Lottery grant delight for churchgoers as vital work to begin

£108,000: Cash boost means major repairs can be carried out on Blairgowrie church

A Perthshire church will undergo a major restoration thanks to a lottery grant.

St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church in Blairgowrie has received £108,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Scotland for repairs to the building, with work due to begin “imminently”.

The project will carry out major structural repairs, install ceiling insulation and improve internal lighting. Additionally, a range of initiatives will be undertaken by volunteers from within the parish and the diocese to widen knowledge of the architectural and historical significance of the church.

Preparatory work is already under way to produce a heritage and photographic exhibition, and audio visual display.

The church website will be further developed and enhanced with heritage information and social media will be used to disseminate information. Guided tours of the church will be offered to school children and visitors when the building is restored.

The church, which was opened in 1856, will be covered in scaffolding for around six months, reopening in spring 2018.

A similar award from Historic Environment Scotland, a range of smaller donations from other bodies and a programme of fundraising initiatives by parishioners will all contribute to the costs of the project.

Father Gregory Umanna said: “St Stephen’s Church has been an integral and much valued place of worship in the Blairgowrie area for 180 years. Parishioners and priests have worked hard over the generations to build, maintain and improve this important and historic building.

“With the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, this major restoration project will help assure its future for generations to come.”

He added: “In the 20th Century, the parish, already home to small Irish and Italian communities, would then swell every summer with berry pickers from Dundee and the west of Scotland.

“Nowadays, eastern European students are warmly welcomed into the church while working on local farms, adding to the multi-cultural nature of the modern congregation and its attached primary school.”

Lucy Casot, head of HLF Scotland, commented: “Essential and urgent repairs to St Stephen’s RC Church in Blairgowrie are an excellent example of how HLF can help conserve a much loved building so it can continue to serve its local community.”

With the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, this major restoration project will help assure its future for generations to come. FATHER GREGORY UMANNA

Picture: Andrew Mitchell. A service being conducted in the soon-to-be renovated St Stephen’s Church.