Tour Scotland 4K Winter travel video of snow by St. Serfs church and graveyard on visit to Dunning, Strathearn, Perthshire. The church of St. Serf, Dunning was first mentioned in 1219.It came under the Abbey of Inchaffrey, near Madderty, which was founded by Earl Gilbert of Strathearn and witnessed by Anechal, Thane of Dunning and founder of the surname Dunning. The present tower was probably started in the mid 12th century, and a single storey medieval church with nave and chancel built on to it. Saint Serf is said to have slain a dragon with his pastoral staff.
Gille Brigte of Strathearn, born 1150, died 1223, was also called Gilbert, the 3rd Earl or Mormaer of Strathearn. The eldest of three children born to Ferteth, Earl of Strathearn and his wife Ethen, he first appears on record in 1164, as a witness to a charter by King William to the monks of Scone. He succeeded his father in 1171, and around this time was made Justiciar of Scotia, the highest legal official in the realm. He does not seem to have taken a large role in public affairs, and does not often occur in public records. A number of royal charters do exist, granting him certain lands in Perthshire. He was more active in ecclesiastical affairs. He took an interest in the newly founded Abbey of Lindores in Fife, and in 1200 he and his wife founded an abbey at Inchaffray, dedicated to the memory of their eldest son Gille Críst, who had died two years previously. He was also a benefactor to Dunblane Cathedral. Gille Brigte married twice. His first wife was Matilda or Maud, the daughter of William de Albini Brito. His second wife was Ysenda, a lady who held lands in Abercairny and had two brothers, Sir Richard and Galfric of Gask. By his first wife Matilda, he had seven sons and three daughters. Gille Brigte died in 1223, perhaps in his 70s, a very long life for the period, a testimony to his comparatively peaceful career.
Dunning was burnt after the Battle of Sheriffmuir by the retreating Jacobite army. However the village retains it's earlier pattern with later buildings, 18th and 19th century, gathered around the church. A standing stone outside the village is said to mark the site of the Battle of Duncrub in 964AD. A local woman, Maggie Wall, was burnt as a witch in 1657.
Alexander Martin, a former Dunning resident, made his fortune in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, as a confectioner. He was reported at the time of his death in 1874 to have been a resident of Saint John for 32 years and is recorded in the 1851 census as living there until his death.
Strathearn or Strath Earn, from Scottish Gaelic: Srath Èireann, is the strath of the River Earn, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east. The region formed a traditional province of Scotland, and hence had a mormaer and then an Earl. The province was bounded on the north by Atholl, north west by Breadalbane, south west by Menteith, south east by Fife, and on the east by Perthia. Royal dukedoms of Cumberland and Strathearn, of Kent and Strathearn and of Connaught and Strathearn have been awarded to members of the British Royal Family. Prince William was created Earl of Strathearn, as a subsidiary title to Duke of Cambridge, on 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding to Catherine Middleton. In medieval times, Strathearn was part of the region administered by the sheriff based at Perth. When 19th century local government reforms replaced the ancient provinces by new Counties (shires), based on sheriffdom boundaries, Strathearn, therefore, became the south-central part of Perthshire
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