A North Berwick group is launching a campaign to raise money and restore one of the town’s oldest churches.

St Andrew’s Kirk Ports is a 17th-century church to the south of the town centre, with an iconic belltower that used to dominate the skyline.

St Andrew’s Kirk Ports was built between 1658 and 1664 and was the second incarnation of the town’s kirk, the first being situated near the Scottish Seabird Centre.

By the mid-19th century, the congregation had outgrown the kirk, moving to St Andrew Blackadder Church, on St Andrew Street, and leaving the building abandoned.

By the 20th century, the building was falling into ruin and in 2011 its tower’s iconic bell-shaped roof was removed by East Lothian Council officials due to health and safety concerns.

North Berwick Environment and Heritage Trust (NBEHT) is now reigniting calls to restore the building, returning the belltower roof and consolidating the entire structure.

The building was designated a scheduled monument by officials, meaning it cannot be restored to its original appearance, but attempts to consolidate and repair the missing belltower would be allowed if funding could be acquired.

Olwyn Owen, chairperson of NBEHT, told the Courier: “Raising the money to consolidate the kirk and reinstate the distinctive bell-shaped roof will be a priority for the trust’s community-based activity this year.

“A few years ago, a large grant was tantalisingly close, and the former Kirk Ports Heritage Group was bitterly disappointed when it fell through at the very last moment – we lost out to the National Museum of Flight.

“The small Kirk Ports Heritage Group then became part of NBEHT, a path which pARTicipate followed soon after.

“This means there’s now a stronger team to drive the project forward and, with the pandemic behind us, we are back on track to start fundraising.

“With community support, we’ll be in a much stronger position to apply for major grants for Kirk Ports, including heritage lottery and other funds – which is where the biggest pots of money are.

“With the support of the community and other funders, we truly believe that we could see that softly gleaming and graceful roof back in place before too long.

“There’s a wonderful inscription in St Paul’s Cathedral on the tomb of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren, which reads: ‘If you would seek my monument, look around you.’

“We hope that successful fundraising will enable this community to say: ‘If you want to see what we’ve achieved, just look around you.’”

These plans are not the first time groups have united to save St Andrew’s Kirk Ports, with the Kirk Ports Heritage Group having worked constructively with the council previously to consolidate the structure.

However, Covid-19 put an end to the work and now NBEHT is looking to take up the mantle and recover part of North Berwick’s lost history.

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “The council has previously worked with the Kirk Ports Heritage Group to discuss potential restoration works to this scheduled monument, with input from Historic Scotland.

“Plans were unfortunately stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and we are aware of a desire to move discussions forward now.

“As owners of the building, of course East Lothian Council will again be happy to engage with the community to secure a way forward to ensure the building is preserved for the future.”

Local businesses have also shown a desire to see St Andrew’s Kirk Ports restored, with Steampunk Coffee Roasters, whose cafe overlooks the church, eager to support the fundraising campaign.

Catherine Franks, Steampunk owner, said: “We feel deeply rooted in our community and in the town of North Berwick, and are keen to support projects that benefit the community or share its history – this does both.

“We are keen to support NBEHT’s efforts in saving this lovely ruin.

“One of the very best aspects of our site on Kirk Ports is that we overlook the beautiful St Andrew’s Kirk Ports ruin – we think it’s not only one of the best cafe views in North Berwick, it might be one of the best in Scotland.

“We would love to see more people enjoy this beautiful place and hope that it can be not only preserved from further ruin but also given new life as a space that can be enjoyed by the community.”