1911 to 1913 Fund-raising
The Bazaar and Planning of the New church
In 1911, having decided to sell the existing church and manse in order to build a new church and buy a new
manse, the scene was set for some serious fundraising. The cost of the site for the new church had been £1520
and the estimated cost to build the new church was about £6000. Permission was to be sought from firstly the
congregation, then the General Assembly to purchase the “Auld Vale” site and to sell the existing church and
manse. On the 17th of February 1912, a meeting of the congregation was held, the congregation unanimously
agreed to the proposal, the Assembly’s decision to grant permission was brought to the Deacon’s Court on the
14th of July 1912.
On the 15th of February 1912, there was a deputation to the Deacons’ Court from the Woman’s Work Party,
made up of the following ladies: Mrs Brander, Mrs Graham, Mrs Currie, Mrs Howell, Mrs Muir, Miss Symington
and Miss McKenzie, who wished to have official permission to raise funds by having a three day bazaar, which
they proposed to hold in August 1913. On the 8th of August 1912, the Session Minute Book states that “£4000
had been raised and an additional £1000 is expected from the Bazaar with a further £1500 expected from the
sale of the church and hall”. The old church could seat 500 people in the church and 200 in the hall, the new
church would sit 800 people, with the new hall seating 400. It was decided that grants should be sought to
cover certain costs, for example the organ. On the 29th of October 1912, the following quotation was accepted
by the Deacons’ Court:
A concert was held on the 12th
of November 1912 “in aid of
the building fund of the new UF
Church”, which raised £31-10-1
which in today’s money would
be £3,046.90. On the 3rd of
December 1912, after the
church was flooded, a special
collection was intimated from
the pulpit, to help meet the
expenditure from the flood
damage to the old church, this
meant that the raising of
monies for the new church
were put on hold for the time
being, indeed a loan from the
new church building fund of
£500 (£48,357.15 in today’s
money) was given to the old
church for repair work to be carried out and a collecting book was to be set up to gather money for the new
church. Messrs Clifford and Lunan were appointed as architects for the new church. Henry Clifford had been
born in Trinidad to a sugar planter and his wife. When his father died, his mother brought the family back to
Glasgow and Henry went to Glasgow School of Art and became a draughtsman. He married and built a house in
Troon in 1893 as a weekend house – the house Redclyffe, still graces Victoria Drive, opposite the tennis courts.
He had been involved in the Troon Clubhouse additions in Craigend Road in 1886 and 1905, designed the ladies
clubhouse in Troon, opened in 1897, he also designed Craigend House, Glenholm at Monktonhall and Crosbie
House in Southwood Road for N Henderson in 1908, as well as designing numbers 9 – 11 Yorke Road, Troon in
1905. He was also responsible for buildings such as Perth Town Hall (currently under threat of demolition),
Hyndland Primary School and Pollokshields Burgh Hall, to name but a few.
The date for the laying of the foundation stone was set and invitations were sent out to the invited guests. The
Bazaar date was set for the 12th to the 14th of August 1913, the ladies were given the use of Troon Higher
Grade School (now Troon Primary School in Barassie Street) to hold the Bazaar and the large central hall was
made to look like an English village. The first day of the Bazaar, the Tuesday, was to be opened by the Duchess
of Portland, on the Wednesday, the Bazaar was to be opened by Lord Rowallan and on the Thursday, the Bazaar
was to be opened by Sir David Paulin. The 3 day Bazaar was a wonderful event which raised a massive £2010 –
the equivalent today would be £196,359.31. Everything was now set for the opening of the new church,
scheduled for 1914.
The Bazaar was opened by the Duchess of Portland.
The Opening Ceremony Programme
One of the stalls at the Bazaar
