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MHG31601 - Graveyard - St. Mary's Church, Kilmuir

Summary

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Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

(NH 6767 5014) Kilmuir Church (NR).
OS 6" map, (1959)

This church, dedicated to St. Mary, was the parish church of Kilmuir parish, which was combined with Suddie parish in 1756. It was abandoned in 1762, when the parish church was removed to Knockbain (NH 6459 5225). The church was probably erected in the 15th century but the graveyard, which was still in use in 1877, contains stones with late Celtic carving. The walls of the church, which has measured 60'10" by 26'5" are well preserved. <1> <2> <3> <4>

The remains of St. Mary's Church, Kilmuir, are situated in a graveyard, still in use. The NE and SW gables are virtually intact, the NW wall survives to a height of 2.5m, and the SE wall varies from footings to 1.8m in height. The walls are 0.9m thick, of roughly coursed masonry with rubble infilling loaded with shell mortar. A mausoleum has been built in the chancel and the SW end is enclosed by iron railings. Several graves lie within the church, but none with "late Celtic carving" were found here or in the graveyard.
Visited by OS (N K B) 21 March 1966.

The ruined church and burial ground were listed at Category B in 1971.

The church was scheduled in 1992.

Visited during the Highland Kirkyards project, run by Highland Buildings Preservation Trust. Square kirkyard with ruins of overgrown medieval chapel in centre. The graveyard is still in use. Memorial stones of different ages are spread around the burial ground, although there are no evident table slabs to the north of the redundant chapel. The graveyard is at a slightly higher height to the surrounding land on the south side, but the site sits on a gentle slope anyway. Otherwise the ground appears to be at a relatively similar level to the surrounding land, although it is hard to be precise because of the grasses and nettles around the boundary. <5> <6>

The church was removed from the listing in August 2015 as part of a project looking at dual designations of sites in the Highlands, though it remains a scheduled monument. The statutory address was formerly 'Kilmuir Old Church And Burial Ground'. <7>

Sources/Archives (7)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 6768 5013 (65m by 65m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH65SE
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	KNOCKBAIN

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