Cill Chriosd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cill Chroisd |
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| Christ Church Parish Church | |
The ruins of the church in 2010
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| 57°12′53″N 5°56′54″W / 57.21472°N 5.94833°W | |
| OS grid reference | NG 617 207 |
| Location | Strath Suardal |
| Country | Scotland |
| Denomination | Church of Scotland |
| History | |
| Status | Ruins |
| Architecture | |
| Groundbreaking | 16th Century |
| Closed | 1840 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Strath |
Cill Chriosd or Kilchrist means "Christ's Church." It is a church that is now in ruins. It is located in Strath, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The church was built around the 16th century. It replaced an older church that was in the same spot. People used Cill Chriosd until 1840. That is when the main church for the area moved to Broadford. You can find the ruins on the B8083 road. This road goes from Broadford to Torrin and Elgol.
What Does Cill Chriosd Look Like?
The old church sits on top of a small hill. A graveyard surrounds it. The church is made of rough stones. It has special corner stones called quoins. The door and window frames are also made of carefully shaped stones. In the early 1700s, a special burial area was added. This area was for the Mackinnon family. It has a low wall with decorative posts.
The church's main door is on the south wall. It has slanted sides that get wider towards the inside. The south wall also has three windows. The east wall used to have a similar window, but it is now filled in. Inside, the church is about 16.1 meters long and 5.3 meters wide. The side walls are about 2.4 meters tall and 0.68 meters thick. The front and back walls are about 0.86 meters thick. The church faces about 30 degrees away from a perfect east-west line. There are no openings on the north or west walls.
The History of Cill Chriosd
Cill Chriosd was once the main church for the Strath area. This area included villages like Boreraig and Susinish. These villages were later emptied during the Highland Clearances.
People believe that Christians have worshipped in this spot since the 600s. A saint named Mael Ruba preached from a nearby hill. This hill was called Cnoc na-Aifhreann, which means "hill of the mass." The first church for Strath was at Ashiag. Saint Mael Ruba started it in the 600s. Later, the main church moved to the Cill Chriosd location. The ruined church you see today likely replaced an even older stone church in the 1500s.
Written records about the church go back to 1505. These early records mostly list the names of the ministers. In 1505, Kenneth Adamson became the chaplain. He was followed by John Johnson, and then John Ronaldson in 1508.
On June 19, 1627, Neil Mackinnon became the first Protestant minister of Cill Chriosd. He promised to tell the authorities the names of all the Catholics he knew in the islands. It is said that he only gave his workers one meal on Sundays. This was because they were supposed to be resting. But one Sunday, two hungry workers waited until MacKinnon had finished preaching. Then they started working with their foot plough. After this, the minister allowed them two meals every day.
Cill Chriosd was replaced by a new church in Broadford in 1840.
The Graveyard at Cill Chriosd
The graveyard around Cill Chriosd has many old graves. Records from 1913 mention two unusual grave markers. One was for Chief Lachlan Mor and had strange symbols. The other might have been from before Christian times. However, both of these markers have since disappeared. Most of the graves belong to the Clan MacKinnon. They are from the 1700s and 1800s.
One memorial inside the burial area is for "Charles Third." He was born in Corry, near Broadford, as a MacKinnon. He later moved to Australia and died there. There is also a worn medieval stone slab. It has a beautiful cross carved into it. This slab is in the south corner of the graveyard.
The churchyard also has a stone with a family crest on it. There might also be a piece of an old cross. One side of this cross piece is plain. The other side has two animals carved into it. Another stone slab in the graveyard is made of slate. It has a cross with three-leaf shapes, called a foliated cross. One side of this slab is well-preserved, but the other side is worn away.
The graveyard was featured in a music video. It appeared in the 1984 video for the song "Lament" by the band Ultravox.
