Medieval treasure back in place ahead of St John's Kirk's reopening
As the refurbishment of Perth's St John's Kirk nears completion, a rare medieval survivor — the only one of its kind in Scotland — has been restored to its spiritual home.
The kirk is close to reopening for worship after the restoration project.
- By Richard Burdge
- Published in the Courier : 21.04.11
- Published online : 21.04.11 @ 05.55pm
The Virgin Mary chandelier, which it is believed first hung in St John's Kirk in the 1400s, was hoisted into position in the north aisle adjacent to the shrine on Wednesday.
The precious piece has been loaned by Perth Museum so it can been seen by visitors to the kirk in its natural setting.
Last year the chandelier was displayed in the museum for the Skin And Bone exhibition — which formed part of Perth's 800th Anniversary celebrations — while work was carried out on the £2.75 million Vision For The Future kirk project.
The chandelier originally hung in the kirk as the property of the Skinners Incorporation. It suffered some damage during the Reformation, but the Skinners retained it until the 19th century, when they sold it to the museum.
In 1926 the local authority agreed to lend the chandelier back to the kirk, following Sir Robert Lorimer's restoration of the church.
The majority of such chandeliers were made in brass foundries in the Low Countries and sold all across Europe. Several were imported into Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries, but this is the only example known to survive in Scotland.
The central feature of the Perth chandelier is a figure of the Virgin Mary within a sunburst, holding the infant Jesus and crowned as Queen of Heaven.
Much of Perth's medieval population is buried in and around the building and human remains were unearthed during the project.
The first of the new chairs have also been set out. The chairs were bought as the result of a gift of funds from the Perth and Kinross Council Common Good Fund.
They replace the harder, wooden and rush seated chairs that were installed as part of the Lorimer restoration — and which were put up for sale last year.
The project, which is reaching the final stages, has been achieved under a revised budget cost of £2.75m. More than £2m has been raised from local trusts and representative bodies, with the rest coming from public subscription and donations.
The work to raise these funds was masterminded by the trust for St John's Kirk under the chairmanship of John Kinloch, with Michael Thomson working tirelessly leading the appeal committee to raise the funds.
The building will reopen on Sunday, eight months after the last sermon was delivered.
The congregation have been worshipping at St Leonard's-in-the-Fields since the start of the project last August.
Easter Sunday worship will take place at 9.30am, although the kirk will not be open to the public and visitors until the start of the Perth Festival of the Arts in May.
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