Ancestry Tours of Glasgow Cathedral Scotland

Ancestry Tours of Glasgow Cathedral Scotland. Tour Glasgow, Scotland, on an Ancestry Tour of Scotland. Best Scottish Tours, Best Scottish Food, Best Scottish Hotels, Small Group Tours of Scotland. Rent a Cottage in Scotland. Golf Scotland. Tour Roman Scotland.

Glasgow in 1846. The ancient see of Glasgow, after the abdication of Archbishop Beaton, in 1560, was governed by prelates appointed, at first by the Earl of Lennox, in whose family the temporalities were vested, and subsequently by the crown; and from the time of the Reformation to the Revolution, it was under the superintendence of fourteen Protestant archbishops, of whom the last, John Paterson, was consecrated in 1687. There were thirty nine prebendaries belonging to the cathedral, all of whom had residences in its immediate vicinity; but their houses were given to various noblemen and gentlemen who had influence at court, and the venerable cathedral itself was preserved from destruction only by the spirited resistance of the citizens already referred to. The cathedral, thus preserved as one of the proudest ornaments of the city, is a stately cruciform structure in the early English style of architecture, 319 feet in length and sixty-three feet in width, with a square tower rising from the intersection of the nave and transepts, surmounted by a lofty spire, and with a tower also at the west end of the north aisle. The nave, of which part was till lately appropriated as the Outer High church, is ninety feet in height, and is divided from the aisles by noble ranges of clustered columns that support the roof: the choir, which has been appropriated as the Inner High church, is eighty-five feet in height, and of richer detail than the nave, the columns that sustain the roof being embellished with flowered capitals. The entrance into the choir is through a fine screen of the later English style; and the west doorway into the nave, which has been stopped up, is adorned with canopied niches: indeed, all the details of this interesting structure are in the best character of the English style. The crypt, which was for more than two centuries used as the church of the Barony parish, is unrivalled for elegance of design by that of any other cathedral of the kingdom; it is well lighted from the abrupt slope of the ground, and is, perhaps, one of the richest specimens of the early English style in existence. The piers are of beautiful character, and the groinings, which are elaborately intricate, are enriched with bosses and other ornaments; the capitals of the piers are embellished with flowers, and the doors with foliage. This portion of the ancient structure has been carefully cleared from the rubbish that had been suffered to accumulate; and since the completion of a new church in High John-street, by the corporation, in lieu of the Outer High church in the cathedral, which had been pronounced to be deeply infected with the dry rot, and consequently unsafe, the whole of the nave, containing many interesting monuments and other valuable details in a ruinous state from neglect, and other parts of the edifice have, under the superintendence of architects appointed by government, been renovated and restored to their pristine beauty.

The city is the seat of a presbytery, including the ten parishes in Glasgow, and the twelve surrounding parishes of Barony, Gorbals, Rutherglen, Cumbernauld, Carmunnock, Cadder, Campsie, Govan, Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth, Cathcart, and Eaglesham. The parish of the Inner High church, originally the parish of Glasgow, but now comprising only about 1000 acres in extent, is principally occupied by buildings, the rural districts not containing more than 100 persons, out of a population of 15,444. The minister's stipend is £350, with a glebe which is let for building, and produces a net rental of £138. 5. per annum; patron, the Crown. The church, as already stated, is the choir of the cathedral; it was repaired in 1805, and contains 1143 sittings. A room has been fitted up in the Caledonian pottery for divine service, which was regularly performed by a minister of the Establishment until 1838; and a missionary also officiated at two preaching stations within the parish. The parish of the Outer High church, or the parish of St. Paul, containing a population of 9583, was erected in 1648, out of the original parish of Glasgow: the minister is appointed by the corporation, who are the patrons also of the parishes of College, Tron, St. David, St. George, St. Andrew, St. Enoch, St. John, and St. James, to the minister of each of which, as well as to the minister of St. Paul's, they pay a stipend of £425. The present church was erected by the corporation, and dedicated to St. Paul, in 1836; it is a handsome structure, and contains 1198 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, Glassites, Old Scotch Independents, Baptists, Scottish Baptists, the Society of Friends, and others. The parish of the College, or Blackfriars, is a town parish, within which the buildings of the university are situated, and is densely populous, numbering 10,574 persons: the church, nearly in the centre of the parish, was built in 1699, by private subscription, and has been occasionally repaired, and lately reseated; it is a plain edifice containing 1307 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the United Secession, the Independent United Brethren, and the Independent Relief. The parish of the Tron church was formed out of the old parish of Glasgow in 1602, and includes a portion of the city, containing 9990 persons: the church, situated near the north-eastern extremity of the parish, was erected in 1794, and within the last twenty years has undergone some internal alterations and repairs; it contains 1366 sittings. The members of the Free Church have a place of worship. The parish of St. David, which contains a population of 9764, was divided from the older city parishes in 1720, by the presbytery and the court of Teinds: the church, erected in 1825, is a neat structure containing 1148 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the United Secession, Independents, the Relief, Swedenborgians, Hebrews, Bereans, Wesleyans, and a congregation calling themselves Christians.

The parish of St. George, of which the population is 20,370, was disjoined from the Old Wynd parish by the court of Teinds, in 1687, and consists of three separate districts which are intersected by parts of the Barony parish: the church was built in 1807, from the city funds, and has not been altered since its erection; it is a handsome edifice containing 1317 sittings. A church, dedicated to St. Peter, has been erected by the Church Building Society, at an expense of about £3200, including the site; and a portion of the parish, comprising 4366 persons, was for a time annexed to it as an ecclesiastical district. There are also places of worship for members of the Free Church, Baptists, Independents, and Original Seceders. The parish of St. Andrew, which is entirely a town parish, and has a population of 7317, was founded in 1765, and is about half a mile in length, and of nearly equal breadth. The church was finished in 1756, out of the funds of the city, and was reseated in 1833; it has a lofty tower surmounted by a spire, and a noble portico of six Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature and cornice, with a triangular pediment; it is situated in the centre of St. Andrew's-square, and contains 1210 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, Church Presbyterians, and an episcopal chapel. The parish of St. Enoch was formed by the court of Teinds, in 1782, and is about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth, containing 8877 persons. The church, originally erected from the city funds, in 1782, and rebuilt, with the exception of the steeple, in 1828, is a stately structure with a lofty tower of several stages, terminating in a pyramidal spire, surmounted by a vane; it is finely situated on the south side of St. Enoch's-square, and contains 1224 sittings. There is a place of worship for members of the Free Church; and the Roman Catholies have two chapels, the one a spacious edifice in the later English style, erected in 1816, at an expense, including the residence for the priest, of £17,000, and the other a smaller building, purchased in 1824, at a cost of £500. The parish of St. John, formed out of three contiguous parishes by the court of Teinds, in 1819, is about three-quarters of a mile in length, and one-quarter of a mile in breadth, and contains a population of 16,228: the church, which is situated near the western extremity of the parish, was built in 1819, from the city funds, and has undergone no alteration; it contains 1636 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, Original Burghers, the United Secession, and the Relief, and an episcopal chapel. The parish of St. James was erected by the court of Teinds, in 1819, and is about one mile in length, and half a mile in breadth; it comprehends nearly the whole of the Public Green, and comprises about 115 acres, and 11,216 persons. The church was built in 1812, by the Wesleyans, from whom it was purchased by the corporation in 1819, and erected into a parish church; it is a neat structure, and contains 1371 sittings. There are places of worship for members of the Free Church, the Relief, and the Reformed Presbyterians. The parish of Gorbals is described under its own head.

Among the quoad sacra parishes which were created out of the ten parishes just noticed, and till lately existed in the city, was that of Albion, formed in 1834, out of the parishes of the Outer High church and St. David, and having a population of 4792: the church had been built in 1768, and enlarged in 1823, and is a handsome structure containing 1800 sittings. The quoad sacra parish of St. George in the Fields was separated from the parish of St. George, and was about half a mile in length, and less than a quarter of a mile in breadth, containing 4745 persons. The church was built in 1824, as a chapel of ease, partly by donations, and partly by funds borrowed for the purpose, at an expense of £2350; it is a neat edifice, and has 1226 sittings. The parish of St. Thomas was formed from St. John's; it was wholly a town parish, and about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth, with a population of 3762. The church was erected in 1823, as a chapel of ease, chiefly under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Chalmers, at a cost of £3320, raised by donations and by subscription of twenty-one shareholders of £100 each; it contains 1398 sittings. St. Ann's was formed from the parishes of St. Andrew and St. James, and was of moderate extent: the church, originally built by the Wesleyans in 1819, was bought for the use of the Establishment in 1831, at a cost, including repairs, of £1500; it has accommodation for 776 persons. Bridgegate, having a population of 5396, was formed from the parish of St. James: this church, also, was recently purchased from the Wesleyans, at a cost, including repairs, of £2300; it is a neat building, and contains 890 sittings. All these quoad sacra parishes, formed in, or subsequently to, the year 1834, have been completely abolished.

The barony civil and ecclesiastical parish was separated in 1595 from the burgh of Glasgow, which previously formed the only parish, including both the royalty and the barony; it contains a great portion of the suburbs and parliamentary borough, with a wide rural district, and is eight miles and a half in length and four and a half in breadth, comprising nearly 14,000 acres, and having a population of 106,075. The minister of the parish receives a stipend of £310, with an allowance for a manse, and a glebe of considerable value. Previously to 1800, the crypt of the cathedral was appropriated as the place of worship of this parish, but in that year the present church was erected, and in 1830 it was repaired and enlarged; it is a neat structure, situated about a mile from the nearest, and five miles from the farthest, boundary of the parish, and contains 1403 sittings. There are numerous places of worship for members of the Free Church, and also for Baptists, Burghers, Independents, Reformed Presbyterians, the United Secession, and Unitarians, and an episcopal chapel. The late quoad sacra parish of St. Murk, separated from the parish in 1835, was wholly a town parish, about 400 yards in length, and 200 yards in breadth, having a population of 3315: the church was originally built by dissenters, from whom, in 1835 it was purchased by the Church Building Society, at a cost, including repairs, of £1260; it contains 1032 sittings. The quoad sacra parish of St. Stephen, containing 3975 persons, was formed in 1836: the church had been built in 1835, at an expense of nearly £3000, and is a handsome edifice with 1156 sittings. From the Barony parish were also separated, for ecclesiastical purposes, the parishes of Anderston, Colton, Camlachie, Maryhill, Shettleston, Bridgeton, St. Luke, St. Matthew, and Renfield, most of which are fully described under their own heads; but all these quoad sacra divisions, like those referred to in the preceding paragraph, have been abrogated.

Within the royalty and barony are likewise the churches of Duke-street, St. Columba, and Hope-street, established for the accommodation of the Gaelic population of the city and suburbs. Of these, the Dukestreet place of worship, then a chapel of ease, was erected into a parish church by the General Assembly in 1834, and so continued for a short time, though, from the scattered residences of the congregation, it was found impossible to assign to it any particular district; the minister's stipend is paid from the seat-rents and collections. The church was built in 1798, at an expense of £2400, raised by subscription, and repaired in 1814 and 1820, at a cost of £600; it is a neat structure, and contains 1277 sittings: the morning service is performed in the Gaelic language, and the afternoon service in English. The church of St. Columba, formerly in Ingram-street, but at present situated in Hope-street, was also for a time a parochial church; the minister's stipend averages £222, and the church, built in 1767, and rebuilt in 1781, by subscription, contains 1078 sittings. The West Gaelic chapel of Hopestreet was likewise made a parish church, in 1835, by act of the General Assembly; the minister's stipend is £300, paid by the managers from the seat-rents, and secured by bond to that amount. The church was built in 1824, at an expense of £4826, of which £300 were raised by subscriptions and donations, and the remainder by loan; it is a handsome structure, and contains 1435 sittings. The various burying-grounds in the city and suburbs have, from the great increase of building, been almost surrounded with houses; and several that were originally in retired situations are now inclosed in the very heart of the city. To remedy this inconvenience, a spacious public cemetery has been formed by the Merchants' House, who, in 1830, appropriated a portion of their park, adjoining the cathedral, to the purpose: this ground, which is called the Necropolis, is laid out with much taste, and the requisite buildings are of a character harmonizing with the solemnity of the use to which they are applied. The situation of the cemetery is highly picturesque, overlooking the venerable cathedral and the old surrounding burial-ground; the several walks and drives are beautiful and varied; and the plants and shrubberies, with the various ornaments in a diversity of styles, render the whole exceedingly interesting and attractive. Within the cemetery are, a lofty pillar surmounted with a statue, by Forrest, of John Knox, and a handsome monument with a statue, by the same artist, of William Mc Gavin, besides many others: the monument of the Reformer is seen for many miles eastward of the city.