Secession Church Monument, Gairneybridge Farm

The Secession Church Monument stands in Gairneybridge, a small village halfway between Edinburgh and Perth in Perth and Kinross. It marks the spot where Ebenezer Erskine and three other ministers, suspended by the Church of Scotland, gathered in a farm building on 15 December 1733. Together they founded a new presbyterian denomination, the First Secession. The monument takes the form of an obelisk. The obelisk was raised in December 1883 to mark the 150th anniversary of the meeting. In 1971 it was recognised as a Listed Building of category B and placed under statutory protection. The inscription records the names of the four founding ministers and the date of their assembly. Visitors find the obelisk set beside the road in a quiet rural setting. A small paved area surrounds the base, and a low stone wall encloses the plot. The surrounding fields and distant hills give the place a peaceful atmosphere.