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MHG9119 - Tigh an Quay burial ground - Tanera Mor

Summary

Burial ground on Tanera Mor.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

NB90NE 1 9894 0748.
(NB 9894 0743) Burial Ground (NAT)
A 'very old burial ground' in a small triangular half-acre of ground between the big park and Cnoc Ghlas, at Tigh an Quay on Tanera More, contains several unmarked headstones, but the earliest inscribed stone is dated '1790'. The burial ground is now disused.
F F Darling 1944. <1>

It is doubtful if the burial ground is much earlier than the late 18th century (the earliest visible inscriptions). The local tradition of a 12th century stone is simply due to a misreading of a mutilated '17'. The burial ground was allegedly used to avoid the attentions of the 'Resurrection Men'.
Info from I Crawford (School of Scottish Studies) September 1961.

The enclosed area is marked by large stone slabs with small irregular headstones. Only three inscriptions are now visible, the earliest being dated '1861'.
Visited by OS (F R H) 30 May 1962.

The memorials in the graveyard were recorded by S Farrell in 2000. <2>

Visited during the Highland Kirkyards project, run by Highland Buildings Preservation Trust. Burial ground situated on an island off the west coast of Scotland, not in current use. The site is found on Tanera More, the largest of the Summer Isles, and the only one currently inhabited. The burial ground appears to be triangular in shape, although there are no walls to mark the boundary. The ground underneath is particularly uneven and appears raised, but the ground all around the site is at different levels and also bumpy. There is no redundant, or in use church structure, although it may once have been the site of a chapel as the island previously had a larger population. Most of the stones lie flat on the ground with only a few smaller stones poking up out of the ground. Lizzie, (daughter of the owners Bill and Jean Wilder), said that previous owners had turned some of the slabs over to protect the inscriptions. There were certainly not many visible inscriptions on the stones. <3> <4>

The North of Scotland Archaeological Society surveyed Tanera Mor in October 2007. Site 2; Tanera More burial ground - the burial ground viewed from the north and from the northeast (photos). <5>

NGR adjusted based on 2009 aerial photographs. <6>

1st Edition OS 6" <7>

The burial ground (including all the memorial stones) were photographed by Addyman Archaeology in 2017 during a building survey of the former fishing station to the southeast (see MHG9120). <8>

Sources/Archives (8)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NB 9892 0745 (79m by 61m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NB90NE
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	LOCHBROOM

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (3)

External Links (1)