Barlanark-Greyfriars Parish Church
Parish of Barlanark and Wellhouse
Scottish Charities No. SCO25730
Church Registered No. 160897
Interim Moderator
Rev. Norman Afrin Sandyhills Parish Church
We have a stained glass window in our church.
It is very beautiful and if you have never seen it , then please feel free to go and view the window in the Sanctuary (next to the kitchen) after the service. The window features Jesus,St. Margaret and Mary Slessor and was a gift to the new congregation from the Guild. The motto on the window is the Guild motto.
It is believed that St.Margaret and Mary Slessor appear in the window as they are prominent Scottish Christian women. St. Margaret was the wife of King Malcolm III. Mary Slessor was a Missionary who worked in Calabar (Nigeria)
Our church was originally a hall church. Before the services chairs would be set out facing the chancel /window. After the service the chairs would be stacked up and stored at the side of the hall to allow the organisations to use the hall. When the new church building was built , the old church chancel was blocked off and turned into the room we now know as “The Sanctuary” plus some storage cupboards. In the last
few years , the window has attracted a lot of interest.
.
Our church was visited by the Rev Jeff Hopewell. He was researching the work of
the Glasgow Stained Glass Artist Douglas Hamilton. In an email to the church, he said
“I spent last week in the archives at Glasgow and am pleased to say I found definitive proof that it (the window) is indeed by Douglas Hamilton. On Saturday 5 October 1957 the Glasgow Herald printed a Church Extension Supplement and there, accompanying an article on the Women’s Guild, is a photo of the window with the caption:
“The rose window in stained glass in Barlanark Church, Glasgow. It was designed
and executed by Mr Douglas Hamilton and it symbolises women’s service down the centuries.”
The Scottish Stained Glass Symposium in Edinburgh contacted the church
(on behalf of the St. Margaret’s Chapel Guild of Edinburgh Castle).
They are running a project to gather information on all the stained-glass windows which feature St. Margaret. They visited the church and took photographs of the window.
This photo is from Jim and Ellen Sheppard’s wedding. The Rose Window can be seen in the background.