Description

The monument comprises the remains of St Fillan's Church and churchyard, Kilallan, which dates from the medieval period. Today the church is ruinous, surviving as a roofless structure.

The monument is situated immediately to the E of Kilallan Farm, at c.100m OD. It comprises the remains of Kilallan parish church, dedicated to St Fillan (Faelan of Cluain Moesca in Meath). The origins of the church may date back to the 10th or 11th century AD, when incoming Gaels introduced the cult to the area. This was one of the churches gifted to Paisley Abbey by Walter the Steward in 1169. The church was last used in 1771 (Kilallan parish having been united with Houston in 1760), although the graveyard surrounding the church was still in use as late as 1856.

The church is a long and narrow unicameral building, measuring c.19m E-W by c.6m N-S. The walls survive almost intact, although with much altered medieval fabric and post-medieval gables. All of the openings are 17th-century work and the doorway at the W end of the S wall is dated 1635, when the pre-Reformation character of the building was changed to suit Presbyterian needs. The Barochan Aisle, where several Flemings of Barochan are buried, was later added to the N side of the church. There are records of sculpted stones from the site, although their current location is uncertain.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to survive. It is defined by the churchyard wall and is roughly sub-rectangular in shape, with maximum dimensions of 42.5m NE-SW by 41m transversely, as marked in red on the accompanying map. The above ground components of the enclosing churchyard wall are excluded from the schedule.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as it represents an example of the continuous development of a medieval parish church and churchyard up to the 18th century, with origins in the early medieval period. Its importance is enhanced by its potential to contribute to an understanding of medieval ecclesiastical architecture.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS36NE 5. The monument is presently Category B listed (HB No. 12897).

References:

Cowan I B (1967) THE PARISHES OF MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND, Scot Rec Soc 93, Edinburgh, 102.

DES (1976) 'Small finds', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 74.

Hallifax-Crawford A (1962) 'Renfrewshire', DISCOVERY EXCAV SCOT 1962.

Lyle W H (1975) THE HISTORY OF BRIDGE OF WEIR, [s.l.] (Paisley), 58-61.

MacGibbon D and Ross T (1896-7) THE ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND FROM THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN TIMES TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, 3v, Edinburgh, Vol. 3, 527-9.

Mackinlay J M (1895) 'Traces of the Cultus of St Fillan at Kilallan, Renfrewshire', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT 29, 252.

ORDNANCE SURVEY NAME BOOK (COUNTY) Original Name Books of the Ordnance Survey Book No. 10, 12.

OPS (1851) ORIGINES PAROCHIALES SCOTIAE: THE ANTIQUITIES ECCLESIASTICAL AND TERRITORIAL OF THE PARISHES OF SCOTLAND, 1, Edinburgh, 81.

OSA (1791-9) THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF SCOTLAND, DRAWN UP FROM THE COMMUNICATIONS OF THE MINISTERS OF THE DIFFERENT PARISHES, Sir John Sinclair (ed.), Edinburgh, Vol. 1, 316.

Robertson A S (1984) 'Roman coins found in Scotland, 1971-1982', PROC SOC ANTIQ SCOT, 113 (1983), 415.

Watson W J (1926) THE HISTORY OF THE CELTIC PLACE-NAMES OF SCOTLAND: BEING THE RHIND LECTURES ON ARCHAEOLOGY (EXPANDED) DELIVERED IN 1916, Edinburgh, 193.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland