St Ninian’s Episcopal Church, Troon

            By James Archibald Morris, foundation stone laid 1912; nave completed 1913; chancel, organ chamber and vestry begun 1920-21; church hall completed 1927 (John Rutherford Johnstone, architect). Rectangular-plan Arts and Crafts Gothic style Episcopal church comprising nave and chancel under single roof ridge (chancel walls higher than nave); gabled porch projecting to NE; rectangular plan hall adjoined to SW forming L-plan. Squared and snecked bull-faced red Mauchline sandstone; polished sandstone dressings; half-timbered gablehead to porch. No base course; overhanging eaves; buttressed angles; polished quoins; polished long and short surrounds to openings. Chamfered surrounds to windows (predominantly square-headed); pointed-arch chancel windows; chamfered cills; block stops to architraved hoodmoulds. Pitched, Gothic timber lych gate to front; sandstone plinth; carved bargeboards. Square-headed sexpartite window centred in nave gable; blind oculus aligned beneath apex (missing finial). 

Ecclesiastical building in use as such. A good example of the work of James Archibald Morris (1857 - 1942), an Ayrshire based architect with a keen interest in conservation and preservation. Having joined the Art Workers Guild in London, Morris went on to play a key role in the foundation of the Scottish Society of Art Workers, closely based on its English counterpart. The society's aim was to encourage mutual study and co-operation between workers in different media. As president, Morris was associated with artists and architects such as Phoebe Traquair, Robert Lorimer and John Keppie. At the turn of the century, Hermann Muthesius described Morris as "...a good architect who works in simple modern-looking forms, while yet maintaining his own personal style." 

St Ninian’s Church is a good example of this. For here, simplicity of form is combined with intricate detailing to create an appealing, Arts and Crafts-inspired whole. Inside, the carving is particularly noteworthy. Born in North Yorkshire in 1876, the son of a joiner, Robert Thomson produced work which delighted aesthetes. Greatly influenced by a fifteenth century choir stall in Ripon Cathedral, Thomson sought to rediscover the properties of oak using ancient tools such as the adze (an implement which, as can be seen at St Ninian’s, imparted his work with a distinctive ripple effect). Another of Thomson's trademarks can also be seen here. Carved mice are to be found on the door and the chest to the rear of the church. Combining simplicity and astuteness, Thomson regarded the mouse as an appropriate signature for his carving. "...I thought how a mouse manages to scrape and chew away the hardest wood with its chisel-like teeth, and works quietly, with nobody taking much notice... It is what you might call industry in quiet places, so I put the mouse on all my work" (Scots Magazine). Various pieces within St Ninian's were completed by Robert and John Cartwright - Thomson's grandsons.

Taken in: UK / Scotland / Troon (show map)

Taken on: June 4, 2022

Tags:

Nikon Z6

Troon

Episcopal

Arts and crafts

Bargeboarding

Porch

James Archibald Morris

Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 « less

Sets appears in: • Ayrshire

Groups appears in: • Church Exteriors • Church Groups Directory more » • Scottish Episcopal Church • Churches around Scotland • Churches ! • Church photographers • ALL CHURCH EXTERIORS • Nikon Z6 Photographer Group • NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 « less

Camera: Nikon Z 6, f/13.0, 1/400 sec, 28mm, ISO 1250 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 6
Lens:	NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/13.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	28mm
ISO:	1250
Exposure Bias:	+1 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 19.0 (Macintosh)
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