CHURCHES

Religion has always loomed large in Bridgeton's story. Churches have thrived in variety and number under the influence of increasing urbanisation and industrialisation. This has left a legacy of church history which can be rather confusing. The name changes alone undergone by the Bridgeton churches through the years can be bewildering.

It was as the result of a petition by the local people to the Relief Presbytery in 1805 that the first church in Bridgeton village was built in John St. Before Bridgeton

Relief Church was opened the congregation worshipped on Bridgeton Green. It remained the only church in the village for 30 years. From 1929 it was Greenhead East Church of Scotland. It became unsafe in 1937 and was sold off. The site of the church is now open land forming part of John St Secondary School's grounds.

Bridgeton and Dalmarnock lay within the Church of Scotland's Calton Parish. Through the years this was broken down into smaller, more densely populated parishes. The first Established Church in Bridgeton was erected in Dale St in 1836. This was Bridgeton Parish Church whose first minister was Rev Patrick Fairbairn. The church was demolished in its 150th year, 1986, after a crack developed in the chancel rendering it unsafe for use. Some of its stained glass was saved by the People's Palace.

Other early churches were London Road Secession Church and Greenhead. The former was built in 1837 in response to the wishes of local residents. It eventually united with the Church of Scotland as London Road Parish. The church was destroyed by fire about 1967 while in the process of being sold off. The site is now occupied by the Jet filling station at the corner of London Rd and Brook St. Greenhead Church of Scotland opened in 1840 at 100, Canning St and disjoined from Calton Parish in 1876. It was notable for the murals depicting the creation of man by Alisdair Gray, reputedly the first in a Church of Scotland building since the Reformation. The church closed in 1971 and burned down in 1973. The site, near London Rd's junction with Anson St, is now landscaped.

The most spectacular of all the secessions from the Church of Scotland was the establishment of the Free Church of Scotland in May, 1843. Many Free congregations continued to occupy their church buildings until 1849 when a House of Lords decision declared all such property to belong to the Church of Scotland. The majority of Bridgeton Parish had espoused the Free Church and were now forced to quit that building. They built a new church in John St known as Bridgeton Free. It was 1929 before the congregation reunited with the Church of Scotland as Bridgeton West, only to close in 1932. The church was taken down and the halls are now used by the Orange Lodge. The actual site of the church is the Lodge's forecourt.

The years from 1850-1901 saw the construction of 12 other Presbyterian churches in the area. (The names given here are those of their final designation) - St Thomas' Gallowgate (1850), Dalmarnock (1866), Bridgeton West & Barrowfield (1868), Newhall (1872), Bridgeton St Francis in the East (1873) Newlands East (1874), Fairbairn (1876),St Thomas', Campbellfield St (1878), St Clement's (1878), London Road East (1878), Summerfield (1881) and Rockcliffe (1901). No new buildings have been erected since 1901. From one Relief church in 1805 there were no fewer than 17 Churches of Scotland in 1929 as the result of various unions. This over-extension was untenable with resulting closures and amalgamations. Of those listed above only 4 remain standing today.

Bridgeton St Francis-in-the-East in Queen Mary Street disjoined from Calton in 1879 as Barrowfield Parish and presently ministers to most of the area. At the 1929 Union it adopted the name of St Francis-in-the-East. It was joined by the Bridgeton congregation in 1985, adding that church's name to its own. The church has two fine murals. One depicts the construction of St Francis by medieval and modern workmen as well as the Saint himself. At the entrance is a mural showing aspects of Christ's life transposed to the tenements of Bridgeton. London Road East Church in Boden St was built for the Free Church and joined the Church of Scotland in 1929. It was terminated by dissolution in 1941 and shortly afterwards the building was made available to St Francis-in-the-East for use as a Church House. It provides many much needed social facilities for local people and is probably the longest established facility of its kind in Scotland.

St Thomas' Gallowgate was originally Camlachie Free Church, built after the House of Lords' decision. It is the only other Parish Church remaining in the area but its poor condition places its future in doubt. At present the congregation have to meet in the church hall. St Clement's in Brook St was always an Established church. The congregation originated in an Orr St (then Sister St) church. The congregation joined London Road in 1950 and the church was incorporated into David Dale College in 1953.

There were few, if any, Catholics in the Bridgeton area in the years following the Reformation. However, towards the end of the 18th century there was an influx of Catholic Highlanders seeking work, after having been driven from their homes as part of the infamous Highland Clearances. In particular many MacDonells from Glengarry found employment in Monteith's factory in Bridgeton and settled in the area. Their own small community, close-knit by ties of language and origins, became known as Glengarry, a name the locality retained well after the original clansmen had disappeared.

 89) The Church of St. Mary of the Assumption.

At the turn of the 19th century the Catholic population of Glasgow and its surroundings grew rapidly with the arrival of many Irish people seeking work in the growing number of factories, mills and construction works. This was later to be boosted by those escaping the Famine. The Church of St Mary of the Assumption was opened in August, 1842 in present day Abercromby St, to serve the new congregation in the east and was only the second Catholic church to have been built in the area since the Reformation. In charge of the new Mission was the Rev Peter Forbes who served for 30 years and is remembered by Forbes St.

St Mary's Parish was extensive and, as with the Established Church's Parishes, it was eventually broken up into smaller independent parishes as the congregations attached to missions grew in strength. Sacred Heart Mission, which originally covered all of the Bridgeton and Dalmarnock area was founded in 1873, with a temporary wooden structure opened in 1874. This was ultimately replaced by the present impressive Church of the Sacred Heart in Old Dalmarnock Road in 1910. This building is now a Grade B listed building, and was designed by C. J. Menart.

Other churches eventually followed - St Nicholas' in David St was built in 1899 as St Anne's but between 1933-49 it served as a chapel of ease to a newly built St Anne's in Whitevale St. St Nicholas' Parish was created in 1949 but the church was finally closed in 1979 and demolished. Our Lady of Fatima was established in 1950 and the church built at Millerfield Rd in 1953.

St Mary's was the base for many good works in relation to the welfare of young Catholic people in the east end. It is particularly remembered for the foundation of Celtic F.C. in 1888 by Marist Brother Walfrid in the Orr St halls. The club was originally intended as a means of raising money to feed needy children under the "Penny Dinner" scheme. Strangely enough, Celtic's arch-rivals, Rangers originated on nearby Glasgow Green.

A St Thomas Church in the Gallowgate was built in 1823 for the Church of Scotland, but after the Disruption, it was sold to the Methodists and used by them until it closed in 1973. It had been joined by the congregation of Bridgeton Central Hall in 1962. This Hall had replaced an earlier mission in Landressy St and was built in 1926.

 92) St Thomas Methodist Church, Gallowgate.

The Congregational Union were well represented. The oldest of the congregations was the Muslin St chapel opened in 1844. Robert Hood was pastor from 1862-1894. He was a man held in very high esteem by the people for his good works, and was universally known as the Bridgeton Pastor. During his ministry a new church was built on the site of the old and opened in 1892. Upon his death in 1894, it took his name in commemoration; the Hood Memorial.

The Dalmarnock Church congregation was founded in 1858 and like many others had to find accommodation where it could. The Dalmarnock Rd Church opened in 1902 and eventually became the largest congregation in the Union. The congregations of the 3 local churches dwindled over the years until in 1969 it was decided that they should amalgamate. They then formed Bridgeton Congregational Church, using the Dalmarnock building. Bridgeton continued until 1980.

After negotiations the building was taken over by Pastor Hayton of the Assemblies of God (part of the Pentecostal Church) in 1980, after his enforced move from Zion Hall in the Calton. By this time the building was in exceedingly poor condition and required extensive renovations. It was also one of the few structures left standing in the immediate area.

Pastor Hayton and his congregation restored the church in traditional style most successfully. Strange to say, he is the second of that name to minister in the church. The first was Rev Hayton of the Congregational Church who served from 1905-25. In fact the church had been nicknamed "Hayton's Church" at that time. It is now known as Bridgeton Free Evangelical Church.

A Baptist congregation came from Rutherglen in 1870, known as the Church of Christ. The majority joined the Baptist Union in 1879. In 1883 they purchased the old St Clement's church in Sister St and as they prospered the building was replaced by the present structure in 1906. Redevelopment diminished the congregation until the church closed in 1967. It is now used by a motor parts company, Andrew Watt Ltd.

The Salvation Army Hall in Olympia St was opened in 1927, but the Salvationists had come to Bridgeton with great enthusiasm to win it for Jesus in August, 1879. They used a hall in Charles St (later to be Olympia St), and were only the second corps to have been formed in Scotland. Early days proved very hard for the Army. The "War Cry" of 8th May, 1880 relates a sortie along Gt Hamilton St to Calton Mouth and back to the hall along the Gallowgate. The Salvationists were threatened, kicked, punched and generally abused, and eventually required a police escort. Despite this reception on the streets the Army proved very popular and thrived.

During their heyday most churches and missions in Bridgeton and Dalmarnock prospered, but in the years of redevelopment and depopulation that followed the Second World War many had to close their doors, and their congregations move on.