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MHG31465 - Assynt Old Parish Church Burial Ground - Inchnadamph

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Full Description

The burial ground at the former Assynt parish church at Inchnadamph.

The origin of Assynt church is locally ascribed to Angus Macleod, laird of Assynt between 1436 and 1443. The earliest record notice appears to be 1455. The church stood at Kirktown, Balnaheglise or Achnahiglash, at E end of Loch Assynt. Between 1780 and 1793 there remained of the original church a high arched vault, burial place of Macleods of Assynt, with an apartment above it, supposed to be a place for private devotion. The upper apartment was removed before 1793; the vault, bearing no features of architectural interest and cemetery remain. A new church was built in mid 18th century and present church at end of 18th century, both outside the old graveyard.
Orig Paroch Scot 1855. <1>

Monumental inscription survey completed by A.S.Cowper & I.Ross. The survey may not include inscription information after 1855 and each inscription transcribed does not give the full details that appear on the stones, abbreviations used. Some ommissions and inacuracies. First published 1989, reprinted 1991, 1996 & 1999. <2>

The church, graveyard, walls and gate were listed at Category B in 1998.

The Macleod Vault was Scheduled in 1999.

Proposal to re-schedule from Historic Scotland received 20/10/02.The re-scheduling will include the churchyard in which church stands and site of any structure(s) which predate the vault.
See assoc. docs. File for NC22SW0005. <3>

The scheduled area was altered by Historic Scotland on 31/7/2003 to include the churchyard and any structures which pre-date the Macleod Vault. <4>

Church being repaired to form visitor centre, plans to restore the cemetery as follow up project. Small with Macleod vault in centre, apparently another larger monument now gone. Generally small 19th century gravestones although still a few plots available for modern use. Original entrances to cemetery infilled but visible. War memorial (to RAF bomber crew) on outside of cemetery wall beside gate. <5>

Historic Assynt are proposing to carry out recording and evaluation of the deposits overlying the roof of the Macleod Vault. A project design for this work has been prepared. <6>

Visited by the Assynt's Hidden Lives project in November 2009. The building measures 15m x 6m and is aligned E/W with an attached walled area at the W end measuring c. 5m x 5 m. It is surrounded by stone boundary walls which also encompass the graveyard, c. 32m x 26 m from north to south. Exterior walls are pebble-dashed and whitewashed. The gable ends at E and W are up to 7.5m high, the main entrance is in the south wall. There is a spire at the west end. Four windows are present on the south side, two on the north side. A royal air force commemorative monument is located at the west corner of the enclosing wall. <7>

The scheduled area of the Macleod Vault and the churchyard was specifically omitted from the Category B listing following re-assessment by Historic Environment Scotland in 2018 as part of their Dual Designations Project. The supplementary information for the scheduling was also updated. <8>

GIS spatial data amended in 2019 according to location as shown on modern OS mapping. <9>

See also: NC22SW0005 Church & Mausoleum
J Aitken : 07/01/03

Sources/Archives (9)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 2493 2197 (49m by 52m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC22SW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	ASSYNT

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