Strontian, Free Church of Scotland

Strontian Free Church began as a floating church moored on Loch Sunart, following the time of The Disruption of 1843. It was later replaced by a conventional building of stone, with a slate roof.

When The Free Church broke from The Church of Scotland in 1843, the community in Sunart, a remote area on the West Coast of Scotland, asked the landowner for a piece of land on which they could build a new place of worship.  He refused.

Somehow this isolated community raised a remarkable £1400, to have a Floating Church constructed at a shipyard near Glasgow.  It was built by John Wood.of Port Glasgow, was launched in 1846 and towed all the way to Loch Sunart by the steamer Conqueror, before being moored at Ardnastang Bay, Strontian.

It was a substantial vessel, almost 80ft long, 24ft wide and 27ft high. It came with a vestry, a pulpit and seating variously described as for 400 to 1000 people (around 700-750 seems to be the most likely figure)

Some worshippers walked miles and then either crossed by rowing boat or from the stone jetty, pulling themselves out in small boats on long ropes stretched between the church and the shore.

Years later in a great storm the church broke from her anchors. The church was blown ashore and settled between high and low tide which is designated as 'no man's land' so the Laird could not intervene.  Here it was used for some years as a church and a school until finally the Laird allowed a plot of land on which a stone church was built in 1869/70. This is situated on a side road outwith the village of Strontian, with stone walls and a slate roof. It is now a private dwelling house.

In 2016 a local diver found one of the original 'mushroom' anchors and some anchor chain. The present day community is appealing to people all over the world to help raise and preserve the anchor, to make  it the centrepiece of a new display.

For more details see The Floating Church of Loch Sunart by Lionel A. Ritchie, M.A.. Copies of the plans of the floating church are in the Scottish Record Office, the originals are held by The Free Church of Scotland offices.

It was located at NM7999061510 (Lat/Lon 56.69335, -5.594639). You can see this on maps provided by:

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• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)