The Sad Demise Of An Historic Part of Crieff : Part One




The Old Parish Church in Church Street Crieff

July 2014

PART ONE

Introduction to set the scene

I have  been writing on the history of Crieff and the Strathearn area  over many years . This blog  has  been on the go for over two years and has published  well over one  hundred  “ blogs “ on a variety of local history topics covering  the Romans  , the Picts , the lost Abbey of Inchaffray and of  course the  fantastic  discoveries  of our Neolithic past – the Cursus and the timber  round  houses found in proximity .

Invariably  the  tone of  my writings  has  been positive and welcoming whenever  possible  and , I trust , objective  and critical when I deemed it in the public  interest .  I live  close by the old Parish Church of Crieff in Church Street  ( or Kirkgate as it was once known ) and know both  the old building inside and out  as well as having a genealogical  knowledge of the adjoining grave yard that surrounds it .

Problems – no one wants  to know !

The background as I see it

It really all started  in back in 1982 . The old Church functioned as the church hall for the Parish Church of St Michaels which was  located in Strathearn Terrace Crieff . The new church was built in 1882 and it quickly became the focal  point of the Established Church of Scotland (known generally as the “ Kirk “) in its open confrontation  with the breakaway Free Church  . For 100 years  the old building in Church Street fulfilled a purposeful role for  both the congregation and a multitude  of other organisations in Crieff

In 1982  the incumbent minister the Rev Dr ESP Heavenor  wrote this sad account of the building  :

“When a large piece of plaster  descended  from the ceiling  one day in 1977 – fortunately not on someone’s head , the alarm bells  rang . The cost of repairing  the plaster  , rewiring , redecoration  , and  improvements  to the kitchen  amounted to £ 3426. The installation  of six gas heaters in the Hall in 1972 was a welcome change  as members had shivered  all too often  when the old boiler  had  sullenly ( sic ) refused to produce adequate heating  . The problems  of inflation  have been met  by a generous  response through special appeals – May Fairs  and Bazaars and bequests  seemed  to appear   just when we needed  them most . The  problems will always  be met  when  members  love the Church   because they love Christ .”

Without being cynical history has caught up . The Kirk shunted off responsibility  for the nominal pound thus perhaps justifying the late Doctor’s faith . It has been  the slippery slope . The building itself  is another Drummond Hotel . It was sold  for a nominal sum to become  the Crieff Community Hall . This became a no go venture  because of  cost and it again was  sold of nominally  to a group  of Martial Arts persons . This venture foundered and it was repossessed by the Crown to cover unpaid taxes . The Crown now are the apparent owners  and be rest assured  NOTHING will happen to improve it’s current dilapidation   . It is  a gerry built  structure that  was cobbled  together in the 1780s . The building took over 40 years  to be constructed and occupied – even  being discussed at the Court of Session in  1781 . Services  were held in a tent until it  actually opened in  1827 . The people of Crieff  were not allowed in to it  unless they had  bought a pew seat ( each measured 18 inches !! ) and had to sit  on stools  in the aisles ! Seat rents prevailed in our old
Kirk !

The problems are compounded  by the fact that the adjoining graveyard is totally  neglected and overgrown  with a  jungle of  grass and  bushes.  What is the reason for this shocking situation ?The  graveyard  became  redundant to a certain extent in 1853  when the “ new “ cemetery in Ford Road  was opened .Families  with burial plots in the old cemetery continued  to have the right  to bury their deceased in the Church Street repository . As time  progressed this virtually ceased . The Council ( Perth and Kinross  and its predecessor ) cut the grass and generally maintained  the area . They firstly planted  the hedges on either  side of the  entrance  of Church Street . Their tacit  responsibility was  further acknowledged  when they determined  to facilitate the grass cutting process by removing  the majority of the 130 plus memorials . I understand that in accordance  with their statutory obligations as being the body responsible  for the churchyard ,they advertised  in the press  that this  was to happen and that anyone  with a title deed  to a burial plot  in that cemetery should  notify them , the Council . The “best “ stones  were  selected  for  display and aligned in a neat row . The remainder  “ disappeared “ into the coup/tip/dump south of the Broich Road .

In 2013 , the Council were forced  to implement “ savings “ and as a result decided that the grass in the churchyard  would  not  be cut at all ! I wrote to the council and received a reply from Mr Taylor responsible for the Council’s Environmental Service personnel here  in Crieff . I posted this on Facebook .Eventually  the grass was  cut on three occasions . This  year it has not been cut at all .

When I checked the Perth and Kinross web site


Surprise , surprise  there is NO MENTION or LISTING for the Church yard grass cutting ! Tacit responsibility is part of our  legal foundation  . The Council  do seem to have reneged on what is  in my opinion  a quite clear case of responsibility for the upkeep of this ancient and so very important part of our Crieff heritage .

Wonder  what Wills and Kate  would have said if the Royal Route had been down Church Street ??

I will follow this “ blog “ up in two more parts  These will illustrate why this  site is  of  such historical and  religious importance in the struggle to preserve our heritage .





Comments

  1. Well said. An area like this should be made the most of. Sad that it's been swept under the carpet for so long that it has almost become a fait accomplis.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have being on blog Sites for a while now and today I felt like I should share my story because I was a victim too. I had HIV for 6 years and i never thought I would ever get a cure I had and this made it impossible for me to get married to the man I was supposed to get married to even after 2 years of relationship he broke up with me when he finds out I was HIV positive. So I got to know about Dr. Itua on Blog Site who treated someone and the person shared a story of how she got a cured and let her contact details, I contacted Dr. Itua and he actually confirmed it and I decided to give a try too and use his herbal medicine that was how my burden ended completely. My son will be 2 soon and I am grateful to God and thankful to his medicine too.Dr Itua Can As Well Cure The Following Disease… Cancer, HIV, Herpes, Hepatitis B, Liver Inflammatory,Diabetes,Fibroid, Get Your Ex Back, If you have (A just reach him on drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com Or Whatsapp Number.+2348149277967)He can also advise you on how to handle some marital's issues. He's a good man.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fancy A Trip On The Crieff Canal ??

The Rise and Fall of Inchbrakie – The Story of the Graemes and Why A Great House Was Demolished and A Family Heritage Threatened

Feddal Castle, Braco