Pollokshields Parish Church is a 19th-century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, named after the

Pollokshields Pollokshields (, Scots language, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok Count ...

area of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.

History

The Pollokshields congregation was established in 1875, with worship taking place in the church hall, which was opened on 10 October 1875. It was only on 19 May 1877 that the foundation stone was laid by Sir William Stirling Maxwell,

Chancellor of the University of Glasgow The chancellor is the titular head of the University of Glasgow and president of the general council, by whom they are elected. The office is intended to be held for life. Their principal duty is to confer degrees upon those presented to them b ...

. The church building was completed by 1878, when the church became a

Quoad sacra parish A ''quoad sacra'' parish is a parish of the Church of Scotland which does not represent a civil parish. That is, it had ecclesiastical functions but no local government functions. Since the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, civil parishes hav ...

on 5 March 1878 and named Pollokshields Established Church. The church was officially opened on 19 May 1878. The church was remodelled in 1913, when the church and hall were repainted and relighted, while the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

was paved with marble. During renovation, and until the church was reopened on 7 September 1913, the congregation worshipped in Titwood Parish Church. The Titwood congregation and the Pollokshields congregation united to form Pollokshields-Titwood Parish Church on 15 June 1941. The Pollokshields building was chosen as parish church, while Titwood Church was dismantled, moved and rebuilt in

Pollok Pollok (, ) is a large housing estate on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate was built either side of World War II to house families from the overcrowded inner city. Housing 30,000 at its peak, its population ha ...

becoming St James' (Pollok) Parish Church.

Architecture

The church was built in the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style on designs by Robert Baldie. A centre

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

of was built at a height of 18 metres, with a carved

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. A steeple was built at the southwest corner, rising to a height of nearly 55 metres. The tower has a clock face on each of its four sides. The south (entrance) front has a large geometrical window above a row of trefoil headed windows with stiff leaf capitals. The side aisles have twin lancet windows beneath the clerestory of triple lancet windows to the main church. The interior has aisle arcades formed by polished granite columns on high octagonal sandstone bases with French Gothic capitals supporting pointed arches beneath the clerestory windows and the high scissor braced roof trusses. Each column cap is different. The timber roof of the side aisles and the main trusses add to the grandeur of the interior. The south balcony is reached by a staircase from the east porch.

Works of Art

A total of 25 stained glass windows adorn the church, dedicated on 24 December 1889. These were the work of Stephen Adam, W & J J Keir and

Robert Anning Bell Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer. Early life Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied ...

. A brass lectern with an eagle mounted on a ball swivel, was also dedicated on 24 December. During the 1913 renovations, a new organ by

Harrison & Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company based in Durham that makes and restores pipe organs. It was established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and t ...

replaced the old Conacher organ. The organ is divided and enclosed in a carved oak case with the console detached. It contains three manuals and pedals and had thirty speaking stops and nine couplers. A War Memorial honouring the 34 men connected to the church who had died during

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

, was unveiled on 30 October 1921."Pollokshields Church of Scotland"
''Glasgow Doors Open Day''. Retrieved on 1 August 2020.

References

{{Reflist Churches completed in 1878 Church of Scotland churches in Glasgow Listed churches in Glasgow Category B listed buildings in Glasgow 1877 establishments in Scotland 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Pollokshields Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland