History in the making at 150th anniversary
‘Lorne Street was very much a family church’
A formal 39-page pamphlet marked the centenary of a Campbeltown church in 1968. Fast forward half a century and much has changed at the former Lorne Street Free Church, which became Church of Scotland in 1929 and continued until its closure in 1991. The building still looks like a church but inside it has been transformed into the museum called Campbeltown Heritage Centre (CHC). What has not altered is its purpose, to record and celebrate the lives and memories of the families that were its glue as a church and to continue to be a repository for that heritage. This seemed to be Elizabeth Kelly’s concept for the bedrock of last Sunday’s 150th anniversary party executed by diligent and time consuming scanning of more than 300 photographs by Marlyn Moffat. Church bells rang out at 2.15pm as guests arrived and many were surprised to discover the authentic sound came from a large slightly hidden speaker. Inside, drinks were served as a line processed through to the main exhibition space, many pausing to look at the large-scale models of the town. A series of exhibition panels running round the room created a time-line from the church’s construction in 1868 approximately to its closure. Many of these highlighted joyous family occasions such as baptisms, marriages and the life of the 2nd Campbeltown Boys’ Brigade. One table was devoted to colour photographs of church picnics and summer outings to the beach between 1962 and 1965. Kintyre Amenity Trust administers CHC and its chairman Alan Milstead, made a short speech. Mr Milstead praised trustees Marlyn Moffat, for her work in creating and designing the exhibition and Elizabeth Kelly, for suggesting the idea. He introduced Reverend Catriona Hood whose father, Reverend James W Hood, accepted the call to Lorne Street in May 1961 and was the minister when the church closed 30 years later. Rev Hood said: ‘Lorne Street was very much a family church.’ In the 100th anniversary pamphlet published by the Oban Times, Rev Hood wrote: ‘History is always in the making and, for Presbyterians at any rate, it is seldom more interesting than when centred round the church. ‘This is all the more true if it is the particular church and congregation with which they have long been associated, ‘their ain Kirk’ - in other words.’ ‘I want to thank everybody who has made this exhibition come to life - it is really beautiful,’ added Catriona on Sunday afternoon.