PRESS NOTICE DATE OF RELEASE: 4 August 2025
A warm welcome, spiritual heritage, and fun for all the family promised at All Saints Challoch ‘Doors Open Day’ on Saturday, 6 September
Part of the 2025 Dumfries and Galloway ‘Doors Open Days’ initiative, All Saints Episcopal Church in Challoch will be open to the public on Saturday, 6 September, from 10am to 4pm. This historical, inclusive Anglican church – serving the community and visitors in and around Newton Stewart – invites the public to experience one of the county’s finest examples of a small country Victorian house of worship.
All Saints is well-suited to the 2025 Dumfries and Galloway ‘Doors Open Days’ theme of ‘Architectural heritage; windows to the past, doors to the future,’ a free-of-charge initiative celebrating the rich diversity of buildings across the county. On 6 September, All Saints will not only showcase its architectural heritage, but perhaps more important will marry this with its spiritual heritage in the form of a tour, devised for the day using a self-guiding leaflet. The tour will lead visitors round the grounds and inside the church, themed and decorated for the following day’s annual Harvest Festival thanksgiving service.
“We want our visitors to get a feel of how the church’s architecture is designed to connect us with, and raise awareness of, something greater than ourselves,” explained All Saints Priest-in-Charge, the Rev Dawn Matthew. “I and members of our congregation will be on hand to offer further guidance and answer questions. A parallel tour will be available for children and families, with prizes, so this will be a great day out for everyone.
“And visitors won’t go hungry either! Ploughman’s lunches will be served between 12pm and 2pm, and cakes and drinks will be available throughout the day.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone to our beautiful inclusive family church at the foot of the Galloway hills. Our treasures include magnificent stained glass windows by world-renowned Victorian designer and manufacturer Charles Eamer Kempe, a spectacular hand-painted ceiling, and a serene graveyard that includes war heroes, and family members of the Earls of Galloway.
“2025 is a special year for us as we celebrate our 140-year anniversary. The church, designed by architects W.G. Habershon & Pite of London, was built in 1871-72 as a private chapel for the owner of nearby Penninghame House, Edward James Stopford-Blair. On his death in 1885, he bequeathed the church and then-rectory to the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, creating today’s All Saints Church.”
The Challoch event is part of the larger ‘Doors Open Days’ initiative across Scotland, coordinated by the Scottish Civic Trust.