Queen's Cross Church, Glasgow on:
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Queen's Cross Church is a former
Although the stained glass windows are not 'spectacular' compared to other churches and cathedrals, they are distinctly Mackintosh in design. The style is still used on many Mackintosh-style windows and stained glass souvenirs available today.
The roof is made up by a striking timber-lined barrel-vaulted roof, which spans the entire forty feet of the nave.
The pulpit is carved in Mackintosh designs - it is repeated five times around the curved front. It has been suggested that it represents the wings of a bird protecting young shoots - sown on fertile ground.
The design contains gothic influences, such as the magnificent stained glass blue-heart window, and pre-Reformation style elements, such as the replica of the original rood beam, which is unique in Scotland. It is even possible to find Japanese influences in the double beams and pendants inside the church.Video interview at Queen's Cross Church with Stuart Robertson
, Director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society (February, 2008)
After the church was decommissioned in the 1970s, unlike many churches which were converted to theatres, apartments or demolished and because of the popularity of Mackintosh's work, the church became home of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, which owns and operates the church as a tourist attraction.
The adjoining church hall provides tearoom facilities, and there is a display area under the balcony with many artifacts including replicas of the chairs he designed for the
Image:Queens Cross Church07c.jpg, west window
Image:Queens Cross Church07d.jpg, west window
Image:Queens Cross Church07e.jpg, pulpit
Image:Queens Cross Church07f.jpg, east window over main balcony
Image:Queens Cross Church07o.jpg, south aisle and west window
Image:Queens Cross Church07p.jpg, south aisle and balcony
Image:Queens Cross Church07q.jpg, south aisle
Image:Queens Cross Church07h.jpg, west stair
Image:Queens Cross Church07i.jpg, east stair
Image:Queens Cross Church07k.jpg, hall roof
Image:Queens Cross Church07l.jpg, keyboard in hall
Image:Queens Cross Church07m.jpg, hall detail
Charles Rennie Mackintosh SocietyThe Mackintosh Church
{{Charles Rennie Mackintosh Churches completed in 1899 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed churches in Glasgow Former churches in Scotland Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings Art Nouveau architecture in Glasgow Art Nouveau church buildings in the United Kingdom Maryhill
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
parish church in Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It is the only church designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...
to have been built; hence, it is also known as The Mackintosh Church.
History
In 1896, the Free Church of St Matthew, Glasgow, commissioned a new church and hall from the experienced Glasgow architectural practice ofHoneyman and Keppie
Honeyman and Keppie was a major architectural firm based in Glasgow, created by John Honeyman and John Keppie in 1888 following the death of James Sellars in whose architectural practice Keppie had worked. Their most notable employee was Charles ...
, to be located within the developing area of Springbank, near Maryhill. John Honeyman allocated the job to his young, talented, trainee architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The site was an awkward one, being on a corner plot and butted by tenements and a large warehouse. In keeping with their beliefs, the Free Church required simplicity in design. A memorial stone was laid on 23 June 1898 and the church held its first service on 10 September 1899.
Although he designed an Anglican Cathedral for Liverpool, as part of a competition, it was never built, so Queen's Cross was the only Mackintosh church to be completed. Building started shortly after Mackintosh finished his competition design for the Glasgow School of Art
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...
. It is built at Queen's Cross, at the junction of Garscube Road and Maryhill Road in Glasgow's Maryhill
Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road.
The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station.
History
Hew Hill, ...
area.
Mackintosh Design
Exterior
Unlike many churches in Glasgow, Mackintosh's church doesn't have a huge towering spire, and is rather squat and more like a Norman Castle, called 'Modern gothic' by other architects. The main south-west tower was modelled on one at Merriot in Somerset which Mackintosh visited in 1895.Interior
Although the stained glass windows are not 'spectacular' compared to other churches and cathedrals, they are distinctly Mackintosh in design. The style is still used on many Mackintosh-style windows and stained glass souvenirs available today.
The roof is made up by a striking timber-lined barrel-vaulted roof, which spans the entire forty feet of the nave.
The pulpit is carved in Mackintosh designs - it is repeated five times around the curved front. It has been suggested that it represents the wings of a bird protecting young shoots - sown on fertile ground.
The design contains gothic influences, such as the magnificent stained glass blue-heart window, and pre-Reformation style elements, such as the replica of the original rood beam, which is unique in Scotland. It is even possible to find Japanese influences in the double beams and pendants inside the church., Director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society (February, 2008)
Home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society
After the church was decommissioned in the 1970s, unlike many churches which were converted to theatres, apartments or demolished and because of the popularity of Mackintosh's work, the church became home of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, which owns and operates the church as a tourist attraction.
The adjoining church hall provides tearoom facilities, and there is a display area under the balcony with many artifacts including replicas of the chairs he designed for the Willow Tearooms
The Willow Tearooms are tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, Scotland, designed by internationally renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which opened for business in October 1903. They quickly gained enormous popularity, and ar ...
.
See also
*Culture in Glasgow
The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, ...
*List of Church of Scotland parishes
The Church of Scotland, the national church of Scotland, divides the country into Presbyteries, which in turn are subdivided into Parishes, each served by a parish church, usually with its own minister. Unions and readjustments may however re ...
Notes
Gallery
External links
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society
{{Charles Rennie Mackintosh Churches completed in 1899 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed churches in Glasgow Former churches in Scotland Charles Rennie Mackintosh buildings Art Nouveau architecture in Glasgow Art Nouveau church buildings in the United Kingdom Maryhill