Essential and urgent repairs to St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church, Blairgowrie, Perthshire awarded National Lottery support. It was announced today that St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church, Blairgowrie has received £108,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for essential and urgent repairs to the fabric of the church building, designed in 1885 by celebrated architect W E Pugin.  Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project aims both to ensure the continuity of this historically significant structure and also widen its cultural impact on both locals and visitors.

The church will be shrouded in scaffolding for some six months before a grand re-opening takes place in Spring 2018, with James F Stephen, Architects overseeing the project.

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

The project will carry out major structural repairs, install ceiling insulation and improve internal lighting, essential in ensuring the church building’s future as a place of worship for the local Catholic community.  Additionally, a range of initiatives will be progressed 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; social media will be utilised to disseminate information; and target audiences of academics, historians and students will be contacted to generate interest in an annual Pugin lecture.  Guided tours of the church for the benefit of schoolchildren and visitors will be offered once the building is restored.

The church, designed by esteemed architect Edward Welby Pugin who was responsible for the design of more than 100 Catholic churches and cathedrals throughout the UK and beyond, was opened by Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh in 1856. During the previous twenty years, the small congregation had met literally in an ‘upper room’ in what is now Bank Street Blairgowrie.

The church became a hub for Catholics from the surroundings townships and villages. In the twentieth 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.

Fr Gregory expressed his delight at the award – ‘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.’

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, said: “Scotland’s historic and diverse places of worship are so often at the heart of our communities. Thanks to National Lottery players HLF funds urgent structural repairs and also improved facilities and visitor information. Essential and urgent repairs to St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church, Blairgowrie, Perthshire is an excellent example of how HLF can help conserve a much loved building so it can continue to serve its local community.”