The first church on this site is said to have been built of turf in 606 AD when the Italian Bishop Bonifacus Quirinus came to Scotland to instruct the Picts in the Christian faith.

The first documented evidence of a Meigle church dates from the late twelth or early thirteenth centuries. How many times this original building required to be replaced is not recorded, but in 1431 the then Bishop of Dunkeld, who had a residence in what we now know as Belmont, had a stone church built on the site. The east transept of this church is said to have had an alter adorned by a figure of Jesus on the cross along with the Virgin Mary, Martha and many Christian saints. The Devil was depicted as a winged crocodile being crushed by the saints and martyrs. All these figures were made of wood and were highly decorated but were destroyed during the sixteenth century Reformation when the church became a Protestant establishment.  

Several ministers of Meigle Church became Bishops of Dunkeld during the seventeenth century and two of these were buried below the north aisle of the old church, which is believed to have dated from around 1600. 

The old church was altered many times over the centuries, the oldest parts being the east and north wings of the Roman Catholic chapel. In 1790 the old pre-Reformation church was rebuilt from the foundations upwards, except for part of the east transept which was retained. Although the church walls were only about 14 feet high it contained three galleries, the oldest two being entered from outside stairs. The west wing had a small turret to hold the bell and was modern by comparison, having an inside stair. The whole length of the building from east to west is thought to have been under 80 feet, the depth of the transept, or north wing, being about 15 feet with a breadth also of about 15 feet. The church was again improved in 1850, with the door converted into a window and a new door placed in the west gable. At the same time a vestry fitted with a stove that could heat the whole building was built in the south wall. The old clay floor of the church was removed and replaced by a wooden floor having hot-air pipes covered by tiles. The next improvement took place in 1867 when a new roof was installed and the interior renovated.  

Fire

All this came to an end on Easter Sunday, 28 March 1869, when flames from a furnace were carried by a strong gust of wind to the fabric of the building. It was an extremely cold day with an easterly wind blowing and the beadle had the stove well stocked for the Sunday service. Some of the parishioners were already in their seats but most were still making their way through the churchyard when smoke was noticed coming from the roof. The church was quickly evacuated just before the roof became a mass of flames and fell into the building. The congregation did their best to save the church but it was soon burnt to the ground. They did however manage to save the surrounding houses.  

Many old monuments which had lined the inside walls of the church were destroyed that day, including one dating from 1681  for a family who included a Bishop of Dunkeld. The north transept contained the burial vault of the family of the Nairnes of Drumkilbo, which was reached by a stone stair entered from the centre of the church, the entrance being covered by a large flat stone slab. As the Nairne family was extinct, the slab was never expected to be moved again, but the fire changed that. When the vault was entered it was discovered to contain three well preserved coffins, one for David Nairne of Drumkilbo, the last laird of his line, who died on 23 November 1854; one for his mother Margaret Yeaman Nairne who  died on 20 November the following year and one for his sister Margaret who had pre-deceased him in 1848. There were several other remains in the vault, some thought to have been placed there when the church was renovated in 1848. There was one unusual one - the skeleton of a woman lying face down and it was thought that this lady had been buried alive. This vault still exists under the present church but has been sealed never to be opened again. 

The New Church 

The present church, built in the Gothic style, was opened on 3 July 1870, with a part of the earlier building which was salvaged from the fire built into the east facing wall of the south wing of the new building. The original bell, dated 1795, was also rescued from the earlier building. The most significant change to the fabric of the new church building was the installation of the clock into the church tower in 1938. This has two clock faces facing to the west and to the north. A further east facing dial has no clock hands but has 'James & IS Kidd', who gifted the clock to the Church, in place of the hour numbers. This dial is completely obscured from view by the roof of the north transept. 

The Old Font 

Just inside the front entrance of Meigle Church sits a fine early stone baptismal font which has been described as one of the finest of its type found in Scotland. The font was rediscovered when it was dug out of the remains of the old Parish Church when it burnt down in 1869. It had been buried under the church floor, probably to stop it being destroyed during the Reformation. It was then removed to the manse garden where it was used for many years as a bird bath.  

The local laird, Sir George Kinloch, decided that he would like the font for the baptism of his son and asked if he could borrow it for that purpose but, like many borrowed things, he did not return it. When St Margaret's Episcopal Church was built, he gave it to them even although it was not his to give. It remained there until that church was demolished in the 1960s when it was transferred to St Ninian's Episcopal Church in Alyth but it was later returned to the parish church in Meigle.  

The font is externally octagonal in shape with all the sides being cred in high relief showing emblems from the Crucifixion. The carvings have been described as follows: (1) The Crucifixion; (2) The Seamless Robe, two scourges (whips) and three dice; (3) The Resurrection; (4) The Empty Coss and Crown of Thorns; (5) The Five Wounds; (6) The Pillar of Scourging, surmounted by a cock and rope twisting round the pillar; (7) The Ladder, Spear and Songe arranged saltire-wise; (8) The Three Nails and Hammer.

At the road junction where the A927 to Alyth leaves the A94 Perth to Forfar Road (just to the west of Meigle village) you can see a small, enclosed graveyard which once surrounded St Margaret’s Episcopal Church. 

This church was always a joint charge with St Ninian's Episcopal Church in Alyth as its membership was fairly small. 

From the Reformation on, there had been much dispute about how the Scottish church should be governed. Its legal status was presbyterian, but many, including the Stewart kings, favoured the episcopal model, similar to that of the Church in England.  

So how did this affect Strathmore? The minister of Meigle Parish Church in the 1680s was the Rev John Hamilton who was a staunch royalist and supporter of the Stewarts and also the Bishop of Dunkeld. His Meigle residence was Kirkhill - now Belmont Castle. James VII and II was overthrown in 1688 in a bloodless revolution by William of Orange who then became king alongside his wife, James’s daughter, Queen Mary II. Bishop Hamilton, however, did not accept the new Protestant king and he refused to pray for him, the consequences of which were that he was discharged from his office.  

The people of Meigle made their support of their minister known, which resulted in no new minister being appointed to the Parish Church for the next 15 years. However, King William and Queen Mary dissolved the Episcopal Church in Scotland and forbade Episcopalian worship, a situation which lasted for over a hundred years. 

The Episcopalian Rector of Alyth and Meigle lived in Meigle House between 1855 and 1872 where he ran a school for boys. By the 1850s Episcopalian services were being held in part of the steading at Meigle House, the upstairs room of the building nearest to the public road being used for this purpose. However, in 1852 the congregation were able to build, by subscription, St Margaret’s Church and also to make an addition to it in 1896. This was mainly due to some of the heritors (the Lairds) of the parish being Episcopalian: thanks to them, and with contributions from other members, the Episcopalians got their own church to worship in. 

In the years immediately after the Disruption of 1843, Free Church members in Meigle had no church to go to. However, after a rather unsuccessful attempt to join with the congregation in Newtyle, they finally obtained land at the top of Dundee Road where they built their church and an adjoining manse for their minister, opening its doors sometime between 1846 and 1854.  

It is true to say that not all ministers of the Church of Scotland and ministers of the United Free Church were on very friendly terms, but this was not the case in Meigle as in 1869 when the Free Church minister heard that the Parish Church was on fire he immediately dismissed his congregation so that they could go to try to help their neighbours save their church building. Sadly this was not to be, as the old church was completely destroyed, and the Free Church minister then offered use of his church until a new church could be built for the Established Church, an offer which was gratefully accepted.  

In 1900 most of the Free Church amalgamated with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (itself a merger between the United Secession Church and the Relief Church); Meigle Free Church being part of this amalgamation was from then on a United Free Church of Scotland. In 1929 the Free Church amalgamated with the Church of Scotland and soon after their church became a redundant building. It lay empty for many years before becoming a potato store but happily has now been renovated into a private house, although the bellcote which topped the gable wall above the front door has gone.

Although a plot for a new church to the south of the railway had been included in the 1835 plan for the village Washington, it was to be more than 50 years before this was built, by which time the name of the village had changed to Ardler.  

The church cost £10,000 and was built by local landowner Peter Carmichael as a memorial to his son James who had predeceased him.  

The kirk continued in use until the 1980s, since when it has served as a private dwelling.