Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1018759
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018759
The unusual octagonal church at Dalmally, serving the parish of Glenorchy and Inishail, was designed for the 4th Earl of Bread alba ne in 1808 by an Edinburgh architect, James Elliot, who was at that time working on the Earl's castle at Taymouth, in Perthshire. The church, probably the third to occupy the island site since the medieval period, was opened for worship in 1811. The interior, which was re-arranged in 1898, has two side banks and one central bank of pews facing the pulpit at the west end; additional seating being provided in a horse-shoe shaped gallery. The roof is flat, but the illustration shows the complex system of internal timbers that holds this unsupported span in position.
The churchyard contains a range of late-medieval stones of some importance, including an example of the Loch Awe School of carving with border, plant scroll with animals and figure of the warrior at the top typical of that school. The second stone, much smaller than is usual and presumably the graveslab of a child, is also of the Loch Awe School. The third stone, later perhaps in the West Highland sequence of carving, is also of interest because it has been appropriated at a later date as the inscription shows, '1819 James McNicoll, Achallader'.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles’, (1985).
