Monument record 472 - TEAMPULL THOMAIS, LEWIS

NB56SW 3 5074 6408.

(NB 507 640) Teampull Thomais (NR) (Site of).
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1898)

"Church of St Thomas in Habost" - listed.
M Martin 1934

The site of an old church which has been a ruin within living memory. Its stones were used in building Teampull Pheadair (NB56SW 2 - itself recorded in c.1695). It is situated on a small knoll - the date of its erection is not known.
Name Book 1852.

Teampull Thomais: there are no remains of building. (See NB56SW 4 for the alleged site of another church of St Thomas, perhaps succeeding this one when it was ruined.)
RCAHMS 1928.

The site of Teampull Thomais, at NB 5074 6408, is a disturbed area on a knoll. No definite trace of a building.
Visited by OS (R L) 14 June 1969.

There is very little to be seen at this site, which is located at NB 50728 64062. A walkover survey was completed on 28 May 2004, and the site was found to comprise an irregular smooth grassy mound on a natural knoll. It is very difficult to discern any walling or indications of any remains, but there are occasional stones jutting out of the turf here and there. A roughly oval sunken area can be discerned, defined by a shallow linear hollow defining a sub-rectangular area on the top of the mound. It is possible that this is robbed-out walling. The hollow measures 6.5m roughly NE-SW, curving around to SE-NW for 7m and then NE-SW agina for 8m, where there is a small hollo aligned perpendicular to this. The entire area of the hollow is 8m E-W by 1.5m N-S, and the hollos are around 0.5m deep at the most.
The site is eroding due to its position on the summit of a knoll at the edge of the sea cliffs, which are actively eroding. Rabbit burrows were present and wind erosion of scars in the turf.
Barrowman 2005, 14

Martin Martin, 1695a, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland c. 1695, 27 (see 2nd ed., 1716) (Bibliographic reference). SWE5082.

RCAHMS, 1928, The RCAHMCS 9th Report & Inventory: Outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles, 10, No. 26 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5587.

Burgess, Christopher & Church, Michael, 1997, Coastal Erosion Assessment, Lewis. A Report for Historic Scotland (Bibliographic reference). SWE41000.

Name Book (County), 1998, Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, Book No. 3A, 26 (Unpublished document). SWE4254.

Rachel Barrowman, 2005, Lewis Coastal Chapel-sites Survey 2004/5 (Unpublished document).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