Saint Mary's, Calton

Saint Mary's Calton, Glasgow is the second oldest church in the Archdiocese of Glasgow. A number of parishes pre-date St Mary's (St Mary's, Greenock, and St Mirin Paisley, both 1808, St Patrick, Dumbarton, 1830, St Margaret, Airdrie, 1836; St. John, Barrhead, St Mary, Duntocher, and St Fillan, Houston, all 1841), but of all of these only Saint Magaret's, Airdrie, still has the original church (opened 1836). Airdrie is now in the Diocese of Motherwell, hence St Mary's Calton's claim to be second oldest in the Archdiocese of Glasgow. The church was built between 1839 and 1842 during the time of the Western District under the direction of Bishop Andrew Scott. The parish was founded, the church opened and dedicated all on 15 August 1842. Father Peter Forbes who, for the previous three years had toured Ireland fundraising for the new church building, was appointed the first parish priest from the same date. Bishop Scott was joined on the day of the dedication by Bishop John Murdoch his co-adjutor and the titular of the church was designated as Saint Mary of the Assumption, commonly known as Saint Mary's, Calton. Father Forbes had raised £3,000 for the building (£5.4 million at 2005 prices) and so it was opened fully paid for and free of debt.

The building's early days

The Architects of Saint Mary’s church were a famous London firm, Goldie and Childe, the same firm who were later responsible for Saint Mungo’s, Townhead. The church was built in classic style as a matter of simple economy and the exterior of the church is almost unchanged from the day it opened on Monday 15 August 1842. The interior on the other hand has undergone significant change at various times in the past 165 years. The ceiling of the church was grand and ornate, but in 1865 it was noticed that the south wall of the church was several inches out of line and required repair. The repairs were being planned when without warning the entire ceiling of the church fell in during the night. The new ceiling was much less ornate, it was supported with pillars and a gallery was added, taking away the great unsupported expanse which had been so much a feature of the church. The organ seen in the church today was introduced to the church a few years after these alterations. Previously the liturgy had been served by an orchestra. Now the liturgy was served by the vast organ which can still be seen today and still functions, though it is in need of repair. In 1914 the new school building was completed on the site of the old school building and in 1919 was valued for the sake of the transfer to local authority control. The building was valued at cost of £23,399 2/11 (in 2002 this was the equivalent of £665,627). The transaction for the sale of the properties did not finalise until 1929 when the local authority paid £29,000 for the property, including the land and the playgrounds.

Renovation work 1926

In 1926-27 a significant renovation and redecoration of the Church took place. Over £1500 (£55,000 by current standards) was spent on this work for which the Main Contractors were S&J Scott of West George Street, Glasgow. The whole of the inside was repainted except for the large panel behind the altar and those at the side altars. Mr Duffie of Dumbarton renovated these works of art. Astonishingly, the original decoration scheme for the church was still in existence and after consultation with the firm responsible, it was decided to repeat the original scheme. Canon Fitzgerald was to note: “The exterior of the church was completely overhauled and renewed. It was found that the roof was in a very poor condition and many of the stones at the front of the church...greatly decayed. These were taken out and replaced with new blocks of Northumberland stone.“The steps leading to the church bore eloquent testimony to the piety of the faithful...these steps were removed and replaced with new ones. The porch was in a very unsightly condition. The stone flooring was entirely removed and replaced by more lasting viz. black and white marble tiles. Which in addition to being more durable (they are still there today) help considerably to brighten the church.”

The Sanctuary too has undergone renovation. Originally the wall behind the altar consisted of four large fluted Doric columns and these were taken down in the 1870s and replaced with the much lighter design which can be seen today. The painting of the Assumption which so dominates the church is an addition from the 1950s. Prior to this there was a triptych with, from left to right, the Presentation in the Temple, the Crucifixion and the Assumption. These huge oil paintings by an unnamed French artist were damaged by fire necessitating the new paintings which were commissioned by the architect Jack Coia, and painted by an artist by the name of Frank Duffy. It is unclear whether this is the same “Mr Duffie” who is listed as renovating the panels of the High altar and the side chapels in the 1927 renovation, but it would seem very coincidental were it not. The original Mr Duffie is listed as being from Dumbarton while Frank Duffy is listed as resident in Biggar. Frank died at Mass in Biggar, where he lived, on the Sunday after he finished the work in Saint Mary’s. The gold lettering around the sanctuary was the work of a young woman by the name of Avril Gibb, later to become Lady Watson-Stewart. The style is that of Roman Trajan lettering—a style dictated to Avril by Coia. Lady Watson Stewart lives (2007) in Largs and worked closely with Jack Coia over a number of years. She was responsible for lettering art-work in a number of churches around the Diocese including Saint Eunan’s, Clydebank and Saint Charles Kelvinside. Kelvinside was her favourite project since in that one Jack Coia gave her a free hand and the etching in the glass of the baptistery and the foyer of the church show the artist at her finest. She was also responsible for the glass etching at the Diocesan Curia. This work is preserved in the archives of the Diocese.

The rest of the sanctuary too has undergone change on a number of occasions; Canon Carmichael reconstructed the altar, altar steps and platform and a large opening was made in the roof to allow light to enter the sanctuary. That opening was repaired and has been restored in the recent renovations of 2007. Canon Dyer who became parish priest in 1896 also made changes to the sanctuary – it was he who had the marble lectern created in place of the moveable one which had been used before, the altar rails which are seentoday were added at this time. The benches in the church were replaced also, this time in the more modern style that gave a centre aisle down the church as it is seen today. Central heating was added by Canon Dyer and the windows, which had been wooden framed were now iron. The 1926-27 redecoration took place some 80 years after the building of the church and now another 80 years later a similar task needs to be undertaken. It is unlikely that the decoration work will be completed for the sum of £1500 – the cost of the 1926 exercise!

Stained glass

The stained glass in the church is also in need of conservation and the glass from the Sacred Heart and Lady Chapels underwent renovation in mid 2004. The stained glass was created by the world famous Mayer of Munich [http://www.mayer-of-munich.com] —this firm are also noted for having created the dramatic stained glass window at the back of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. They are a firm which has existed for centuries. The Pre-Reformation Cathedral in Glasgow had some of the finest stained glass in the world—also made by Mayer. After the Reformation it was removed from the windows and stored in crates. In the Church the Joyful and the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary are depicted in the windows at the Sacred Heart side and the Lady Chapel side respectively. In the Sacred Heart Chapel there is also a window Depicting Saint Margaret Mary receiving her vision of the Sacred Heart.The Lady Chapel and Sacred Heart altars are of a similar style though the side panels of the Lady Chapel are more decorative. The Sacred Heart Chapel at the left side of the Church has, like the Lady Chapel, been recently renovated and the skylight, which had been blocked out for many years to prevent water ingress, has been completely repaired.

The crypt

Underneath the Sacred Heart Chapel is the crypt of Saint Mary’s. Until Saint Andrew’s Cathedral added a crypt in 1980 which renovated in 1999, Saint Mary’s was the only church in the Archdiocese to have a crypt. Bishop Scott was the first burial in the crypt in 1846. In 1847 the crypt was opened no less than four or five times to receive the remains of assistant priests in the parish who had died in the fever epidemic of that year. Typhus was, somewhat unkindly, known as Irish Fever, and indeed several of the priests who died in Saint Mary’s in the 1847 outbreak had come here from Ireland to serve the people of Glasgow. Typhus came, though this was not fully understood at the time, from a lack of sanitation and conditions were extreme at the time. Overcrowding into tiny flats without sanitation was trouble waiting to flare up. The River Clyde was not only a source of water, but it was also the bathing area and the sewer. 1848 saw a major cholera epidemic, but that left the clergy untouched this time, though the same cannot be said for the people. There were Typhus epidemics (“Irish Fever”) in Glasgow in 1832, 1837, 1847 and 1851-52. Cholera epidemics took hold in 1832, 1848-49, and 1853-54 and a Relapsing Fever epidemic was recorded in 1843. All of these diseases are connected to poor sanitation and the City Fathers were moved to begin the Loch Katrine project to bring fresh drinking water to the city. Currently the crypt holds the remains of two bishops and thirteen priests. The most recent burial being Canon Fitzgerald in September 1942.

2004 and following renovations

In 2004 the building began a major renovation programme under the guidance of the famous Glasgow Architects Page and Park [http://pagepark.co.uk] . The first phase involved the back area of the church including the side-chapels and the sacristy area. The roofs were renewed, rot works carried out and repairs made to the external stonework. The stained glass in the side-chapels was restored and renewed. This phase was completed in August 2003.

In 2006 the next phase took place—that of the complete renewal of the roof. This phase finished in December 2006.

External links

* [http://www.saintmarycalton.org.uk Saint Mary's website]
* [http://www.rcag.org.uk Archdiocese of Glasgow's website]