TOLLCROSS
CENTRAL CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
1089, Tollcross Road, Tollcross
Until
the beginning of the 19th century, the villagers of Tollcross and its vicinity
attended the Established Church's chapel
of Ease at Shettleston (now
Shettleston Old Church). However, by 1805 may folk had determined that a new church be
built in Tollcross itself and that it should be of the Relief persuasion.
The Relief Church had seceded from the Church of Scotland in 1761 and was
particularly popular in the Glasgow district.
At this time, Mr Caddell of the Clyde Iron Works owned the Auchenshuggle lands and he donated an acre of ground upon which the church was built and a churchyard laid out in 1806. The Relief Presbytery was petitioned on 1st July, 1806 and the congregation was subsequently received into that Church. Tollcross Relief Church was the first church of any denomination to be built in the village. The building itself was designed by the architect John Brash. It sat back from Main Street (later Tollcross Road) along Church Lane, had seating for 1231 and cost £2,300. Its tower and spire were not added until 1834-35, and the clock was acquired from Breckenridge & Son of Kilmarnock in 1837 for £88.
The
graveyard was extended through the years with various purchases.
In common with the rest of the district, and indeed the entire country,
the locals became increasingly worried about the depredations of
resurrectionists, especially after the revelations of the activities of Burke
and Hare in Edinburgh. To
discourage grave-robbing a watch house was constructed c.1828 to shelter a
watchman while he guarded new graves. MacEwing
(1906) recounts;
“The apprehension of friends for the security of the bodies of their lately deceased relatives was stretched to the racking point. One poor man who lived in Parkhead was so affected by anxiety about his lately buried wife that he regularly every night for a period of five or six weeks walked to Tollcross in order to stand a night-long sentinel over her grave. Iron safes and cages now began to cover the burial places of owners who could afford them.”
The panic seems to have subsided by 1850 when the watch house was taken down.
Examples of stained glass
Buried in the Tollcross yard are William Miller, author of “Wee Willie Winkie”, and James Martin, town councillor and baillie of Glasgow who is commemorated by a cast iron fountain on Glasgow Green. It also provides the last earthly resting place for Stewart Murray, the first Curator of Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
The various Church unions resulted in a number of name changes for Tollcross Relief Church through the years - in 1847 it became Tollcross Main Street United Presbyterian Church, in 1900 Tollcross Central United Free Church and finally Tollcross Central Church of Scotland in 1929. With the close proximity of two other churches of the same denomination - Victoria Tollcross and St. Margaret's Tollcross (now St. Margaret's Tollcross Park) - Central had difficulty in maintaining a viable congregation.
It had been closed for some time, with its fate still to be decided, when it was badly damaged by a fire in 1990. Recognised as being of historical importance, there was some conjecture about the remains being converted into housing, retaining as much of the original building as possible. However, it would seem that this proved impractical and the ruins of this Tollcross landmark were finally demolished in 1996. The site remains vacant at present. The church halls, built in 1891, remained for a few years thereafter with their curved gables facing into what had been Church Lane but they too have now been demolished.
A Board of Trustees was formed to dispose of the church’s assets, and they have been spread far and wide. The church bell had been exhibited at “The Words and the Stones” exhibition of 1990, in the Arches. It seems to have experienced some accident and was never returned to the church. A sound recording of the chimes survived and was passed to a church in Burnside. The Communion table and chairs were provided to a church in Corstorphine in Edinburgh. Some of the communion plate was auctioned off and others given to Colston Morrison Memorial Church. The organ and some pipes went to a Roman Catholic chapel in Maryhill. The People's Palace acquired some items for its collections and others were auctioned off. Some church furniture went to Victoria Tollcross, along with the majority of the congregation.
Glasgow City Council acquired the vacated land and the adjoining graveyard, which is now administered by the city. Some of the cash raised from the sale was donated to the Lodging House Mission in East Campbell Street and Tollcross YMCA. The rest went to train a student minister.
A very full account of the early history of this 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.
MacEwing, Rev. Charles (1906): “The Old Historic Church of Tollcross and Tollcross District.” Glasgow.
© 2005 Gordon Adams
GALLERY:
The
church spire.
The
church halls.
Church
pewter ware.
Stained glass windows.
Fire Damage
As
shown in the 1897 OS map above, this Tollcross church was set back from Main
Street (Tollcross Road) and approached through an entry. In 1990 it
suffered severe fire damage, which ultimately sealed its fate. These
images were taken in 1990 and mostly show the rear of the church, from the
graveyard. The last photo was taken from Corbett Street.
