ON TUESDAY, June 10, 1879 the foundation stone of Menstrie Parish Church was laid.

The Rev David Neil Imrie of Logie Parish Church was Master of Ceremony.

In his speech before the laying of the stone, he addressed the crowd, stating that since he had become minister at Logie, he felt that Menstrie should have a church of its own.

He was instrumental in bringing the church to the village and had approached the local Kirk Session regarding the construction of the building. They had heartily agreed with the proposal.

He thanked the Kirk Session for the way they had responded to his wish to have the church built and said it was his ‘dearest wish’ since he had become the minister, and soon it would come to fruition.

He went on ‘to express the earnest hope of every individual …that this church, after it has been duly finished, may prove a great blessing’ and that it would save those who worked all week from having to walk the two or so miles to Logie Kirk.

It was then the turn of Alexander McNab of Middleton Kerse to lay the foundation stone.

He was presented with a silver trowel, not only to lay the stone, but to keep as a memento of the occasion and as a mark of the kindness he had shown in helping the minister and the Session to ‘accomplish the work'.

The trowel was inscribed ‘Presented to Alexander McNab, Esquire, Middleton-Kerse, on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of the Established Church at Menstrie, 10th June 1879’.

Before the stone was laid, however there was one final task to do. A bottle had been carefully sealed and a parchment containing the names of the Kirk Session of Logie, a description of the building, and a list of the steps taken to achieve their goal was inserted.

Also included were newspapers from the Tuesday including The Scotsman, Glasgow News, and the local papers from Alloa and Stirling, plus a copy of Lothians Register for Clackmannanshire 1879.

Finally, the names of the architect, James Collie, and the men involved in its construction were added.

These included the masons A&J Headridge of Causewayhead, John Keir, a joiner from Menstrie, John Davie, the plasterer from Alloa, and painter and glazer Robert Bald of Stirling.

The bottle was then placed in the cavity of the stone, and it was laid.

McNab made a short speech and thanked the church members for ‘the very nice trowel’.