St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church

353 Kilmarnock Road Newlands G43 2DS

Peter MacGregor Chalmers, 1911

Category B Listed

This church has a magnificent interior with a soaring roof, double apses with mosaic designs, beautifully carved wood and some very special stained glass windows. Also there are some fascinating tapestry kneelers and other embroidered church fabrics.

Built in 1908, this iconic building, situated at the corner of Newlands Road, was designed by Peter MacGregor Chalmers. It has a magnificent interior with a soaring roof, double apses with mosaic designs, beautifully carved wood and some very special stained glass windows.

Three of the stained glass windows, made by William Morris & Co (Westminster) and installed in 1923 and 1926, were dedicated to the memory of teachers and scholars of the Sunday school who died in the Great War. Other windows depict the Beatitudes and a further group tell the story of St Margaret of Scotland, patron saint of the church. Three modern windows were designed by John Clark and installed in 2001/02.

The church has some beautifully worked tapestry kneelers and cushions, made by members of the congregation, and other embroidered church fabrics also crafted by a member of the congregation.

There is some fine carving on the pillars and high altar complemented by the carving on the oak furniture in the choir and by the organ pipes. This carving has a Celtic theme.

The western apse depicts a dove hovering over the baptistery and the mosaic floor there was laid to mark the churchs Golden Jubilee in 1958. The floor commemorates the children of the first two generations of the congregation at St Margarets, showing some of their activities and organisations. The font, an angel holding a scallop shell, in a fine replica of the one in Trondhjem Cathedral.

In 2014, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the pipe organ was refurbished by David Wells Organ Builders and is now used very regularly for organ concerts as well as Sunday worship. As part of this programme a Heritage Project was also completed and this fascinating exhibition is now on show in the church.

Hosting a Lids Open Day: Saturday 11am 3.30pm only. Find out more by clicking here.

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