A FORMER chapel in Galashiels is set to undergo partial restoration.
Listed building consent is being sought from Scottish Borders Council for a proposed replacement roof at Glasite Chapel in Roxburgh Street.
Built around 1842 the chapel or meeting house in Botany Lane is one of only a small number of such structures in Scotland.
It is of particular interest as a surviving meeting place of a relatively rare sect, and also for its architectural interest, with a house and chapel contained within one uniform and simple structure.
The location of the chapel is unusual too, situated as it is in a predominantly industrial area, emphasising the marginal nature of the sect within Galashiels.
Glasites (or Glassites) were the followers of John Glas (1695-1773), who was removed from his ministry in the established church in 1730 for his non-conformist views.
There were only a very small number of Glasite congregations in Scotland, but the sect spread to England and America, known as ‘Sandemanians’.
The chapel is referred to locally as the ‘Kail Kirk’, as the Glasites’ Sunday services included a communal meal.
The congregation which used this chapel were originally based in Darnick, where they had been since 1768.
They moved to the Old Town of Galashiels in 1775, before re-locating to the present location in 1842.
By 1898, however, they had moved out of the building and records at the time state they had ‘no stated place of worship’.
Since then the building, which is on the Buildings at Risk register, has had a variety of uses and was part of the nearby engineering works for a period.
It has been vacant since 2005.
A submission with the application, from Galashiels-based Angus Architecture, states: “The current proposal is to repair the roof to help preserve the main structure of the building and prevent further decay.
“The existing, traditional stick build roof, commonly seen in buildings of this period, has been deemed in bad order and needs to be entirely replaced due to rot.
“The proposal is to reinstate the roof with reclaimed slate on a breathable membrane, on sarked, pre-fabricated trusses.”
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