The Church

No history of our church can be complete without considering the national events which were taking place at the time.

After the Reformation, the Stewart kings had an uneasy relationship with the Presbyterian Church. Following his move to London, James VI started to embrace Episcopacy and the Divine Right of Kings. In this, the monarch was head of the Church. This did not fit in well with the Presbyterian belief that only God was the head of the Church.

1638 Matters had reached a head when Charles I attempted to anglicise the Scottish State and the Church by introducing an Episcopal system. Many people in the country signed the National Covenant, which effectively condemned Episcopacy and reinforced a Scottish Church independent of the King. When opposition to Charles in England led to the Civil War, the English Parliamentarians sought help from the Scottish Presbyterians. To further the Scottish cause and introduce Presbyterianism to England, the Solemn League and Covenant was drawn up in 1643, as a "mutual aid" pact between the two parties.

1646 After Charles' surrender, the English Parliamentarians reneged on the deal and Cromwell's occupation of Scotland sowed the seeds of dissent in the South West of the country.

1650 Up until this time, the parishes of Old and New Cumnock were one. The church of this huge parish was on the site of the present day Cumnock Parish Church in the Square, Cumnock. A settlement had also developed around Cumnock Castle in the upland area of the parish. In 1650, the Commissioners for the Plantation of Churches decided to split this parish into two and rename them Old Cumnock and New Cumnock and establish a new church in the latter.

1659 The original Parish Church (the Auld Kirk) was built close to the site of the castle and possibly stones from the ruined castle were used in its construction. It was dedicated in this year and Hugh Crawford, our first minister, took up his duties a year later.

The church seated 380 and its remains can still be seen in the old graveyard at the Castle. The belfry, now completely gone, housed the bell which was rung by the beadle from a chain outside the building so that he could stand at the door and make sure that all the worshippers had arrived before the service began. This original bell is still rung in our church today.

The scene below is the Auld Kirk with its ivy covered gables and the graveyard with the Arthur Memorial Church on the left hand side. The view is from the Lagoons towards Craigdullyeart Hill - November 2003

The photograph below is an aerial view taken from several hundred feet above the lagoons. The Auld Kirk and Kirkyard are prominent along with the Arthur Memorial buildings. This was the historic centre of our village.

The above photo is courtesy of Messrs J Murray and H Haddow

(Webmaster's note - you can view more photos of the village from this unusual angle by clicking on Aerial Photos.)

1660 With the Restoration of the Monarchy, Charles II re-established Episcopacy in Scotland. The Covenanters resisted and defected from the Church in rebellion. They took to the fields and hills, worshipping in conventicles, often with armed guards posted.

1661 - 1668 Between these years, which are known as the "Killing Times", many people died in persecutions and encounters with the government troops. Our parish has memorials to some of those who died for their adherence to their faith.

	IN MEMORY OF GEORGE CORSON and JOHN HAIR who were shot near this place in 1685, for their adherance to DIVINE TRUTH, And attachement to the Covenanted Reformation of 1638-50 'They lived unknown Till persecution dragged them into fame And chased them up to heaven'
	ERECTED After a sermon preached here by the Revd. A. M. Rogerson , Darvel From Rev. VII, 14 These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. REPAIRED After a sermon preached here by the Rev. Dr. McAllister of Alleghany, Pittsburgh, USA 28th June 1896

Hugh Crawford, a proud Presbyterian, had his charge removed from him in 1662. Our Parish Church was closed and the parishes of Old and New Cumnock rejoined. Our congregation was forced to travel to the church in Cumnock, where Charles II appointed ministers who adhered to Episcopacy. Hugh Crawford took to the hills and served the Covenanting cause for many years.

In 1985, our church commemorated the tercentenary of the martyrs' deaths by holding conventicles at the above memorials.

Conventicle at Carsgailoch	Rev A McGurk at Waistland	New Cumnock Silver Band
Photos courtesy of Mr.and Mrs Dornan, Bridgend

To see the leaflet (courtesy of Mr W Trotter, Pathhead) which was produced, click on Tercentenary Conventicles.

1688 This year saw the "Glorious Revolution" with the accession of Mary Stewart and her husband, William of Orange, who ruled jointly. Their reign brought an end to the many years of religious persecution in our country. Hugh Crawford was inducted back into the charge of New Cumnock.

1690 The present Church of Scotland was established as the church of the nation by law and constitutional change.

1691 The large parish of Cumnock was split again, with 14,169 acres of lowland ground going to Old Cumnock and 48,165 acres of poorer upland ground to the parish of New Cumnock making it one of the largest in the country.

1764 This shows a communion token from this year. As can be seen, it is stamped NC 1764. The original is held in the Church Vestry.

1833 By the early 19th century, the Heritors of our Parish Church decided that, although the building was still in good repair, it was becoming too small to serve the growing population of the Parish and a new replacement church had to be built. It was opened on the 26th of May on its present site in the Castle. It cost £2000. The original bell was transferred, having been reset in Kilwinning in 1732 when it cracked.

Digitally remastered by Robert Hart	R M Bain, Cumnock

There is no date on this token, but it is in all probability 19th century. The verse quoted is "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." The original is in the vestry.

1843 On the 18th of May, Dr. David Welsh, the retiring Moderator, refused to constitute the General Assembly in Edinburgh. Along with Thomas Chalmers, he led 123 ministers and 70 elders out of the Church of Scotland and founded the Free Church of Scotland. This was The Disruption which came at the end of 10 years of conflict within the established church. Simply, it was in protest against Patronage, in which the local laird could appoint a minister of his choice against the wishes of the congregation. However, there were deeper moral issues involved.

A verse of the time ran

"The Free Kirk, the wee kirk, the kirk without the steeple;

The auld kirk, the cauld kirk, the kirk without the people."

This reflected the situation in our parish when the minister, Matthew Kirkland, led the congregation into the Free Church. Nationally, Thomas Chalmers imposed a levy of one penny per week on each member. This resulted in small communities such as ours, having a second church where previously one had sufficed.

This communion token shows that the congregation were not slow in becoming organised. The verse quoted is "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." It belongs to Mr and Mrs J McCrorie of Pathhead

In this same year, Robert E Murray was ordained and inducted to the Parish Church. He had a hard task, as all he took over was an empty building. With great faith and perseverance, he gradually built up the Parish Church over a period of 51 years. There is a tablet to his memory in the vestibule of the Church. There is also a tablet to the memory of Matthew Kirkland in the grounds at the front of the Arthur Memorial Church.

The new Free Church and manse were built at Castlehill. A school room and school master's house were built shortly afterwards.

Courtesy of Mr J Clapperton

The latter half of the 19th century saw a tremendous upsurge in Scottish church going and once again, this national trend was reflected in our village, with the establishment of yet another two churches.

1868 The Reformed Presbyterians or Cameronians (remnants of the original Covenanters) built a church (seating 300) and a manse at Afton Bridgend. In 1876, they united with the Free Church.

The Rev. Matthew Hutchison was the minister to this flock and he was called in 1859. He was still in the parish after the union of 1876 - his name appears in the voters roll of 1879 as being resident in the Afton Free Church manse. The congregation eventually united with the Arthur Memorial in 1923 after the retiral of their last minister Rev. Davidson, who is buried just inside the gates of the Afton Road Cemetery. This building has been used as a Masonic Lodge, a hall for our congregation before the new hall was built, a sale room and ultimately the meeting hall of the New Cumnock Brethern who demolished it in 1976 and built themselves a new meeting hall.

1872 The clock was added to the tower of the Parish Church. It was presented by Mr. William Allason Cuninghame Esq. of Afton and Logan and cost 100 guineas (£105) to install. The clock was originally powered by a 14 foot pendulum which swung below it in the tower, but in 19xx, it was converted to run on electricity. The original mechanism is still in situ.

1873 To meet the spiritual needs of the growing mining population of the Bank and district, the Free Church established a mission church at the Bank. This original building was a prefabricated "iron church" and was serviced by a series of lay preachers and probationary ministers. It was built on the north side of the road, roughly on the site of the Bank School playground.

1874 The Patronage Act of this year restored, to the congregations of the Church of Scotland, the right to elect their ministers. There was no immediate reconciliation between the Church of Scotland and the Free Church.

1894 William Arthur, formerly of Wellhill farm, died at his home, Arthur's Seat, at Pathhead. He was born in 1810 at Wellhill. In his will, he left a bequest "....to the Deacons' Court of the Free Church Congregation in the Castle of New Cumnock for the purpose of repairing, improving, enlarging or rebuilding the Free Church at New Cumnock.

1896 The Rev. John Mechie was appointed to the Bank Free Church and shortly afterwards in 1899, a new stone church was opened.

Courtesy of Mr and Mrs P Dornan, Bridgend / remastered by Robt. Hart

This foundation stone was rescued by the late Mr. James Cameron who stayed in the former manse next to the church. He built it into his garden wall, where it can still be seen today. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs Legge for access to take the photo.

1912 The Arthur Bequest produced this new building at Castlehill. It was known as the Arthur Memorial United Free Church.

The date on the stone above the door is 7th September 1912 and it was dedicated in October 1913 at a service conducted by the Right Reverend James Iverach, Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and Principal of Aberdeen College. After the service, a reception was held in the hall which was built with the stone from the original church.

1928 The organ in our church was inaugurated on Monday the 3rd of December. A recital was given by Mr. J Hunter Macmillan of Cambuslang and vocal solos from Miss Barbara B Sumner and Mr George Gilbert.

1929 It took until this year for re-unification to take place. However, 150 Highland congregations stubbornly refused to accept union, carrying on as the Free Presbyterian Church and the Free Church (Wee Frees).

Since there were now three Church of Scotland congregations in our village, our church adopted the name "Martyrs' Church". The two formerly Free Churches continued as the "Arthur Memorial Church" and the" Bank Church".

1948 On the 19th of December this year, the Church reopened after having been closed for extensive renovation and decoration including the installation of electricity. You can read a report of this in the Cumnock Chronicle of the 24th December 1948.

1950 On the 7th of September of this year, an inrush of peat and water trapped the working shift at Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery in the village. A rescue operation of heroic proportions was put in place and 116 men were rescued. However, a further 13 men died and on Sunday the 17th September a Service of Divine Worship was held in our church with thanksgiving for those who were rescued and remembrance before God for those who lost their lives.

The Order of Service can be seen with thanks to Mrs Maggie Burgoyne, Cairnhill Place.

1960 In common with many mining villages of the time, the old rows were knocked down and the miners and their families were rehoused in modern developments. In our village, this resulted in a movement of population from the old communities of Connel Park, Craigbank, Burnfoot and Burnside down to the Cairnhill housing scheme. By 1960, it was obvious that the Bank Church could not exist on its own and the congregation of that church and the Martyrs united. The united churches were known as New Cumnock Old Parish Church and worshipped in the present building.

(Webmaster's note - when the Bank Church was eventually demolished, the 1st Bank Co. of The Girl Guides were without a home. At the same time, the 46th Ayrshire troop of The Boy Scouts met in a rather dilapidated hut in Miller Road. The two organisations pooled resources and built themselves a brand new hut at Miller Road. The sarking from the roof of the Bank Church made the roof of the new hut and the pews were made into seating and storage.)

1963 The Rev Andrew Lowrie retired from the Arthur Memorial. For a number of years prior to this, however, his congregation had been drifting away and ultimately there was no Kirk Session or Deacons Court. The Church of Scotland appointed assessor elders from other congregations to try and get the church back on its feet.

1964 The Rev James M Waddell was ordained at the Arthur Memorial along with a new session and elders. For a number of years after this, the Arthur Memorial Church enjoyed a renaissance.

This photograph was taken at the new session's first communion. The Sturrock Memorial Communion Set can be seen in the foreground. From left to right the names are:- John Fairlie, David Lindsay, Andrew Corson, William Murray, Robert Turnbull, Alex McMillan, Alex Turnbull (Session Clerk), Rev James Waddell, William Mills, James Shankland, John Wilson, William Paton, James Findlay and Robert Capstick.

1982 With the demise of the mining industry, people drifted away from our village and by this year, it became apparent that New Cumnock could not support two churches. The last remaining union with a former Free Church took place when the congregations of the Arthur Memorial Church and New Cumnock Old Church joined to become New Cumnock Parish Church worshipping in the building of 1834. The original screening and doors from the Arthur Memorial Church were transferred to the Parish Church where they were placed just inside the inner entrance to our church.

The pews were sent to the Free Presbyterian Church in Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, which is quite fitting in its way.

Click here to see a timeline of the ministers in the parish

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