Historical Notes on the Church and Parish of Inchinnan
Written by Andrew L
Tannahill
Inchinnan
The derivation of the
name Inchinnan is the Island of the
Rivers, it
being bounded on three sides by the Rivers Clyde, Black Cart and Gryffe.
Earliest Settlement
The earliest settlement
was in 597 AD by St. Conval,
a disciple of St. Kentigern, also known as St.
Mungo. The first structure would be roughly constructed of mud and
Wattles.
First Church
Named St.
Conval's, the first church situated at the bridge at the Black Cart River
was built about 1100 AD, some
20 years before Glasgow Cathedral and 60 years before
Paisley Abbey.
The lands of Inchinnan and the church were gifted
by David I to the Knights
Templar in the 12th Century. The
Knights had a preceptory at Greenend (House of Hill or Northbar) and patronage
of the Parish Church at Inchinnan.
At the beginning of the
14th Century the immense wealth of the
Knights Templar attracted Philip of France. In 1312
a council at Vienne in France resolved that their
whole property be confiscated and the Order abolished. King
Philip IV appropriated most of the property and the remainder was given
to the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. This Order
became heir to the Templar lands in Scotland and continued to hold them till the
Reformation.
In 1560,
patronage of the Church passed to the Lennox’s,
then to the Duke of Montrose, then finally to the Campbell’s
of Blythswood in 1737.
Second Church
In 1828
the mediaeval building was in a dangerous condition
and a new church of the period "Heritors' Gothic"
similar to Old Erskine, was erected by Major
Archibald Campbell who also built Blythswood
House across the river in Renfrew.
Third Church
At the end of the
nineteenth century Archibald, the first Baron Blythswood,
financed the building of a new church. This was built around the existing one so
that services could continue during construction. On completion of this Church
the old walls were cleared and the building was consecrated on 6th
June 1904, being dedicated to All Hallows.
The full dedication was inscribed round the church and read - Dedicated
to All Hallows and the memory of those who for more than a thousand years have
worshipped here and are now in Life Eternal. The architect was Sir
Robert Rowand Anderson who restored Dunblane
Cathedral, Culross Abbey and the interior of
Dunfermline Abbey.
The
construction of the new airport for Glasgow at Abbotsinch resulted in the
demolition of All Hallows Church.
The closing service was held on 20th June 1965.
Worship continued in the Church hall nearby till June
1968.
Park Church
This was built in the
village in 1849 by Henderson
of Park for the Free Church Congregation
who, following the Disruption of 1843 had left the
parish church and Worshipped in a
barn at Barsail.
United Congregations
On 10th
June 1934 the congregation of Park Church
was formally linked with that of All Hallows Church
and in July 1938 the two congregations were united.
Park Church continued to be used for worship till June
1968. The union is
commemorated in the present Church by the presence in the side
chapel of the Communion Table from Park
Church and by the fact that the bells of both churches hang in the tower and
call the people to worship.
The Present Church
The foundation stone of
the present church was laid on 19th November
1966 and was dedicated on 6th June 1968.
The architects were Miller and Black, who
incorporated as much as possible of All Hallows in the new building.
The Stained Glass Windows
The
original plan was to transfer the stone windows and glass but it was found
during dismantling that the stonework traceries were so firmly bonded that they
had to be broken up and replaced in the new church by artificial stone.
The Sanctuary Windows
This is a five-panel
window from the church of All Hallows depicting Dawn
and Light. The principal panel shows the ascended
Lord and in the other four the Archangels:
Saints Uriel, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Towards
the top is a small wheel window with the representation of a man, a lion, an ox
and an eagle representing Saints Mathew, Mark, Luke and
John. In the centre is the emblem of the Holy Ghost, the dove. A scroll
bears the words; I am the Way the Truth and the Life
and below appear the arms of the Campbell’s and Carringtons,
the family of the first Lady Blythswood, whilst the Greek
letters Alpha and Omega are twice emblazoned.
The Rose Window
This window represents the
rainbow round the Throne like Unto
an emerald and depicts the angels standing around the throne of God.
In the centre are the mystic symbols of the Most High God and the All-seeing
Eye. In the former church the stone tracery around this window was engraved with
the following words from the Book of Revelation:
I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the
Ending, saith The Lord which is and which
was and which is to come, the Almighty.
The Choir Area
Window
This window is a
combination of panels from two 3-light windows from the transepts of the old
church. The lower part depicts Moses barefoot tending his
flock and hiding his face afraid to look upon God. The acacia bush of the
desert is tipped with tongues of flame and is the emblem of the Church of
Scotland. Nec Tamen Consumebatur - the bush burned and
yet the bush was not consumed. The original window was in memory of
the father and mother of the Blythswood family and was installed with the
thought that, one
generation shall praise Thy works to another.
The upper portion
depicts our Lord risen from the dead. Below his
feet is the scroll: I am the Resurrection and the Life.
This was part of a three-light window erected by Major
General Campbell and his family in memory of his wife who died shortly
after his return from the South African campaign. The
glass at the sides was not part of the original windows.
The Stained Glass
Windows in the West Wall
In the former church
there were nine double panel stained glass windows
all representing lessons on Faith
taken from the Old Testament. Five of these were chosen to
be installed in the present church but the other four had to be disposed of.
Starting at the pulpit the windows are as follows: The first depicts Moses
and Joseph and is in memory of Major General
Sir Barrington Bulkeley Douglas Campbell,
3rd Baron Blythswood. This window was erected by his brother officers of
the Scots Guards.
The
second window shows Noah and Abraham and is
in remembrance of Walter Douglas Campbell, given by
his sister in law Lady Augusta Blythswood.
The third illustrates the trials
and tribulations and commemorates Archibald
Campbell, 1st Baron Blythswood who built All Hallows Church.
The window was erected by his brother Sholto Douglas, 2nd
Baron Blythswood.
The
fourth window illustrates Isaac and Jacob
and is in memory of Isabella Coutts Corson, wife of Rev.
Robert McClelland. This was a gift of the congregation and friends.
Rev. Robert McClelland was the incumbent of the
parish from 1880 to 1919 and also its historian.
Samuel and David
appear in the fifth window, which was a gift of William
Craig in memory of his parents.
Session House Window
The window now in the
Session House was in the north transept of the previous church. It depicts St.
Kentigern (St. Mungo), the Patron Saint of Glasgow, dressed as a Bishop.
On the left is St. Conval, his disciple, represented
as floating over from Ireland on St. Conval's Stone,
figuratively bringing the Church with him to Inchinnan. This window was erected
by Major General D.B. Lockhart in memory of his father and mother. His father
Dr. Lawrence Lockhart was minister of the
Parish of Inchinnan from 1822 to 1860.
The Communion Table & Memorial
Chairs
The Communion Table in
the Sanctuary was formerly in the
Chancel
of All Hallows Church. It consists of three front and two end panels. In the
centre is the Lamb of God. This symbol comes from the Hebrew sacrificial system
and is applied in the New Testament to Jesus. The Lamb carries a banner of
victory, a white pennant with a red cross on a cruciform standard and suggests
that The Lamb of God, offered in sacrifice, is now triumphant. The side panels
depict angels kneeling in devotion and at the ends Alpha and Omega, the
Beginning and the End.
The memorial chair
associated with this table is in memory of Rev. F.A.
Steuart, Parish Minister
from 1919 to 1930. Two chairs, to the same general design, are also situated
behind the Communion Table and are in memory of Thomas
Buchanan and Annie Pettigrew Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan was schoolmaster of
Inchinnan School from 1913 to 1938 and also Session Clerk of the church for most
of that time.
The two antique chairs
which are behind the Adam Communion Table came from
Abbotsford and were
originally the property of Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter was a visitor to the
second church and his daughter Sophia was the wife of his biographer,
J.G. Lockhart, the elder brother of Rev. Lawrence
Lockhart.
The Pulpit
The pulpit is of black
marble, mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli work and consists of seven panels.
Three of the panels depict the Prophets: Daniel, Moses and Isaiah
and the other
four the Evangelists: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John represented as a man, a lion,
an ox and an eagle. Inscribed around the pulpit and near the top is the following:
" If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded
through one rose from the dead". The pulpit is of Italian manufacture and
workmen were brought over especially from Italy to install it in All Hallows
Church.
The Lectern
This was presented to
Inchinnan Parish Church by Mr. Robert Sutherland of Southbar in memory of his
younger daughter. It is said to be a copy of a lectern, which was once
the property of Mary, Queen of Scots, despoiled from
Holyrood Palace by Cromwell, shipped from Leith and Shipwrecked
on the Norfolk coast, it later being discovered
after many years buried in the sand. It is understood that it is presently
located in a parish Church in
Norfolk.
The Organ
The organ case was
gifted by the first Lord Blythswood in 1908 and on the evacuation of All Hallows
church the organ was dismantled, the pipes individually retuned and then
rebuilt by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool, who also installed the modem
console.
The Paneling & Pews
The very fine oak paneling
around the walls and Sanctuary as well as the oak pews were taken from the
previous church and re-installed, being modified in length to provide the centre
aisle.
Memorial Stones
Set into one of the
outside walls of the Church is a black marble tablet on which are listed the
incumbents of the Parish of Inchinnan from 1567 to date. In the vestibule is a
memorial slab of red granite, six or seven tons in weight, depicting the crests
of the Blythswood family of 1904 in glass and mosaic work.
The crests of the
married members are on the left and the unmarried members are on the right. This
was originally on the West wall of All Hallows.
Sculptured Stones Near The Church
Thirteen sculptured
stones were removed from the site of All Hallows and transferred to the present
church under the direction of the then Ministry of Public Buildings and Works.
Three Celtic stones are
under cover near the bell tower.
The centre one probably
belongs to the early 10th Century and is believed to be the top of a
shrine, which would have contained the relics of St.
Conval. The cross has
two interlaced knots at the base. Below it
is a representation of Daniel in the lions' den. The
one to the right is the shaft of an upright cross dated 10th or 11th
century. It has been suggested that this
may be part of the missing cross from the base down by the Cart near the swing
bridge (see below). The one
to the left (nearer the road) was a recumbent gravestone and is dated 10th
to 12th century. The others are gravestones believed to belong to the
13th to 16th Centuries.
The ridged stones with swords carved on them probably covered the graves of
Knights Templar.
St Conval’s & Argyll Stones
Two stones stand beside
the Walkway on the Renfrew side of the swing bridge over the White Cart. They
are enclosed in a cast iron cage. The smaller one is that on which St. Conval is
reputed to have crossed the sea from Ireland and has been known for centuries as
St. Conval's Chariot. The
other is the base of a cross, which will certainly have been erected in honour
of St. Conval. As it is, water, which collected in the hollow, was believed to
have Healing powers.
It has been better known since 1685 as the Argyll Stone
because it was on this stone that the 9th Earl of Argyll was captured following
an unsuccessful invasion against James VII (and
II). He was subsequently
executed in Edinburgh.