The Colintraive Church Building

"Nothing can be more peaceful to behold than the little church at Colintraive, situated by the shores of the Kyles of Bute, clearly visible from the sea against a background of trees."

Rev. Dr John Gray 1987

The Colintraive Church was completed and first opened for worship in August 1840 after a 3 year campaign by Janet Campbell, the wife of John Campbell the laird of South Hall, to raise the necessary funds.  Janet Campbell had determined to provide a church in the local community on land belonging to her husband out of concern for the "spiritual wellbeing" of the tenants who worked on the South Hall estate and others who lived in the vicinity.  

Sadly, Janet Campbell never actually saw the finished result of her labours and she died in 1840 shortly after the church was opened. However the marble Victorian memorial to her set above the inside of the original church door, tells us that her wish was fulfilled and that all the credit was due to her. 

The church and surrounding land were formally gifted from the Campbells' Trust Estate to trustees on behalf of the Colintraive Church congregation in July 1915.  While the graveyard was later transferred to the County Council of Argyll (now Argyll and Bute) in 1947, the  Church itself is still held within the Congregation and managed by the Church of Scotland. 

In 2022 the Argyll Presbytery decided that it was no longer feasible to keep the Colintraive Church as a place of worship and that accordingly the building should be disposed of. As a small group of local people, the Friends of Colintraive Church is dedicated to retaining this iconic and historic building in public ownership for the continued benefit of the Colintraive community and others.  We would like to think that Janet Campbell would have approved.