An ancient building with original mud and straw walls at Logie, on the outskirts of Montrose, is creating a national stir among historians.

It may be too late to save the 300-year-old B-listed former Logie United Free church. Angus Council last October gave permission for demolition to the owners, the Craigo Estate.

In the time since, however, the building has been visited by architects from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland who reckon the building is a rare gem.

With original wattle and daub walls made of dried clay bound with pebbles and straw, now mostly covered over in harling and brick, and a roof that once would have been thatched, they calculate it must have been built around the turn of the eighteenth century.

The commission’s head of architecture, Geoffrey Stell, is now intent on contacting the estate for the key, so that the building can be fully photographed and measured up for detailed drawings.

“If the building can’t be saved, then at least evidence of its existence here at Logie will be properly recorded,” said neighbour Mike Maltman, who is among many local people saddened that the building should crumble to be replaced by a modern home.

He argues a new house would mean more traffic on Logie’s already congested single-track road.

But more important, he is saddened that such an important feature of local heritage should simply be eradicated without any thought going into how it might be saved.

Originally the Logie schoolhouse, the building was commissioned for use as a church in 1929 by John Lees Dutch.

Services continued to be held there regularly until 1990 when the last of the family, granddaughter of the founder, Catherine Lees Dutch died.

After her funeral the church was locked up and the keys returned to the estate.

“We’ve had a lot of visits from people returning to rediscover their roots, who remember the building either as the church or the Sunday school,” said Mr Maltman.

“It helps to know that so much interest has been generated.

“I offered to buy the building once. I would have liked to convert it as a garage-cum-workshop-cum-local museum.

“We have unearthed a lot of little artefacts buried in the surrounding grounds.

“The building has deteriorated to such a poor state that it would cost a lot of money now just to make it habitable.”