Killean Chapel

Heritage listing

Date Added 27/05/1971 Last Date Amended 15/08/2013 Type Crosses and carved stones: cross slab; tombstone, Ecclesiastical: burial ground, cemetery, graveyard; church Local Authority Argyll And Bute Parish Killean And Kilchenzie NGR NR 69507 44572 Coordinates 169507, 644572 — The monument comprises the remains of the old parish church of Killean and its burial ground, which contains a variety of carved gravestones. A simple, unicameral church was erected here probably in the second half of the 12th century. It was extended by the addition of a chancel to the E in the early 13th century with an elaborate E window, and a N aisle was added during the 15th century. The church was abandoned in 1770, but the N aisle was reused in the 19th century as the burial aisle of the MacDonalds of Largie. Evidence for this development sequence survives in the upstanding fabric of the building and further information is likely to be preserved beneath the ground. The church is approximately 25m long (E-W) by 13m wide (N-S). The burial aisle contains several fine 14th- to 15th-century tombstones of the Kintyre and Iona schools, as well as an early Christian cross-shaped stone. The burial ground contains a range of interesting 18th-to 19th-century gravestones, such as that commemorating Donald MacKinnon, who died in 1810, which depicts a man ploughing with a two-horse team. There is high potential for the presence of further archaeological remains and carved stones within the burial ground, possibly including evidence for the early phases of the church. The church is located on the W coast of Kintyre overlooking the Sound of Gigha at a height of around 10m above sea level. The monument was first scheduled in 1971, but the documentation did not meet modern standards: the present rescheduling r

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.