs, supported on reeded timber columns and accessed by timber stairs in SE and SW corners. Organ to E of pulpit by R Donaldson of Glasgow. Timber traceried windows flanking pulpit with leaded and coloured glazing. Coombed timber-boarded ceiling with circular ventilators. 4-panel doors centring end walls of each aisle.

CHURCH HALL: symmetrical, entrance to N gable comprising gabled porch with round-arched 3-pane fixed-light in gable, and 4-panel flush-beaded timber door in S wall; matching windows flanking in principal gable. Modern single storey addition to W elevation. Blank S gable. 4-pane sash and case window and 4-pane fixed-light in left and right bays respectively of E wall.

Purple-grey slate principal roof, asbestos tiles to porch, with rendered skew-copes; ball finial to N gable, harled gablehead stack with octagonal can to S gable.

CHURCHYARD WALL: drystone wall with rubble cope enclosing churchyard and adjoining church hall at NE corner.

Statement of Interest

In ecclesiastical use. This church was finely fitted out in a remodelling that was probably of the early 1890s, the unusual mix of pine and mahogany graining probably resulting from this work. The 20th century metal windows are out of character with the early 19th century exterior. An undated photograph shows a view prior to building of the church hall, with the church sporting timber sash and case windows and no porches to the E and W gables.

External Links

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