Ullapool Museum Model
Ullapool Museum

This model representation of the Telford Church in Ullapool also depicts the Ullapool Museum building! Religion was an important part of life in the Highlands in the nineteenth century but many communities did not have a church. In 1823, the British Government passed an Act that provided money to build churches and manses in locations without a place of worship. The Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford was commissioned to design the church plans and thirty-two of these ‘Telford Churches’ or ‘parliamentary kirks’ were built across the Highlands and Islands between 1826 and 1833. Ullapool’s church was completed in 1829.

The churches were innovative in many ways. They emphasised the importance of a simple, adaptable and affordable design. The interior was plain to reflect the practices of the Presbyterian Church and could hold a congregation of nearly five hundred people.

The service of worship was very simple and the only music was the singing of metrical psalms. This form of the psalms was created to help people learn and understand them quickly. The church closed in 1935 and is recognised as the last of Telford’s churches to have its original design and interior in good condition. In the 1980s, around twenty of these models were commissioned to raise redevelopment funds so that the building could host Ullapool Museum collection.

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Date: 1980-1990
Materials : Plaster
Size : 16cm x 11cm x 7cm

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