Entrance to the building site
It has been a long time in coming but Baldarroch Chapel and Crematorium is finally here. Who would have believed that it would take 15 years after the initial proposal of building a crematorium in Aberdeenshire for it actually to come to fruition.
The building starts to take shape
Those early discussions between Aberdeenshire Council and Brian Smith (of Brian Smith Funeral Services) paved the way to getting us to where we are now. The council decided not to pursue the idea but the ‘seed’ had been sown with Brian Smith. Consequently, he decided to forge ahead in achieving his dream. After years of work and painstaking research the site which lies just off the North Deeside Road at Crathes was identified as the preferred location. Mr Burnett the local Laird agreed the long term lease of the site in a field which used to be part of Baldarroch Farm. The Name ‘Baldarroch Chapel and Crematorium’ was chosen in homage to the farm. Once WCP architects design for the building and planning permission had been agreed Brian sought to find other individuals to invest in the venture and join the company as Directors. It was at this stage that Graeme Robertson of A R Robertson (Granite) Memorials and Tim Purves of William Purves Funeral Directors came on board.
The finished article
Award winners
The rest as they say is history with Baldarroch Chapel and Crematorium opening their doors to public on 10 May 2016. What we now have is magnificent rural location and a visually stunning building which is very pleasing on the eye. The building is designed on a ‘falling leaf’ to signify the circle of life. The unique and eye catching design of the building resulted in Baldarroch Chapel and Crematorium receiving a Highly Commended award for innovative Sustainable Development at the 2016 Aberdeenshire Innovation, Architecture & Design Awards.
