Messages from the past revealed at historic Caithness church
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A BIT of handwritten history was discovered while work was being carried out at a historic Caithness church.
Six wooden panels with pencilled inscriptions, dating from 1864 to the 1950s, were spotted while the former Established Church of Olrig in Castletown, near the local primary school, was being renovated.
The property was purchased from Highland Council by Angus Cowap and Dr Heather Davis who plan to turn it into a home. The inscriptions were noticed while the panels were being stripped out as part of the renovation.
The earliest one dates from the 19th century, some are from the time of World War II when the church was used as a mess hall by the RAF, and others are from the 1950s.
The panels were offered to Castlehill Heritage Centre and will be put on display there.
Spokeswoman Muriel Murray is "absolutely thrilled" to get them and says they represent "a slice of living history."
"The earliest identifiable inscriptions date from 1864 and record the annual checks which were done on the church clock every September along with the minor time adjustments made," she said.
A message pencilled on another panel says "in memory of F Richards who spent the best years of his life plate-bashing in the cookhouse", which was next to the church.
Mrs Murray believes that local wartime romances are implied in some inscriptions. One says: "In loving memory of Gracie Dallas Sept 1941", while another states: "Memories live longer than dreams" and is encircled by a heart and arrow.
A serviceman called Rahert signed his name in an inscription in 1939.
"In more recent times the tower [of the church] seems to have attracted the youth of the day," Mrs Murray said. "The names of some of the village's older residents indicate they were there in the 1950s. A favourite prank was to sneak up the tower to ring the church bell.
"We are absolutely thrilled to get the panels and plan to put them on display once they are mounted. We would hope to have them on view to the public next month. I am sure they will create a lot of interest."
The church dates from 1840 and was built to accommodate the rising population of the parish of Olrig. It was replaced in 1929 by the church on the Main Street.
