St Oran's Chapel (Orsay)

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Bird's eye view of Orsay. The ruins of St. Oran's Chapel in the middle of the surrounding cemetery wall can be seen in the middle half-left, west of the rectangular enclosure.

St. Oran's Chapel , also St Orain's Chapel or St Columba's Chapel , is a ruined church on the Scottish Hebridean island of Orsay . A former classification in the Scottish list of monuments as a category B building was lifted in 2016. The structure is also protected as a Scheduled Monument .

history

There is evidence that monks settled on Orsay as early as the 8th and 9th centuries. This is supported, among other things, by the discovery of cross fragments from this period. Although the date on which St. Oran's Chapel was built cannot be precisely determined, it is certain that it is a later date. It is not known whether there was a previous building in the same location. The construction period of the building is estimated at the 14th century. It seems likely that construction was completed before 1380. The church is recorded in records and maps from the 16th century and appears to have been in use. At the end of the 18th century it was already in ruins.

According to the current state of knowledge, the origin of the name is not clearly clarified. It could be named after the Irish king's son Odran of Iona , a companion of Columban of Iona . Both arrived in 563 with a group on the Hebridean island of Iona , where Columban and Odran are buried. The Irish Scottish missionary Oranna could also be namesake.

description

The interior dimensions of the chapel, built in the Celtic style, are approximately 13.1 × 3.8 m 2 . The masonry is about 80 cm thick and consists of clay-jointed quarry stone. The original chapel was probably shorter and was enlarged later, probably in the 18th or 19th century. The walls rest on a stone foundation and were once plastered using the traditional Harling technique. The entrance is at the western end of the south side. Light penetrated through two opposite lancet windows on the side walls in the eastern part. It is possible that there was once another window on the east side, which, however, had to give way when the building was extended. No special features can be seen in the interior today. However, it can be assumed that the sanctuary was not elevated. The eastern extension was divided into two floors, each of which was illuminated by pairs of windows in the side walls. The upper floor also had an eastward-facing window and was equipped with a wooden floor. Today the roof has collapsed and the building has fallen into disrepair over the years.

graveyard

The surrounding, irregularly cut cemetery has a maximum length of 80 m and a width of 66 m. During the construction of the Orsay lighthouse , it was leveled and the tombstones removed so that no remains can be found. The striking grave of Hugh MacKay alone can be found on the northwestern boundary. The wall that exists today is not the oldest enclosure. In some places the remains of an older masonry can be made out, which had roughly the same course. Below that there was possibly an even older construction.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Entry on St Oran's Chapel  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  2. ↑ a b Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .

Coordinates: 55 ° 40 ′ 31.9 "  N , 6 ° 30 ′ 44.4"  W.