Arbroath West Kirk September 2020 On line Edition

History of Our Congregation (8)

Change is the stuff of history. In fact without change there is no history, or, to put it another way, there is nothing to be learnt. Lately, our congregation had a major change when the old Knox’s Church and the old West Kirk united to create the new charge of West Kirk. Here is Knox’s story.

On the 20^th November 1865 office-bearers from Inverbrothock Free, Ladyloan Free, High Street Free and East Free Churches decided the following:

“It was agreed that, considering the increasing population of the town of Arbroath, and that the sittings in the four Free Churches of the town are well-nigh all taken up, this meeting is of the opinion that a fifth congregation in the locality of Rossie Street would be beneficial to the interests of the Free Church and religion generally.”

This resolution was the result of considerable discussion within the Arbroath Free Church Presbytery, centring on how to establish a Free Church presence in the ever expanding part of the town around Rossie Street and Cairnie Street and the decision was made to open a ‘mission station’. This station was to be used to bring non-attenders back into church, but also to be open to church members who lived in the area. The station was set up by renting Inverbrothock Parish School in Ogilvie Place at £15 per year. This building still stands and is occupied by the Girlguiding Arbroath HQ. The first act of worship was held there on the 28^th January 1866, conducted by the Rev. John Laird, Cupar, who read to the congregation the minute of Presbytery agreeing to open the station. This service marked the inauguration of Knox’s congregation (initially to be named John Knox) with a roll of 30 members. The Presbytery established an interim minister and Session consisting of the Rev. William Masterton, Inverkeilor as Moderator with four elders drawn from the four Free Churches in the town. Events moved quickly thereafter and the Lord’s Supper was dispensed to 34 communicants on 4^th March, and then on the 23^rd August, John L. Moffat, David Duncan and Andrew Sutherland became the first members of Knox’s congregation to be ordained as Elders. An application was made to the General Assembly of 1866 to be granted a full time minister as soon as possible. This application revealed that £950 had been contributed to a fund to build a new church to serve this ‘new and rapidly increasing district’ of the town. Having gained the General Assembly’s sanction, the Rev. William Scrymgeour was inducted in Inverbrothock Free Church to the charge of Knox’s in April 1867 and on the following Sunday was introduced to the congregation by the Rev. William Arnot, from Edinburgh. Sometime before the General Assembly sanction, the site at the corner of Howard Street and Cairnie Street had been secured from the property of Sir John Ogilvie and subsequently on 2^nd May 1866, plans prepared by James Maclaren, architect, Dundee, were approved by Presbytery leading to the start of the building project in late June of 1866.

Maclaren’s design was for a late-Gothic style building with transepts to give a cross shape but the project hit a serious problem after the walls of the building had reached around six feet in height. It was discovered that one transept would encroach on the adjoining line of adjacent cottages in Cairnie Street and an owner had threatened to interdict the build. After consultations with the architect it was decided to alter the design by reducing the length of the transepts from nine feet to four feet. This solution not only prevented any legal action but was also more cost effective than demolishing the work done so far and repositioning the structure. The original plan would have seated around 800 people but the necessity of shortening the transepts meant a capacity of around 760.

Over the years Knox’s Church witnessed many changes, such as fabric improvements and additions, but more importantly, major changes of denomination and organization caused by national and local unions and linkages. Ecclesiastically, the 20^th century has been characterized as the century of ecumenism and in the first part of the century, Knox’s changed denomination twice. During the ministry of the Rev. Dr Lilley, Knox’s Free Church became Knox’s United Free Church when in 1900 after long negotiations at national level the Free Church united with the United Presbyterian Church to become the United Free Church. In May 1929 during the ministry of the Rev. George Adam, after long conversations and committee meetings at national level going back as early as 1866, the Established Church and the United Free Church reunited as the Church of Scotland, and Knox’s United Free Church, renamed as Knox’s Church, became a congregation of the Church of Scotland. When the Rev. John Reid retired after 31 years of ministry in Knox’s, the charge fell vacant. Angus Presbytery took this opportunity to propose the linking of Knox’s with St Vigeans and their Basis and Plan of Linking was agreed by vote on the 25 April 1982, and officially linked on Sunday evening, 30^th May, conducted by the Rev. Peter M. Gordon, moderator of Angus Presbytery and minister at Brechin Cathedral. Finally, in 2019 Knox’s Church united with nearby West Kirk and the Knox’s church buildings were sold. This latest change goes with the grain of the Church of Scotland’s Radical Plan in the interests of good stewardship and use of ministry resources and has created a viable base for mission in the west of the town, exactly what the founders of Knox’s wished.

Bill Clark.