2 June 2001

"This is a special occasion – a new beginning. 

Preserving the past, participating in the present and preparing for the future."

PETER CAMPBELL, Trust Committee –addressing the aims and ambitions of the Heritage Centre

"It seems quite a long time ago now, two years ago last month, in May of 1999 when a steering group was formed, inspired and led by Allan Pennie and Arthur MacFarlane. That steering group was formed with two broad aims:

One was  to preserve this building as an important building in the community- since it had just closed in the March of that year, following the decision to unite the former Kelman’s and St Peter’s congregations and for that union to be housed in the Kelman Buildings.  So the St Peter’s building, sadly for many it has to be said , was no longer going to be a church but  Allan and other were quite determined that the building could, and should, be preserved for the community and could see a way forward for that.

Apart from preserving St Peter’s it was also to give it a new purpose as a Heritage Centre for Peterculter and the surrounding area. 

Two years ago, when we got together, we obviously had ideas but we were unaware of how long it was going to take just to get things moving. But we did. Slowly we developed our ideas- we raised funds, we organised events, published newsletters in the community, including a calendarwhich was very popular. Eventually, we got to a point about a year later when we leased the church. We are very grateful for the co-operation of the Church of Scotland and the local Peterculter Parish Church in supporting us with our ideas and allowing us to initially lease the church and begin to actively use it again in the community.

A  proper basis for the trust needed to be established. We were still a steering group and not a formal body and if it was ever going to become a proper heritage centre and as a Heritage Trust it needed to be formally constituted. With the help of Tony Dawson, our solicitor, we went through the various stages of defining ourselves as a trust and registering as a charity. Then leading on, having gained that status, and feeling more confident we then felt we were in a position to actually purchase this building which we have now done fairly recently. So now this belongs to us, not the Church of Scotland any more. We own it, as a trust, on behalf of the all the people in Peterculter. We thank Tony Dawson for all his advice and his skill in leading us though some quite complicated detailed papers, discussions and negotiations to get things established.

A lot of what has happened in the last two years could not have been achieved without the generosity of many people. In particular, the personal generosity of Allan  Pennie and Arthur MacFarlane who at the beginning put down quite substantial sums of their own money as a willingness to see the seed corn for the trust and  to move forward. Some of that has been used , as well as a lot of  money raised from our fund-raising events and other generous donations from people in the community. We have been very pleased by the response we have got. We weren’t sure what people would say about a Heritage Centre and having this building but clearly you here today shows it is important for Culter to have this. We have been very pleased and comforted by the amount of support and it has kept the committee going in all our efforts.

So here we find ourselves two years, almost to the day, from when we had our first steering group meeting to the official opening. Our aims, basically,  remain the same. To preserve this building, and also the heritage of Culter and the surrounding area. By that heritage we mean all aspects of life in Culter in the past including the churches themselves and their history, the paper mill- the schools, farming community, the railway line and life in general. It is our intention to preserve those objects, documents and  photographs from the past. But also to collect memories- the stories of individuals. Individual people, who in the end of the day lie at the heart of any history and heritage. It’s about the people who are here, the people who have been herein the past  and the people who will be here in the future. This particular building, and the buildings before it, have been here for over 800 years. This community has been here, in this place, for a lot longer than that.

"Lord God, our loving father, we give you thanks this day for the heritage of this area. We thank you, God, for the history that we treasure. Over 800 years of history to reflect upon. We thank you for those in communities in the past who have lived their lives and have sought to ensure that their heritage is passed on from generation to generation. We thank you, God, that we now have this building, which is a treasure of the past heritage, here in Culter and in the surrounding area. We thank you for all the ways in which people have come together, here in this community, to create this Heritage Centre. For the financial support, for the time and energy that people have given to creating this place, Lord, we give you thanks this day.  We thank you that we also seek, Lord, to ensure that the heritage of Culter is passed on to future generations. We thank you that both the present generation and those in the future can come here to reflect on the past: to appreciate our history and appreciate, too, how valuable it is.  And so, Lord, we pray for the future success of this Heritage Centre and hear us now, O Lord, as we dedicate this building as a Heritage Centre, here in Peterculter. We pray that many people may come and enjoy this place and appreciate the treasures that we have to share. For we bring this prayer to you in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, Our Saviour and our Lord, Amen."

"It only leaves me the honour, and the privilege, to declare this Heritage Centre open."

JAMES MILNE, C.B.E.