General view of Trinity Church and Church Hall, 26 Castle Street, Rothesay, Bute, from NE

Description General view of Trinity Church and Church Hall, 26 Castle Street, Rothesay, Bute, from NE

Date 6/3/2012

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number DP 135288

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Rothesay grew up around the 13th-century circular Castle, becoming a royal burgh in 1400/1. The town expanded north along the High Street until two major phases of land reclamation in the 18th and 19th century. This shifted the main axis of the town along the shoreline, with the creation of Montague Street (mid- to late 18th century) and Victoria Street (1839-40). Subsequent development of the town took place along the shoreline, particularly as the town’s popularity as a tourist destination grew during the 19th century. The town centre has developed in a fairly ad hoc manner, as with so many historic towns. This has continued into the 21st century with redevelopment of historic buildings such as the Court House and other smaller infill. Located on Castle Street at the bottom of the Serpentine Road, Trinity Church was built in 1843-5 to designs by architect Archibald Simpson. This narrow-fronted church is plain in design with a tall, three-staged, angle-buttressed spire over the front entrance with crocketted pinnacles at the second stage, and a decorative wrought-iron finial. The church is reached by a short flight of steps flanked by a low stone boundary wall topped by cast-iron railings, and lamp standards on top of the gate piers. The interior contains many original features including cast-iron balustraded staircase and open hammerbeam roof. The architect Archibald Simpson (1790-1847) is better known for working in the city of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Trinity Church was one of the first churches to be built for the newly formed Free Church, established in May 1843 when 474 ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland. The adjacent double-height, single-storeyed church hall (far right) was built c.1949.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1297475

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap