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1UZFE wrote:dassyboy wrote:Cid wrote:Didnt see anything on the forums about this yet....
whoever it is real wicked to do this
bet if pnm was in power they would have saved it
Bet if my dieck was in yuh battam u wuda like it.
eliteauto wrote:Cid tell me more about this history, very interested to know more about the building
GREYFRIARS SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN KIRK, FREDERICK ST. POS CIRCA 1880. – This photo shows a church significantly different from the one now since many renovations have taken place since. It also shows the old manse erected by the Rev. Alexander Kennedy in 1841 which was replaced by the current church hall in 1887. GREYFRIARS WHICH HAS STOOD ON THIS SPOT SINCE 1838 WILL SOON BE NO MORE. THE CONGREGATION HAS SOLD THE PROPERTY TO A PRIVATE DEVELOPER AND WE MAY WELL ASSUME THAT SOON, THE GREED AND VICIOUS TEMPERS OF THOSE WHO TRAMPLE ON HISTORY AND LEGACIES WILL DEPRIVE US OF ANOTHER HISTORIC BUILDING. A POX ALSO MUST BE ON THE NATIONAL TRUST WHICH FAILED TO LIST THE KIRK IN ITS NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS. THE HISTORIC KIRK AND 127 YEAR OLD CHURCH HALL HAVE NOW REACHED THEIR WATERLOO, AND IT MAY NOT BE LONG ERE CONCRETE AND STEEL COVERS THE SPOT WHERE GENERATIONS OF PIOUS FOLK DID WORSHIP. GONE TOO WILL BE THE TINY CEMETERY IN THE YARD WHERE THREE LITTLE CHILDREN WERE LAID TO REST IN TOMBS AS SMALL AS THEY WERE DURING THE 19TH CENTURY. WE SEE THE CATHOLIC FAITHFUL STRUGGLING TO SAVE THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT, YET THE CONGREGATION OF THE SCOTS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ALL ITS PUCKISH AVARICE AND SLOTHFUL DISTEMPER COULD NOT FORBEAR SELLING THIS NATIONAL TREASURE. SHAME…..SHAME TO THOSE WHO PERMITTED THIS CRIME AGAINST HERITAGE.
The history of Greyfriars church and indeed the Scots Presbyterian Church in Trinidad began thus as recorded by an old jotting by C.B Franklin in 1887:
" From some extracts from the Session Minute Book of old Greyfriars, Glasgow, kindly furnished me by Rev. Mr. Goodall, the pastor of that church, it would appear that the first steps towards supporting a foreign missionary were taken in 1834, and were more in the nature of an individual, than a congregational movement—so much so that the Session, while pleased with the satisfactory progress of the subscriptions, considered it advisable, (I quote the words of the Minute) ' that this important measure should be the deed not merely of the individual subscribers but of the congregation as such', and in accordance with this decision a congregational meeting was held and the matter put on a congregational basis. There is nothing in the Minutes to show why Trinidad was selected by the congregation as their first mission field ; but as several of the leading members of old Greyfriars were ultimately connected in business with the colony, I am inclined to think that the individual movement just referred to either originated with them, or had been liberally supported by them, and that it was owing to that fact that Trinidad was selected."
Two years later in 1836, the Rev. Alexander Kennedy was sent out to Trinidad and became the great worker whose toil built a church and congregation. A reference to his arrival with his wife from that year went as follows:
" We feel much pleasure in announcing the arrival of the Reverend Alexander Kennedy, a Gospel Missionary, who has been sent out to this colony by a Religious congregation, founded in Glasgow, under the denomination of the Grey Friars congregation. The principles of the congregation are, we understand, Presbyterian, from which church they are seceders, but the forms of their devotions do not vary from those of the parent church, the difference between them being one of church policy only. We are not yet aware through what channel our poverty in means for affording religious instruction has been made known to the small, but liberal. Society which has thus stepped forward to our relief ; and were it not for the unostentatious manner in which the christian feeling for our neglected situation has been exhibited, we should have rejoiced in the idea that it would gratify them to learn, that in sending out Mr. Kennedy to this island, they had voluntarily done for us that which neither entreaties nor reproaches could obtain from His Lordship the Bishop of Barbados, notwithstanding the extreme means and unlimited power which he might have applied to our assistance. We have also much pleasure in adding that we have been favoured with the perusal of an address delivered in Grey Friars church, Glasgow, on the occasion of Mr. Kennedy's ordination for this Mission, in which the objects of his mission, and the rules of conduct to be observed by him during his residence here, are defined in such terms as lead us to augur favourably of the course he will pursue.”
The first meetings of the new Presbyterian congregation (largely comprised of Scottish planters and merchants) were convened in an old theatre on Cambridge (now St. Vincent) Street. Of these early conventions, Rev. Kennedy himself wrote:
" In the old theatre, Cambridge street, on the evening of the'31st May, 1837, after praise, reading a portion of Scripture and prayer for divine direction, the following individuals, viz :
Alexander Sprunt
John Logan
Charles Young Jardine
James Robertson
Mrs. Kennedy
were by special prayer constituted a congregation in connection with the United Secession Church in Scotland, and on the following Sabbath the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was dispensed to the above named individuals for the first time in their congregational capacity."
At this meeting, the site for a permanent kirk was discussed but the government had no mind to support a church which preached abolition and equality in a newly emancipated society. Thus, Rev. Kennedy scraped up 300 pounds from his own resources and bought a plot of land from the Cabildo (Town Council) on Frederick St. A foundation stone was laid on 16th April and the following ad appeared in the POS Gazette:
ADVERTISEMENT.
TENDERS for building a CHURCH, in Brunswick Square, will be received by the Reverend Alexander Kennedy, from the 20th current, till the 8th proximo. Plans and specifications to be seen at his residence, Cumberland Street. The Mason and Carpenter work may be contracted
for separately.
Port-of- Spain, 16th March, 1837.
Rev. Kennedy himself was the main architect and after a rapid period of work and expenditure of more than 4,500 pounds, this glorious announcement could be made via the press.
NOTICE.
GREYFRIARS CHURCH will be opened for DIVINE SERVICE on Sabbath the 21st current. Public worship to begin at eleven o'clock a.m. and at four p.m. A meeting of the subscribers to the Trinidad fund " for the erection of a Presbyterian Church in Port-of- Spain, to be occupied by the Reverend Alex. Kennedy " will be held in Greyfriars Church, on Friday the 19th current at 5 o'clock p.m., when a statement of the expenditure of the funds will be read, and receipts for the amount submitted at the meeting.
Port-of- Spain, 12th January, 1838.”
Two years later, a manse was erected for the accommodation of Rev. Kennedy and this was described thus:
“And now, just a word or two about the old manse. Adjoining the church, to the north of it, was the manse, a house built on high pillars, the space being utilized subsequently as a schoolroom. A long flight of stone steps led from the street to the manse entrance. There are no entries in the cash book of that period to show the cost of the manse, nor is there any reference to it in the old minute books. The only inference I can draw as to the probable time of its being built, is from the fact that Mr. Kennedy vacated the house. No. 12, Edward Street (now No. 28), the property of the Cleaver family, in November 1841, and presumably moved into the manse ; and, further, Mrs. Alston has informed me that Mr. Kennedy lived in the Cleavers' house before the manse was built. This is a supposition that seems borne out by certain facts, and it can therefore be safely concluded that it was built in 1841. She also states that the building cost £1,000, which was raised by Mr. Kennedy in Scotland, when on furlough. He collected subscriptions to cover half the cost, while the remainder was on loan. Previous to the building of the manse there was a Session House or Vestry built at the back of the church, where committee meetings were held.”
Tragedy struck the Kennedys after they returned from Scotland on sabbatical. C.B Franklin wrote of it thus:
“While in Scotland Mrs. Kennedy gave birth to a little, who was in due course baptized Margaret Tannahill. She was born on 7th November of that year. Mr. Kennedy returned with his wife and child, on 22nd April, 1841, in the ship Arethusa, (Capt. Lyon), 45 days out from Greenock, and thereupon Mr. Brodie, who had filled his place in Greyfriars with much satisfaction during his absence, at once set about the establishment of the mission at Arouca, which had been decided upon some time previously. On the 20th November, 1842, little " Maggie " died and was laid to rest in Greyfriars churchyard”
Missions were also established at San Fernando and Carenage though the latter was short-lived. Rev. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy left the island in 1850 and were greatly lamented. A memorial address was presented to them by the congregation. The kirk was extensively renovated in 1877 with a gothic tower added and the apse extended to enclose a pipe organ. The Rev. George Lawson Brodie who succeeded Kennedy continued his good works, but also lost a child. Of the tiny cemetery on the south wall of the kirkyard, there are three graves of children as recorded by Franklin:
“Mr. Kennedy left no family, having had but one child, to whom reference has already been made, and whose little grave lies in Greyfriars Churchyard facing the southern entrance door of the church, and alongside the grave of a little cousin—infant of 8 days of Mrs. Alexander Sprunt, sister of Mrs. Kennedy ; also alongside the grave—marked by a flat slab on the ground—of George Brodie, infant of a few hours of Mrs. John Macfarlane, daughter of Rev. George Brodie. These are the only graves in the churchyard.”
The Manse which was built for the Kennedys in 1841 was demolished in 1887 and a Church Hall built which still stands today. H.J Clark had the following remembrances to write in that year:
“Mr. Clark arrived in this Island on Saturday, the 28th
August, 1858—just eight years after Mr. Kennedy's
departure. He says in his Summary in 1887 :
—
“It is now nearly 29 years, since that Sabbath morning on which I first took my seat in Greyfriars Church. I had only arrived the day before, and among all the new and novel sights I had seen, the Kirk alone seemed to me like home. Yes, if all else was different, the Kirk was the same,—and so, thank God, was the Gospel preached in it. I have no recollection of the sermon, although, following out a course I had begun in Scotland, I took notes of it, and duly sent them home to my sister — a practice which, altho' I regret to say, I did not continue, I would strongly recommend to the young Scotchmen of to-day, as keeping up the home check on their lives, at least so far as church-going is concerned. " Although I have forgotten the sermon, I have a very distinct recollection of the Auld Kirk as it was then, and of many of the old folks attending it. As a Presbyterian Kirk, Greyfriars was sternly orthodox in pattern, so much so that it vividly recalled to my mind the old Burger Kirk in my native village. New Scone, in which Dr. Jamieson, one of the fathers of the Secession Church, was minister for the long period of 62 years. As most of you are aware, the church was originally considerably shorter than it is now, it was a plain oblong building with a low porch in front and a small vestry at the back,—the seats were of the most approved presbyterian pattern, unvarnished, straight-backed and with doors, all duly numbered in the home style of olden days. " It was the pulpit, however, that most reminded me of home. It was of the old octagonal shape, it had the two " twisted stall's," the " precentor's box," the pondrous " soonin' board" or canopy, surmounted by the dove with the olive branch in its mouth. Now it may be quite possible that I am not alone in linking childish recollections with the bird on the top of the pulpit, but to me that dove recalled a flood of childish recollections— of speculations as to whether it was meant to represent a " tame doo " or a " cushie doo " and of less innocent speculations and calculations as to what might occur, if by some means never reasoned out, the dove were to drop the branch, and it were to fall on the precentor's bald head, his Roman nose, or down the back of his neck just as he was ' takin' the pitch. ' But rigid orthodoxy did not stop short even here, there was the vestry door opening just behind the pulpit, and there was a real " minister's man"—although a dark one—who brought in the big Bible, the psalm-book and the tumbler of water, and " steekit the minister in " with a precision and a decorum that would have satisfied even Geordie Gilfillan. Then Mr. Brodie always preached in gown and bands, so that the picture of the home kirk was exactly reproduced. Don't think, my friends, that I mean to sneer at the auld kirk, or at auld fashions, I am too staunch a Conservative for that, and if it had been left to me, the old pulpit, with all its cherished recollections would be here still, and our present minister would, like Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Brodie, preach in his gown and bands. But at a time when the very Standards of the Church are threatened, even the most conservative of her friends feel that it is no time to quarrel over "-non-essentials."
.
Another vivid recollection was written by J.H Collens in 1888 and presented as follows:
“The Presbyterian Church has flourished in Trinidad since 1836. Scotchmen are proverbially pushing, enterprising, and thorough in all that they undertake, whether the work be religious or secular. They have the best stores in our chief towns, and, as a natural consequence, are amongst the most prosperous in the island. The. first minister, Rev. Alex. Kennedy, who came to labour in Trinidad, arrived 25th January, 1836. A building in Cambridge Street, which had been used as a theatre, was fitted up as a place of worship, and opened for service on the 25 th day of September in the same year. This building seemed to have had its vicissitudes, for after being discarded by the Presbyterians it became a hospital. The next year they commenced a ' kirk ' of their own, and on the 25th January, 1838, it was opened under the historic name of Grey Friars. The Rev. Mr. Kennedy, who left the island many years ago, was an out-and-out abolitionist, and indeed made enemies in high places by his energetic vindication of the rights and privileges of the then recently-freed coloured people. He is still living; and last year (1887)—a hale, hearty old octogenarian—he wrote out to one of his Trinidad friends :
' A very spring-tide of reminiscences rushes in on me while thus writing. What a vista to look back ! It is fifty-one years since I first visited and preached at Milton Estate, Couva !'
Good, worthy man ! he would open his eyes with Rip Van Winkle wonderment if he could see the Trinidad of 1888. Grey Friars is an exceedingly pretty, neat church, with a good roof of native woods, situated on the north-eastern side of Brunswick Square, on the blue tram route. A memorial tablet to the memory of the late Rev. George Brodie, who served the great Master long and faithfully here, has been erected by the members of the congregation. In the choir gallery is a good American organ. The building was enlarged and almost rebuilt in 1877 at a cost of $12,000. This church has from the first declined State aid, relying entirely upon the liberality of its members for support. It would appear that this confidence is by no means misplaced, for on a recent occasion, when making a special effort to pay off the debt on the new manse lately built in
Tranquillity, the splendid sum of $900 (about £180) was raised by collection among the congregation on one Sunday. At the death of Mr. Brodie the Rev. Alexander Falconer was
appointed, who, after labouring with much acceptance for eight years, resigned his charge. The present pastor is the Rev. William Aitken, M.A., previously minister of the Scotch church, Singapore, S.S. The members are largely composed of Scotch settlers, or their descendants, but there is also a goodly number of various other sections of the community. A commodious and elegant Sabbath-school hall, costing §4,000 and capable of seating nearly 400 people, was built in 1887, contiguous to the church. A Band of Hope and a Penny Savings Bank have just been started here.”
A short while thereafter, the congregation of the Kirk received the most mournful of telegrams which read:
" Mr. Kennedy died at Welland, Ontario, on Tuesday morning 19th January, 1892, at the ripe age of 87 years. His death was caused by old age and La Grippe, and occurred at the residence of his brother-in-law, Mr. George C. Cowper."
Greyfriars was considerably modified . The first was the church hall in 1923 and then the kirk itself which took place in the 1950s when the windows were encased in mesh and the tower remodelled . Dereliction caused the closure of the kirk around 2006 and service was held in the Hall. Now comes the swansong of Greyfriars which has been sold to a private developer. The toil of Reverend Kennedy and his successors will soon be bulldozed in a travesty of immense proportions wherein a church and congregation shall be no more. The three tiny dead in the yard will be encased in concrete and their memories lost forever. The memorial tablets inside the kirk which commemorate Rev. Kennedy, Rev. Brodie as well as congregationers who fell during the two World Wars as well as the historic architecture now fall victim to the greed and callousness of those who do not value heritage, sacred ground or the toil of those who have gone before. SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI.
— with Ifabunmi Rhonda Valentine-Charles, Colin Sampson, Alison Moore, Gemma Teelucksingh, Adrian S, Clifford Rawlins, Josh Surtees and Robin Achaibar.
j.o.e wrote:Wicked why? It's their property to do what they please. If it was worth saving the Gov't should have bought it......most of the Magnificent 7 is languishing in disrepair anyway so who is Gov't trying to fool?
mitsutt wrote:OP talking garbage, how is d man wicked ? Why didnt d state buy d building
Dizzy28 wrote:mitsutt wrote:OP talking garbage, how is d man wicked ? Why didnt d state buy d building
Why should the state buy the building? Why cant the people who want it preserved come together and raise the funds to buy it?
RBphoto wrote:Dizzy28 wrote:mitsutt wrote:OP talking garbage, how is d man wicked ? Why didnt d state buy d building
Why should the state buy the building? Why cant the people who want it preserved come together and raise the funds to buy it?
Because the power of facebook and prayer can move mountains.
MG Man wrote:I woulda say ok fine, leave it, and open a strip club or 'hotel'
j.o.e wrote:I say current owner should've commission some nice photos of the building, break it down, then hang up pics in the lobby of his new office complex like a boss
j.o.e wrote:RBphoto wrote:ANnnnddd... the R.C. church are not a bunch of A-holes for selling the monument to a businessman to demolish because.... God? Why is nobody asking for answers from the R.C. Church?
uhhhhh wtf Roman Catholics have to do with this tho?
man create his own signature yes.. love it desifemlove wrote:these scottish people long ago.....1840? may have owned slaves even doh slavery end two years before? knock de ting down...leh de people bawl...
1UZFE wrote:dassyboy wrote:Cid wrote:Didnt see anything on the forums about this yet....
whoever it is real wicked to do this
bet if pnm was in power they would have saved it
Bet if my dieck was in yuh battam u wuda like it.
