A historic place,
made for time together.

The Old Church was built in 1877 by Sir Peter Coats in memory of his beloved wife, Gloriana Mackenzie. Originally known as the Lady Coats Memorial Church, it was erected on land donated by William Paterson of the nearby Monkwood Estate.

Although Sir Peter was a Baptist and most local villagers were Presbyterian, the church was created as a non-denominational place of worship, open to suitable visiting ministers and to the whole community.

Behind the church stood a public reading room and library, available to everyone in the district. Today, this historic space forms part of our private accommodation.

Sir Peter was a successful thread manufacturer, noted philanthropist and co-founder of J. & P. Coats, now known as Coats Group. He and Gloriana had twelve children and lived at the nearby Auchendrane Estate during the final twenty years of his life. After moving to Algiers in search of a healthier climate, he commissioned an exact copy of the church to be built there.

Statues of Sir Peter and his brother, Thomas Coats, created by sculptor William Birnie Rhind, still stand in the centre of Paisley near the Town Hall.

After qualifying as a carpenter and establishing his first company in 1995, Adam spent several years working in the construction department of Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.

When he purchased The Old Church in 2001, he was not entirely sure what its next chapter would be. The journey began from there.

Over the following two years, Adam balanced his day job with the careful conversion of The Old Church into a restaurant. It became home to Ayr Spice, operated for many years by television chef Mafiz Ali. Mafiz had risen to prominence after winning a Chef of the Year award in 1998 and was commissioned to prepare a banquet for Prime Minister John Major’s 50th birthday at 10 Downing Street.