History of

St Joseph’s Church, Peebles

1850-2010

Contents

Introduction p2

First 50 Years p4

Expanding Town p10

St Joseph’s School p12

Early Parish Priests p14

War Years p16

Parish Life p19

Centenary 1958 p22

Past 50 Years p26

Moving Towards

the Millennium

p30

St Joseph’s Church

150th Birthday

p34

The Jubilee Banner p40

Church Groups p42

Parish Priests p44

Thanks to our sponsors p45

Photo: View to Rosetta Road and beyond from Venlaw Hill (1879).

On 29th December 2008, the Roman Catholic

Church of St Joseph’s, Peebles celebrated 150

years of worship in Rosetta Road.

This booklet is an attempt

by Elizabeth Brown, Mary

Hudson and Lina Patterson

to present some of the

background and journey of

the priests and parishioners

who have passed through

the doors of this building

during this period.

We would like to thank the following:

The Scottish Catholic Archives,

Edinburgh

National Library

Peebles Museum

The Hub, Hawick

Peeblesshire News

Local people who shared their

memories and provided photographs;

Eric Stevenson; Leonard Grandison for

permission to erect the 150th Jubilee

Plaque on his property; Iain MacFadyen

for all his assistance with the Jubilee

Plaque; Andrew Patterson for erecting

the Plaque; Eleanor Hudson for proof

reading www.bulantra.com.

We would like to take this opportunity to

say a huge thank you to Michael Smith,

since without his competence, skills,

patience and perseverance this booklet

would not have been possible.

Introduction

1. Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien

2. St Joseph’s Church

3. St Andrew’s Tower

ur parish is situated in the beautiful Scottish Borders, 23

miles south of Edinburgh in the Diocese of St Andrews

and Edinburgh. Today St Joseph’s Church, Peebles stands in

Rosetta Road near its junction with March Street. The Church

is set back from the road with a small car park accessible from

Wemyss Place. The adjoining presbytery has a large garden on

three sides. The former school built on the same site has recently

been transformed into The Neighbourhood Centre in 2001, which

is well-used by the wider community of Peebles.

First 50 Years

A new Mission has of late been established at Peebles. The Catholics of this

town, about one hundred in numbers, as well as those of the surrounding

countryside, had hitherto attended the private chapel in Traquair House,

seven miles distant. Accordingly, a building was rented and neatly ﬁtted out

as a temporary chapel by the muniﬁcence of the right honourable the Earl of

Traquair; and the altar furniture and vestments were supplied by Lady Louisa

Stuart.

The Parish priest was James Clapperton. He said Mass twice on Sunday –

at 11am and 2.30pm. On Holidays it was at 10am.

In the middle of the 19th century the

scene was very different.

The site was a ﬁeld and there had

been no Catholic Church in Peebles

since the late 16th century when the

Reformation drove Catholicism out of

town.

On 30th July 1850 a group of about

200 people from all around the area

attended Mass above a carpenter’s

shop in the High Street, Peebles, for

the ﬁrst time since the Reformation.

Prior to this date they had used the

private chapel at Traquair House

near Innerleithen. Traquair House

was the hub of Roman Catholicism

in the Borders after the Reformation,

and in due course priests based

there were able to help establish

parish communities and encourage

the building of more churches in the

Borders with help from generous

benefactors and the sacriﬁces of the

parishioners at that time.

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1850

1. St Joseph’s Church

2. Site of Carpenter’s Shop of Peebles High Street

3. Jubilee Plaque

First 50 Years

ith the coming of the railway to Peebles in 1855 and with the expected

rise in the population it was decided to build a church. The ground was

purchased by Lady Louisa Stuart who in her will left an endowment fund for

its maintenance.

By 1856 the situation in Peebles was causing concern up in Edinburgh. There

was no chapel, no school and no house for the priest. The following article

from the Directory of 1856 lays out the problems facing the Parish and some of

the proposed solutions.

The Peebles Mission has now

struggled through more than ﬁve

years of existence under very

unfavourable circumstances. There is

no chapel, no school, and no dwelling-

house for the priest, belonging to

the mission. All the buildings used

for these purposes are rented from

year to year, and humble as they are,

it has only been once in ﬁve years

that the entire yearly contributions

of the ﬂock have risen to the amount

of the Priest’s house-rent – £15. The

Mission depends almost entirely on

the charity of a noble family in the

neighbourhood.

What serves for a chapel is an old loft,

partly over a carpenter’s workshop,

and partly over a mangle. It is decently

and neatly ﬁtted up internally, but its

dimensions in every way are so scanty

that if the Commissioners of The board

of Health shall ever honour it with a

visit on Sunday or Holiday they will

most assuredly condemn it as totally

unsuited for its purpose: and most

assuredly, the priest, who, Sunday

after Sunday for so many years, had

to ofﬁciate, fasting till on one o’clock

p. m., in such an atmosphere will be

the last man to quarrel with such a

decision.

An effort is now being made to place

the Mission on a more respectable

footing. For this purpose, a very

eligible piece of ground has lately

been purchased through the charity

of the Hon. Lady Louisa Stuart of

Traquair House at a cost of about

£250. From the same quarter there

has been received a contribution of

£100 towards the building fund, with

a promise of another £100. The entire

amount as yet collected falls very

far short of what will be required for

the very modest buildings that are in

contemplation.

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1856

1. North British Railway Station, Dean Park

2. Caledonian Railway Station, Dukehaugh

First 50 Years

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1856

The Bishop’s approbation of the above objects is as follows:-

Edinburgh 7th May 1855

Rev, Dear Sir,

I not only highly approve of the determination you have come to endeavour to

erect a Chapel and School on the ground recently purchased at Peebles, but I

most earnestly recommend your pious undertaking to every good and zealous

Catholic who may have it in his power to assist you.

The buildings in question

are much wanted as

it is, since we have

nothing in the meantime

but rented premises,

formerly occupied as a

carpenter’s workshop;

while the now nearly

completed line of railway

from Edinburgh to

Peebles must necessarily

ere long increase our

numbers and our wants.

I shall only add that,

whilst thus calling upon

others to come to your

aid, I shall feel happy

to do all I can myself

to bring your work to a

satisfactory completion.

Yours truly in Christ

(signed)

Jas Gillis Vic.

AP. Of the Eastern

District

NB one shilling then is equivalent to

about thirty three pounds today

1. View of St Joseph’s Church – 1879

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1860

On Wednesday the 29th December

1858, the new Catholic church

Chapel of Peebles, erected through

the persevering industry of the Pastor

on a piece of ground for the purchase

of which the Lady Louisa Stuart had

generously supplied the funds was

opened by the right Rev. Dr. Gillis, the

Bishop of the District, who performed

the ceremony of solemn blessing.

High Mass was then celebrated in

presence of the bishop, the very

Rev. Dr. MacPherson, Vicar General,

at which the Rev. Dr. Marshall

preached to a large congregation

with great eloquence and thrilling

effect. When it is mentioned that the

musical department was conducted

by Charles Hargitt, Esq. assisted by

a select number of amateurs from

Edinburgh who volunteered their

services for the occasion, it will be

seen at once that it was all that could

be desired.

This little structure which, though

simple and unpretending in design,

is still very chaste and elegant, has

sitting accommodation for about 200

persons. The windows in the body

of the chapel and behind the altar

are richly stained glass, and are, it is

believed, the gifts of some generous

individuals.

Contiguous to the chapel is a neat

and commodious residence for the

Clergyman.

The church was part of the Deanery

which included Innerleithen,

Galashiels, Hawick, Kelso, Selkirk

and Jedburgh and was known as the

Deanery of St Palladius.

n 29th December 1858, the feast of St Thomas, the new Church of

St Joseph’s was consecrated by Bishop Gillis.

Expanding Town

1 2

1. Looking south along Rosetta Road

2. Mary Woods outside 19 Rosetta Road. Now part of the Neighbourhood Centre

3. Catherine Woods (nee Cavanagh) and son Patrick c1910 outside 19 and 21 Rosetta Road

4. Mary and Bridget Woods in the garden of 19 and 21 Rosetta Road 5. Industrial Peebles from Venlaw Hill

eebles in 1867 was just at the beginning of its period of expansion.

It had by now two railway stations, four banks, a local newspaper and the

‘modernised’ Tweedside Mill on the site next to the Parish Church.

From 1861-1871 the census returns show the population increased from 2,045

to 2,631, 586 more people had come to live in the town. By 1885 there were

three mills which attracted more workers into the town and the population

had expanded to 5,266 by 1901. The burgh had to extend its boundaries to

provide space for 1,123 dwelling-houses. Forty years earlier there were only

340 houses in the town.

(Brown and Lawson)

EXTRACT FROM HISTORY OF PEEBLES 1950-1990

The population of Peebles in 2010 has grown to around 11,000. Today many

of Peebles residents travel to work in Edinburgh and the town’s economy

relies largely on tourism. One woollen mill remains in the town today and has

occupied the same space in March Street, for more than a century, since 1884.

St Joseph’s School

Catholic School was established

next to the church building in

1865 and served the parish and the

whole of Peeblesshire until it moved

in 1974 to the Halyrude building near

the Cross Kirk. The school is currently

preparing to move again – back to

Rosetta Road in 2011 – but this time

to the site of the former Kingsland

School. When the school opened in

1865 the parish priest ran the school

himself because there were no funds

to pay for a teacher at that time. By

1872 the role had risen to 27 children

in the school. Records show the head

teacher in 1878 was Mary Anne Bruce

from the Liverpool Training College,

certiﬁcated second class, taking

over from Ann Foy, the former head

teacher.

Over the years the role at Halyrude

gradually increased to over 100

pupils. In 1974 there were three

teachers, including the headmaster.

Currently there are ﬁve class

teachers and a shared headteacher

who also manages St Margaret’s

Primary, Galashiels.

1. St Joseph’s School photograph circa 1950. Headmaster – Mr Patrick O’Neill

2. St Joseph’s School photograph circa 1915

3. St Joseph’s School photograph circa 1932

4. Conﬁrmation group circa 1953

Early Parish Priests

Through the individual efforts of the

Rev. J Clapperton, the revered and

venerable pastor, the church here has

undergone considerable extension

and improvement; a very pretty

little Lady Chapel has been added

between two buttresses on the north

side of the church; and a beautiful

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1881

he following extract from The

Catholic Directory of 1881 tells us

more about the addition of the Lady

Altar.

organ has been erected, of ﬁne tune

and rich quality, with pitch pine case

and show pipes decorated in gold

and colour. To inaugurate it, special

services were held on the 20th July.

Archbishop Strain ofﬁciated at

Mass and at Vespers, and sermons

were delivered by the Very Rev. Dr

Smith,V.G. and the Rev. Meagher,

Edinburgh. Dr Smith congratulated

the congregation on the re-opening

of their graceful little church, which

their esteemed pastor had enlarged

and embellished entirely at his own

expense.

The Catholic Times

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1942

In 1941 Canon Rooney, aged 84 died in harness. Six weeks before the end

he met with an accident whilst walking in his garden. Pneumonia gradually

set in. After the last sacraments had been administered he calmly passed

away on the Feast of Our Lord’s Ascension and the anniversary day of his own

ordination.

In 1912 the organ was removed

and transferred to St Columba’s,

Edinburgh by Father McCartney

before he left Peebles that year,

despite protests from the parishioners

who were informed that they had ‘nil

to do with the business’.

Six years after arriving in Peebles in

1918 Father Lyle was appointed a

Canon but did not survive to enjoy

the honour conferred upon him in

recognition of his great services to

religion and his saintly career. His

1. View of Lady Altar

2. Canon Lyle’s grave, Peebles

death occurred on 13th March 1919

near Montrose, whither he had gone

for the beneﬁt of his health, which

for some time had been very

unsatisfactory. His remains were

taken to Peebles where the obsequies

took place on the following Tuesday

in the church of St Joseph’s. He was

laid to rest in the local cemetery in

the presence of Bishop Graham, the

Canon and Clergy of the Archdiocese

and a large number of faithful and

general public of Peebles.

CATHOLIC DIRECTORY 1919

The War Years

The effects of WW1 and WW2 were felt deeply in the parish when a

number of parishioners lost members of their families.

The following are commemorated:

Private Robert Freer, Private John Gethin, Private Richard Ryan,

Sergeant Pilot J.P. Powers, Able Seaman Archibald Goggins,

Flight Sergeant James Carruthers and Bomber Sergeant Torrance Buchan.

After Germany advanced into Poland

in 1939 some Polish units arrived

in Scotland to regroup and retrain.

Members of the Polish services and

some of their families were stationed

in the town around 1940. Polish army

ofﬁcers and their families were living

in Hay Lodge Hotel in the Old Town,

during the war. Gradually they rented

furnished accommodation in the town

or lodged with local families. Polish

boys and girls enrolled in St Joseph’s

and Peebles High School. After the war

ﬁnished, from about 1946 onwards, it

became obvious that they could not, or

would not return to Poland because of

the Communist take-over there. While

in Peebles they were funded by their

exiled government, but when their

money stopped, some of them were

forced to ﬁnd work, local jobs which

they were not used to doing. By about

1947 or 1948 most of the Poles had left

Peebles but a number chose to stay

in the town. Some joined friends and

Polish groups in England. Many of the

Poles who had been living in Peebles,

emigrated to Argentina, as did others

who were stationed in Scotland.

1. War memorial window – Our Lady Fatima

2. Polish plaque in St Joseph’s Church

Adjacent to the inner entrance door

to the church is a plaque with the

inscription in Polish and English,

‘Give us back, O Lord, our country in

freedom,’ which commemorates the

Polish Forces’ stay in Peebles. It was

presented together with a chalice by

the Polish Community in 1944.

In 1997, at a ceremony at Peebles

Hydro, a plaque was unveiled in

celebration of the friendship between

the peoples of Poland and Scotland.

A time capsule, to be recovered

on 29th August 2097 was placed

beneath the plaque containing letters

and memorabilia.

In the latter years of the Second World

War, around 1944, there was a German

prisoner-of-war camp in Victoria

Park. Most of the prisoners, some of

whom were Catholics, worked on

farms around Peebles. They used old

bicycles to get to work and were paid

a few ‘bob’, i.e. shillings, each week

which they could spend on cigarettes

and sweets in the camp. After 1945

they were allowed to go about the

town in groups. On Sundays the

soldiers marched in rows up to St

Joseph’s for Mass. After the prisoners

were repatriated to Germany, the

camp was occupied by Displaced

Persons (DP’s) who were refugees

from Central and Eastern Europe.

The War Years

There were many British soldiers in the Hydro Hotel which had been

requisitioned as a military hospital during the war years, and some of them

came to Mass too. There were normally three masses on a Sunday, the two of

Father Harold, and the one for the Poles.

Father Harold parish priest from 1941

to 1953 was well known in the town

and liked by other clergy and their

congregations. Peebles’ minister, the

Rev. Berry Preston, paid tribute to

him at Father Harold’s Silver Jubilee

saying, “he had the esteem and

respect of the entire community.”

He was thanked for his many acts of

kindness and friendliness towards

the Polish people and his activities

in defence of the Polish cause by M.

Wladyslaw Raczkiewic, President of

the Polish Government, London, 8th

February 1946. Father Harold often

recalled a tale about hearing across

the wall a conversation between two

neighbours of his who had been

watching the soldiers of the various

nationalities going to the chapel

and one said: “I didna ken all a’ thae

foreigners were Irish.”

Parish Life

s the church grew in size, a

variety of clubs and societies

were introduced.

Some of the earliest documented,

between 1902 and 1925, were the

Society of The Holy Family, The

Children of Mary and the Society of

The Sacred Heart.

In 1941 under the care of the Very Rev.

Canon Rooney, the following societies

ﬂourished – the Apostolate for the

Propagation of the Faith, Sacred Heart

Society, Blessed Sacrament Guild,

Catholic Truth Society (CTS), Children

of Mary, Boys and Girls Sodality and

the Needlework Guild. There was

something for everyone to be active

in the life of this parish. Once a month

children from St Joseph’s school sang

The Missa De Angelis and Latin

motets that they had been taught by

Canon Rooney.

During the forties the Union of

Catholic Mothers was started and

members organised a variety of

events to beneﬁt all age groups

within the parish from fund raising to

social activities including the eagerly

awaited annual First Communion

Breakfast, Sale of Work and Christmas

Party. Throughout the ﬁfties, sixties

and seventies, this group continued

to ﬂourish.

1. British soldiers stationed at Peebles Hydro

2. Canon James Harold

3. U.C.M. Christmas Party in St Joseph’s School circa 1953

Parish Life

In May each year the parish held a procession in honour of Our Lady. A girl

was chosen to crown the statue of Our Lady and then lead the congregation in

procession round the priest’s garden or the school playing ﬁeld that adjoined

the church. In June Corpus Christi processions were also held in the grounds.

For many parishioners, the Church provided a means of going on a day

out either for a picnic or a pilgrimage. A popular trip was to Traquair

House; as few people had their own transport in those days the coaches

belonging to Ramsay’s Garage were called upon to transport parishioners.

One coach was named the Beltane Queen and the other, the Neidpath Queen.

As times changed, activities were held in the parish garden; barbecues

being very popular.

1. May Queen procession circa 1956 2. U.C.M. Group

3. Corpus Christi Procession – Father John McKee

4. Portmore Picnic circa 1947

5. Congregation in Rosetta Road

eport from Peeblesshire News

and St Ronan’s Standard:

Solemn Pontiﬁcal Mass Celebrated

by Archbishop of St Andrews and

Edinburgh

On Sunday 26th October 1958

the congregation of St Joseph’s

Church, Peebles celebrated the

hundredth anniversary of their

church. Descendants of the Stuarts

of Traquair, the original benefactors,

were present when The Archbishop

of St Andrews and Edinburgh, The

Most Rev. Gordon Gray celebrated

Solemn Pontiﬁcal Mass and The Rev.

Father Francis Ripley, London, gave

an eloquent address.

Among the special guests were Mrs

Patricia Maxwell- Scott and Miss Jean

Maxwell- Scott of Abbotsford; Mr and

Mrs Maxwell Stuart of Traquair; Lady

Margaret Kerr; Mrs McKee (mother

of Father McKee of St Joseph’s); the

Reverend Mother and four nuns from

St Catherine’s Convent, Edinburgh;

Canon Harold, former priest of

St Joseph’s; Canon Gallacher,

St Andrew’s College, Drygrange;

Father Hanlon, Drygrange; Father

Maher, Blairs College, Aberdeen;

Father McKee, Parish Priest;

Monsignor Monaghan, Vicar General

of the Archdiocese, Edinburgh. The

readings from the bible and prayers

were sung in Latin.

In his address Father Ripley spoke

about the contrast between 1850

when a handful of Catholics

struggled to establish themselves

compared with the grand history of

their forefathers in the days when

Scotland was a Catholic country in

full communion with the universal

Church centred in Rome!

Towards the end of the fourteenth

century, chronicler John of Fordun

told how in 1261 a cross had been

found at Peebles which was believed

to have been hidden by some

Centenary 1958

31st October 1958: St Joseph’s Church Centenary

Christians nearly 1,000 years earlier,

when Maximinian’s persecution was

raging in Britain. A body, too, had

been found with the inscription on

a stone nearby: ‘Tomb of the Bishop

St Nicholas’. Miracles were worked

at the place and crowds of pilgrims

thither. A church had been built

there in honour of St Nicholas, but it

became known as the Cross Church

of Peebles. In 1488 King James III

built a monastery to care for the

pilgrims. It is said that in May 1474, a

great ﬁre which threatened to destroy

the whole of Peebles was wonderfully

extinguished at the moment of the

elevation of the relic of the True Cross

of Christ, which had been acquired

by the Friars of the Cross Kirk.

For some seventy years after the

change of religion the Kirk Sessions

1. Archbishop Gordon Gray

2. Napkin from the Centenary dinner

had to be on the watch to prevent

pilgrims assembling at the old Cross

Kirk.

What a contrast between the crowds

of the days of faith and the opening

of St Joseph’s Church, an event

regarded locally as too insigniﬁcant

to be given more than a few lines even

in the ”Peeblesshire Advertiser.”!

As the procession left the church the

bishop bestowed his blessing on the

congregation and the choir sang the

joyous hymn, ‘Christus Vincit,’ St

Joseph’s has a small choir, but the

singing was remarkable, with a ﬁne

excellent soprano voice as lead. They

and Mrs Helena Tammi, choir mistress

and organist, deserve congratulatory

comment and high praise.

Centenary 1958

eport from Peeblesshire News

and St Ronan’s Standard:

The Chambers Town Hall has

seldom had gathered within it such a

neighbourly and cordial assembly as

that which attended the centenary

dinner of St Joseph’s Church on

Wednesday evening. It was a meeting

in which the various denominations

joined together, to come together as

friends and associates in the greater

cause.

The platform decorations were

beautiful and tasteful, drawing forth

much admiration – the craft of Miss

Beatrice Benigno, who was deservingly

congratulated on her art.

Father McKee presided at the top table

alongside Provost Lawrie, headmaster

of Kingsland School; Canon Harold;

Msgr. Monaghan; Miss Jean Maxwell-

Scott; Mrs Patricia Maxwell–Scott;

Father McLaughlin; Col. J Jamieson,

Director of Education, Mr E Laverock,

Town Clerk; Mr and Mrs de Winter;

Father Corcoran; Rev. T Hamilton and

Rev. F Weeks. Other guests included

Rev. and Mrs J Boyd; Rev. W Tran;

Father McMahon; Mr and Mrs Naismith;

Mr and Mrs McFarlane; Mrs F Weeks;

Bailie and Mrs Hamilton; Mr and Mrs

Rothnie; Headmaster, Peebles High

School; Mrs J Hamilton; Mrs Jamieson;

Father Phelan; Mr and Mrs P K Redpath;

Mrs Laverock; Mrs Thorburn; Miss

Smart, Matron of the War Memorial

Hospital; Father Hanlon; Miss Meredith;

Father Byrne; Father Rourke; Father

O’Connell; Miss B Benigno; Father

Donoghue; Miss Baron; Miss Brown;

Father O’Donnell; Councillor P O’Neill;

Mr Reno Benigno and Mr P McGarry.

31st October 1958: Celebration Dinner at Peebles

The long tables stretching the length of

the hall were tastefully decorated with

ﬂowers and seated were two hundred

persons joining in the celebration of

the centenary. The table napkins of

white had printed in gold – a cross,

1858 – 1958, Centenary St Joseph’s

Church, Peebles. The menu consisted

of chicken soup, tomato soup, cold

lamb, beef- steak pie, Scotch triﬂe, ice

cream, coffee and tea. The caterers,

Peebles Cooperative Society, have to

be congratulated on their cuisine and

service.

The toast to ‘Our Guests’ was proposed

by Councillor P O’Neill who said it was

a great pleasure to propose the toast on

such an auspicious occasion with such

an array of distinguished persons.

Provost Lawrie replied on behalf of the

Guests who had come to do honour

to the Church and to celebrate the

centenary of St Joseph’s, and extended

sincere thanks for the lavish and

marvellous hospitality.

Mr Reno Benigno proposed a toast to

‘The Clergy’ and The Very Rev. Canon

Harold gave the reply on behalf of all

the clergy gathered. He remarked on

the good spirit of comradeship that

existed between the churches in the

town and hoped that the good feeling

would always continue in Peebles.

Father McKee in moving the vote of

thanks said he wished he had a stock of

halos as there were so many he would

like to bestow. The social committee

and their chairman, Mr Pat McGarry

were given special thanks for all

they had done in connection with the

centenary, Miss Beatrice Benigno for

the decorations and ‘her magic ﬁngers’

and Mrs Tammi and all the members

of the choir. The next haloes were for

the housekeeper who had not got to

bed at all on the Saturday night before

the Centenary Mass, for Mrs de Winter

for the beautiful canopy she had made

for the church and for Provost Lawrie

for his wonderful speech that night.

Thanks were also due to the caterers

and Mr McManus who had done so

much behind the scenes. And a most

happy, cordial and neighbourly evening

came to a close.

1. Centenary dinner – Burgh Hall, Peebles

The Past 50 Years

uring the sixties, church life

continued to tick over much

as before. Father McKee moved to

Davidsons Mains and was replaced

in 1963 by Father Peter Donati who

was keen on church music and played

the organ. In 1969 the Peebles March

Riding and Beltane Queen Festival

Committee invited Canon Donati to

be Warden of the Cross Kirk, the ﬁrst

Catholic priest to do so.

By the seventies practices began

to change and some restrictions

were removed after Vatican II which

promoted more active participation

in the Mass and the replacement of

Latin, the ancient language of the

service, by vernacular languages.

The Sanctuary was remodeled in 1971

with this in mind. The altar, made of

Greek Cipollino marble, was moved

forward to allow the priest to face the

congregation while saying Mass in

English.

Women were allowed to take a

more active part in the Mass. They

were allowed to become Readers,

Eucharist Ministers and walk onto the

altar during Mass. It was no longer

necessary for them to cover their head

in church and everyone was given a

dispensation to eat meat on Fridays.

1. Interior view of church

2. First Communion Group circa 1960

3. Mr O’Neill’s Farewell Dinner, County Hotel, 1964

4. View across school playing ﬁeld to Buchan Gardens 5. Palm Sunday parade

In 1977 Canon Donati was replaced

by Father Alec Bremner who was

viewed as a ‘modern’ priest. He

played guitar and introduced a

folkgroup to lead Mass which was not

to everyones taste at ﬁrst. Children’s

liturgy was introduced, a parish

council was formed with the help

of Mr John Begbie who organised a

large meeting in the Burgh Hall to

encourage all parishioner to become

involved. In the early eighties the

playing ﬁeld beside the church was

sold off to a housing developer leaving

the former playground as a car park

for parishioners.

As a result of Vatican II there was

more interaction with other churches

in the town, joint services in different

churches being planned, delivered

by all clergy and attended by their

parishioners. The council of churches,

made up of clergy and lay people, tried

to make links with all the different

communities of worship within

Peebles. The ecumenical movement

became quite popular especially

when Father John Robinson was at

St Joseph’s. Margaret Murray, Kitty

Lyle, Mary Gunn and Stuart Pitt

have represented the parish on this

committee.

The Past 50 Years

In 1982 a special bus took parishioners

to witness the ﬁrst visit by a Pope to

Scotland. The applause for the Pope,

John Paul II, lasted for seven minutes

when he tried to address the audience

at Bellahouston Park. The June 1st

weather was so uncharacteristically

hot that scores of people were

treated for dehydration, heatstroke

and sunstroke. Some 7,000 stewards

and 6,000 police were on duty for

the visit – but despite rumours that

the event would be disrupted by

demonstrators, amid a scattering of

arrests, the service became a moment

to remember for the hundreds of

thousands of worshippers. On

the evening of 31st May the Pope

attended the Scottish National Youth

Pilgrimage which packed Murrayﬁeld

Stadium in Edinburgh with a crowd of

40,000. Mrs Pat Floate took a bus load

of pupils from Peebles High School

which consisted of the Youth Group

from the parish and many of their

non catholic friends who wanted to

experience this memorable event.

Shortly after arriving in Peebles in

1985 Father Jim Myers was given

an added responsibility. He was

appointed to take charge of our

neighbouring parish of St James,

Innerleithen when Father Kenneth

Batchelor left in November 1985. This

arrangement was necessary as the

number of priests was falling and

where possible some parishes were

being merged in the diocese. Instead

of the priest saying three Sunday

Masses, a Saturday night Vigil Mass

was introduced.

Because there are no

Catholic Secondary

Schools in the Borders

and no religious

education programme

within the parish,

Sister Deirdre started

catechetics meetings

for High School pupils

in 1986. She had a

meeting at Halyrude

School with the parents

of primary seven pupils

who were moving up to

Peebles High after the

summer. Tess Murray,

Teresa Smith, Margaret Brown and

Lina Patterson volunteered to work

with the pupils once a week after

school. Sister Deirdre came through

to Peebles every month or so with

material for the parents to use.

Teenagers were invited to join a

Parish Youth group to meet socially,

reﬂect and go further aﬁeld on trips

together.

At about the same time a group of

mums in the parish undertook to

organise and supervise the ‘Liturgy

of the Word for Children’ at Sunday

Masses for younger children. After the

opening hymn and the greeting, the

children together with their leaders,

were called forward, a book of the

scriptures presented to a leader and

then they walked out in procession to

a nearby place to cover the Gospel of

the day at a level young

children understand

and enjoy. This practice

has continued and is

operated in the parish

each week during

term time by adult

volunteers.

Christian Aid is an

ecumenical charity

and in the seventies

a meeting was called

to form a local group.

Margaret Brown and

Lina Patterson were

the ﬁrst members of

the new Christian Aid committee

that was formed with members from

the other local churches. All in all,

St Joseph’s has been well represented

with ofﬁce bearers, money counters

and stall holders over the years

until present times. This year 2010,

Father G Smith is the honorary

chairman of the Christian Aid

Committee in Peebles so the opening

ceremony will be held at St Joseph’s

Peebles on Sunday May 9th at 6pm.

In 1988 Father David McCann took

over the Parishes of St Joseph’s and

St James. Father McCann as National

Chaplain of Faith and Light developed

an awareness of the movement within

the parishes and some parishioners

became involved in supporting this

work in the diocese. He helped to

further horizons in many ways.

1. Catechetics Group circa 1986

2. Father Tony McDonald with farewell gift

Moving Towards the Millennium

espite all the time and effort

spent by Lesley Kovacs, a

parishioner who stayed in Peebles

after the war, to reuse, recycle and

repair the church, the house, former

school buildings and surroundings

they were all looking run down and

in need of renovation by the nineties

when Father John Robison arrived in

Peebles. He divided his time between

building strong bonds with the other

churches in Peebles and making

improvements to the parish.

A PA system with a Loop Hearing Aid

connection was installed in the Church

in 1994 and a major refurbishment

of the church was undertaken with

Father John doing much of the

physical work himself. The rails were

removed from the altar, and the table

reduced and lowered to form an ambo.

The Baptismal Font was moved from

the back of the church and placed on

the side of the altar. The replacement

pews were sourced from a church in

Liverpool and new carpeting was

laid throughout the church, The

Stations of the Cross, by the Alinari

Brothers, Florence, were cleaned and

restored by Joseph Maxwell Stuart

and also the large cruciﬁx of the San

Dominiano School was included.

The inside of the chapel was painted

and the improvements were received

favourably by all who worshipped in

St Joseph’s.

1. Father John Robinson, Lesley Kovacs and helper unloading new church pews

2 & 3. Remodeled Sanctuary

4. Father John Robinson – Warden of Cross Kirk 2008

Moving Towards the Millennium

his listed building, formerly St Joseph’s School is

over one hundred years old. The school moved to

Halyrude, Old Church Road on 19th August 1974. After

that no major structural work was carried out, only

emergency patch repairs and unfortunately, a planned

refurbishment in 1985 did not materialise. Throughout

this time the premises were used primarily by Rosetta

Playgroup and occasionally by the parish for events

under the voluntary caretaking of Mr Lesley Kovaks.

In April 1997, a Management Committee was formed

to stop further deterioration of this ﬁne old building.

Soon some basic improvements were made but they

were only skin deep, e.g. redecoration of the premises.

A number of areas needed extensive, expensive

repairs and renovation to take this sturdy building

into the new millennium.

The Neighbourhood Centre

The Management Committee leased

the building from the Parish Council

in 2000 and set about tackling the

major problems. Mr John O’Brien, a

parishioner, volunteered to maintain

the premises and to oversee the

increasing bookings being made by a

growing number of community groups.

An appeal was launched locally to

replace the roof of the centre and of

the adjoining cottage. The creation

of the meeting room, a new heating

system and the upgrading of the main

hall were completed with grants. In

2001 a Lottery Grant provided the

new extension housing the kitchen,

toilets, a new entrance from the car

park and also the resurfacing of the

car park.

1. Meeting room – formerly home of the Woods family

2. Margaret Brown hard at work

3. Original kitchen and toilet area

4. The main hall, St Joseph’s Neighbourhood Centre

hen Father Aidan Cannon retired in 2008, Father George Smith, a White

Father, became parish priest and one of his ﬁrst tasks was to invite

parishioners to prepare for the 150 Celebrations of St Joseph’s Church.

In December 2008 the 150th anniversary of the opening of St Joseph’s Catholic

Church in Peebles was celebrated. The theme of our Jubilee celebration was

‘Come On Home’, and as such, we were keen to include all those who counted

St Joseph’s as their spiritual home, those who prayed and grew up here, those

who were baptised here, made their First Holy Communion or Conﬁrmation

here, those who had families buried here, and those who had served as parish

priest of St Joseph’s.

This was not a gimmick to try and boost the size of our congregation but a

way to get the message of welcome over to all those who may have given up

on God and to let them know that God still loved them.

Our celebrations started on Sunday 7th December 2008 when Cardinal Keith

Patrick O’Brien visited Peebles. They began on the High Street near where

the ﬁrst Mass after the Reformation was said and then the Cardinal, Father

George Smith, parish priest, Father John Robinson, former parish priest and

Father George Rogers a supply priest lead the procession by way of the Cross

Kirk and on to celebrate Mass in St Joseph’s Church.

St Joseph’s Church 150th Birthday

1. Jubilee Procession crossing Cuddy Bridge

2. Father George Rogers and Father George Smith

3. Clergy and congregation gathered at the Cross Kirk

St Joseph’s Church 150th Birthday

In his homily the Cardinal began by

speaking about the past history of

the Church in Peebles and how at

the time of the Reformation, Peebles

seems to have made little resistance

to the changes – with the family of

Stuarts (later the Maxwell-Stuarts) at

Traquair becoming the focus of any

remaining loyalty to the old Catholic

Church in the whole area.

He went on to talk about the purpose

of our gathering for this particular

Mass being of course to thank God

for all that has happened since

Christianity ﬁrst took root here in

Peebles. It seemed at times as if the

Catholic Christian Church had been

obliterated – but the ﬂame of the faith

was always there and the light of

Christ has shone forth here from this

church over the past 150 years.

“Our liturgy of today reminds us both

of the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah

who called out to God’s people:

“Prepare in the wilderness a way

for the Lord”, as well as St John

the Baptist, who in his own time

did prepare that way. We might say

throughout the history of Christianity

in this area there have always been

those who remained true to the old

faith, continue to live it, and pointed

out the way of Christ to others.

Difﬁculties must have abounded but

there have always been difﬁculties in

the face of each and every Christian.

I quote some words of our late Holy

Father which could have been used

to describe the situation at various

stages of the history of Peebles.

Pope John Paul II stated: “We ﬁnd

it harder to follow Christ today

than appears to have been the case

before. Witnessing to him in modern

life means a daily contest...there is

always that risk of compromising our

Christian conscience”.

Yes – those words could have been

used at various stages in the history

of Peebles – but they were actually

used when the Pope visited Scotland

some 26 years ago in June 1982.

Perhaps when we consider our own

history and lifestyle at this present

time we should take those particular

words to heart as we look forward to

the ongoing history of the Catholic

Church in this area. Perhaps we do

ﬁnd it harder to follow Christ today

than appears to have been the case

1. Jubilee Mass – 7th December 2008

2. Jubilee banner

3. Mrs Muldoon, oldest parishioner helping cut the Jubilee cake

before in our lives! Perhaps we do

ﬁnd it a daily contest to witness to

Christ in modern life! Perhaps there

is often that risk of compromising our

Christian conscience. If Pope John

Paul II was able to use those words in

1982 – surely they could also be used

of us at this present time.”

At the end of the Jubilee Mass three

members of the Hope Group waited

upstairs to uncover the banner

that they had made for this special

occasion when the Cardinal came to

bless it.

After Mass a celebration buffet was

held in the St Joseph’s Neighbourhood

Centre for parishioners, families and

friends. The Cardinal, Father George

Smith and Mrs Elizabeth Muldoon,

our oldest parishioner, were invited

to cut the anniversary cake.

n the actual anniversary of the opening of the

church, Monday 29th December, Mass was

concelebrated by Father George, two former parish

priests, Father Tony McDonald, Father John Robinson

and Father George Rodgers (supply priest). This

was followed by a social evening in St Joseph’s

Neighbourhood Centre.

During the Lenten Station Mass, Cardinal O’Brien

blessed the banner and closed the 150 Jubilee

Celebrations.

The 150 Jubilee celebrations were made possible

through support and co-operation from the whole

parish community and were co-ordinated by Mrs Pat

Floate. The event was something we can all look back

on with pleasure and satisfaction.

St Joseph’s Church 150th Birthday

29th December 2009 Celebrations

1. Cardinal blessing the St Joseph’s banner during the closing 150 Jubilee Mass

2. Homecoming banner

3. Lenten Station Mass – March 2009

4. Pictures of 29th December Celebrations

4 4

The Jubilee Banner

arlier in 2008 Father Smith asked St Joseph’s

Hope Group if they could create a banner to hang

along the balcony that would commemorate the 150th

anniversary of the church and be unveiled during the

Cardinal’s visit on 7th December 2008.

After much discussion, the group decided to develop

ﬁve one metre wide panels as a continuous background

to show the hills and the river landscape in which the

town of Peebles sits. The outlines were drawn onto

a heavy cotton fabric and painted in. We were kindly

given the use of Peebles Community Centre space and

tables for this enjoyable but messy work.

Next, again with much artistic help from Jim Lyle, we

separately constructed an impression of the church

and other well known local landmarks and appliquéd

them onto the background along with the numbers

and lettering.

Our task then was to ﬁnd a way to show the many

parishioners who, down through the 150 years and

still up to the present and hopefully into the future,

have come to worship in St Joseph’s Church.

1. Jubilee banner

2. Mary, June, Ruth, Jim and Claire working on the Jubilee banner

Mona Taylor provided detailed research into the

headwear worn by people down through the ages, and

so our black and grey silhouettes along the bottom of

the panels are meant to highlight the many thousands

who have passed through the church door, from

Victorians and Edwardians to Wartime and Peacetime,

the sixties, seventies to the new millennium, with

even a Mohican hairdo on show!

After completion of the banner came the problem of

hanging it. This fell to the skill of Iain MacFadyen and

entailed the need for a ﬁve metre long bar and many

hooks to secure it to the balustrade. A long piece of

borrowed copper pipe proved to be the answer.

To mark the end of the 150th Jubilee Celebrations on

St Joseph’s Feast Day in March 2009, another hanging

featuring St Joseph with the boy, Jesus, was worked

by the Hope Group and hung to commemorate the

Jubilee. Hopefully this hanging will be used each year

on St Joseph’s Feast Day for many years to come.

Church Groups

The music group was ﬁrst introduced

into the parish by Father Bremner.

Since then there have been a number

of different instrumentalists and

leaders. Eleanor McGuire, a teacher

at Halyrude School, formed a music

group in school and together they

lead school Masses and on Sunday

morning also, on a variety of

instruments.

The current group is swelling once

again in number and consists of

guitars, violins, ﬂutes and clarsach.

The musicians play during Mass

every Sunday ably lead by Gerry

Farrell who plans and prepares the

musical liturgy and hymns.

In 2008 the group lost a talented

musician and friend when Vince

Woods passed away. Vince played

in the group for a number of years

and used his talent to compose some

of the music that the group plays at

Mass.

St Joseph’s Music Group

This group was set up in 1996

with the purpose of repairing and

renewing church vestments and

making hangings.

The members originally comprised:

Angela Baczkowski, Rosemary Bauld,

Irene Campbell, Eileen Doherty,

Anita Flannery, Margaret Irvine, Ruth

McAree, Eileen McVean and Claire

O’Brien. We adopted the name of

Hope Group in the hope that we would

gradually improve our abilities.

Some of our early works include

hangings used at Easter and

Christmas and Fr John Robinson’s

Silver Jubilee Banner. We also

provided the Banner, ‘Jubilate’, which

was included in a local inter-church

exhibition.

The group provided a set of wrought-

iron gates at the front entrance of

the Neighbourhood Centre for the

sake of children’s safety. Also, we

have worked twice with the school

children of Halyrude Primary to create

wonderful pieces for national Quilt

Competitions.

Currently our membership includes

ladies from our parish and other

churches and together we produce

work for St Peter’s Episcopal Church

too.

St Joseph’s Hope Group

s we approach the end of the ﬁrst decade of the 21st century, we are

still able to participate in a variety of church-based activities and social

activities like picnics at Traquair etc. Hopefully, as we work together towards

the 200 year Jubilee, there will continue to be a variety of spiritual and social

groups operating within the community of Saint Joseph’s.

The Parish Scripture Group meets

fortnightly to think, pray and discuss

the readings for the following Sunday.

We also pray for parish intentions and

other intentions for which we have

been asked to pray. Meetings are

informal and take place on alternate

Thursdays. New members are always

welcome, especially those new to the

parish.

This group began as St Joseph’s

Young Women’s Group by Barbara

Margiotta, some friends and

neighbours in 1982 and welcomed

members from St Joseph’s, other

churches in the town as well as some

with no church connection at all. For

a number of years the group which

met fortnightly, organised coffee

mornings and other activities to raise

funds to support the church. In 1983

a donation of £212 was made toward

the painting of the church. Chairs for

the church hall were provided in 1984.

Cassocks were purchased for the

altar servers, while folding tables, a

portable heater and strip lights were

donated to the hall. Between 1982

and 1986 parish Christmas parties

were organised for pre-school and

primary school aged children.

The group, now known as St

Joseph’s Neighbourhood Ladies

Group, meets on the third Monday

of each month in the meeting room

of the Neighbourhood Centre from

September until March. During the

summer two outings are organised

using Tweed Wheels to take members

to a variety of places of interest.

Scripture Group

St Joseph’s Neighbourhood Ladies Group

In 2009, at the request of Father

George a conference of the Society of

St Vincent de Paul was established in

Peebles.

In the past, the SVP was a group

which people turned to in times of

ﬁnancial hardship; present beneﬁt

systems make this less of a need,

but the society is aware of other

forms of poverty – isolation, lack of

human contact, freedom to get out

of the house and so on. The Peebles

group has been working towards

befriending the lonely and isolated.

The group also supports the work of

Jericho House which is in Edinburgh

and provides meals and hot drinks to

the homeless and needy.

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

Parish Priests

1850 Rev Father James Clapperton

1883 Rev Father James McCartney

1912 Rev Father J Stevenson Lyle

1919 Rev Father Michael Turner

1927 Rev Father J Andrew McIntyre

1929 Rev Father William Rooney

1941 Rev Father James G. Harold

1953 Rev Father Thomas McGregor

1954 Rev Father John McKee

1963 Canon Peter Donati (Warden of the Cross Kirk 1969)

1977 Rev Father Alex Bremner (Warden of the Cross Kirk 1980, 1984)

1985 Rev Father James Myers (Warden of the Cross Kirk 1988)

1988 Rev Father David McCann (Warden of the Cross Kirk 1992)

1992 Rev Father Tony McDonald

1996 Rev Father John Robinson (Warden of the Cross Kirk 1990, 2000, 2008)

2001 Rev Father Aidan Cannon

2008 Rev Father George Smith

2010 Father Robert Machingur

Parish Priests

Thanks to our sponsors...

Michael Blackie

Robert Bon

Elizabeth Brown

Tom and Sheila Browne

Irene Campbell

Claire Clouting

Diana Coia

Roberta Coll

Mary Delaney

Jill De Winter

Eileen Doherty

Liz Douglas

Christine Fielding

Anita Flannery

Pat Floate

Margaret Forsyth

May Gillies

Elizabeth Greenshields

Sandra Grieve

May Gillies

Mary Hudson

Margaret Irving

Penny Jackson

Kathy Kinder

Dora Lucchesi

Kitty Lyle

Barbara Margiotta

Jim McCafferty

Maureen McGowan

Rosemary McKean

Stephanie Morrison

Elizabeth Muldoon

Janet Mullen

Delphine Mussett

Kellie Neil

Judith Norval

Claire O’Brien

Tony O’Neill

Ted O’Neill

Denis Owen

Christopher Patterson

Lina Patterson

Stuart Pitt

Carol Roberts

Douglas Shaw

Maureen Smart

Juliet Smith

Teresa Smith

Kathleen Stewart

Douglas Tait

Frances Taylor

Henry Taylor

Audrey Vickery

Allison Ward

Daniel T. Ward

Frank Ward

Dr J P Ward

Leanne Young

Rose Young

As we approach the end of the ﬁrst

decade of the 21st century and we journey

together towards the 200 year Jubilee,

let us remember the closing words from

Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien’s homily.

“Thanking God for the past we must also

be prepared to face the challenge of living

our Christian lifestyles at this present

time while looking forward to the future.

Challenges have come and challenges

have passed over the past 1,500 years of

Christianity here in this place.

Challenges will inevitably lie ahead as

we continue to try to lead our Catholic

Christian lives.

Our faith in God must be as strong as that

of the Old Testament prophets; our faith

in Jesus Christ, God and man must be as

strong as that of St John the Baptist.

May our celebrations today indeed conﬁrm

us in our faith and strengthen us for our

Catholic Christian living in the years which

lie ahead, aware of the proud heritage of

which you are successors here in Peebles.”