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SKELMORLIE and WEMYSS BAY SOUTH CHURCH - 1856 - 1956ONE HUNDRED YEARS by Wm. Newton McCartney - June 3, 1956
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SKELMORLIE and WEMYSS BAYSOUTH CHURCH1856 - 1956ONE HUNDRED YEARS
byWm. Newton McCartneyJune 3, 1956
The Old Church 1856 - 1894
One Hundred Years
On Sunday, June 3, 1956, The Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay South Church celebrated its centenary and a backwardglance over its history may be of interest.One hundred years ago, the district, which is now The Parish of Skelmorlie, comprised the estates of Eglinton,Wemyss Bay and Kelly. It had a population of 304, of which number it is said that 40 were summer visitors and a largeproportion of the remainder children.In 1853 a request was put before The Greenock Presbytery for a new church to serve the district and there was a gooddeal of discussion regarding where a new church building should be placed. The minister of Inverkip wanted it as faraway as possible from his church and, for a while, it looked as though the new church would be built at The Meigle.The minister of Largs, on the other hand, said that it should be built near enough the Kelly Burn to serve the residentsof Wemyss Bay. This view prevailed at last and it was built on the present site, the ground of which was gifted to thetrustees by The Earl of Eglinton, who retained the right to claim it for one shilling a year.
 
SKELMORLIE and WEMYSS BAY SOUTH CHURCH - 1856 - 1956ONE HUNDRED YEARS by Wm. Newton McCartney - June 3, 1956
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Curiously enough, when the church was built, it was called The Kelly Bridge Chapel. It is under this name that itappears in the Presbytery records. As there was, at that time, no 'Parish of Skelmorlie', it took the status of a 'Chapelof Ease' in the parishes of Largs and Inverkip.In 1855 building operations commenced and the new chapel was opened in the following year. The original managersand trustees were - Rear-Admiral Montgomerie of Brigend, George Clark Arbuthnot of Beach House, James Scott ofKelly, Charles Wilsone Brown of Castle Wemyss and the Rev. John Kinross, minister of the Parish of Largs.The actual date of the opening of the new 'Chapel of Ease' seems uncertain, as, for some months before the firstminister was appointed, a Mr. Patullo, who afterwards went to the church at Parton, in Kirkcudbrightshire, occupiedthe pulpit.The first minister actually appointed was the Rev. Walter Little Gilmour Boyd, M.A., who was elected on April 21,1856 and ordained on September 25th of that year. At this ordination service the Rev. John Kinross of Largs, whofought so hard to have the church erected on its present site, presided and preached. There was also present the fatherof the young minister, the Rev. Dr. Boyd of Glasgow and, one may hope, the young minister's brother, thedistinguised A. K. H. Boyd of St. Andrews.In this matter of fixing the actual date of the opening, one may find in a church record dated May 9, 1906, thefollowing passage - "The Moderator (The Rev. John McGilchrist) drew the attention of members to the fact that thefirst constitution of the Skelmorlie church had been granted by the General Assembly on June 2, 1856 and that this,accordingly, was the Jubilee Year of the church. A proposal to the effect that the occasion should be suitablyrecognised by a special service was heartily approved. Mr. McGilchrist took the Jubilee Service himself. His text was'The Burning Bush' (Exodus III, verse 2). At the evening service there was a choir of forty children. We mayconclude then that, if the date of June 2, 1906 was good enough for the Jubilee, June 3, 1956 may be suitable enoughfor the centenary.The Kelly Bridge 'Chapel of Ease' was a very dainty little building. Pictures of it, internally and externally, are stillavailable. It was described at the time as a 'model of eccesiatical architecture' and was erected at a cost of £1,300 - lessthan a modern 'prefab'. The young minister devoted himself wholeheartedly to the task of beautifying and enlargingthe building. Before very long, in 1858, he had two little transepts added to the south end of the chapel. By means ofthese extensions the building was capable of seating 400.In the year 1860, the 'Chapel of Ease' attained the dignity of a 'parish church', the newly established stretching downthe firth as far as St. Fillan's and included the estates of Eglinton, Kelly and Wemyss Bay. The parish is what is called a
"quoad sacra"
parish. Largs retains the "Teinds" as far as the limit of the Eglinton Estate and Inverkip retains the"Teinds" of Kelly and Wemyss Bay.On June 2, 1865, (
see now and elsewhere Donald Kelly's 2006-written article regarding the history and the dating of Skelmorlie church'sorgans
) the young minister did a very daring thing, he introduced an organ into the church services. It is roundlyasserted that the Skelmorlie organ was the first organ ever played in a Church of Scotland service, it actually thepioneer organ of The Church of Scotland. The innovation met with strenuous opposition from many quarters.Anthems were sung, prose Psalms were chanted, to the amazement of the whole community. But, these innovationswere confined to the afternoon service. At the morning service, the old traditions were adhered to until, gradually, amore tolerant attitude came into being.Of course there were some who maintained their opposition to the end. The Rev. Mr. Boyd's brother, the famous"A.K.H. Boyd" of a former generation writes, "Once I was in a railway carriage, a hundred miles from Skelmorlie,when a familiar name fell on my ear. I looked and two old women went on, in spiteful tones, about the doings in mybrother's church - 'They call it Boyd's Theatre', one of them said".It was not until July 10, 1870 that the church appointed its elders. Prior to this the minister was assisted, in theadministration of The Sacrament, either by his father, the Rev. Dr. Boyd of Glasgow, or by elders from a distance,outwith the parish.Two years later Mr. Boyd's ministry came to a sudden end. He died, aged 39, on January 4, 1872, after a ministry of just over fifteen years, 1856 – 1872. Dr. Storry wrote the epitaph inscribed on the memorial tablet, transferred fromthe wall of the original church to the back of the present building.
 
SKELMORLIE and WEMYSS BAY SOUTH CHURCH - 1856 - 1956ONE HUNDRED YEARS by Wm. Newton McCartney - June 3, 1956
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By this time, the railway having come to Wemyss Bay in 1865, mansion houses were being built along the twenty-fivefoot terraced beach, which is such a notable natural feature of the firth and on the hill above and behind the old seacliffs. Before very long, it was stated that, from Castle Wemyss to Skelmorlie Castle, there was more wealth here thanin any other parish of like size in the whole of Scotland.With the quick growth of building and an ever-increasing number of summer visitors, it was felt, in the early 1890's,that something more spacious should take the place of the dainty little parish church beneath the cliff and the problemwas placed before the architects Messrs. John Honeyman and Keppie. Though the reconstruction and adaptation of anexisting building is always a problem, the difficulties were at length overcome and the new church building opened forworship on October 13, 1895, the preacher being the Rev. Professor Charteris, D.D., of Edinburgh.The architectural features of the reconstructed church have met with universal approval. In the reconstruction, the old1856 church building became a useful and imposing hall eminently suited for Sunday School and other congregationalactivities. The whole building, outside and in, is of a beautiful warm-tinted red sandstone from the local quarries.The entrance to the church is at the base of the tower, the outer door being deeply recessed and richly moulded. Thedetails of the interior are much richer and delicate than those of the exterior. The high rounded roof is of a darklydressed timber.The style of architecture has been described as that which prevailed about the middle of the 13th century. There is aside aisle separated from the nave by five arches. Steps at the south end of the church lead up to the chancel, whichcontains an organ chamber with openings towards the chancel and the side aisle. The entire mason work was by a localbuilder, Mr. W. W. Oswald.The cost of the reconstruction was £5,813 19 shillings and 6 pence. Two years later, in 1897, the church was clear ofdebt. This was the outcome of a great effort inspired by the minister, the Rev. John Lamond.There is in existence a printed report, with the names and addresses of all the subscribers, which shows how themoney was raised. It is a tremendously interesting document today, as it gives the names of the occupiers of nearlyevery house in Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay nearly sixty years ago, in the 1890's. It was during Mr. Lamond's ministry,which began in Skelmorlie on May 18, 1891, that the new church was built. Today (in 1956), it is insured for £37,000.
The Reconstructed Church 1895 – 1956
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