THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES

The first church to be built in Tollcross village was Tollcross Relief Church. Presbyterianism had become firmly established within the Church of Scotland in 1690, but this had not ended disputes concerning the Church's relationship to the State. Conflict arose over the patronage system whereby ministers could be chosen by lay patrons, who were usually the local landowners. Patronage had been abolished in 1690 but was reintroduced by the new British Parliament in 1712 as part of a package of inducements to landed classes to forsake the cause of the Catholic Stewarts.

This system conflicted with the Presbyterian belief that the right to invite a minister to a vacancy lay with the congregation and led to many bitter arguments when a patron imposed a minister of his choosing over the wishes of the congregation.

As a consequence of this policy, the Relief Church broke away from the Established Church in 1761. It was particularly popular in the Glasgow district, providing as it did for the "relief of oppressed Christian congregations." Until the beginning of the 19th century, villagers and other local people had attended the Established Church's chapel of ease but by 1805 many folk had determined that a church should be built in Tollcross itself and that it should be of the Relief persuasion.

At this time Mr Caddell of the Clyde Iron Works was the owner of the Auchenshuggle lands, which were part of Carmyle, not Tollcross. He donated an acre of ground upon which to build the new church and lay out a graveyard. The Relief Presbytery of Glasgow was petitioned on 1st July, 1806 and the congregation subsequently received into the Church. The building itself, designed by the architect John Brash, was completed later the same year, sat 1231 and cost £2,300. Its tower and spire were not added until 1834-35.

A very full account of the history of the church can be found in "The Old Historic Church of Tollcross and Tollcross District" which was written by the Rev Charles MacEwing who was its minister from 1876-1918.

In 1847 The Relief and Secession Churches united to form the United Presbyterian (U.P.) Church which was soon the largest in Glasgow. With this Union, the Tollcross church became Tollcross Main St U.P. Church.

Meanwhile there had been a continued failure within the Established Church to resolve disagreements over its relationship to the State. This culminated in the most significant of all the secessions when at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1843 those opposed to this relationship walked from the building and established their own Free Church of Scotland.

There was no immediate separation from the Established Church in Tollcross but the local population continued to increase, as it did everywhere during this time, and a substantial number favoured the Free Church. The prospective Free congregation started to worship in a variety of locations, firstly finding sanctuary in the use of Tollcross Relief Church and then by 1858 meeting in a weaver's shop in the Calton. "The weaver was a widow woman who went barefoot, a kindly Methodist who believed there was room in the Kingdom for all." However, by 1866 numbers were declining alarmingly.

The situation was saved with the appointment of the Rev James Drysdale as missionary in Tollcross in 1866. As a result of his endeavours Tollcross Free Church was built in Causewayside St in 1867. When the "Tollcross Station" was sanctioned by the Free Church Assembly in 1869 it exercised its privilege of calling its own minister - Rev Drysdale - who served the church until his death in 1892.

1900 saw the union of the Free and UP Churches to form the United Free (UF) Church of Scotland, the largest Church in the country. The congregations of both Tollcross churches acceded to the union, but not without some dissent. Some members of the Free Church withdrew and later formed part of the Wellshot Rd Free Church congregation. The two Tollcross churches in the new UF Church varied their names with Tollcross Main St becoming Tollcross Central and the erstwhile Free church taking the name of the long-reigning monarch of the day to become Victoria Tollcross.

In the last decade of the 19th century the Victoria congregation had almost doubled necessitating the acquisition of a larger place for worship. A plot of land at the corner of Causewayside St and Main St and contiguous to the church had been acquired in 1895. The eight single storey miners' cottages there were taken down and, under the supervision of ex-stone mason and current minister John Leighton, work began on a new edifice in 1901.

Work progressed rapidly but on the night of 12th November, 1901 a gale blew the gable of the new building onto the roof of the old one, damaging both. The congregation used their sister church until they managed to effect restoration of the wrecked buildings by 1902. The old building was then used as a hall for the new Victoria Church.

14) St Margaret's Tollcross Church.

It was not until 1901 that the Established Church built in Tollcross. Until that time parishioners used Shettleston Parish Church. This building had fallen into decay because of its great age and a replacement had been determined upon by its new minister, Rev John White. The funds raised allowed other structures to be built, including that in Braidfauld Rd. It was disjoined from Shettleston in 1920 as St Margaret's Tollcross.

The U.F. Church and the Church of Scotland finally unified in 1929. From one Relief church in 1806 there were three Churches of Scotland in 1929. At the present time both Victoria Tollcross and St Margaret's Tollcross have maintained their congregations. Sadly, after having been closed for a number of years Tollcross Central was badly damaged in a fire in 1990. There is some conjecture about the remains of the building being converted into flats, with as much of the original structure being retained as possible. However, at the time of writing, this Tollcross landmark remains in ruins.