A Short History of the Parish

A site at the northern end of the Old Mill Road, bounded by the L.M.S. and L.N.E.R, railways, was chosen for the erection of a new chapel-school and presbytery, and construction work commenced in the autumn of 1882. Rapid progress was made and the new buildings were completed the following summer.

The important and imposing ceremony to mark the opening of the new Parish was held on Sunday, 24th June 1883.The chapel school dedicated to the patronage of
St, John the Baptist, was solemnly opened by Archbishop Eyre of Glasgow who presided and preached at the opening High Mass in the forenoon.The Right Rev. John
Aloysius Maguire, who was himself later to become Archbishop of Glasgow, preached the sermon at the Solemn Benediction in the evening.

The chapel-school building, designed in the early English style, consisted of a large schoolroom with a sanctuary at one end and a class-room at the other giving altogether accommodation for 600 people. Folding doors on the sanctuary and the classroom closed these off from the main schoolroom when the school was in session. The school had its own official opening and first intake of pupils on 13th August 1883.

Though the chapel-school is generally regarded as the first chapel in Uddingston, the late Fr. Gilbert Hill of Greyfriars uncovered evidence of an earlier one in the course of his historical research and David Jamieson, our local historian, included this information in his history of the village. The Lady Chapel, as it was known, is thought to have been built about the beginning of the 7th Century and it was dedicated to St. Laserian, the first Bishop of Leighlin in Ireland, who was also known as St. Malaise. The chapel was situated near the River Clyde where the railway bridge crosses the river but evidence of its existence has disappeared as the site is now covered by the railway embankment. Though many place names in the West of Scotland bear witness to the missionary activity of St. Malaise, the only reminder of his work in Uddingston is the name 'Lady Isle' given to one of the streets in the Knowehead Council Estate.

In 1883, the parochial boundaries of the new St. John the Baptist's parish stretched from Bothwell Park to Calder Braes, taking in the land lying between the natural boundaries of the River Clyde and the River Calder - a very extensive area indeed.
Bearing in mind that transport facilities were very limited, one can appreciate the difficulties experienced by our early parish priests in caring for such a scattered and fragmented parish and tribute must be paid to Fr. Denis McCarthy, Fr. John Murphy and Fr. Ronald Mortimer for their pioneering efforts to establish the spiritual and social foundations of their charge under such difficult conditions.

< previous page - next page >