Dundurn Parish Church (Church Of Scotland), St Fillans

Dundurn Parish Church is a picturesque Church of Scotland building completed in 1878, designed by architect G T Ewing of Crieff. The church, like other buildings in St Fillans, is oriented towards Loch Earn, with views across the eastern end of the loch. Its principal elevation is distinctive within the landscape owing to vivid red bargeboarding and yellow dressings contrasting against the dark whinstone walls. The church makes a decorative contribution to the village streetscape and represents the work of a significant architect active in the Trossachs area during the late 19th century.

The church sits to the rear of a long, narrow plot facing the lochside road. The gabled main elevation is simply composed, with a central gabled porch and flanking windows. An ashlar plaque in the upper central gable is inscribed 'ERECTED/1878'. The gable is topped by a small, square-plan bell-cote on a lead base with slatted timber sides and a piended roof with weather vane. The building comprises a short three-bay rectangular nave with no transepts, ended by a semi-hexagonal apse. The apse roof is piended back to the nave roof ridge. Large nave windows have elliptical arches, whilst smaller windows of the apse and south wall are tudor-arched. A small vestry sits to the east side of the apse, with doorways into the church and to the south exterior, and a further lean-to brick-built room sits to the north.

Entry is through timber-panelled double doors with a segmental-arched fanlight above, into a small entrance vestibule. The vestibule leads directly into the nave through a set of narrow panelled double doors. The interior is surprisingly high, divided into a shallow five-segment vault. A horizontal central strip is flanked by sloping sections and meets the nave wallhead with gently curved outer strips. The groins where these strips intersect are hidden by simple ribs springing from a similar moulded cornice at the wallhead.

Colour is integral to the church's architecture, allowing the design to remain very simple yet striking. Externally, the contrast between yellow sandstone dressings and near-black whinstone walls gives the elevations movement and interest without the need for elaborate mouldings or stonework. The shaped bargeboards of the south elevation advance far over the eaves, supported on timber brackets, creating a dark shadow behind the bright red paint and exaggerating the depth of the façade. Internally, there is contrast between dark oak panelling of the lower walls and chancel furniture and simple, neutral colours of the walls and ceiling. Stained glass windows introduce vibrant patches of warm colour, while Celtic knotwork carvings of the chancel furniture and simple moulding of window surrounds and vault ribs provide the only additional adornments. Decorative fixed timber pews remain intact.

The church is constructed of squared and snecked whinstone with yellow sandstone ashlar dressings, carved and jointed timber bargeboards and brackets. Windows are rectangular with lead panes of red and yellow stained glass set into four-pane timber frames. The roof is pitched grey slate with decorative terracotta ridge tiles. A wrought-iron weather vane tops the bell-cote, and a wrought-iron floreate finial adorns the porch.