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Funding goal reached to buy one of Scotland's oldest churches

News imageJames Towill An old church building with gravestones - some toppled over - in front of itJames Towill
Records of Linton Kirk in the Borders date back to the 12th Century

A fundraising campaign has reached its target to save what is thought to be one of Scotland's oldest churches from ending up in private hands.

Records of Linton Kirk, which sits on a mound between the villages of Linton and Morebattle in the Borders, date back to the 12th Century.

A goal of £30,000 was set in a bid to stop the church from hitting the open market.

The Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal (LKHA) has now reached that goal and is looking forward to celebrating its 900th anniversary next year.

News imageLinton Kirk Heritage Appeal Church pictured from above in the sunshine on a hill surrounded by a graveyard.Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal
The kirk sits high on a mound near Kelso, looking south towards the Cheviot Hills and English border

Simon Oldham, trustee and treasurer of the appeal, said it was amazing how people had rallied round to support its campaign and the aim of preserving the church.

"We were given six months originally and we initially did some work looking at potential sources of grant funding," he said.

"But there were complications either from a point of view of timescale or eligibility.

"So we decided to focus more on the crowdfunding appeal."

News imageLinton Kirk Heritage Appeal A picture of the sandstone arched chancel around the alter in Linton Kirk.Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal
Linton has been home to many thousands of services and events recorded back to 1127

He said the time to raise the finances needed had been "relatively short" but they had been delighted with the response.

"We are now in the position that we can hopefully move ahead with the purchase when Church of Scotland are ready for that," he said.

"People are really thrilled I think they feel a very strong connection with Linton Kirk and have been really surprised and concerned when the news came that potentially the church building was being sold off."

News imageJames Towill A semi-circular stone carving feature a man on horseback attack a serpent-like creatureJames Towill
A carving in the church depicts the story from folklore of the Linton Worm

The church is the site of regular visits from members of the Somerville clan from around the world for events to honour the legend of William de Somerville, the first Baron of Linton.

In folklore, he slayed the Linton Worm, described as a 10ft (4m) long beast with fangs, that had its lair on Linton Hill.

This exploit is commemorated by a carved tympanum - a semi-circular decorative wall surface - above the church door, which is unique in Scotland.

The LKHA is one of a number of community groups in southern Scotland which have either bought or hope to buy their local church.

Campaigners at Wamphray Church near Beattock - which has links to Russian royalty and St Cuthbert - are hopeful they can save it from falling into private hands.

Residents near both Ruberslaw Parish Church at Bedrule - between Hawick and Jedburgh - and Applegarth Church near Lockerbie successfully raised the funds they needed to buy their local places of worship last year.