MHG1694 - Chapel, St. John's Point
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (1)
- CHAPEL (Early Medieval to Medieval - 561 AD to 1559 AD)
Protected Status
Full Description
ND37NW 2 3107 7508.
St John's Chapel (NR) (Site of) OS 6" map, (1960)
The remains of alleged Chapel of St John, situated on inner slopes of rampart of promontory fort (ND37SW 1), and partly traversed by a modern wall.
The foundation, partially cleared by Nicolson in 1919, but now (MacDonald and Laing 1969) turf-covered, measure about 24 by 12ft internally, exterior being flush with present ground level. It lies E-W and had an entrance in W end, immediately inside which Nicolson found an oriented "slab-lined grave" one end of which was formed by an incised cross-slab of yellow sandstone, the cross having hollowed 'arm-pits' and a tapering shaft. The slab measured 2ft 10ins long by 1ft 11ins max breadth. One of side slabs, 1ft 8ins in max width, bore an oblong panel bordered by two parallel lines. The inside lintel of door formed part of cover.
Immediately E of 'chapel' are turf-covered footings of a small building, probably about 12ft square, now flush with ground level and lying E-W. To N is a mounded area roughly 40 yds square running from rampart of fort to cliff edge on NE in a pronounced curve. NE sector seems to be artificially scarped but rest is probably natural. This may be graveyard in which a seaman was buried about 1850.
Lamb (info from R G Lamb, Birmingham University to OS, 12 January 1972) considers site to be an eremitical monastery.
Name Book 1873; A D S macDonald and L R Laing 1969; RCAHMS 1911, visited 1910; J Nicolson 1922.
Although still known locally as St John's Chapel, partly turf-covered footings of this building, exposed in top of rampart of fort (NT37SW 1) may be of more recent origin. Oriented NE-SW it measures 6.6m by 2.2m internally, NE gable standing to height of 0.5m and SW gable to 0.7m. There are traces of dry-built inner face of SE wall in SE corner and inner face of NW wall is visible intermittently. The wall thickness cannot be ascertained. There is no entrance in SW wall as stated by Nicolson, although a different type of masonry in centre of wall suggests that entrance has been blocked up after excavation. There is no trace of a building immediately NE (sic) of 'chapel' described by MacDonald and Laing (1969). Here, there is merely an irregular slight depression about 2m in diameter which could be due to any number of reasons. Apart from building foundation on promontory (see ND37NW 1), which may be comparatively recent, there are no traces of any other structures to suggest monastic occupation.
Immediately to N of 'chapel' is a raised area about 22m by 35m, which may have been artificially scarpped in NE as suggested by MacDonald and Laing. There is nothing now to suggest it has been a graveyard.
Surveyed at 1:10,000. Visited by OS (A A) 20 April 1972.
Dunmey is alternative name for promontory on which chapel lies, and the 'chaplainry of Dunmy' is on record in 1561 and 1566.
Orig Paroch Scot 1855.
No change. Visited by OS (J M) 6 July 1982.
Sources/Archives (6)
- --- SHG2664 Text/Report: RCAHMS. 1911. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Third report and inventory of monuments and constructions in the county of Caithness. . 20-1, No. 56.
- --- SHG3350 Text/Publication/Volume: Name Book (County). Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey. Book No. 2, 46.
- --- SHG342 Text/Publication/Monograph: OPS. 1855. Origines parochiales Scotiae: the antiquities ecclesiastical and territorial of the parishes of Scotland. 2/2. 792-3.
- --- SHG3470 Text/Publication/Volume: Watson, G.. 1991. Caithness Chapel Sites.
- --- SHG38 Text/Publication/Article: Nicolson, J. 1922. 'A cross-slab found at St John's Chapel, Canisbay, Caithness', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, Vol 56 (1921-22), pp 66-7.
- --- SHG691 Text/Publication/Article: Macdonald and Laing, A D S and L R. 1969. 'Early ecclesiastical sites in Scotland: a field survey part 1', Proc Soc Antiq Scot Vol. 100 1967-8, p.123-34. Proc Soc Antiq Scot. 123-34. 124-5; plan.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 3107 7508 (40m by 40m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND37NW |
| Civil Parish | CANISBAY |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM2689 (Online designation description (Historic Environment Scotland))
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/9370 (View RCAHMS Canmore entry for this site)
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