Continued from Part 1 yesterday. The first mission hall at Herberston Street was a significant building, made of stone and slate, with large windows at the east and west in the shape of a cross. This was a tradition in church and chapel building where windows were carefully positioned to welcome and see out the light of the day. Four more windows on the north side let in plenty of light.
It was heated by coal with fireplaces at each gable. A wooden picket fence was erected around the perimeter and a small tended garden. The entrance was from Herbertson Street where the door faced out upon. Across Herbertson Street was the former Blantyre Police Station. Beyond were fields all the way to Birdsfield at High Blantyre.
The first recognized minister, rather than preachers was Rev. John Burleigh who commenced there in September 1889.
Requirement for a Church
The Church: The small mission flourished and a short time after John Burleigh arrived, the Free Church assembly raised the status of the mission to full church. Plans were drawn up for a permanent church, which was to be built on the ground already bought to the north, encapsulated by the boundary of Glasgow Road and Herbertson Street and immediately nearby to the mission hall. The new church was to be named the ‘East Free Church’ and would seat over 500 people. The existing mission building next to it would not be redundant but instead would function as a hall only and used as a Sunday school. During 1890 and 1891, a significant budget of £1,620 was raised, which is around a quarter of a million pounds in today’s money.
This aerial photo from 1950 shows the Burleigh Church and you can just see the Mission Hall behind it, facing out on to Herbertson Street with former houses on Auchinraith Road in the background. Indeed every single building in that photo is now gone.
The first foundation stone for this permanent church was laid on 12th March 1892 and the church was finally opened on Saturday, 3rd December 1892. It is unknown if it met budget requirements. The new church was a prominent feature and had later allocated address, 103 Glasgow Road, situated on the south side, directly across Glasgow Road from Gilmour’s Building. The hall, part of Herbertson Street.
We’ll be exploring the opening ceremony in detail tomorrow…..
