St John the Evangelist's Church, Greenock

St John the Evangelist’s Church stands on Union Street in Greenock, Inverclyde. It is an active Anglican church in the Scottish Episcopal Church and is listed at Category B by Historic Environment Scotland. The present building replaced an earlier church from 1824 after the congregation decided a larger structure was needed. The competition for a new design proved unsatisfactory, so the perpetual curate, Revd Julius Lloyd, invited the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin to take on the project. This church is the only one in Scotland designed by that practice. Construction began in 1877 and the church was consecrated on 28 November 1878. The church is built in Gothic Revival style with a four-bay nave, clerestory, chancel and chapel. A massive square tower rises at the southeast corner, topped by a slate-covered pyramidal roof. The nave is lit by three- and four-light windows along its sides. Inside, the arcades rest on alternating octagonal and circular piers. H. O. Tarbolton designed the richly carved rood screen, which is adorned with many animals and birds. The font copies a 15th-century example from Suffolk, and the pipe organ was originally a house organ belonging to Mr Robb of Glasgow in the 1850s. The church’s choral tradition is supported by a vestry designed by the successors to Paley and Austin. The tower once had four lucarnes, though these are no longer present. The organ was substantially rebuilt in 1914 by the same Glasgow firm, J. and A. Mirrlees. The interior also features stalls added in 1890 by Paley, Austin and Paley. The building remains an active place of worship and a notable example of Gothic Revival architecture in the region.