It became a secular lordship in 1605 when the abbey's lands were transferred into a Barony and the title of Lord Balmerino was created.

The Abbey ruins and grounds are managed by the National Trust for Scotland and are famed for the ancient sweet chestnut tree and the display of aconites which flower in February.

The village contains a number of 18th and 19th century houses in a local vernacular and is now an official Conservation Area.

The first element, bal-, is from baile, meaning a farmstead, or in modern Gaelic, a town.

Originally a simple Georgian box chapel the church was remodelled in the Gothic style in 1883.