Old High St Stephen's

Old High St Stephen’s is a Church of Scotland parish church in Inverness, the Highland capital. Its two buildings sit on opposite banks of the River Ness. The older is the eighteenth-century Old High Church, standing on the site where worship began in Celtic times. The second is the 1897 Gothic St Stephen’s Church, designed by W L Carruthers. Both are listed buildings: Old High at category A, St Stephen at category B. The parish covers the city centre, Crown area and southern suburbs including Drummond and Lochardil. The congregation traces its roots to St Columba, who first brought Christianity to Inverness. Among the church’s notable features is a Father Willis organ, restored in 2010. The Old High congregation was the city’s oldest until the 2003 union with St Stephen’s. Since January 2022 Sunday services have been held at St Stephen’s at 10.30 am. The first minister of the united charge was the Reverend Peter W Nimmo, inducted in August 2004. Visitors find the eighteenth-century Old High Church overlooking the river. Its interior includes the restored Father Willis organ. St Stephen’s, across town, is a Gothic building in Morayshire freestone. The surrounding area includes the Crown area and the southern suburbs of Drummond and Lochardil. The church was sold to a charity called Save Old High Inverness in August 2025.