Cromarty East Church

Cromarty East Church

Cromarty East Church, also sometimes known as the Old Church, lies at the east end of Cromarty's Church Street, the old heart of the town, standing amid a graveyard predominantly of low or horizontal gravestones. At first sight a fairly ordinary Scottish T-plan church, Cromarty East Church provides a nationally important example of the changes that swept across Scotland's churches after the Reformation of 1560.

East End of the Church The Pulpit from the East Gallery East End Memorial to Lieutenant H. Rose Ross

Cromarty East Church continued to share the role of Parish Church with the West Church until 1998, when it was declared surplus to ecclesiastical needs. Since taking ownership of the East Church in 1998 the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust (SRCT) has worked with local people to secure the long-term future of the building through re-establishing it at the heart of the community. Decay and damp threatened the survival of the church, but its plight came to the attention of the nation in 2006 when it was a finalist in the BBC "Restoration Village" series.

Decoration Found in the North Loft

Initials On The Poor Loft

West and North Galleries

View from the East Stalls

Funding success followed in 2007 when the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a major grant towards the £1.3 million project. Historic Scotland and The Highland Council are also major funders.

The church is now undergoing extensive conservation and repair work, the details of which you can find on the East Church website which is regularly updated with news from the worksite and events at the church. The kirkyard will be open to the public during most of the building work, but the church itself will only be accessible on a handful of days when community and education officers Caroline Vawdrey and David Alston will be giving tours of the site. Details of these will be on the website and in the East Church newsletter – which you can sign up for via the site. It is hoped that the church will fully reopen in 2010.

There's been a church here since medieval times, and a grave slab from the 1400s is on display in the west porch. Harled, slated and T-plan in form, the church is likely to have developed from an initial slender medieval rectangle. Following the reformation in 1560 the pulpit was moved to the south wall and windows to either side enlarged. The north aisle was added to cater for an expanding congregation during 1739-41.

The interior contains box pews of the 1700s and 1800s, one of which incorporates reused painted panels. The furnishings and movables are remarkably complete and include a number of rare survivals, adding to the authenticity and interest of the building.

The surrounding graveyard, in the care of The Highland Council, contains a number of memorials carved by the geologist, writer and church reformer Hugh Miller (1802-1856) during his time as a stone mason in Cromarty. The church is also significant for its associations with Sir Thomas Urquhart (c.1611-1660) and George Ross (c.1700-1786).

View from the North Stalls