Tingwall Kirk goes up for sale

THE HISTORIC Tingwall Kirk has become the latest Shetland church to go on the market.

The B-listed Church of Scotland building – which is surrounded by burial grounds – has an asking price of offers over £55,000.

It was built around 1790 and has a gross internal floor area of approximately 200 square metres.

The surrounding graveyard is owned and maintained by the local authority and is separate to the property. There is, however, a small area of ground to the rear of the church included in the sale.

It has been described as the “mother church of Shetland” and the site itself is steeped in history, as there has been a church in Tingwall since the 12th Century.

Part of the old St Magnus church, circa in the 1100s, is said to be seen in the grass-covered burial vault in the graveyard.

In the property listing the Church of Scotland suggests that the building has a variety of alternative potential uses, subject to consent – including a theatre, entertainment venue or restaurant, or residential accommodation.

In 2018 the church announced that it would close 20 of its buildings in Shetland in phases, and some of them have been bought by their communities.