Bridge of Earn

History

Bridge of Earn is the main village in the parish of Dunbarney (sometimes Dumbarney in older documents). The place-name is of uncertain (though probably Celtic) origin, and contains the element dun, 'fort', or possibly druim, 'ridge'. The ancient ecclesiastical focus of the parish was not within the present village, but about 1.5 km to the west at NO 113 190. The site of the medieval parish church is marked by a walled burial ground a little south of the River Earn. There are no visible remains of the medieval building (or of the medieval village that is said to have adjoined it to the south), but the churchyard contains an interesting collection of 18th-century headstones carved with symbols of mortality, trades etc. In 1689 the church was rebuilt much nearer to the Bridge, by then the main focus of settlement in the parish, at NO 130 185. In 1787 the church was rebuilt yet again, using the same stones, on its present site just to the east of the second, which also became a graveyard. The present congregation is a large and flourishing one, and a modern hall and kitchen has been built adjoining the church in recent years. The parish has recently been merged with Forgandenny, its neighbouring village to the west. The remains of two medieval chapels survive in Dunbarney parish, in the grounds of Moncrieffe Estate (originally a private chapel of the Moncrieffe family, now their burial vault), and at Ecclesiamagirdle (pronounced 'Exmagirdle'), a site of probably early Christian origin adjoining Ecclesiamagirdle House (early 17th century) on the Glenearn Estate below the Ochil Hills. It is sometimes suggested that the latter was a parish church in its own right up to the Reformation (1559), though there seems to be no conclusive documentation on this point.…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian red squirrel

  Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  7,095
• eastern gray squirrel

  Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin, 1788 · Mammalia
  3,746
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,812
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,568
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,404
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,360
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,266
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,259

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2026-04-16
  42 km WNW of Comrie, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2025-10-20
  29 km NW of Comrie, United Kingdom
• M 2.5 — 2018-08-30
  1 km ENE of Gourock, United Kingdom
• M 2.5 — 2005-12-31
  3 km WSW of Auchterarder, United Kingdom
• M 2.5 — 2003-06-20
  12 km NNW of Balfron, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2003-06-20
  14 km NNW of Balfron, United Kingdom