Polmont Old
Parish Church - Scotland
Parish Church - Scotland
A brief History
Polmont Old Parish Church
The new parish of Polmont was created in 1724 and its first church opened in 1731. Its ivy-covered ruins are to be seen in the churchyard, just south of the line of the Antonine Wall. Recent research has revealed that its design was by the illustrious William Adam, father of the even more famous Robert.
The industrial revolution brought the Union Canal and the Glasgow-Edinburgh railway to the parish, and the population outgrew the church building. As a result the heritors (ie. the landowners) had a new church erected. It opened on Sunday, 20 July 1845, with capacity for 1,200, and is the church which still serves the parish of Polmont.
The church hall on Main Street was built in 1894, suffered a fire in November 1991, was extended and reopened in 1993, and so has been the focus for much of the social life of the community, particularly its children, for over 100 years.
Despite many trials and difficulties, from the passage of the Jacobite army in 1746 to the Church of Scotland Disruption in 1843, the impact of the two World Wars and the drift away from Christian faith in the modern materialist era, our church still stands, after 250 years and more, as a symbol and centre of Christian witness and activity.
Polmont Old Parish Church
The industrial revolution brought the Union Canal and the Glasgow-Edinburgh railway to the parish, and the population outgrew the church building. As a result the heritors (ie. the landowners) had a new church erected. It opened on Sunday, 20 July 1845, with capacity for 1,200, and is the church which still serves the parish of Polmont.The church hall on Main Street was built in 1894, suffered a fire in November 1991, was extended and reopened in 1993, and so has been the focus for much of the social life of the community, particularly its children, for over 100 years.
Despite many trials and difficulties, from the passage of the Jacobite army in 1746 to the Church of Scotland Disruption in 1843, the impact of the two World Wars and the drift away from Christian faith in the modern materialist era, our church still stands, after 250 years and more, as a symbol and centre of Christian witness and activity.
