More Than 40 Properties and £7.5 Million: The Church of Scotland Puts Churches and Manses on the Market

• More than 40 Church of Scotland properties were on sale or under offer
• Their combined value was put at more than £7.5 million
• Manses were listed from £50,000 to £495,000
• The church’s estate has shrunk from over 5,000 properties to about 3,600

Scotland’s national church is selling off buildings at scale, The Sunday Post reported in September 2022.

More than 40 Church of Scotland properties, including churches, manses and offices, were on the market or under offer, with a combined value of more than £7.5 million. Properties already under offer were expected to bring in about £5 million once sales completed. Manses were listed at prices from £50,000 to £495,000. Among the churches was the A-listed Glencorse Church, offered at over £325,000, with other listings in Brechin, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire.

The report said the church’s property portfolio had already shrunk from more than 5,000 buildings to about 3,600, including 1,276 churches, 770 manses and 1,096 church halls. The sales follow the 2019 General Assembly’s Radical Action Plan, which included cutting the number of presbyteries from 45 to 12 and reducing central administration costs by close to a third. The church describes its aim as becoming lean and fit for mission in the 21st century, with sale proceeds largely ring-fenced for the upkeep of remaining buildings.

The report noted that such buildings can offer large, open internal spaces for conversion, and a chance to preserve a piece of local history.

Church estates built for much larger congregations become a financial burden when attendance falls. Every manse and hall still standing must be insured, heated and repaired, and selling the least-used buildings to protect the rest is a pattern now common across the UK.

Jamaica’s situation is different, but many denominations here carry the same kind of legacy estate, from rectories and manses to halls and old schools. Knowing exactly what is owned, what it costs to keep, and which properties could be sold, leased or repurposed is basic stewardship, and a better position to be in than facing a crisis sale.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com