The ruined church of Weem stands in the village of that name, near the
entrance to Castle Menzies, at a short distance from Aberfeldy. It is
still in a fair state of preservation, the walls being entire, although
greatly overgrown with ivy, and the roof being still intact, with the
belfry on the west gable. The building has been abandoned for many
years. According to Mr. A. H. Millar[262] the Church of Weem is
mentioned about 1296 in the oldest charter at Castle Menzies, and
references in charters are continuous till, in 1510, the Barony of
Menzies was erected by charter from James IV., when “the patronage of
the Kirk of Weem was specially included in the gift.”
[Illustration: FIG. 1610.--Weem Church. Inscription over East Doorway.]
The existing building, however, appears to be of a later date, since
over the eastmost doorway there are the impaled arms of Sir Alexander
Menzies and his wife, Margaret Campbell, with their initials, and the
date 1600, together with the inscription shown in Fig. 1610.[263]
The church (Fig. 1611) is an oblong building, measuring internally about
62 feet 5 inches from east to west by about 19 feet wide, and has a
north transept projecting 21 feet by 17 feet in width. It is ceiled and
plastered at the roof ties. There are two doors and three windows on the
south side, all of which are square headed. In each gable, high up near
the ceiling, there is a window of a pointed form. All the windows and
doors have large bead mouldings. In the inside of the south wall there
are two ambries, one of which contains the initials of Duncan Menzies
and his wife, Jean Leslie, sister of the Earl of Rothes, who were
married in 1623. And on the other occur the initials D. M.
There are several interesting grave slabs in the church, but the most
remarkable feature is the monument shown in Fig. 1612, which stands
against the north wall near the east end, as indicated on the Plan. It
is an important example of Scottish Renaissance work, and contains a
great amount of detail, much of it very elaborate.
The sixteenth or seventeenth century monuments in Scotland may be
divided into two classes, viz.:--First, the class represented by the
Montgomery monument at Largs,[264] and the seventeenth century monument
in Seton Church, which are almost pure Italian, with very little of the
previous Gothic manner, and almost nothing of local or Scottish feeling.
Monuments of this class may probably be the design, if not the work, of
foreign hands. In the second class are the monuments which seem to
[Illustration: FIG. 1611.--Weem Church. Plan.]
owe their design and execution to native skill, and amongst these may be
included this monument at Weem. The structure measures about 13 feet in
length at the base, and has a projection from the wall of about 2 feet.
The general scheme of the design is of an ordinary form, consisting of
an arched recess above a dado or pedestal, which is divided into three
panels separated from each other by delicate tapering shafts. At each
side rises a half round engaged shaft to carry the moulded arch above.
These shafts have capitals, rudely carved with oak leaves, supporting
square abaci. Above the arch there is a level cornice slightly broken at
intervals over figures beneath. At each side of the monument a large
figure stands on a finely designed pedestal, the one representing Faith
and the other Charity. The former holds a book with the inscription,
_Quidquid fit sine Fide est peccatum_, while the figure of Charity is
represented in the usual typical manner. The figures are surmounted with
very beautiful canopies reaching nearly up to the cornice. Above the
cornice a rudimentary pediment contains the Menzies and Campbell arms
and monograms, over which, and leaning forward, is a panel having a
figure with
[Illustration: FIG. 1612.--Monument in Weem Church.]
outstretched arms, supposed to symbolise the Creator. At each end of the
cornice is a kneeling figure placed before a small pedestal shaped like
a prie-dieu.
This monument having been erected not to the memory of one individual,
but of several, was probably not intended to contain any recumbent
figure, although the space for one is provided. Such a figure would
have in a great measure concealed the descriptive tablet and its
accompanying heraldry, which occupy the background of the recess. The
monument bears the date of the 24th January 1616, and was erected
by the Sir Alexander Menzies already referred to, to perpetuate the
memory of his two wives and of his maternal ancestors, beginning with
his great-great-grandmother. The names of all these ladies, with the
arms of their respective houses, adorn the monument, and need not be
repeated here, as full information regarding them will be found in Mr.
Millar’s work, already cited.