Guided tours and free refreshments to be offered at open day at recently-upgraded historic Crown Church of Scotland in Inverness
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An Inverness church is holding an open day to showcase a major upgrade to its historic building.
Tours will take place at Crown Church on Saturday between10am and 4pm and free refreshments will be served.
Adaptations, carried out as a collaboration between Highland Council and the church, include the conversion of the lower hall into two classrooms for 64 three and four-year-old nursery pupils attending the primary school.
The ground floor kitchen and small hall have been upgraded and a new eight-person lift installed to take visitors to the upper hall which has undergone a £150,000 upgrade.
Pews in the sanctuary have been replaced by individual seats.
Open day organiser Eileen Ardern, said: “Our church is located at the heart of the Crown community and we are looking forward to being able to share our wonderful new facilities with all who might like to take part in activities which are already planned for the autumn.
“Prospective new users of our premises are welcome to discuss their requirements with us.”
The many activities which are being provided this autumn for groups from babies to pensioners will be showcased.
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The open day takes place four days ahead of the return of Highland schools after the summer holidays. From next week, Crown Primary nursery pupils will start in the newly-created classrooms – the day after the other pupils have gone back.
Adapting the existing church building has prevented the need to give up a large part of the existing playground in the primary school. A garden has been created for outdoor play.
The ground floor kitchen and an adjacent small hall have been upgraded and will be made available to the nursery to provide lunch for the pupils.
New toilets have been provided for the children, and the staff will have access to the newly refurbished church toilets.
The upgrade to the upper hall includes a new kitchen, new double glazed windows, insulated walls, new toilets, more efficient storage and improved audio visual equipment.
Work is still to be completed in upgrading the audio visual and lighting systems in the sanctuary.
Morrison Construction completed the nursery contract on behalf of Highland Council and I and K Ferguson upgraded the upper hall and pew removal/new flooring in the sanctuary on behalf of the church.
