For more information on the individual churches identified below, follow the provided links to the website’s ‘Aberfeldy & Weem Heritage Walk’ page for each.

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).

Set out in this record, popularly known as Bagimont’s Roll and preserved in the Vatican, is a list of parishes and tithes 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.  

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.

For further information on the Menzies Mausoleum, go to: Heritage Walk No. 17

The church was built in 1875 by Sir Robert Menzies of Menzies as Saint David’s Episcopal Church for the Menzies family. After the death of the last in the line of the Menzies of Weem in 1918 and the break up of the estate, the church was acquired by the Church of Scotland as the new Parish Church.

In 1965, the Parishes of Weem and Dull were united. Services were held in both churches each Sunday until early in the 1980s. Dull church was sold in 1989 to the Scottish Knights Templar and has subsequently been re-sold and acquired privately.

For further information on the Weem Parish Church, go to: Heritage Walk No. 16

In 1844 an Act was passed which allowed the creation of new parishes.  Under the terms of the act Aberfeldy parish was created and in 1883 this church was built as a “Chapel of Ease” partly funded by the central board after the local community raised £1500.

This became the Parish Church on 19^th March 1897 as the United Free Church and was dedicated to St. Andrew.

It closed in 2005. It is now in a sad state, derelict and up for sale.

For further information on the former St. Andrew’s Church, go to: Heritage Walk No. 3

From 1790 the Independents, or Presbyterians, worshipped in the Independent Manse in the Square, the first Aberfeldy building to be used for worship.

The new church was built on the site of the old manse and meeting house.

The  former church was donated to the people of Aberfeldy by the Congregational Union in 1987. 

It was converted to its current format in 2000, with the help of a grant from the Lottery Heritage Fund and functions as the Locus Centre.

For further information on the Churches in The Square, go to: Heritage Walk No. 1

The building, was a ‘temporary’ structure erected circa 1884 by the Marquis of Bute and opened on 24^th September 1884. The officiating priest was resident in Strathtay where he conducted services in the Church of the Holy Cross in the grounds of the present house, Tigh an Tuir, which was then a retreat for nuns from Dundee.

By 2002, it was in a state of disrepair and was removed from the site for remedial works and reassembly on an alternative site at Dull where it is now a private house.

The new building was commissioned by the diocese of Dunkeld, designed by James F. Stephen Architects, and erected in 2005 to replace the ‘tin’ church.

For further information on the Our Lady of Mercy RC Church, go to: Heritage Walk No. 19

The early Independents, or Congregationalists, faced intense opposition and on several estates farmers were deprived of their farms for daring to connect themselves to the new Church.

For eleven years Lord Breadalbane refused to give them ground on which to build a chapel. However in 1817 permission was forthcoming. This was the first church built in Aberfeldy and remained the only one for 26 years.  Factory Street was renamed Chapel Street in its honour. It closed in 1878.

For further information on the Old Independent Church go to: Heritage Walk No. 8

In 1900 the congregation of the Breadalbane Free Church merged with the smaller, older United Presbyterian Church and renamed themselves the United Free.

The congregation split over this merger and arguments ensued about who should be able to worship in the Breadalbane Church.

Having worshipped in the Town Hall, in 1907 the ‘Wee Free’ built their own church at the top of Chapel Street, not far from where the old dissenter chapel had once stood.  It was the first purpose built Wee Free church in the country.

For further information on the former Wee Free Chapel, go to: Heritage Walk No. 7

1907: St. Margaret’s Church in Aberfeldy was dedicated and John Harrison installed as Rector for Aberfeldy and Strathtay, and remained there as Rector until his death in 1942 when he was interred with his mother-in-law.

July 1978: a memorandum was sent to the Diocesan Executive Committee recommending the closure of St. Margaret’s but having a final service there on 13^th August. Consequently it was closed 1978 and is now a private house.

For further information on the former St. Margaret’s Church, go to: Heritage Walk No. 12

In 1843 the Church of Scotland suffered “The Disruption” when 474 ministers of the Church seceded and formed the Free Church of Scotland.

This has the effect that in 1843, 300 local people broke away from the established Church of Scotland parish church at Weem. They were granted land in Taybridge Turnpike Road in Aberfeldy by the Marquis of Breadalbane to build a Free Church.

After a number of alterations through the years, the church was comprehensively restored in the early 2000s and reopened in 2005 with worship continuing in the sanctuary area and the rest of the building used for community events.

For further information on the Parish Church, go to: Heritage Walk No. 10

For links to the information on all of the Heritage Walk locations click on the website’s ‘Aberfeldy & Weem Heritage Walk‘ page.

Further references:

For greater detail of the development of the church patterns in the town refer to “The Wood Burns Away But The Fire Goes On Burning” by Jack Rees, “Aberfeldy” by Ruary Mackenzie Dodds and “Aberfeldy Past and Present” by Dr. N. D. Mackay.

You can watch the recording of Lesley’s talk here:  Where have all the Churches gone?. This link will take you to the post which includes the video.

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.