St Mary's Church, Boness (Gillespie, Kidd and Coia)

Drawings , photographs, and job files related to the project.

Completed in 1962, the Church occupied a site at the junction of Dean Road and Linlithgow Road, Bo'ness. The requirement was for a low cost Church with seating for 350, a High Alter, Side Alter, Baptistery and Choir Gallery. The building surroundings were open, featureless, low lying and devoid of trees.

The plan form was the solution to the problem of accommodating a relatively small congregation in a Church that required a spacious Sanctuary. The stepped wall/window arrangement is exploited to provide "concealed" day lighting to the interior and to give the exterior a vigorous and somewhat mysterious form. The liturgical elements, the Sanctuary and the Baptistery, are further expressed by additional height, which in the case of the latter forms a tower

The use of load-bearing brickwork with white-washed rendering for the enclosing walls and a sparing use of openings and glass exploit, and was intended to enhance the composition and unify the strong forms. At the same time it was hoped to achieve the simple character of the traditional Scottish country Church and permit a building of uncompromising modern form to fit into the character of the surroundings. The surroundings were landscaped to minimise the disturbance caused by the necessary car parking and access roads and to preserve the natural and open character of the site.

The Church was demolished in 1988.

Where possible, the material has been arranged using original Gillespie Kidd and Coia project reference codes.

Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections are open for research by appointment.

Catalogued by Mark Tripney, GKC Project Archivist

Application for permission to quote should be sent to the Glasgow School of Art Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents.

This material has been appraised in line with Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections standard procedures.