The second of January 2025 marked 200 years since the construction of our current building. (The congregation is older, with a previous building having stood on the same site - the church hall was added in 1898). A brief note about its construction is found in the Memoir of the pastor at the time, Rev. William Symington.
Symington first preached in Stranraer - in the original building - when the congregation was vacant and he was newly available to receive a call. Here are a few relevant extracts from his diary for January 1819:
January 8: “…The chapel is neat and compact, though rather small”
January 17.—”Had a large and respectable audience. House quite packed”.
January 31.—”House immensely crowded, the day being very fine”.
The need for a new building was already apparent. The following account is written by Symington’s sons:
“In June of 1824 the old building was taken down, preaching being kept up on the green while summer lasted, and in the Relief or the Antiburgher Meeting-house when autumn came; and on the 2d day of January 1825 he entered the pulpit of a new and handsome church, adapted to the size of the audience.”
200 years on we are grateful for God’s provision and particularly for the work he has enabled us to do to the building recently due to the generosity of his people. On Saturday we held a church clean-up morning, some pictures of which are below:
