Carved Stone Fragment Found
A fragment of carved stone has been recovered from the banks of the Black Cart near Inchinnan by Mr Darren Leitch. Mr Leitch, who identified the stone while walking his dog, reported his discovery to Stephen Clancy of the Renfrewshire Local History Forum, who recovered the stone and supplied the photographs on this page. The stone is in the process of being submitted as Treasure Trove.
Stone fragment in situ. Image copyright Stephen Clancy.
Although not found within the former church-yard, the location from which the stone was recovered is close to the site of Inchinnan Old Parish Church, which was given to the Knights Templar by David I (1124-53). This church, which was dedicated to St Conval, was demolished in 1828 and replaced by another which in turn was demolished and replaced in 1900 by All Hallows Church. In 1965, this church was demolished to allow the extension of the airfield at Abbotsinch. In the chuchyard are four tombstones with sloping sides, sculptured with swords, locally called the Templar's Graves. Three sculptured stones from the churchyard at Inchinnan church were transferred the new church about a mile away, when Glasgow airport was being extended. The first of these monuments is a recumbent slab with a long-shafted cross surrounded by interlace, dating to between the 10th and early 12th centuries, the second consists of the shaft and lower part of the head of a monolithic cross suggested as being of 10th or 11th century date, while the third and largest stone is rectangular and is likely to represent a shrine cover, probably datable to the early 10th century. The enshrined relics were probably those of St Conval, an early Christian saint reputed to have founded a monastery at Inchinnan around the year 600.
Detail of stone fragment. Image copyright Stephen Clancy.
Further early Christian monuments survive across the river in Renfrew. Two stones, one the pediment and the other the base of a cross said to have been erected to the memory of St Conval were moved to Blythswood policies before 1836, where they were surrounded by an ornamental fence. These stones, said to have been buried at Inchinnan, now stand within the grounds of a hotel. The pediment stone is now called the Argyll Stone, as it is said that the Earl of Argyll rested here after his capture in 1685. Water from the hollow in the cross- base, St Conval's Chariot, was said to have healing and medicinal properties. The whereabouts of the remainder of the cross are not known, though it is possible that the recently-recovered fragment may form part of the rich assemblage of early medieval stonework recorded from this area of Renfrewshire.