Monument record 2489 - AIGNISH, LEWIS, ST COLUMBA'S CHURCH

NB43SE 5 4846 3225.

(NB 4846 3225) Old Kirk of Eye (NR) (In Ruins)
OS 6' map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1899)

Traditionally said to be on the site of a cell occupied by St Catan (6th or 7th century) and of a 'religious house'.
W C Mackenzie 1919.

Roofless, but with walls complete, though in 1921 the W side was threatened by encroachment of the sea.
Originally a simple oblong, 61 3/4ft x 16 3/4ft within walls 2ft 8 ins to 3ft 5 ins thick, probably built in 14th century. In late 15th or early 16th century an addition 23ft x 16 1/4ft was made to the W end and the western gable partly reconstructed. Dedictated to St. Columba (M Martin 1934).
Two notable memorial slabs affixed to the walls: on the S Side, a high relief of a figure in the usual western style, evidently one of the Macleods of Lewis (17th century or earlier); on the N side a carved and inscribed slab to Margaret MacKinnon, daughter of Roderick Macleod and mother of John, the last Abbot of Iona. A third slab, with a single shallow cup 1 1/4 ins diameter cut in it, used to lie on the floor but could not be found in 1921.
RCAHMS 1928; M Martin 1934.

As described by RCAHMS
Visited by OS (A L F R) assistent archaeology officer 23 April 1964.

The monument comprises the remains of St Columba's church. According to local tradition, the church of St Columba occupies the site of a cell of St Catan, who lived in the sixth to seventh century. On architectural grounds, however, the present church appears to be no earlier than fourteenth century. Margaret, daughter of Ruairi, chief of the Macleods of Lewis, was buried in the chancel in 1503. In 1506, the rector was John Macleod and in 1534 and 1536 Sir Magnus Vaus. Martin Martin, in 1695, records the church's dedication as being to St Collum (or Columba); as one of the two parishes of Lewis, Uidh had a minister, though by this time the principal church would probably have been in Stornoway.
St Columba's church is an elongated rectangle in plan, measuring some 20.5 by 7m overall and with its chancel facing north-east. It is built in rubble masonry, utilising the local gneiss, to which a red sandstone is added in later additions. A slight discernible difference in the construction of the eastern third, corresponding to the chancel area, probably represents different campaigns of work, rather than different periods; it may in any case be more apparent than real, being emphasised by the plaster which still adheres to much of the chancel walls. More certain is the evidence for the heightening or rebuilding of the upper part of the north wall, probably as part of a re-roofing operation. This may have occurred in the sixteenth century, and have been contemporary with the addition of a burial mausoleum to the west end of the church. The present door into the church is near the west end of the south wall. The original one may possibly have been in the west gable. The point of division between the nave and the chancel, still clearly visible, was evidently originally marked by a timber screen, with a loft above it, of which three supporting pockets for joists may be seen in the north and south walls respectively. There is also a small window for lighting the loft on the south, and what appears to have been a larger window (now blocked) below it, possibly for lighting an altar. Just inside the chancel, a narrow pointed-arched door in the south wall, opening outwards, probably led to a sacristy (now demolished). The altar, placed against the east wall, would have been lit by lancet windows in the south and east walls, though the pointed head of the latter was replaced by a lintel when the upper part of the east gable was rebuilt. The chancel was used in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries as a burial place for the Macleods of Lewis and their families.
Two grave-slabs which once lay here have now been set up against the walls. On the south is a slab showing a male figure wearing a long quilted coat, a camail of mail around his neck and shoulders, and a pointed helm. His left hand holds a sword. The man's identity is unknown, though it is possible that he was Roderick (Ruairi) Macleod of Lewis, who died around 1498. The second slab is fixed to the north wall, and shows an interlaced cross, with various animals in the foliage. An inscription around the margin (now barely legible) could at one time be read as follows: + HIC . IACET /. MARGARETA . FILIA . RODERICI . MEIC . LEOYD ./ [DE . LEODHUIS . VIDUA . LACHLA]NNI . MEIC . FINGEO[NE . OBIIT .] M V III.
The burial aisle added to the west end of the church has a low arch in its west wall, evidently intended to contain a principal tomb, and was lit by broad rounded-arched windows on three sides; access to it was by a rounded-arched door in the south wall, or by another slapped through the west wall of the nave. Rescue excavation around the western corner of the building in 1994 showed that the burial aisle overlies earlier burials.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 6 March 1997.

Legal discussion over ownership resolved in 1999, when it became evident that the church had devolved to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. MML 29.1.99

Desk-top assessment, photographs, but no walk-over survey
Barrowman 2005, 61-64

NB 484 322 A general site assessment was undertaken, reviewing historical source material and evaluating the standing fabric of the ruined church in advance of conservation works and coastal protection. A reassessment of the phasing of the church is presented whereby the chancel area is felt to represent the earliest surviving fabric, perhaps of the late 14th century. This was subsequently extended (nave walls) and the E gable rebuilt. The final phase represents the reconstruction of the W end and the addition of a substantial burial aisle, perhaps in the later 16th century.
Sponsor: Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Addyman, T 2000, 101

NB484322 Investigation of the wall heads of the ruin was undertaken in October 2002 in order to identify any surviving evidence for the form of early roof structures in advance of possible reinstatement.
Addyman 2002 123
Abridged here - full text in DES 2002

Historic building recording of mausolea ahead of conservation works and evaluation of area near graveyard entrance. Results identified multi period midden deposits and potentail features.
On behalf of Addison Conservation & Design.
Murray & Jackson AOC. 11/010/2023

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

W C Mackenzie, 1919, The Book of the Lews: the story of a Hebridean Isle, 137-9 (Bibliographic reference). SWE12815.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 12, No. 43 plan fig. 39, illusts. fig. 40, 42-4 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

J N G and M Ritchie and Harman, 1985, Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles, 102, no. 40 (Bibliographic reference). SWE6206.

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2000, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41184.

Carol Knott, 2000, Uidh Church: An archaeological watching brief on behalf of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Unpublished document). SWE41135.

Council for Scottish Archaeology, 2002, Discovery and Excavation in Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41091.

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

AOC Archaeology Group, 2023, Proposed Gateway, Eaglais na h-Aoidhe,
Aignish, Isle of Lewis
Historic Building Recording and
Archaeological Evaluation
Data Structure Report (Unpublished document). SWE41332.