Our office team reviews “Modernist Churches of Scotland” by Matthew Dransfield, a gazetteer of churches built across Scotland’s central built in the third quarter of the 20th century. Published by the Modernist Society in April 2025 priced at £9 plus P&P. 

The author, Matthew Dransfield, kindly alerted us a few months ago that he was intending to bring out a small booklet featuring some of Scotland’s later 20^th century churches. So, when its publication was mentioned by one of our followers on our BlueSky account earlier this month, we immediately purchased a copy for the office. It has turned out to be handy pocket-sized almanac, featuring some of the most striking mid-century churches to be built across Scotland’s central belt and would undoubtedly be well-received by anyone in your life who appreciates Scottish church architecture.

In our book “Churches to Visit in Scotland in 2004” building historian Prof John Hume, one of our honorary vice presidents today, wrote an essay on Scottish post-war churches that he subtitled “Breaking the Mould”. In it he described the “challenging new designs” and “unorthodox plans – squares, polygons and circles” that flew off the drafting tables of various architectural firms and individual architects during this “wildly experimental period.” Matthew Dransfield’s visually pleasing little volume has neatly reminded us of why these pioneering religious buildings have stoked such excitement and comment – containing both delight and derision – ever since they were built.

The churches are listed in chronological order. It begins with St Margaret’s Church in Davidson’s Mains in Edinburgh, designed by Peter R Whiston and opened in 1950, and ends with Holy Trinity Church in Wester Hailes, built to the plans of JD Cairns & Ford in 1972.

Each of the forty churches listed possesses a bold image of an entire face of the church or a distinctive architecture feature on one side and a few paragraphs about it and its architect(s). In the introduction the author explains he is “not religious, an architect, or a photographer” but simply a lover of the built environment in all of its many forms and this abiding passion is very evident as you read each short account.

“Modernist Churches of Scotland” also doesn’t shy away from the issues that caused many to condemn these buildings – flat roofs, RAAC, brick skins, failures in pre-fabrication and more. Indeed, the author quotes an unnamed priest who looks forward to a conversation in the afterlife with the architect of his church about the poor choice of building materials!

It also offers us a timely encouragement to look again at these fragile manifestations of what John Hume labelled as an era of “heroic” church-building, the likes of which will almost certainly never be seen again. An important call to action for us all as around three churches a month close in Scotland, with many 20^th century churches like those listed being among the most vulnerable of all to demolition should their doors eventually close and their use change.

Our thanks to author Matthew Dransfield for acknowledging his use of our Scottish church directory during his travels around these remarkable churches and we hope he is considering publishing a second volume venturing outside Scotland’s central belt. You can follow Matthew on Instagram as @BrutalBasil