Dunlichity Church

Of old ‘Lundichity’ dedicated to St Finan.

On a very ancient site. It is believed that St Finan preached here. In 1643 an effigy of St Finan was taken from Dunlicity and burnt at the Mercat Cross in Inverness. The present church dates from 1758.

Reconstruction

Presbytery ordered reconstruction in 1757 with a westward extension by 12 feet. Rebuilt 1759-62. There were later repairs in 1826 and an extensive repair by architect William Lawrie in 1859.

Features

Notable features at Dunlichity include the marks on the wall where arrows or, swords were sharpened, the old Watch house, built in 1820 for the guarding of the graves, and a very interesting burial ground, including the stone erected to Rev. Archibald Cook, who became the first Free Church minister here, at the time of the 1843 Disruption.

The graves

The graves record the old families of the Strath, including the burial enclosures of the MacGillivrays and the Shaws. On a rocky hillside beside the church there is the baptismal stone – believed to have been the original stone used in baptisms in the area.

Other Churches

Dunlichity Church

In the summer of 2018, a very special service was conducted by our interim moderator Rev Robert Brookes at Dunlichity Church to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the union of Daviot & Dunlichity churches. It was very well attended. We had a reading from the very old Gaelic bible read in Gaelic by Mr William Forbes. The bible dates back to 1892 and was presented by Major R. A. Fraser from Bunchrew. We also had a young piper playing and the ancient Dunlichity bell was rang. The bell dates back to 1702 and was made by Robert McConche.

A talk on the history of the church was given by our previous minister Rev Reg. Campbell who has written a short book about our churches. The weather was beautiful and after a very moving service we were able to share a picnic as well as the beautiful cake pictured below.

There was also a special 400th celebration service held at Daviot church. Unfortunately, a few months after celebrating the 400th anniversary of the union between Daviot & Dunlichity churches the Presbytery instructed the closure of Dunlichity Church.

April 2019 was rather a difficult month for the members of Daviot & Dunlichity Church, as towards the end of the month, we had the final service at Dunlichity church as a Church of Scotland building. It was a very poignant service, but we ended in a spirit of hope for the future, and we sincerely believe that something good will come from this closure – when one door closes, a window opens! A window of opportunity. It is hoped that the Church will be used by the community in the future.

In 2024 Dunlichity Church was bought over by Strathnairn Heritage Association

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