Will a city's 300-year-old curfew bell ring again?

Inverness' Old High Church is on sale for offers over £150,000

A bell believed to have been rung daily for more than 300 years forms part of the sale of one of Inverness' most historic buildings.

Old High Church's curfew bell dates back to 1703 when Queen Anne - the last Stuart monarch - was on the British throne.

According the Church of Scotland it was originally rung at 17:00 to signal a night-time curfew before a later tradition started for ringing it at 20:00.

The bell is listed in the sales schedule for the Old High, and the new owner would take responsibility for it.

Medieval times

Inverness' oldest church is on the market for offers over £150,000 after an earlier sale at the same price fell through.

The tradition of curfew bells can be found throughout the UK.

It is believed that in Medieval times they were rung to tell people to put out fires used in homes for cooking or heating for safety reasons.

The Church of Scotland said the Old High's bell was used to warn people to leave the streets and return home, and they were required to do so under a law at the time.

The ringing of the bell continued in later years, but at 20:00 - and with Invernessians at no risk of being locked up for being out at night.

In recent times, Highland Council's Inverness Common Good Fund had a role in the operation of the bell and the church steeple's clock.

In Scotland, common good funds go back to the 15th Century and involve land, investments and property that under law exist for the benefit of residents of historic burghs.

It is not too clear when the bell was last rung, but the practice is believed to have stopped sometime since early 2022 when the kirk was closed and put up for sale by the Church of Scotland.

Highland Council said the common good fund's role with the clock steeple had also ended.

Whoever might eventually buy the church - and its bell - would be taking over an interesting property.

Loch Ness Monster

Old High was built using parts of a medieval kirk that had stood on the site.

The mound on which the church was constructed is believed to be the site where Irish missionary St Columba converted King Brude to Christianity in 565.

The saint is also linked to the mythology of the Loch Ness Monster.

An account of the missionary's life thought to have been written in the 7th Century tells of him encountering a strange beast in the River Ness.

The oldest part of the Old High was used as a prison after Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culloden, and captured Jacobites were executed in the church grounds.

This connection with Culloden has led to the church featuring as a stop on local walking tours, and made it of interest to Outlander fans.

The TV hit, based on the books of author Diana Gabaldon, follows the adventures of World War Two nurse Claire, played by Caitriona Balfe, and Sam Heughan's 18th Century Jacobite Highlander Jamie Fraser.

In 2013, the church's weathervane was replaced with a new Celtic cross due to its deteriorating condition.

The wings on the vane appeared to have bullet holes.

What caused the holes is a mystery, but theories included the effects of bad weather - or someone taking pot shots at the weathervane with an air gun