Dingwall, a north of Scotland market town (pop. 5000), is situated at the head of the Cromarty Firth at the mouth of the picturesque valley of Strathpeffer. In 1226 Alexander II, King of Scots, granted the town its charter to be a royal burgh. Dingwall, until 1975, was the county town of Ross and Cromarty, a county most often, if erroneously, referred to as Ross-shire.

St Clement's is a building much valued for its unusual church architecture and its place in local history - truly a jewel in the heritage of Dingwall. This, "the Church of Dingwall", was built between 1800 and 1803 to replace the somewhat ruinous medieval church, the stones, slates and useable timbers of which, were employed in the construction of the new building.

In its ancient kirkyard and burial ground, St Clement's church stands at the foot of the Church Street of the old burgh of Dingwall. In occupying ground which has been dedicated to ritual and religious use since pre-history, St Clement's kirkyard is much older even than the burgh. This is indicated by the class I Pictish inscribed stone, which stands inside the gateway.

Planned in the final year of the 18th century, the parish church of Dingwall was built to the design of the architect and civil engineer George Burn. It is the only church designed by Burn, who is better known as a builder of bridges. The Lovat Bridge over the river Beauly and the great bridge over the Spey at Fochabers are two fine examples of his work.

The style of the building is unique. In order to persuade the largest landowner of the parish (who was to pay most of the cost of construction) the classical, yet false, facade of the church, bearing the spire, faces northwards towards his estate and castle. The vestry, the first ever such to be built in the north of Scotland, is battlemented and lies on the south face of the kirk centrally to four great Gothic style windows. It is this south facing "back" of the church which is exposed to the gateway to the kirkyard and to the old burgh of Dingwall.

Internally, though originally seating 800, the church is both compact and intimate and is graced by its stained glass windows. A semi-octagonal gallery surrounds the pulpit on three sides. Above the gallery on the steeple wall facing the pulpit is a clock of 1801 made by a Dingwall clockmaker and housed in its original japanned casing.