Glasgow Cathedral

In the cold water of the Molendinar Burn, St Kentigern baptised his followers and founded his church on its' west bank. The Molendinar Burn was a stream which wended it's way through a small community. This community eventually grew to become Glasgow.

The people of Glasgow loved St Kentigern so much and held him in such high esteem. They called him 'Mungo', meaning 'dear one'. When St Kentigern (now more commonly called 'St Mungo') died in 603, he was buried in the church that he had founded.

In 1136, by the banks of that same burn and on the same spot, Bishop Achaius (died 1147) consecrated a church on the 9th of July, 1136. That church was destroyed, and in 1197 Bishop Jocelyn (died 1199) started building a new one.

In 1188, Bishop Jocelyn had successfully freed Glasgow Cathedral from its dependancy on the English Church. The See of York had claimed the right of supremacy over the bishopric, but Pope Alexander III decreed that the See of Glasgow was subordinate only to the Vatican.

Glasgow Cathedral was completed by Archbishop Blacader, (who was the first archbishop of Glasgow, died 1508) in the fifteenth century, and only a small part of Bishop Jocelyn's church remains.

The Reformation
After the death of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, (who was a Catholic and opposed any efforts to reform Scotland), The Scottish Parliament met in 1560 and a proposal was put forward seeking the abolition of Popery and decrying the corruption of Roman Catholicism.

The Scottish Parliament asked six ministers to draw up a document outlining the principles of the reformed church. the document produced was called the Scottish Confession. John Knox (c 1514-1572) was one of the six ministers who drafted the document.

The Scottish Confession proclaimed that the Protestant church would preach the true Word of God and the right administration of the sacraments of Jesus Christ.

Scotland was declared a Protestant nation and there followed a period in Scotland's history where all Catholic churches were attacked and left roofless (except for Glasgow Cathedral), as the Reformists swept forward and imposed their beliefs across the land.

Although there is little evidence to support the story, some historians believe that In 1579, the magistrates of Glasgow, at the behest of Andrew Melville (1545-1622) the Principal of The University of Glasgow, ordered that Glasgow Cathedral be destroyed, and its stones used to build smaller Protestant churches.

As the Reformers marched towards the Cathedral, they were met by members of the Incorporated Trades of Glasgow who had formed a defensive circle around the Cathedral to prevent it from being destroyed.

After a long discussion, it was agreed by both parties that the Reformers could go into the Cathedral and destroy statues, paintings, fabrics, books and any other signs of Catholicism, as long as they did not touch a stone of the Cathedral. Many items of historical value were destroyed, but at least the Cathedral was saved.

Post Reformation
The first Archbishop of Glasgow after the Reformation was John Porterfield in 1571, and the last Archbishop was John Patterson until 1689. So Glasgow Cathedral has not been a Cathedral since that date, although Christian services have been held non-stop right up to the present time.

Many changes have taken place in the Cathedral over the centuries, and more recently stained glass windows have been replaced with new ones, notably the Millennium Window, which was unveiled on the 3rd of June 1999. The Cathedral is Crown Property and is maintained by Historic Scotland.

A medieval cathedral's fight for survival

The following story is based on fact, and the event took place on the 8th of June 1582. Episcopacy and Presbyterianism followers were in conflict as to whom should be the next Archbishop of Glasgow. The Presbyterian Reverand John Howieson and a band of students had occupied Glasgow Cathedral prior to the appointed Episcopalian Archbishop, Robert Montgomery arriving.

Howieson was dragged from the pulpit and injured as described below. The only fictional character in the story is William Green.

Withstanding Walls

The old lady stood in the great hall of the Glasgow Cathedral. Outside, a torrential downpour of rain darkened the sky, making it seem like a late winter's evening rather than an early afternoon in spring. It was cold in the Cathedral despite the central heating grilles on the stone floor giving off warm air, which was barely noticeable. The high arched roof above ensured that any warm air quickly rose and dissipated.

Always smartly dressed, the old lady had been caught out by Glasgow's changeable weather. She had started out when it was sunny and had chosen a light blue dress, with matching gloves, hat and handbag. Complimenting this was a dark blue long coat with red lining. She had looked very regal when she started out, but now in the shadow of the great Cathedral nave, her hair and coat soaking wet, she cursed herself for not bringing an umbrella.

She strolled over to the last pillar near the nave pulpit and sat in one of the chairs that surrounded the pillar, the backs of the chairs almost touching the pillar stone. She chose a chair that hid her from view from the security desk a the side entrance. She removed her gloves and placed them in her handbag, then placed her handbag between her feet, clamping it firmly with her heels. She put both hands behind her back, and placed them on the cold stone of the pillar.

Closing her eyes, she felt the pillar's vibrations travelling through her hands. It seemed to whisper to her, revealing the dark secrets it held within in it and the surrounding walls. The whispers became more audible. She saw swirling dark grey clouds through her closed eyelids and then they became moving pictures forming in her head. The Cathedral changed. Where there was empty space in the hall, there were now pews and alters between the pillars.

She heard many voices, some shouting, some screaming, and then clearly a voice crying out, "Push them back against the wall!" The whispering walls and pillars were about to reveal more to her. She surrendered her conscious will and let the story unfold... . ...


"Push them back against the wall!", William Green could hear as he lay unseen behind one of the great oak doors of the Cathedral. William Green had been employed with five other men to guard the Cathedral on behalf of the City Merchants, who had saved the Cathedral three years before when Reformers came to destroy it.

The attack by the mob of students came suddenly and caught William and his men offguard. In the short but decisive battle that followed, he took a blow to the head. His colleagues were kicked out of the Cathedral, but William was forgotten as he lay between the pews.

As the Reverand Howieson was ranting from the pulpit with the students as his congregation, William managed to crawl towards the main oak doors, just as he reached them, he managed to roll over behind the door to the left before the Burger men marched in to drive the students out.

And now the battle raged within the great hall, and in the gloom and confusion it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. The Burgers did not wear uniforms, and were in fact hired thugs, and cared little about the consequences of their actions. Their leaders had not taken into account that they would have to fight, and fight in near darkness. The Cathedral's own torches had not been lit when the students stormed its sanctum two hours earlier, there was still sufficient light from the plain glass windows then.

The superior numbers of the burger men and their lethal clubs soon changed the course of the battle. The students were forced into the other corner near the oak doors. The burgers formed a half-circle and brought theic heavy clubs down over their heads, as if chopping wood. One or two students managed to break free from this ferocious attack, but were pounced on by one burger whose job was to attack anyone who managed to stray from the main group. The burgers skill and ruthlesness soon brought the battle to an end and the students threw down their weapons. Two of the burgers did not show mercy and waded into the now defenceless young men.

After two unfortunate students were left nearly dead, the burger's leader called a halt and commanded his men to drive the defeated students out of the Cathedral.

Archbishop Montgomery chose that moment to enter the Cathedral with his entourage, including Matthew Stewart of Minto, Provost of Glasgow. Stewart had a royal warrant to install Montgomery as Archbishop. As the entourage passed the fleeing students who were still being pursued by two vicious burger men, they cried out for mercy, but the Archbishop ignored their pleas, and entered the great hall of the Cathedral.

The Reverand Howieson refused to move from the pulpit. Archibishop Montgomery stood before the pulpit and said, "Step down sir, and go in peace from the place of God. Otherwise I will instruct Mr Stewart to remove you forcibly, if need be."

"I shall not move from this spot and claim this this church in the name of the Presbyterians!", cried the Reverand Howieson.

One of Stewart's men climbed the stairs of the pulpit and grabbed Howieson's arm. Howieson pulled away. Undeterred, the man grabbed Howieson's long beard and dragged him down the spiralling stairs, but Howieson fell half way down, and when he emerged from the bottom of the stairs, it was noticeable that his front teeth were missing. Stewart's men laughed out loud at the unfortunate cleric, but Archbishop Montgomery motioned them to be quiet and then said to Howieson, "You will spend some time on reflection upon your deeds today." Then, turning to Stewart, he commanded him to take Howieson to the Tollbooth.

With great pomp and ceremony, the remaining men formed two lines, as Archibishop Montomery ascended the stairs of the pulpit. From there, he gave a sermon to them, lasting well over and hour. Torches had been lit all over the Cathedral and the two torches below Archibishop Montgomery, bathed him in an eerie light.

Behind the oak door, William Green lay unnoticed. He watched the Archibishop, could see him gestulating, but could not hear him. William was very cold, and grew very tired. The flickering flames in the Cathedral grew dim. William Green closed his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.

.....The old lady pulled her hands away from the pillar. But the images were still strong. She waited a few moments until the images in her head had gone. Standing up, she felt light-headed at first, and dared not move until the feeling passed.

She walked to the main oak doors, which were now locked. Visitors came in from the East door nowadays. But, she felt a deep sadness approaching the closed doors, sensing angry men that had charged at the original doors in the past, hell bent on the Cathedral's destruction. These doors replaced the battered ones that tried to keep the angry crowds at bay.

She also sensed the fear of good Christians, wanting nothing more than to pray to their God in His House, and wondering if they would be attacked when they came back out.

The old lady strolled out the east door and was greeted by a blue sky and bright evening sun. Chuckling at Glasgow's weather that seems to change by the hour, she walked up Castle Street, enjoying the warm sun on her back. The whispers and images from the Cathedral now dispersed and forgotten as she enjoyed her evening walk.