The earliest Christian settlements in the area were at Weem and Dull, where a religious community was established in the 8^th or 9^th century.  Stone crosses from the settlement can be seen in the Menzies Mausoleum.

In medieval times the church communities were in the rural areas where a church would be part of the local laird’s estate.  That is why the oldest places of worship in this area are out of town and some have either fallen into disuse or may have disappeared altogether and the building materials used for other purposes.

Weem was one of the first parishes to be identified. According to tradition, the first church at Weem was established by St Cuthbert around the year AD 650. Cuthbert founded an oratory and cistern at Chapel Rock (the Rock of Weem) above the village. The site was restored by Sir David Menzies around 1440 when he retired to live as a hermit there. The site was later renamed St David’s Well after Sir David.

In 1235, Weem Church is mentioned in a charter at a time when the Chamberlain of Scotland was Sir Robert de Meyners (Menzies). In this record, popularly known as Bagimont’s Roll and preserved in the Vatican, a list of parishes and tithes is set out, collected from them in 1275 and 1276 by Boiamund de Vicci, Nuncio, sent out by the Pope to gather funds for the relief of the Holy Land: ‘Ecclesia de Weem, 30 sols., giving revenue of 15 lib’.

The first written record of a church at Weem comes from 1235, when Weem was described as a parish. The church was under the patronage of the Earls of Atholl until 1464.

The early medieval building was replaced by the present building around 1488 or 1510 by Sir Robert Menzies, the 8^th Chief of Clan Menzies. An alternate version of events suggests that the church was built by John Menzies, the Clan Chief, after he was granted the Barony of Weem in 1451.  Menzies family members were buried at Weem church from at least the 15^th century. The church was altered in 1609 and again in 1752. It remained a place of worship until 1839. Reroofing and reslating was carried out in 1936.

The following internal description by David Ross:

ARMORIAL LINTELS

There are beautifully carved lintels over both the east and west doors on the south wall, both bearing heraldic symbols. Both doorway lintels bear the initials AM and MC for Alexander Menzies and his third wife Marjorie Campbell.

THE MENZIES MEMORIAL

Alexander Menzies also built an extraordinary monument against the north-east wall inside the church. The monument does not commemorate one person but the whole Menzies family and their heritage. The memorial is dated 24^th January 1616.

The florid inscription is a testament to Alexander Menzies’ pride in his ancestry:

My mother is of the royal race of ancient Britons of Atholl
And Lawers is the house of my grandmother
And my great-grandmother is a fair daughter of Huntly
And my great-great-grandmother is from Edzell sprung.

Praise to the best and greatest God.

To the shade and memory of illustrious and most noble
Hero Alexander Menzies of Weem
And to the memory of Campbell, his wife,
Who for the good name of their ancestors and for posterity
Built this monument.

The detail of carving on the memorial is simply stunning. It is easily one of the most impressive historical memorials in Scotland.

Beside the Menzies Memorial is a marble bust of a woman in a niche. This appears to be Victorian though there is no inscription that we could see.

Set on the floor just east of the memorial is a beautifully carved stone slab to an unknown late medieval knight and his lady. The couple is shown above their 8 children and a skeleton and hourglass, signifying mortality.

An aumbry (stone cupboard) set into the south wall bears the initials DM and JL for Duncan Menzies and his wife Jean Leslie, who were married in 1623.

MENZIES FUNERAL HATCHMENTS

THE DULL CROSSES

Inside the church are two large sandstone crosses brought here from the village of Dull, a few miles to the east. They were part of a series of four stones that marked the sanctuary boundary of a Celtic monastery established by St Cuthbert. One of the other two stones can still be found in the village centre.

The largest of the two stones, known as Dull 11 by historians, stands 1.68m high with arms stretching 1.03m. The shaft is 0.56m wide at 0.20m thick.

The smaller of the two stones, known as Dull 12, stands 1.16m high, with a width across the arms of 0.83m. The shaft is 0.45m wide and 0.15m deep. The upper arm and part of the central boss are missing. The central stub was chiselled away to create a flat surface sometime after 1850.

The pair of stones were used as gateposts at Camserney Cottage, home of the Castle Menzies factor, before they were moved into the Old Kirk in the 19th century. You can still see damage on both crosses from their use as a gatepost.

Much more worn than the Dull crosses is a cross-slab known as Weem 1, thought to date to the 7th century. This irregular sandstone slab is carved with a cross in relief. This is missing the lower part of the cross-shaft and the base.

Also inside the church is Weem 2, a cross-slab dating to the same period (7th or 8th century). This is in poor condition with a broken top. A cross known as Weem 3 is outside in the churchyard to the south of the kirk. This may be the fourth stone from the Celtic monastery at Dull, mentioned above.

Lying prone on the floor at the east end of the church is a broken cross known as St Cuthbert’s Cross. This used to stand on the hillside above the kirk near St David’s Well on the site of the 7th-century oratory established by St Cuthbert.

On a window ledge near the door is a display of small objects discovered during restoration work on the Old Kirk. Among the items are two coins from the reign of George III, an early 17th-century clay pipe, a late 18th-century button from the tunic of an army staff officer, and pins used to attach paper ‘tears’ to the velvet of funeral hatchments.

Given its links to St Cuthbert it is not surprising that the kirk was originally dedicated to him, but it was later referred to as St David’s Church after Sir David Menzies (though he was never canonised). Neither dedication is used today and the church is simply referred to as the Old Kirk of Weem. 

In 1839 the heritors of Weem parish handed over the building to Sir Neil Menzies as a family mausoleum; in return for this gift Sir Neil granted a site for the new parish church halfway between Weem and the Toll House.  This new church was in use until 7^th July 1921 when it became the Menzies Clan Society hall, then a Home Guard Centre during World War Two and subsequently was redeveloped as a private residence.

For information on the individual Heritage Trail locations, click on these links:

00: A brief history of the Churches in the Aberfeldy area; 01: The Square; 02: Aberfeldy Town Hall;

03: Former St. Andrew’s Church; 04: Birks of Aberfeldy; 05: Moness House; 06: Aberfeldy Hospitals;

07: Former Wee Free Chapel; 08: Independent Chapel; 09: The Watermill; 10: Parish Church;

11: Breadalbane Academy; 12: St. Margaret’s Church; 13: Black Watch memorial; 14: Aberfeldy Golf Club;

15: Wade’s Bridge; 16: Weem Parish Church; 17: Menzies Mausoleum; 18a Castle Menzies;

18b Castle Menzies Walled Garden; 19: Our Lady of Mercy’s RC Church; 20: Aberfeldy Branch Line.