Of the Church of Methven, consecrated by Bishop David de Bernham of St.
Andrews on 25th August 1247, nothing now remains.
The Collegiate Church or Provostry of Methven, as it is generally
called, was founded in 1433 by Walter Stewart, the aged Earl of Athole.
Before this time, King James i. had conferred the liferent of the
Earldom of Strathearn upon the Earl of Athole, so that he was the great
lord of the district, and was, besides, a son of Robert ii. Three years
after the founding of this church he suffered a terrible death, for his
supposed connivance in the assassination of James i. in Perth.
What now remains of the church is the north transept, the north wall and
gable of which are shown in Fig. 1482. In the _Edinburgh Architectural
Association Sketch Book_[213] a plan of the church is given without any
information as to how it was ascertained. Assuming it to be correct, it
shows a cross church, having a chancel 40 feet long by 24 feet wide over
the walls, with north and south transepts, and a nave of the same width
as the chancel, extending for an indefinite length. The north transept
extended from the north wall of the church 22 feet, and has a width over
the walls of 21 feet, with walls 3 feet thick. The end window, which is
the principal feature of the structure, is 6 feet 3 inches wide in the
daylight; it has three lights, and the tracery, which is of a flowing
pattern, is placed, as usual at this period, in the centre of the
thickness of the wall. The mouldings of the jambs, which consist of a
double splay, are stopped at the springing of the arch by a continuous
impost moulding, and the arch mouldings are of a different section. On
the east side of the window there is a bracket with a canopy over for a
statue, possibly that of St. Marnoch, the patron saint of Methven.
In a panel on the west side of the window there are traceable the lion
rampant of the royal arms, surmounted by a crown.
The gabled crowsteps with which the gable is coped form one of the best
examples of that feature, which, however, is a rare one in the churches
of this period. The cross on the apex is modern.
The collegiate church was in use as the parish church till 1783, and for
long after the Reformation the Presbyterian minister was called “Provest
of Methven, and Chaplin of Auldbar,” the Church of Auldbar having been
granted to Methven on its foundation in 1433.
[Illustration: FIG. 1482.--Methven Collegiate Church. North Transept.]