Old Parish Church Kinfauns Perthshire Scotland

Tour Scotland 4K Spring travel video of the old church at Kinfauns on visit to Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire. It was originally a chapel linked to Scone Abbey and was destroyed during the Reformation. Although a church has stood on the site since the 12th Century, part of what remains dates from the 15th and 16th Century. It was the original the parish church of Kinfauns until about 1857 when it was abandoned. It is now roofless and the walls very much reduced, except for the south aisle, dated 1598, the burial place of the Grays of Kinfauns. The rest of the church is probably 15th century, although considerably altered after the Reformation. The French knight Sir Walter de Longueville, also known as the pirate Red Rover, who helped Robert the Bruce capture the Fair City of Perth, was buried at Kinfauns and his huge sword was uncovered there centuries later. The unicorn you can see in the video was originally built at the mausoleum for the Grays, which still stands within the walls of the old ruined church, to reflect the coat of arms of a family buried there. The unicorn also became the national animal of Scotland in the 1300s given it was the natural enemy of the lion, a symbol that the English royals adopted around a hundred years before. The last unicorn at Kinfauns is believed to have been destroyed around 100 years ago until stone carver Michelle De Bruin created a a replica. The a medieval building is also on the coronation path south of Scone, thus site may have been passed by future kings and important dignitaries, as well as serving the rural population as a place of worship.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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