Church Overview

Overlooking Sandside Bay, this beautiful white-harled T-plan church, with its striking pyramid-roofed bell-tower at the east end, was built 1738-9. The north aisle was reordered in 1909 to accommodate a vestry.

Its interior retains its traditional layout, with a long central communion table in front of the original 18th century hexagonal pulpit and impressive sounding board. Some changes to layout and seating occurred during a refurbishment in 1933. There are several 19th and early 20th century mural monuments on the wall, particularly to members of the Pilkington family of Sandside House.

The nearby old churchyard contains several notable monuments including the mausoleum of the Mackays of Bighouse of 1691 which was once part of the demolished medieval predecessor to the current church.

The church was linked with the churches in Strathy and Halladale, with each building renamed as a single entity the “North Coast Parish Church.” A local community group was established in 2024 to look for ways to take the building in community ownership following the decision of the Church of Scotland to close it as part of their attempts to rationalise their property portfolio. The building closed and was marketed for sale in November 2025.

Building closed and marketed for sale in Nov 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.