Campaign to save Borders church

​Records of Linton Kirk, which sits high on an historic mound between the villages of Linton and Morebattle, looking south to the Cheviot Hills, date back to 1127.

Local people are preparing to next year mark its 900th year.

However, the kirk is one of many hundreds that the Church of Scotland has put up for sale due to a financial crisis driven by declining congregations, a shortage of ministers and unsustainable building maintenance and energy costs.

Linton is linked to the Cheviot Churches Parish, which also features Morebattle, Yetholm and Hownam Churches, and the Church of Scotland decided to sell Linton and Hownam, which are in the smallest villages,

However, parishioners have struck a deal with the Church of Scotland that if they can come up with the asking price of £35,000 they will be given ownership of the church before it is put on the open market.

Simon Oldham is a trustee and treasurer of the Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal, a registered charity set up as long ago as 1984 to protect the church’s history and heritage for future generations.

He explained: “Linton Kirk has an amazing history, as you might expect from a church that has been home to weekly services, christenings, weddings, funerals and many other events over potentially 900 years.

“We feel strongly that it is still a great place of community use and place of worship, and should be saved for those purposes.

“The decision by the Church of Scotland to sell it has put its future in jeopardy, of course, but we’re doing what we can to prevent any change of use and preserve one of Scotland’s oldest churches for the community.

“We have had a lot of support from people across the Borders and further afield, and we hope that this crowdfunding appeal could get us over the line with the price that the Church have put on it.

“We have had people coming from all over the country, and the world, to visit Linton and to be baptised or married here, which is just part of the wonderful history we want to preserve.

“The Heritage Appeal was first started in the 1980s to support the building after subsidence damage, and for repair works. Now, in 2026, we need to step up again and I’m sure people will.”

The church has been described as having a ‘museum like quality’, being home to rare artefacts of historical and cultural significance, including a Norman Font and Tympanum, relics of the Pre-Reformation Church.

Embedded in the upper section of the small Nunc Dimittis window, the work of Mr Douglas Strachan, are fragments of ancient glass found in Holyrood Palace during excavations made in 1910-1911.

This glass is thought to date from the late 13th or early 14th Century, and so being viewed by Mary Queen of Scots and other Scottish sovereigns in the Chapel Royal. Strachan is considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th century.

One of the church’s nearby residents is former Scotland and British and Irish Lions rugby cap John Jeffrey, and the local farmer is backing the campaign.

“The saving of rural churches is fundamental to also saving local communities and Linton Church is no different,” he said. “It also has added historical significance and is a most beautiful piece of architecture.

“It would be a real shame if Linton Kirk was not saved by, and for, the local community and I commend this fundraising effort to one and all irrespective of background.”

A spokesman for the Church of Scotland said: “The General Trustees, the Church’s property holding arm, have a good track record of selling buildings to community groups, many of whom intend to make the buildings available for worship after the transfer.

“They have agreed to give the Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal an exclusivity of sale option to proceed with the purchase of Linton Kirk.

“We are hopeful this period of time will enable it to raise the necessary funds to buy the property which has been valued at £35,000, but failing this, it will be placed on the open market.

“The Church owns thousands of properties, far more than required to achieve its primary mission of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in the 21st century.”

Fundraising contributions can be made via the Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal Crowdfunder page: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/linton-kirk-heritage-appeal.