Could you be the new owner of the church that inspired one of Aberdeenshire’s great novels?

Have you ever fancied owning a church in Aberdeenshire that is the resting place of a famous author? Well, you soon will be able to.

Arbuthnott Church – which lies 12 miles to the south of Stonehaven is due to be sold off by the Church of Scotland by the end of 2025.

It was the inspiration for Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s “Sunset Song”.

It is the resting place of Gibbon, however, it is set to become a victim of the Kirk’s “radical” money-saving programme, with the organisaton being in a £5.9 million deficit.

The building dates back to the 13th Century.

The national church is selling or renting many of its buildings.

Many of those are lying vacant or merging because of dwindling attendances, falling minister numbers and a reduction in local and national income.

Called Kinraddie Church in the novel Sunset Song, which dates from 1932, it follows the life of Chris Guthrie as she grows up in a farming family on the fictional Kinraddie estate in Kincardineshire.

Arbuthnott Church resting place of Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Lewis Grassic Gibbon, whose real name was James Leslie Mitchell, grew up in the Arbuthnott area.

He died at only 33-years-old.

His gravestone at the cemetery has the inscription “for I will give you the morning star”, while there is a sculpture inside the kirk of the great knight of yesteryear, which features at the start of the Sunset Song.

The congregation of Arbuthnott, Bervie and Kinneff Parish Church worships at Arbuthnott and Bervie churches.

However, once the former is sold, the one in Inverbervie will be its permanent home.

‘Buildings themselves do not embody the life of the church’

A Church of Scotland spokeswoman told The Press and Journal: “We recognise that Arbuthnott Church, as with many other church buildings across the country, 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, both human and financial.

“The Kirk session remains committed to providing worship in Arbuthnott, even after the church building is sold.

“The hope is the church will be available for special services, such a Watchnight and Harvest.

“Whilst the value of historical churches such as Arbuthnott and the memories they hold are precious, the buildings themselves do not embody the life of the church.”