Field Visit
Date May 1976
Event ID 921775
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/921775
The remains of this chapel are situated on the left bank of the Kilbride River about 250 m SE of Kilbride farmhouse, and occupy a site which slopes southwards towards the river. It is an oblong unicameral structure which measures internally 10.2m from E to W by 4.7m transversely; there are the remains of a doorwav-opening in the W half of the S side-wall The walls are of drystone rubble masonry and have rounded angles externally and internally; they measure slightly more than 1m in thickness and stand to an average height of 0.8m. There are slight traces of an inner scarcement at the centre of the E end-wall.
The site is bounded by field-banks and natural escarpments which define an approximately rectilinear area about 22 m from E to W- by 15m in width. About 7m SE of the SE angle of the building are the collapsed remains of a slab-roofed natural spring known as 'the priest's well' (tobar an t-sagairt).
This site is evidently of Early Christian origin, and was dedicated to St Bridget. The existing ruins, however, are probably those of a church intended to replace those at Kildalton (RCAHMS 1984, No. 367) and Kilnaughton (No. 373), whose erection at Kilbride was decided upon in 1651 (Argyll Sinod Minutes, 1, 246).
[Canmore ID 318491] Crois-an T-Sagairt (The priest's cross'). This cross-marked slab of Early Christian date stood about 3-5m E of the chapel until about 1838*. when it was taken to Kildalton manse. It was removed to the grounds of Kildalton House in 1882, and transferred in 1923 to the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. It is a rectangular slab of local quartzitic sandstone, rounded at the top, 0.73m high by 0.24m wide. At the top of one face it bears in false relief an outline Latin cross within a circular frame 25mm wide. The sunken areas have been lightly peeked, and the armpits of the cross, which are slightly rounded, are a little more deeply sunk. (PSAS, 17 (1882-3), 278,281-3 and fig. 4; 57 (1922-3), 294-5; Kildalton Antiquities Catalogue, no. 2; Graham, Islay, pp. 76-7, no. 77; Lament, Sculptured Stones, pi. v d).
Visited May 1976
RCAHMS 1984
*An upper quern stone was found at the site of the cross in 1883 (Kildalton Antiquaries Catalogue, no. 35; IASG, Additions and Corrections, (7)33).
