I REFER to the report by Stephen Naysmith on the fund-raising group set up to raise £1.5 million to restore and adapt the Thomas Coats Memorial Church in Paisley ("Church trustees launch £1.5m appeal to refit Paisley landmark", The Herald, January 15). This is indeed a worthy cause. The church has been variously described as "one of the finest non-conformist buildings in Europe" and "the Baptist Cathedral of Europe".
Members of the family of Thomas Coats, who died in 1883, felt that there should be built a lasting memorial in his name. He and his family had been regular attenders at the local Baptist church in Paisley. They decided that a church should be built and Hippolyte J Blanc was commissioned as architect. He brought forward two styles for the family to consider. One resembled Notre Dame in Paris and the other the style of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. In view of the crown tower actually built, it is indicative of the St Giles style having been adopted.
There can be few notables who have had such a magnificent tribute constructed in their memory.
The ambitions of the fund-raising campaign are to be welcomed and I wish their efforts well. I believe that the church is a treasure of more than local, district or regional significance and that its future should be viewed as a matter of national moment.
Ian W Thomson,
38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.
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