A CEMETERY and kirk in a small Scottish town with connections to Rob Roy and once a “hotbed of armed strife” is undergoing major restoration due to funding from a wind farm's community outreach scheme.
Members with Kippen Heritage have spent almost a decade trying to rejuvenate an old kirk and graveyard in the middle of the town’s conservation area, but have faced difficulties in starting the project due to financial constraints.
However, the community group has recently been able to start restoring the historic site – which has been closed to the public for several years after being classed as “dangerous” –after securing finances through Kingsburn and Earlsburn Wind Farm Community Funds.
The site is home to the resting place of Jean Key, who was abducted by Rob Roy’s son Robin Oig, and forced to marry him so he could gain control of her wealth.
Oig would be later executed for the crime in Edinburgh, but Key died before she could witness her abductor's death and was laid to rest in the small town in Stirlingshire.
Part of the project has seen local stonemasons help to restore the kirk walls so that it is safe for people to go into the kirkyard once again and members from the heritage group are also undertaking work to help clear the overgrown vegetation.
Resident archaeologist for Stirling Council, Dr Murray Cook, said that the restoration work is an “incredible” example of when a community group comes together to help celebrate their area's local history.
“Not much seems to happen in Kippen, but it was once a hotbed of armed strife,” he said.
The Kippen graveyard is also home to the burial place of James Ure, who was an Episcopalian minister but left the faith to follow Presbyterianism and led a local revolt to help the Covenanting cause.
Dr Cook said: “Minister James Ure led 200 armed men to the Battle of Bothwell Brig and then spent years in hiding on the moors above the village.
“Even worse, cattle rustling gangsters roamed the countryside, Rob Roy's son Robin Oig, kidnapped an heiress, Jean Key, and forced her to marry her to gain control of her wealth.
“Going even further back, Kippen lay at the frontier of three kingdoms, Pictland to the north, Strathclyde to the south-west and Northumbria to the south-east and the wee fort that gives Kippen (wee hill) its name.
Dr Cook added: “This is an incredible example of what people can do when we work together.
“Kippen was always an amazing place, but its assets were hidden and closed.”
Irene Chapman from Kippen Heritage said the next major milestone for the project is saving the bell on top of the kirk, which dates to 1618, despite the kirk itself not being built until 1690.
Although major work has been undertaken by the community, the site has not yet been declared safe.
However, Chapman said the trust hopes the full site will be open for people to explore the “fantastic views” the area offers by next year.
“It's just so peaceful, even though it's in the middle of the village, it's just a lovely place,” she said.
“We're hoping we can open the gates, get a seat or two in and literally leave the gates open so everyone can enjoy it.”
Anyone who wishes to donate to the project can do so by getting in touch with Kippen Heritage via their email at kippenheritage@gmail.com.
