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Some of the foundations of this first Church, Eaglais Beag, the little Church, can still be seen beside the eastern gable. Part of the original building was incorporated in to the 1631 Church. It is believed that it was built over the grave of St. Angus, who is credited with having brought Christianity to the Glen. He may have come from Dunblane in the 7th or 8th Century. He had his oratory in the field below the Church adjacent to Kirkton Farm, now the home of the Chief of the MacLarens. Earlier farm buildings on the Kirkton site were occupied by Ranald MacGregor, one of Rob Roy's sons. After Rob's death, his widow lived here with Ranald and his family.
Angus preached to his people from the low lying ground opposite the former Manse (now called Creag an Tuirc House), his congregation occupying the rising ground in front of him. Nearby on the level ground near the river you could once see the remains of a stone circle. The Kirkton grounds were obviously the centre of worship in one form or another for several thousand years. In the field below Broomfield, a few hundred yards east of the Manse on the opposite side of the road, you can still see a large standing stone known as Puidreag, which may have had some connection with the circle. It was beside Broomfield that the Royal Baillies administering Balquhidder held their Courts of Justice with the Gallows Hill nice and handy alongside.
Eaglais beag was once the site of a gruesome ceremony. Some MacGregors from Rannoch had been poaching deer in the Royal Forest of Glenartney and were sent home with their ears cut off. Other members of the clan returned to wreak vengeance, killed the forester, cut off his head, wrapped it in a plaid and made their way to Ardvorlich House on Loch Earn side, where the forester's sister was married to the Stewart laird. They asked for hospitality and were given bread and cheese. When Mrs Stewart returned to the room she found her brother's gory head in the centre of the table with bread and cheese stuffed into his mouth. The poor woman - and she was pregnant - fled to the hills in hysterics. The MacGregors, instead of returning to Rannoch, went down to Balquhidder where the Chief's brother had a stronghold at the foot of Loch Voil. Word was sent to the Chief himself, who came post haste to Balquhidder. The severed head was placed on the altar of Eaglais beag and the Chief and clansmen walked up, placed their hands on the head and swore to protect the murderers. Dire punishments and persecutions were visited upon the whole MacGregor clan after this outrage.
There are several gravestones of interest in the Churchyard which are mapped out on the notice board. Those most sought after are Rob Roy's, his wife's and two of their four sons. The stones are of a much earlier date than the days of Rob. He died in 1734. His youngest son Robin was hanged in Edinburgh for the abduction of a wealthy young widow, but his murder many years before of MacLaren of Invernenty while he was working at the plough was probably taken into account when sentence was passed. A procession escorted Robin's body back to Balquhidder, accompanied by the mournful playing of the bagpipes. They buried him beside his brother Coll.
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