A historic Angus kirk has held its final service after nearly two centuries of worship.
Dun Church on the north side of Montrose Basin has already been put up for sale by the Church of Scotland.
On Sunday, the Rev Ian Gray led the Scottish-themed farewell to the 188-year-old building.
The congregation included 88-year-old Agnes Mitchell, the kirk’s longest serving member who remembers her earliest days at Sunday school there.
Important history
Local historian Sheila Mann researched the church’s history and revealed the area’s link to 16th century Reformation leader John Knox.
“Dun was built in 1834 to replace the church on the House of Dun estate,” said Sheila.
It was designed and built by Robert Dalgarno for Lady Margaret Erskine, the 17th Laird of Dun.
“The original church had been there since the 1500s, and around 1555 John Knox came to preach there,” added Sheila.
Dun’s carved pulpit comes from the original church and dates back to 1615.
It is destined to go on display in Edinburgh given its rarity.
The church’s communion table is dedicated to the memory of Scots writer and poet Violet Jacob.
She was born Violet Augusta Mary Frederica Kennedy-Erskine at the House of Dun in 1863.
And the kirk’s strong links with the Kennedy-Erskine family is marked in several historical features.
A plaque to the 18th Laird was erected by “an attached and sorrowing people”.
The 19th Laird is also remembered.
Lieutenant Arthur Henry Augustus Jacob was Violet’s son and was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Her husband, Major Arthur Otway Jacob, died in 1936 and is also commemorated in the church.
On the market
But it’s possible the B-listed building could find a new role as a family home.
The church is on sale for offers over £80,000.
It has an internal space of 1,399 sq. ft.
Sellers Rightmove say an area of ground once occupied by the church hall could be sold separately for parking or amenity space.
But the small graveyard there will continue to be owned and maintained by Angus Council.
And the Church of Scotland is keeping the right to remove pews, memorials and other ecclesiastical fittings before a new owner moves in.
