This is at least the fourth church to stand on this ancient site.
This building was dedicated in 1888 and came about in this
Gothic form with its outstanding programme of Victorian stained
glass as a result of the vision of Revd. John Macleod who was
Minister from 1875-1898. He introduced a stronger emphasis on
ceremonial and liturgical practice, looking back to medieval
precedents. Adopting a gothic style of architecture, already
popular for religious and secular buildings, was a move consistent
with his theological outlook.
His scheme for the church was still more ambitious than now
appears since the facade was intended to have a band of sculpted
ornament and there was to be an adjacent tower and spire at the
north west corner. The proportions of the interior with a
broad high vaulted nave and narrow aisles reflects the influence of
the Dominican and Franciscan churches, designed for preaching to
large congregations, that Macleod had seen in Italy. The red and
white banded stone, a medieval Italianate building characteristic
much praised by the influential Victorian writer, John Ruskin, and
widely adopted in Victorian Britain, adds to the splendid
effect. The architect, Rowand Anderson, had designed in the
gothic style for both Episcopal and Presbyterian worship.
Macleod also planned the elaborate cycle of stained glass which,
though not complete, has an unusually coherent programme, even
though the individual donations which enabled the glass to be made
came in over a period of time. He employed five of the leading
stained glass workshops of the day who drew on the inspiration of
medieval and Flemish 15th and 16th century examples. As in the
Middle Ages he believed the stained glass could play an important
part in teaching religious ideas.
The church now houses a remarkable collection of early Christian
stones, The Govan
Stones.
Also at Govan (Back
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