Sites and Monument Record: Struthers Memorial Church (Falkirk Town Mission) (SMR 1489)

Description
Falkirk Town Mission had been established for 46 years before it got its own premises. The Mission Hall was erected in the narrow confines of Dundee Court and opened on 5th November 1898 by ex-provost Hugh Macpherson. A few years later some structures opposite it were demolished and left as an open space and then the lane to the west was widened, becoming known as Mission Brae.
The architect for the new building was Alexander Gauld from Glasgow who had set up an office in Falkirk. The original concept was to have a tower capped by a dome and corner finials. This appears to have been altered a little before building work began due to the need to provide a belfry for the bell from Falkirk Steeple, which had just been donated by the Town Council to the Mission. At the level of what was meant to be the eaves course there is a reinforced concrete collar ring that appears to have been intended to support the dome - instead of which it now supports the bell. Above the string course the tower contains double louvred vents on each side under a pyramid red tile roof.
The building comprises of three elements - the two-storey pedimented facade fronting Mission Lane and originally containing a library and meeting rooms; a squat square tower with the main door at its base; and the auditorium or church to the rear with a horseshoe balcony supported by cast iron columns. The balcony and upper floors are reached by a stair in the tower.
The main facade was of ashlar with three large windows on the first floor over three on the ground floor. The tower protrudes into Dundee Court and like the facade is now harled. The main hall at the back is made of snecked rubble and is not harled, except below a plain string course that incorporates the sills of the ground floor windows, forming a sort of plinth or dado. The windows onto Dundee Court are symmetrically disposed with four square windows on the first floor placed over rectangular windows below.
The interior of the main hall is plain, but well balanced. The panelled gallery is carried on slender Doric columns that extend up and end in Corinthian capitals to support longitudinal roof beams. The ceiling is slightly coffered with roundels for vents. Wooden wainscoting is typical of such buildings and pews cover both tiers. In the south gable is a large Venetian window containing stained glass donated by ex-provost Macpherson at the opening. The side panels and spandrel contain geometric floral arrangements in an art and crafts style, and in the centre is a framed textual panel with a red winged angel overtopping it. The text reads: ""For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii, 16."
The communion table was gifted to the church at the closure of Mossvale Church in Paisley. A plaque reads: "MOSSVALE U.F. CHURCH/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND THE MEMORY OF/ WILLIAM REID/ Member of the Session 1884-1924/ PRESENTED BY THE FAMILY, Dec. 1924". The pews were acquired in 1986 from the Grahams Road Church, which was being demolished at the time.
On the south (back) side of the hall were single-storey vestry/session rooms, replaced in 2001 by a two-storey cafe known as the Almond tree Book and Coffee Shop. A new stained-glass window was commissioned to be placed against the original church stained-glass window with lighting in-between, thereby each window can be viewed from alternative sides. The new window is based upon the Fruits of the Spirit as depicted in Galatians Ch. 5 vs. 22-23. These are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In the spandrel is the night sky; the main scene shows the Holy Dove at the centre of rays of light, over a wavy sea containing fish with ivy tendrils below and to the sides. The window was later dedicated to the memory of Mr Hugh Black, co-founder of Struthers Memorial Church.