Ministers

The Church’s Ministers since the Reformation

1. Thomas Anderson, date uncertain

2. Blythe, date uncertain

3. Aikman, date uncertain.
Said to have been “Killed by a Mure of Littleton, Borgue”.

4. Mr. Doddis, date uncertain
He also acted as schoolmaster. His wife brewed ale to supplement their earnings, as early Presbyterian ministers were scarcely and precariously paid.

5. John Welsh (Welch), 1594 – 1599
He was a son-in-law of John Knox. In 1599 he moved to Ayr, where he preached very successfully for some time. He became associated with the 1605 General Assembly, which defied royal authority and in 1606 he was, among others, tried for treason, banished from Britain and deported to France. He was later permitted to return to London, where he was granted permission to preach shortly before he died in 1662.

6. Robert Glendonyng, early 1600s

7. The Rev’d John McClelland, 1638
He was born in Kirkcudbright in 1609. After graduating from Glasgow University he moved to Ireland as a schoolmaster, where he also took up preaching. He returned to Kirkcudbright as minister in 1638. He was a leading figure among the Covenanters in Charles I’s time, became a celebrated preacher and an acclaimed scholar and wrote interesting inscriptions on the Ewart Monument in St. Cuthbert’s Churchyard.

8. John Jeffry, 1664

9. Alexander Mortymer, 1669

10. John Spalding, 1689

11. Andrew Cameron, 1695
When stone from the old church was reused in 1838 for the new gasworks, a memorial tablet to Andrew Cameron was used face-down in the floor of the gasworks.

12. The Rev’d Dr. George Garthshore, 1723
He was the first minister of the new church at the Moat Brae. Believed to have been born in Kirkcudbright around 1688, he married a woman from Tongland in 1716 and died in 1760.  [His incumbency has elsewhere been variously recorded as lasting for “nearly 40 years” and “50 years.” If the next entry for John Maclellan is correct, then the incumbency must have been limited to 27 years or less. 40 years would only appear possible if the John Maclellan entry was erroneous and Dr Garthshore was directly followed by Dr Blacklock. 50 years is improbable in view of his death in 1760 and of the next four entries. Ed.]  His son Maxwell, born in Kirkcudbright in 1732, studied medicine at Edinburgh and served as an assistant army surgeon, then entered practice in Uppingham before becoming an eminent London physician.

13. John Maclellan, 1750 (?)
[No cross-reference has been found for this mysterious person. There may appear to be some doubt over this entry, as it is not fully compatible with the dates found for Dr Garthshore and Dr Blacklock.  Ed.]

14. The Rev’d Thomas Blacklock DD, 1762
Dr Blacklock, a friend of Robert Burns, was a blind poet-preacher who was strenuously opposed by his parishioners because of his blindness. He therefore stayed in the charge for a mere two years. He’s the subject of an extensive entry in Wikipedia and a substantial biography at Electric Scotland.

15. The Rev’d William Crombie, 1765

16. The Rev’d Dr. Robert Muter, 1770
Dr Muter wrote the First Statistical Account of the Parish, in which he wrote: “The people of Kirkcudbright are in general, of a pleasant, social and agreeable disposition and their morals are fully as good as those of their neighbours. Few or none are ever incarcerated for crimes or misdemeanours.” He died in 1820. There is a memorial plaque to him in the main vestibule of the present church. The reason that it was erected by only a “few sincere friends” was that, whilst here, he encountered much trouble with the Kirk Session. Records suggest that right was on his side, but such is human nature that by the time of his demise he had only a few sincere friends left.

17. The Rev’d George Hamilton, 1820
George Hamilton played an important part in planning the new Church but unfortunately died before it eventually opened for worship in October 1838. The wall to the left of the pulpit bears a memorial to him.

18. The Rev’d John McMillan, 1837 – 1843.
John McMillan was the first minister of the present church in St Mary Street. He left the Parish Church at the Disruption to become minister of Kirkcudbright Free Church, later known as Kirkcudbright St. Mary’s. The wall of the Trades End bears a memorial to him.

19. The Rev’d John Underwood, 1843 – 1878.
During his ministry the Atkinson Square almshouse were sponsored and designed, although construction was not completed until after he had left. The wall to the right of the pulpit bears a memorial to him.

20. The Rev’d Alexander Duncan Campbell, 1879 – 1913.
During his ministry the Church Hall was built and the pipe organ installed in the church. The only stained glass window in the building was installed in his memory.

21. The Rev’d William Barclay,  1914 – 1926.
During the Great War Mr Barclay acted as a chaplain to the forces. He left Kirkcudbright in 1926 to take up an appointment in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he died in 1969.

22. The Rev’d J. E Mothershill, 1927 – 1963.
Mr Mothersill was a Canadian and his ministry was a long and successful one. By the time he retired in 1963 a number of notable events had taken place in the life of the church. Perhaps the most significant of these occurred in 1929 when the Parish Church became known as St Cuthbert’s Parish Church of Scotland.

23. The Rev’d Adam Jack, 1964 – 1974.
Under Mr Jack’s ministry St Cuthbert’s continued with the stability experienced under Mr Mothersill.  He retired to Crieff in 1976.

24. The Rev’d William Grainger Allan, 1975 – 1978.
Mr Allan resigned from the charge in 1978 after supervising a period of consolidation and no great change in the life of the Church.

25. The Rev’d William Stewart Wilson, 1980 – 1997.
Mr Wilson was a late entrant to the Ministry – he had previously been an Art teacher. He brought a very infectious enthusiasm and vitality to the Church, so that membership and attendances began to increase and organisations to flourish again.

26. The Rev’d Douglas Robert Irving, 1998 – 2016.

27. The Rev’d John Collard – Interim Minister, 2017 – 2019.

28. The Rev’d James Gatherer, 2020 –