Scottish Church Heritage Research

Scottish Church Heritage Research (SCHR) is a voluntary organisation and registered charity based in Scotland whose purpose is to promote understanding, interest and research in Scotland's diverse heritage of places of worship. Its principal activity is the Places of Worship in Scotland (POWIS) project, which identifies, describes and illustrates all 11,000 churches, chapels and other places and sites of worship in Scotland, regardless of faith, denomination or present condition. The project was originally set up to complete an illustrated gazetteer for publication on the web and in book form, and it now maintains a searchable online database and mapping resource that is free to all users. The scope of POWIS is deliberately broad. It covers early Christian sites, small rural churches, cathedrals, synagogues, mosques, temples and meeting halls. Some entries, such as Iona, date back to the earliest phase of Christianity in Scotland; others are archaeological sites, medieval ruins, post-Reformation buildings, or places that survive only as place names. The majority of recorded buildings date from the nineteenth-century period of population growth, and the database continues to be updated as new places of worship are built. SCHR also records interiors, which it regards as particularly valuable because they represent the life of a congregation. SCHR is run by volunteers who contribute text and images for individual sites and areas of Scotland. The organisation recognises a need for a contemporary record of these buildings and related places because the social and historic information associated with them should not be forgotten, especially as church attendance declines in many areas and religious buildings become redundant, uncared for, sold or reused as offices, pubs or housing. The website is compiled by a team from SCHR with volunteer assistance, and is intended as a national record for educational use by local communities, schools, congregations, local societies, family historians and researchers. The organisation operates primarily through its website, powis.scot, which offers a searchable database, an online map, and pages on buildings, history, people and events. The site is a work in progress as data is transferred from a previous website, and SCHR invites the public to report errors or contribute information and images. As a registered charity, SCHR relies on volunteers and support to sustain its documentation work.

Scottish Church Heritage Research (SCHR) is a voluntary organisation and registered charity that documents Scotland's heritage of churches and other places of worship of all faiths. Its main activity is the Places of Worship in Scotland (POWIS) project, which was originally set up to complete an illustrated gazetteer for publication on the web and in book form. The project aims to identify, describe and illustrate all 11,000 churches, chapels and other places and sites of worship in Scotland, regardless of faith, denomination or present condition. The scope of the record reflects the long and varied history of worship in Scotland. It ranges from early Christian sites, through small rural churches, to cathedrals, synagogues, mosques, temples and meeting halls. Some sites, such as Iona, date back to the earliest phase of Christianity in Scotland. Others are archaeological sites, some surviving only as place names; there are medieval ruins and buildings from the post-Reformation years. The majority of the recorded buildings date from the period of population growth in the nineteenth century, and even today many new places of worship are being built. SCHR recognises a need for a contemporary record of all these buildings and related places because the social and historic information associated with them should not be forgotten. Records of interiors are considered particularly valuable, as they represent the life of the church. The organisation considers it important to promote this aspect of the environment and heritage, locally and nationally. As church attendance declines in many areas, a number of religious buildings lie redundant and uncared for, or have been sold for other uses and reused as offices, pubs or housing, making documentation all the more urgent. The POWIS website is compiled by a team from SCHR, assisted by volunteers who contribute text and images for individual sites and areas of Scotland. The purpose is to create a national record for educational use by local communities, schools, congregations, local societies, family historians and researchers. The website offers a searchable database and online mapping, and is free to all. It is a work in progress as data is transferred from a previous website, and SCHR invites the public to contact it about errors or to contribute information and images.

A volunteer-run, charity-backed national documentation project providing free public access to a comprehensive record of Scotland's places of worship of all faiths and denominations.

• Places of Worship in Scotland (POWIS) searchable database

  An online database identifying, describing and illustrating all 11,000 churches, chapels and other places and sites of worship in Scotland, regardless of faith, denomination or present condition.

• POWIS online map

  An online mapping resource covering all denominations, current to ancient, free to all users.

• Illustrated gazetteer

  The original aim of the project: an illustrated gazetteer for publication on the web and in book form.

1. 1POWIS | Places of Worship in Scotlandpowis.scot
2. 2About | Places of Worship in Scotlandpowis.scot
3. 3Scottish Church Heritage Researchwikidata.org