Glencruitten House, Tree Cathedral

In 1921 work was started by Alexander MacKay of Glencruitten House on a tree cathedral.

The site of the tree cathedral was an area of poorly drained soil which had resisted efforts at re-afforestation. The construction of the drainage system and planting was to provide employment and community for the men coming back from the First World War and to be a war memorial. An extensive drainage system around the cathedral (ditches and tunnels) was constructed and a elaborate planting of trees was undertaken to mimic the size and layout of St Andrews Cathedral.

In a speech by Alexander's grand-daughter in 1947 the layout of the cathedral was described. "In these ancient cathedrals there is always a great thickness of wall. This has been suggested by a double hedge, the outer one of beech and the inner one of spruce. From these hedges the walls themselves arise, the outer wall of chestnut trees and the inner wall of lime trees, the whole cruciform shape leading up to the Altar and East Window facing Ben Cruachan. The High Altar has been planted with Catoneaster and the candles are suggested by dwarf junipers. The cross is a Golden Yew. Behind the Altar the East Window is composed of purple beeches and the north and south Transept Windows of Brunus Pisardi. Behind the East Window a planting of Elderberry Trees gives a glow and when the white elderberry is in bloom you have a very satisfying picture. The pillars of the Cathedral are of Irish Yew. The choir stalls, sixteen in number are composed of three golden yews cut in the shape of seats while the lecterns are of Irish, or common Yew. The tessellated pavement is carried out in heaths, of which there are about twenty five varieties in various colours. These heaths are at their best in the spring or autumn. I had the privilege to see them in their full spring glory and they were very fair and beautiful. The Chapter House, entered from the north transept, is octagonal in shape, the walls being composed of alternate Irish and Golden Yew. In this Chapter House you probably have the oldest trees in the world, for here we have specimens of fossilized trees brought many years ago, by my father-in-law from the petrified forest of Arizona. The Cloisters are entered from the South Transept and here again you have the Irish Yew carrying out the pillars of the Cloisters." "You enter by the West Door under an arch of Cupressus Macrocarpa and the whole Cathedral lies before you."

The tree cathedral is still extant and has been used as a family burial ground, most notably for Alexander Mackay in 1936. As of 2016 the tree cathedral is managed by a charity with the intenion of restoring it to its former glory.

Information from Harriet Moll to Historic Environment Scotland 21 September 2016.