The Story of Stepps

Stepps Parish Church

1900-1906
1906-1931
1931-1983
1983-

Stepps Established Church
Stepps Parish Church
Whitehill Parish Church
Stepps Parish Church

On 8th January 1899 a meeting took place in the vestry of Hogganfield Parish Church, at the behest of the minister, the Rev. J.F. Andison, BD, to consider the institution of additional worship at Stepps. Another meeting took place in the Union Hall, Stepps, on 31st January, when the Convener of the Church of Scotland Home Mission Committee, the Rev. Donald McLeod, DD, provided details of the procedures required to institute church extension, one of which was that a public meeting should be held, open to all interested persons, whether members of the Church of Scotland or not. Such a meeting was accordingly held, on 15th March 1899, presided over by the minister of the Parish, Mr Andison, supported by the Rev. William Davidson, Minister of Chryston Parish, and Dr McLeod. At this meeting it was decided to proceed with the erection of a church, in Stepps, and a Building Committee was appointed, with Mr William B. Ross of Garfield as convener.

At that time the development of Whitehill Avenue had only just begun, and a site there (today still occupied by the Parish Church) was offered at the nominal feu duty of one shilling per annum by Colonel Sprot of Garnkirk. This offer was accepted and on 19th May 1899 the Building Committee appointed P McGregor Chalmers as architect. The following local tradesmen were appointed as principal contractors: J. Calder, mason, of Chryston; James Gray, joiner, of Stepps; and J.W. Taylor, plumber, of Stepps. The right to erect halls and a manse on the feu, as well as a church, was secured, the Feu Charter was approved, and work began.

The first sod was cut by Mr Ross, on 27th July 1899, and the foundation stone was laid by Colonel Sprot on 23rd September, with a silver trowel presented to him for the purpose. According to a contemporary report he "handled the trowel as deftly as he may be trusted to wield his sword if it comes to war with the Boers" (as indeed it did). Peter McGregor Chalmers was a significant Scottish architect of his day. His work included Cardonald Parish Church (very similar to the building at Stepps), St Margaret's Episcopal Church at Newlands, St David's Memorial Church at Kirkintilloch, and numerous other churches; also the Neptune Building, Glasgow. His other interests included archaeology, and he supervised an excavation at the Peel Park, Kirkintilloch.

The church was built in the form of a cross, of red Ballochmyle sandstone. A large stone belfry stood over the chancel-arch gable, and on it was hung a large bell, the gift of Major John Garroway of "Rosemount", Riddrie. At first the lighting was by acetylene gas, and as carbide was then purchased in large quantities of ten/fifteen hundredweight a Gas House was built at the back of the church, at a cost of £38.

On Sunday, 27th May 1900, almost exactly a year after the appointment of the architect, the church was opened for worship and dedicated by the Very Rev. Marshall Lang, DD, Principal of the University of Aberdeen. With the help of grants from the Baird Trust and the Ferguson Bequest, and of loans from a number of private individuals, the people of Stepps had built themselves a £3,000 church, and the long trek to Hogganfield every Sunday was no longer necessary.

Stepps Parish Church

The completed church now had Trustees, a Board of Management, seat-holders, a Deed of Constitution, and a name (Stepps Established Church), but as yet it had no minister or Kirk Session, for it was still in the Parish of Hogganfield and under the jurisdiction of the Minister and Kirk Session of Hogganfield Parish Church. On 8th January 1901, however, two years after the first meeting in the vestry of Hogganfield Church, a call was presented to the Rev. Thomas D. Stewart, Assistant at Kilmacolm Parish Church, to become the first minister of Stepps Established Church. His induction took place on 19th February 1901, and under his ministry a large congregation was formed. In 1904 he was translated to Inverbrothock and was replaced by the Rev. George Condie, BD, Assistant at Bellahouston, who was ordained and inducted on 4th August. Mr Conche's first task was to carry out plans drawn up by his predecessor, for the erection of halls and the endowment of the stipend, that the church might be raised to the full status of a Parish of the Church of Scotland.

At the end of 1905 a Grand Bazaar was organised in Glasgow, to raise the sum of £1,800 for the dual purpose of endowment and hall building. The church by now had a membership roll of over 400, and the congregation was continuing to increase in size, year by year. Meanwhile, Glasgow gas had arrived to replace paraffin lamps in the streets and houses of Stepps, and when the stock of carbide had been used up the church too was converted to Corporation Gas, at a total cost of £5 15s.

A petition to the Lords of Council and Session, Commissioners for the Plantation of Kirks and Valuation of Tiends, by Robert Anderson, Rose Villa; James Wilson, Kenmount; John Jackson, Whitehill Farm; and John Dunlop, Grafton Villa; "To discern and erect Stepps Church into a Parish Church in connection with the Church of Scotland, and to mark out and designate a district to be attached to the said Church, and to disjoin the said Church and district from the Parishes of Hogganfield and Chryston to which the same now belong, and to erect the same into a Parish Church and Parish to be called the Church and Parish of Stepps" was granted on 13th July 1906. And so the Rev. George Condie, BD, became the first minister of "Stepps Parish Church".

About 1909 plans for a hall and extension to the church were approved, Mr McGregor Chalmers again being the architect. On 19th November 1911 the new aisle was dedicated. The work was done so skilfully and the side aisle is so characteristic of the architect's style, that it is almost impossible to detect any sign of the adaptation of the original design. The extension, which was carried out at a cost of £233, raised the seating capacity of the church from 416 to 475. The new hall was formally opened on 12th October 1912, by Colonel Sprot. At the close of 1912 the Rev. George Condie was translated to Muthil, leaving a fine record of service in Stepps. On 18th June 1913 the charge was filled by the Rev. Malcolm Shennan, from Glenisla, Alyth. He was faced almost immediately with the turmoil of the First World War, and during his long ministry there were many changes in Stepps.

The period between the two World Wars saw the community change from a peaceful village to a thriving suburb on one of the busiest roads in Scotland. Amid all the changes the Parish Church continued to serve the needs of the people of Stepps. Thanks to the fund-raising efforts of the Woman's Guild, electricity was installed in the church and hall in 1928, and later a new vestry was added. In 1929 the United Free Church of Scotland, with the exception of a few congregations, was re-united with the Church of Scotland. It was agreed that two congregations would be retained in Stepps, now both under the auspices of the Church of Scotland. The former U.F. congregation would be known as "St Andrew's", while the former Stepps Parish Church would become "Whitehall Parish Church, Stepps".

The Rev. Malcom Shennan demitted his charge, through ill health, on 24th January 1948, and on 17th May the Rev. Adam M.L. MacFarlan, MC, MA, was ordained and inducted as minister. At this time, with the aid of loans, both from the Church of Scotland and from private individuals, a house at 57 Whitehall Avenue was purchased at a cost of £3,350, to serve as a manse. Mr MacFarlan married Miss Elizabeth Bankier, a resident of Stepps, and they became the first occupants of Whitehall Manse. Mr MacFarlan, who as Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers had led his troops on various fronts during the Second World War, proved his worth also in the revival of the congregation on the return to peacetime conditions. However, he demitted his charge on 2nd November 1952, in order to take up an appointment as Principal of St Kentigern's College, in Auckland, New Zealand. To succeed him, the Rev. W.Andrew Wylie, MA, was ordained and inducted on 4th June 1953. The formation of the Youth Fellowship in 1953 reflected Mr Wylie's particular interest in young people. Mr Wylie left in 1959, to take up an appointment as Minister of the Scots Kirk in Lausanne, Switzerland, and was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas W. Kiltie, MA, BD, formerly Assistant at Glasgow Cathedral, who was elected Minister on 20th May 1960. Under his guidance a new hall, designed by Mr S. Martin Smith, was built in 1965, to house the various organisations. In 1966 Mr Kiltie was translated to Airdrie West and was succeeded by the Rev. Roger Clarke, BSc, BD.

At this time, many new houses were being built and occupied in the Millerston area, and the resultant increase in the number of children and young people attending the Sunday School and other organisations gave rise to further problems of accommodation. James Buchanan & Co. offered a large wooden hut gratis and Mr Clarke accepted this gift, with the approval of the Congregational Board. With the help of a grant from the Education Authority and much voluntary labour the hut was re-erected in the grounds of the church, and as the "Youth Hut" gave twelve years of valuable service to the young people of the congregation and the community. Mr Clarke demitted his charge on 2nd April 1972, to take up an appointment as an Industrial Chaplain at Dundee, and was succeeded by the present minister, the Rev. Frederick C. Muir, MA, BD, ThM, ARCM, previously of St James' Church, Lossiemouth, who was inducted on 25th October 1972. In 1976 Mr Muir married a local resident and member of the congregation, Miss Christine Dickie, and four years later, with the approval of the Glasgow Presbytery, they bought a house in Alexandra Avenue and vacated the Manse. Proceeds from its sale were subsequently applied to the provision of a new central heating system for the church and halls.

The organ in Stepps Parish Church was built back in 1884 by the Glasgow organ builder, Joseph Brook, for the South Glasgow Exhibition, and was purchased for the church in 1900 from the Rothesay Aquarium, for the sum of £80. In 1976, as part of the church's 75th anniversary celebrations, the organ was rebuilt at a cost of £4,000, by James Mackenzie. Although small, it is a remarkably responsive and versatile instrument. The recital after the service of re-dedication, on 5th September 1976, was given by the minister, and there was a celebratory concert afterwards, given by the Stepps & District Choral Society, conducted by Mr Muir. The organist at the concert was Mr John R. Turner, Master of Music at Glasgow Cathedral, who had acted as consultant for the rebuilding.

In 1977 the Kirk Sessions of St Andrew's and Whitehall initiated a series of joint meetings and discussions to consider greater co-operation between the two congregations, with a view to eventual union. After two years, and with little apparent result, these discussions were discontinued. However, they were resumed in 1981, on the retiral of the Rev. Robert A. Philp, Minister of St Andrew's. At this time the Presbytery of Glasgow decided that St Andrew's Church, whose roll had fallen to around 300, was no longer viable as a separate congregation. So, after a protracted period of negotiation the two churches were united on 6th January 1983, the Basis of Union providing that the Whitehall Church should be the place of worship and that the Whitehall minister, the Rev. Fred C. Muir, should be first minister of the united congregation. St Andrew's Church was then sold and demolished, and on its site a block of flats, Blenheim Court, was built. The lintel stones from the main door of St Andrew's Hall, with their text, "There am I in the midst", were retained and rebuilt on the church patio of Whitehill Church, which was now once again named "Stepps Parish Church". St Andrew's Manse was large by modern standards and in need of extensive upgrading, so it was decided to sell it and invest the proceeds in a "Manse Fund" for the provision of a more suitable house, if and when a manse was required.

Using the proceeds of the St Andrew's Church sale as a basis, the united congregation embarked on an ambitious programme of modernisation and extension of its hall premises, to plans prepared by a Glasgow architect, William McClure, who was also a member of the congregation. The first phase, which included the provision of a new kitchen and toilets, and of a Session Room, committee room and office, was completed in 1987, at a cost of £80,000. The second phase - the provision of a small hall and a covered way connecting the halls to the church - has been delayed by the prior claims of a roof requiring reslating, as the church approaches its centenary. Church membership stands presently at 538 adults, and Stepps Parish Church seems destined to serve the community well into the next century.

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