Back in 2002, Jamie Carruthers, 13th of Dormont, the current head of the senior branch of the family, sought support from all round the world for a heritage project which is a real part of Carruthers history.

Little Dalton Kirk, as the photographs in Gallery 1 show, was at that time badly ruined. Built in the fifteenth century on the site of and perhaps including some of the stonework of an earlier thirteenth century kirk, it served the spiritual needs of the village of Little Dalton. This largely abandoned settlement lies in the upper valley of the Dalton Burn, not far from the site of Holmains, now just a mound, but the seat of the senior branch of the family between 1548 and 1809.

The Kirk ceased in 1633 to be a place of worship as the community declined; at one time it had been able to turn out 100 fighting men for its lord. The graveyard was used for a long time after and the latest identifiable headstone is dated 1788. Sadly now there are only five houses in the valley.

As the photographs in Gallery 1, taken by local historian George Green prior to 2002, reveal, a surprising amount of the building still stands. The walls remain up to the window lintels and it has some interesting architectural features, together with nearly twenty headstones from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument with Category B Listed Status, and its mediaeval origin makes it of some importance to archaeologists and historians. Many others will enjoy the atmosphere and its interesting features, and it is an important part of the Carruthers family heritage. Many will have ancestors who worshipped within its walls.

In 2002 the Little Dalton Kirk Trust was established to set about the task of raising the funds to carry out a programme of consolidation work, to remove the vegetation which had taken root, to stabilise the remaining masonry and to offer it some protection against the ravages of the elements. The graveyard needed work too, and we wanted to provide easy access for visitors from the nearby public highway.

With the help of Solway Heritage, a local environmental body, the Trust raised some £35,000.  Much of this sum came from grant aid but much was also donated by generous benefactors from around the world.  This work is now complete as the photographs in Gallery 2 show.