Church Overview

Worship on this site began around 1801 when a  meeting house for the Relief Church was built, but by 1820 the congregation had converted to Reformed Presbyterianism. The building was substantially altered in 1870, when its now familiar red sandstone facing was added to the north and west sides and the the unusual tower and steeple was added.

In 1876 the Reformed Presbyterians merged with the Free Church of Scotland and the building was renamed Castle Douglas MacMillan Free Church. A further denominational merger in 1900 saw it renamed as Castle Douglas Queen Street United Free Church. The buildings was recast in 1923, with the inclusion of a shallow chancel, a new gallery on the north side of the sanctuary and two new transepts to the east and west.

A union with the congregation of St George’s and Trinity United Free Church, also in 1923, saw the church used as a church hall until 1928 when St George’s was sold and the Queen Street building was again used for worship. The following year, when the United Free Church and Church of Scotland united, the building was renamed St Ringan’s Church of Scotland. More local congregational unions followed in the later 20th century and early 21st, first With Trinity Church, then Crossmichael & Parton Church and latterly with St Andrew’s, the original local parish church, which was closed in 1990 and was eventually turned into a theatre and cinema space, making this building the local Church of Scotland parish church instead.

The bell in the tower was relocated from Laurieston Church and the building possesses a pipe organ by Ingram & Co of Edinburgh. The sanctuary has a mid-20th century, three light stained glass window depicting Christ, Unitas and Harmonia and in the early 1992, four stained glass windows depicting scenes from the life of Christ, St Mary Magdalene and St Margaret of Scotland by eminent artists Margaret Chilton and Marjorie Kemp were relocated from the old parish church and installed in the session house.

Today the church is linked with Auchencairn and Kirpatrick-Durham Churches and the group are known as Carlingwark Parish Churches.

Services

Sundays at 11am and alternating special service times with Auchencairn and Kirkpatrick-Durham

Opening Arrangements

Regular public events in church hall and open by arrangement

Disclaimer

Scotland’s Churches Trust does not own any of the buildings listed in our directory, the information above is illustrative only and was correct at the time of publication. Please visit the building owner’s own website or social media to check opening times prior to going there to avoid disappointment and drop us a line if you spot any errors or omissions.