Old manse faithful to its origins
Modernised home retains the charm of many period features, writes Paul Drury
NO one ever said it would be easy, throwing your lot in with a breakaway church in Scotland in the 19th century. Congregations split from the established church in 1843, largely in protest at the influence landowners had in ecclesiastical affairs.
When it came to finding new buildings for worship, members of the Free Church of Scotland found those same landowners ruthlessly unforgiving.
Near Nairn, the Earl of Cawdor’s factor made it clear that there was to be no prospect of prime land being made available for the new Cawdor Free Church building.
In a letter, reproduced in NL Walker’s Life of Dr Robert Buchanan, the site of the church was to be on ‘waste land’ and it was to be ‘a shed or temporary place of worship... made of timber’ and removable by the factor ‘at any time, on giving three months’ notice’.
As a result of their hardship, the flock of Cawdor Free Church would often worship in the open air, even in the dead of winter.
Fortunately, a more forgiving accommodation was reached when it came to planning a new manse. Surrounded by beautiful wooded countryside at Culcharry, it was built of stone, with harled walls under a slate roof with attractive overhanging gables and eaves.
The former manse for sale today reflects the simple principles of its creators; the property should be fit to house the minister and his family and be able to receive members of the congregation seeking pastoral direction.
However, it should not be overelaborate or grand or attempt to intimidate anyone arriving there from less-imposing properties.
Such considerations, of course, did not apply once the house had passed into private hands, and a succession of owners have sympathetically upgraded it to what is now a comfortable country house.
Appealing features such as four-panelled doors, open fireplaces and attractive cornicing have thankfully all been retained.
The star of the downstairs accommodation is, naturally, the bright drawing room, which affords lovely views of the open countryside through two large windows.
Unusually, the dining room is even bigger and enjoys a more prominent position at the front of the house. There’s a fireplace for those cosy winter dinner parties. For everyday living, there’s the sizeable sitting room at the back of the house, kitchen with oil-fired Aga and handy utility area with WC.
Upstairs are five bedrooms, a shower room and bathroom.
The current owners found a poignant photograph, probably from 1900, showing their house as a gathering point for the congregation at a crossroads in their lives.
It’s believed to show the parishioners gathering at their minister’s home for the last time, before the Rev John George McNeil led a majority of them into the newly formed United Free Church.
They’re all gone now but the house faithfully remains.
Offers over £430,000 to Jamie Watson at Savills. Tel 01343 823 005 or email jbwatson@savills.com.