Church Overview

The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Ninian in Dumfries has known three names throughout its interesting history. Built near the location of the medieval Greyfriars Convent, on the site of a 1720s church called the New Kirk, it was initially called Greyfriars Church and built 1865-68.

Paid for by the people of Dumfries, it was very much the “Town Church” in its early years, with the Provost’s and Baillies’ chairs are kept there for use during special occasions. A richly ornamented Gothic Revival building, it was designed by Edinburgh-based architect and prolific church-builder John Starforth with plenty of wonderful carved Gothic detailing, all constructed in local red sandstone. The town bell in the tower was cast by William Evans of Chepstow in 1744 and still rings daily.

Its interior is large and spacious, with an aisled nave and wide transepts and galleries on three sides, held aloft by cast iron columns, all beneath a n open timber roof. The Ingram & Co pipe organ dates to 1921, but incorporates pipes from the Robson organ of 1873. The colourful stained glass is by various workshops including that of James Ballantine & Son, Powell Brothers, Camm Brothers and Leonard Charles Evetts.

The church was renamed St Bride’s Anglican Church in 2008, when it was bought by a local Anglican congregation. Struggling to maintain the large building, the Anglican congregation initially considered partial conversion to residential use, before moving out in 2019 and transferring ownership to Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland who made the building their cathedral church and carried out an extensive refurbishment of its interior.

Services

Sundays at 10am followed by a community meal

Opening Arrangements

Open by arrangement

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.