St George's Tron Church

Last updated

St George's Tron Church
The Parish Church of St George's Tron
St George's Tron Church 2024.jpg
The building in 2024
St George's Tron Church
Location Glasgow
Country Scotland
Denomination Church of Scotland
Churchmanship Evangelical
Website Church Website
History
Former name(s)St George's Parish Church
StatusActive
Dedication Saint George
Architecture
Functional statusChurch
Architect(s) William Stark
Completed1808
Administration
Presbytery Glasgow
Clergy
Minister(s) Alastair Duncan
Listed Building – Category A
Designated6 July 1966
Reference no. LB33003

The St George's Tron Church, in Glasgow, Scotland, is a Church of Scotland church in the city centre, located in Nelson Mandela Place, previously known as St George's Place, fronting Buchanan Street at West George Street, along from Queen Street Station. It should not be confused with the 17th-century Tron Church, which lies to the south-west on Trongate and was redeveloped in the 1980s as the Tron Theatre. Located right on the busiest shopping street in Scotland (Buchanan Street), [1] the building is a significant presence, and the oldest in the area. It stands as a terminating vista for West George Street.

Contents

History

The church opened in 1808, originally as St. George's Parish Church, with the original congregation originating from the Wynd Church in the Merchant City near to the Trongate. In 1815 Thomas Chalmers, later to be the leader of the evangelical party in the disruption of 1843, became minister of the church. A merger with the Tron St Anne congregation (previously of the Laigh Kirk on Trongate) [2] [3] in 1940 led to the compound St George's Tron name coming into use.

A notable minister of the parish was Tom Allan, a key figure in the Scottish evangelical movement of the mid-20th century. Tom Allan died of a heart attack in 1965. His ministry was followed by that of George Baillie Duncan who developed a strong emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching and who served from 1965 to 1977. Another notable minister, also an evangelical, was Eric Alexander, who served from 1977 to 1997 [4] as was Sinclair Ferguson who served in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 2004 Rev Dr William J. U. Philip became minister of the congregation, following a five-year term as Director of Ministry with the Proclamation Trust. During his ministry he oversaw the establishment of Cornhill Scotland, a training organisation for preachers and teachers of the Bible.

In 2012 the Reverend William Philip and the congregation left the Church of Scotland and moved to new premises on Bath Street where they have continued as an independent congregation under the name of the Tron Church. [5]

Today

The Reverend Alastair Duncan was duly appointed as a Transition Minister for a 7 year period in order to re-plant a congregation in the landmark city centre church, before being formally inducted over zoom in 2020. [6]

St George’s Tron opens its door to the public 7 days a week, with the Wild Olive Tree café operating open Monday to Saturday 10am-4:30pm [7] and a Café Church Service on a Sunday at 12:30pm, as well as other services throughout the week. [8]

Recent activity

In 2015 Iain Campbell took up a temporary post as Artist-in-Residence at St George's. Campbell produced a painting titled "the last supper" depicting men in difficult personal circumstances dining at a table. This was to commemorate a cafe operated in the church which was a social enterprise project run in conjunction with Glasgow City Mission. [9] The Glasgow Street Pastors continue to operate out of St George's Tron, using it as their "safe zone" on Friday and Saturday nights. [10]

Architecture

The building, which was commissioned by the City Fathers was designed by William Stark, was opened in 1808, originally as St. George's Parish Church.

Refurbishment

From 2007-9 the church building was refurbished by CRGP architects and surveyors. [11] This restored a number of original features which had been concealed by practical alterations over the years as well as revealing and addressing structural weaknesses in the tower. The new interior is an open and contemporary design, making it an excellent location for the Wild Olive Tree cafe. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

Tron is a 1982 science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Collins (publisher)</span> Scottish Editor and Publisher

William Collins was a Scottish schoolmaster, editor and publisher who founded William Collins, Sons, now part of HarperCollins. William Collins was born at Eastwood, Renfrewshire, on 12 October 1789. He was a millworker who established a company in 1819 for printing and publishing. The business eventually published pamphlets, sermons, hymn books and prayer books as well as a wide range of office products. By 1824 he had produced the company's first dictionary, the Greek and English Lexicon. He was instrumental in bringing Thomas Chalmers from Kilmany to Glasgow. He also obtained a licence to publish the Bible in the 1840s. He was promoter of Scotland's first temperance movement. He founded the Glasgow Church Building Society which created 20 new churches. He died on 2 January 1853 at Rothesay, Buteshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinclair Ferguson</span> Scottish theologian and academic

Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson is a Scottish theologian known in Reformed Christian circles for his teaching, writing, and editorial work. He has been Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary since 2017, commuting from Scotland, where he was an assistant minister at St. Peter's Free Church of Scotland, Dundee. He is currently a preaching associate at Trinity Church, Aberdeen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchant City</span> Human settlement in Scotland

The Merchant City, a new name introduced through urban renewal by the Scottish Development Agency and the city council in the 1980s is one part of the metropolitan central area of Glasgow. It commences at George Square and goes eastwards reaching Glasgow Cross, in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The eastern fringe of the Merchant City contains part of Glasgow's original medieval street plan, which stretches northwards towards neighbouring Townhead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trongate</span> Street in Glasgow

Trongate is one of the oldest streets in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Trongate begins at Glasgow Cross, where the steeple of the old Glasgow Tolbooth is situated, being the original centre of medieval Glasgow, and goes westward changing its name to Argyle Street at Glassford Street. In modern times, it forms the notional southern boundary of the Merchant City area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Cross</span> Street in Glasgow City, Scotland, UK

Glasgow Cross is at the hub of the ancient royal burgh and now city of Glasgow, Scotland, close to its first crossing over the River Clyde. It marks the notional boundary between the city centre and the East End

George Baillie Duncan was a prominent evangelical Anglican and Church of Scotland minister, and Keswick Convention speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thomas Rochead</span> Scottish architect (1814-1878)

John Thomas Rochead was a Scottish architect. He is most noteworthy on a national scale for having been the designer of the Wallace Monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegiate Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anne, Glasgow</span>

The Collegiate Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anne, Glasgow, was founded in the middle of the sixteenth century by James Houstoun, Subdean of Glasgow and Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1534 to 1541. The church was located on the south side of Trongate. Two copies of its Latin constitution, dating from 1549, have survived in the city archives. These provide detailed information about the structure of the college and its funding. James Houstoun's original provision was for a Provost, eight canons or prebends, and three choristers, but later benefactions extended this. The prebends were supported by property scattered across the city, and in Dalry, Maybole and Rutherglen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's Renfield Church</span> Church in Glasgow, Scotland

St. John's Renfield Church is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving Kelvindale in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. It is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrew's in the Square</span> Church in Merchant City, Glasgow

St Andrew's in the Square is an 18th-century category-A-listed former church in Glasgow, Scotland, considered one of the finest classical churches in Scotland, and now Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dance. The church is in St Andrew's Square, near Glasgow Cross and Glasgow Green, on the edge of the City's East End.

Glasgow City Centre is the central business district of Glasgow, Scotland. Is bounded by Saltmarket, High Street and Castle Street to the east, The River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to its west and north. Glasgow City Centre is composed of the areas of Garnethill, Blythswood Hill and Merchant City as well as parts of Cowcaddens, Townhead, Anderston and Calton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrew's Square, Glasgow</span>

St Andrew's Square is a public square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and lies to the south east corner of Glasgow Cross, close to Glasgow Green. The square is noted for its immense 18th-century classical church, St Andrew's in the Square, from which the square takes its name. The church was completed in 1758, to the designs of architect Allan Dreghorn and master mason Mungo Naismith and is among the finest of its type anywhere in Britain. The interior has lavish 18th century rococo plasterwork. The building is Category A listed. It is one of six squares in the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tron Church, Glasgow</span> Church in Glasgow, Scotland

The Tron Church is an evangelical Presbyterian church which meets in three locations across Glasgow—in the city centre on Bath Street, in the Kelvingrove area of the West end of Glasgow, and on the Southside of Glasgow near Queen's Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barony Hall</span> Red sandstone Victorian Gothic church on Castle Street in Glasgow, Scotland

The Barony Hall,, is a deconsecrated church building located on Castle Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland, near Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the city's oldest surviving house, Provand's Lordship. It is built in the red sandstone Victorian neo-Gothic-style. The original or Old Barony Church was built as a part of the Barony Parish in Glasgow by architect, James Adams. It opened in 1799 and served ceremonial and other congregational purposes. The replacement for the old building was designed by J. J. Burnet & J. A. Campbell and raised in 1889, and incorporated architectural artifacts from the old church and a number of other relics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tron Church at Kelvingrove</span> Church in Glasgow, Scotland

The Tron Church at Kelvingrove is a 19th-century church located in the Kelvingrove neighbourhood in the West End of Glasgow, and formerly known as Henry Wood Hall when it was the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from 1979–2012. Originally the home of a Congregational church, the building is now home to the congregation of The Tron Church, an evangelical presbyterian church meeting in three locations across Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Hall, Edinburgh</span> Church in Edinburgh, Scotland

The King's Hall is a church in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. Constructed as Newington Free Church in 1843, it is now used by Community Church Edinburgh: an independent evangelical congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Brown (minister of St John's, Glasgow)</span> Scottish minister

Thomas Brown was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who served in St John's church in Glasgow. After many years in the Church of Scotland ministry he walked out during the schism known as The Disruption and joined the Free Church of Scotland. He was elected the second-ever moderator of the Free Church in October 1843.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Oran's Church</span> Church in Edinburgh, Scotland

St Oran's Church was a Gaelic-speaking congregation of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. Originating in the early 18th-century, the congregation continued until 1948, latterly meeting at Broughton Street.

References

  1. Historic Environment Scotland. "Glasgow, 163 Buchanan Street, St George's Tron Parish Church (138919)". Canmore .
  2. Old Tron Steeple (Glasgow University Library, Special Collections, Wylie Collection), The Glasgow Story
  3. The Building, Tron Theatre
  4. "Biography - Eric Alexander". www.ericalexander.co.uk.
  5. "Tron Church" . Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  6. "Online induction service for Glasgow minister". Church of Scotland. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  7. "The Wild Olive Tree, Glasgow – Cafes & Tearooms". Visit Scotland. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  8. "St George's Tron" . Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  9. "'Last supper' for City Mission men". BBC News. 15 December 2015.
  10. "Life-saving donation to Glasgow Street Pastors". Evening Times.
  11. "Case Study: St George's Tron Church, Glasgow". CRGP Architects & Surveyors. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  12. "Another shot from last weekend's Doors Open day in Glasgow, this is the ceiling of St George's Tron church". Fotolog.

55°51′43″N4°15′14″W / 55.861832°N 4.253941°W / 55.861832; -4.253941