Westown Chapel

Westown Chapel

A conservation project on a medieval church in the Carse of Gowrie.

This project, supported by Perth and Kinross Council, and Historic Scotland, will see the conservation of this medieval church.  Trust staff and volunteers have cleared vegetation from the building, and the exterior of it has been recorded through measured scale drawings. Contractors will re-point the walls and rough rack the wallheads.

What is now visible, after many years when it was completely obscured by ivy, is a well-built stone building about 15 x 7 m in plan with walls over a meter thick. There are two carved doorways, and three carved windows, all of which have differing details. A blocked-up chancel arch seems to indicate that at one time the church was longer and twin chambered. It is likely that most of the external ashlar masonry has been reused and was originally part of a different building - the source has not yet been tracked down.

The Trust is hoping to carry out similar works at other ruinous churches in the region as part of the Historic Graveyards Project, with work already started at Rait and Kinfauns.