Kilnaughton Chapel
AMONG the ruined chapels on Islay is one at Kilnaughton, west of the village of Port Ellen, overlooking the beach of the same name.
Known locally as Cill Neachdain, it probably dates from around the early 15th century and takes its name from the Celtic Saint Nechtan, who died in 679AD, and suggests the chapel site is of long-term religious significance.
Although now roofless, the building rises to its almost original height even if the exterior of the south wall is now almost hidden by the accumulated soil from the surrounding burial ground which is still in use.
This process has gone on for several centuries and leaves the south elevation largely sunk into the churchyard.
Building materials used in the construction feature uncoursed local rubble and beach boulders set in lime mortar.
Areas of the fabric seem to have been extensively patched up and repaired within the past 100 years.
There are two doorways opposite each other on the west end of the building as well as traces of splayed windows which are regarded as being original, as is the small window placed high on the east gable.
Also visible is what appears to be a blocked up doorway in the north wall.
The chapel interior contains a number of standing and recumbent gravestones including a grave slab on the south wall which features the effigy of a knight in armour.
In his left hand he holds an unsheathed sword and above his left shoulder is the carving of a robed figure.
This could be an indication that the knight’s spouse was interred alongside him. This type of grave slab was common in the Highlands and islands in the 1300s and 1400s.
The Kilnaughton example is known locally as ‘The Warrior’s Grave’ and legend has it that the rainwater that gathers in the crook of the knight’s left arm was an effective cure for warts.
The chapel may have been a dependency of the parish church at Kildalton as there is no record of a separate parish of Kilnaughton prior to the Reformation.
The establishment of a church at Lagavulin in 1651 may have led to the discontinuation by the end of the 17th century of the Kilnaughton Chapel as a place of worship.