Cumbernauld church to be rebuilt after being destroyed by deliberate fire

A new church is to be built in the place of St Mungo’s Church in Cumbernauld, a year after the building was destroyed by a fire.

The B-listed building was deliberately set alight in August 2025, leaving its congregation devastated.

The church had been an important landmark in the North Lanarkshire town since the 1960s, known for its pyramid-shaped roof, designed by Scottish architect Alan Reiach.

St Mungo’s was part of Trinity Parish Church, a union formed in 2024 from Cumbernauld Old Church and Kildrum and St Mungo’s churches.

Parish minister Rev James Gemmell has announced a new church will be built on the site of the old church.

He spoke to parishioners at a special open-air service at the now cleared site, marking the first anniversary of the fire.

Mr Gemmell said: “A year ago, we stood in shock as we watched our church building burn.

“Yesterday, we stood together on the same ground, not looking back in despair but looking forward in hope.

“Our confidence is not in a building, but in the risen Christ, who has been faithful to us every step of this journey.

Parishioners stood outside the site where the church once stood. Church of Scotland

“We look forward to the day when a new church will stand on this site – a place where people will encounter the love of Jesus Christ, and a beacon of his hope and grace for our whole community.”

Members of the congregation have formed the “New Build Group”, which will be involved in the construction process.

In November, a time capsule was discovered within the ruins of the church, which had been buried there in 1964.

It was discovered by chance when a congregation member found details of the church’s foundation stone-laying ceremony in her mother’s old papers at her home.

She alerted the demolition crew before the time capsule was damaged. It contained copies of the Cumbernauld News published on November 6, 1964, and reported that the stone would be laid the following day.

A copy dated October 16, 1964 published a notice about the death of the serving minister of St Mungo’s Church.

Rev Simon Roy MacKintosh, who was heavily involved in the plans to build a distinctive place of worship in one of Scotland’s new towns, died just five days before.

No one has been charged in connection with the fire.