Description

The monument consists of the remains of a Late Mediaeval church dedicated to St Macra or Macrel. It is situated near the shore overlooking East Loch Roag. It is a simple rectangular building orientated a little N of E. The masonry is of roughly hewn stone with pinnings bonded with shell and lime mortar. Its internal measurements are 17.3m by 4.9m within walls 0.7m thick and 1.8m high. Much of the N wall has been repaired in a make-shift way. A stretch of walling in the mid part of the S wall has fallen.

There are no windows in the N wall or E gable. There are the remains of three windows and an entrance (now blocked) in the S wall. The W gable has one window. There are no internal architectural details. Parallel to the N wall of the church, and 1.4m away, is a feature consisting of a raised rectangular mound set with several large embedded boulders. There is no graveyard in evidence.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular and measures a maximum of 30m E-W by 20m N-S, to include both the church and the raised platform, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a fine example of a simple late Medieval chapel. It may provide evidence through excavation for ecclesiastical architecture, settlement distribution and material culture in the area during the Late Middle Ages.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NB 13 SE 3.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland