Barthol Chapel Hub
Following the death at sea of George, sixth Earl of Aberdeen, in 1870, his Mother Countess Mary had a memorial church built in his memory in Barthol Chapel and this was opened for worship in 1875, exactly 150 years ago.
The kirk was closed in 2023, with its last service in June of that year and the Church of Scotland indicated that it would be put up for sale. Following consultation with the local community Barthol Chapel Community Hub was set up as a charity with the aim of buying the building and converting it into a flexible multi-use community space.
We have been able to negotiate the use of the kirk with the Church of Scotland and so have been able to establish a number of very popular activities while applying for grants to enable us to purchase the building. We received a grant from Awards for All to pay ongoing rent, electricity and other costs.
We were able to get funding from the Scottish Land Fund to pay for a business consultant, architects, surveyors and other professionals to move our plans forward and have now applied for further funding to go ahead with the purchase.
Even with the kirk in its unrenovated form, the project has proved very popular and has brought together many local folk both as participants and volunteers. Activities include a community café, a craft group, a music café, two book groups, a youth drop-in café (in conjunction with Formartine Youth Partnership) and much else.