Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum
The church and medieval tower, with the northern end of the Holy Loch in the background
55°59′47″N 4°56′33″W / 55.9964°N 4.9424°W / 55.9964; -4.9424
OS grid reference	NS166821
Location	Midge Lane, Kilmun, Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of Scotland
History
Status	open
Architecture
Functional status	used
Years built	1841

The Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum is a special historical site in Kilmun, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It includes St Munn's Church and the nearby mausoleum where the Dukes of Argyll and their families are buried. There's also an old churchyard.

This important place sits on a small hill, about 10 meters from the Holy Loch shoreline. The church you see today was built in 1841. It stands where an even older church used to be. A part of the old medieval tower is still there, next to the current building.

St Munn's Church

Church History

Most of St Munn's Parish Church was built in the 1800s. However, the old, ruined tower next to it is much older. It's now a protected historical site.

In the 600s, an Irish monk named St Munn started a religious community here. You can still see parts of a church from the 1100s. By the 1200s, there was a church building on this exact spot.

By the 1400s, Kilmun was so important for Christianity that the nearby loch became known as the Holy Loch. The powerful Clan Campbell chose it as their spiritual home. In the 1440s, Sir Duncan Campbell, the clan chief, lived nearby. When his oldest son, Archibald, died in 1442, he was buried at Kilmun. This started the tradition of Campbells being buried here.

Soon after, Sir Duncan Campbell made Kilmun parish church a collegiate church. This meant priests would live there and pray for him and his family forever. Kilmun was connected to Paisley Abbey, and St Munn became the special saint of Clan Campbell. Six clergymen lived in the tower, which also offered safety to local people. These priests were part of the community, not just monks. Duncan Campbell died in 1453 and was buried near the church's altar.

In 1688, the church's choir section was rebuilt to be used as a parish church.

In 1841, most of the old church was taken down to build a new one. This new church was designed by Thomas Burns. A bigger church was needed because more summer visitors were coming to the Holy Loch.

The church and mausoleum were fully repaired in the 1890s. This work was led by the Marquess of Lorne, who later became the 9th Duke of Argyll. Between 1898 and 1899, architect Peter McGregor Chalmers changed the church's inside. He also designed much of the carved wooden furniture.

Kilmun Parish Church became a Category-A-listed building on July 20, 1971. This means it's a very important historical building.

Over time, water started damaging the Argyll Mausoleum, and by the 1970s, it affected the church too. A group called Argyll Mausoleum Ltd was formed to fix it. They raised almost £600,000 for repairs and to create a visitor center. Work began in 2013, and the site reopened in April 2015. Volunteers now give tours from April to October, Thursday to Saturday. The Church of Scotland is currently looking for a new owner for Kilmun Parish Church, as it's no longer used for regular worship.

Church Architecture

The church's front with the modern bell tower.

Outside the Church

St Munn's is built from squared sandstone with smooth stone details. The roof is made of grey slate. The church has a T-shape design, with the main part extending north.

At the top of the T-shape is a small, modern square bell tower. It has pointed decorations and a stone railing. The old tower to the west, made of smooth sandstone, was part of the medieval church.

The church has single, tall windows on the south wall. Wider, decorated windows are on the east and west ends. Many stained glass windows show scenes from the life of Christ. Some were made by Stephen Adam and later by Alfred Webster. The halls in the northwest part of the church were built in 1909–10.

Inside the Church

In 1898–99, Peter McGregor Chalmers changed the inside of St Munn's. He created an open choir area and added new arches to support the side galleries. He also designed much of the detailed carved furniture and wall panels.

The church's flat ceiling has decorative wooden supports. The walls have exposed sandstone and wood panels up to waist height.

The church has a unique organ from 1909. It's powered by water! This is one of the very few water-powered organs still working in Scotland.

Argyll Mausoleum

The Argyll Mausoleum at Kilmun Parish Church

Mausoleum History

The Argyll Mausoleum is connected to St Munn's Church but is a separate building. It was built in the 1790s for John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll. It holds the remains of the Dukes and Earls of Argyll, who were the Chiefs of the Clan Campbell, and their families.

The mausoleum was built in 1795–96 by James Lowrie. It was built around an existing Campbell family burial vault that was inside the old church. From 1442, early burials were under the church floor. But this practice was stopped in 1588 during the Reformation. Even so, the Campbells later built a private "burial aisle" attached to the church in 1669. This vault stayed when the old church was taken down. When the private chapel was removed and a separate mausoleum built, some important remains, like the statues of Duncan Campbell and his wife, were moved.

When the current church was built in 1841, two of the mausoleum's walls became part of the new church. So, this building replaced an earlier chapel. Clan Campbell Chiefs have been buried or remembered here for over 500 years, for twenty generations.

When the Argyll Mausoleum was first built in the 1790s, it had a pyramid-shaped slate roof. This roof was replaced with a large cast iron dome in the 1890s. This was part of a big restoration led by the Marquess of Lorne. The iron dome helped with lighting inside, but it wasn't sealed properly. Water started leaking in. The water damage was mostly in the mausoleum until the 1970s, then it began to affect the church too.

The church members were worried. They thought the Duke of Argyll's Estates owned the mausoleum. But it turned out that the Argyll and Bute Council had owned it since the 1920s. After a long legal disagreement, the Council finally accepted ownership of the damaged building. In the early 2000s, a survey said the mausoleum was in bad shape, with water coming in everywhere.

The necessary repairs were finally done by Argyll Mausoleum Ltd, with money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The mausoleum reopened in April 2015. You can now visit the beautifully restored mausoleum, church, and visitor center. It's open from Thursday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, from April to October.

Mausoleum Architecture

Outside the Mausoleum

The Argyll Mausoleum is at the northeast corner of the church and is connected to it. It has a square shape. The entrance is on the north side, with a pointed arch. Two tall, decorative windows are on either side.

The most striking feature is the large cast iron dome on top. When built in the 1790s, the mausoleum had a pyramid roof with no windows. This meant it was dark inside unless the doors were open. The Marquess of Lorne found it "ghastly" in 1878. So, during the 1890s restoration, he replaced the pyramid roof with the dome. This dome has skylights and a huge cast iron top. It's thought the dome was made in Glasgow shipyards and brought here. You can still see the workers' marks inside. Putting such a heavy dome on the old walls was debated then, but it didn't cause much harm.

Inside the Mausoleum

The Argyll Mausoleum's inside has two raised platforms along the side walls. These have spaces for coffins, covered with carved stone slabs. Besides these tombs, there are also graves under the stone floor.

One metal cross on the floor marks the grave of Archibald Campbell, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll. It says "Archibald, Marquis of Argyll" and "Beheaded 1661." His body was buried at Kilmun after he was executed in Edinburgh in 1661. His head was buried here three years later. His exact burial spot was lost until the 1890s. During the restoration, builders found a skeleton and a skull with a spike hole. They also found a yellow wig that fell apart. Archibald Campbell was reburied in the center of the mausoleum, with the cross marking his spot. A plaque nearby has words he spoke just before his execution.

On the south wall, there's a wide arch over a space with two statues from the 1400s. One is of Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell, the church's founder, in full armor. The other is a female statue, likely his second wife, Margaret Stewart. These two statues are considered the last high-quality medieval burial statues in Scotland. The decorated arch above them was added in 1892 during the restoration.

In the middle of the mausoleum, there used to be a life-sized sculpture of an angel lifting Christ from the Cross. This was made by Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's fourth daughter. She was a talented artist and married the future 9th Duke of Argyll in 1871. This sculpture is now in a glass case in the visitor center. Two other copies of this sculpture exist in London churches. The one at Kilmun might have been a tribute to her father-in-law, the 8th Duke of Argyll.

Campbell Family Burials

Arms of the Campbell Dukes of Argyll

Kilmun Parish Church and the Argyll Mausoleum are the burial place for many members of the Clan Campbell of Argyll. This includes most Dukes and Duchesses of Argyll from the 1400s to the 1900s. It's believed that the earliest Clan Campbell Chiefs were buried elsewhere, but in 1442, a snowstorm stopped a burial party from reaching the usual island burial site. So, Sir Duncan Campbell's son Archibald was buried at Kilmun, starting the tradition. Almost all clan Chiefs from 1442 until 1949 were buried here.

While the exact spots of early Campbell burials are unknown, the more recent ones in the Argyll Mausoleum are clear. Most wives of clan Chiefs were also buried here, even if their names weren't always recorded.

Here are some of the Campbell family members buried at Kilmun:

Some Clan Campbell Chiefs are buried elsewhere. The 2nd Duke of Argyll († 1743) is buried at Westminster Abbey in London. The 11th Duke of Argyll († 1973) and the 12th Duke of Argyll († 2001) chose to be buried on Inishail island in Loch Awe.

Churchyard

Churchyard

The churchyard at Kilmun Parish Church has many interesting memorials. These include old medieval stone slabs and beautiful headstones from the 1600s and 1700s. Some table-tombs are carved with tools, showing the trade of the person buried there. There's also the Douglas Mausoleum.

The graveyard was made larger twice, first to the north and then to the west. The churchyard walls were likely built around 1818–1819.

As part of community projects, several areas of the graveyard have been studied. The words on the gravestones have been recorded, and most have been photographed.

Old Kilmun House is just beyond the northwest edge of the cemetery. Part of the cemetery was built on its gardens.

Famous Burials

The graveyard is said to be the burial place of St Munn, who is also the special saint of Clan Campbell.

In the northwest part of the churchyard is the mausoleum of Sir John Douglas. This eight-sided building was built in 1888 from red sandstone. It has a wooden door with a carved family crest above it. It holds the remains of General Sir John Douglas (1817–1888), a military leader during the Indian Mutiny.

John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, who was a former Governor General of Canada and married to Princess Louise, is buried in the Argyll Mausoleum.

To the north of the church is the grave of Elizabeth Blackwell. She was the first qualified female doctor in the United States.