Living Kirkyard Event

The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) is a new Heritage Lottery funded project which aims to conserve, enhance and celebrate the unique landscape and cultural heritage of the Clyde and Avon Valleys.

Living Kirkyard Event

Saturday 20th April 1pm to 3pm
Paterson Church, Lawrie Street, Stonehaven, ML9 3LN

The CAVLP are hosting a Living Kirkyard Event and invite people to come along and find out about the burial grounds of the Clyde Valley, what makes them special and how we might conserve them for the future.

Click here for Living Kirkyard Event poster
Please visit the CAVLP here

Local Footnote: Now working with CAVLP is Sarah Sall, who of course until recently worked with East Ayrshire Coalfield Environment Initiative and was actively involved in the fantastic work on the New Cumnock Path Network.

On the trail of our heritage

Back to School

Some 140 years ago, following the introduction of compulsory education in 1872, New Cumnock Public School was built. Today, the recently refurbished building is the magnificent new home of the pupils and staff of New Cumnock Primary School. The past shaping the future!

It was a pleasure to be greeted with such great enthusiasm for the project by teacher Alison Smith and to discuss the opportunities for our village’s future to help shape our past !

It’s snow time !

In the afternoon it was a trip to the Auld Kirkyard and to meet up with NCLG chair Ian Howat and East Ayrshire Council architect Jim Farrell to assess the way forward in preserving the Auld Kirk ruin and carrying out repairs to the identified headstones.

Thank you, Alison and Jim.

Capital meeting at HLF

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) hosted a start-up meeting at their office in Edinburgh today for organisations that had recently been successful in their applications for funding and fittingly began by offering their congratulations to all new grant holders.

The informal afternoon kicked off with an inspirational presentation from a past grantee, Helena Anderson Wright, Project Director of the three year Enlightened Burns project. Helena shared experiences from the project , successes and lessons learned as well as giving a fantastic illustration of how surprises can emerge unexpectedly ….. more here.

A key outcome of the project was connecting young people with Burns. After hearing that our project would include school children researching Reverend James Young, buried in the Auld Kirkyard and featured in Burns’ “The Kirk’s Alarm” , Helena was kind enough to wish us every success.

Helena remarked how throughout the life of their project HLF very much took on the role of enablers. Grants Officer Sara Wright began that process for the new grantees by taking us through the important aspects of ‘Managing Our Grant’ including start-up, progress reports, managing invoices and final evaluation against the aims of the project. Grants Officer Bobbi Campbell gave an overview of ‘Communications’ and shared examples of how grantees can deliver their commitment to publicly acknowledging HLF’s support of their projects.

Attendees then split into small groups to consider the ”challenges that lay ahead’, ‘what they were looking forward to most’ and to ‘reflect on how their views on heritage had changed’. Although the range of projects was diverse the themes that emerged from the discussions were very similar, something from which we all took heart.

On a personal note my own view on heritage has evolved from something that was a personal interest to a firm belief that it has a key part to play in regenerating our village, and importantly through involving the community in that regeneration.

The day concluded with the opportunity to discuss elements of our project with our own HLF Grants Officer Catriona Macpherson and looking forward together to a successful outcome.

Challenges ahead

Reverend Thomas Hunter and family

One of the many challenges of the project is making repairs and cleaning up five family lairs, the resting place of parishioners that have left their own mark on the history of New Cumnock.

The New Cumnock Liaison Group is currently in the process of completing a Statutory Declaration to enable the remedial work to be carried out.

If you are a descendant of any of these families then please get in touch and we would be delighted to hear from you.

Learning from Mauchline Burns Club

Burns’ House Museum, Mauchline

Andrew Bell and Ian Lyell of the Mauchline Burns Club were kind enough to invite Ian Howat (chair of New Cumnock Liaison Group) and Bobby Guthrie ( New Cumnock Auld Kirk and Village Heritage Trail project leader) to the Robert Burns House Museum, Mauchline to share their experiences on the wonderful work undertaken at Mauchline Kirkyard, where many of Burns’ contemporaries rest.

Ian Lyell, Ian Howat and Bobby Guthrie with the Mauchline Kirkyard plan

Although a native of Mauchline, Mr Lyell will be well known to many New Cumnockians having taught in schools there for many years. Here he is showing the location plan of notable headstones in the kirkyard.

Andy Bell, Ian Howat and Ian Lyell

Ian Lyell points out a headstone of interest to Ian Howat, while Andy Bell looks over the resting place of Willie Fisher ‘Holy Willie’ .

Gavin Hamilton’s resting place

Gavin Hamilton’s resting place illustrates the use of the grave markers detailing name, year of birth to year of death, significance to Burns and the coding letter ‘U’ for use on the location map. The cobbles round the headstone have been place there purposefully to prevent damage from strimmers or chemical sprays used in the maintenance of the kirkyard. ( Check out Gavin Hamilton’s link with New Cumnock here ).

Gravemarkers

The use of gravemarkers is well illustrated and ties in well with the theme of ‘blue plaques‘ in the Mauchline Burns Club Trail in the village.

A big thank you to Andy and Ian and the Mauchline Burns’ Club

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a’ that,)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an’ a’ that.
For a’ that, an’, a’ that,
It’s coming yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that.

New Cumnock Auld Kirk and Village Heritage Trail Press Release

New Cumnock Auld Kirk and Village Heritage Trail wins Heritage Lottery Fund support

The New Cumnock Liaison Group (NCLG) has received £39,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and £30,000 funded by Barr Environmental through the landfill Communities Fund for their community based New Cumnock Auld Kirk and Village Heritage Trail project. Led by NCLG volunteers and engaging groups from across the community, the project – which will be completed by the end of the year – focuses on preserving the ruins of the Auld Kirk at the centre-piece of a new village trail that will celebrate the rich heritage of New Cumnock.

Primary School children will carry out research into a cross section of former parishioners resting in the Auld Kirkyard, participate in the design of a kirkyard trail and the creation of an interactive web-site application for use in the classroom and by the general public. The project provides an excellent basis for outdoor learning and to help in the development of the four capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence. Members of the Parish Church and History Club will focus their research into past parish ministers and WWI soldiers resting in the kirkyard or remembered on family tombstones and will participate in design workshops to create kirkyard trails as well as learn new skills in the cleaning and maintenance of tombstones. NCLG volunteers will engage in historical research of key locations throughout the village and participate in the design of interpretation panels and the creation of a village heritage trail to be enjoyed by the community and visitors alike.

In 1650 the parish of Cumnock was sub-divided into the two new parishes of New Cumnock and Old Cumnock. A new church was built to serve New Cumnock and was completed in 1659, a turbulent time in Scotland’s history. Its kirkyard would become the resting place of many parishioners whose lives help to tell the story of New Cumnock. Now in ruins and known fondly as the Auld Kirk it makes a fitting centre-piece for the village heritage trail to be cherished and remembered for putting the ‘new’ in New Cumnock.

Commenting on the awards, NCLG project leader Bobby Guthrie said: “We are thankful and thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Landfill Communities fund. The advice and encouragement from our partner East Ayrshire Council has been invaluable and the willingness of groups from across the community to embrace the project has been excellent and extremely rewarding. Together we look forward to preserving, revealing, sharing and enjoying part of New Cumnock’s story.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About New Cumnock Liaison Group (NCLG)

The NCLG was established to facilitate the sustainable regeneration and economic development of New Cumnock. The group comprises volunteers who meet regularly to consider a wide range of projects covering topics such as derelict / disused buildings, sustainable energy, heritage and leisure based pursuits.

About the Heritage Lottery Fund

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported over 30,000 projects, allocating £4.7 billion across the UK. Website: www.hlf.org.uk

NEW CUMNOCK HERITAGE

GATEWAY TO AYRSHIRE

Living Kirkyard Event