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MHG31340 - Cemetery, Keil Medieval Church

Summary

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Type and Period (1)

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Full Description

Old Parish Church and Burial-ground, Cill Choluim Chille: The scanty remains of one of the two medieval parish churches of Morvern stand within an extensive churchyard, some 55m SW of the present Keil Church (at NM 6709 4517), the third on the site, which was built in 1898 (SDD Listed: C {SDD 1960-}). The principal surviving feature of medieval date is an archway which probably led from the body of the church into a N transept or burial-aisle. This now forms part of the massive S wall of an enclosure measuring about 5m square within walls averaging 1.1m in thickness, evidently a burial-aisle of late date. The enclosure wall also incorporates numerous re-used sandstone fragments, which are of late medieval date as is the archway. About 6m to the S of the burial-aisle described above, there is a similar structure, which may replace an earlier aisle built against the S wall of the medieval church. A lintel above the entrance states that this aisle was re-built in ? 1733. Although the earliest of the visible remains are of late medieval date, evidence for a 13th-century building on the site was recorded by Dr Ross (1914) who identified two stones, wrought with dog-tooth ornament, which he ascribed to that period. These fragments could not be located at the date of visit.
The dedication was to St Columba.
(See also NM64NE 1 and 4.) Surveyed at 1:2500.
SDD 1960-; T Ross 1914; RCAHMS 1980, visited 1980.
Visited by OS (NKB) 15 June 1970.

NMRS Notes:
For present church (NM 6709 4519) and cross (NM 6709 4512), see NM64NE 1 and 4 respectively.

Cill Choluimchille (NR)
OS 1:10,000 map, (1975)

Kilcolmkill (Argyll, Morvern). Known also as the church of St Columba in Kenevaden or Morvern, it always appears to have remained a free parsonage. It lay originally within the patronage of the Lords of the Isles, on whose forfeiture it passed to the crown, with whom it continued, although as was customary, one quarter of the fruits pertained to the bishops of Argyll.
I B Cowan 1967.

The remains of the medieval church and the graveyard, including the boundary walls were listed at Category B in 1971.

The remains of the church were scheduled (including an area 45m WNW-ESE by 35m surrounding it) in 1996. The scheduling excludes all lairs for which rights of burial still exist.

For the Medieval Graveslabs, now housed in the Session House, see NM64NE0002. For the present church see NM64NE0003
Details updated J.Wood 19/2/02.

The listed building record and statutory address were updated by Historic Scotland in 2015. The scheduled remains of the church and the area around it, as legally described, were specifically excluded from the revised listing. <1>

Aerial photographs taken in 2009 seem to show the faint cropmark (in grass) outline of a continuation of the cemetery boundary towards the east and southeast, which would include the current site of the scheduled cross slab (see MHG464). <2> [Default polygon altered to take this into account - IS-L 21/10/2016]

See also:
NM64NE0001 (MHG463) Church
NM64NE0002 Medieval Graveslabs (Session House)
NM64NE0003 (MHG30660) Present Church

Sources/Archives (7)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NM 6705 4512 (101m by 89m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NM64NE
Civil Parish	MORVERN
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

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