Glasgow Free Church College

Glasgow College of the United Free Church 1900-1929

Trinity College, Glasgow 1929-1973

Trinity College, in Lynedoch Street, Woodlands Hill, Glasgow was opened as the Glasgow Free Church College in 1857 . A memorial to open a theology college had been presented in 1855 to the General Assembly of the Free Church by a group of Glasgow laymen, lead by Dr William Clark of Wester Moffat who had offered GBP20,000 if a like amount was subscribed by others. In 1900, following the union of the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church, the College became known as the Glasgow College of the United Free Church of Scotland. Then, in 1929, following the union of the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland, the institution's name changed once again, this time to Trinity College. In 1935 the College combined with the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Divinity.

The original College premises, where teaching began on 4 November 1856, was a building in Thistle Street, but a new college building and an adjoining church were soon built to the designs of Charles Wilson, the Glasgow architect who planned the layout and design of the terraces in the area. The church was destroyed by fire in 1903 and, when the congregation was eventually united with another, the shell of the church was acquired for an extension to the College, opening in 1911. The College thereafter consisted of both twin towers of the church and the campanile of the College. The extension made possible a Library Hall at the level of the former gallery of the church and an Assembly Hall and two classrooms at ground level. Following Trinity College's combination with the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Divinity in 1935, morning classes were held on the University site, with later ones at the College building. This practice continued, apart from a period during the Second World War when the College building was occupied by the Royal Pay Corps, until Easter 1973. At which time, all classes formerly held in the ex-Trinity College premises were transferred to the University campus - the decision being taken in 1970 that the Lynedoch Street building could not be adapted economically for the needs of the faculty. The Church of Scotland therefore resolved that it should be disposed of and the Library offered to the University of Glasgow. The former College building was subsequently sold and transformed into residential accommodation.

GB 0248 DC 084

Authority record created according to the National Council on ArchivesRules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names (NCA Rules)1997 and International Council on Archives: Ad Hoc Committee on Descriptive StandardsInternational Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (ISAAR)CPF1995.

Corporate name authority record compiled for the GASHE project by Emily Woolmore, GASHE project archivist, 4 April 2000