Sacred Landscape Project: Reception & Website Launch

You are warmly invited to attend the Official Launch of the Sacred Landscape Project Website at the University of St Andrews on Tuesday 27th February 2024 at 4.30pm.

The Sacred Landscape research project (https://sacredlandscapes.org/) is based in St Mary’s College at the University of St Andrews.  Our team is seeking to understand how religious activity has influenced the development of the landscapes and buildings of Fife between the Early Middle Ages and the present.

The first phase of the Sacred Landscape project was part of the University of St Andrews’ broader Fife Coastal Zone collaboration, and as a result much of the initial investigation focused on current and former places of worship in parishes close to the sea. This research identified several former places of worship in Fife not recorded in national resources such as Historic Environment Scotland’s Canmore database or the volunteer-led Places of Worship in Scotland website.

The Sacred Landscape team are also researching the role that religious organisations have played in shaping the communities and built structures of Fife, through landholding, the construction of schools and church halls, and the fostering of transport infrastructure such as ferries, bridges, and roads.

A key theme of the Sacred Landscape project relates to the loss of religious space. There are more closed churches than current places of worship in Fife. The project team are currently researching the loss of religious buildings between 1500 and 2020, and whether past experiences of church closures and demolition might provide helpful insights for current discussions about the future of Scottish religious buildings.

Dr Brendan Wolfe (School of Divinity) and Dr Bess Rhodes (School of History) of the University of St Andrews are leading an evidence-based research project that intends to spark more in-depth regional and national consideration of the future of Scotland’s places of worship, informed by past experiences of changes to religious space.  This research will deepen public understanding of the complex heritage and community issues associated with the closure of religious buildings – many of which have played important roles in their localities over several centuries.

You are invited to the in-person public launch of the Sacred Landscape Project website in Parliament Hall, South Street, St Andrews on Tuesday 27th February 2024 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.  If you wish to attend, please register through our EventBrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/798640895417?aff=oddtdtcreator