455. KEITH - Holy Trinity

Photographs taken by Jeff Lowndes

History

The Episcopal Church in Keith had known a number of locations for 200 years in various houses outside the town, and in the early days, some of its supporters were thrown into prison for their perseverance. Then in 1875 Henry D'Arcy Simpson (Rector for only one year), opened a 'Parsonage Fund.'

In 1876 John Archibald became incumbent and the fund stood at £140. Immediately he began to increase it and very soon the congregation built the present rectory in Seafield Avenue for £707. In 1878 he started a fund to raise money to build the present church on a vacant site adjacent to the rectory and four years later the foundation stone of the new church was laid by Miss Gordon-Duff of Drummuir acting on behalf of her sister-in-law, Mrs Thomas Gordon-Duff of Park who had been taken ill whilst on a visit to South Africa.

The new church was consecrated, The Church of The Holy Trinity, by the Primus, the Bishop of Brechin on 27th June 1883 acting for the Bishop of Moray. £2600 was raised in just four years. John became Dean Archibald and continued to serve his congregation until he retired in 1912 to Northfield in Worcs. He died in 1915 and is buried with his family in Keith.

The Isla-Deveron Group of Episcopal Churches consists of three churches, Holy Trinity in Keith, Christ Church in Huntly and St Marnan in Aberchirder and are part of the United Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness within the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The group takes its name from the two rivers in the area, the Deveron which flows through Huntly and its tributary, the Isla which flows through Keith and joins the Deveron near Aberchirder.

The process whereby these three churches came together began in 1951 when Canon Walter Donald, who was Rector of Christ Church, Huntly was asked to take charge also of St Marnan's Aberchirder, when the incumbent there, Reverend Tom Hopkins, left. This arrangement continued very satisfactorily into the next incumbency of the Reverend Cyril Barnes who became Rector of Christ Church in 1967. In the mid-seventies, the Reverend Tom Gooding, Rector of Holy Trinity in Keith retired and, guided by the Rt. Revd. George Sessford, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, Canon Cyril (as he had become) was invited by the Vestry of Holy Trinity, Keith to take on a third member of the Group.

Revd Loma and Revd David Balfour who arrived in Autumn 2009 look after Keith and Bishop Mark is Rector.

SERVICES

Family Eucharist every Sunday at 1130 am.

On the 5th Sunday of each month the service will be a combined one held with other churches in the group and details will be shown on the 'Notices' page of this site.

Check the Notice Board at the church for details of other services and an update of information.

Is Rev David consulting a map to find his way to the church?

Paschal Candles at Holy Trinity Keith April 2010

A view of Keith