Monument record 161 - ST MACRA'S CHURCH, KIRKIBOST, LEWIS

NB13SE 3 1912 3461.

(NB 1912 3461) The remains of a church of late date lie near the shore on the east side of Great Bernera, east of the township of Kirkibost and about 300 yards north of Portmore.
It is orientated a little north of east and south of west, measuring 56' by 15' 10" internally, with walls 2'3" thick standing to an average height of 6'. There are no windows in the north wall or gable, and the door and windows, of which there were probably four, have been in the south wall.
M Martin (1934) mentions the church of 'St. Macrel in Kirkibost', which may refer to this site. OPS (1854) makes this a dedication to 'Saint Macra the Virgin', though on what evidence is not stated.
RCAHMS 1928, visited 1914; M Martin 1934; Orig Paroch Scot 1854.

The remains of a church as described by the RCAHMS. There is no trace of a graveyard, and no local knowledge regarding its date or dedication, though it is believed to have fallen into disuse in the mid-19th century.
Visited by OS (N K B) 22 June 1969.

'The monument...comprises the remains of a Late Mediaeval church dedicated to St Macra or Macrel. It is situated near the shore overlooking East Loch Roag. It is a simple rectangular building orientated a little N of E. The masonry is of roughly hewn stone with pinnings bonded with shell and lime mortar. Its internal measurements are 17.3m by 4.9m within walls 0.7m thick and 1.8m high. Much of the N wall has been repaired in a make-shift way. A stretch of walling in the mid part of the S wall has fallen. There are the remains of three windows and an entrance (now blocked) in the S wall. The W gable has one window. There are no internal architectural details. Parallel to the N wall of the church, and 1.4m away, is a feature consisting of a raised rectangular mound set with several large embedded boulders. There is no graveyard in evidence. The area to be scheduled is rectangular and measures a maximum of 30m E-W by 20m N-S, to include both the church and the raised platform.'
HS Scheduling Document 13 January 1992.

The north wall is badly collapsed and rebuilt crudely in drystone form. There is no evidence on the ground of any internal divisions, but a lot of tumble is apparent obscuring the ground surface. The masonry appears to be all of one build, as does the mortar used throughout the building. The walls stand on an offset foundation course to the N and S. There are also two offset courses downslope to the E, and a stone-built platform to the W.
To the north of the church is a raised platform with embedded boulders, which is included in the scheduled area. The largest boulder is 1.2m x 0.7m x 0.5m, and the platform is generally raised around 0.4m above the surrounding area. It does not have the ap-pearance of a graveyard due to its small size and there being only a small number of superficial small stones on the surface. Some of the large boulders are orthostatically set, and there are smaller stones in between on the north, west and south sides. There is also a bank on the east side. On the south side, there are the grassed over remains of the edge of the enclosure - a stony linear feature. It is raised and is farly well-defined, to a height of 0.2m. There is a dip towards the centre of the enclosure.
Barrowman 2005, 41-42

Martin Martin, 1695a, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland c. 1695, 106 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5082.

OPS, 1854, Origines Parochiales Scotiae, 386 (Bibliographic reference). SWE9142.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 18 No. 65 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Rachel Barrowman, 2005, Lewis Coastal Chapel-sites Survey 2004/5 (Unpublished document). SWE41095.