The earliest record of a church in the area (St Bathan's Chapel) is from 1241.

Its ruins lie in the woods beside Yester House, to the south-west of the village centre.

A church also once stood at Duncanlaw, a former settlement to the south-east of the main village.

John Witherspoon was born in Gifford manse in 1723, the son of Rev.

John Witherspoon emigrated and became a major leader of the Presbyterian Church in America.