History of New Kilpatrick Church

Most folk know that New Kilpatrick is by far the oldest church in Bearsden and Milngavie, although most would be at a loss to say just how old!

The Parish of New Kilpatrick was created as a result of an act of the Scottish Parliament of  February 1649.  The Act still exists in the national archives in Edinburgh. It divided the former parish of Kilpatrick (which stretched from near Dumbarton to what is now the west end of Glasgow) into Wester, or Old, Kilpatrick and Easter, or New, Kilpatrick. The original tiny church was built on the site of the present building and lasted for over 150 years.  Nothing of it now remains, although a group of 17th century gravestones can be found in the south-east corner of the churchyard.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the original building had become dilapidated and the heritors (local landowners) decided to build a new church. From outside, the 1808 building, which like its predecessor faced east and west, can be easily identified by its crow-stepped gables.

Since 1808, there have been five major extensions to the building transforming it from a small country kirk into a large building of great beauty and, in the process, realigning it to face north and south.

The extensions were required to match the growing congregation, itself the result of the growth in the surrounding community, which was known variously as 'New Kilpatrick', 'Chapelton' or 'New Kirk'.  The name 'Bearsden' is modern, not coming into use until it was given to the nearby railway station by the North British Railway Company in 1863.

As surrounding areas became built-up, New Kilpatrick became the 'mother church' to a number of congregations: Milngavie Parish Church (later St. Paul's); Temple Parish Church (now, sadly, demolished); Drumchapel Old Parish Church; St. Margaret's Parish Church, Knightswood; Killermont Parish Church; and Westerton Fairlie Memorial Parish Church.

Today, over 350 years after the establishment of the parish - years which have seen almost continuous growth in the size of the congregation and the community it serves - it may be hard to realise that the times we live in will also pass into history. May our successors judge us to have been worthy of the rich inheritance we have received!