St John's ChurchIn 1882, the 3rd Marquess of Bute gave financial assistance towards the erection of St. John`s Church - at the head of Glaisnock Street - as a place of worship for Roman Catholics who had previously worshipped at Birnieknowe in Auchinleck Parish.
The designer of the building was William BURGES who was noted for his work at Cardiff Castle and Cork Cathedral. In 1885 St John’s was the first Church in the country to install electricity using a generator. The Manse or Presbytery was erected in 1913 for the Parish Priest Rev Martin MEAGHER (pronounced Marr).
Father Meagher was later raised to the Cathedral Chapter and received the title Canon. He served St John’s parish from 1906 – 1936, and in 1971 one of the streets in the new estate, Barshare, was named Meagher Court – it too is pronounced Marr.
The stained glass windows in the Church date from 1884 and were the work of N. J. WESTLAKE who also designed the Bute window (1883) which was erected to John, Lord Bute by a grateful congregation. This window illustrates St Ninian over the Bute Arms.
In 1960 the altar, font, tabernacle plinth and pulpit were replaced with modern stone carved from white Creetown granite. The organ of the Church is one of the finest in the town. The painting on the ceiling of the sanctuary was done by an Italian artist who was brought over from Italy especially to do the painting.
Saint John the Evangelist, Roman Catholic Church by Madge MacMillan
In 1882 the above church was built for the Catholics of Cumnock. It was a gift from the third Marquess of Bute to commemorate the birth of his son, Ninian. The designer of the building was William Burges who was noted for his work at Cardiff Castle and Cork Cathedral.
In 1885 electricity was installed in St. John’s and this was the first church in the country to be lit by electricity.
The stained glass windows in the sanctuary date from 1884 and were the work of N.J. Westlake. There are 8 windows arranged in a semi circle of the following:
John the Baptist; Mary; Christ the King; John the Evangelist; St. Joseph; St. James; St. Peter and St. Paul. Westlake also designed the Bute window which was installed as a gift to the Marquess by the congregation in 1883 to express their gratitude for the gift of the beautiful church.
The seating capacity of the church is about 330. Long wooden benches now replace the original single wicker chairs.
In 1960 the pulpit, altar rails, altar and Baptismal font were replaced with modern stone carved from white Creetown granite. Above the Sanctuary is a painting of The Last Supper which was painted by an artist who was brought over from Italy specially to do this. To the left of Sanctuary is a small altar dedicated to St. Andrew. This altar is also enhanced with a painting of St. Columba, St. Andrew and St Margaret.
There are fourteen stations of the Cross placed around the walls between the windows to illustrate the journey of Jesus to Calvary. These plaques were donated by fourteen parishioners whose names are inscribed on the bottom of each plaque.
The organ which is placed in the sanctuary was installed in 1884. Shortly after that the Bishop of Argyll paid a visit to Dumfries House as a guest of the Marquess. The Bishop was so impressed by the beautiful organ and the choir of miners that after expressing his gratitude to the Marquess, he, the Marquess had a cathedral built in Oban for the Argyll diocese.
The grounds of St. John’s church were at one time surrounded by beautiful trees, but in the 1960’s the then Parish Priest got permission from the Marquess at that time to have the trees chopped down to make way for a car park as most people had by cars then.
There are still a number of trees surrounding the church and the presbytery. The present parish priest is Father Graeme Bell who was appointed to St. John’s in 2006. He is also parish priest of St. Thomas, Muirkirk and St. Patrick’s Auchinleck.
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St. John`s Church in Glaisnock Street
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