"St Mary's Greenock - The Story of a Community"
Extract from CHAPTER FOUR "The Greenock Mission"
Rev. John Davidson arrived in Greenock towards the end of the year 1808, and took up residence in the middle flat of a house in Market Street, near the slaughter-house. Next door to the priest’s lodgings was the jail, with 30 cells for offenders, and five for debtors. No doubt Mr Davidson visited those members of his flock who were his next-door neighbours from time to time! ... We can imagine with what enthusiasm the new Mission Rector took up his task, no doubt eager to get organised by Christmas. He rented the Star Hall in Broad Close, where he celebrated Mass.............
As well as Greenock, the Mission included Port Glasgow, Gourock, and a wide area round about, from Dumbarton down into Ayrshire. Mr Davidson usually had a congregation of about a hundred. The Sunday gatherings in the Star Hall would be very different from the well-dressed, well-fed, sweet-smelling congregation of present-day St Mary’s, for most ... were the poorest of the poor..............
We can imagine what a motley crew our spiritual ancestors were: boatmen, dockers, fishwives, servant lasses (these would consider themselves a cut above the rest), factory workers (including quite young children), street musicians, peddlars, beggars. There would also be a sizeable floating population (literally!) of visiting sailors from foreign parts, fishermen from as far away as the Isle of Barra down to sell their dried cod and ling, possibly some seasonal agricultural workers from Ireland, employed at some of the outlying farms: Bow Farm, Strone Farm, Holmscroft, Drums ............. and all the other varieties of human being that would pass through a busy seaport.............
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