The St George's Tron Church, in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, is a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

church in the city centre, located in Nelson Mandela Place, previously known as St George's Place, fronting

Buchanan Street Buchanan Street is one of the high street, main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbou ...

at West George Street, along from Queen Street Station. It should not be confused with the 17th-century Tron Church, which lies to the south-west on

Trongate Trongate is one of the oldest streets in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Trongate begins at Glasgow Cross, where the steeple of the old Glasgow Tolbooth is situated, being the original centre of medieval Glasgow, and goes westward changing its n ...

and was redeveloped in the 1980s as the

Tron Theatre The Tron Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. The theatre was formerly known as the Tron Kirk. It began as the Collegiate Church of Our Lady and St. Anne. The Tron Theatre building is home to the Tron Theatre Company and serves as a prod ...

. Located right on the busiest shopping street in Scotland (

), the building is a significant presence, and the oldest in the area. It stands as a

terminating vista In urban design, a terminating vista is a building or an object such as a monument that stands within view in the Sightline (architecture), sightline or at the end or the middle of a road. Function Terminating vistas are considered an importa ...

for West George Street.

History

The church opened in 1808, originally as St. George's Parish Church, with the original congregation originating from the Wynd Church in the

Merchant City The Merchant City, a new name introduced through urban renewal by the Scottish Development Agency and the city council in the 1980s is one part of the metropolitan central area of Glasgow. It commences at George Square and goes eastwards reachin ...

near to the Trongate. In 1815

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland (1843—1900), Free Church of Scotl ...

, later to be the leader of the evangelical party in the

disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...

, became minister of the church. A merger with the Tron St Anne congregation (previously of the Laigh Kirk on Trongate) in 1940 led to the compound St George's Tron name coming into use. A notable minister of the parish was Tom Allan, a key figure in the Scottish evangelical movement of the mid-20th century. Tom Allan died of a heart attack in 1965. His ministry was followed by that of George Baillie Duncan who developed a strong emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching and who served from 1965 to 1977. Another notable minister, also an evangelical, was Eric Alexander, who served from 1977 to 1997 as was

Sinclair Ferguson Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson (born 21 February 1948) is a Scottish theologian known in Reformed Christian circles for his teaching, writing, and editorial work. He has been Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological S ...

who served in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2004 Rev Dr William J. U. Philip became minister of the congregation, following a five-year term as Director of Ministry with the Proclamation Trust. During his ministry he oversaw the establishment of Cornhill Scotland, a training organisation for preachers and teachers of the Bible. In 2012 the Reverend William Philip and the congregation left the Church of Scotland and moved to new premises on Bath Street where they have continued as an independent congregation under the name of the Tron Church.

Today

The Reverend Alastair Duncan was duly appointed as a Transition Minister for a 7 year period in order to re-plant a congregation in the landmark city centre church, before being formally inducted over zoom in 2020. St George’s Tron opens its door to the public 7 days a week, with the Wild Olive Tree café operating open Monday to Saturday 10am-4:30pm and a Café Church Service on a Sunday at 12:30pm, as well as other services throughout the week.

Recent activity

In 2015 Iain Campbell took up a temporary post as Artist-in-Residence at St George's. Campbell produced a painting titled "the last supper" depicting men in difficult personal circumstances dining at a table. This was to commemorate a cafe operated in the church which was a social enterprise project run in conjunction with

Glasgow City Mission Glasgow City Mission is a Christian charitable organisation whose remit covers Glasgow, Scotland. It is dedicated to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and providing practical help and support to homeless and disadvantaged people. Its headquarter ...

. The Glasgow Street Pastors continue to operate out of St George's Tron, using it as their "safe zone" on Friday and Saturday nights.

Architecture

The building, which was commissioned by the City Fathers was designed by William Stark, was opened in 1808, originally as St. George's Parish Church.

Refurbishment

From 2007-9 the church building was refurbished by CRGP architects and surveyors. This restored a number of original features which had been concealed by practical alterations over the years as well as revealing and addressing structural weaknesses in the tower. The new interior is an open and contemporary design, making it an excellent location for the Wild Olive Tree cafe.

References

External links

St George's Tron Church of Scotland, Parish Church
(the

Presbytery of Glasgow The Presbytery of Glasgow is one of the 14 Presbyteries of the Church of Scotland. It dates back to the earliest periods of Presbyterian church government in the Church of Scotland in the late 16th century. The Presbytery of Glasgow currently has ...

congregation, which meets in the building) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Tron Church Churches completed in 1808 19th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Category A listed buildings in Glasgow George's-Tron Listed churches in Glasgow Terminating vistas in the United Kingdom