Airlie Parish Church - Angus, Scotland - Country Churches on Waymarking.com

The rural community of Airlie lies at the extreme west of the county of Angus. The settlement of Airlie itself is a hamlet on the A926 road between the towns of Blairgowrie and Kirriemuir and the Kirkton of Airlie lies a mile to the north in a secluded valley. The Kirkton consists of a few cottages alongside a stream, with the church situated on top of a hillock within a graveyard amidst woodland.

A medieval church was first built on the site in 1242 and dedicated to St.Meddan by Bishop De Bernham. This was replaced in 1603 by another church until the current building was begun in 1781. This was completed two years later with an addition to the north elevation in 1893.

The church is rectangular with a five bay nave, and harled in grey/brown with a slate roof.

The west gable is mostly obscured by a mid 19th century entrance porch featuring plain multipane sash windows and a hipped roof. A birdcage bellcote built of ashlar sandstone and topped by a metal weathervane is situated on the apex of the gable. A figurative sculpture of St.John the Baptist holding a lamb, taken from the earlier church, is set into the north-west corner.

The south elevation features three central round-arch multipane windows, the central one of which is in stained glass, this was originally the site of the minister's door. Lower down at both ends are rectangular multipane sash windows.

The east gable has an attached porch with a rectangular doorway and a multipane sash window.

The north elevation has a central hipped roof aisle featuring four tall round-arch windows flanking a pair of small square windows higher up. The central north aisle, built in 1893 to accommodate a new organ, features a hipped roof and slender, round-arched windows.

The church is no longer in use as a place of worship, but can be visited from a pathway heading up the hill from the west side.