Bute, Rothesay - St Paul Victoria Street, Rothesay, Bute. The church is on the sea front about 150 yards north of the pier on the corner of Victoria Street and Dean Hood Place. Rector: The Rev’d Andrew Swift Andrew Swift rev.andrew@familyswift.org.uk Tel: 01369-702444 Contact: Elaine C Garman Grianan, Ascog, Isle of Bute, Argyll PA20 9ET home 01700 505617 work 01700 501534 mobile 0781 800 1641 elainegarman@aol.com Services: 1st & 3rd Sundays of each month - 11am Mattins 2nd & 5th Sundays - 11am Eucharist 4th Sundays - 3pm Eucharist Service times may vary at Christmas and Easter, and occasionally at other times. Please contact the Rector or Olive McClay to confirm. Home Who's Who History Publications News & Events Prayer Churches Bishop's Blog Oban Cathedral Cathedral of the Isles Retreats Belltower Companion Dioceses Gaelic History Rothesay was a place of some importance in the early years of Christianity and many sites in Bute have been identified with Celtic saints or their disciples. After the reformation, St Mary's Church, Rothesay, is said to have been the Cathedral for the Diocese of The Isles, but little is known about the history of the Church there after disestablishment in 1689 until 1838 when Samuel Hood restored our tradition and a small wooden chapel was built in Rothesay - St Paul's Episcopal Chapel. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in August 1853 and the church was opened in October 1854 and consecrated in 1863. In the early years of this century stained glass windows were added and the furnishings of the altar and of the church generally were greatly improved by the efforts of Canon Frank Matthews, the then incumbent of St Paul's. In recent years much repair work has been done to the exterior and the interior of the church, and altar frontals, pulpit falls and curtains have been made by members of the congregation. The church archives are virtually complete from 1838 and can be consulted on written application to the rector or the church secretary.