Description

The monument consists of the remains of the medieval church of Glassary, its burial ground and an associated township and market place, situated on the N edge of a flat-topped knoll 180m from the SE shore of Loch Awe. The church, which measures 21m from E to W by 5.6m transversely is of three main periods of construction: thirteenth century, late medieval and early sixteenth century. Internal features include an ornate piscina, a font and the W end panel of a tomb-chest of sixteenth century date. Until the sixteenth century this was the principal church of the extensive parish of Glassary. The wall of the existing pentagonal enclosure is of nineteenth century date but within it, especially to the S, there are intermittent traces of a turf-covered bank which may have enclosed an area about 45m in diameter. Three funerary monuments, two of which belong to the fourteenth to fifteenth century Loch Awe School of carvings, are to be found within the enclosure. Within the burial ground is a small roofless structure, presumably a mausoleum; though described in 1840 as an oratory, it is unlikely to predate the end of the eighteenth century. Within and outside the enclosure are the footings of at least four subrectangular buildings (up to 15m long and 6m wide) radiating out from the church, one of which has an associated yard and two of which are connected by a wall. These remains are probably to be associated with the former township of Kilneuair. A major drove-road from Lochaweside to Loch Fyne ran close to the site, and an annual cattle- market is said to have been held there until the nineteenth century. The area to be scheduled measures a maximum of 100m from N to S by 120m transversely, to include the church and its associated remains, the burial ground, the surrounding settlement and an area around in which traces of associated activities may remain, as marked in red on the attached map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because it is a fine, albeit deteriorating, example of an important medieval parish church and its associated remains, such as a fine series of carved gravestones, which have the potential to enhance our understanding of medieval architecture and art history and, through the juxtaposition of a well-preserved township, possibly also of medieval origin, to provide information about the parish and settlement development through its upstanding and below-ground remains.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

The monument is RCAHMS number NM 80 SE 3.

It is number 81 in the forthcoming RCAHMS inventory (Argyll 7) for medieval remains in Argyll.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland