Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Only Church
Queen's Cross Church at 870 Garscube Road in Glasgow was commissioned in 1896 by the Free Church of Scotland as St Mathew's Church. It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was at that time working as an employee of Honeyman & Keppie. It opened for worship on 10 September 1899.
Although he designed an Anglican Cathedral for Liverpool, as part of a competition, it was never built, so St Mathew's was the only Mackintosh church to be completed (although he did design and build the Free Church Halls at Ruchill Street in Glasgow). It was started at a time when Mackintosh, although not yet a partner in the architectural firm, was able to take projects through from start to finish without a senior partner removing at least some of his distinctive design elements. The work on the church was started soon after submitting the company's entry for a competition to design another Glasgow building - the School of Art, one of Mackintosh's greatest buildings.
Church Exterior
Many churches in Glasgow and elsewhere have tall soaring spires, so the rather squat tower of this Mackintosh building, looking a bit like a Norman castle, is a complete contrast. "Modern gothic" is the name given by architects to the style used. The main south-west tower was modelled on one at Merriot in Somerset which Mackintosh visited in 1895.
The church is located on a tight corner site, but Mackintosh manages to pack in a lot of different elements in a design which is totally asymmetrical. Looking along the side facing the main road, there are at least four different structures on view - five if the stair turret growing out of the tower is included. But it is often the Mackintosh detailing in the sculptured stone which pleases the eye. In many of his later designs, Mackintosh often created stylised birds' heads, flowers, leaves and seeds. St Mathew's gospel tells the parable of the sower, so having such elements in this building is entirely appropriate.
The illustration on the right is from the east porch of the church. It is surprising that the strict Free Church of Scotland (the so-called "Wee Frees") allowed the sensuous styling of Mackintosh's representations both outside the church and inside. Perhaps they didn't see them that way? On the other hand, it was the Free Church which had commissioned the monumental "Solomon's Temple" of St Vincent Street Church by Alexander "Greek" Thomson 40 years earlier.
Church Interior
If the exterior of the church is almost a confusion of structures pushed together, internally there is unity - achieved largely by the most striking timber-lined barrel vault roof, which spans the entire forty feet of the nave. This was modelled after a church by Norman Shaw in London. (Unfortunately, the dark interior of the church was beyond the capabilities of my camera to capture it). On the other hand, much of Mackintosh's detailing can be seen. And unlike many other Mackintosh buildings, visitors are free to take photographs - a great bonus which, as you can see, I took great advantage of!
As church stained glass windows go, those in Queen's Cross Church are perhaps not particularly impressive (see above) but they are distinctively Mackintosh and tie in with the other internal elements of the church. The illustration of the window on the left is of the liturgical west window behind the pulpit at the front of the church.
The carving on the left is from the pulpit - it is repeated five times around the curved front. It has been suggested that it represents the wings of a bird protecting young shoots - sown on fertile ground? The decoration on the right is on the chancel door.
The Church Today
With the decline in church membership in the latter half of the 20th century, St Mathew's Church eventually became surplus to requirements and closed its doors. Many churches in the same situation have been reduced to becoming warehouses, converted to housing or demolished. Fortunately, the growing interest in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh had given rise in 1973 to the formation of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society. This organisation promotes greater awareness of the work of this unique Scottish architect.
The Society set about restoring the church which had been allowed to deteriorate over the years. They have set up the headquarters of the Society in Queen's Cross Church and there is a reference library and meetings and lectures are held there.
The church is open during the day - Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. The entrance is from a side street from Garscube Road, Springbank Street. As there are not a huge number of visitors, you need to ring the door bell - and as the curator's office is at the opposite end of the church, there can be delay before the door opens.
In addition to the main church, there is an adjoining church hall, also designed by Mackintosh. It is startling to find chairs designed by Mackintosh for the Willow Tearooms lining the walls - but these are replicas (originals are worth a small fortune). The church hall also serves as a small "Mackintosh tea-room" which is very much self service!
The Society has a good collection of Mackintosh-related books on sale - some at a bargain price!
