28/11/2025
“The Old High Church of St Stephen’s stood serene on the banks of the Ness, the weathered stones in its kirkyard a testament to righteous peace." (From Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon, ©️Diana Gabaldon)
This is just one of the references made to the Old High in this Outlander book. It is now a former church, having been closed, and sold, by Church of Scotland, and purchased by a charitable group called Old High Inverness. They plan to open it as a visitor and heritage centre, using its amazing and varied past, to give it a vibrant future.
They were lucky enough to have Diana Gabaldon visit them recently, when she was in Inverness to receive an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Highlands and Islands. She’d only ever seen the building from the outside, and was apparently delighted to have a look inside. She was also very moved when she saw the space that Jacobite soldiers had been imprisoned in the base of the tower after Culloden, and the headstones at which they were later executed.
It’s not just Jacobite history the building has. The base of the tower dates from the 14th century, making it the oldest building in Inverness. St Columba stood on the site the building is now, way back in 565AD, and converted the Picts to Christianity - it’s also reported he had the first sighting of Nessie from here! It has strong military links to the Cameron Highlanders and subsequent Regiments, who held their services and Colours there. It really is the heart of Inverness!
Please give the page a follow, and you can follow their progress. There’s also a link to their GoFundMe fundraiser pinned at the top of their page, if anyone would like to donate to their appeal to help them transform this building into a visitor attraction for all”
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