Rait, Old Parish Church

Heritage listing

Date Added 22/02/1993 Type Ecclesiastical: church Local Authority Perth And Kinross Parish Kilspindie NGR NO 22746 26857 Coordinates 322746, 726857 — The monument consists of the remains of the pre-Reformation parish church of Rait. A church was recorded as an independant parsonage in 1274 and confirmed c.1395 to the uses of Scone by Walter, Bishop of St Andrews. The church was abandoned in the early part of the 17th century when the parish of Rait was united with that of Kilspindie. The present ruin, which is likely to overlie the original 13th-century foundation, is situated in a fenced-off graveyard. It is rectangular-plan, measuring 20m E-W by 6.4m N-S over walls 0.8m thick. The masonry is random coursed rubble with freestone quoins and dressings bonded with lime mortar. The E gable survives to its full height. The W gable is reduced to 1.5m and the N and S walls are fairly intact and stand to a maximum height of 2.5m. There is a square-headed entrance with chamfered jambs in the S wall near the W end. A moulded jamb near the E end may indicate the position of a second door. The E gable has an upper level window, the character of which is obscured by ivy and a square-headed lower level window with deeply splayed inner jambs. On either side of the entrance are square-headed windows with chamfered dressings. The W is grooved for glazing and the E one is incomplete. The area to be scheduled is rectangular, extending 2m from the exterior walls of the church and measuring a maximum of 24m E-W by 10.4m N-S, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.