Description

The monument consists of a burial ground, now closed to further interments, containing a burial aisle which incorporates the remains of a medieval church and which houses a cross-slab dating from the late 9th or the 10th century. The cross-slab is already scheduled, but this proposal extends protection to the whole of the burial ground.

The burial aisle measures approximately 5m N-S by 3.6m E-W internally, and has a gabled roof running N-S. It formed the burial place of the MacKays of Bighouse and other families, and was in 1909 described as 'recently renovated'. The gable of the S wall is obviously of more modern construction than the rest of the structure, and the doorway in the older masonry below has a roll-moulded surround, lending credence to the 16th-century date ascribed to the church replaced in 1739 (although the former existence of an earlier church is likely). The lower half of a blocked doorway is apparent in the E wall of the aisle and the jamb stones of this also have a roll-moulding. The burial aisle appears likely to have formed a lateral aisle projecting from the N wall of the original church of which no traces are otherwise visible. The parish church remained on this site until a new church was built 175m to the E in 1739.

The burial aisle incorporates several mural monuments, one of them dated 1691. It also houses a rectangular cross slab of grey sandstone, 1.9m long and tapering from approximately 0.7 to 0.6m wide. It is 0.1m thick. The arms of the cross are squared, but are joined by a ring of 4 lines. The cross has hollow armpits, each filled with a small circle, and a plain central boss. The cross-shaft bears the remains of elaborately carved circular knotwork, and the L and R arms of the cross bear a key pattern, but any carving on the top arm of the cross was replaced by the inscription and date ROBERT McKAY 17–. This inscription is not now legible. Below the cross is a panel of key pattern, differing in scale and detail from the pattern on the cross arms. The cross slab may be ascribed to the late 9th or the 10th century. It was re-used during the 18th century to cover a grave, but was moved into the aisle and set into its W wall some time between 1903 and 1910.

The burial ground has numerous table tombs and recumbent grave slabs, interspersed with a smaller number of 19th-century headstones, and is enclosed by a stone wall.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in shape, measuring a maximum of 43m NW-SE by a maximum of 65m NE-SW, and is defined by the wall of the burial-ground, which is included in the scheduling, and shown in red on the enclosed map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland