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Admin
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On June 10 1833, due to a belief that Annan was inadequately supplied with the means of religious instruction, the Relief Presbytery of Dumfries agreed that each of its members should provide sermon on a supply basis. The population of the parish at this time was around 5000 and the only places available for worship were the Established and the Burgher Church, hence steps were soon taken to erect a church to house a Relief Congregation and in May 1834 calls were made to appoint a minister. Archibald Tudhope, the first minister of Annan Relief Church, was ordained in October 1834 and a church, with seating for 600, was built in the following year. In 1844 the third minister of Annan Relief Church died and during the vacancy which followed this event a union between the Burgher Church and the Relief Church in Annan was effected. For reasons of the aforementioned vacancy, and also financial difficulties that were being experienced by Annan Relief Congregation, the Presbytery of Annandale took the initial steps towards uniting the two congregations of Annan Relief and Annan Burgher Church in 1847. After much discussion it was agreed by both charges, on 21 March 1848, that they should be united and with almost immediate effect the united congregation came into being as the Annan United Presbyterian Church. Worship took place in the former Burgher church and Robert Gardiner, the first minister of the congregation, was ordained in 1849. Following the union of the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland in 1900, Annan United Presbyterian was renamed Annan Erskine United Free Church and upon the 1929 union between the United Free Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland, Annan Erskine United Free became Annan Erskine Church of Scotland. In 1974 a union was established between the congregations of Annan Erskine and Annan St Andrew's Greenknowe, under the name of Annan St Andrew's Greenknowe-Erskine. The united congregation was later re-titled Annan St Andrew's and the charge sits under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Annandale
and Eskdale. |