History
Information on the history is taken from Crosshouse Parish Church, a Short History by David A. Muir.
The Church
The first recorded meeting towards the formation of a church to serve Crosshouse and district was held on 25th November 1879. The foundation stone was to be laid on a Wednesday afternoon , 29th December 1881 and the church was opened on Sunday 19th March 1882 for public worship. The first minister, Rev James Wyse was called to the church on Thursday 3rd August 1882.
The costs of the building are shown below:
ABSTRACT OF TREASURERS STATEMENT AS EXAMINED AND PASSED AT A
MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES AND MANAGERS HELD 21ST SEPTEMBER 1882
| Expenditure | £ | s | d |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building Thomas King | 447 | - | - |
| Building other a/cs | 239 | 17 | 3 |
| Building pays | 536 | - | 7 |
| Joiners a/c | 637 | - | - |
| Slaters | 91 | - | - |
| Plumbers and Gas fittings a/c | 99 | 19 | 5 |
| Plasterers a/c | 74 | 18 | - |
| Heating apparatus | 78 | 17 | 6 |
| Bell and fitting up | 53 | 2 | 11 |
| Painters a/c | 16 | 7 | - |
| Vestry furnishings etc | 33 | 9 | 3 |
| Architects fees | 90 | - | - |
| Boundary wall | 161 | 1 | - |
| Gate and Railings | 20 | 9 | 8 |
| Levelling ground | 31 | 5 | 5 |
| Sundries | 114 | 10 | 2¼ |
| Total | 2,755 | 6 | 2¼ |
The church was left with a debt to the bank of around £600 and on February 3rd 1885 a committee was formed to raise funds for the debt and to finance the building of a manse.
The Bazaar
It was agreed to have a grand bazaar and this was held on Thursday 15th, Friday 16th and Saturday 17th October 1885. The bazaar took the form of a Grand Egyptian Fancy fair and was held in what is now the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock. The general idea was that of a Market Square in Cairo, with its busy throng of buyers and sellers. The various houses and shops erected were full sized models, designed and built by Messrs Carnegie and Co., Bazaar Decorators, Newcastle on Tyne, their charge was 7 ½ % of the takings. The bazaar raised £1,400, clearing the debt and the balance left over used to start building the manse.
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| The Manse |