Former church is blessed with new lease of life

AN old church in Fordyce which is steeped in history has been resurrected.

Chris and Alison Temple bought the former Church of Scotland building in 2014 and for the past four years have completely renovated the property turning it into their family home and café and bistro business.

It was during the extensive work that the couple found out the heritage of the building.

Mr Temple said: "The building has connections with the Scottish Samurai Thomas Blake Glover, whose mother was married here.

"We also found a redcoat sleeve in the attic which dates back to the Napoleonic Wars and is on display."

The couple had planned to move to the Borders in 2014, having sold their successful bed and breakfast business in Buckie which they had run for 10 years.

But when they saw the building was for sale in a village they loved, they put in an offer and it was accepted.

The renovation work took four years with the couple doing most of it themselves.

It saw them remove 100 tonnes of rubble, an organ and the church's bell, which is now on display when you enter the property.

After the work was completed the couple now have a family home and their new business The Old Kirk Café and Bistro.

The bistro's focus is on using local ingredients and with Mr Temple having a licence to buy fish and shellfish directly from vessels, they are as fresh as they can get.

They also use suppliers in Portsoy and Keith.

The bistro's menu changes constantly, so every time you visit something different will be on offer.

Thomas Blake Glover, who is connected to the building, was born in Fraserburgh in 1838, and was the fifth of eight children to Thomas Berry Glover and Mary Findlay. He was educated at Fordyce Academy

Glover was a key figure in the industrialisation of Japan, helping to found the shipbuilding company which was later to become the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan.

Negotiating the sale of William Copeland's Spring Valley Brewery in Yokohama, Glover also helped establish the Japan Brewery Company, which later became the major Kirin Brewery Company.

He died at his home in Tokyo in 1911, but was buried at the Sakamoto International Cemetery in Nagasaki.