Trinity Church


(Trinity Free Church)

Trinity Church, Irvine
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Trinity Church, Irvine

A disused church occupying a prominent site on Bridgegate, next to the Rivergate Shopping Centre, in the centre of Irvine (North Ayrshire). This fine building is by Frederick T. Pilkington (1832-98), a master of Victorian High Gothic, and dates from 1861-63. Originally constructed for the Free Church of Scotland, it features sandstone in contrasting colours (white, red and brown), steep roofs and an exceptionally tall octagonal steeple which reaches 51.8m / 170 feet and forms a notable landmark. The style is Venetian-inspired Romantic Gothic, a fashion promoted by critic John Ruskin (1819 - 1900) in his book The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849). Details include tall lancet windows, columnar transoms in red sandstone, numerous finials and a fine rose window which has recently been restored. The building fell from use as a church in 1966 was subsequently used as a community centre. It was bought by Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust in 1996 to ensure its future and was seen as an important element in the regeneration of Irvine town centre. Between 2009 and 2014, a partnership of the Irvine Bay Regeneration Company, with North Ayrshire Council and Trinity Church Trust has seen the church fully restored.

The building has similarities to Pilkington's Barclay Viewforth Church in Edinburgh and was Category A-listed in 1971.


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