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In August 1773 the Relief Congregation of Glasgow was petitioned with a request that sermon be provided in Irvine, the request was duly accepted however it wasn't until 1777 that James Jack, the first minister of Irvine Relief Church, was ordained. Although 1773 is the first recorded date of request for sermon in Irvine, it is believed that this may not have been the first occurrence, and that Relief principles had been embraced in the district for some time prior, the parishioners indeed had a place of worship, with seating for 700, ready to be taken possession of in 1773. In 1789 the old church was taken down and a new building with 938 sittings was erected in its place. In 1847 Irvine Relief Church congregation became part of the United Presbyterian Church.
Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Irvine Relief United Presbyterian became Irvine Relief United Free Church and upon the 1929 union of the United Free Church and the Church of Scotland, the congregation was termed Irvine Relief Church of Scotland. A multi-purpose church was built a number of years later in 1977 and the Irvine Relief Congregation was transported here from premises on West Road. The congregation adopted the name Irvine Relief Bourtreehill following the move and Irvine Relief Bourtreehill sits under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Irvine and Kilmarnock. |