BY K. HEWAT
Apart from the Front Cover, all the scanned images were converted to greyscale.
M‘Cheyne Memorial Church
This church is at the corner of Perth Road and Shepherd’s Loan, and is opposite the junction of Hawkhill and Blackness Avenue, Dundee.
(“Blackness” is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable). M‘Cheyne is now known as “St Peter’s M‘Cheyne”, since, appropriately enough, the congregation of St Peter’s combined with M‘Cheyne when the former church closed. In architectural design it is almost identical to the building (formerly St Marks, Dundee) which the Gate Fellowship uses at present.
Information kindly supplied by Michael Bolik (Senior Archives Assistant, University of Dundee, Dept. of Archives & Manuscripts).
M‘Cheyne Memorial Church was opened on May 12th, 1870 by the celebrated Baptist preacher, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. He had been approached as early as May 1867 by the committee set up to oversee the building of the church, to guide them in whatever ways he thought proper. The first communion was held in the churh on 16th October 1870 and the membership was still only 160 when the Rev. Alexander Reid was inducted as the first pastor of the congregation on 15th February, 1872.
The last minister of St. Peter’s McCheyne was Rev. J. Harrison Hudson. I wrote to him early in 1999, and had a reply which included a leaflet about the church (dated 1996), describing the stained glass memorial windows. The above information was taken from the leaflet. Mr Hudson also sent me a photocopy of a sketch portrait of Robert M‘Cheyne which used to be displayed in the vestry. The link is to an image scanned from the photocopy.
M‘Cheyne Memorial was being used as a place of worship until autumn 1999.St. Peter’s McCheyne Memorial Church of Scotland has now closed. It has united with the nearby Roseangle Ryehill Church of Scotland to form Dundee West Church of Scotland. The former Roseangle Ryehill buildings are being used. The St. Peter’s McCheyne building is thus now very sadly empty and disused.
Additional information kindly supplied by Mr Andrew Caskie.
“When I was in Dundee last week, I was shocked to see that the McCheyne Memorial Church at Sinderins in Dundee is up for sale under the agency of Graham Sibbald.”
This further information is copied from my old guestbook entry of August 28 2001, kindly submitted by Mr Stuart Harrison.