Our History

Barry parish was originally a largely rural parish based on the small village of Barry, which is much older than the neighbouring town.

The existence of a Christian Church in the area goes back more than 750 years; indeed, it is possible that a Church was founded by disciples of St Ninian more than 1500 years ago, but this is uncertain.

However, when Balmerino Abbey was founded near Leuchars in Fife in 1231, King Alexander II provided many lands including the Parish of Barry for the support of the monks, and so Barry Church would have certainly dated from this time.

An older parish church was replaced by a new building in 1800 in the middle of the graveyard in the heart of the village of Barry; now only a few ruins remain of this building.  In 1843 the disruption tore the Church of Scotland in two, and the Free Church built a small church on the bend in the road which was replaced in 1888 by the building we use today.

By the middle of the 19th century Barry (like Carnoustie and Panbride) was served by a Free Church with the Manse just above it, and a school along the road – until recently Barry Primary School, though now converted to a small business centre; along with an established Church as mentioned earlier, with its school just by the bridge and its own Manse further South and West.

The established school was converted into halls, these too became ruined and were pulled down to leave a garden that the Church recently sold to a developer.

The old Manse was sold in the middle of the 20th century and was burnt out by fire in more recent decades.   A sad ruin for some time, it has now been rebuilt as a splendid private home just North of the Barry bypass.

During the 20th century the by now United Free Church joined the Church of Scotland in 1929.  In Barry the two churches became Barry East and Barry West, and in the 1950s the poor state of the West building meant that it was closed in favour of a single congregation meeting in the Barry East Church.  The organ was moved from the West Church into our present building at that time.

In 1999 the minister, Rev Walter Stewart, retired and the Manse he occupied just above the Church was sold, being too costly to bring up to modern standards.  A new house was bought in Corbie Drive for the new minister, Rev Wilma Cairns.

In 2002 the neighbouring minister in Carnoustie Church, Rev Colin Caskie, moved to Dumbartonshire, and the Presbytery decided the time had come to link Barry with Carnoustie.  After negotiations with the two congregations, Miss Cairns had her tenure terminated in March 2003, and Mr Goss was inducted as the minister of the newly linked charge in August that year.

The Manse in Corbie Drive was sold, and the money realised enabled substantial repairs and upgrading of Church and halls in Barry.  This was possible as the Carnoustie Manse was chosen as the manse of the linked charge.

Barry is now united in Carnoustie: Trinity with the neighbouring congregations of Carnoustie and Newton Panbride. 

The town of Carnoustie grew from a few small-holdings in the early 19th century (famously begun by the ‘1st Feu’ marked out by Tammas Lowson).  As the railway came along, industry grew up and housing expanded at a rapid rate.  This growing population now sought their own parish church, and in 1837 the ancient parishes of Barry and Panbride gave up the built-up area in the centre of the new town for a new parish of Carnoustie.

The first church building was built across the road from the current Carnoustie Church, on the site of what is now the Cadet Hall, in 1837, and the Rev Thomas Dymock was called as the first minister to live in the new-built Manse in Kinloch Street, just behind the church.

In 1843 the Disruption hit Carnoustie as well, and Mr Dymock with much of the Session and Congregation left to form the Free Church congregation, eventually leading to the building of the St Stephen’s Church just along the road.  Following the union of 1929, this came back in to the Church of Scotland, and St Stephen’s Parish Church and what was then called Carnoustie Old Parish Church were united into a single congregation in 1970.

In the meantime, the Old Parish Church on the South side of Dundee Street had become too small, so a new Church was built on the opposite side of the street according to plans by Peter MacGregor Chalmers, the noted church architect.  The tower was never completed due to lack of funds, though drawings exist for a tall spire springing from the square tower.  The foundation stone from the former Church rests against the base of the tower of this new Church.  The old church became the church halls for a few years, but then was sold as a Drill Hall to the War Office as war broke out in 1914.

Beside the Church, the Gibson Hall was built in 1927 as Guild rooms, originally intended to be extended towards the road; it was sold near the end of the twentieth century and has seen a number of different businesses use it.  Next to the first Carnoustie Church the Philip Hall was built to serve St Stephen’s Free Church.  After the union this became the main church hall for Carnoustie Church (which lost the adjective ‘Old’ at this time) until it was sold in 2024.

The union between St Stephen’s and the Old Parish took place in 1969 following the retirement of the Rev Archie Mackenzie from the Old Parish, and St Stephen’s Minister, Rev Frank Clark, became the Minister of the united charge until his  own retirement in 1983.  The old parish Manse on Ferrier Street was sold, and the Manse of St Stephen’s on Terrace Road became the Manse of the charge.  Rev Colin Caskie followed Mr Clark for 19 years, and after his departure the charge was linked with Barry and the Rev Mike Goss was inducted as the new Minister in August 2003.

Carnoustie is now united in Carnoustie: Trinity with the neighbouring congregations of Barry and Newton Panbride.