CHAIR IN MEMORY OF BEADLE

A new beadle’s chair has been presented to Dunkeld Cathedral, in Perth and Kinross, in memory of a former holder of the office.

Ian Sinclair was Historic Scotland’s stonemason at the Cathedral for many years. When he retired, the congregation was looking for a replacement beadle and Ian volunteered, serving for 18 years.

Ian had to retire due to ill health in late 2018. Sadly, he died in March 2019 before he was able to use the money raised by the congregation for his collection. His family decided they would like to donate it back to buy something for the Cathedral.

The obvious solution was to get a chair for the Beadle to use during services.

Stephen Hunter, from Argyll, had designed and made oak chairs for the Cathedral some years ago and was asked if he would make something similar, so he created the Beadle’s chair. It has a seat upholstered in Black Watch tartan, a carved Celtic design and a small plaque in memory of Ian.

The chair was presented to the congregation and dedicated in the presence of several members of Ian’s family at the service in August. The picture shows members of Ian’s family including his wife Winifred (back, third from left), their daughter Aileen (third from right) and Ian’s sister Ann (back, second from left).