View from East

Description View from East

Date 12/10/2000

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

Catalogue Number D 79208 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 713623

Scope and Content St Paul's Roman Catholic Church from the east, Warout Road, Glenrothes, Fife St Paul's Church was built 1956-7 to designs by the architectural firm of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia. Jack Coia (1898-1981) was assisted at this time by the architects Isi Metzstein (b.1928) and Andrew McMillan (b.1928). Using a limited budget of £20,000, the church was built of painted brick with a wall of stained glass and wood. The site also includes a presbytery (priest's house). This shows the blank, windowless walls at the rear of the building. The walls are of white-painted brickwork and appear as sculptural forms contrasting with the trees and landscaping around them. The off-centre cross adds an interesting detail to the tiled roof, and clearly identifies the building as a place of worship. The austerity of this eastern side of the building contrasts sharply with the colourful gazed façade on the other side. The inner walls of the church, bathed in the light from the stained glass, are splayed out from the altar to symbolically represent the gospel spreading out across the world. This building has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/594034