St Conan's Kirk Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Conan's Kirk
St Conan's Kirk (view from road)
St Conan's Kirk Location in Argyll and Bute
56°23′43″N 05°03′15″W / 56.39528°N 5.05417°W / 56.39528; -5.05417
OS grid reference	NN115267
Location	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
History
Status	Chapel
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Category A
Architect(s)	Walter Douglas Campbell

St Conan's Kirk is a very special church located in the village of Loch Awe, in a beautiful part of Scotland called Argyll and Bute. People loved its unique design so much that in 2016, it was voted one of the top 10 buildings in Scotland from the last 100 years!

This church was built a long time ago by the Campbell family from Innis Chonan. It was first a 'chapel of ease,' which means it was a smaller church built to help people who lived far from the main parish church. Today, St Conan's Kirk is protected as a 'Category A listed building,' meaning it's a very important historical building that needs to be preserved.

The Robert the Bruce Chapel inside St Conan's Kirk

The Unique Design of St Conan's Kirk
Chapels Inside the Kirk
Who Owns St Conan's Kirk?
Other Buildings Nearby
Images for kids
More to Explore
See also

The Unique Design of St Conan's Kirk

The church was designed by an architect named Walter Douglas Campbell. He was the younger brother of Archibald Campbell, who later became the first Baron Blythswood.

Building the Kirk

Construction of the church began in 1881 and finished in 1886. Walter Douglas Campbell then made it much bigger between 1906 and 1914, the year he passed away. He also designed his family's home nearby in a similar style.

The church is built from local stone and mixes many different church styles. You can see influences from ancient Roman and Norman designs.

Special Features Inside

Inside, the church has a main hall called a nave and a special area near the altar called a chancel. The seats in the chancel have beautiful canopies above them.

Huge, rough granite rocks from nearby Ben Cruachan form the pillars that hold up the chancel arch. The parts of the church that stick out on the sides, called transepts, help make the shape of a cross. There is also a tall tower and a pointed top called a spire.

Walter Douglas Campbell never married, so he didn't have children to continue his work. His sister, Helen Douglas Campbell, made sure the final parts of the church were completed by 1927, the year she died. St Conan's Kirk was officially opened and blessed in 1930.

Recycled Materials

Some of the heavy oak beams in the church's covered walkway, called the cloister, have an interesting history. They are believed to have come from old wooden battleships that were no longer in use. These ships were called HMS Caledonia and HMS Duke of Wellington.

Historical Treasures

The church has a small organ and a very old window that was moved from another church, South Leith Parish Church. It also holds a small piece of bone that is said to belong to Robert the Bruce, who was a famous King of Scotland.

Chapels Inside the Kirk

St Conan's Kirk has three special chapels within it:

The Bruce Chapel: This chapel has a beautiful statue made of carved wood and alabaster that looks like Robert the Bruce.
The St Brides Chapel: This chapel contains a carved statue of Walter Douglas Campbell, the architect who designed the church.
The St Conval's Chapel: This chapel is dedicated to the 4th Lord Blythswood.

The metal gates for the St Brides and St Conval's Chapels were made by a skilled craftsman named Thomas Hadden.

Who Owns St Conan's Kirk?

Even though the local Church of Scotland Parish uses St Conan's Kirk for services once a month, the church is actually owned by an independent group called the St Conan's Church Trust.

In 2014, a group called Friends of St Conan's Kirk was formed. This group helps support the church and keep it in good condition for everyone to enjoy.

Other Buildings Nearby

There are other interesting buildings close to St Conan's Kirk in the village of Lochawe. St Conan's Tower is about half a mile away. Other related buildings include Innis Chonain House, Badnaiska (which was a summer home for a minister), and the House of Letterawe, which was once the home of the famous author Mary Stewart (novelist).