OUR PARISH HISTORY
The following is taken from the booklet produced to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the opening of the church in 1987. The research was carried out by the late Mgr. John B. Hanlon.
In the late 1920's and the early 1930's, Dundee still lodged the majority of its people in the small, narrow tenements of the 19th century. "Jam, jute and journalism" were the main industries of the time and the normal working hours were from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
However with the Second World War, prosperity was to come to the city in the form of munitions etc. The city fathers realised that, once the war was over, the returning men who had served in the armed forces, would not be prepared to accept the post-war conditions of bad housing and poorly-paid jobs. Accordingly, large areas of land were set aside on the perimeter of the city for future housing and industrial development.
At the same time, the Catholic authorities tried to prepare for expansion in the church sphere. Bishop John Toner was unfortunately hampered by the building restrictions in force at that time and it was left to his successor, Bishop James Donald Scanlan, to supervise the planning of the post-war years. So, together, the civic and religious bodies began to work towards satisfying the temporal and spiritual needs of the city of the 1950's.
In the fifties, there were only nine Catholic parishes in the city: St. Andrew's Cathedral (founded 1782, church opened 1836); St. Mary, Our Lady of Victories ((1851); The Immaculate Conception, Lochee (1847, 1866); St. Joseph's (1873); St. Patrick's (1890, 1898); Our Lady of Good Counsel (1904); Ss. Peter and Paul (1929, 1930); St. Francis' (1932, 1959) and St. Vincent's (1950).
During his time as bishop, James Scanlan increased the number of churches in Dundee to twelve, before he was translated to the Diocese of Motherwell. He was succeeded as bishop of Dunkeld by William Andrew Hart, and the same policy and interest in the establishment of new parishes continued. In this vision, Bishop Hart had the invaluable experience of his Vicar General, Mgr. Michael Foylan, who had been raised in the diocese and had spent all his priestly ministry there and who knew the spiritual needs in this period of change and expansion.
With the help of his Parish Priests, a weekly levy of one shilling (5p in new money), was collected from all homes in each parish. This sum of money soon became known, almost overnight, as the "Bishop's Shilling" and from these humble coins , the nucleus fund for many of the building projects was started.
In 1956, it was decided a parish dedicated to St. Clement would be established to serve the needs of the Catholics in Camperdown. The priest appointed to serve as first Parish Priest, was Father John Page. The first task he and his curate, Father Ernest Andrew faced was finding somewhere to celebrate Mass for their parishioners. Luckily, within the boundaries of the new parish were the Little Sisters of the Poor, who had a convent and home for the elderly. They kindly offered the use of their chapel and chaplain's house to the fledgling parish, and so on 20th May 1956, the first Mass was said in the Convent Chapel for the parish. Each Sunday and feast day, five Masses were said to accommodate the congregation, as the chapel as seated 200.
Work now began in earnest to find a suitable location for the new church. Eventually after some initial difficulty a site was found in the centre of the scheme, which by chance, was almost adjacent to the site of the primary school, which was being provided by the local authority, for the education of the Catholic children of the area.
Messrs. Allen and Friskin A.R.I.B.A., were the architects entrusted with the job of designing and building the church and presbytery. The following is a description of the new building taken from the "St. Andrew Journal 1961 - 1962": "The site is rectangular, bounded by Craigowan Road on the north and Ravenscraig Road on the south. Footpaths flank the property and blocks of houses, at due distance, front the approaches to church and presbytery. The church faces Craigowan Road and lies on a north-south axis. Built of simple brick and roughcast, it is constructed in modern lines with concrete granite-aggregate block base and concrete dressings to doors and window openings. The moulded concrete work is limited to the front gable with its triple main doors and windows above, to the side entrance; and to the main doorway of the presbytery. Four modelled and cast concrete plaques, designed by Mrs. Evelyn Temple, D.A., are set into the facade of the church and of the presbytery. They represent St. Clement's anchor; the Chi-Ro, the ancient monogram of Christ; and two cruciform designs. the open planning of the buildings suggests spaciousness, and this feature becomes apparent on entering the church. Three broad steps lead to the triple main door, to an ample porch floored with patterned terrazzo tiles, and to the church itself, which measures some 77 feet by 49 feet. Beyond, there is an ample sanctuary, some 21 feet in depth and 38 feet broad. Entrance to the large gallery which can seat some 150 persons, and to the bell tower is a the left of the porch. The baptistery is sited at the base of the tower. The baptismal font in white terrazzo is spiral in form.
The sense of spaciousness is emphasised by the plain unbroken ceiling sloping upwards towards the sanctuary, and by the tall slender-mullioned windows on the side walls. The pulpit with sounding board supported by two gilded pillars and the communion rail, with gates of bronze grille panels are in oak of selected grain and polished. The altar is a solid granite slab, four inches thick, set on marble-faced stone pillars.
The Lady Chapel, with confessionals, leads off the centre of the left wall of the church. It is panelled in oak, with a decorative wrought-iron screen, some 11 feet high, serves as an entrance. The sacristy, placed behind the sanctuary, is linked to the presbytery by an ambulatory passage. The church seating 750 persons is floored in birch, the sanctuary in oak, and the pews in Idigbo and Agba timbers. The low-pitched roof (on steel truss-timbers) has a metal deck and a cover of insulation boarding and is visible from afar."
All the hard work paid off and in September 1962, the priests and people celebrated the opening of their new church. The "St. Andrew Journal 1961 - 1962" describes the opening day: "St. Clement's Church, Dundee, was solemnly blessed and the altar consecrated by the Right Rev. William Andrew Hart, Bishop of Dunkeld, on Saturday 22nd September 1962. The day dawned bright and a late summer sun warmed the parishioners and visitors as they gathered in the forecourt of the church to await the Bishop. Members of the Knights of St. Columba and the parish groups of Scouts and Cubs formed a colourful guard of honour for His Lordship on his arrival and in the procession around the church in the course of the Solemn Blessing. The congregation completely filled the spacious church when entry was made to the singing of the Litany of the Saints. The bishop was accompanied by his Vicar General, Mgr. Michael Foylan, several members of the Cathedral Chapter of Canons, a large number of diocesan clergy and members of the religious orders of the diocese.
The ceremonial was taken from the new edition of Pontificale Romanum. The bishop was assisted throughout by Fathers Ernest Andrew and Edward Durkin. Fathers Hugh Campbell and Patrick McSorely were Masters of Ceremonies. Father Gerard Keegan carried the Holy Relics of St. Vetustus and St. Clarus, which were later embedded in the High Altar. Mgr. Michael Foylan, V.G., and Canons James Quinn and Jeremiah O'Donoghue assisted the bishop at the throne during the Solemn Mass which concluded the ceremony. The Rev. Brother Brice, Headmaster of St. John's Secondary School, conducted a choir composed of pupils drawn from the parish. His Lordship preached an inspiring sermon in the interval between the consecration of the altar and the Mass; and before departing at the conclusion of the function he addressed words of appreciation and thanks to the Little Sisters of the Poor who had extended such generous hospitality to the priests and people of St. Clement's over the past six years.
At the conclusion of Mass, the parish priest, Father John Page, expressed the joy of his parishioners on this occasion and thanked His Lordship for the many marks of his pastoral to the people of St. Clement's, in particular for providing and blessing their parish church."
Click on continue for the parish timeline
In the late 1920's and the early 1930's, Dundee still lodged the majority of its people in the small, narrow tenements of the 19th century. "Jam, jute and journalism" were the main industries of the time and the normal working hours were from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
However with the Second World War, prosperity was to come to the city in the form of munitions etc. The city fathers realised that, once the war was over, the returning men who had served in the armed forces, would not be prepared to accept the post-war conditions of bad housing and poorly-paid jobs. Accordingly, large areas of land were set aside on the perimeter of the city for future housing and industrial development.
At the same time, the Catholic authorities tried to prepare for expansion in the church sphere. Bishop John Toner was unfortunately hampered by the building restrictions in force at that time and it was left to his successor, Bishop James Donald Scanlan, to supervise the planning of the post-war years. So, together, the civic and religious bodies began to work towards satisfying the temporal and spiritual needs of the city of the 1950's.
In the fifties, there were only nine Catholic parishes in the city: St. Andrew's Cathedral (founded 1782, church opened 1836); St. Mary, Our Lady of Victories ((1851); The Immaculate Conception, Lochee (1847, 1866); St. Joseph's (1873); St. Patrick's (1890, 1898); Our Lady of Good Counsel (1904); Ss. Peter and Paul (1929, 1930); St. Francis' (1932, 1959) and St. Vincent's (1950).
During his time as bishop, James Scanlan increased the number of churches in Dundee to twelve, before he was translated to the Diocese of Motherwell. He was succeeded as bishop of Dunkeld by William Andrew Hart, and the same policy and interest in the establishment of new parishes continued. In this vision, Bishop Hart had the invaluable experience of his Vicar General, Mgr. Michael Foylan, who had been raised in the diocese and had spent all his priestly ministry there and who knew the spiritual needs in this period of change and expansion.
With the help of his Parish Priests, a weekly levy of one shilling (5p in new money), was collected from all homes in each parish. This sum of money soon became known, almost overnight, as the "Bishop's Shilling" and from these humble coins , the nucleus fund for many of the building projects was started.
In 1956, it was decided a parish dedicated to St. Clement would be established to serve the needs of the Catholics in Camperdown. The priest appointed to serve as first Parish Priest, was Father John Page. The first task he and his curate, Father Ernest Andrew faced was finding somewhere to celebrate Mass for their parishioners. Luckily, within the boundaries of the new parish were the Little Sisters of the Poor, who had a convent and home for the elderly. They kindly offered the use of their chapel and chaplain's house to the fledgling parish, and so on 20th May 1956, the first Mass was said in the Convent Chapel for the parish. Each Sunday and feast day, five Masses were said to accommodate the congregation, as the chapel as seated 200.
Work now began in earnest to find a suitable location for the new church. Eventually after some initial difficulty a site was found in the centre of the scheme, which by chance, was almost adjacent to the site of the primary school, which was being provided by the local authority, for the education of the Catholic children of the area.
Messrs. Allen and Friskin A.R.I.B.A., were the architects entrusted with the job of designing and building the church and presbytery. The following is a description of the new building taken from the "St. Andrew Journal 1961 - 1962": "The site is rectangular, bounded by Craigowan Road on the north and Ravenscraig Road on the south. Footpaths flank the property and blocks of houses, at due distance, front the approaches to church and presbytery. The church faces Craigowan Road and lies on a north-south axis. Built of simple brick and roughcast, it is constructed in modern lines with concrete granite-aggregate block base and concrete dressings to doors and window openings. The moulded concrete work is limited to the front gable with its triple main doors and windows above, to the side entrance; and to the main doorway of the presbytery. Four modelled and cast concrete plaques, designed by Mrs. Evelyn Temple, D.A., are set into the facade of the church and of the presbytery. They represent St. Clement's anchor; the Chi-Ro, the ancient monogram of Christ; and two cruciform designs. the open planning of the buildings suggests spaciousness, and this feature becomes apparent on entering the church. Three broad steps lead to the triple main door, to an ample porch floored with patterned terrazzo tiles, and to the church itself, which measures some 77 feet by 49 feet. Beyond, there is an ample sanctuary, some 21 feet in depth and 38 feet broad. Entrance to the large gallery which can seat some 150 persons, and to the bell tower is a the left of the porch. The baptistery is sited at the base of the tower. The baptismal font in white terrazzo is spiral in form.
