This is the History of Our Church
Our Church was built in 1878
But the story does not start then.
We are a Quoad Sacra Church. That is a special Daughter Church of Govan Parish.
Govan Parish was a huge Parish, and has many Daughter Churches.
Govan Parish is a very old Church, so old that we do not know what the original church was like. The Govan Stones are all that is left.
Excavations by the Time Team under the control of Dr Stephen Driscoll of Glasgow University have been able to obtain Radio Carbon Dates from the 6th Century.
That is before St Columba or St Mungo.
In the late 1800’s Pollokshields was developing from farm land into a city suburb. People of substance found Pollokshields a very desirable place in which to live.
In the 19th Century there were three main streams of Christianity. They were:-
- The Established Church or Parish Church
This was the Church recognised by the Government, and was paid for mainly by a form of tax levied by the Heritor’s (or Landowners).
- The Free Church
This was made up of people who disapproved of the principle that the state should have a controlling interest in the church, and who had broken away from the Parish Church.
- The United Presbyterians
They were made up of various groups who had broken away from the original church. These groups were known a Secessionists, and has joined together to form this united Presbyterian Church.
In 1900 The United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church joined together to form the United Free Church.
Then in 1929 the United Free Church and the Established Church joined together to form The Church of Scotland.
We in this church are proud to represent the traditions of all these Churches.
Kenneth Ross