St Columba

The present church, formerly known as the ‘Square Pres’, was built in 1857 by celebrated local architect John Dobson. It has a two storey central block, built of ashlar sandstone under a slate roof in the Palladian style.

Above the arcaded first floor is a dentilled cornice and balustrade parapet, and there are sandstone chimneys at both ends. The central door is raised up three steps and recessed under a canopy. The brick wings, looking very domestic in comparison with the central block, were built slightly later. The east wing, rebuilt in 1926, comprises the church halls, whilst the west wing was converted into apartments in the early 21st century. Railings facing the Square were reinstated in the late 20th century.

The church was sensitively reordered in 2007, when pews were replaced with upholstered chairs in the ground floor area, and access throughout the buildings was greatly improved.

Light filled and quite spacious, the interior has galleries on three sides, standing on iron columns. Their original wooden pews are still in place in the galleries.

Decorative organ pipes (installed in 1884) dominate the front of the worship area. Behind them are the speakers for a three manual digital organ installed in 2015.

There are six stained glass windows, four of which were transferred from the former ‘Scotch Church’ in Howard Street in 1949. The other two, slightly later, are by northeast designer Leonard Evetts.

There are war memorials and memorial windows within the church.
Some of the church furniture is by Robert Thompson of Kilburn, featuring his trademark mice.