Congratulations to St Conan’s Kirk, Lochawe, which has been listed as one of the best Scottish buildings of the last century – and could yet be voted the favourite (vote here).

St Conan’s Kirk

The enigmatic lochside church has been named alongside buildings as diverse as the former tyre factory India of Inchinnan, and the War Memorial and Cowdray Hall in Aberdeen, as part of the national Festival of Architecture celebrations.

As a result, it will feature in Scotstyle, an illustrated book celebrating 100 of the country’s best buildings from the last 100 years (from 1916 on) and will be part of a touring exhibition celebrating Scottish architecture. Members of the public can vote for their favourite building, with the winner due to be announced as part of the festival’s finale in November.

Explaining the shortlisting, the festival website describes St Conan’s as: “an extraordinary, eclectic church of considerable charm…The approach from the road provides few clues to the originality of the loch-facing frontage or the church’s interior richness.”

The honour is a particularly deserved one for supporters of the church, which although an enduringly popular visitor attraction, is under threat because of the huge cost of restoration and repair.

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Local volunteers have been working hard to raise funds, with successful initiatives including a Christmas Tree festival and Kirk Cafe, but their motivation has been tested by several separate thefts of building’s remarkable lead roofing (it’s hoped that a new CCTV system will ensure there are no more).

St Conan’s borrows from a variety of historic architectural styles, particularly Roman and Norman, but in fact was only completed in 1930.

• Find out more about St Conan’s Kirk in the Riches at the Roadside feature.
• Click here to Vote for St Conan’s in the Festival of Architecture www.foa2016.com.