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.
The Gothic tower was a later addition paid for by the Duke of Atholl.
Thomas Brown (76) has lived in the village all his life and attended bible class at the church over 60 years ago.
He said: “Over 200 years of history was demolished in less than an hour.
“I was part of the bible classes there from 1951 to 1956. As many kids went to the Sunday school as the day school back then.
“The church was such a landmark.
“It was the first site seen as you arrived at Bankfoot by both roads - high on the hill and easily spotted.”
As well as a Sunday school pupil, Thomas’ father John was a regular attendee at the church and even made an incredible holy contribution to the chapel when serving his country in the Middle East.
“My father John served in the Black Watch in Palestine from 1937 to 1939,” Thomas said.
“When he was there he collected water in a bottle from the River Jordan and brought it back to Bankfoot. They would use the water at the church for baptisms for years after.”
As the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ, the Jordan River is the source of all holy water in Christianity and has for centuries attracted pilgrims from across the world.
“It was symbolic and very special.”
An author and a poet, Thomas wrote a poem in memory of the church called, ‘The Church on the Hill’.
“It was the chimes of the bells every hour that are missed,” he said.
“The church was a lovely site, especially at Christmas time.”
