A campaign to renovate a picturesque church in the heart of Speyside has reached a milestone.
The stunning St Margaret’s Episcopal Church at Aberlour is well-known for its role as the former chapel of the village orphanage.
It is all that remains of the institution, which closed in 1967.
Members of the congregation launched a campaign to raise cash to repair the A-listed church, which was falling into disrepair.
A total of £225,000 was raised, and now the first phase of essential renovations has been completed.
All the gutters and downpipes have been renewed or replaced, the roof has been repaired, slates replaced and parts of the walls have been repointed.
Scottish Natural Heritage has granted an exclusion order for the bats which roost in the roof.
If the bats are successfully shut out, it will allow further work to be carried out within the church to make it more accessible and user-friendly.
There are also plans to landscape the drive and the churchyard.
Reverend Roy Vincent, who holds services at St Margaret’s every fortnight, said: “It’s a job well done and it means that they can look to doing other things when finances come in. It is now weather-proof, so everybody is pleased.”
Fundraiser Nicola Irwin said the church would be a great venue for a variety of events, but members of the congregation are still coming up with ideas for what work could be done inside the building. It is hoped facilities such as toilets and a kitchen, perhaps in a small extension, could be incorporated into the plans.
“It should be for the community,” she said. “We need to be imaginative but keep the sanctity of it.”
The church will hold a Remembrance Day service on Sunday, November 10.
The following day – November 11 – marks the orphanage’s Founders’ Day.
Aberlour man George Knight, who was in the orphanage from 1957 to 1966, urged other former residents to attend the service and mark the occasion.
He said: “It reminds people. Some leave this place and tend to forget what the church did for them.”
Mr Knight, who was fostered in Ballindalloch, Rothiemay, Keith and a care home in Buckie before he moved to the orphanage aged seven, said: “I was in foster care and badly treated. So it was like coming out of Hell and into Heaven.”