In
the early days of the Church of Scotland it wasn't particularly unknown for
dissatisfied members of a congregation to band together, split from the main
body and proceed to go off and worship on their own . . such was the origin of
Kerse Church in Grangemouth.
The 1890s had been troubled times for the
Parish Church which was situated in Zetland Place, off Charing Cross near the
railway. There had been quite a few disagreements between the minister and his
office-bearers and members, causing much disharmony in the congregation.
Sufficient to say, now, a century later, that the unhappiness created a large
split and a number of the members were determined to move out and worship
elsewhere.
PRESBYTERY TAKES NOTE
At a
meeting of the Church of Scotland Presbytery of Linlithgow on May 12, 1897, it
was reported that "services had been held in the Town Hall, Grangemouth, on
Sunday last at 11.15 a.m. and 2.15p.m., and it was intended to go on holding
them at the same hours and in the same place until a suitable building was
erected". Thus in such controlled terms the presbytery minutes record the birth
of Kerse Church, but we know from our own archives that there was tremendous
determination and enthusiasm among those early members striking out on their
own.
In February, 1897, there had been a meeting of twelve dissatisfied
Parish Church members, including three trustees and four managers and the
outcome had been the sending of a petition to presbytery stating that a new
mission charge be started in Grangemouth with the least possible delay. The
parish minister strongly opposed this petition, saying that he and his kirk
session were unanimously of the opinion that there was no need for additional
church accommodation in the town.
EVENTUAL
DECISION
So there were two sides unwilling to budge, but the
real reasons for the petition, namely the unhappiness of the Parish Kirk
members, were well known by presbytery. No doubt this greatly influenced the
eventual decision to grant the application for church extension, mainly in the
hope that it would go a long way to heal the wounds of disharmony.
It is
worth recording the names of those who put their names to the Kerse petition.
They were members: W. H. Thomson, blacksmith; Peter Urie, ironmonger; John
Hannah, stationer; William Chapman, gardener; James McGrouther, ironfounder;
managers: George Palmer, stevedore; William Walker, railway foreman; John Paton,
shipping clerk; John Williamson, joiner: life trustees: Edward Wood; Provost
Andrew Mackay and Alexander Tait . . . a formidable group of Grangemouth
citizens.
SITE FOR NEW CHURCH
So, having
worshipped in the Town Hall for the first time and with presbytery's approval
having been given, a few weeks later the new congregation were recommended for a
grant towards a minister's stipend and also allowed to acquire a site for the
new church. The proposed situation for the church was on a feu in front of the
public park and facing a new street.
In June, 1897, plans for the new
church by architect J. P. Goodsir were submitted and approved and the following
month the presbytery was asked to take steps to ordain and induct Kerse
congregation's first minister. The Rev. William Knowles was inducted into the
new charge in September - so the whole process from the original petition to
presbytery and the induction of our first minister took around six months - a
wonderful achievement.
Our First Minister - Rev. William A.
Knowles, B.D.
When Mr Knowles came to Grangemouth there were
just over 200 of our first members worshipping in the Town Hall and his arrival
gave that extra impetus to get things moving. A subscription list had been
opened to finance the new church building which was estimated to cost £4,500 and
money began to flow in from members, friends and well-wishers from further
afield. Grants from the Baird Trust and Home Mission would also
help.
RAPID PROGRESS
Construction on the
church building began during the first few weeks of 1898 and the work rapidly
progressed. At the end of September things were well advanced, so it was at
quite a late stage that the Marquis of Zetland laid a memorial stone at that
time. The church was completed and dedicated on February 24, 1899, and the first
Sunday service was held two days later when there was much joy in having, at
last, a place of one's own in which to worship.
A description of Kerse
Church at the time reads as follows: It is in the Gothic style of architecture,
consisting of nave and transepts with a semi-octagonal choir platform and is
cruciform in plan. The extreme length inside is over 100feet, the nave is 40
feet wide and the width over the transepts is 70 feet. Seating will accommodate
over 700 people.
At the time when the church was built, Grangemouth's
population was just over 7,000 but a large addition to the docks was in
progress. It was envisaged that there would be a steady flow of workers and
their families taking up residence in the town. There was much vacant ground for
quite a distance around the church site which would be suitable for
house-building. That vision certainly came to pass and the great influx of
industry and commerce to Grangemouth during the 20th century saw the population
rise to about 27,000.
NO REST FOR MEMBERS
Having
built the church and cleared its debt, one might have thought the congregation
would have been content to settle down and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
However, thoughts were now turning to adding a new parish to the Church of
Scotland, that of Kerse ... and to do this it was calculated that the
congregation (now over 500) would have to raise at least £l,250 for
endowment.
Considering what the members had achieved in such a short span
of years, this was an immense sum, but in 1904 they started planning for a huge
three day bazaar to which they would invite everyone in Grangemouth and also
friends from far and wide. Much preparation was put into operation for the grand
event which took place in the autumn of 1905, the venue being the Town Hall. The
bazaar received huge support and at the end Mr Knowles announced a final total
of £1,600.
