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Church, built on site of earlier church. The original church on this site was dedicated to St Finan, one of the early Celtic missionaries in circa 7th century. A later church was granted to the prior of St Andrews in the late 12th century. All that remains of the earlier building is a slight mound with some grass-covered footings. The present church now standing on the site dates from around 1770 (1777 according to the Listing description) and was a small 3-bay rectangular plan gabled church, built of squared granite courses with grey slate roof. It was used as an ecclesiastical building until 1979. but then gradually fell into disrepair. The present owner of Tillypronie House has restored the building and has commissioned local artists and craftspeople to refurbish the building with wood and stone carvings, painted panels and stained glass windows with themes relating to the Pictish stones found nearby and Celtic works. Also now within the church stands the Tom-a-char stone (NJ40NW0007) that originally stood at Tillypronie House. A grave marker, comprising of a Christian cross surrounded by four sets of linear figures, found within the churchyard, is also now inside the church, along with a small stone fragment with two pairs of Pictish legs, which was said to have been found in a dyke on the Tillypronie Estate. Another symbol stone (NJ40NW0002) stands in the churchyard. The churchyard, a rubble walled enclosure with cast iron gates, consists of a rectangular area of raised ground: it contains numerous gravestones of 18th and 19th century date. A cup-marked stone, formerly located at the farmstead to the south is now located within the churchyard at the south-east side (NJ40NW0003).
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Historic Environment Records (HER)