Desk Based Assessment

Date March 2011

Event ID 998001

Category Recording

Type Desk Based Assessment

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/998001

GUARD Archaeology Ltd were commissioned by Kilallan Kirk Preservation Trust to undertake historical and architectural research on Kilallan Kirk located to between Houston and Kilmacolm. This work was undertaken during March 2011.

The roofless church building is rectangular in plan with the later addition of a burial aisle on the north side. The main church building is 18.8m long by 6.6 m wide external (16.8 m by 4.8 m internal). The walls survive to roof level along with part of the west gable which also contains a high level infilled window. There is a doorway with an iron gate on the south wall at the west end with a lintel stone bearing the date 1635. Opposite this is a blocked doorway on the north wall. The interior of the church has been used for later burials during the 19th century with the addition of the Barochan Aisle on the north side and iron railings partitioning off the east end. These burials are mainly identified by plaques or tablets mounted on the walls. There is evidence for considerable re-building or restoration in the 18th and 19 centuries as grave stones and memoral tablets have been mounted on the exterior of the south wall and used to infill windows and doors. Most of the stonework has been heavily re-pointed. The east gable is covered in ivy and other plants and small trees are growing in the stonework and wallheads.