Laying
of Foundation Stone -
Jordanhill Church
8
October 1904
Background
In November 1854 a communion roll was
drawn for the original church which was subsequently to become our present
church. That original church building stood on the west side of Knightswood
Road opposite the present Knightswood Secondary School. By 1898 the building
was in a state of collapse due to underground mine workings and the
congregation resolved to find a new site for a new church. The photograph shows the north elevation of
the old church
As might be
expected a Building Committee was formed to steer the construction of a new
church In 1901 a bazaar was held to raise funds and a brochure was produced
which showed an artist's impression of the new church. A site was chosen on the
south side of Anniesland Road immediately east of its junction with Helensburgh
Drive, and the bazaar raised just over £1000. At that time the congregation had
only 200 members so the sum raised was really amazing.
Shortly afterwards the committee decided
to change the site from Anniesland Road to the present site, and a year later
it was reported that Mrs Parker Smith had given the chosen site to the church
free of charge. The site was
formerly occupied by Woodend Cottage as is shown on this extract from the
Ordnance Survey map of 1895
Woodend Cottage was the home of the
manager of the brickworks in Crow Road and the photograph on the left is taken
from the archives of Jordanhill Church.
A sub-committee
called the "Edifice Committee" was formed in August 1904 whose remit
was to supervise the building work for the new church which was to cost £4100.
By this date the sum raised (or promised) had risen to £2700, so the deficit
stood at only £1400.
Just prior to
the laying of the foundation stone, it was decided that a copy of the Glasgow
Herald and the Free Church Monthly should be deposited in the foundation
casket. It was also decided that 10 shillings (50 new pence) was to be
distributed among the workmen employed on the building "in lieu of the
usual foundation pint".
On 29th
September 1904 the "Minister and Office Bearers of Jordanhill United Free
Church" issued invitations for the laying of the memorial stone on
"Saturday Afternoon 8th October at Three o'clock" (sic).
Glasgow
Herald, Monday 10 October 1904
The following
article has been extracted from page 11 of the Glasgow Herald dated Monday 10
October 1904. By coincidence, on page 8 of the same paper, there is a report of
the Coming of Age Party of Mr A H Parker-Smith on the same evening. The party
was held in Temple Parish Church Hall. Later in the evening there was a display
of fireworks in the grounds of Jordanhill House (now the College grounds).
Church Memorial Stone Laid at Jordanhill
The memorial stone of the new church in Woodend Drive for Jordanhill
United Free congregation was laid on Saturday afternoon by Mr Archibald
Hamilton Parker Smith, younger of Jordanhill. Mr Frederick L. M. Moiré presided,
and there was a large gathering of ladies and gentlemen. After prayer had been
offered by Dr Henry Bremner, Rev. Archibald Livingstone the minister of
Jordanhill United Free Church, made a. statement with regard to the proceedings
which led to the building of the new church.
Several years ago the yielding of the foundation caused the building to
become dilapidated and unsafe, and in consequence the minister at that time,
the late Rev. G D R Munro. and the congregation decided to erect a new church,
not only for present necessities, but also with a view to meeting the wants of
a new and growing district. The cost was estimated at £4100, and of this
somewhat over £2100 had been paid and promised. The tenure of the site, given
free by Mrs Parker Smith was quite unaffected by the recent decision of the
House of Lords. As they would observe, little money was being spent on
ornamentation.
The Chairman, after intimating apologies for absence from Sir James
Bell: Sir C. Renshaw, Dr Ross Taylor, &c., said he took it as a happy
augury for the church that the proceedings had been favoured with good weather.
Although they valued sunshine still they could not do without clouds and rain.
Fogs, however, were somewhat of men's making. When they thought of their dear
Church they remembered it had its clouds, but it seemed there was also
something of the man-made fog there also, which he hoped would soon pass away.
(Applause)
The memorial casket was then deposited by Mrs G D R Munro, after which
the stone was lowered into position. Mr Parker Smith, younger, having performed
the ceremony of laying the memorial stone, was presented with a silver trowel
and mallet from the contractors.
Several speeches were afterwards delivered. The Hon J Parker Smith MP
said that he was glad that church and congregation had shown how it could meet
the changing needs of the times, and could rise to the needs of a wholly
different state of circumstances. He spoke in eulogistic terms of the work done
during the ministry of the late Mr Munro, remarking, amid applause, that the
street beside the new church would be known in future as "Munro
Street," out of memory to him.
Dr Ross. referring to the fact that the foundations of the former
church had been undermined, said a number of them there no doubt felt that
about a thousand Churches in Scotland had their foundations undermined by
workers of some sort. He hoped that in the course of a few months they would
feel that the foundations were as safe as those of the building behind them.
Votes of thanks were afterwards accorded"
The church building had no hall when it
was built and it was only two thirds its present size (the west wing beyond the
line of pillars was added in 1923). This extract from the Ordnance Survey map
of 1913 shows the church and a small hall to the north, but it should be noted
that this hall was added in 1907 to replace the very small hall-cum-vestry
built at the time of the opening in 1905.
It is also recorded that the gallery was not built at the time of
opening. Unfortunately the original drawings are lost and record copies which
should have been available from the Dean of Guild archives are also missing.
This is particularly sad because there is no record of the location of the
Memorial Stone and a thorough search at the time of the 75th Anniversary
Exhibition in 1980 (and again in 2004) failed to uncover it. It is possible
that the stone was located on the outside wall behind the altar which is now
completely built over by the new halls.
The programme
for the stone laying event stated that after the memorial casket had been
deposited by Mrs Munro (the widow of the former minister), the contractors were
to present Mr Archibald Parker Smith with a trowel and mallet to enable him to
lay the stone. The silver trowel is still in the Church archives, but there is
no record of the whereabouts of the mallet. The service included the psalm
"All people that on earth do dwell" and two hymns "The Church's
one foundation " and "O God of Bethel"
Events to mark the
Centenary
Events in 2004
Special
Services
Friday 8
October, special service in the Church
to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone.
Sunday 7
November, special service of thanksgiving in the church to celebrate the
drawing up of the first communion roll of Hillhead Free Church (the predecessor
of Jordanhill Parish Church)
Ceilidh
Saturday 27
November, Ceilidh in the Church Hall with the Calum Lowe Ceilidh Band.
Events in 2005
Church Tower
Repairs
During 2005 the
church tower shrouded in scaffolding.
However the contractors met their timetable to complete their work and
the scaffolding was removed in time for the main entrance to be used for
Christmas services.
Movement of the
stonework in the parapet at the top of the tower was a cause of major concern
and was highlighted during a major survey of the property. The parapet had to be dismantled and
rebuilt; eroded stonework had to be replaced and stainless steel pins have been
inserted to ensure no future movement. The roof of the tower was completely
replaced and repairs were carried out to the louvres in the bell chamber after
which the timber was painted.
The cost of
this work was approximately £70,000 .but further sums are required to continue
the work to the lower section of the tower.
Victoria
Park Floral Display
During the
summer of 2005 Glasgow City Council laid out a floral display in Victoria Park
to mark the centenary.
Craft Fair
Saturday 26
February was a Craft Fair in the Church Hall including displays of wood
turning, cross stitch work and sugarcraft demonstrations.
Golf Outing
This was held
at Ross Priory on Friday 29 April.
Centenary
Dinner
On Friday 3
June just over 100 members met in Bearsden Burgh Hall for dinner. Two former ministers, Dr Michael Orr and
Finlay Macdonald attended.
Centenary
Cruise
The cruise on
Loch Katrine on Saturday 4 June was attended by some 170 members.
Centenary
Service
In June 1905,
Jordanhill Parish Church opened its doors for the first time On Sunday 5 June 2005 there was a
Centenary Service led by Rt. Rev. David Lacy the Moderator of the Church of
Scotland. Dr Orr and Dr Macdonald
(former ministers of the congregation) also took part in the service together
with the present minister Colin Renwick.
Community
Fete
Held on
Saturday 27 August in the grounds of Jordanhill School.
Other events
In addition to
the above events, the committee organised others including a Gartmore weekend,
Centenary Penny Appeal. Car Rally and Treasure Hunt,
Flower
Festival
Held in the
Church on Sunday 1 October
This was the
final event in the Centenary Celebrations.
For more
information on the Church go to their website at http://www.jordanhillparishchurch.org.uk/
Revised 28
September 2006
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