Kilbride, Strathlachlan

These remains occupy the almost level summit of a headland on the E shore of Loch Fyne, bounded by low cliffs falling on the NW and SW to small bays. They comprise an enclosure or cashel, and a chapel dedicated to St Bridget, both probably of Early Christian date. The 'pennyland of Kilbride beside Castle Lachlan', from which a rent was granted to the friars preachers of Glasgow in 1314 (en.1), extended SE to the Strathlachlan River. By the 18th century, however, the name was attached to a settlement NE of Castle Lachlan (NS017959), and 'Chapel of Kilbride' was a separate small township (en.2*). Its ruined buildings lie E of the burial-ground, which is partly overlain by its associated enclosures. Partial excavations in the burial-ground were carried out by Knightin 1928-31 (en.3).

The enclosure is roughly circular, measuring from 29m to 32m in diameter, within a cashel wall up to 2.6m thick. This is best preserved in the NE sector where, although obscured in places by tumble, its inner face stands up to l.3m in height with several courses of masonry; the wall appears to have been subsequently heightened where it adjoins an enclosure to the NNE. Elsewhere much of the wall is turf-grown, but the outer footing-courses are visible on the slope to the SE, where a 19th-century dyke overlies its inner face. The wall is interrupted by several sheep-tracks, but the probable entrance (A on fig.) is directly W of the chapel, although no jamb-stones are visible. It is possible that the end of the wall of the adjacent enclosure to the NNW is intruded into an early opening.

The chapel, in the S half of the enclosure, measures 7.2m from E to W by 4.4m within turf-covered walls about 1.2m thick. The drystone masonry of the inner face of the W wall, and parts of the E wall, survives to a height of 0.7m, but even in Knight's excavation the outer face could not be accurately defined (en.4) and it may have been revetted with turf. The entrance was towards the W end of the N wall, and the interior was described by the excavator as being paved with 'flat stones of moderate size' (en.5).

Some 2.5m N of the chapel there is an irregular stony mound (B) about 4m from E to W by 3.6m, which was described by Knight as being 1.2m high, containing many white quartz pebbles and, at a depth of about 1.9m, 'flat hearth-stones' (en.6). A tapered slab (C), 1.5m by 0.45m, lying NW of the mound, is probably the slab excavated by Knight 'under the west end of the circular mound', which covered disturbed soil containing limpet-shells, fragments of medieval glazed pottery, and quartz and flint implements (en.7). The 'grave' (D) 5m NW of the chapel, which produced no remains, is a setting of two rows of stones, 2m long and 0.4m apart.

The SE wall of the adjacent enclosure, where it adjoins the NE wall of the cashel, is founded on a rock-outcrop and is of massive construction, but probably not of early date. Within the enclosure there is a scarped platform (E), probably for a house, and outside to the NE there is a dwelling (F) converted to an animal-pen. This and two other buildings in a hollow 80m to the ESE are shown on Langlands's estate-map of 1792. A corn-drying kiln occupied the summit of a ridge between the two groups, and the estate-map shows as arable ground an area of about 12ha including the chapel, bounded by surviving turf dykes.

TOBAR AN LONGAIRT. This well on the W of Barr an Longairt, 450m E of the chapel, was indicated on Langlands's map as 'Tober St. Bride' (‘St Bride's Well'). A triangular block of drystone masonry, 2m wide at the front by 0.8m high and 1.8m deep, incorporates a lintelled chamber 0.5m wide, narrowing to 0.4m at the entrance (en.8). A spring enters at the back of the chamber, and an overflow channel appears 3m to the W.

RCAHMS 1992, visited April 1988

RCAHMS surveyed Kilbride chapel and burial-ground, Strathlachlan on 27 April 1988 with plane-table and alidade producing a site plan at a scale of 1:400. The plan was redrawn in ink and published at a scale of 1:1000 (RCAHMS 1992, 103C). The plan was also included in an illustration of comparative plans of early chapels published at a scale of 1:250 (RCAHMS 1992, 6G).