St Colman's Chapel

NH59NW 3 5048 9866

(NH 5048 9865) Old Burial Ground {NAT}

OS 6" map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1907).

See also NH59NW 8.

At Kilmachalmag - St. Colman's Cell - is a small, unenclosed graveyard overgrown with weeds and briars. Adjoining it is the foundation of a small oblong building which may represent the old chapel.

W J Watson 1910.

The dedication is probably to Colman Eala (died 611).

W J Watson 1926.

Although partially enclosed by a stone dyke, the limits of the old burial ground cannot now be completely determined. No graves are visible and the area is now part of a pasture field. The building foundations consist of grassed-over stone footings 0.4m high and 8.5 x 4.0m. Published Survey (25") revised.

Visited by OS (R D L) 24 May 1963.

The evidence of the place-name "Kilmachalmack", the strong local tradition of a burial ground and the dimensions of the building, as described by the previous field investigator, leave little doubt that it is a chapel. An early modern field dyke and clearance overlays its north wall and extends a further 8.0m to the west. From this point a denuded turf-covered wall, probably of the graveyard swings around to terminate just south of the probable chapel.

Re-surveyd at 1:10 000.

Visited by OS (N K B), 6 January 1977.