When St John’s Methodist Church in Arbroath turned 250 in 2022, it chose to celebrate not just with ceremony, but with renovation.
The 1772 building underwent a £700,000 refurbishment over two years to bring it into the 21st Century.
The formerly dark, outdated and impractical edifice is now a bright and modern community hub, with a new cafe and exhibition space.
St John’s Methodist Church, Arbroath, has cafe and exhibition space after renovation
The transformation has also helped to boost the congregation, which has doubled since it reopened in November 2024.
Local lay pastor Sue Marshall-Jennings helped to oversee the project, which was carried out by Voigt Archtects in Arbroath.
One of the key areas was the renovation of the side hall into a community cafe, including a new kitchen.
Sue says the new cafe, open to the whole community, is proving popular with locals.
What’s on the menu?
“It’s light meals: soups, sandwiches, paninis and absolutely-to-die-for cakes,” she says.
“Our scones are famous!”
She attributes much of its success to chef Kevin Smith, who was previously at Darling’s Cafe, Arbroath.
Scottish charity Enable, which provides training and employment opportunities to adults with learning disabilities, ran the now-closed eatery.
Sue adds: “Our ultimate aim is to provide some kind of training and employment or volunteering opportunities for people with learning disabilities, but we need to be a bit more established first.”
Making the church hall more accessible and flexible
The cafe, which doubles as an exhibition space, is also a hit with local artists.
It recently showcased a collection from Angus Creatives, including paintings, ceramics, and jewellery.
Another major aspect of the refurbishment was making the main hall more accessible and flexible, so that it “can be used by anybody for anything”.
This meant “flattening” the room by removing the balcony, stage and pews.
The space can now be used for everything from church sermons and yoga classes to children’s parties and conferences.
The project also focused on increasing the building’s visibility from the street.
Despite its unique octagonal shape – which earned it the nickname Totum Kirkie – it was easy to miss.
Architect Jonathan Reeve, who played a key role in the church’s transformation, says: “For such a big building, it had such a tiny frontage on the street.
Adding a new modern entrance and welcome hall
“There was an existing porch on this church hall – I think it only had like a meter or two of frontage that you could actually see.
“So literally, you would walk past it and miss it.
“(We decided to) take away that porch, so that it opens up the frontage, so people actually realise that there’s something there.”
Providing a new, improved modern glazed entrance and a welcome hall was also part of the brief.
Jonathan says: “Obviously, we were repairing and restoring the building, but I quite like doing something so that people know that something new has happened.
“So for us, that was adding the new welcome hall at the front, so a modern extension that was very contrasted to the historic building, but it let people know that, oh, something’s happened there.
“Because you could refurbish an old building or an old church inside, and people would walk past and not know that anything has happened.”
How was the renovation of St John’s Methodist Church, Arbroath, funded?
The majority of the work was financed by a trust fund set up by the wife of a former minister at the Arbroath church.
Sue says: “Over the years, (the trust fund) matured wonderfully.
“We were very, very lucky.”
The church was also able to access funds raised by The Methodist Church in Scotland.
According to Sue, all that’s left to be done now is the replacement of a stained glass window above the entrance.
But for now, the new and improved church has “blown everybody away”.
“It’s exceeded everybody’s expectations in many, many ways,” she says.
‘We’ve doubled our congregation since renovation’
“Put it this way, since we opened again, we have welcomed 13 new members, which has effectively doubled our congregation.
“So we are absolutely delighted.
“It’s brilliant to have people coming in.
“A church is never just about people who become members: it’s about people who come in, enjoy the space and can use it for worship, but could also use it for other things as well.”
- Have you renovated your property? Get in touch poppy.watson@dcthomson.co.uk
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