When I moved to Islay in 2008 I was told on good authority (by a church elder), that Portnahaven church was unique in having two doors, built especially to accommodate the two villages with those from Portnahaven entering through the left hand door and those from Port Wemyss on the right.

I know now that the design is common to all Thomas Telford’s Parliamentary Churches (and also as the church was built before the village of Port Wemyss) but what isn’t true by design, over the years it has been true in practice.  

One particularly stormy Christmas Eve Carol service, the Portnahaven door was out of action and we all had to enter through the Port Wemyss door.  The congregation observed the same division inside, with each village keeping to their own side. 

On this occasion it was suggested to a latecomer that she sit on the Port Wemyss side to even up the numbers, she replied “I will sit on my own side thank you very much”.

There often weren’t many people and only four children  at the Christmas services but that didn’t stop us putting on a nativity play on several occasions. I have vivid memories of one of the church elders walking to the front of the church pressed into action as one of the Three Kings with her head on one side trying to keep the very slippery scarf from which we had fashioned her headdress from slipping off!

One year the power went off just as the service began and we sang carols unaccompanied almost drowned out by the hail thundering against the large south facing windows.

I have attended a couple of weddings and sadly lots of funerals in Portnahaven church in the last two decades, but it’s the community which sticks in my mind.

The lovely Pauline came to me, as I had recently opened a cafe, to check which days I was open before choosing a different day to start T in the Church, so as not to affect my business. “Us incomers need to stick together” she said (she had been on Islay 40 years).

As many as 800 Scottish churches could close between 2020 and 2030. These are not just buildings; they hold generations of love, loss, laughter, tears and memories that deserve to live on.

ReACH is a two-year project to document the heritage of these churches, ten churches have been selected for in depth case studies – to explore their heritage in a new way from the physical details of the building and contents to the memories and experiences which connect people to them.  

Portnahaven Church has been selected, and it is in good company, others include Brechin Cathedral and Burntisland Parish Church. Please share your stories – that time when the power was off and we sang carols unaccompanied, the funerals where mourners spread out into the grounds, the births and marriages which were celebrated within the walls.

You can contribute by emailing emily@socantscot.org or find out more about the project here.