The fight to save Scottish village church targeted by grave robbers with Burke and Hare link

A fight to save a village church with a link to notorious murderers Burke and Hare has been launched.

Newton Parish Church, in Midlothian, was targeted by grave robbers, according to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) records, with a bullet hole on a gravestone said to be fired at them during one of their grisly trips.

Now the local community has launched a bid to buy the 18th-century church after it was put on the market by the Church of Scotland.

Newton Parish Church staff

The Friends of Old Newton Parish Church say the rich history of the small kirk should be kept in the community and treasured.

According to records on the HES site, men hired by Burke and Hare had historically visited the churchyard looking for fresh corpses. The church yard is also a final resting place for war heroes.

Among the heroes is RAF flight engineer Sergeant Thomas Dunn, who died at the age of just 19 after the plane he was carrying out a bombing exercise on crashed at RAF Winthrope.

And the church has a unique link to the mining heritage of the surrounding area, with a balcony built by miners after they petitioned for years to be allowed to attend service. They were eventually allowed to attend, but had to use a separate staircase they built that took them into a balcony that hid them from the congregation.

The Church of Scotland put the kirk on the market last week with offers over £98,000.

The news sparked a wave of action from the local community leading to the setting up of the group and calls for it to be withdrawn from sale to give them time to raise the money.

A spokesperson for the group said: “The old Newton Parish Church has so much heritage and meaning to the community that we want to be able to keep it as a facility for generations to come.

“We have a youth group who want to use it and there are plans to carry on holding weddings and funerals at the church as well as local events, concerts and other entertainment. We are assured raising the funds is possible, we just need the Church of Scotland to give us the time to do it.”

A Church of Scotland spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have received an approach from the community regarding the sale of Newton Parish Church, but are unable to say more while the sale process continues.

“In 2021, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland called on each of its Presbytery areas to draw up mission plans for their areas.

“Under the mission plan agreed by Lothian Presbytery, Newton parish, which covers Danderhall, Shawfair and some neighbouring villages united with St John’s and Kings Park Church in Dalkeith to form Dalkeith: St John’s and Newton Parish Church.

“Newton Church held its final service in January 2023, but the new congregation continues to use the church hall in Danderhall as their base for activities and services in Newton parish with Sunday services held fortnightly at 9.30am, to which all are welcome.

“We understand fully the wide range of emotions involved in the closure of any of our buildings, but having fewer congregational buildings will reduce pressure on congregational finances, freeing up funds and general income for other Church missional activities and a more sustainable situation, allowing the Church and our congregations continue to make a positive impact on the communities they serve.”