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history |
During the early 19th century the village of Fairlie began to experience considerable population expansion, with a growing number of inhabitants wishing to attend worship within the parish church having to make the journey to the church located some distance away in Largs. In order to cancel out this journey, the villagers of Fairlie raised sufficient funds to build a Chapel of Ease, which was opened in 1834. Initially the Chapel of Ease had its own minister but he, and his elders, remained under the jurisdiction of the existing parish church in Largs. In 1835 chapel constitution was granted and a district was assigned to the church in Fairlie. A number of years later in 1876 Fairlie was disjoined quoad sacra from the parishes of Largs and West Kilbride and erected as an independent parish. The Chapel of Ease became the Parish Church (St Paul's) and later underwent a number of alterations and extensions, leaving the original Chapel of Ease as the nave of the present day church. In 1968, following the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church, some years earlier in 1929, the Parish Church of Fairlie: St Paul's united with the former United Free Church congregation of Fairlie St Margaret's. The two sessions were united under the name of Fairlie and after the union the former St Margaret's church was converted for use as the church hall. The Kirk session sat within the Presbytery of Greenock and later of Ardossan. |