Welcome to the Kirkmichael Project! We are a registered community charity in the Black Isle in the Highlands of Scotland. Our project is to conserve the medieval kirk buildings at Kirkmichael for the benefit of education, and to create within the conserved buildings in this beautiful location a unique display of medieval gravestone art. This includes the amazing elaborately carved Calvary crosses currently buried from view under turf at Kirkmichael and nearby Cullicudden.
What is your programme? We have an exciting activity programme planned involving hundreds of visitors, schoolchildren and the community. And the project will be taking on apprentices during construction to develop their traditional and conservation building skills, and there are strong archaeological elements as well. The resulting heritage centre will be sustainable, low maintenance and a key element of a Heritage Trail of this part of the Highlands. Our project aims to do as many good things as possible.
What do I do? Choose your option and make your contribution! It is as simple as that. And send the link to all your friends and suggest they can help too. You could choose an option as a Christmas gift for a friend or relative!
What do I get? You get a selection of our unique rewards. And the community gets a heritage resource from an unsightly and dangerous area of dereliction. And a nationally important site is saved for future generations!
Why is Kirkmichael special? Look at the photos below! The site is located in a remarkably beautiful spot, and is both a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Listed Building. Associated with the site are the famous Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty, Hugh Miller author and geologist, who worked in Kirkmichael and collected some of his best tales here, and Jane Duncan, best-selling author of the "My Friends" series, who lived nearby and is buried here and loved the neighbourhood. Our site is a gem - take a look at the gallery below!
How close are you to starting? We are delighted to say that the project is now more than 85% funded (£603,000 out of the total project cost of £706,945 secured) and ready to start as soon as we reach 100%. We are very grateful to our main funders such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, the Highland Council, the Robertson Trust and local firms. Now we need you to help to finish the job!
What is your target? We have set the target of raising £50,000 through your assistance through Sponsume. Ambitious, we know, but for a project that is changing a derelict site into a community resource, creating a unique heritage display, preserving a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Listed Building, involving the community and schoolchildren, and training apprentices, we think that that is incredibly good value!
How do I get in touch with the Project? Easy! All emails sent to will be read and replied to by one of the team. We have a website which gives masses of background - www.kirkmichael.info - and we’re also on Facebook. And there will be lots of open days and demonstrations and opportunities to meet us and participate during the project.
When do I hear from you? You’ll get an email from us straightaway acknowledging your contribution and welcoming you to the Project. We’ll ship your rewards to you when the minimum funding point is passed. Please help us by contributing and closing our final funding gap. We are almost there, and your support will make this wonderful project succeed!
What a delight to come back from a short breakto find your generosity has pushed the project past its minimum funding point! Thanks to one and all. Not only that, but outwith our Sponsume campaign, we've had some generous donations which means the project has now secured 90% of its total. In the Trust's video, I mention where we were financially at the start of the campaign, but we've moved well past that now. But keep it up. Spread the word, get your friends and family and colleagues involved and push the total as high as we can in this final week of our campaign!
Time for another update! We are simply delighted by the positive feedback we are getting for our project, from all different aspects. Some folk like the planned activities, some are enthralled by our medieval ornamental stones, some have family connections with the site and some want to see the wonderful buildings at Kirkmichael saved for posterity!
Thanks for all the encouragement – we shall redouble our efforts! And if everyone shares with friends and family we’ll get there!
That’s the Kirkmichael crowdfunding project well and truly launched now! Loads of interest, and great to see the pledges coming in.
The Press and Journal did an excellent piece on the project, and we had to nip down to the site for a photograph by the press photographer. You can see the full story here:
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/406338/black-isle-kirk-could-turn-into-medieval-visitor-attraction/
And we have been contacted by the Early History Curator of Dundee’s Museum with a view to complementary work!
All very exciting, and keep up the good work everyone who has been engaging with the project – spread the word!
