Coats Memorial

The Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church is a Church in the west end of Paisley which has been a prominent landmark in the area since its completion in 1894. The church gets its name from Paisley-born philanthropist Thomas Coats (1809-1883) who was a co-founder of the world famous J&P Company along with his brother, Sir Peter Coats. Due to his commitment to the well being of the town and his religious beliefs, after his death his family funded the baptist church in Thomas Coats' memory.


Designed by Scottish architect Hippolyte Blanc following a competition to determine the designer of the church, it was then completed in May 1894 the church is made from red sandstone and designed in a Gothic Revival style with a crown steeple 60 metres high overlooking the Paisley skyline. Internally and externally there are many intricate designs such as the mosaics, gargoyles, and carved marble, as well as an unmodified church organ with over 3000 pipes. The church is relatively large with a seating capacity of around 1000 which is why in recent years the University of the West of Scotland has been using the Coats Memorial for graduation events.


For the past few years the church has been under threat of closure due to a diminishing volume of churchgoers as well as maintaining the upkeep costs for the church which led to the final church service being in August 2018. Currently the Coats Memorial Preservation Trust (CMPT) is attemptaing to raise funds in order to convert the building into a "World class multi-purpose entertainment and hospitality space." there is a fundraiser known as "100 days to save Coats Memorial" aiming to raise £1.5 million to begin the conversion of the building.

Adrian Searle writes in his book So You Think You Know Scotland? that there are 900 Category A buildings in the Edinburgh area alone, but this makes up 25% of the Category A listed buildings across the entire country which further highlights the value of this building in terms of cultural significance.