Dumbarton church shares history ahead of 50th anniversary

Lennox Evangelical Church will be marking the 50th anniversary of holding services in its Risk Street building this Sunday, October 6.

The congregation has a vast history in Dumbarton having first been formed in 1865 when worshippers met in several different locations, including at one point in the 1900s, a tent. 

David Galloway from the congregation is preparing to share some history at the special service on Sunday and shared the story of the church’s old premises Bridge Street Gospel Hall.

The congregation’s previous church was on Bridge Street (Image: Supplied) Referring to the picture above, he said: “This was the church where we met from about the mid-1920s. It was quite a big church hall with a joiner’s yard beneath.

“However, the council decided that they wanted to develop the area as part of the whole development of the town centre and so a compulsory purchase order was served in March of 1973.

“The deal was for the charities and churches they bought that they would replace the floor area with an equivalent floor area. They would either build it, provide premises or provide funds for the premises to be built.

“At that point in time, this patch of land where the church stands today was just a wasteland and it was available.”

(Image: Newsquest) Following this an agreement was made for the church to lease the wasteland for 99 years.

However whilst their new premises were being built the church continued to meet at their old building until tragedy struck.

David added: “The church was still meeting in the old building in late 1973. However, in April of 1974, the old hall burned down.

“I was a teenager at the time and I remember when Radio Clyde had just started. They started broadcasting ‘there’s a big fire in Dumbarton city centre.’

“The whole thing was essentially demolished.”

The church hosts youth clubs, social groups and community events (Image: Newsquest) The new Lennox Evangelical Church was completed in October 1974 and has since had a small extension to add a space for youth clubs.

It has also managed to obtain ownership of the premises for future certainty.

The church currently runs community groups including arts and crafts clubs to bring together members of the congregation.

Sign on the church door ahead of the anniversary (Image: Newsquest) The special service on Sunday will commemorate the history of the congregation as well as reflect on plans for the up and coming events of the church.