Campaigners hope to save one of Scotland's oldest churches

A fundraising campaign has been launched to save what is believed to be one of Scotland's oldest churches from ending up in private hands.

Records of Linton Kirk, which sits on an historic mound between the villages of Linton and Morebattle in the Borders, date back to the 12th Century.

It is among hundreds of churches the Church of Scotland has put up for sale due to declining congregations and unsustainable building costs.

However, it has agreed that if parishioners can meet Linton's asking price of £35,000 it will transfer ownership to a heritage trust.

Simon Oldham, trustee and treasurer of the Linton Kirk Heritage Appeal (LKHA), said he believed the church was worth keeping in community hands.

"Linton Kirk has an amazing history, as you might expect from a church that has been home to weekly services, christenings, weddings, funerals and other events over 900 years," he said.

"We feel strongly that it is still a great place of community use and place of worship, and should be saved for those purposes, and we're doing what we can to prevent any change of use and preserve one of Scotland's oldest churches for the community.

"We have had a lot of support from people across the Borders and further afield, and we hope that this crowdfunding appeal could get us over the line with the price that the Church have put on it."

The history of the site has a global reach.

Members of the Somerville clan across the world return to the area for events to honour the legend of William de Somerville, the first Baron of Linton.

In folklore, he slayed the Linton Worm, described as a 10ft (4m) long beast with fangs, that had its lair on Linton Hill.

This exploit is commemorated by a carved tympanum - a semi-circular decorative wall surface - above the church door, which is unique in Scotland.

It is also home to a small window which is the work of renowned stained glass designer Douglas Strachan.

It features fragments of ancient glass which were excavated at Holyrood Palace dating back to the 14th Century.

The LKHA is one of a number of community groups in southern Scotland which have either bought or hope to buy their local church.

Campaigners at Wamphray Church near Beattock - which has links to Russian royalty and St Cuthbert - are hopeful they can save it from falling into private hands.

Residents near both Ruberslaw Parish Church at Bedrule - between Hawick and Jedburgh - and Applegarth Church near Lockerbie successfully raised the funds they needed to buy their local places of worship last year.