St Mary

St Mary the Immaculate Conception is Grade A Listed and is commonly described as a 'Cathedral in miniature'. It was the first church building in Scotland that used terracotta as the stonework for the interior.  

The building is highly ornamented 13th century church, built in 1866 in a revived Gothic style, by the prominent architect, Joseph Hansom.

Its high architectural design quality was acknowledged by its early as 1965 in a Grade A listing. It is an exemplary model of a mid-19th century Catholic urban church that was built to serve the growing and mainly lower income, working-class Catholic community of Lochee.  

The interior is of most interest, with grey stone, yellow brick and red sandstone used to create bands of colour within the fabric of the building.

The church is rich in detail and demonstrates highly skilled craftsmanship. The church roof is covered with slates in the Staffordshire ornamental ridge style. An attractive octagonal chancel tower covers the sanctuary. It is designed with Gothic pointed trefoil and diamond shaped slates, complete with a gilt ornamental vane, shaped in the style of a monstrance.  

There is a short spire, slated in fish-scale style with a wrought iron finial.  

The church displays an arcade of windows with clasping buttresses, flying as base. The church possesses a unique historic feature: a twelve-metre-deep hand-carved well, situated near the sacristy under a removable section of the floor. 

Light is used to great effect, with the nave dark in comparison to the polygonal chancel that is illuminated by the tall windows of the tower. The stained glass was commissioned from Franz Mayer & Co of Munich, while AB Wall of Cheltenham created the flamboyant altar.

Watch out for the deep floodlit well.

Dundee church gets a step closer to restoring its brilliant building

The National Churches Trust supported St Mary the Immaculate through our Last Chance Church appeal in 2024. The appeal has meant the stunning gothic church could embark upon its ambitious multi-phase repair plan to make the church building watertight once more and fix the crumbling masonry.

Now, in November 2025, we awarded St Mary the Immaculate Conception a £30,000 grant from the National Churches Trust.

This will enable the church to help continue their vital repairs – this time to the stonework around its windows. The team at St Mary had been increasingly concerned by the danger of falling concrete and even the glass itself – the windows were in touch critical condition.  

This timely grant has enabled this work to be complete while the scaffolding is still in place from recent repairs – saving the church precious funds in not having to rent scaffolding for a second time.

“We would like to express our sincere thanks to the National Churches Trust for the generous grant awarded to our church,” shares John O’ Meara, property officer at the church.

“This support means a great deal to the parish and wider community....  Knowing that the National Churches Trust recognises the importance of this place of worship and its role in local life is deeply appreciated.

“Thanks to this grant, we have been able to carry out essential repairs... These works were critical to protecting the church from further deterioration and ensuring the building remains safe, dry, and welcoming for all who visit. The improvements have already made a noticeable difference, safeguarding our heritage while also enhancing the comfort and security of the space for parishioners, visitors, and community groups.

“This funding has helped us preserve an important historic building for future generations and continue our mission at the heart of the community. We are truly grateful to the National Churches Trust for their commitment to supporting places of worship and the people who depend on them. Thank you for your invaluable support.”