The former Buccleuch Church

Approaching Dalkeith from the Edinburgh City bypass, the skyline is dominated by church spires. The westerly spire, with its age-darkened high quality Craigleith sandstone, is the former Buccleuch Church which now houses the workshop of Charles Taylor Woodwork.

The Buccleuch Church, which was also known as the West Parish Church, was built in 1840 in order to relieve pressure of the growing congregation at the old St Nicholas parish church. The Duke of Buccleuch gifted a site for the church and agreed to pay for the costs of its building. William Burn was commissioned to do the design work for the church.

Ironically the church stood empty for ten years after its completion following disruption within the main Scottish Church, but was used by the congregation when substantial repairs to the old parish church were needed. It was then used as a church right through to the late 1980s.

In architectural terms the Buccleuch Church is regarded as a blend of Early English and Early Decorated.

Charles Taylor Woodwork started business in 1985 but by 1993 it had outgrown its original workshops in Craigmillar and was looking for new premises. Charles Taylor had the vision and courage to realise the opportunity of purchasing the by then disused Buccleuch Church, and Manse, from the Church of Scotland, and to convert them into a workshop and family home respectively. The move was both inspired and hugely successful.

Charles Taylor Woodwork is driven by a strong sense of fine craftsmanship and quality. Things are only done one way – the right way, so solid and striking woods, exceptional jointing and high quality finishing are the order of the day. Such work needs not just the skills of craftsmen who enjoy their craft, it also needs the space and environment for them to work within. The Buccleuch Church potentially provided just that space, light and environment.

The vast interior, largely open plan, space of the church forms an ideal environment for the creation and construction of the large scale projects which Charles Taylor Woodwork is well equipped to fulfil.

This space was put to ideal use when Charles Taylor Woodwork made the celebrated staircase for the Queen’s Gallery in Holyroodhouse Palace. The entire stair was pre-constructed on the workshop floor allowing them to be minutely checked before being carefully dismantled into its constituent pieces and transported to the Palace for final installation.The wide and tall South Transept door could almost have been designed for its later adaptive use, since it is perfect for the movement of timber into the workshop and for transporting completed furniture to be installed on location.

One corner of the church houses the lumber store where large volumes of timber can be stored in a temperature constant environment prior to being machined to form the pieces of work. To watch these pieces of “raw” timber gradually being crafted into marvellous and inspired pieces of furniture is perhaps every bit as wonderful as the processes for which the church was originally envisaged.

The open space of the church is also useful for dissipating the noise of machinery. The workshop could never be described as quiet, but at least the noise created by the saws, planers, sanders, routers and lathes has plenty of room to fill so that there is not the echo that would come from use in an enclosed space.

Dust extraction equipment removes the bulk of the dust from the machining. This is usefully recycled at a local stables and in return regular bags of well rotted manure help the fertility and regeneration of the extensive grounds at the church – a genuinely green exchange!

The specialised procedure of spraying is carried out in the original entranceway where the relatively enclosed space allows freedom from the pervasive sawdust and also prevents fumes from escaping into the rest of the workshop.

Even the church spire and its working clock add to the ambience of the workshop with the ten o’clock chimes being clearly heard above the noise of the machinery announcing tea break and similarly at the one o’clock dinner break.

The use of the church has not been without its challenges. Whilst there is a pleasing quality of light within the church, higher levels are required for the craftsmen to work in, since precision and accuracy amount to practically everything in their craft. Heating too, is a challenge and there are now large gas fired space heaters around the walls.

 Charles Taylor Woodwork specialises in bringing dreams about living space into reality. Perhaps it refurbishing and restoring once fine and proud woodwork in a church; perhaps the crafting of a fine dining table, or bookcases, to suit a specific room; perhaps it is giving a uniquely practical yet beautiful feel to the fittings of a kitchen or bathroom; or again, the creation of a feature staircase in fine woods to speak volumes about your home. All these jobs and many more are the bread and butter of a company where quality and design mean as much to the craftsmen as they do to you.

Charles Taylor Woodwork is located at Old Edinburgh Road, Dalkeith, Midlothian EH22 1JD and can be contacted by phone on 0131 654 2221, by email on charles@ctww.co.uk.