Killean Chapel

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The Killean Chapel , also called St John's Church , is a ruined church south of the Scottish town of Tayinloan on the Kintyre Peninsula . It is on the grounds of Killean House across from Killean Home Farm along the A83 . In 1971 the Killean Chapel was included in the Scottish Monuments List in the highest category A.

history

The exact construction period of the church is not recorded. The first written mention comes from the year 1222. Based on architectural features, however, the oldest parts of the building can be dated to the second half of the 12th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, an extension was added to the east, in which the chancel was then housed. Another extension to the north was probably made in the 15th century. The church was in use until 1770 when the roof collapsed. It was then abandoned and the Killean and Kilchenzie Parish Church, completed around 20 years later, was used as the main church of the Parish . The building fabric deteriorated as the population began to steal stone material from the ruins to build new buildings. This practice ended in the mid-19th century, possibly as a result of intervention by the MacDonalds of Largie .

description

Church cemetery

Kilean Chapel was built from rubble stone. While the older parts still have coarse layered masonry, the choice of stone in the northern extension appears to be random. Several slit windows are embedded in the walls for lighting. An entrance door was at the west end of the north side. Another entrance opening on the opposite side could come from the early construction phases or was added in the course of the 17th century. With the exception of the torn west wall, the outer walls are largely preserved in full. The building once ended with a gable roof .

In the surrounding cemetery, in addition to some early Christian cross plates, numerous ornate medieval tombstones can be found. In the 1860s, a multitude of bones were found on the opposite side of the creek where the church is located. For this reason, the cemetery could once have extended to this area.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ a b c Entry on Killean Chapel  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Coordinates: 55 ° 38 ′ 23.7 "  N , 5 ° 39 ′ 50.2"  W.