down memory lane
This article appeared in the ‘Solemn Opening’ booklet on the opening day of Saint James the Greater in 1961.
St. James’s Church and Presbytery, Kirkshaws
The church of a modern Gothic character, is pleasantly sited.
The main or south front, with its dignified tower, stands above the surrounding houses and is seen for a considerable distance from the Glasgow-Edinburgh road.
Accommodation is provided for not less than 627 adults, with additional seating in the choir gallery. The plan is cruciform and simple in form, with narthex, side entrances, nave, three confes-sionals, baptistery, mortuary, also Priests’ and boys’ sacristies of generous proportions.
A connecting door from the sacristy unit leads to the presbytery, which provides spacious accommodation for three priests and domestic staff, the living quarters for the latter having been planned as a separate suite within the house.
Internally the walls are plastered, but between the nave windows are reconstructed stone pilasters supporting the main roof trusses, which carry the plaster moulded and panelled ceiling.
Apart from special decorative features, the church is generally of brick construction with Accrington multi-coloured facing bricks for external walls together with Heworth Burn stone and artificial stone dressings.
The roofs are covered with Broughton Moor slates which contrast with the warm browns of the external walls.
Details of the church, including the oak sanctuary panelling, baldachino, altars, communion rails and seating, together with the wrought iron screens and gates of the baptistery and mortuary, have been designed so as to fit together into a complete and unified whole.
Terrazzo has been used for the sanctuary and entrance floors.
The aisles are covered with linoleum.
The work has been carried out by the following contractors under the direction of the architect who was responsible for the preparation of the designs and the numerous working drawings required for the buildings, furnishings and decoration.
Main contractor
R. W. Stewart & Co. Ltd., 286 Clyde Street, Glasgow.
Carpenter, Joiner and Sacristy
J. & R. Aitken Ltd., 6 Forsyth Street, Airdrie.
Glazier
James P. McPhie, 76 Great Western Road, Glasgow.
Slater
George Campbell, 99 Shields Road, Glasgow, C.5.
Plumber
Alex. W. Thomson Ltd., 132 Main Street, Bellshill.
Plasterer
G. & R. Ross Ltd., 3 Mavisbank Street, Airdrie.
Fibrous plasterer
D. Leitch & Co. Ltd., 343 Bath Lane, Glasgow
Terrazzo
John Youden & Son Ltd., 119 Bath Street, Glasgow
Scaffolding
Scaffolding (Gt.. Britain) Ltd., 133 Copland Road, Glasgow.
Central heating
John Kerr & Wm. Kerr Ltd., 118 Douglas Street, Glasgow.
Electrical
Wm. Briody, 18 Cadzow Street, Hamilton.
Painter
M. Macdonald, 150a Kirkshaws Street, Coatbridge.
Boundary fences
William Govan & Co., 11 Kennishead Road, Glasgow
Fireplaces
Hamilton Fireplaces, 83 Townhead Street, Hamilton.
Cooker and water heater
Smith & Wellstood Ltd., 11 Dixon Street, Glasgow.
Seating
Thomas Stewart, 24 Lochleven Road, Glasgow, S.2.
Dining room floor
A. M. MacDougall & Son Ltd., 3 Park Gdns., Glasgow
Metal lamp fittings
R. Smith & CO., 11 Pinkston Road, C.4.
Wrought Iron Screens and Gates:
Star Architectural Iron Works, 28 Farnell Street, Glasgow
Communion Rail and Pulpit
John Allen & Moffatt Ltd., 23 Glen-park Street, Glasgow (For James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd., Dalmarnock Road, Rutherglen).
Sanctuary Panelling
Baldachino and Altars: Wylie & Lochhead Ltd., 53 Kent Road, Glasgow
Carved Crucifix, Carving on Sanctuary Panelling
James P. McAnally. (For Wylie & Lochhead Ltd.)
Linoleum
Robertson, Locke & Heggie Ltd., 48 Maryhill Road, Glasgow.
Plastic Floor Finish
Ronuk Floor Polish
Organ
Wurlitzer Organ, Biggar, Cambridge Street, Glasgow.
The Schedule of Quantities
prepared by Messrs. McLernan & Whyte, F.R.IC.S., Quantity Surveyors. The Clerk of Works was Mr. John M. Campbell.
Chartered architect
Alexander McaNally, FRIB.A, FRIA.S., 175 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, C.2