Historic church interior to be turned back to front
Congregation will face stunning stained glass windows on completion of £225,000 project
Published:
A 200-year-old Moray church will close its doors next month for a £225,000 refurbishment to transform its interior.
The long-awaited “Inside Out, Outside In” project at Bellie Parish Church in Fochabers will start after the Easter Sunday service on April 12.
Last night the minister, the Rev Alison Mehigan, said the scheme would benefit the whole village.
The A-listed Bellie Church has had a number of renovations since it was built in 1797, including work by prominent Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson in the 1830s.
The latest wave of development includes turning around the interior of the church by 180 degrees to make it face a “stunning” stained glass window installed as part of its bicentenary celebrations.
In addition, all the pews are to be ripped out and replaced with individual seats. The church will also have a new ceiling and lighting system fitted.
Mrs Mehigan said the church’s fundraising committee had been “extremely busy and very imaginative” in finding ways to pay for the work, and paid tribute to the generosity of the local population.
She said: “The whole community has been involved and helped to raise the vast majority of the funds locally in a relatively short space of time.
“We have been grateful for the wide support the community has given, not simply the congregation of Bellie. Part of this I’m sure is due to the community seeing the benefit of the project to the village as a whole.”
During the estimated five-month construction period, the 10am Sunday worship will be relocated to Milne’s High School, on the town’s West Street, but funerals will be conducted at Speymouth Parish Church.
Activities in the church hall will be largely unaffected.
