Our Church
History of the Area: Garngad & Royston
The name Garngad is said to derive from the Gaelic word ‘Garn’ meaning rough ground. The Gad Burn on old maps ran from High Balornuck Farm to the old Barnhill Poorhouse (now a housing estate), prior to joining the historic Molendinar. Although many residents claim Garngad to mean the Garden of God, it is also known as ‘The Good and the Bad’. The name of St Roch or Rocue or Rollox has been associated with this area for nearly 500 years.
Statue of St. Roch
Saint Roch was born in Montpellier, France in 1295. Whilst on a pilgrimage to Rome, he visited a hospital which cared for victims of the Plague. He was reputed to have cured many patients by prayer and by tracing the sign of the cross on their foreheads. His reputation followed him to Rome, where he was held responsible for further cures from the Plague. After his death he was canonised in recognition of these miraculous cures.
St. Roch's
It was widely believed that by building a church in his name, a town might be spared the worst effects of the Plague. Those who died form the disease were often buried in a cemetery beside the Church of Roch. In 1506 a Church of St Roche was built close to Garngad, the site is thought to be between what would later be Glebe St and Castle St. The adjoining cemetery, probably for Plague victims, may have been between what became Kennedy St and Tennant St. St Rollox is a corruption of St Roch’s Loch.
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