Eaglais Ghàidhlig Chaluim Cille / St Columba Gaelic Church (in English)

From 16 March to 6 April 2022, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) sought views on our proposal to change the category of listing of this building from B to A and to add a Gaelic translation to its listing address.

Built in 1901-04, Eaglais Ghàidhlig Chaluim Cille / St Columba Gaelic Church is an ornate and prominent parish church designed by William Tennant and Fred V Burke to cater for the Gaelic-speaking community in Glasgow. It is of special interest for listing for its wealth of carved stonework detailing, its largely complete interior, its prominence on one of Glasgow’s main streets, and for its cultural and historic interest as a focal point for worship in the Gaelic language.

Further details can be accessed on our Heritage Portal.

We received one response to consultation which raised no objections to the listing of the church. The response from the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, as owners of the building, noted that the building was to be marketed for sale and that the issue of how Gaelic services will be provided within Glasgow, and whether this will be linked to a specific building, has not yet been determined. The General Trustees also provided some corrections to the text of the report.

After considering the comments received during the consultation, we have now changed the category of listing of Eaglais Ghàidhlig Chaluim Cille / St Columba Gaelic Church to category A.  We have also changed the listing address to include the Gaelic name of the building, and corrected two factual errors within the Report of Handling. 

The listed building record is available on our Heritage Portal and the final Report of Handling is also available. 

Our historic environment is always changing. Listing does not prevent change, but it does allow for a structure’s special character to be taken into account when changes are proposed. 

Listing does not mean that Eaglais Ghàidhlig Chaluim Cille / St Columba Gaelic Church should stay as it is forever, or even that it must always remain a church - many buildings can be repurposed for different uses. 

You can find out more about listing in our booklet, Scotland’s Listed Buildings or find out more on our website:  

• How does the listing process work? 
• What is listing? 
• What does listing mean for owners? 

Our website also has more detail about the Listed Building Consent (LBC) and Conservation Area Consent (CAC) processes, as well as information on how to apply. There is additional guidance in our Managing Change series of publications.