St Peter-In-Chains Inverkeithing Fife

The Catholic Parishes of Ss John & Columba and St Peter in chains

Serving the communities of Crombie, Charleston, Limekilns, Rosyth, North Queensferry, Inverkeithing, Hillend and Dalgety Bay

 

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The history and clergy of the parishes

The earliest mention of a Church being in our area, is that of a foundation being made in Inverkeithing in the fifth century, when St. Erat, who was a follower of St Ninian, established a small church here. This was later replaced by a Norman church (twelfth century) but it appears that St. Erat continued as the dedication. The church and its associated lands were granted to Dunfermline abbey in the twelfth century. After this, in the early thirteenth century, the Norman church was replaced by a Gothic building. The church was re-consecrated in 1244, after having been closed for reconstruction, and was dedicated to St. Peter. The foundations of the Norman church were possibly uncovered when the vestry at the western end of the church, to the north of the tower, was constructed in the twentieth century. The tower on the western side of the church was added in the fourteenth century. The Church was taken over for use for Protestant worship at the Reformation.

Inverkeithing was also home to a Franciscan Friary, which is thought to have been established sometime after 1346, but was fully equipped by 1384, the date King Robert II granted the remission of alms due to the Crown and all other secular burdens.

Saintly and Royal connections with our parishes also exist through Saint Margaret, Queen of King Malcom III. Princess Margaret, as she was, landed close to North Queensferry (later named after her), in 1069, at a point later named St Margaret’s Hope. This area of land is part of the site of Rosyth Naval Base. St David’s Bay, which can be found in Dalgety Bay is named after St Margaret’s saintly son, King David I, who built many Abbeys and brought a great many Religious Orders to Scotland.

The Chapel of St James the Apostle, the ruins of which can be found in North Queensferry, is mentioned in a charter of the early 14th century.

The Church of St John’s Rosyth is mentioned in a Papal Bull of 1178, so the church was already well established by then, mention being made of the Church from 1123. Also mentioned in the same Papal Bull is the Church of Dalgety, which we know as St Bridget’s Kirk, to be found on the banks of the Forth.

All of these places of Catholic worship were taken at the time of the Reformation, some were continued to be used for the reformed style of service, others were used for secular use or allowed to fall into disrepair. Only the church in Inverkeithing is still in use today for Christian worship.

The first recorded priest after the Reformation to work in this area of Fife was a Fr Anthony Sweeney, a priest of the Diocese of Dunkeld, who had been loaned to our own Archdiocese in 1909 when he was appointed assistant in St Margaret’s Dunfermline. Fr Sweeney took up residence in 1913 in Clarence House, Inverkeithing and ministered to the workers and the other Catholics of the area based in Jamestown.

Jamestown Mission (Church of St Peter-in-chains)

1913-1917 Fr Anthony Sweeney 1914-1917 Fr James Connolly -curate 1917 -1923 Fr Joseph C. Long 1917-1918 Fr Patrick McHugh -curate 1918-1919 Fr James Hart-curate 1919-1920 Fr William Murphy -curate 1923-1930 Fr Dominic Hart

From 1913 work began on the construction of the Dockyard, and Mass was being celebrated in temporary accommodation in “Tintown” from then. In 1915 it is recorded that a Requiem Mass was offered on All Souls Day at Rosyth Naval Base for those killed in WW1 and nearly 3,000 attended.

In 1919 a timber building was erected on Church land in Admiralty Road in Rosyth and was the first Catholic school in the area known as St John’s. Mass was celebrated in this building on Sundays.

A new purpose built school was opened in Crossroads Place, Rosyth on 28th July 1924, replacing the timber building, and again Mass was celebrated in the school every Sunday.

In 1926 the Church of Ss John & Columba Rosyth was built and the attached Presbytery became the residence of the priest.

1930-1931 Fr William Quigley 1931-1936 Fr Thomas Ferrigan

From 1936 the church in Jamestown was looked after by the Parish Priest and his curate from St Joseph’s Burntisland.

1936-1940 Fr Peter McFarlane 1936-1938 Fr Thomas Martin -curate 1938-1941 Fr Robert E Barry -curate 1940-1948 Fr John McHugh 1941-1942 Fr Bernard O’Donnell -curate 1942-1944 Fr Anthony Smith -curate 1944-1946 Fr Eugene Loughlin -curate 1946-1948 Fr John D Mullan -curate 1948-1951 Fr Stanislaus Eardley 1948-1951 Fr Thomas F P Murray -curate 1951-1958 Fr Edward Gilchrist 1951-1955 Fr Liam O’Mahoney -curate 1958-1972 Fr Patrick Quinn 1972-1979 Fr Anthony McNally

In 1977 the Church of St Peter in chains on Hope Street, Inverkeithing was established, with the Church in Jamestown closing.

Inverkeithing Parish (St Peter in chains)

In 1979 a resident Parish Priest was appointed to St Peter in chains Parish.

1979-1988 Fr John Agnew 1988-1991 Fr George Rogers 19991-2010 Fr (later Canon) John McAllister

From 2010 both parishes of St Peter in chains Inverkeithing and Ss John & Columba Rosyth have shared the same Parish Priest, resident in Rosyth

2010-2015 Fr Peter Kelly 2015-present Fr Kevin A. Dow

Rosyth Parish

On the 16th November (Feast of St Margaret of Scotland) 1936, Archbishop Andrew Joseph McDonald OSB of St Andrews & Edinburgh, erected the Parish of Rosyth under the Patronage of St John and St Columba.

1936-1979 Canon Thomas Ferrigan 1979-1993 Canon Daniel J. Boyle 1993-1998 Fr Michael Purcell (also remaining PP of St Joseph’s Kelty and in 1997 becoming PP of Ss Peter & Paul’s Church, Rosyth) 1998-2006 Fr John Scally (St Joseph’s Kelty receives their own priest) 2007-2010 Fr Andrew Kingham (Ss Peter & Paul’s Church is closed)

In 1964 a resident Naval chaplain was appointed full-time in Rosyth, and by the late 1960’s a timber building was given to the Catholic community serving in the Armed Forces and their families, and was dedicated to the patronage of St Peter & St Paul. In 1990 a new purpose built Church was built by the Ministry of Defense and continued on under the patronage of St Peter & St Paul, being served by priest’s of the Royal Navy. In 1996, the Royal Navy left Rosyth and after a campaign by the local Catholics, the Church came under the pastoral care of the local Parish Priest, Fr Michael Purcell.

From 2010 both parishes of Ss John & Columba Rosyth and St Peter in chains Inverkeithing have shared the same Parish Priest, resident in Rosyth

2010-2015 Fr Peter Kelly 2015-present Fr Kevin A. Dow