Dunning is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland with a population of about 1,000. The village is built around the 12th-13th century former parish church of St. Serf, where the Dupplin Cross is displayed (Historic Scotland; open in summer without entrance charge). The building was used in the filming of the Scottish film Complicity. It is in Strathearn, the valley of the River Earn, north of the Ochil Hills. It is just south of the A9, between Auchterarder and Perth.
Dunning is steeped in history from the earliest days.[1] There was an Iron Age fort on Dun Knock (no visible remains) and a 1st century Roman camp at Kincladie (part of the rampart and ditch survive in Kincladie Wood). The former is the probable origin of the name Dunning, ex Old Irish dúnán 'little fort'. Saint Serf (fl. 6th century?) is said to have killed a dragon here, and there is a thorn tree planted in Jacobite times as well as a monument to Maggie Wall, burnt as a witch in 1657.[2]
The Dunning Parish Historical Society web site (see below) includes St. Serf's Church graveyard survey and Dunning parish census records, both useful for genealogy research. The village (except the church) was burned during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. The oldest surviving house (recently restored) dates from the 1730s.
Dunning Community Trust aims to help shape and improve the village of Dunning and surroundings for future generations. One of the trusts main projects is the care of Kincladie Wood (see below).
Notable residents include decorated SAS Commander Brigadier Rory Walker OBE MC and golfer Colin Montgomerie.
The village includes a recreation area which embraces a nine-hole golf course, a football pitch and tennis court.