WHEN THE CITY SWALLOWED A CHURCH
Our series of pictures for our Then and Now feature this week have been submitted by regular contributor Mark Levin. He says that time has not been kind to St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
The original Presbyterian church was founded in 1862, in 1892 the current church was built on the corner of Commercial Road and Albert Street. Electric lighting was installed in 1897, the cost of which was paid by John Nicol, a congregant. (The church is almost across the road from Nicol Square). The centenary of the church in 1962 was its last hurrah.
New Presbyterian churches in the growing suburbs of Westville and Woodlands led to a decline in membership. After the church was deconsecrated in 1971, it became a warehouse. In 1973 a block of shops was erected on its Albert Street frontage.
The church itself appeared to have found a new purpose when it was converted into the charming Little Abbey theatre, but when it failed to retain its audiences, it became a nightclub in the 1980s. At about this time, the organ pipes disappeared.
Today the church and its hall are a supermarket. The ceiling has been lowered, the original floors are riddled with borer and covered, but some of the windows and gothic arches can still be seen as you push your trolley along the aisles.
The pictures above show St Andrew’s in 1933. The recent picture was taken by Mark Levin in July. The picture of the interior was taken in 1958. The photograph of the office block being built alongside the Church was taken in 1973. Pictures courtesy of the local history museum.
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