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Church, no longer in ecclesiastical use, graveyard, hearse-house, minister's aisle, manse and gig-house. The church, built in 1781-3 is built on the site of an earlier church. The earlier church may have been either that dedicated to St Medan by Bishop de Bernham in 1242, or another built in circa 1603. It is suggested that the church was dedicated to St John. This may not be the case, but rather because St John was the object of special veneration to the Strathmore family, who held the barony from 1458. A possible site of a forerunner of the medieval church is suggested by the occurrence of long cists (NO35SW0028), a holy well and a dedication to a Celtic saint in the area. The remains of the medieval church now consist of a late aumbry, built into the porch of the modern church, a representation in low relief of St John the Baptist built into the West gable and various carved stones. The church was built in 1781-3, with stair additions in the mid-19th century, and an 1893 addition to the North elevation and interior alterations, and the church includes rare medieval period fabric and fixtures. It is a rectangular-plan rendered church with painted margins, and is set within a churchyard in a rural location. There is a stone bellcote to the West gable. The long South elevation has round-arched windows, with lower flat-arched windows to the flanking outer bays of the five-bay nave. The window at the centre of the South elevation has stained glass, and is dated 1787, with a keystone and cell inscribed '17 MrIS Mnr 81'. There is evidence of an earlier entrance opening beneath this window. There is a later stair addition to the West gable, with a re-used medieval figurative sculpture of St John the Baptist holding a lamb set into the gable to the left of the addition. The statue possibly originally came from St John's Chapel at Baikie (NO35SW0069). The two-bay addition to the North elevation has two long round-headed windows to the North, and one to the West. The windows are predominantly multi-paned with timber frame, and the North elevation addition has diamond-paned, leaded windows. There is a grey-slated, gabled roof to the Church, and piended roofs to the additions. The interior, as seen in 2013, is characterised predominantly by late-19th century timber fixtures and fittings, including pulpit, pews and boarding to dado rail. There is a raked gallery to the West wall, supported on a pair of square timber columns with a dentiled cornice and panelled balustrade. The gallery to the East wall was infilled with a panelled balustrade, and timber columns set into the wall from circa 2001. There is a commemorative marble panel to the South wall of church, and simple cornicing around the church. There is a medieval carved aumbry set in the wall beneath the East staircase. The aumbry carvings include a cross with crown of thorns, and a heart with hands and feet representing the five wounds of the passion, flanking the apex of the ogee-headed opening, and all flanked by engaged columnettes. The rear of the aumbry has the initials W.F. and the arms of the Fentons of Baikie, all upside down. There is a minister's aisle to the South-West of the church within the graveyard, which includes some of the medieval carved stones are built into the wall. It is a detached open burial place with a moulded doorpiece inscribed 'This burial builded by William Malcolm 1609'. This may be what Wilson suggests in 1917 as a part of the choir of the pre-Reformation church within a few feet of the present building. The earliest date noted in the graveyard is 1606. At NO 3130 5150 there is a rectangular compartment, 11 metres by 4 metres, sub-divided into burial vaults, with walls 1.2 metres high on the North, and 2 metres on the South. These walls contain doorways with moulded jambs and coping stones with sundry 17th century dates and inscriptions. Although parts of the walls look old, it would seem that this vault was built with stones from the old church, probably on its actual site. However the lack of ecclesiastical features, and the insertion of these moulded and inscribed stones, tends to throw doubt on these being the remains of the pre-Reformation church. To the West of the church is a hearse house, dating from the early 19th century. It is a small oblong gabled structure, constructed of rubble and slate. There is a manse to the South-East of the church, built in 1792 with later alterations and additions and a slate roof. It is a harled two-storey building, with carved stones in the offices. There is a gig-house to the East of the manse. A decapitated medieval figurine is set into a prepared niche of the manse, and is said to represent St Medan. To the East of the manse is an L-plan building, depicted on the 1st and 2nd edition OS map. Building survey of the church was carried out by Alder Archaeology on 2017 prior to conversion to a private house.
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Historic Environment Records (HER) 
Angus
HER -
NO35SW0029 - AIRLIE PARISH CHURCH