St Mary's and St Peter's Episcopal Church, Montrose and other churches

Image: © Adrian Diack Taken: 21 Apr 2026

Up to the 1960s there were many churches in Montrose and in the surrounding district, with the area of the photo encompassing a number of them, including what was St Peter’s Scottish Episcopal Church on Panmure Place, two buildings along from the museum. This church and church hall were built in 1844–45 by the notable architect John Henderson and largely funded by the landowning philanthropist David Scott, 3rd Laird of Brotherton, a relation of the wealthy Scott family of Usan; both lineages were descended from the patriarch James Scott of Logie (c. 1593–1643), who was a prominent Provost of Montrose. The former church building is now used as Montrose Day Centre. The active St Mary and St Peter Church is another church in the area, and it stands some 80 metres NE of where the photo was taken and lies in an attractive wooded area of the Mid-Links. Other churches in the area of the photo are the former Montrose Congregational Church and the Auld Kirk, whose tower and spire dominate the skyline. One aspect of the many churches in Montrose and the surrounding district that I was aware of when I was a pupil at the Little Academy Primary School in Montrose and when I was a member of the senior football team in 1962-63 was that five of the team were the sons of Montrose ministers, with myself being one of that number; a newspaper article for a cup final match commented on this fact. Other team members included the sons of the Burgh Surveyor, a doctor, a bank manager, an independent family baker and an architect, with two of the families of other team members being unknown to me for such reasons as they had only recently arrived in Montrose and joined the school. Since the 1960s, many of the churches in the Montrose area have joined with others. Craig and Maryton churches, for example, were first linked in 1959 and later joined in 1959 under Rev. William Murray Diack, M.A.; their kirk sessions became a single charge under the name “Craig and Maryton" when Rev. Diack retired due to ill health. The united parish of Craig and Maryton joined with Ferryden Church in 1971 to become Inchbrayock Church, and this process of amalgamation of churches has gained pace since then. Although Rev. Diack had conducted services at both Craig and Maryton for a number of years, the two parish churches first became linked in 1959, and following that, in 1966, their kirk sessions became a single charge under the name "Craig and Maryton". This specific union was fairly short-lived, for after Rev. Diack’s retirement, this combined parish was merged with the Ferryden congregation in 1971 to form the new parish of Inchbrayock, though since that time it has undergone a number of subsequent name changes. Additional changes in Montrose have included St Andrew’s Church being formed by the union of St George’s & Trinity and St Luke’s & St John’s Church in 1977 and also the Old & St Andrew’s Church being formed by the union of St Andrew’s and the Old Church. On the 3rd of August 2023, further amalgamation took place to form Montrose Trinity Church with the union of Dun & Hillside, Old & St Andrews, and Montrose South & Ferryden churches. While in the 1950s and 60s there were many Church of Scotland churches operating in Montrose, there is now only Montrose Trinity Church, which, rather than functioning as three separate entities, has rationalised operations by operating as a single parish church with worship spread across the town, primarily using the Auld Kirk of Montrose Old and St Andrew's, Ferryden, and Hillside.

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