A Brief History of St. Paul's Church

The first documented evidence of an Episcopalian Church in Kinross was in 1869 when the congregation was first formed although it is thought that an Episcopalian worship group had existed for some time before this date. St Paul's Church was built between 1870 and 1874 with seating for 120. It was dedicated in 1874 and consecrated in 1881 and was mainly financed by three wealthy land owners. The descendents of at least one of these founders still worship regularly at St Paul's.

The first heating system was installed in the 1940s using under pew steam pipes fed from a coal fired boiler. This system was upgraded to use electric heaters under each pew and finally infra-red radiant heaters were added in 1995.

Now that the church can be quickly heated and be warm and comfortable even on the coldest day, and we have padded seat covers and kneelers, I wonder what comments the original congregation would make concerning the improvements that have been made for the comfort of the congregation.

The Grave of Bishop Christie, the non-juring Priest of Kinross in 1688, who was raised to the Episcopate in 1709 and died in 1718, is in the old churchyard of Kinross. He was never assigned to a diocese but was one of the College Bishops.

The Church hall was built sometime between 1900 and 1910, at a cost of £100, for the use of the Sunday School.