Pitlochry Church of Scotland

Pitlochry Church of Scotland stands in the heart of the tourist town of Pitlochry, set in the Tummel valley of Perthshire. The present building is a category A listed structure on Church Road, designed by Dundee architects Charles & Leslie Ower. It blends Romanesque, Victorian Gothic and Byzantine features inspired by F T Pilkington’s work. The church occupies a site once offered by Mr Archibald Butter of Faskally after a fire destroyed the earlier Moulin Kirk in 1873. A monument to Alexander Duff, the first Church of Scotland missionary to India, stands in the grounds. The church’s roots reach back at least to the 7th century, when a church dedicated to St Colm or St Colman was founded. Evidence of early Christian activity includes the 8th-century Dunfallandy Stone, a Pictish monument with a Celtic cross, moved from Killiecrankie to Dunfallandy farm. Moulin Kirk, north of Pitlochry, served as the parish church from the Middle Ages until a disastrous fire in 1873. Pope Gregory IX granted the monks of Dunfermline Abbey patronage of Moulin Kirk in 1231. The new church in Pitlochry was completed in 1884 and later became known affectionately as “Mount Zion” for its prominent position overlooking the village. Inside, the church offers a calm space for worship and community activities. The congregation today runs a wide range of programmes for all ages, aiming to know Christ and make him known. Refreshments are served after Sunday morning worship at 10 am, and a prayer meeting takes place in The Tryst each Wednesday at 10 am. The church is linked with Blair Atholl and Struan Church of Scotland, and the current minister is the Reverend Mark Foster.