Part Three

WATERLOO ROOMS & THE ALHAMBRA
Not long after the ‘Wellington Congregation’ moved to University Avenue in 1884, an amusing incident occurred in connection with the disposal of the vacant property in Wellington Street. Mr. Walter Freer was engaged to survey the property for a potential buyer, he entered the building alone one evening and, during his tour of inspection, he ventured into the lower levels of the building. Whilst passing along a dark passageway, a gust of wind extinguished his candle, leaving him in complete darkness. His only source of light gone, he panicked and moved briskly forward in the direction of a singular shaft of light. Suddenly, he lost his foothold and plummeted some six feet (2m) downwards. Regaining composure, he felt around in the total darkness, eventually his fingers picked out the words "Here lies....". The unfortunate surveyor had fallen into a tomb, left over from the former church. The property was eventually purchased, and Mr Freer was none the worse for his 'grave' experience.

The former church property was completely refurbished and turned into the ‘Waterloo Rooms’, a venue that became very popular for meetings and social gatherings. It is reputed that the first phonograph in Scotland was demonstrated on the premises during April 1889, followed soon after with the first moving pictures. The Waterloo Rooms were eventually sold and cleared away for the erection of the Alhambra Theatre, opened in 1910.

Those who can remember the Alhambra, with its revolving stage, will, no doubt, have fond memories of the various acts that performed there, not least, of the ‘Bluebell Girls’ and the fabulous 'Five Past Eight Show’. The Alhambra Theatre was demolished in 1971 to make way for the modern office block that currently occupies the site on Wellington Street.

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ANDERSTON & St. PETER'S
 In 1799 a Chapel of Ease, funded by public subscription, was opened in Clyde Street (later Clydeferry Street). When the ‘Auld Kirk' petitioned for the erection of a Chapel of Ease (church extension of the eighteenth century) the population of Anderston was around five thousand souls. The first ordained minister of the Clyde Street Chapel of Ease was Dr. John Love who, prior to taking up his appointment in Anderston, was secretary of the London Missionary Society (LMS), which he helped found in 1795. Despite being described as "a thoroughly spiritual minded man and a powerful preacher" there was a great deal of opposition to his election as minister of the church. Whatever opinions people may have held, that did not deter Dr. Love from devoting himself to the work of the church and spreading of the Gospel.

Struthers, Mitchell and Love, the ministers of the three Anderston Churches, worked together in complete harmony and were all fervent supporters of the Glasgow Missionary Society (GMS), founded in 1796. It was through Dr. Love’s commitment and enthusiasm to the work of the LMS and the GMS, that Lovedale, a town in South Africa, was eventually named in his honour. Dr Love died on 17th December 1825, a year after the founding of the first settlement in Cape Colony (Cape Province), South Africa. Worn out by his labours in Anderston and by his work on behalf of the GMS, it was particularly fitting that one of the missionaries working at Incehra in Africa wrote soon after Dr Love's death,

Anderston Free:
On the Sunday following the 'Disruption of 1843', Dr. Somerville, on completion of his sermon, left the Clyde Street Church (Chapel of Ease), still in his robes, followed by most of the congregation. The dissenters met in Catherine Street School under the name of Anderston Free Church until 1849, when their new church premises in Cadogan Street were opened. The congregation remained in Cadogan Street until 1878 when they again moved, this time to new premises on the eastern edge of University Avenue. The new church, in time, became known as Gilmorehill Church until the charge was dissolved in 1959, the University of Glasgow now owns the property. It is interesting to note that both Wellington and Anderston Free began life only a street apart, they then relocated eastwards where they operated in close proximity. Finally, both congregations moved westwards, to Gilmorehill, where both buildings now stand only one hundred yards apart.
 

St Peter’s:
Saint Peter's was established as a Chapel of Ease in 1836, at 68-72 Oswald Street. The expansion of the Central Station resulted in the relocation of the congregation in 1904 to Brownfield Est. Church, (founded in 1835, later reduced to a Mission Station) in Brown Street, retaining the name St. Peter’s. The congregation united with Anderston (St. Martin's) in 1951 to form Anderston & St. Peter's. At a later date the former St. Peter’s building in Oswald Street was converted into ‘Wilson’s Zoo’.
 

St. Peter’s Free:
A congregation that evolved from St. Peter’s Established Church was St. Peter’s Free (1843), who met at 55 Mains Street (Blythswood Street), the congregation united in 1909 with St. Georges U.F to become St. George’s & St. Peter’s U.F. whose premises stood at 137 Elderslie Street.
 

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Broomielaw Free:
A congregation that developed from St. Peter’s Free was Broomielaw Free who met in Carrick Street (1861). This church was reduced to a Mission, operating under the auspices of Broomielaw U.F. The Mission Church was run by students from the United Free College. Broomielaw U.F united with St. Mark’s West in 1929.

Anderston & St. Peter’s:
The split of 1843 was not the end of the Clyde Street Church's troubles, six years later, on the 6th May 1849, the property, which was originally established as a Chapel of Ease in 1799, was badly damaged by fire. A long running insurance battle followed, however, despite their problems, the congregation remained intact and, in 1864, having gathered enough money they erected a new building at the gushet of St. Vincent Street and Argyle Street. The new property, completed in 1865, was known as Anderston Parish Church. The building was particularly ornate; being built of white sandstone inlaid with bandings of red sandstone; placed above the main entrance was an effigy of Dr. John Love, minister of the first congregation who met in 1799.

The first minister called to the new Anderston Parish Church was John Marshal Lang, a distinguished preacher of that era. Lang’s three sons all held prominent ecclesiastical positions in different denominations. The eldest son, Cosmo Gordon Lang, became Archbishop of Canterbury, the second son, became a Bishop in the Church of England, while the youngest became Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Anderston Parish Church has the distinction of being the first Presbyterian Church to legally install and use a pipe organ during public worship. The designation of the congregation was changed in 1929 to Anderston (St. Martin's) with the title ‘St. Martin’s’ intentionally placed in brackets in order to distinguish the congregation from that of other Anderston churches. In 1951 the congregations of Anderston (St. Martin’s), and St. Peter’s united to form Anderston & St. Peter’s.

When Anderston & St. Peter’s closed in 1968 the organ was removed and placed in storage, it has since been relocated to Saint Bride’s Episcopal Church in Hyndland. An effigy of Dr. Love that once adorned a roundel above the main entrance of Anderston & St. Peter's was also safely removed during demolition work in 1971, and transported to Lovedale, South Africa, where it remains as a reminder of the debt owed to Dr. John Love of Anderston. The last cleric to hold the charge of Anderston & St. Peter's was the Rev. Gordon Milne Ewan, who died during August 1969. The former congregation now forms part of Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church.

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