Laurieknowe Squash and Racketball Club (former Maxwelltown Chapel), School Lane, Dumfries, Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway

Description

Built in 1843, the former Maxwelltown Chapel is a largely rectangular-plan church designed in the Early English Gothic style. The chapel is built of coursed red rubble sandstone with ashlar dressings and features a square-plan tower at the centre of the symmetrical south elevation. Set back from Laurieknowe, a principal road through Dumfries, the former church forms a group with the former manse and gatepiers. The building is currently in use as a sports centre.

The principal (south) elevation is three-bays with ashlar stonework and a central, three-stage tower which has a crenelated parapet and clasp buttresses topped by pinnacles. The tower features an arched central doorway with an ogee hoodmould (missing finial), a hood-moulded lancet window at the second stage and single Y-traceried windows to the upper stage. The tower is flanked by tall hood-moulded lancet windows and three-stage clasp buttresses with pinnacles, now missing their finials.

The east and west elevations are four-bays, with tall lancet windows interspaced by pinnacle buttresses. The gabled north elevation has a pinnacle apex and two tall lancet windows flanking a single-storey, rectangular-plan porch with a pitched roof and an octagonal stack at the apex.

There is a single-storey, L-plan, addition to the northwest of the church which may be the new vestry recorded as being added in 1939. There are single-storey, later-20th century additions to the northeast corner and east elevation. The 1939 vestry addition to the west and the later 20th century additions to the north and east are all excluded from the listing.

The former church has a pitched, slated roof with a small stack on the east of the north gable. The west elevation features replacement plate glass windows. The majority of openings on the other elevations have been blocked or covered up.

The interior of the former church was converted for use as a leisure centre in the late 20th century and no features of the 19th century decorative scheme are apparent. There are squash courts on the ground floor and a studio on the first floor with a suspended ceiling. Some earlier fabric may survive behind the modern finishes but this was not evident on site.

To the south of the church towards Laurieknowe there is an associated manse dating to the later 19th century and a pair of octagonal gatepiers which may date to the earlier 19th century. The manse and gatepiers are listed separately (LB26264).

Statement of Interest

The former Maxweltown Chapel continues to meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

The former Maxwelltown chapel is a good representative example of an early to mid-19th century church designed in the Early English Gothic style.

Although altered, the building retains its simple form and design qualities, including the distinctive architectural features of the central tower and pinnacled buttresses.

The building forms a group with the associated 19th century former manse and gatepiers which contribute to the historic setting of the building.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 the following are excluded from the listing: the later single-storey additions to the west, north and east.

Historical development

The building appears on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1850) with a rectangular-plan footprint and porch extension at the north. The church is labelled 'Maxwelltown Chapel' and is shown set back from Laurieknowe Place to the southeast, where there is stepped entry from the road flanked by gatepiers. The Ordnance Survey name book describes the Chapel as a 'handsome gothic' red sandstone church built in 1843 near to the previous church of 1829 which burnt down in 1842. The 'total destruction' of the previous Maxwelltown Chapel by fire is also reported in the Caledonian Mercury on 3rd October 1842.

The former Maxwelltown Chapel is incorrectly recorded as a former Free Church in the listed building record of 1981 and in The Buildings of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway (Gifford, 1996: p. 243). A Free Church was built nearby to the southeast on Laurieknowe Place in the same year,1843, which may have led to this incorrect attribution. The remains of this former Free Church is now in use as a garage.

Both The Buildings of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway, and Dumfries and Galloway: An Illustrated Architectural Guide (Hume, 2000: p. 26), list the architect of the former church on School Lane as 'John Thomson'. No evidence has been found at present to verify this attribution and the architect of the church does not appear listed on The Dictionary of Scottish Architects.

On the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of Dumfries (surveyed 1893, published 1894) the church is shown with the same rectangular footprint, with the existing rectangular-plan porch at the north. A Manse (LB26264) at what is now 18 Laurieknowe is now shown in front of church to the southeast.

A single-storey, L-plan ashlar addition at the northwest corner fronting School Lane is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1965. This addition was not visible on the Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1929, published 1931) and may be the new vestry addition noted in the Dumfries and Galloway Standard in October 1939.

The church appears to have remained in ecclesiastical use until around 1980 when it became a leisure centre. As part of the renovation works to convert the church to a leisure centre around 1980 further additions were made to the church including a small, single-storey lean-to at the north and a single-storey, rectangular-plan, brick-built addition to the east. At this time a small, single-storey, flat-roofed toilet block was also added to the north of the L-plan addition (former vestry) at the west.The building is currently in use as a Squash and Racketball Club.

Architectural interest

Design

The design of the former Maxwelltown Chapel is in the Early English Gothic style. This Gothic Revival style became popular in Scotland around 1840 following a new interest in medieval architecture, which particularly influenced church building. Plainer early Gothic styles suited Protestant taste as they were generally less decorative than the styles used for Episcopal and Catholic churches. The tall narrow lancet windows on the former Maxwelltown Chapel are typical of this plainer, Early English Gothic style.

The simple Gothic style of the church, its form and materials also reflect the architecture of a number of churches built for the Established Church in the Dumfries region in the earlier 19th century. The use of red sandstone, rectangular-plan foortprint and central, three-stage towers can be seen in listed churches of the 1820s and 1830s by Dumfries architects Walter Newall and James Thomson. As well as reflecting regional traditions, the design of the former Maxwelltown Free Church may also have been influenced by the design of the original church on the site from 1829 which was burnt down in 1842.

The rectangular-plan footprint of the church as shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1850) has been altered with the addition of extensions to the north, east and west. These single-storey additions are however relatively small and the mid-19th century rectangular-plan form can still be seen. The rectangular-plan foot print is typical of churches of this period built for the established church.

The interior of the church was altered in the later 20th century when the church was converted to a leisure centre and no features of the 19th century decorative scheme appear to remain. There is a lowered ceiling above the first-floor studio of the church. It is not known whether any mid-19th century features survive above this.

Although the former chapel has been altered with the addition of extensions, the conversion of the interior and the filling-in or replacement of window openings the former church retains its simple, Early English Gothic form. The principal features of the central, three-stage tower, the clasped buttresses with pinnacles and long lancet windows remain and the mid-19th century character of the church is still apparent, particularly when viewed from Laurieknowe to the south.

Setting

The former Maxwelltown Chapel is located on School Lane set back from Laurieknow, one of the principal roads through Dumfries. With its large three-stage tower facing south, towards this road, the principal elevation is a prominent feature in views from Lauireknowe.

The church forms a group with the former manse (the house built for the minister of the former Maxwelltown Chapel) and gatepiers fronting Laurieknowe which are listed separately as 18, 18A Laurieknowe and Gatepiers (LB26264). The gatepiers appear on the Ordnance Survey (surveyed 1850, published 1852) Town plan of Dumfries flanking the entrance to the former chapel grounds and align with its central tower. The gatepiers may date from the previous church of 1829 or the current church in 1842. The manse appears on the Ordnance Survey Town Plan of Dumfries (surveyed 1893, published 1894) and dates from the later 19th century. The survival of this group of structures helps us to understand the function of the chapel in the 19th and much of the 20th century.

The setting of the former chapel has been altered to the north with the expansion of Laurieknowe including the construction of a school from the later 19th century. The immediate setting of the former chapel is however well retained, particularly when viewed from Laurieknowe, and this adds interest to the building in listing terms.

Historic interest

Age and rarity

Thousands of places of worship from early medieval times onwards exist in varying levels of survival across Scotland. Places of worship from the mid-19th century are not old in terms of the building types and they are not rare because this period was a prolific time for church building.

During the Disruption of 1843 a number of ministers moved away from the Established Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. Following this the Established Church commenced a programme of church building to rival the Free Church, increasing its number of parishes between 1843 and 1909 by over half. As a result, the mid to late 19th century marked a significant period of church building in Scotland.

The majority of surviving churches in Scotland date from this period after the mid-19th century, as urban populations continued to increase and competing church factions pursued ambitious building programmes. Therefore, while the former Maxwelltown Chapel is one of a substantial number of surviving 19th century parish churches, it has some increased interest as it predates the boom period of church building in the later 19th century.

When considering such a prolific building type, architectural design, and authenticity or closeness to the original fabric, are important considerations. The former Maxwelltown Chapel is a good example of a church built in the Early English Gothic style, that retains its distinctive architectural features and mid-19th century character.

Social historical interest

The former Maxwelltown Chapel has some social historical interest as a former place of worship which would have played a key function in the community of Laurieknowe in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

Statutory address, category of listing changed from B to C and listed building record revised in 2020. Previously listed as 'Laurieknowe, YMCA, Y2 Centre (former Maxwelltown Free Church)'.

External Links

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