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STV News
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- STV News
Locals campaign to save historic church featured in Scottish literary classic
A campaign has been launched to save a historic church featured in one of Scotland's most famous novels from being sold. Arbuthnott Church in Aberdeenshire, part of the inspiration for Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song. Known as Kinraddie Church in Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel, the kirk will close its doors at the end of the year. It is one of over 100 buildings the Church of Scotland is selling in a bid to cut costs. Sunset Song, part of the Scots Quair trilogy, follows the life of young Chris Guthrie as she grows up in a farming family during a time of great social change. The church is a significant location in the heartbreaking story. Local resident Morna Laing told STV News: 'I was stunned, actually. Why would they get rid of such a building? 'It's ancient, pre-Reformation, and one of the few still holding services. It means a lot to people around here. I bring all my visitors down here to see it because it's so special to the locals.' STV News Arbuthnott Church is among 100 churches up for sale Arbuthnott's congregation is determined to raise the funds to buy the building from the Church of Scotland. Nicola Watson, who runs the Lewis Grassic Gibbon Centre, said they hope to turn it into a cultural venue. 'Gibbon wrote a lot about the strength of rural communities and about people being custodians of the land, and I think that feeling still exists here in Arbuthnott. Now that the church is being sold, the community feels it must stand up and ensure the right thing is done for future generations.' Charles Roberts-McIntosh of the Arbuthnott Community Development Group added: 'The Church of Scotland has done a valuation, and we're waiting for their feedback. We hope it won't be a huge amount. We want people to visit. I wouldn't say a pilgrimage to Sunset Song, but if that's what it takes, that's what we'll do.' 'It's a stunning little church in a stunning location. It should be saved for its history and for the Lewis Grassic Gibbon connection,' he said. The local community has commissioned a feasibility study in the hope of keeping the building in use. 'It doesn't bear thinking about that it might not be here,' added Morna. 'Everyone wants it to stay. No one wants to see it fall out of use.' A Church of Scotland spokesperson said the Church has 'identified a need for radical change' against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income both nationally and locally.' In response, the 2021 General Assembly instructed Presbyteries to develop mission plans by the end of 2022. While no dates have been set, it's hoped Arbuthnott Church will be released by the end of 2025. 'We recognise that Arbuthnott Church, as with many other church buildings across the country, is important and valuable to the local community,' he said. STV News Historic church which features in Sunset Song up for sale 'However, our mission plans take into consideration what is best for the whole of the Presbytery area, making the best use of our resources, both human and financial, and ensuring they are best placed to continuing our mission of sharing the good news of Jesus and serving our communities.'The General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, who own the building, are in discussions with a local community-based charity who are seeking to acquire the building and see it remain available for the community. 'The congregation of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Parish Church currently worships at both Arbuthnott Church and Bervie Church. 'Once Arbuthnott Church is released, Bervie Church will serve as the main place of worship, as it is a well-equipped space in the right place for the community. 'The Kirk Session remains committed to serving, in Jesus' name, the people and community of Arbuthnott, even after the church building is sold.' He added: 'The Kirk Session is in the process of deciding what worship may look like in the community of Arbuthnott, including hopefully hiring the church building from the new community trust for special services around important times like Easter, Harvest and Watchnight on Christmas Eve.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Church that inspired famous Scots novel to be sold off by cash-strapped Kirk
It is a beautiful centuries-old building that played a central role in one of the most-loved Scottish novels. Now Arbuthnott Church – the real-world inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the final resting place of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon – is to be sold off. The 13th Century place of worship in Aberdeenshire is one of several buildings that the Church of Scotland is selling or renting out as it looks to plug a £5.9 million deficit. At the end of the year, Arbuthnott Church – called Kinraddie Church in the 1932 novel – will close its doors. But the local community in Arbuthnott village, population 200, plans to save the ancient church and continue to run it as a cultural centre. They have already commissioned a feasibility study and have the backing of Vivien Heilbron, the actress who starred as Chris Guthrie, heroine of Sunset Song and its sequels Cloud Howe and Grey Granite. The 1971 BBC adaptation of Sunset Song was partly filmed at Arbuthnott Church and it was so popular that it led to the novel being selected for the Higher English syllabus. Ms Heilbron told The Mail on Sunday: 'Lewis Grassic Gibbon is a unique and fantastic author who is beloved worldwide. He was revolutionary in his views on women. 'Playing Chris Guthrie was a gift of a role. It was an extraordinary book for its time. 'I remember the church was a beautiful building when we filmed there. I'm sad and mystified that it will close. 'It's not the first time Scotland has not quite honoured the people who represent her so well.' Sunset Song follows the life of Chris Guthrie while growing up in a farming family on the fictional estate of Kinraddie in north-east Scotland. Grassic Gibbon, real name James Leslie Mitchell, based Kinraddie on Arbuthnott, where he grew up and where his ashes were interred after his death at the age of 33. Charles Roberts-McIntosh of Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said: 'It is heartening that Vivien Heilbron is keen to get behind the project. 'It's a stunning little church in an absolutely stunning location. It should be saved for its history and for the Lewis Grassic Gibbon connection.' Leading academics of Scottish literature have also called for the church to be saved. Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University, said: 'I'm appalled. This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland. 'For many years, I have taken groups of students to visit Arbuthnott Kirk, the gravestone in the corner with its unforgettable inscription 'For I will give you the morning star', and to look at the sculpture inside of the great knight of yesteryear, recumbent, which figures at the beginning of Sunset Song. 'The place is more than a shrine. It is a key location in understanding who Lewis Grassic Gibbon really was, and the world he grew up in. 'What kind of country is it that obscures and oppresses its own greatest cultural achievements and their material evidence? 'The idea of preserving the kirk as a heritage centre is exactly what should happen.' Scott Lyall, Associate Professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, said: 'The church is of discernible cultural and literary importance. 'It would be sad and wrong if it was no longer an accessible site.' A spokesman for the Church of Scotland defended the planned sale and said that a 'significant reduction' in the buildings that it owned was necessary against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income. The spokesman added: 'We recognise that Arbuthnott Church is important and valuable to the local community. 'However, our mission plans take into consideration what is best for the whole of the presbytery area, making the best use of our resources.'
