Just a few small steps from the home of my friends is the small Scottish village of Tillicoultry; birthplace and home to a legacy of generations of MacMillan / McClaren's. A blurry sepia tone photograph of a parish church has held a special place among other family treasures my entire life. I knew it to carry life and meaning but not until I stood on the actual grounds did the magnitude of my heritage set in. Although I have struggled with the idea of organized religion, I have to historically recognize a foundation of community that has stood the test of time for almost two centuries. Transcending generations of new life, sacred bond, celebration, tragedy and death; creating the life’s mortar that bonds a village.
The neo-perpendicular, rectangular church by William Stirling of Dunblane was completed in 1829 next to a church of 1773. Central gable topped with corbelled-out octagonal belfry. The original horseshoe gallery was replaced with a single gallery in 1920. The manse was built in 1811.
MacMillan / McClaren home of my Great Grandmother Lower Mill Street, Tillicoultry, Scotland.
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