St. Joseph

Introduction

Saint Joseph's Church in Blantyre, in the Diocese of Motherwell, opened on 18 June 1905, one year after the death of Peter Paul Pugin.

History

In 1924 the vestry area and sacristy may have been added. The church was re-opened on 4 August 1928. Further work was carried out by the John Hardman Studios in 1954.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is a tall, rectangular-plan gothic-detailed building with 7-bay nave, side aisles, polygonal stair tower and oratory. The principal elevation has a centre buttress with a carved statue of St Joseph in a niche. The interior has a queenpost truss roof with some stencilled panels to the chancel. The E window, by John Hardman Studio, depicts the Holy Spirit with emblems of the Four Evangelists.

The church has an organ in a small timber gallery to the SW. The church is built of bull-faced red sandstone with polished ashlar dressings. The church has low saddleback-coped bull-faced boundary walls with inset railings and polygonal gatepiers. The church is Category B listed, added on 29/11/2004.

The church has diamond-pattern leading glazing with coloured margins and much coloured figurative glass. The church has small green slates with pierced ridge tiles, ashlar-coped skews with mitre skewputts, and decorative cast-iron square-section gutters and rainwater hoppers with polygonal downpipes.

Parish life

The parish has a group meeting weekly to share cuppas, chats and crafts. The parish clergy serve as chaplaincy to St Joseph's Primary, St Blane's Primary and John Ogilvie High School. A monthly draw competition raises funds for the Jubilee celebrations. The parish offers video streaming for those who cannot attend in person.