Kiltarlity, Old Parish Church
Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Cup Marked Stone (Prehistoric)(Possible), Gravestone (Period Unknown), Parish Church (Medieval) - (Late 18th Century)
Site Name Kiltarlity, Old Parish Church
Classification Burial Ground (Medieval) - (Post Medieval), Cup Marked Stone (Prehistoric)(Possible), Gravestone (Period Unknown), Parish Church (Medieval) - (Late 18th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Kiltarlity Chapel; Lovat Church
Canmore ID 12381
Site Number NH44SE 1
NGR NH 49741 43928
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/12381
- Council Highland
- Parish Kiltarlity And Convinth
- Former Region Highland
- Former District Inverness
- Former County Inverness-shire
NH44SE 1 49743 43925.
(NH 4972 4392) Church {NR} (In Ruins)
OS 6"map, Inverness-shire, 2nd ed., (1907)
The church of 'Kyntarlargyn' is mentioned in 1227.(A C MacLean 1915) The present building, the former parish church of Kiltarlity, was probably erected in the 16th cent. (W R Macdonald 1902) The dedication is said to have been to Thalargus, or, according to another account, to 'Tarrail', whose grave is said to be marked by 'Clach Tarrail'. (NH44SE 2) about 1/2 mile SW of the church. (C Fraser 1845) A new parish church was erected on the site of the present parish church in 1763. In the graveyard of the old church is at least one cup-marked stone, utilised as a grave stone (W Jolly 1882)
Kiltarlity parish was formed out of Convinth in 1226
T D Wallace 1911
The church is built of random masonry roughly coursed with rubble in-filling bonded with lime mortar, and measures 17.6m by 7.0m within a wall 0.9m thick. The gables stand to roof height, and are identical, each with two windows one above the other. The side walls stand to a maximum of c.2.5m. There are two entrances on the S. side. The interior is occupied by burial monuments.
No further information regarding the dedication.
There is no trace of the alleged cup-marked grave stone in the graveyard, which is still in use.
Visited by OS (R L) 11 March 1970
Not to be confused with Kiltarlity Parish Church of Scotland NH54SW 16
Field Visit (April 1979)
Kiltarlity, Old Parish Church NH 497 439 NH44SE 1
The roofless shell of this former parish church is now a burial-enclosure. The church, which was built in the 17th century, may have succeeded an earlier one on the same site; a datestone of 1626 is built into the E wall of the present church, erected on a new site (NH 512 413) in 1763. The cup-marked stones reported by Jolly in the churchyard cannot be located.
RCAHMS 1979, visited April 1979
Maclean 1915, 71; Scott et al. 1915-61 vi, 468-71; Cowan 1967, 109; Jolly 1882, 376.
Field Visit (2013)
NH 4972 4392 The church (now roofless) stands on a sub-circular mound, 30–35m across, which in turn appears to overlie the NE quadrant of an oval enclosure, internally 45m E–W by 25m, contained within a bank 8–10m broad. There appears to have been a ditch between the mound and rising ground to the N. Possibly the church reused an early motte and bailey.
Archive: RCAHMS
Tom Welsh, 2013
(Source: DES)
Note (23 January 2020)
Date Fieldwork Started: 23/01/2020
Compiled by: NOSAS
Location Notes: The graveyard was visited on 23 January 2020. Many of the slabs are covered in turf. The visible ones were examined and no cupmarks were found.
Field Visit (2022)
NH 25831 61521-NH 66227 71249 Survey and recording undertaken of gravestones in 2021/2022. Visits were made to the following churchyards or burial grounds:
NH 25815 61624 Achnahalt (Upper; Canmore ID: 288571)
NH 25831 61521 Achnahalt (Lower)
NH 39685 61381 Garve
NH 49741 43928 Kiltarlity (Old; Canmore ID: 12381)
NH 53889 49214 Kilchrist (Canmore ID: 12672)
NH 31649 62677 Lochluichart (Canmore ID 267078)
NH 66227 71249 Nonakiln (Canmore ID 13747)
NH 30875 55235 Porin (Canmore ID 308517)
Recording Sheets to be lodged with the Highland Archives Inverness, with results to be published by the Highland Family History Society. Photos to be lodged with NRHE.
Stuart Farrell
