Being the heart of the City

Early in the new millennium, Gillespie Memorial Church was subject to a compulsory purchase order to make way for the new bus station.

After further consultation with the council, it was agreed that the bus station could be accommodated without the need for additional space and Gillespie moved from being a hidden historic gem tucked in behind the Co-op to a focal point representing the rich Christian heritage extending back to the time of St. Margaret in the 11th Century.

This decision enabled the congregation to develop their plans to be a church at the heart of Dunfermline. The church supports many community groups and has plans to extend its capacity through redeveloping its buildings to support a range of new initiatives.

 

The first phase was to refurbish the external fabric of the church.

- new timber windows have been installed, based on evidence of previous windows, and replacing badly corroded metal-framed windows

- roof repairs have been completed- using second hand Scottish slate on the roof of the church and Welsh slate on some other pitches, to match the existing slates

- New cast iron gutters and downpipes are in place

- Stone repair and re-pointing has been carried out – including highly skilled fine detail pointing of the dressed stone on the west front

- The large stained glass window on the west front was repaired in 2010. Depicting Goodness, Meekness, and Gentleness, it was installed in memory of the church’s Reverend Miller who died in 1924.

- There are two more single lancet stained glass windows, in the choir area at the east end of the church. Made c. 1947 by the famed Abbey Studio in Glasgow, they commemorate members of the congregation who died during the second World War.

A grant of £265,000 from Dunfermline CARS using funds provided by Historic Scotland, in addition to major grants from Fife Environmental Trust and The Robertson Trust, along with contributions from the congregation, made this work possible and we are grateful for everyone’s support.

The next phase of our development is at the planning stage. We are seeking to raise £300,000 to refurbish the adjacent Gillespie Centre into a Social Enterprise which will support a café, meeting room space for businesses, other voluntary sector organisations and a wi-fi touchdown spot. Our target is to open in 2012.

The construction of the new Tesco store less than 500 yards to the north in 2012 will significantly increase the footfall past the church and the centre. We will, once again, form the heart of Dunfermline.

Old, rusty steel-framed windows

New airtight wood-framed windows