Latest news with #ArbuthnottChurch
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sunset Song: We will save the church that inspired Grassic Gibbon
A historic church that played a central role in one of Scotland's most-loved novels is being put up for sale to plug a gap in Church of Scotland's finances and locals are determined to save Church, nestled in the beautiful countryside of Kincardineshire, was the inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the remains of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, are buried in its Church of Scotland recognises the building - the oldest section of which dates back to the late 1200s - as "important and valuable", but says it needs a "significant reduction" in the properties it Roberts-McIntosh, chairman of the Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said he is determined that the building and Grassic Gibbon's cultural legacy are preserved. "We will look to raise money or apply for funds," Mr Roberts-McIntosh said."People are still interested in this history and rural life - and tourists love Scottish culture."The value culturally is incalculable. Sunset Song endures because it is a wonderful piece of literature." Sunset Song was written in 1932 by Grassic Gibbon, the pen name of James Leslie was the first book in the trilogy - A Scots Quair - telling the story of Chris Guthrie, a young woman who lives and works on her family farm in the Mearns, the farming areas south of novel is set on the fictional estate of Kinraddie which Grassic Gibbon based on Arbuthnott, where he lived as a child and where his ashes were buried after his death at the age of 33 in story told by the trilogy begins just before World War One and follows Chris from the countryside of her childhood to a big city, touching on class, war, religion and female emancipation. In 1971, a six-episode television adaptation of the novel was the first colour drama made by BBC Scotland and was greeted with huge was credited with reigniting interest in Grassic Gibbon, and Sunset Song was put on the Higher English syllabus. In 2016, it was voted Scotland's favourite book in a BBC poll, ahead of the Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and Lanark by Alasdair an introduction to the novel, published in 2020, the then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote of her love for the book, which she said is her favourite novel. Alan Riach, professor of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC he was "appalled" at news of the imminent closure of Arbuthnott Church."This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland," he said."It's not only fixed forever in our cultural history as an essential co-ordinate point in the biography of one of our greatest writers, but it's also a key reference point in his greatest novel." Scott Lyall, an associate professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, described the church as a site of "genuine importance to Scotland's literary heritage".Prof Lyall said: "The minister at the end of Sunset Song, in tribute to the local fallen war dead of World War One, indicates that we must remember the past and the dead to better understand our present condition and build a better future."It would be a sad irony then if the church, with its own long history, were to be neglected. "It would be wonderful to see it as a cultural heritage site with Gibbon's life and reputation at its centre." The Church of Scotland said it expected the main church building would go up for sale later this congregation for Sunday services is small, in what is a quiet rural area of just a few hundred kirk hopes nearby Bervie Church will serve as the main focus of local worship. The Church of Scotland said that, in recent years, it had identified a need for "radical change against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income".A statement said: "We believe a significant reduction in the number of buildings we own is necessary in order to deliver sustainable and realistic new expressions of ministry and church and to ensure all of our buildings are suitable for the needs of mission in the 21st century."As part of the process, the local presbytery has taken the decision to release Arbuthnott Church."The statement added: "There are no set dates as yet, but under the current mission plan, Arbuthnott Church would be released by the end of 2025." Mr Roberts-McIntosh said the local community was determined to save a building that was so intrinsic to one of Scotland's most-loved well as honouring the author, it is thought the building could also become a local hub for events such as concerts, aided by the acoustics of the church Roberts-McIntosh said the the building itself was "fundamentally sound"."It just needs some tender loving care," he said.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Church that inspired famous Scots novel to be sold off by cash-strapped Kirk
It is a beautiful centuries-old building that played a central role in one of the most-loved Scottish novels. Now Arbuthnott Church – the real-world inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the final resting place of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon – is to be sold off. The 13th Century place of worship in Aberdeenshire is one of several buildings that the Church of Scotland is selling or renting out as it looks to plug a £5.9 million deficit. At the end of the year, Arbuthnott Church – called Kinraddie Church in the 1932 novel – will close its doors. But the local community in Arbuthnott village, population 200, plans to save the ancient church and continue to run it as a cultural centre. They have already commissioned a feasibility study and have the backing of Vivien Heilbron, the actress who starred as Chris Guthrie, heroine of Sunset Song and its sequels Cloud Howe and Grey Granite. The 1971 BBC adaptation of Sunset Song was partly filmed at Arbuthnott Church and it was so popular that it led to the novel being selected for the Higher English syllabus. Ms Heilbron told The Mail on Sunday: 'Lewis Grassic Gibbon is a unique and fantastic author who is beloved worldwide. He was revolutionary in his views on women. 'Playing Chris Guthrie was a gift of a role. It was an extraordinary book for its time. 'I remember the church was a beautiful building when we filmed there. I'm sad and mystified that it will close. 'It's not the first time Scotland has not quite honoured the people who represent her so well.' Sunset Song follows the life of Chris Guthrie while growing up in a farming family on the fictional estate of Kinraddie in north-east Scotland. Grassic Gibbon, real name James Leslie Mitchell, based Kinraddie on Arbuthnott, where he grew up and where his ashes were interred after his death at the age of 33. Charles Roberts-McIntosh of Arbuthnott Community Development Group, said: 'It is heartening that Vivien Heilbron is keen to get behind the project. 'It's a stunning little church in an absolutely stunning location. It should be saved for its history and for the Lewis Grassic Gibbon connection.' Leading academics of Scottish literature have also called for the church to be saved. Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University, said: 'I'm appalled. This is one of the great places of pilgrimage in literary Scotland. 'For many years, I have taken groups of students to visit Arbuthnott Kirk, the gravestone in the corner with its unforgettable inscription 'For I will give you the morning star', and to look at the sculpture inside of the great knight of yesteryear, recumbent, which figures at the beginning of Sunset Song. 'The place is more than a shrine. It is a key location in understanding who Lewis Grassic Gibbon really was, and the world he grew up in. 'What kind of country is it that obscures and oppresses its own greatest cultural achievements and their material evidence? 'The idea of preserving the kirk as a heritage centre is exactly what should happen.' Scott Lyall, Associate Professor of Modern and Scottish Literature at Edinburgh Napier University, said: 'The church is of discernible cultural and literary importance. 'It would be sad and wrong if it was no longer an accessible site.' A spokesman for the Church of Scotland defended the planned sale and said that a 'significant reduction' in the buildings that it owned was necessary against a backdrop of falling minister numbers, a decline in membership and a reduction in income. The spokesman added: 'We recognise that Arbuthnott Church 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.'
