Dunbartonshire Kirk is bought by community for £1

Ownership of one of the best-known buildings in Scotland, the derelict Campsie High Kirk in Lennoxtown, has been transferred to the local community after they bought it for £1.

Dunbartonshire’s Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Jill Young MBE, represented the Lieutenancy at a ceremony to mark the handover – the first stage of a planned redevelopment of the historic building.

The event was the first of its kind in Scotland and took place under the Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme which transferred ownership from the Crown to the community.

The A-listed Campsie High Kirk, designed by David Hamilton who is often regarded as the father of Scottish Architecture, formally returns to community stewardship having lain empty and without an owner since it was set on fire in 1984.

Friends of Campsie High Kirk bought the building for just £1 in May and will now mount a major fundraising campaign to generate enough money to pay for restoration.

Plans include converting the nave into an open plan area to host community meetings, arts events and theatre performances.

It will also involve replicating the steeple, torn down in the aftermath of the fire.

A new so-called ghost tower will see a frame constructed on the top of the remaining clock tower, which would light up at night.

 The church was designed in 1828 by Glasgow architect David Hamilton.

His work includes the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow and Lennox Castle Hospital in Lennoxtown.