Monument record 493 - ST KILDA, CHRIST CHURCH

NF19NW 1 1004 9937 and
0989 9929.

(NF 10009939) Christ Church (NR) (Site of) Graveyard (NAT)
OS 6"map, annotated by J Mathieson (1928)

Christ Church, or chapel, was described by Martin, in 1698, as a thatched building with graveyard attached (100 paces in diameter) fenced in by a stone wall (M Martin 1934). According to Macaulay, in 1764, it was a drystone building (24ft x 14ft), the largest of the three island chapels (K Macaulay 1764). It was in ruins when seen by Wilson (J Wilson 1842) in 1842, who refers to it as the 'chapel of St Mary', which was apparently the same as the 'Christ's Chapel' of Macaulay & Martin. Nothing remained when Mathieson (J Mathieson 1928) surveyed the island in the early 1920's. Sands (J Sands 1878) states that the ruins stood in the churchyard. He also remarks that a stone (incised with a cross), from the church, was built into a nearby cottage, and in 1956 (K Williamson and J M Boyd 1963) a stone-slab of this description was found by R Ritchie of the MoW (Ancient Monuments) built into the wall of cottage No.16 (NF 0989 9929) immediately next to the E window. The stone probably dates back to the 7th or 8th centuries.
M Martin 1934; K Macaulay 1764; J Wilson 1842; J Mathieson 1928; J Sands 1878; K Williamson and J M Boyd 1963.

No traces remain. The incised cross stone is still where described in the wall of cottage No. 16.
Position of church re-sited to NF 1004 9937 on the evidence of J Sands 1878.
Visited by OS (J L D) 7 August 1967; J Sands 1878.

Martin Martin, 1695a, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland c. 1695, 443 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5082.

K Macaulay, 1764, The History of St Kilda, 70-1 (Bibliographic reference). SWE12859.

J Wilson, 1842, A Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland and the Isles, Vol. 2, 38 (Bibliographic reference). SWE12867.

J Sands, 1876-8, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 187 (Bibliographic reference). SWE6187.

J Mathieson, 1927-8, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 124 (Bibliographic reference). SWE5190.

K and J M Williamson and Boyd, 1963, A Mosaic of Islands, 144 illust. (Bibliographic reference). SWE11218.

M Harman, 1976-7, Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 254-8 (Bibliographic reference). SWE2914.

J N G and M Ritchie and Harman, 1985, Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles, 37, 39 (Bibliographic reference). SWE6206.