Perthshire poet reflects on long history of village church demolished two centuries after it was built

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A lifelong Bankfoot resident has reflected on the long history of a local church now demolished over two centuries after it was built - including his father’s role in bringing holy water over from Palestine.

The partially collapsed Auchtergaven and Moneydie Parish Church was finally brought down three years after it was damaged in a storm and 18 years after it was ravaged by a fire.Plans to demolish the 210-year-old structure were first scrapped at the end of 2019 over a land access dispute with a neighbouring landowner.However the issue was eventually resolved and the historic former place of worship flattened last Friday.Congregation members and locals banded together over the years since the 2004 blaze, reportedly caused by the spread of a nearby bonfire, in the hope of resurrecting the former Bankfoot church, which has stood on the hill since 1812.In November 2016 worshippers and local groups were considering plans to dismantle the building, after a £500,000 restoration bid failed.All stonework would have been stored and reused again.The congregation was forced to consider the action after a report by engineers revealed that storms at the start of 2016 had left the building in a perilous state.Another more costly option that was forwarded was to dismantle the walls of the church and renovate the tower.

However, the decrepid condition of the building meant it eventually became unsalvageable.The land was formerly the site of three other churches that stood there from 1567.

The church bells were made in Holland in 1767 and became part of the Auchtergaven and Moneydie Parish Church, built in 1812 by John Stewart of Dunkeld.