History
19th Century Ministers
Reverend John Underwood
During the ministry of the next incumbent, Reverend John Underwood, to whom there is a memorial plaque on the wall between the pulpit and the Trades’ gallery, anonymous donations came from London to build Alms houses.
The story behind these donations is an intriguing one. An anonymous letter bearing a London postmark was sent to the Kirk Session in April 1869. This letter contained a gift of £200
"sent for the creation of one or more Alms Houses with some of the comforts of Prince Albert’s model cottages.......".
The receipt of this was to be acknowledged in the newspapers "that the donor may thus know that it has come to hand." Further monies totalling £3500 in all were sent anonymously over the years, until 1881. There were problems in finding a suitable site but in 1872 the Earl of Selkirk "intimated his readiness to grant very eligible grounds for the purpose." But there is some about confusion about this, as the Session minutes of 10th May 1875 stated that the Kirk Session had bought property commonly called the "Tannery" for £600 for the building of these houses. However in 1875 the Church houses came to be built in Atkinson Square, so called because the donor was believed to be one Edward Atkinson. It was later disclosed to the Kirk Session that this was indeed the case and that the benefactor had been a native of Kirkcudbright. (He was in fact the uncle of E. A. Hornel, the artist.) Although the first donations towards the building of the houses came in April 1869, the houses were not completed until 1880. The houses today are of course no longer alms houses, but are available for rent at a price more appropriate to the market value. Mr Underwood has been commemorated by a large tablet on the right hand side of the altar.
Rev A D Campbell
The building of the Church Hall was carried out in the ministry of the Rev A D Campbell who came to the Church in 1879, and a pipe organ was also introduced to the Church at this time. The installation of the organ meant the end of the duties of the Precentor who had led the singing of the congregation from the Precentor’s pulpit. There is a stained glass window, portraying Jesus the Good Shepherd, dedicated to the memory of Mr Campbell in the Town Council gallery.