Saving St Andrews

Clan Mackay Society of the USA

Saving St. Andrews Church

St. Andrews Church, Tongue, Scotland




Top Left: Interior, looking toward the pulpit Middle Left: Aerial of the church yard Middle (lower) Left: Door Header with Date Bottom Left: Window looking out
	Top Right: Inside view looking toward loft Middle Right: Church Yard Middle (lower) Right: Churchyard with Castle Varrich Bottom Right: Mackay Corner. Both sides of the rear are adorned with Mackay Tartan.

The Church of Scotland has or is planning to close a significant number of churches, potentially hundreds, due to declining attendance, falling income, and the high costs of maintaining its many aging buildings. The Church is undergoing a restructuring to align its resources with shrinking congregations. As a result, St. Andrews Church in Tongue has shuttered its doors. As of today, the church has not had a service in a few years. As many of you know, Tongue is the ancestorial home for Clan Mackay, many of our clansmen, including 3 chiefs are buried in this cemetery.

Rebuilt by Donald Mackay, Master of Reay, in 1680 following the Mackay family’s conversion to Protestantism (c.1600). The site was that of the ancient Celtic and latterly Roman Catholic Church (St Peter’s Chapel). During a renovation in 1729 a vault was built covering the graves of earlier members of the Mackay family.

What is the future of this church building going forward? The church as it sits needs repair if it is to continue, in any form. Recently the CoS released a price for purchase. Purchasing the building is not the hard part, how the church will be repaired and how the church “will wash it’s face”, will be the hardest part. The community of Tongue met the first of August to discuss its future, with many in agreement, that church should be saved. At the writing of this article, a grant was awarded to pay for an assessment of the building’s needs in respect to repairs. An earlier estimate of repairs was near £350,000. The upcoming survey will put into perspective the repairs and prioritize what needs to be done.

Clan Mackay has a committee made up of clansman from Scotland, Canada and the US, alongside of the residents of Tongue. As you can imagine, St Andrews is not just a historical site and a valued site for Clan Mackay, but it has been symbol of the community for 347+ years, how can it be preserved to serve into the coming 300+ years?

If you have a suggestion on how this building could be used and a benefit to the community, please email John Wells, current President of Clan Mackay Society USA.

In the 1950s, The National Museum of Antiquities, now The National Museum of Scotland, asked to have the Laird’s Loft (Reay Loft) from St. Andrews Church. The images above show the church prior to its removal. Today parts of the loft are on display in the antiquities section on the third level.

Notice: In the photograph at the top, of the inside, just above the hanging ceiling light, you can still see the impression of the loft top as it was attached to the ceiling.