St Vincent Street Church, Glasgow
| St. Vincent Street Church | |
|---|---|
 St. Vincent Street Church | |
  St. Vincent Street Church | |
| 55°51′44.6″N 4°15′55.5″W / 55.862389°N 4.265417°W | |
| Location | Glasgow |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Free Church of Scotland |
| History | |
| Founded | 1857 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Alexander Thomson |
| Style | Greek revival |
| Completed | 1859 |
St. Vincent Street Church is a Presbyterian church on St. Vincent Street in Glasgow, Scotland. It was designed by Alexander Thomson (also known as "Greek" Thomson) and built from 1857 to 1859 for the former United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.[1] Elements (probably the tower) are by Thomson's young assistant, the church architect Robert Gordon Wilson, who was a member of the UP church.[2] It is a Category A listed building.[3] and is owned by Glasgow City Council.
Suffixed variously as United Presbyterian Church (1859), United Free Church (1900) and Parish Church of Scotland (1929) due to unions involving the denominations using it, the building was purchased by the Association of Spiritualists in 1939 then by Glasgow Corporation in 1964 who carried out repairs.[4] From 1971 it was known as Glasgow City Free Church[5] and used by a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland, originally serving the Gaelic community using premises further east in the city[6] at Gordon Street (from 1824 to 1886) then Waterloo Street[7] (from 1886 until being made homeless by a fire in 1957, prior to occupying St Vincent Street).[5] In 1994 a union took place with the congregation of Milton Free Church (Garnethill) whose building was demolished due to safety concerns.[5]
In 1998 the building was listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, and again in 2004 and 2006. The Fund helped restore the tower, with support from American Express.[8]
In October 2021, Glasgow City Free Church were forced to vacate the building due to falling plaster. It has since lain unused.[9] The congregation relocated to smaller premises further west in Partick, uniting in 2023 with the 'host' congregation – which itself traced its origins to 1843 – to be known as Crow Road Free Church.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (October 5, 2021, 12:46 am)".
- ^ Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Gordon Wilson
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "261 St Vincent Street, St Vincent Street Church... (Category A Listed Building LB33150)". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ Glasgow City Free Church, Blythswood, Glasgow, Places of Worship in Scotland
- ^ a b c d Our History, Crow Road Free Church. Retrieved 9 March 2026
- ^ Danger: city under construction, New-cleckit dominie, 28 December 2023
- ^ Glasgow, 58 Waterloo Street, Gaelic Free Church, Trove
- ^ "Saint Vincent Street Church". World Monuments Fund.
- ^ Nicole Mitchell (18 October 2021). "Glasgow's St Vincent Street Church has been forced to close". Glasgow Evening Times.
External links
Media related to St. Vincent Street Church, Glasgow at Wikimedia Commons- Photographs on the Glasgow Guide website
- Website of Glasgow City Free Church
- Alexander Thomson's Churches Internal and external photographs
