Church Overview

The foundation stone of this handsome Gothic hall-church was laid in April 1826, built to replace the old parish church in a nearby graveyard that had grown too small for the rural congregation. The new church with built speedily during a particularly warm summer that year, when the minister preached to his flock outside during the “year of the short corn”, as the roof was put on his new church and its spiky pinnacles were added at each of its four corners and on top of both gables.

The church’s bright and peaceful interior was lit by oil lamps, since electrified, and heating was introduced around the turn of the 20th century. The timber pews, and horseshoe gallery above, were painted and faced oak panelled pulpit and organ. The first pipe organ was installed in 1923, at a cost of £1000, and was replaced in 1964 at a cost of 500 guineas, and over the years many historic stones have been preserved and sheltered inside the kirk. A war memorial, commemorating those local individuals who had fallen during World War One was unveiled in the grounds of the church in 1921 and the grandparents of the poet Robert Burns lie buried in the old kirkyard.

In recent years, Glenbervie Parish Church was linked with Fettercairn Parish Church and Auchenblae Parish Church in a grouping known as West Mearns Parish. The church was marketed for sale by the Church of Scotland in December 2025, just shy of its 200th anniversary, during a period when the denomination was reducing its national portfolio of buildings.

Closed and marketed for sale in Dec 2025

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.