Newark Parish Church.
Built in 1773-74.

A pavilion roofed , galleried, ruble built block. The first Statistical Account it is described as " an elgant house of worship- carried out in a style that is superior to most Kirks in Scotland....Local pride at its best there!

There is a large underbuilding to this church and a curving drive that sweeps up from Glen Avenue to it's entrance.
In 1920-22 a pipe organ was added and a square apse was built to accommodate this.
In 1935-38 in yet more refurbishment, a choir room and toilets were added by R Mervyn Noad

To the rear of the building is an old burial ground.(not Port Glasgows oldest!) Although the church its self is in disrepair the grass at the back is obviously being looked after as it was freshly cut when these photographs were taken.

What you can see in these photographs are the head stones of John Wood snr and Charles Wood and his brother John Wood within the grounds along with many others.
At the back retaining wall there is a marble stone attached to the wall which is a tribute to the men of the parish that were lost in the first world war. I am afraid it was so dirty (but not broken) and covered in foliage that the picture is not too clear, but it was something that I did not expect to find.

Two plaques like the one shown here are now on display in the Town Hall in Port Glasgow having been donated to Inverclyde District Council by the elders of Newark parish church on it's dissolution in 1988.
The plaques which both depict boats were crafted in 1936 by the head of The Glasgow School of Sculpture, Archibald Dawson.
This was part of a church improvement scheme which was funded by members of the parish and Sir James Lithgow.

February 2002

Conversion Work Gets Underway

The estimated cost for the conversion is £790,000 to £820,000. They plan to demolish the hall that is attached to the church and create flats on three levels. The car park on each side of the building will accommodate 28 cars. The slate roof will be redone in black and grey slates with dorma windows giving light and means of fire escape. The windows have to be stained timber.

An application for planning permission has finally been submitted to convert the old parish church into flats. This follows weeks if not months of rumors that it was going to happen.

The planning application has been accepted and the legal team of Inverclyde district council are now looking into the matter of the graves.

Work is well under way on the buildings conversion but I was recently informed that the men working on the site are under the opinion that the land containing the grave stones is not owned by them.
With this information and a few more questions I sought help.With some help the Greenock Telegraph was conacted to see if they have any more luck in finding out the fate of the stones that remain on the grounds.

My main concern was for that of the war memorial stone that dates back to the first world war. I am still no further forward in finding out it's fate.

The notice states that they plan "conversion and restoration of the building to form 14 flats, provision of car parking and formation of amenity/garden ground"

The plans also mention that there will have to be some trees and shrubs removed but the retaining wall looks as though it might stay. There is no mention in any of the plans about the graves.

Work being completed on the site September 2002

This page last modified on Tuesday, March 04, 2003

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