Description

The church stands 90m W of Kinneil House. Except for the W gable, which survives to its full height and is topped by a corbelled bellcote with two rounded-arched openings, the walls stand no more than 1m high. The building consisted of a nave, 6.1 by 10m internally, with a rectangular chancel, 4.4 by 7m, to which a transept or aisle some 4 by 5.6m was later added on the south.

The floor level inside is some 1.5m lower than ground level at the W (less at the E) and the pavement of the nave is composed of tombslabs collected from the surrounding graveyard. The graveyard contains other stones, mostly of 17th-century date. The scheduled area is to include the graveyard and church, an area some 69m on the NNW, 37.5m on the ENE, 16m on the ESE, about 57m on the SSE and about 37.5m on the WSW, as shown in red on the accompanying plan.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The site of the medieval church at Kinneil is of national importance because of its associations with the history of the early church in Scotland, as recorded in the Life of St Serf and in Bede's Ecclesiastical History; excavation of the site has potential for shedding light on an important period in Scotland's ecclesiastical history. The monument is also of national importance for illustrating the development of a parish church building from the middle ages to 1669, when it was converted into a private chapel, and as the last visible vestige of the village of Kinneil, which disappeared by 1691.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS 98 SE 6.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland