St Serf's Church, Dunning

A 2-storey, T-plan gabled church, largely dating from 1808-1810 incorporating 12th century fabric. At the west end there is a 12th century tower, with a later saddle-back roof with crow-stepped gables. The building is squared and course rubble with ashlar margins and there are raised cills.

The 6-stage tapered tower has band courses at the upper levels and a weathercock on the roof ridge. There is a timber entrance door to the south elevation and small square openings on all faces of the tower. At the upper stages, there are clocks to each face and above these there are round-arched openings with two lights, separated with a capitalised column.

The church was extensively remodelled in 1808-10 by Alexander Bowie. The south elevation is symmetrical with a central pair of tall, pointed-arch windows with simple tracery. These are flanked by rectangular entrances with timber doors and there are rectangular window openings to the outer bays.

The east elevation has a late 17th century forestair leading to an entrance door for the east gallery. The lintel of the door is carved with the impaled arms and initials LAR and LMB and the date 1687.

The eastern section of the north elevation is windowless, with a row of corbels. The north aisle has rectangular window openings and doors. There is a forestair in the northwest re-entrant angle leading to a roll-moulded doorway. Obscured by this forestair is a blocked up 12th century doorway which would have accessed the original nave.

The roof of the church has grey slates and raised skews.

The interior was seen in 2016. There is a timber pulpit placed centrally on the south wall of the church and there are timber pews and panelled timber galleries to the north, east and west. A pointed-arch opening with scalloped capitals at the east end of the church leads to the base of the tower.

The stained glass windows are by the Edinburgh firms of A. Ballantine & Son and A. Ballantine and Gardiner and date from 1899-1910. The large windows on the south wall depict the figures of Justice, Humility and Fidelity.

The tower has a stone spiral staircase. A 9th century Pictish Cross, called the Dupplin Cross, stands on display at the base of the tower. It was moved to St Serf's Church in 2002. The cross is carved from a single block of red sandstone and commemorates King Constantine, who ruled the Picts and the Scots from around 811-820.