BRIDGETON BAPTIST CHURCH
82, Orr Street, Bridgeton
The
present red sandstone building which sits in Orr Street at its junction with
Rogan Street was built in 1906 during the pastorate of William Ruthven, but its
congregation had been in existence for the previous 46 years.
It came to Bridgeton from Rutherglen in 1870 and used a hall in Canning
Street (now London Road), known as the “Cooking Depot Hall,”
and now the site of the old Bridgeton Central railway terminus. Increasing
numbers of what was then known as the “Church of Christ” secured their own
hall in London Road in 1878. The
following year, the majority of the congregation agreed to join with the Baptist
Union to be known as the Canning Street Baptist Church.
In 1883, the buildings of the original St. Clement’s Church of Scotland in what was then Sister Street (now part of Orr Street) became available and were purchased, repaired and added to. This served the congregation until the need for a new building was recognised due to the further increase in the numbers of adherents to the church. The present building was the result, and was constructed on the site of the old. As with many other churches in the area however, the Baptists succumbed to the loss of the local population through the developments taking place from the mid-1960s onwards, and the church closed in 1967. It has been used by a car component firm – Andrew Watt – for most of the time since then, but has been preserved as a consequence when so many other Bridgeton churches were demolished.
Yuille, George (Ed.). (1926); “History of the Baptists in Scotland.” Library & Publications Committee of the Baptist Union of Scotland.
(25/12/05)
© 2005 Gordon Adams
