Larbert West Church

Larbert West(SMR 131)

 NS 8633 8269

1897

 Larbert United Presbyterian Church 1900

1900

 Larbert United Free Church 1927
Larbert West Church of Scotland

TIMELINE

1897:  Due the growth in population in the area it was decided to erect a new church between Stenhousemuir and Larbert.  Just over 0.5 acre of land was feued from the Carron Co at Crownest.

1898:  Hall erected and opened in June, the new congregation being formed in July from the Carron U.P. Church.  The hall lay on the south side of the public road form Larbert to Carron at Burnhead.  This was part of a larger scheme that was soon completed, the architect was J P Goodsir of Falkirk, and the mason was John Gardner of Falkirk.  Cost £1,450.

1900: Memorial stone for a new church building laid on 24th November.

1901:  Church erected adjacent to the hall and connected through the front vestibule to the east staircase wing.   Owing to the considerable slope much excavation work had to be done to raise the site above the roadway.   The arrangement of nave and transept made it cruciform in plan, 72ft by 42ft and 58 by 24ft.   Beyond the back wall the pulpit recess is spanned by a wide stone arch.   The entrance to the church lay in the centre of the north or front gable, with three-light windows on either side.  Above the gable is pierced by a large five-light traceried window.   Flanking this gable on either side are the staircase wings with octagonal shaped ends.   Inside an end gallery was provided with provision for side galleries if required.  The nave is light from both sides by double rows of three-light windows.   The transept gables contain large mullioned windows of two- and four-lights.   The open timber roof is divided into bays by heavy principals with cambered tie beams.   Vestry and committee rooms lay behind the east transept.  The architect was J.P.  Goodsir of Falkirk, and the masons were J.J. & P. McLachlan of Larbert.  Cost £3,700.  Opened 5 October 1901.

1914: Hall used for refreshments by the armed services, and the following year as a billet.

1922: War memorial placed in the church.

1939:  Road  in front of the church widened and a high  retaining  wall  built removing  the  central flight of steps and replacing them with flights  at  the west and east ends of the frontage.  The Men’s Handicraft Party built a wooden storage hut between the church and the hall that became known as the ‘Lesser Hall’.

1940-5: Hall requisitioned by the military.

1956: Hall floor replaced with maple and organ overhauled.

1963: Pulpit area and platform remodelled.

1981: Lesser Hall rebuilt at a cost of £17,500.

1990:  Passageway from Lesser Hall to kitchen added, with a porch and access ramp.

MANSE

1919: 11 Carronvale Road purchased for £1,000 from the Yellowlees family.

FITTINGS

1926: Individual communion glasses donated.

1957: New communion table purchased.

1963: Pulpit obtained from a redundant church in Strathblane.

WINDOWS

See separate section for stained glass.

WAR MEMORIAL

See separate section for War Memorial.

ORGAN

1903:  Organ built by Norman and Beard for £420, half of which was donated by Major Dobbie.

SEATING

1897: 250

1900: 600 in total.

MINISTERS OF LARBERT WEST CHURCH

Feb 1899

 Gibb, Colin McFarlane Sep 1907

Jan 1908

 MacAulay, Thomas C Mar 1917

Jul 1917

 Murray, Neil Munro Dec 1931

May 1932

 Boyd, Gavin Charles Hunter Jan 1943

Jun 1943

 Money, Walter Strang Jun 1951

Nov 1951

 Gardiner, Albert Jun 1955

Jan 1956

 MacNaughton, Douglas Hogarth Hay Sep 1961

Feb 1962

 Ryrie, Alexander Crawford May 1966

Aug 1966

 Chalmers, Murray Jan 1974

May 1974

 MacKay, Alan Hutchison Mar 1984

Aug 1984

 Young, Evelyn M Jan 1991

Jun 1991

 Allan, Robert S T 1998

1999

 Boswell, G

G.B. Bailey (2019)