St. Mary's Parish Church

St. Mary's Parish Church, situated close to Townhead Bridge, Kirkintilloch, is a Gothic style, cruciform shaped building of red sandstone. It is 120 feet to its topmost spire and its frontage to the Cowgate is 144 feet in length. The church seats 1,212 worshipers. It was built to replace St. Mary's at the cross (also known as the Auld Kirk) as it had become too small to accommodate its growing congregation. The architect chosen to design the church was George Bell Jnr of Clerk & Bell, Glasgow. Work began in 1912 and the building was completed in 1914. The memorial stone was laid on 8th August 1913 with the Grand Master Mason of Scotland, the Most Honorable Marquess of Tullibardine officiating at the ceremony. The church was dedicated on 12th September 1914 as Kirkintilloch Parish Church, the name St. Mary's could not be used as the Auld Kirk at the cross still held the name. It wasn't until 1941 that the name was eventually changed to St. Mary's after the Auld Kirk ceased to be used as a religious building.