Building Queen Street Methodist Church
It was on Monday 5th September 1864 that the members and congregation 
of the Methodist Society in Peterhead took the first step in a process which culminated in the opening of the present building by appointing a committee of twelve to act as "The new Wesleyan Chapel Building Committee". At their first meeting eleven days later, a Building Fund was set up. Such was the love and devotion of the Methodist Church people of the time that they gave freely and readily of their gifts to provide a building which was truly worthy in every way.
The plans which were accepted by the Committee were prepared by a Mr Ogilvy of Aberdeen. It was also agreed to apply to the Wesleyan Chapel Committee for a grant of £50 and a loan of £100 which was to be repaid over a period of ten years. The Committee undertook that if they received these sums of money they would erect the new chapel free of all debt, other than the loan. It was also made known to the Committee that the Governors of the Merchant Maiden Hospital of Edinburgh were prepared to grant a free site of ground on Queen Street - 120 feet long and 62 feet wide, the only condition being that the new building should continue to be used as a chapel, otherwise the annual amount for ground rent would fall to be paid.
Changing the building specifications
The Building Committee, being concerned as to how the specifications could be reduced in order to lessen the estimates on the cost of the new building, approved the following resolutions at a meeting held on 22nd May 1865 -
- that a separate estimate for freestone dressings should be obtained;
- that rough granite corbels be substituted for freestone;
- that the Minister's vestry in school as marked on the plan should be dispensed with;
- that the small buttresses on either side of the front entrance door be done away with;
- that iron pillars in front palisade be substituted for above;
- that the gallery stairs stand over for a time;
- that the foot-boards be removed
- and that the best Norway timber be used in the roof.
The original estimates submitted by the various tradesmen amounted to £988.15/-, and further adjustments were made to the specifications for the mason work to bring down the cost still further. One decision from the previous meeting was reversed, however, the small buttresses at the front of the building were to be allowed to remain as their removal would very much destroy thecompleteness and neatness of the building. It was also resolved to place the new chapel back from the street to the extent of 14 to 20 feet.
On 26th June 1865 the Committee had before them revised estimates totalling £908. As the total of these estimates was in excess of the permitted figure to the extent of £8, the eight lay members who were present at the meeting undertook to make themselves responsible for £1 each. Without this agreement the church could not have been built!
The foundation stone was laid on 16th August 1865 by Mr Andrew Boyd, Factor to the Merchant Maiden Hospital, at a ceremony over which the Circuit Superintendent, the Rev Thomas L. Parker, presided. An inscribed silver trowel was used for the stone-laying, and there was laid in the foundation a box which contained:-
"The Watchman" for August 3rd; "The Recorder" for August 11th; the "Peterhead Sentinel" and the "Buchan Observer" for the previous week; the "Wesleyan Methodist Magazine" for August; Bill of the Ceremony and Public Meeting; several coins of the realm; and visiting cards of the Rev. Messrs Drake, Parker, and Cleaver.
The two ministers mentioned in addition to Rev. Thomas L. Parker were Rev J. Drake, Chairman of the District, and Rev Amos Cleaver, minister of the Methodist Society in Peterhead at the time.
It is quite clear that the Building Committee wanted the chapel to be completed as quickly as possible, and, at the same time, to honour their earlier intention to have a building which could be opened free of debt. In January 1865 they discussed the matter of installing gas lighting in the new chapel and accepted an estimate for this work to be done for £21. At later meetings it was resolved to have the roof timbers stained and varnished, and to treat likewise the pews, pulpit, and doors. An estimate of £12.10/- for iron railings and gates for the front of the new chapel was also accepted.
The Widows Mites
While much has been said on the planning and estimates for the new building, it is only right that reference should be made to the gracious generosity of a considerable number of friends whose gifts of money heped to meet the cost of the chapel - £1,008.10s.8d to be exact. Apartfrom the £100 loan and grant of £50, both from the General Chapel Committee, there was the sum of £95 from the sale of the old chapel. There was one very generous gift from a local source, that of a Captain Martin to the extent of £100. This gentleman was a member of a distinguished family in Peterhead and is believed to have been associated with the whaling industry.
Mention has to be made, however, of the ready support given by other people whose gifts might appear by our modern standards to be quite small, yet, some 100years ago, such gifts were of a sacrificial nature. In the Treasurer's Cash Book covering the Building Fund, donations of one shilling and two shillings take their place along with those for higher amounts. An unknown fisherwoman of Buckie is remembered for her gift of a shilling, as is also the Peterhead widow's mite of sixpence. Humble folk like these joined with others of a higher station in society to help make our present place of worship become a reality.
The Opening Cermony
The "Buchan Observer" for Friday 15th June 1866 - it was published at that time on Fridays - gave the following information concerning the new building in anticipation of the official opening which was to be held the following week:-
"The new Wesleyan Church in Queen Street is to be opened for public worship next week. The building was commenced in July last, and is now nearly completed. The site on which it is built has been generously presented to the Methodists by the Governors of the Merchant Maiden Hospital. Besides the ground occupied by the church there are 20 feet of ground at the front and 20 feet behind, with 10 feet on each side. The building is designed in the Gothic style of architecture. The side and end walls are built of Peterhead granite, and the front elevation is built of grey Cairngall granite with freestone dressings. On each side are four windows, likewise dressed with freestone. In the front facing Queen Street is a large entrance doorway. Between each side of the doorway is a lofty three-light window. The roof, gable, and buttresses, in front are surmounted by freestone pinnacles. All the windows are glazed with fluted plate glass.
The internal dimensions of the church are 60 feet in length and 40 feet in breadth. Adjoining the church at the back is a commodious schoolroom, 40 feet in length and 14 feet in breadth. There are sittings for 370 persons in the body of the building. The gallery - the sittings of which will not be fitted up for the present - will accommodate about 70 people. The seats are made of American pine, stained and varnished, with slightly sloping backs. The pulpit, made of the same wood, is surrounded by a handsome communion rail, with cast-iron balustrade of an elegant design. From the large and spacious lobby two noble doors open into the body of the church".
Having made reference to the financial side by means of the loan and grant from the General Chapel Fund, and the most heroic exertions of the local Methodist Society finance-wise, the "Observer" report continues thus:-
"The new church occupies a very advantageous position in Queen Street. Within the last few years many new houses have been built in that quarter, and some new buildings are now in course of erection. The new church is decidedly an ornament to the town, and especially to that part in which it is situated. Its handsome front, its carved pinnacles, its arched door and windows, its whole appearance add to the beauty of the best street in Peterhead".
The "Buchan Observer" for 22nd June 1866 gives an account of the opening services held on the Wednesday, making mention first of those aspects of the building which had been completed since publication of the previous week's issue of the paper. This is done in the following terms -"During the past week the unfinished portions of the building have been completed, and its whole aspect much improved. A handsome cast-iron railing is now erected in front of the church, and, externally and internally it is now one of the most handsome places of worship in town. Internally the church has a neat and elegant appearance - plain, yet tasteful and imposing. It is to be lighted from the roof by means of convex reflecting lights' or what is known as patent silverised bodies. These lights are two in number with eighteen burners on each. The bodies are 20 inches in diameter, 24 inches high and were furnished by Mr Francis Hay, Peterhead".
See also The foundations of Peterhead Methodists
1940 to the present day in Peterhead Methodist Church
James Turner the Peterhead evangelist who won North East Scotland for Jesus
Developing the current Peterhead Methodist Church Building
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