CALDWELL PARISH CHURCH

This is the last of the trilogy of articles about Caldwell. The first, 'The Manse of Caldwell' concerned the layout of the old building as it was from its construction in 1889 to its conversion to our Church Hall. The second, 'The Caldwell Mystery' concentrated on the origins of the name, and this story is an attempt to list events and visible alterations within the Sanctuary itself. In order to do this, it has been again necessary to scan through the 'Managers Minutes' available at the Historic Archives Building in Edinburgh, also my own recollections of changes made in nearly forty years as a member of the congregation.

In the beautiful, copperplate writing seen from the first Minutes of 1889, seat letting (and the revenue from it) crops up annually. Details of this are illustrated in Patricia Thomson's meticulously researched book 'One Hundred Years of Caldwell' published in 1989, so it is not necessary to set out the figures. Suffice to say the system was a tremendous source of income to the Church - Freewill Envelopes and bonds of annuity were not on the scene until MUCH later - the latter starting in 1948.

The brass name-card holder at the end of each pew is the only evidence that remains of this system, and it would appear that as charges of 2/-, 4/- and 5/- per annum (10p, 20p and 25p) are recorded, payment was made according to the parishioners' choice of seat!

What did the worshippers sitting there see in the early years of Caldwell Parish Church's existence, at the end of the 19th century?

Amongst the earliest minutes, there is mention of a harmonium and a Choir Platform, to the purchase of Choir chairs, and in 1894, a rail round the Platform. There is also an 1898 entry of linoleum being laid there.

It is almost certain that the red-carpeted Chancel area of today once housed the harmonium, the choir and the Communion Table with seats for the minister and serving elders.
The pipe organ did not arrive until around 1906, and if my assumption is correct, it is probable that the pulpit was originally against the back wall, centrally placed as at present with the two leaded windows in the gable on either side and above it.

The worshippers of the 1890s would be seated in front of a much more spacious Chancel (never referred to as such in the minutes) extending from the current frontage right to the back wall, and not restricted with any form of side pews. It is likely that the harmonium sat in front of the pulpit, and that the choir occupied plain chairs facing the congregation, possibly some on either side of it, possibly some behind. They may also have sat along the left and right of the Platform, enclosed by the rail and turning towards the congregation when engaged in singing.

The Communion Table would be at the front of this raised area, but this was not the beautifully finished and carved one there now, placed with the side pews in 1933 as a memorial to the Rev. David Stewart who had died in 1925. The three oak chairs presently behind the Table are even more recent, gifted in 1964 by Neilston Parish Church when there was a merger with Neilston South. They were in memory of 2nd. Lieutenant Thomas Dougray, RSF. Below his name on the back of one are the words 'Organist of This Church: Died of wounds, Naples, Italy, 9th October 1943.

The first Table was the well-made piece of furniture now in the vestibule, which I stained and refurbished many years ago, when rather ancient stick-on tiles were removed to reveal the original mosaic tiling on the floor below. This was confirmed by Miss Edith Fortesque, daughter of the Rev.John.F.Irvine Fortescue, Caldwell's second minister, 1926-56.

For the first three years, worship in Caldwell may have started rather noisily, as there was no floor covering. The sound of boots on the bare boards must have been off-putting, as there is an 1891 minute requiring 'something to be laid to deaden the sound of feet.'

Morning services were at 11:00, evening services at 6:30, and in winter, lighting in the form of paraffin lamps was provided.

The congregation would have seen several mounted on the side walls, one on each side of the pulpit and perhaps the hole remaining in one of the centre pew book-boards held a support for more

These lamps would be of brass, and those at the pulpit could be swivelled; they had elegant, white glass shades and were still in position when I first saw and admired them in 1963. The Board elected, sadly, to have them taken down in 1969, and they were sold to an antique dealer for £30:00.

When the pipe organ was installed, another lamp was provided there and one outside to light the steps to the side door. Readers will recall from the 'Manse of Caldwell' story that the minister could not make use of the internal passageway from the Manse and had to make his access via that route.

The pews are of plain whitewood, stained and varnished, something minuted regularly every few years, as is frequent whitewashing of the walls. The constant coating had rendered the pews rather sticky and darkened the timber to almost black, so they were renovated in the later 1990s. They required sanding down prior to re-varnishing.

The seats had little to provide comfort, although when I began service as Church Officer in 1988, there were a few red felt 'pads' left. These had a black 'fleur-de-lis' pattern and were all removed when the more comfortable blue cushions were donated by Elizabeth and Alastair Inglis.
In the years following 1889, any additions to existing furnishings were kept on hold until funding was in place. An example of this was the need to deal with pools of water on the floor brought about by wet umbrellas - the majority of attenders walked to church. The rows of gleaming brass stands (and cast iron floor troughs) were put in place in 1895. In the same year, attempts were made to solve condensation problems - water running down the windows, partially resolved by fitting four high-sited hopper hung ventilators (which are no more) and drain-off tubes from channels at the base.

Sunday School pupils would have attended magic lantern shows in the Church - one such is advertised in 1892; another of 1900 notes that the minister (Rev David Stewart) would accept responsibility for a cinematograph for use in the church.

For other entertainment, the Old Iron Church (the Mission Hall then near the Golf Course Pavilion) was available for religious meetings at 2/- per session. The charge was 5/- per night for concerts, but only 6p for abstinence speakers.

A precursor to every service was the ringing of the bell FOR 15 MINUTES! Small wonder that the bell rope and pulleys required attention fairly often. This continued until 1953 when the ringing was reduced to five minutes - much to the relief of the bell-ringers!

Other items that would be visible before the 1980s were five short pews on either side of the pulpit, at right angles to the others and set apart with low doors. One of these 'boxes' was the prerogative of the Laird of Caldwell and his family, the other, on the east side, was reserved as 'the Minister's Pew, for HIS family. The marble tablet, a tribute to Lord Mure (of Edinburgh) is mounted above the place where one of these pew boxes stood. His generous gift of £500:00 greatly advanced the endowment of the church. These areas are now taken up with the Choir seats and the Centenary Memorial together with the flags of the uniformed organisations, the last a brilliant splash of colour.

Until February 1914, the pulpit had no padded ledge; it would have had a simple flat shelf with perhaps a wooden lectern. The present upholstery was funded by donation from a John Gray Black of Glenpark, a member of the congregation living in the house still bearing that name. He also gave money for two new lamps - perhaps those later removed from the pulpit - the last of the old paraffin lights to be installed.

The parchments listing those who were in the Services in the 14/18 and the 39/45 wars were not put up until April 1920 and 1946 respectively, but I was unable to trace dates for the bronze plaques to those who lost their lives in both wars. 'Joiner Raeside' is mentioned in 1923 as providing 'wooden casings' (frames?) for the parchments. Their original position was side by side out in the vestibule, but now hang on the west wall of the church, the parchments having been professionally restored and moved inside to a more protected environment. In 1922, the Neilston Farmers Association gifted solid silver trays and 200 individual glasses (with stands) for Communion services as a war memorial, but a congregational referendum was first held before the glasses were accepted. The two chalices first used at the Communion Table are of soft pewter and have to be treated with care.

The beautifully crafted solid silver collection plate is engraved 'To the Glory of God. Matthew Hay, Elder, Caldwell Parish Church, 30th June, 1959 and his wife, Jessie Anne Hay, 26th October 1959.'

Some of these items date from long ago, but over the years, changes take place, such as the Pulpit Bibles, falls, bookmarkers and lecterns. The most recent Pulpit Fall and bookmarkers, gifted anonymously, were embroidered by Mrs Pollok - 'Meg' as she is known to all.

They were dedicated during the last service given by the Rev. John Cubie, minister from 1989 - 1999, fine pieces of work, universally admired. The set preceding this was also donated.

The first Pulpit Bible was a traditional 'King James' version, presented by William Mure, Laird of Caldwell, in 1889. It is still preserved safely and bears his signature and date.

Another was given by Mr Ronald McKechnie, a former elder, and the elegant brass lectern which stands on the Communion Table was also a gift from Mr J.R.Howie, Elizabeth Inglis' father.

There is a second, an antique which may have been used for readings long ago, a finely made mahogany freestanding item now in the Centenary corner. The Memorial Garden at the west side of the church is stocked with shrubs and plants gifted by relatives of loved ones who have passed away. This lectern has been adopted to carry a Book of Remembrance in which their names are inscribed.

I have to say that there may be other gifts that have been omitted in reading through a century of minutes, and if I have done so, perhaps I may be forgiven.

To continue…

As regards the organ, Patricia Thomson found the same difficulty as myself with minutes unclear as to just what date it was installed. An organ fund had first been started by the Woman's Guild and there is a decision registered in 1906 that an advertisement should be made for an organist - the salary offered to be £20:00. Later minutes (1915) give out that a 'blower' (someone to pump the organ) was found in Thomas Bates for £4:00 per year, but a year on, the minister announced that he had arranged for a 'supply of water with connection to the organ at 2/- for the year.' (I have seen a water pump converted to an ornament, once used in the Church of Scotland in Strathblane, so it appears that our instrument must also have had such a means of operating, although the original bellows are still to be found inside the casing.)

There were only few minutes covering the arrival of electricity - surely a matter of great importance, but the discussion appears in 1928 and again in 1929, by which time lighting had been installed, but the words 'side lamps are to be retained meantime….' also appear. The Managers were taking no chances with the newfangled electricity! The electric motor for the organ arrived in 1935 at a cost of £45:00.

Some interesting sidelines follow.

Organists seem to have been extremely hard to obtain, indeed some lasted only a year or two.

During the 14/18 war, call-up papers arrived for the current one, who was sent on his way, his post to be held on condition that he found a substitute while he was absent…
In 1933, the organist, Miss Archie, who was to hold the post from then until 1944, gave an organ recital.

Church Officers (Beadles - a Dickensian title I did NOT like!) were, in some cases, equally hard to retain. For some periods of years, firing the boiler and tending the church cleaning etc. had to be undertaken by volunteers. Few lasted for long between Mr Campbell's retirement as Church Officer (June Lockett's father) in 1953 and my taking up in 1988.

During these intervals, there was a succession of employed cleaners and teams of ladies of the congregation. The latter undertook the cleaning and dusting tasks with more enthusiasm than the paid cleaners.

I come finally to some of the events in which I was more personally involved and also had some effect on the internal appearance of the church.

The brass bell from the 'Old Tin Church,' as it was more affectionately known, was given to me by the demolisher of the building, a John Reid of Gateside, Barrhead. It was eventually installed where it can be seen beneath the Colours, and it had been my hope, after many hours spent on its restoration, that its resonant sound might be heard again some day. The fact that this seemed unlikely to happen brought about the idea of composing a musical play 'Caldwell Construction Company' in 1993, about the construction of the present kirk. It involved building a fourteen foot high replica of the façade, complete with belfry and bell ringer, hinged doors, stained 'glass' windows - and a minister! It was to be assembled by the youngsters in a reconstructed version of the 1889 opening. The rehearsal (by the Sunday School and Uplawmoor School instrumentalists) was terrible, the performance, tremendous. It raised almost £300:00 and I was immensely proud of our young people.

The final scene showed a bell (with no clapper) swinging in the belfry. The actual sound came, of course, from the Old Tin Church bell mounted in the Centenary Corner…

The Centenary Memorial was always a highlight when taking visitors round the church - especially Americans - and extra specially those named Caldwell.

It is a highly unusual and unique piece of craftsmanship and came about through a decision by the Board to mark in some way the centenary of the opening of the church.

Discussions took place with Ralph Cowan, the well-known artist who began his professional career as a stained glass window designer.

The Memorial was the result of a partnership. It involved Ralph, then in his eighties, who fashioned the strikingly etched and arranged glass elements which form the focal part of it. These are lit from an internal system engineered by myself, a series of tilting mirrors and reflectors which give the glass a deep green lustre - most effective in the dim lighting of an evening. All this is contained in an oak veneered casing matching the Communion Table and pews.

The silver numerals '1889-1989' were beautifully made by Alison Welsh, then a jewellery fabricator. The wrought iron stand was designed by the then Property Convenor, Stanley Simpson and the blue fabric screen forming the background by Meg Pollok and Ladies of the Guild.

It may be said that our building is a simple little rural parish church, and that would be quite true. Its simplicity is one of its most attractive features, but I have always felt an urge to improve, enhance and better the place in whatever way I could.

During the refurbishment of the pews, the deep windowsills were not included in the contract, so by sanding off years of old varnish and grime, staining and applying several coats of marine varnish, there was brought about an effect that can be very pleasing indeed.

When sunlight glimmers through the trees swaying outside the windows, the small coloured panes pick up the light and reflect a veritable kaleidoscope of moving and changing tints on to the ingoes and polished surfaces of the sills. Cathedrals may have spectacular stained glass windows, but I think that those who notice these effects are just as happy with ours….

The story finishes with a hymn that is a favourite of mine, one that has words particularly suited to the theme, Caldwell Parish Church, and apply equally to the world in which we live today.

Hymn 15
1 3 5
We love the place, O God, We love the word of life, Lord Jesus, give us grace,
Wherein thine honour dwells: The word that tells of peace, On earth to love thee more
The joy of thine abode Of comfort in the strife, In heaven to see thy face
All earthly joy excels And joys that never cease And with thy saints adore.
2 4
It is the house of prayer We love to sing below
Wherein thy servants meet: For mercies freely given
And thou, O Lord, art there, But O we long to know
Thy chosen flock to greet. The triumph song of heaven!
(William Bulloch, 1798-1874 and Henry Williams Baker, 1821 - 1877.)

G. Barclay Robertson. Church Officer 1988 - 2000. October 2001.
grgrbrtsn@aol.com