St Ternan's Episcopal Church

Image: © Anne Burgess Taken: 30 Mar 2015

The 'Episcopal Chapel at Muchalls' dated from at least the early 17th century. After the Reformation and the adoption of Presbyterianism as the principal form of church in Scotland, one of the strongholds of Episcopalianism was in the north and north-east of the country, notably Angus, Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire, and was usually associated with support for the Jacobite cause after 1688. Many congregations survived despite official disapproval and sometimes persecution. In 1713 an Act of Toleration permitted Episcopalians freedom of worship provided they ceased to support the Jacobites, but in 1746, at the height of the last Jacobite Rising, many Episcopalian churches and chapels were burned down, including the original one at Muchalls. A temporary chapel was built in 1748, rebuilt in 1770, replaced in 1795 and finally abandoned about 1830 when a new chapel was built on this site. This is the centre section of the present building. It was later lengthened, and the chancel was added in 1865, when the name St Ternan's was adopted. For a fuller history see http://www.stternans.co.uk/page2.htm

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