By Richard Burdge

PERTH’S OLDEST standing building, St John’s Kirk, is looking to secure its long-term future.

First mentioned in 1126—though the earliest part of the current building dates back to the 15th century—plans are now in hand to ensure the church thrives over the coming centuries.

Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the historic church in the centre of the city gave rise to the name St John’s Toun and famously John Knox preached from its pulpit in 1559.

Now nearly 100 years since Sir Robert Lorimer transformed the kirk and restored the interior to reflect the original gothic frame of the building, the Kirk Session has taken the decision to look forward to the next 100 years.

A focus group has been formed of interested parties and they have endorsed the need to look, not just at the financial security, but the future of the building and its uses.

Edinburgh-based LDN Architects have been appointed and Hardies project management have provided professional advice.

The consultants presented an outline plan, ‘The Vision for the Future’, which examines the use of St John’s Kirk as a building.

Primarily it remains a place of worship, with account taken of the growing use for music and education while retaining its place as a building of local, national and international importance.

The views of those who use the kirk and those whose interest may lie in the future use have influenced the outline plan.

The plan received unanimous backing and will now be refined and the design developed.

At a later stage, the congregation and the general trustees of the Church of Scotland, Perth Presbytery, Perth and Kinross District Council and other city centre churches will be involved in further discussions and briefings.

St John’s Kirk has long played a central role in the life of the people of Perth and will continue to do so, albeit in different ways.

The Rev David Ogston, minister of St John’s Kirk, said he was looking forward to the challenges posed.

“At the onset of the new millennium we are being coaxed in to the territory of risk,” he said.

“The task of the architect today may well be to re-think the preconceptions of the 1920s—after all, the cars we drove then have gone in to fond nostalgia.

“John Knox said the Church was reformed but always needing to be reformed.”