The Sanctuary has also undergone renovation. Originally the wall behind the altar consisted of four large fluted Doric columns and these were taken down in the 1870’s and replaced with the much lighter design which can be seen today. Paintings The painting of the Assumption, which so dominates the church is an addition from the […]

Interior renovations In 1926-27 significant renovation and redecoration of the Church took place. Over £1500 (£54,742 by current standards) was spent on this work for which the Main Contractors were S&J Scott of West George Street. The whole of the inside was repainted except for the large panel behind the altar and those at the […]

In 1914 the new school building was completed on the site of the old school building and in 1919 was valued for the sake of the transfer to local authority control. The building was valued at £23,399 (in 2002 this was the equivalent of £665,627). The transaction for the sale of the properties did not […]

Architecture The Architects of Saint Mary’s church were reported in the centenary brochure of the parish as having been a famous London firm, Goldie and Childe, the same firm who were later responsible for Saint Mungo’s in Townhead. There is only one problem with that: Mr Childe of Goldie and Childe was born in 1943 […]

Origins In 1846, Fr Peter Forbes, the first Parish priest of St. Mary’s, visited the convent in Tourcoing. While there he appealed for some of the Sisters to come to Scotland where there was great need. His request was accepted by Sr. M. Adelaide Vaast, who was then the Sub-Prioress and Mistress of Novices. She […]

New Churches By 1792 there was a sufficient Catholic population in the city for the parish of Saint Andrew’s to be founded. It was only in 1816 that the church which was later to become the Cathedral in Clyde Street, was opened. In the first half of the nineteenth century parishes were founded at an […]

From Town to City It is difficult for those who are used to Glasgow being a large metropolitan city to realise just how recent the development of the city has been. In 1770 Glasgow was but a small merchant town, fifty years later it was almost unrecognisable as a large industrial city. Population In 1750 […]

The fact that Calton was very much on the outside of the city is emphasised by the fact that Bishop Scott purchased several acres between Gallowgate and East Rose Street and Henrietta and Abercromby Street. There are still some remnants of this graveyard today. A large headstone is to be found in the vacant land […]

History The modern history of Calton predates Saint Mary’s Church by about 150 years. Originally the area now called Calton was known as Blackfauld and from 1705 it was developed as a place for weavers to live. A certain John Walkinshaw (1671-1731) who was a Jacobite sympathiser, owned the land and the development of the […]