Our Story So Far
St. Ninian’s Church was built by the Bigton community in 1905. Records describe the opening service where more than 500 people attended.
After an extensive consultation and feasibility study, Bigton Collective secured community ownership of the former St Ninian’s Church (now known as Hymhus) in February 2022.
“We were delighted to bring the building into regular use for the benefit of the community, developing a large range of community activities and initiatives”.
“We were grateful to be able to still use the kirk for a funeral when our father died. He wasn’t religious but had strong ties with the kirk in his earlier years. It was very special to be able to use the building and shape the service in a way that was fitting for him.”
A new phase
The transfer of the building into community use has been an emotional journey. As a community we were elated to retain the use of such an important part of our history. This also comes with a strong sense of responsibility to respect the heritage of the building and all the different feelings and connections that people may have towards it.
We hope that we have taken a considered and sensitive approach to matters such as the adapted layout, removing some of the pews whilst still retaining the character. We have also tried to interweave the stories, artefacts and memories of the building into our exhibitions, groups and future plans.
Our first open day in 2022 singing Bigton Bell, a specially composed song by Yvonne and Alice.
Rev. Lynn Brady passes the keys to Alice Ritch
Stevie and Ronan Wark who lovingly extracted the pulpit intact. It is now our reception desk.
Stevie Wark of Ringan Art also made a beautiful new gate for Hymhus from reclaimed mahogany.
A phased renovation
We’ve been so fortunate to be working with Malcolmson’s architects on our phased renovation.
As we’ve settled into the building and understood better the flow of how all our activities work in the space, we continue to work closely with Suzanne and her team to consider improvements in a creative and thoughtful way.
