Is Inverness’s oldest building important enough to the city to retain it for public use?
That is the question being posed after the A-listed Old High Church was placed back on the market when a previously-agreed sale with an anonymous bidder fell through in November.
Offers over £150,000 are once again being sought for the landmark building which has important links with the Battle of Culloden, Highland regiments and the globally-popular historic drama series Outlander.
With its future as uncertain as ever, a group of interested people are now mulling over the potential of reviving a community-led bid to retain the building for public use – but they say it all depends on whether the people of Inverness feel it is important enough to the city while there would be additional “significant” costs on top of the sale price.
The aim is to hold a public meeting to gauge whether there is sufficient interest and support for such a project.
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What does the future hold for the city’s oldest building?
The Church of Scotland put the building up for sale in November 2023 after concluding it was no longer financially viable to maintain both the Old High and the B-listed St Stephen’s in Crown.
The building dates from 1769/1772 with a late 16th century tower with lower structure dating from 14th century. The tower houses the old burgh clock and curfew bell.
A previous offer by the Friends of the Old High Church – which felt the building had potential as a multi-use space for community events, multi-cultural entertainment, educational, social and tourism activity – was outbid.
But now the building is back on the market, informal talks have been taking place to test the possibility of a community buyout.
Chris Lewcock discusses potential uses for the building with Joy Cossar, a Friend of the Old High Church. Picture: Callum Mackay.
Chris Lewcock, who has acted as a planning adviser to the Friends, believes it is worth saving especially with Inverness Castle due to reopen as a tourist attraction later this year.
He felt the city centre needed something else to pull people in.
“It would be a tragedy if the oldest and most historic building in Inverness is left to rack and ruin,” he said.
“It would be foolishness in the long term.
“The Old High is a beacon of hope for the town.”
Outlining possible opportunities to give the building a new lease of life, he felt there was potential to have an archaeological presence on the site which had not been explored.
He also believed it was well located to feature on pilgrim trails while more could be made of its links with St Columba who reputedly banished a creature to Loch Ness from the site known as St Michael’s Mount.
He continued: “We know about its associations with the Jacobite Rebellion which is key for American and Canadian visitors who are queuing up to get into a church which is shut.”
Could the building serve as a venue for small concerts?
Mr Lewcock felt it was also a potential venue for small concerts.
“I think it could become a major asset for Inverness,” he said.
Informal soundings have been taking place with community and Inverness councillors as well as several organisations.
Mr Lewcock said although the feedback had been positive, the scale of such a project would require another group to drive it forward.
“It is important to get the wider community support,” he said.
An interior view of the the Old High Church.
Mr Lewcock said the material gathered for the Friends’ previous bid would be available to a charitable company wanting to take a future bid forward but consultants would need to be commissioned to look into the options.
“We should be able to go into some sort of exercise with a fair degree of confidence – if we are sure of community backing,” he said.
“It is no good wading in if no one is terribly interested.”
He said the building needed to be in good productive use to keep it in good condition and cautioned a significant sum would need to spent on maintenance and running costs as well as insurance.
He speculated that in the longer term it could be as high as £2 million but this would not be all at once and stressed that commissioning consultants to carry out a study would provide more information.
“We need to be a bit cautious about it rather than having ambitions which collapse like a souffle,” he said.
Thomas Prag is asking whether the people of Inverness feel the Old High is worth saving for the city.
Thomas Prag, another keen supporter of acquiring the building for public use, outlined his hopes.
“I would like to see something which is open, something where people can go and be a part of and may be learn something, maybe have a coffee.
“I think we need to find out if the community and people think the building matters enough to go through with what is quite a lot of work.”