St Michael's Church, St Michael's Street, Dumfries, Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway

Entry Name: St Michael's Church, St Michael's Street, Dumfries

Listing Name: St Michael's Street, St Michael's Church

Listing Date: 11 July 1961

Category: A

Source: Historic Scotland

Source ID: 362944

Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB26335

Building Class: Cultural

ID on this website: 200362944

Location: Dumfries

County: Dumfries and Galloway

Town: Dumfries

Electoral Ward: Nith

Traditional County: Dumfriesshire

Tagged with: Church building

Description

1740-2 church tower; spire contracted for in 1742 by
Alexander Fleck and Thomas Twaddel and added to previous
church; latter demolished, present church built 1744-6,
contractors Fleck and Twaddel with James Harley. All built of
red sandstone, ashlar dressings and margins.
Tower: square-plan; 4 undiminishing stages with rusticated
openings, simple pinnacles enclose base of facetted tall
(50') stone spire with lucarnes, gilded finial and cock.
Vestibule opened, and present main door probably also formed,
1827.
Church: rectangular-plan, with key-blocked round-headed
windows, piended and platformed leaded and slated roof.
2 tall W-facing lights flank tower; 2 tiers openings to
other elevations, though E wall also has 2 tall windows
flanking pulpit; 4-bay long (N and S) flanks originally
with doors in outer bays; doors nearest tower with 19th
century porches; 1869 vestry at NE enlarged 1881. Eaves
course; cornice.
Interior: divided by 2 large stone arcades into "nave and
aisles"; much altered; re-seated 1869; renovated 1881 and
timber galleries (to 3 walls) renewed; pulpit central on
each wall also probably 1881, though incorporating original
back-board pilasters and bell-cast sounding board.
Organ by Willis of London; stained glass windows; numerous
memorial wall-plaques. 1451 bell re-cast 1818 and again
1839 by Thomas Mears, London.

Statement of Interest

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. The Town Council had

called in William Adam who produced a scheme for a new church,

but a plan "by the Tradesmen of this place..... (produced)

....at a considerable less charge....." was preferred. In

September 1745, lead for the roof was sold for bullets, "to

answer present necessity" ie Prince Charles Edward Stuart's

approaching the town. The original plan had proposed a triple

roof; details such as the spire ornaments were modelled on

the Dumfries New Church; and some of the piends still have

scalloped flashings.

External Links

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