Council To Act As Loan Guarantor For Cromarty Church Restoration

The Highland Council will act as guarantor for a £250,000 loan taken out by The Scottish Redundant Churches Trust for repairs to the East Church in Cromarty which gained national interest after reaching the final of the BBC Restoration series.

The Category A Listed building was the former parish church for the burgh and is among the finest examples of its type in Scotland.

The Trust acquired the church in 1998 for £1 after it was declared surplus to requirements.  It is currently looked after on a day to day basis by a local volunteer group and is open to the public.  However, the building has deteriorated due to age, damp and poor maintenance and its future was uncertain. 

The loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund will allow the Trust to carry out a comprehensive scheme of necessary repairs and conservation work to the fabric and interior of the church as well as to the surrounding graveyard.  Once the work is complete, activities in the church will be developed and the building will be promoted as a heritage and educational resource.

Local  Highland Councillor David Alston said:  “The loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund, together with a grant from the Heritage Lottery, will allow conservation for future generations of this much loved and historically important building.  This is the culmination of many years of work by the community, in partnership with the Redundant Churches Trust.

“The Redundant Churches Trust was established in 1996 at the instigation of the late Jane Durham, of Scotsburn, following a meeting in Cromarty.  It was the importance of buildings such as this that she had in mind and I am sure she would have been delighted at the progress which has been made.”