Saint Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church,
North Street, Glasgow

HISTORY

St Patrick’s parish was founded in 1850 to cater for the burgeoning Irish
immigrant population seeking work in the booming city of Glasgow. Not surprisingly, given the provenance of the majority of its parishioners, the church was dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland. In the face of some opposition the first church was erected in Hill Street, Cranstonhill (the street no longer exists; the site is approximately where Anderston Kelvingrove Church now stands), but it was not long before it became clear that this church was inadequate for the needs of the expanding Catholic population, despite the creation of St Bride’s in Cheapside Street as a Mass Centre in 1872. So, on the site of the old Blythswood Foundry, work began on a new St Pat’s. In 1896 the foundation stone of the present church was laid by Archbishop Charles Petre Eyre (1817-1902), of the restored Archdiocese of Glasgow, followed in 1898 - appropriately on the 17th of March - by the opening of the new church.
It was consecrated in 1950 By Donald A Campbell, Archbishop of Glasgow.


THE BUILDING



Designed, in Early Decorated style, by Peter Paul Pugin (1851— 1904) of the celebrated family of architects who were responsible for numerous churches throughout Britain and notably for the Houses of Parliament, the church is of Locharbriggs stone, a warm, welcoming red sandstone favoured as a building material throughout Glasgow and seen in many of the city’s public buildings such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Construction was in the hands of local firms, probably including William Vickers, almost always entrusted with the carvings and statuary for Pugin’s buildings. Vickers carried out much of the external decoration at Kelvingrove Museum.
The nave occupies 102 ft of the whole length of 134 ft and 30ft of its 60 ft width. It rises to 67 ft at its highest. The chancel is divided from the nave by an arch, as are the side chapels. The baptistery is no longer used as such, the baptismal font (1905) being placed centrally in the nave.
The Lady Chapel altar was the gift of Mr Hugh Quigley and the Sacred Heart altar that of the Women’s Sacred Heart Society. Both were dedicated in 1903.
From the outset the church was provided with electric light. Natural light comes from seven clerestory windows on each side, twelve windows below them in the north wall and seven, smaller, in the south, a 32 ft, seven-light window behind the organ gallery, five two-light windows in the apse and rose windows in each of the side chapels. There is a three-light window in the former baptistery.
Regeneration of the surrounding area and construction of the ring road which passes within feet of St Patrick’s have resulted in the church being one of the few 19th century buildings remaining in Anderston and its oldest place of worship.
St Patrick’s is a B-listed building.

External carvings read, in translation from the Latin:
Above the North Street doors “To the glory of God (and) St Patrick, 1898”
Around the baptistery “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”
Above the William Street door “The House of God”

The five-sided apse is graced by a reredos of Caen Stone and
Connemara marble in which are set four statues. The high altar,
the Canon Condon Memorial altar (1905), is of the same materials.

The front-facing altar was imaginatively crafted from the alabaster altar rail which had been dispensed with following the reforms of Vatican II. Other artefacts, such as the lectern and rails surrounding the devotional alcoves in the gospel-side aisle, were similarly sourced.
Statues in the apse niches represent (left to right):
St Therese of Lisieux “The Little
Flower” (Donated by Mrs McCaffrey in 1940)
St Patrick (1905)
St Michael, Archangel (1905)
St John Ogilvie (Mrs McCaffrey, 1940)

In alcoves in the gospel-side aisle are:

The Father Lynch Memorial Altar and Pieta,
(Donated by the Girls’ Guild, 1938)
The inscription reads, in translation, “Come
(all) who labour and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest”




St Anthony
(Donated by “An Italian gentleman of
the parish”, 1921)



St Joseph (1923)



St Patrick
(This work is by Anthony Foster, apprentice to the famous sculptor Eric Gill (1882-1940). It was executed under Gill’s supervision and is typical of his spare but evocative style. The statue was commissioned for St John’s, Portugal Street, Glasgow. When that church closed it went first to the Carmel in Oban before being repatriated to Glasgow and St Patrick’s)





The Calvary
above the chancel shows Our Lady and St John at the foot of the Cross with Christ’s words “Mother, this is your son. Son this is your mother.”




Stations of the Cross were erected in 1898.


STAINED GLASS


The Great East Window shows Our Lord in Glory, as King
surrounded by the Church Triumphant, Militant and Suffering..
This is the work of the famous stained-glass designers and
manufacturers, John Hardman of Birmingham, who also
created the windows of the Houses of Parliament. It was
installed in 1951. Designed by Donald Taunton (1885-1964)

The five double windows of the apse show St Margaret of Scot
land, St Catherine of Siena, St Anne, St Joachim, The Sacred
Heart, The Virgin Mary, St Patrick, St Bridget, St Mungo and St
Columba. The central windows were gifted by the Women’s Sacred Heart Society in 1905. They are flanked by two donated by Mrs McCafferty in 1907. All were created by Earley & Co of Dublin.

THE ORGAN
Originally installed by Henry Willis III, the Lewis & Co, 2-manual and –pedal organ was renovated and electrified in 1939 at a cost of £1,000, a considerable sum at the time, made possible through the unfailing generosity of the good people of St Patrick’s. The organ was cleaned in the 1960s, but unfortunately by the turn of the century perished leatherwork and the accumulation of dust and grit were causing concern and the considerable cost of restoration was beyond church funds. It was decided to look elsewhere and a good quality, second-hand instrument, originally constructed by JW Walker of Ruislip in 1969, became available from a redundant Baptist church in London. This was purchased for a small donation, carefully dismantled and transported to Glasgow. Between March and June 2008 the old Lewis organ was dismantled and removed. The Walker instrument was then substantially rebuilt by Michael Macdonald of Glasgow, a new solid-state transmission system fitted and the organ installed in the gallery. The organ façade and console came from a small convent in Switzerland. The opportunity was taken to incorporate some of the Lewis pipework from the previous instrument.





REFURBISHMENT

During 2007 refurbishment of the interior of St Patrick’s was carried out. Nevertheless, more work is required, particularly to the upper roof. This is due to start in 2010. Major funding has been sourced, but around £120,000 must be found by the parish to allow the work to begin and a Refurbishment Fund is in place. Contributions to the Fund would, of course, be gratefully received.