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Rait, Old Parish Church And Churchyard

Burial Ground (17th Century) - (18th Century), Church (17th Century)

Site Name Rait, Old Parish Church And Churchyard

Classification Burial Ground (17th Century) - (18th Century), Church (17th Century)

Alternative Name(s) Rait Church; Rait Churchyard; Annet; Glen Of Raid

Canmore ID 30442

Site Number NO22NW 3

NGR NO 22747 26855

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/30442

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council Perth And Kinross
  • Parish Kilspindie
  • Former Region Tayside
  • Former District Perth And Kinross
  • Former County Perthshire

Archaeology Notes

NO22NW 3 22747 26855.

(NO 2274 2685) Rait Church (NR) (Remains of)

OS 6" map (1901)

For present (Kilspindie) parish church (at NO 2199 2575), see NO22NW 3.

The parish of Rait was united to that of Kilspindie in the early part of the 17th century, and the church was, in consequence, dismantled.

Name Book 1861

The remains of an ancient chapel.

A H Millar 1890

Cowan and Easson record evidence of the presence of an 'Abbot of Kilspindie'. There is no evidence of a monastery and this office may be derived from an earlier Celtic foundation.

I B Cowan and D E Easson 1976

Activities

Publication Account (1926)

The name 'Annet' at Glen of Raid may be an 'Annat' name indicating the possible presence of an early church.

W J Watson 1926

Field Visit (9 October 1963)

The ivy-covered walls of Rait Church, other than the east gable end which stands to roof height, have a maximum height of 2.5m and are 0.8m thick. A doorway is discernible in the south wall near the SW corner, and there are also two windows on this side and one in the east gable end.

Visited by OS (RDL) 9 October 1963.

Field Visit (June 1990)

This church, now a roofless ruin, served the former parish of Rait. Rectangular on plan, it measures 20.1m from E to W by 6.1m transversely over walls 0.9m in thickness; the E gable stands to its full height and elsewhere the walls are up to 2.5m in height. All the openings appear to have been square-headed, their surrounds wrought with broad (0.55m) chamfers. In the E wall there are two windows, one at ground-floor level, the other possibly lighting a loft. In the S wall there are two doorways and a centrally placed window; the doorway to the W is complete, but of that to the E and the window only the W jambs survive. Whilst all of these features are likely to be of post-Reformation date, it is possible that the fabric may or may not incorporate earlier work. Within the burial-ground there are a number of 18th-century gravestones. On record by c.1120, when it was a chapel of the priory of Scone (later Scone Abbey NO12NW 9.03).

Rait probably attained parochial status in the 15th century. The parish of Rait was united with Kilspindie before 1634.

Visited by RCAHMS (PC) June 1990.

OSA 1791-9; L Melville 1939; I B Cowan 196

Geophysical Survey (5 May 2007 - 23 May 2007)

NO 2274 2685 Magnetic and resistivity surveys were carried out in the accessible portion of the churchyard surrounding the heavily overgrown church ruins between 5–23 May 2007. Evidence was found for some form of NE-SW trending structure or enclosure parallel to the eastern churchyard fence together with a rectangular, (10m x 7m), high resistivity feature by the NE corner of the church. The most recent graves to the N of the

church are marked by strong negative magnetic anomalies.

Archive deposited with RCAHMS. A copy of the report has been deposited with Perth and Kinross SMR.

Watching Brief (26 January 2017)

NO 22747 26855 (NO22NW 3) A watching brief was undertaken, 26 January 2017, during consolidation and repair work at the church. A minimal amount of levelling work, consisting of the removal of mounds of earth and stone, took place within the perimeter of the church walls. The material contained a moderate assemblage of 19th/20thcentury-pottery and glass fragments, indicating the modern nature of these mounds.

Archive: NRHE

Funder: Tay Landscape Partnership

Donald Wilson – Headland Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES, Volume 18)

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