Church snubbed by a queen opens doors to worshippers once again

A CHURCH on Royal Deeside, which Queen Victoria resolutely refused to visit, has opened its doors to worshippers for the first time in 15 years as a major campaign, backed by the Prince of Wales, was launched to save the historic A-listed building.

St Margaret’s Episcopal Church in the Aberdeenshire village of Braemar was built in three phases between 1899 and 1904 to cater for the influx of English visitors flocking to Deeside following Queen Victoria’s decision to establish a Scottish holiday retreat at nearby Balmoral Castle.

But, although she was head of the Church of England, when in Scotland Queen Victoria snubbed the Episcopalian church in Braemar, nine miles away, and worshipped instead at the Church of Scotland’s Crathie Kirk, a short drive from Balmoral.

St Margaret’s was last used as a centre of worship in 1996 and has since fallen into disrepair.

But last night, a fresh appeal was launched to rescue the building after the church was briefly reopened for special Christmas candlelight service. The 100-year-old building has been affected by leaks, rot and mortar problems and it is estimated that up to £1 million will be needed for repairs and to transform the church into a new arts centre for the village.

The drive to restore the historic church is being spearheaded by Braemar Community Ltd, which is a development trust set up to support local regeneration, environmental and heritage projects.

Simon Blackett, the chairman of the trust, said: “St Margaret’s has been sitting as an ignored building for far too long but it is brilliant that we have now got some enthusiasm locally to take this project on.

“We are hoping to get grant aid to turn the building into an arts centre and we are getting help from the Prince’s Regeneration Trust. The Prince of Wales is very interested in the building.”

He added: “The service provided a chance to allow people to see what an important building they have got in their midst and, hopefully, get on board for the next phase which is to begin to draw up plans as to how exactly we are going to rescue this building.

“The next thing to do is to get reports written as to exactly what work needs to be done and how much it is going to cost. But a conservative estimate is that it is going to cost somewhere between £500,000 and £1m.”

The threat facing St Margaret’s was first highlighted seven years ago in a report by the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust. The trust’s report stated: “St Margaret’s Church, Braemar is of national significance as a key work by its architect, John Ninian Comper, one of the most important figures in British ecclesiastical design during the 20th Century. The building was in poor condition by the late 1980s.

Following a partly unsuccessful repairs contract in 1991-92, the condition of the walls and the interior plaster has deteriorated to such an extent that it cannot be used for worship.

If no action is taken then the building will continue to deteriorate and, eventually, collapse.”

The decision to reopen the church for worship for the candlelight service was welcomed by the Right Rev Dr Robert Gillies, the Episcopalian Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, who has also been at the forefront of efforts to secure the future of St Margaret’s.

He said: “When we closed the church the congregation transferred to the Chapel at Mar Lodge but nothing compares to worshipping in St Margaret’s. Its design and acoustics are breath-taking.”