Blairgowrie, Kirk Wynd, Old Parish Church
Church (19th Century), Club (20th Century)
Site Name Blairgowrie, Kirk Wynd, Old Parish Church
Classification Church (19th Century), Club (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Blairgowrie Parish Church; The Hill Church Of Scotland; Church Of Blair In Gowrie
Canmore ID 28771
Site Number NO14NE 7
NGR NO 17804 45617
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/28771
- Council Perth And Kinross
- Parish Blairgowrie
- Former Region Tayside
- Former District Perth And Kinross
- Former County Perthshire
NO14NE 7.00 17804 45617
NO14NE 7.01 centred NO 1784 4560 Burial-ground
The parish church was built in 1824 on the same site as the earlier church built in 1767. References to earlier churches are few. One, in 1554, is to the parish kirk but its site is not stated. The other is to the Church of Blair in Gowrie and is dated 1207 A.D. but not sited.
(OSA 1796 (J Johnston); NSA 1845 (R M'Donald); R S Fittis 1879; H Scott 1950)
NO 1780 4561 Blairgowrie Parish Church, also known as The Hill Church is still in use as a a place of worship and bears a stone giving its date of erection as 1824. Traditionally this has been the site of all former parish churches since the first was founded in the 12th century (Rev. Young, Minister, Blairgowrie Parish Church).
Visited by OS (RDL) 21 March 1963.
Piend-roofed, 5-bay, rectangular-plan church with slim 4-stage pagoda-roofed tower. Ashlar. Base and eaves courses; raked courses and deep mutuled eaves cornice to tower. Pointed-arch openings; corbels, voussoirs; stone transoms and mullions; chamfered arrises to porches. Some diamond-pattern leaded glazing pattern retained and window to left at S with some coloured glass panels. Grey slates. 2 rectangular ridge ventilators, 1 retaining pyramidal cap. INTERIOR: galleried (ceiling lowered to gallery height) to N, E and W, with clustered cast-iron columns, panelled blind-arcaded gallery fronts and some panelled dadoes. Moulded plasterwork cornices and roof ventilators and decorative ceiling rose. Stone staircases. BOUNDARY WALLS, GATEPIERS AND GATES: semicircular-coped rubble boundary walls, flat-coped square-section ashlar gatepiers to S and similar gablet-coped gatepiers to W, both with 2-leaf decorative ironwork gates.
Formerly the parish church, the building is now (2002) used as a store. The Rev Mr Henney refers to the tradition that Blairgowrie and Rattray churches were by same architect, namely William Stirling. Built on the site of an earlier church at the old 'mercait gate' which, prior to the Reformation, belonged to the Abbey of Scone. (Historic Scotland)
Field Visit (November 1987)
There are no visible remains of the medieval parish church which stood where the present church (1824) now stands. Within the burial-ground there are a 17th-century graveslab and a number of 18th-century gravestones. The church is on record by 1207.
Visited by RCAHMS (IMS) November 1987.
RCAHMS 1990.
