Coats Memorial manse is up for sale
Cash will go towards upkeep of iconic Paisley church
28.09.2018 The manse of a closed historic church is up for sale.
Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church shut down as a place of Christian worship last month after more than 100 years.
And plans were announced to turn it into an event venue by Paisley developer Ian Henderson – although no solid details have yet been announced.
The sale of the manse, which is in Kinpurnie Road, in Paisley’s Oldhall, will bring in much needed funds while the trustees of the church maintain the building before the hoped-for handover of the 19th- century A- listed architectural gem to a new owner takes place.
Coats Memorial Church trustee Dorothy Driver explained: “We’re still no further forward.
“We ’ v e really been concentrating on the manse and getting it cleared out to sell.
“That’s been our concentration over the last couple of weeks.
“We’re getting that on the market, and we’ll get an idea of finances.”
It is not yet know how much the trustees can ask for the house, Mrs Driver added.
“We’re still waiting to hear that, we’ve just had in the estate agents.
“The manse belongs to the trust, and the money will go into the trust funds.”
Mrs Driver said meetings with Mr Henderson are continuing in a bid to progress his plans for he church building but these have not brought any progress so far.
“There is nothing actually happening at the moment.
“So we’re still clearing out the church and selling the manse.
“We are doing all the things we can do, all the practical things that we can do.”
According to property website Rightmove, sold house prices for Kinpurnie Road have in recent years ranged from over £150,000 to more than £230,000.
The neo- Gothic church was opened in 1894, but had closed due to high running costs and a dwi n d l i n g congregation.
Ian Henderson, the driving force behind the move to save the building said: “We are delighted that the Thomas Coats Trustees have earmarked legacy funding for the long term sustainability of the building and we are pleased to announce that the Thomas Coats Memorial Preservation Trust will launch the ‘100 days to save Thomas Coats’ fundraising campaign in late November this year.
“The town of Paisley cannot allow this landmark building to fall into disrepair and the current plan to change Thomas Coats into a multi-purpose venue will provide a new lease of life and deliver a fantastic new resource for Renfrewshire.
“During the planning stages we have engaged with a large number of potential users ranging from Scottish Opera and the BBC to local bands and community groups and the feedback has been very encouraging.
“When we ramp up our fundraising activities our main objective will be to evidence that a huge number of people want this building to be saved.
“I have always found that if there is enough demand from the public for something the political will and the money required will follow and we are confident of a successful outcome so long as we generate sufficient support from the public.
“As we approach the launch date we will be sharing full details of our fundraising plans.”