A north-east church has opened its doors to unveil a treasure trove of historic artefacts.
St James’ in Stonehaven has revealed its new interactive exhibition of 300-year history in the Aberdeenshire town, which is worth thousands of pounds.
The Episcopalian church’s building convener David Fleming said: “We were open anyway as a church, but were maybe hidden in plain sight, no one knows we are there.”
“None of this has been on show before – it was all sitting languishing in cupboards.
“This is opening up the history of the church and, hopefully, we’ll no longer be hidden.
“It is a very beautiful building and until now visitors would see that, blankly look round and leave none the wiser of its history because they had not been encouraged to look.”
The display focuses on artefacts the church has collected over the years, including a bible owned by the family of Robert Burns.
Scotland’s greatest poet’s father was born in the Mearns and the artefact has been recognised and verified by local Burns authorities.
The exhibition also looks at the church’s historic organ, built by John Wardle who, while serving as the organist and choirmaster at St James’ for 58 years, constructed more than 140 of the instruments across Scotland.
The exhibition includes a demonstrator organ, which visitors can see inside to understand its workings.
And there’s a reminder of the church’s best-known story when three priests were imprisoned in the town’s Tolbooth for practicing after their faith was outlawed.
Mr Fleming is hoping to spark renewed interest in the building with the development of an augmented reality app, featuring a John Wardle character, guiding visitors around the historic building.
St James’ faced significant financial challenges after dry rot was discovered in the roof.
The Heritage Lottery Fund attached conditions to their offer to pay for the necessary work – asking the church to make all other necessary repairs to the Grade-A listed building and open its doors to all.
Around £230,000 has been spent on the complete overhaul which it is believed has also fixed the root cause of the rot.
