The shortlist / Scotland / St Andrew's Church, Tongue
Photo: Church of Scotland. Click the large photograph to see it full size.
346 years old
St Andrew's Church, Tongue
Tongue, by Lairg, Sutherland, Highland, Scotland
A white harled church of 1680 on the north coast of Sutherland, built by the Mackays of Reay over their burial vault. It is the cheapest church on the Kirk's list and the only one on ours with a full condition survey. The village has formed a group to buy it.
Our verdict
Twenty thousand pounds for a Category A church of 1680 with a clan chief’s vault under the floor. The repair bill is £220,000 and somebody has already paid an architect to write it down.
The village has a group, a survey and a plan. I would not bid against them. If you want this church to stand, give the group money, and buy a different one.
What is wrong with it
- The village wants it. A steering group formed after a public meeting on 2 August 2025 and intends to buy once its charity is registered.
- The surveyed repair bill is eleven times the asking price.
- The slate fixings are failing and the whole roof needs relaying within ten years.
- There is rot and a live leak under the WC floor.
- Floor tiles under the hall carpet may contain asbestos. The survey asks for a test.
- Only the footprint is sold. You own no ground around the walls.
The story
- Before 1680A chapel of St Peter, Teampull Pheader, stood on the site. The listing record says the core of the present church is probably that medieval chapel.
- 1680Donald Mackay, Master of Reay, rebuilt the church. The date is on the building. The Mackays of Reay were the chiefs of the clan and their burial vault lies under the gallery.
- 1729 to 1731First round of additions.
- 1778Further additions. The panelled front of the laird's loft is 18th-century work.
- 1862Last enlargement. The bellcote is 19th-century.
- 1951The carved canopy of the Reay loft went to the National Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh, where it has stayed.
- 1971Listed Category A.
- 2025The Church of Scotland declared the building surplus. On 2 August a public meeting in Tongue voted to look at a community purchase. In October a conservation architect surveyed it.
- 2026UpNorth Development Trust published the plan on behalf of the village: buy for £20,000, spend £50,000 in the first year, about £300,000 in all. The steering group hoped for charity registration in July.
Sources: Historic Environment Scotland, LB18456; Northern Times, community to look into buying the church; A future for St Andrew's, community proposal with the survey costs; Church of Scotland sale brochure
What it needs, and what it might cost
- Safe and dry
- £50,000
- Everything on the list
- £260,000 to £300,000
- Each year after that
- £2,500 to £5,000
These are a quantity surveyor's figures from December 2025, rounded as the surveyor rounded them. The community group's own total for the project is £300,000.
What the photographs show
- The harl is white and continuous on the gable and side wall. The paint is thin and grey in patches.
- The slate roof is dark and even from the churchyard. Slipped slates do not show at this distance.
- An outside stone stair, harled, climbs the gable to a blue door at loft level.
- Inside, the walls are plastered and painted white above a boarded dado. The ceiling is coombed and plain.
- The pews are pine and in place. One boxed table pew is upholstered in tartan.
- The brochure photographs are small. The surveyor saw far more than they show.
The work, line by line
| Now: safe and dry | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate repairs in the survey: refix slipped slates, clear valleys and gutters, repair the leaking lead outlet, open the blocked floor vents, find the leak and replace the rotten WC floor | £10,000 | From a public record |
| Urgent repairs in the survey: new gutter brackets, flush and test the drains, repaint the zinc windows and replace broken panes, replace the rotten west door frame and the cement lintel, repoint the bellcote, test the electrics | £40,000 | From a public record |
| Next: fabric and glass | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Necessary repairs in the survey, due within ten years: relay all roofs in new slate with new lead valleys, recoat the harl in mineral paint, replace failed plaster in lath and lime, asbestos survey | £160,000 | From a public record |
| Later: interior and services | Rough cost | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Desirable works in the survey: roof insulation and a fire protection inspection | £10,000 | From a public record |
| Left out of the survey figures: heating and electrical upgrade, professional fees, consents and VAT | £40,000 to £80,000 | Our assumption |
Yearly upkeep, £2,500 to £5,000. Insurance, electricity, gutters and valleys cleared twice a year, a yearly roof check, and paint for the harl.
Grants. A community body can apply to the Scottish Land Fund for the purchase, and the group has opened talks with it. A private buyer cannot.
Condition, as the listing describes it
| Survey | Inspected 28 October 2025 by Groves-Raines Architects Studios, costed 8 December 2025 by Morham & Brotchie. Repairs total about £220,000 over ten years. | Checked by us |
| Roof | West Highland slate. About eleven slipped or missing slates. Fixings are corroding and a full reslate is expected within ten years. No roofing felt. | Checked by us |
| Walls | Lime harl with mineral paint, eroded and patchy on every elevation, with cement patches. | Checked by us |
| Damp | A leak and rot under the WC floor. Staining on the nave walls from an overflowing gutter and from the bellcote. The vault is damp. | Checked by us |
| Windows | Zinc-framed windows with broken panes and seized vents. | Checked by us |
| Services | Mains water and electricity. Private drainage. Electrics last inspected in 2017. EPC rating E. | From the listing |
These are our rough estimates and not quotes. Nobody from this site has been inside the building. We measured from the listing, looked at its photographs, applied published Scottish rates for 2025 and 2026, and raised them for scaffolding, height and heritage rules. Figures are for works only, before architect's fees of 10 to 15% and VAT. Rot, structural movement and asbestos do not show in a photograph. How we estimate.
The seller
Church of Scotland General Trustees. To the Kirk. The General Trustees hold the title for the congregation, and sale proceeds go back to the Church of Scotland for its remaining congregations and buildings.
What you may do with it
Preserve as found. Category A, with a laird's loft, an 18th-century panelled loft front and the Reay family vault under the floor. The brochure allows museum or gallery use without a change of use. Do not plan a house here.
Sacred status
| Worship | Closed for worship and declared surplus by the Kirk. The Church of Scotland dedicates its buildings and does not consecrate them, so there is no deconsecration step. | From the listing |
| Last service | Not stated. Declared surplus in 2025. | Checked by us |
Heritage status
| Listing | Category A, listed 18 March 1971, record LB18456. | Checked by us |
| Consent | Listed building consent is needed for any change that affects the character of the building, inside or outside. You apply to the council. | Checked by us |
| Use | Crèche, museum, gallery or library without a change of use. A house would need consents. | From the listing |
What comes with it
| Rooms | Main church hall and lower crypt, a meeting room over the north gable, and a south wing with hallway, WC and small kitchen. | From the listing |
| Land | The footprint of the building only. | From the listing |
| Furnishings | Pews, pulpit and the laird's loft are in the photographs. The canopy of the loft has been held by the National Museum since 1951. | Checked by us |
The dead
| Churchyard | Not included. It belongs to the local authority. | From the listing |
| Vault | The Reay burial vault lies below the gallery. The brochure includes a lower crypt in the sale. Ask what obligations come with it. | Unknown |
Getting there
| Road | On the north coast road through Tongue. The postal town is Lairg. | From the listing |
| Train | Not stated in the brochure. | Unknown |
How to offer
| Process | Offers go in writing through a Scottish solicitor. Register your interest through a solicitor so you are told if a closing date is set. The sellers say they are not bound to accept the highest offer. | From the listing |
People to call
- Seller: Church of Scotland Law Department, properties@churchofscotland.org.uk, 0131 240 2263
- Listed building consent: Highland Council planning department
- Heritage adviser: Historic Environment Scotland
- Advice and small grants: Scotland's Churches Trust
"From the listing" means the seller's agent says so. "Checked by us" means we confirmed it against a public record, linked where possible. "Unknown" is a question to put to the agent before you visit.