suggests the transition from an earlier to a later type of structure. At Kirkapoll, in Tiree, in the vicinity of the modern parish church, are two ancient burying-grounds. In one of these is a ruined church, measuring internally 36 feet 9 inches Fig. 21.-Kirkapoll. Doorway. (From Muir's Characteristics.) in length, having a round-headed doorway, arched with thin slaty stones, near the west end of the south wall, and another (Fig. 21) of similar character in the west wall, flanked by a dedication cross. The only windows in the building are haven, in Islay, Mr. Muir says that it presents another instance of the practice of enlarging the original structure by means of an eastern extension, and that, as at Kiels and Kilchousland, in Kintyre, the new portion is put to the old without bonding; but a part of the original gable wall has been left on each side, so that in the interior there is somewhat of the form of a chancel. At Kiels the masonry westward of the junction is of the usual rude character, but the stones of the added part to the east of the junction are squared, and of the form usually found in Norman work,-thus suggesting an early date for the alteration, and proving that the ruder part of the church is the earlier. -Ecclesiological Notes, p. 58; Characteristics, p. 50. two in the south wall, both corresponding in form and character to the doorways (see Fig. 22). This I take to be the parochial church of Kerrepol, in the diocese of the Sudreys, mentioned in a document by Pope Gregory XI., of date 20th September 1375.1 But there is a still older church a little to the north Fig. 22.-Kirkapoll. Window. (From Muir's Characteristics.) ward, which measures only 23 feet by 11 feet 6 inches. It is very roughly constructed, has a round-headed doorway, of similar character to that of the later church, in the west end of the south wall, and two narrow and deeply splayed windows, also round-headed, in the north and south walls. It stands upon a rock, and the natural unevenness of the floor has never been rectified. There are other instances throughout the Western Isles where an old church and an older are thus found immediately contiguous to each other and in 1 Diplomatarium Norvegicum, vol. vii. p. 307. In the same volume (p. 323) there is printed a document, dated 17th July 1382, in which it is stated that St. Columba's chapel in St. Congan's parish, in the Sudreys, is ruined to the ground by reason of age and antiquity, and contributions for its reconstruction are invited with the sanction of Pope Clement VII. such cases the older church is usually the smaller. For instance, at Skeabost, in Skye, there are two ruined churches close to each other, one of which is 82 feet in length, the other only 21 feet 4 inches. It is therefore evident that among these single-chambered churches there are two varieties, one which links on with and passes into the chancelled type, and one which does not. The church with windows in the side walls, though singlechambered, is of the former variety, and is probably of the period of the chancelled type, because it was the addition of the chancel that created the necessity for lighting the nave separately by windows in the side walls. On the other hand, the type of church of small size, 21 to 25 feet,1 with one east window and a west doorway, neither links on with the chancelled form, nor can it be converted into it without losing its own distinctive features, and assuming those of the second variety. Of this primitive type,-for we have now reached the primitive type, one chamber, one doorway, and one window, all of the smallest possible dimensions, there are but two varieties,—those built with lime, and those that have reached the utterly simple character of construction that consists in the placing of stone upon stone without any binding material to keep them together. One of the best examples of the first variety is almost at our own doors. In the island of Inchcolm,2 beside the ruins 1 The church of St. Columba at Loch Columcille, in Skye, is 21 feet 10 inches long internally. The church on Eilan na Naoimh is 21 feet 7 inches long internally. The church on Pabba Isle, in Skye, is 21 feet long externally. The church on Gallon Head is 18 feet 2 inches long internally. The smaller church at Skeabost, in Skye, is 21 feet 4 inches in length externally. The smaller church at Kirkapoll, in Tiree, is 23 feet in length externally. The church on Eilean Neimh, off the mouth of Loch Gruinard, in Islay, is 22 feet in length internally. 2 Inchcolm is the only island on the east coast of Scotland which derives of the well-known monastery founded by Alexander I., is an earlier building, stone-roofed, and of small size and rude construction, of which exterior and interior views, from drawings by the late Mr. James Drummond, R.S.A., are here given (Figs. 23, 24). It has been most minutely described by Sir James Simpson,1 who first saw the significance of its peculiar its distinctive designation from St. Columba. But more than one island on our western shores bears his name; as, for example, St. Colm's Isle in Loch Erisort, and St. Colm's Isle in the Minch in Lewis; the island of Columcille, at the head of Loch Arkeg, in Inverness-shire; Eilean Colum, in the parish of Tongue, in Sutherlandshire; Eilan Columcille, in Portree Bay, and Inch Columcille in Loch Columcille, in Skye; and above all, Icolumcille, or Iona itself. His presence in person at each of these localities is not necessarily implied in these commemorations, but in all the cases mentioned there were ecclesiastical foundations dedicated to his memory. The church on Eilan Columcille is mentioned in the Chronicle of Man as the scene of the mutilation of Godred, and slaughter of his followers, in 1223. 1 Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 489. Archæological Essays by the late Sir James Y. Simpson. Edited by John Stuart, LL.D., vol. i. p. 67. |