Visit to St Mary's Parish Church, Wednesday 5th November

The talk to the Society on the Church by Graham McKenzie in October generated great interest in the history of St Mary's which is why 20 members met at the main entrance for a guided tour led by Graham. We were reminded of the controversies in the story of its early origins before the Reformation and its subsequent build in 1914. Designed by G Bell, it is a Church of Scotland church with unusual features that have been described as temple and cathedral-like: it was planned by the Rev T Angus Morrison (minister 1898-1941) who was the driving force in the proposal to build a distinctive Parish Church and manse alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal. 

Built of stone from Auchinheath Quarry, the foundation stone was laid in 1912 but during construction there was a fatality when the crane and scaffolding associated with the 120-foot tower collapsed in a storm. A memorial stone was laid to commemorate this event. A Service of Dedication was held two years later. The new St Mary's was built in the garden of the old manse and its orientation determined by the available ground between Cowgate and the manse. The old manse was later replaced by the building of the church halls.

The tour started beneath the high tower with an awareness of musical chimes. On  entering the Church there were immediate impressions of colour, beauty and grandeur, and overall design lit in part by the  clerestory windows. Very quickly the Nave drew one’s attention to the north facing Chancel with its ecclesiastical traditions including the organ(golden painted pipes) and the dominant presence of the majestic stained glass window. The stained glass windows were highlighted of which 5 are dedicated to individuals and the large Chancel window to those from Kirkintilloch who suffered and died in WW1. Additional information  about the windows ( 6 days of creation) designed by Willie Rodgers, a local artist and member of the congregation, the Ferguson window (Christmas), the Haughton window (Easter) and the role of the Webster family in the design of the Great War Memorial window, captured our attention.

At the end of the tour hospitality was provided and there was an opportunity to climb the tower, see the chimes and more. A memorable morning.

View of St. Mary's showing the tower (G McKenzie)

The chimes in the tower (I Ruddock)

Guided Tour of St. Mary's Parish Church, Wednesday 5th November, 10:30am.

Further to his talk on the history of St. Mary's Parish Church earlier this month, Graham McKenzie will lead a guided tour of the Church on Thursday 5th November starting at 10:30am. Meet at the Church door a few minutes before 10:30am. 

The tour will last not more than an hour and a half, after which people will be able to look round the building until 12:30pm. Those wishing to attend the Scottish Local History Forum's Annual John Muir Symposium in Lenzie Academy will be able to get there in time for the start at 12:45pm.

This tour is part of St. Mary's regular programme of Open Days. In order to have an idea of numbers, could members please indicate by email to kdsantiquaries@gmail.com if they intend to go on the tour in advance.

DEVOTION AND DISCORD: The History of St Mary’s Parish Church Kirkintilloch by Graham McKenzie. Thursday 2nd October 2025

 The first meeting of the 2025-26 session will be on Thursday 2nd October in the Park Centre, 45 Kerr Street, Kirkintilloch G66 1LF. The meeting will start at 7:30pm with tea and coffee served from 7pm.

Society member Graham McKenzie will give a talk on "Devotion and discord: the history of St. Mary's Parish Church, Kirkintilloch". St Mary’s church located in the Cowgate in Kirkintilloch has been in existence for over 110 years, but it is only the latest manifestation of a local parish church history that goes back over 700 years. The history of this parish church is a story of those who were devoted to promoting Christian worship in Kirkintilloch, but also a story of the discord that arose when people began to challenge the rights the law had conferred on the church. This illustrated talk will cover the history of the two earlier parish churches and will describe in detail the controversy that attended the planning, design and construction of the current church.

Graham was born and grew up in East London, South Africa, and studied and worked in topographical surveying before taking up a project administration and management role with a South African engineering consulting firm. While working, he completed a BA with majors in history and psychology at Rhodes University. He transitioned into preparing and managing engineering consultancy tender submissions. He moved to the UK in 2008 to take up a proposal management position with a company in Glasgow and is still working in the same field.

As part of plans for celebrating the centenary of the current St Mary’s church in 2014, Graham undertook to write a publication that updated and extended aspects of Joe Fisher’s book, ‘The Auld Kirk, Kirkintilloch Parish Church, 1644-1944’ and Iain Smith’s book ‘St Mary’s Parish Church, Seventy-five years on, 1914 – 1989’. The new publication provided a detailed analysis of the planning, design and construction of the church in the Cowgate.

Come along and join us for what promises to be a fascinating presentation.

Jeff Hopewell: The Stained Glass of Douglas Hamilton and the Stephen Adam Stained Glass Studio: February 2021

The fifth of the virtual'meetings in the 2020-21 session of the Antiquaries is a talk by Canon Jeff Hopewell entitled 'The Stained Glass of Douglas Hamilton and the Stephen Adam Stained Glass Studio'. In this video, Jeff describes Hamilton’s early life and training with Alf Webster and the Stephen Adam Studio in Glasgow, and his ten years at Guthrie & Wells before he started his own business in 1938, which he ran until his death in 1959. This subject is also of local interest as windows made by the Stephen Adam Studio and Douglas Hamilton can be found in Kirkintilloch's St Mary's and St David’s Memorial Park parish churches.

 

Jeff is a retired Church of England priest based in Leicestershire who has long been interested in church buildings and furnishings, with a particular bent towards stained glass. His first book on this subject, ‘Orchestrations of Colour’, covering the life and work of Douglas Hamilton, was published last year, and he is currently researching the work of the Victorian firm of the Horwood Brothers, Frome. He also has a knowledge of Japanese woodblock prints and modestly claims to be a world expert on ganjifa, the traditional hand-painted playing cards of India.

The talk can be viewed directly by clicking on the above image of the front cover of Jeff's book on Douglas Hamilton, or by going to the Society's YouTube channel which can be accessed by clicking here.