Guthrie Heritage & Guthrie Church

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Guthrie Heritage & Guthrie Church

Welcome to the Guthrie Heritage page where we will share Guthrie history through our church (in Angus, Scotland) and online.

We are on a journey to develop a heritage centre for worship, education, and community engagement to last for future generations.

11/09/2026

*The many ministers at Guthrie Church through the centuries*

Just inside the door of Guthrie Church hang two wooden panels recording the ministers who have served here across the centuries.

The first reaches right back into the church's early history, recording its pre-Reformation clergy and showing just how long this has been a place of worship. It is also striking to see how many Guthries appear among the names, reflecting the family's long connection with the church.

The second panel takes us from Patrick Lyell in 1655 right through to Rev. Brian Ramsay in 1984 – almost 330 years of history on a single panel.

As we prepare to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the present Guthrie Church, one name is particularly interesting. Rev. James Bruce, shown from 1818, was the minister when the old church closed and the present building was constructed. He conducted the first service in the new church on 3 December 1826.

And at the bottom of the panel is a wonderful link between past and present. Rev. Brian Ramsay served here from 1984 until his retirement in 2022. He continues to conduct services at Guthrie Church when needed, as well as serving the wider community, and is now a trustee of Guthrie Heritage SCIO.

Two simple wooden panels, but an extraordinary record of the people who have served Guthrie Church through the centuries.

04/09/2026

*Remembering eleven soldiers of the First World War at Guthrie Church*

These beautiful memorial vases were presented to Guthrie Kirk by the Guthrie Guild in 1918, at the end of the First World War.

One bears a Roll of Honour, with the names of eleven soldiers carefully engraved into the metal. The other carries a particularly poignant dedication:

“In Memory of the Soldiers who from Balgavies House returned to the Front and were Killed.”

During the First World War, Balgavies House, in Forfar near Guthrie, served as an auxiliary hospital, where soldiers who had been wounded or fallen ill during their wartime service were cared for and given time to recover. Some recovered enough to be considered fit for active service and were sent back to the Front, only to be killed after returning to the fighting. It is these men that the inscription remembers.

Their names are also remembered on the First World War memorial in Guthrie Church, alongside others from the wider parish who lost their lives.

More than a century later, these vases remain in the church - a meaningful reminder that behind every name is an individual story, and of how important it is that those stories continue to be remembered.

We will remember them.

28/08/2026

Making space for the next chapter at Guthrie Church

There’s been a little more activity behind the scenes at Guthrie Church recently, as we continue preparing the building for its future.

Thanks to the wonderful support of members of our local community, a number of pews at the back of the church have been carefully removed, creating a more open and accessible space.

This area will eventually form part of the Guthrie Heritage Centre, with displays sharing the fascinating history of the church, the local community and the Guthrie Clan. Work on the stories and displays is already well underway, and we’re really excited to see it beginning to take shape.

A huge thank you to members of the local Guthrie community who generously gave their time and resources to make all of this possible. We’re incredibly grateful for your continued support.

It’s another exciting step forward as we prepare for the church’s bicentennial celebrations this October, and look ahead to the launch of the Guthrie Heritage Centre next year.

More to come!

21/08/2026

From one small corner of Angus… to Guthries around the world!

Guthrie Church has been the heart of the Guthrie story since the 13th century, and we're so pleased to now be sharing that heritage with all of you. Because over the centuries, the name has travelled a very long way from here.

Today Guthries can be found in around 80 countries worldwide. The largest number by far are in the United States, roughly 40,000 people, concentrated most in Texas, California and Florida. There are also strong numbers in Australia and England, alongside the Guthries who remain here in Scotland where it all began.

You don't have to look far for evidence of the journey. Inside our own church hangs a stained glass window, "The Sower," commemorating Guthrie family members who joined the 1849 California gold rush, bearing the Guthrie coat of arms. And the name itself shows up in unexpected corners of the map too: Guthrie, Ontario in Canada, the Hundred of Guthrie, a historic district in South Australia, and the Guthrie Corridor Expressway in Malaysia, named after a company with Scottish roots.

The name has even made its way into American music, carried by Woody Guthrie and, in turn, his son Arlo.

So we'd love to know, wherever you're following us from: where did your Guthries end up?

Please tell us in the comments...

14/08/2026

Did you know Guthrie Church has a connection to one of Scotland's greatest engineers?

The church you see at Guthrie today was built in 1826 to a design by Thomas Telford. Telford is one of the great names of Scottish and British engineering, responsible for over 400 bridges, 1,500 miles of road, the Caledonian Canal and the Menai Bridge, among countless other achievements.

In that same period, Telford was also overseeing a Parliamentary scheme building 32 churches across the Highlands and Islands, funded by an Act of Parliament to bring worship to remote communities that had none. Guthrie's church was built in that same year, and Telford is believed to have had a hand in its design too, though it's not officially one of the 32. Guthrie's own foundations go back much further than that.

The Guthrie church's story goes back nearly a thousand years, and the church was built using stone from the medieval church that came before it. The Guthrie Aisle, a remnant of that earlier building, still stands in the churchyard today.

We'll be celebrating in both October and December, marking two hundred years since the church's dedication in 1826. More on this as we get closer.

07/08/2026

Every church has a story... But its greatest legacy is the people who filled it

Last week, we shared how Guthrie Church was carefully recorded as part of the Scotland's Churches Trust national recording project. Alongside documenting the building itself, volunteers also captured something just as important – the memories of the people who worshipped here and the role the church played at the heart of village life.

The stories they recorded remind us that Guthrie Church has been far more than a historic building. It has been a place of baptisms, weddings, Sunday School, harvest celebrations, Christmas services, community gatherings and lifelong friendships, creating memories that span generations.

The recording project also captured some wonderful memories of village life. One of the stories was from 1953, when most homes in the village still had no electricity. Colonel Ivan Guthrie, the Clan Chief, arranged for electricity to be installed in the Village Hall, where two televisions were provided for the community. But first, everyone had to attend church! The church was full, and one local resident, Alison, even arrived on horseback.

These are the kinds of memories that bring history to life. They remind us that preserving our heritage isn't just about protecting old buildings – it's about remembering the people, traditions and moments that made them so special.

Do you have a memory of Guthrie Church or the village of Guthrie? We'd love to hear it. Please share it in the comments below or send us a message. Every memory helps us preserve the story of Guthrie for future generations.

31/07/2026

Did you know Guthrie Church has now been officially recorded as part of a nationwide heritage project?

Last year, we welcomed Scotland's Churches Trust to Guthrie Church as part of their important work recording the contents of churches across Scotland before they are lost, altered or dispersed.

Over the course of the day, a team of dedicated volunteers carefully photographed and catalogued the church's historic contents, helping to preserve not only the building itself but also the stories behind the objects within it.

One of the many fascinating features recorded during the project was the church's font, pictured here. Presented to Guthrie Church in 1901 by George Reid, Banker, and Sarah Forbes MacLaren, it has been a key part of generations of baptisms, services and community life over the past century.

The recording also documented many other features throughout the church, from memorials and stained glass to historic furnishings, creating a lasting record of Guthrie Church and its heritage for future generations.

Our sincere thanks go to Scotland's Churches Trust and all the wonderful volunteers who gave their time and expertise to this important project.

Because preserving our heritage isn't just about protecting buildings - it's about safeguarding the stories they hold.

24/07/2026

We are delighted to welcome you to the church... we are open every Sunday... if you want to visit on another day, please let us know, and we will do our best to open up for you. We are also available for celebrations such as weddings, christenings and funerals. You can find out more on our website www.guthrieheritage.org Have a lovely weekend!

17/07/2026

Did you know that the ceiling of the Guthrie Aisle featured one of Scotland's rarest surviving medieval church paintings?

Around 1475, in the Guthrie Aisle was decorated with painted wooden panels forming a barrel-vaulted ceiling. These remarkable artworks depicted scenes from the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement, helping to bring the stories and teachings of the church to life. They are among the most important surviving examples of late medieval church decoration in Scotland.

One side of the ceiling showed scenes from Christ's Passion, while the other featured a "Doom" painting of the Last Judgement – believed to be the only surviving example of its kind in Scotland.

The photograph shows the panels displayed inside Guthrie Castle after they had been removed from the Aisle for safekeeping. They remained there for many years before being donated by Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Guthrie to the National Museum of Scotland in the 1960's, where they can still be seen today, along with the Guthrie Bell.

10/07/2026

As our Guthrie community continues to grow (welcome to our 359 followers!), we thought we'd share another remarkable story from our heritage.

This time, it's the story of James Guthrie - a son of the Laird of Guthrie and one of Scotland's most famous Covenanting martyrs.

In the 1600s, James Guthrie was a minister and one of the most outspoken defenders of the Presbyterian Church and its independence from royal control.

When King Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, many who had challenged the Crown's authority over the Church found themselves in danger. James Guthrie refused to back down.

He was arrested, tried, and convicted of high treason - not for any act of violence, but for his beliefs and the words he spoke in defence of them.

On 1 June 1661, he was executed at the Mercat Cross on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

King Charles II is said to have remarked that:
"That short man will do more mischief dead than alive."

He was right.

James Guthrie became one of Scotland's most revered Covenanting martyrs, remembered for his courage, conviction and willingness to stand by his principles, whatever the cost.

Today, visitors to Edinburgh can still find a memorial marker on the Royal Mile showing the site of his ex*****on - a reminder of a Guthrie whose story helped shape Scotland's history.

As we continue to uncover and share stories from centuries of Guthrie heritage, James Guthrie reminds us that our legacy is not only about places and family connections, but also about people whose actions left a lasting mark on the world.

If you haven't already, please follow and share Guthrie Heritage on Facebook and Instagram. Every new follower helps us bring Guthrie's history and heritage to a wider audience.

Have you ever visited the Royal Mile and seen the memorial?

The painting is of James Guthrie by an unknown artist and can be found in The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum.

Address

Guthrie Church, Guthrie
Forfar
DD82TP

Opening Hours

11am - 4pm

Website

http://www.guthrieheritage.org/

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