Site Report

WoSASPIN 1611

(NN 0980 2447) Church (NR) (remains of). Cross (NR).
OS 1:10,000 map, (1976)

The remains of the old parish church of Inishail, a wooded island in the northern part of Loch Awe, stand within a burial ground near the west end of the island. It served a parish which included the adjoining islands and parts of the west and south-east shores of the loch, the parish being united with that of Glenorchy in 1618.
Services were conducted regularly on the island until 1736 when a new church was built at Cladich (NN 108 233). The medieval church on Inishail was described as runious in the late 18th century.
The church is rectangular on plan measuring 15.6m from east to west by 4.6 metres transversely within walls 0.84 metres thick. The building is extremely decayed the walls being reduced almost to ground level except near the west end where they stand, in places, to a height of about 2.1 metres. The masonry is of massive rubble blocks, well coursed, with small pinnings. The entrance-doorway was situated near the west end of the south wall where part of the threshold and the lowest course of the west side remain in position. There is evidence for the possible existence of a church during the 13th century, but the existing remains are probably late medieval.
The burial ground is enclosed within a modern boundary fence, beyond which the scanty remains of an earlier dry-stone wall can be traced on the south and south-west.
An early Christian decorated cross which formerly stood in the graveyard has been re-erected on a pedestal inside the church. This cross is scheduled. A number of medieval decorated stone slabs are to be found in the burial ground and within the ruins of the church. The earliest post-Reformation tombstones are of mid-18th century date. References to a Cistercian nunnery are fanciful, being based on the OSA (1791-9), often unreliable
RCAHMS 1975; I B Cowan and D E Easson 1976; W Douglas 1912.

As described.
Surveyed at 1/10,000 scale.
Visited by OS (W D J) 4 November 1969

The remains of this church stand within a burial-ground near the W end of Inishail, a wooded island situated in the northern part of Loch Awe about 650 m SW of Fraoch Eilean. It served a parish which included the adjoining islands and parts of the W and SE shores of the loch. The existence of a cross-decorated slab of Early Christian date establishes the ecclesiastical use of the site at that period. The parish first comes on record, however, in 1257, in which year Ath, son of Malcolm MacNachtan, granted the teinds of 'the church of St Findoca of Inchealt' to the Augustinian canons of Inchaffray Abbey. The parish was united with that of Glenorchy in 1618, a union which was temporarily rescinded from 1650 to 1662. Services were conducted regularly on the island until 1736, when a new church was built near Cladich. The medieval church was described as ruinous in the late 18th century.

The building is extremely decayed, the walls being reduced almost to ground-level except near the W end where they stand in places to a height of about 2.1m. The church is rectangular on plan, measuring some 15.6 m from E to W by 4.6 m transversely within walls 0.84 m in thickness. The masonry is of massive rubble blocks, well coursed with small pinnings. Schist is employed in the masonry and for the quoins, which have for the most part been removed. A break at the centre of the W wall probably marks the position of a window. The entrance-doorway was situated near the W end of the S wall; part of the threshold, and the lowest course of the W side, remain in situ. The outer jamb-stone is of schist, wrought externally with a plain 0.08 m chamfer, checked for a door and retaining traces of a metal hinge-crook. The inner jamb-stone is of a fine-grained pinkish sandstone similar in appearance to that used at Fraoch Eilean Castle. At the date of visit, several fragments of white sandstone, one of them being part of a filleted roll-moulding of 13th­century character, were found in the vicinity of this doorway. These afford strong evidence for the existence of a stone-built church during the 13th century, but it is improbable that the existing remains are of that date. The doorway, which appears to be integral with the walls, may be ascribed to the late medieval period.

At the date of visit a slab of schist measuring 0.08 m in thickness was found near the E end of the church. It is dressed on two adjacent edges, the angle being wrought with an 0.08 m roll-moulding, and one edge being carved with a quirked pair of shallow rolls. The purpose of this fragment is uncertain; it may possibly have formed part of an arched tomb-recess of late medieval date.

The burial-ground is enclosed within a modern boundary-fence, beyond which the scanty remains of an earlier drystone enclosure-wall can be traced on the S and SW.

FUNERARY MONUMENTS AND OTHER CARVED STONES
Numbers 1, 5, 7-12 and 14 are inside the ruined church, and numbers 2-4, 13 and 15-19 in the sur­rounding graveyard. Number 6 could not be found on the date of visit.

Early Christian
(I) A cross-decorated slab, which formerly stood in the graveyard, has been re-erected inside the church on a pedestal which seems to have been designed for another monument. The slab measures 1.64 m high, 0.51 m in greatest breadth, and from 0.09 m to 0.41 m in thickness. Each face bears a wheel-cross slightly raised above the background and bordered by a plain moulding. The side-arms of both crosses project a short distance beyond the edges of the slab, and the circular hollows at the intersections contain bosses. The present E face is probably the front, since the bosses are more prominent than on the W face.

Medieval
(2) Tapered slab, 1.85 m long; the top left corner has been broken off. The border consists of two plain mouldings enclosing a row of elongated nail-head ornament. In the upper half of the stone there is a niche crowned by dragons' heads and containing a small figure of a man in armour; he wears a conical bascinet and an aketon, and carries a spear and sword. In the lower half of the stone there is a foliaceous pattern which terminates at the top in a pair of beasts. Loch Awe school, 14th-15th century.

(3) Tapered slab with plain chamfered edges, 1.80 m long by 0.49 m wide at the head. The principal elements in the decoration are a sword with lobated pommel and canted quillons expanded at the ends, a thick-stalked plant-scroll to the right of the sword, and a casket at the foot of the slab. At the top and bottom the border consists of a simple two-strand plait, while down each side there are double plain mouldings enclosing a row of elongated nail-head ornament. Loch Awe school, 14th­15th century.

(4) Tapered slab, 1.98 m long by 0.59 m wide at the head. In the upper half there is an overall pattern of linked plant-scrolls, which changes into plain interlacing in the lower half. At the foot is a casket. The border ornament is similar to that on (2) above. Loch Awe school, 14th-15th century.

(5) Tapered slab, 1.95 m long by 0.58 m wide at the head. It is very worn, all that is now visible being a man in armour in the upper half of the stone, similar to the figure on (2) above. Loch Awe school, 14th-15th century.

(6) Brydall illustrates a tapered slab, then in the graveyard, which could not be found on the date of visit. It measures 1.83 m long by 0.41 m wide at the head, and the bevelled edges are embellished with nail-head ornament. On the main axis of the stone there is a sword of similar type to that on (3) above, while on either side of the blade there are some slight traces of interlacing. 14th-15th century.

(7) Tapered slab, 1.74 m long by 0.50 m wide at the head; very worn. The only decoration is the incised outline of a sword of the same type as that on (3) above. 14th-15th century.

(8) Tapered slab, very worn and lacking the bottom left corner. It measures 1.96 m in length by 0•60 m in width at the head, and has a border composed of a row of dog-tooth ornament between plain mouldings. Within this, at the top, there is a 7-line black-letter inscription which reads: ‘hie iacet d(omi)n(u)s / [d]u[nc]anuS mac/auis vicarius / [de] inisalt qui / obiit a[nno ...’ ('Here lies sir Duncan MacCauis, vicar of Inishail, who died in the year .. .'). The initials d m a for 'Duncanus MacCauis' appear in the top right-hand corner of the stone. Below the inscription there is a niche crowned by dragons' heads and containing a chalice and paten, while the lower half of the slab is decorated with a strip of three-strand plait flanked by plant-scrolls with large leaves. The date of the stone is between 1543 and 1558.

(9) Tapered slab, probably by the sculptor who carved (8), above. It is pointed at the foot, and measures 1.70 m in maximum length by 0.52 m in width at the head. Within a border embellished with dog-tooth ornament there is a 4-line black-letter inscription, of which only the word 'ioh/a(nn)is' ('of John') at the end of the second line and beginning of the third is legible. Centrally placed beneath the inscription there is a claymore, the hilt of which is flanked by animals and the blade by plant-scrolls. c.1500-1560.

(10) Tapered slab with chamfered bottom corners, 1.71 m long; it is broken across and the right edge is missing at the top. Within a border of debased dog­tooth ornament there is the incised outline of a claymore. c.1500-1560.

(11) A decorated slab which has formed the W end of a tomb-chest built against the inner face of the S wall of the church is still in situ. Standing about 3 m from the SE corner of the church, it is 1.10 m high by 0•61 m broad. The main element in the decoration is a cross with barred ends and a slightly splayed foot which occupies the centre of the slab and has been partly destroyed by flaking. Below the left arm of the cross is a man in armour who holds a dog by the collar, while the greater part of the area on the right of the cross is infilled with blind tracery surmounted by a tall mullioned window of two main lights, having a small lozenge-shaped light framed within the pointed arch-head. c.1500-1560.

(12) Side-slab of a tomb-chest, 1.92 m long by 0.45 m to 0.52 m high. Apart from a wide plain border along the lower edge, the exterior surface is covered with crudely executed foliage, the main stems of which form overlapping arcs. This may be part of the same tomb as (11) above. c. 1500-1560.

(13) Parallel-sided slab, probably an altar frontal. Measuring 1.95 m long by 0.57 m high, it is broken across and heavily worn. In the centre there is a Crucifix flanked by two figures, one of whom holds a chalice and the other a cup to catch the blood dripping from the wounds. To the left are two men-at-arms, and to the right an heraldic group comprising two more armed men supporting a crown which is held over a shield charged with a galley with furled sail. There is no basal margin, as would almost certainly have been the case if the slab had been the side of a tomb-chest. The fact that the warriors are wearing plate armour suggests that the carving dates to the 16th century. c. 1500-1560.

(14) Tapered slab with chamfered edges, 1.80 m long by 0.50 m wide at the head; badly worn. Framed within double plain mouldings, there are two plant-scrolls in the upper half of the stone; these unite in the lower half to form large heart-shaped loops enclosing quasi­palmette ornament. 14th-early 16th century.

(15) Tapered slab, 1.82 m long by 0.55 m wide at the head; it is fractured across the lower end and very worn. Centrally placed there is a long-shafted cross, the head of which is composed of interlocking rings and foliage, while the shaft is decorated with two intertwined stems enclosing ornament of palmette type. At the foot of the slab there are traces of a tightly-knit interlacing pattern based on circles. 14th-early 16th century.

(16) Tapered slab with bevelled edges, probably by the same Sculptor as (15). It measures 1.78 m long by 0.62 m wide, and is badly worn. Down the right-hand side there is a narrow fillet of foliage decoration, and inside this the incised outline of a sword of uncertain type. The rest of the surviving decoration, which occupies the broad space between the sword and the left margin of the stone, consists of a series of large circles filled with palmette, trefoil and fleur-de-lis ornament. 14th-early 16th century.

(17) Parallel-sided slab, 1.64 m long by 0.61 m wide, bearing the effigy of a priest carved in low relief. His head is bare and rests on a pillow, while his hands are joined in prayer. Below the hands is a chalice. Crude local workmanship. 14th-early 16th century.

(18) Tapered slab, 1.45 m long by 0.44 m wide, with rebated margin. Incised on the upper surface there is a sword with a tri-lobed pommel and canted quillons, and above this an object of uncertain purpose, blunt at one end and pointed at the other. Local workmanship. 14th-early 16th century.

(19) Tapered slab, 1.81 m long by 0.50 m wide. The decoration, including the border, is merely incised. On the main axis there is an outline Latin cross with a splayed base, and to the right of this a sword of uncertain type.

Post-Reformation
The earliest of the post-Reformation tombstones are of mid-18th-century date.
RCAHMS, 1975, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Argyll: an inventory of the ancient monuments: Vol 2: Lorn.

Mediaeval. Fragmentary remains. Rubble. Ruin. Parish kirk of Innishail until replaced by present kirk near Innistrynish. 1773 In ancient burial ground of MacArthurs. Scheduled
Derived from Historic Scotland Listed Building data. Formerly category B listed, de-listed during a review of sites that were both listed and scheduled.
Entered WoSAS (MO'H) 05/03/2013