St John's Methodist Church, on Ponderlaw Street, Arbroath, Scotland, was founded by John Wesley on 6 May 1772. The nave is octagonal and the church has been nicknamed Totum Kirkie from 'totum', an eight-sided spinning top, and 'kirk', the Scottish word for church. It is a listed building and the second-oldest Methodist church in Scotland.
Architecture St John's is an octagonal church — a style that was preferred by John Wesley. The interior of the church has not been altered; however, the church was extended in 1882 when a porch and gallery were added. A church hall was built in 1896. The Lifeboat Window is a memorial to the loss of the RNLI lifeboat Robert Lindsay (ON 874) and six crew members in 1953.
The building became a Category B listed building on 11 October 1971.
Manse The Church's former manse, now Wesley House, located next door, is also a listed building. It was built as a single-storey building in 1772; an upper storey was added in 1869.
George Scott Railton (1849 – 1913), the first Commissioner of The Salvation Army and second in command to its founder William Booth,Railton on the Salvation Army International Heritage Centre website'The General: William Booth' By David Malcolm Bennett, Contributor: David Malcolm Bennett Published by Xulon Press (2003) pg 96 was born in the manse. He was the son of Methodist missionaries, Lancelot Railton and his wife, Margaret Scott.Elizabeth Baigent, ‘Railton, David (1884–1955)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 A blue plaque marks his birthplace.
Archives Archives relating to the church are held by Archive Services University of Dundee as part of the Arbroath and Montrose Methodist Circuit Collection.
See also St Andrew's Parish Church, Arbroath (Church of Scotland) Church of St Mary the Virgin, Arbroath (Episcopal)
References
External links Places of Worship in Scotland; St John's Methodist Church, Arbroath