Broughton, Old Parish Church And St Llolan's Cell

NT13NW 4 11051 36813.

(NT 1105 3680) Church (NR) (remains of)

OS 6" map, (1968).

The surviving remains of the old parish church of Broughton comprise only the E Gable, 24'5" in width, and the adjoining portions of the N and S walls, which have present lengths of 7'7" and 14'3" respectively. The belfry is comparatively modern and the crowsteps have been renewed. The foundations of the remaining part appear to have been exposed in 1922 (A Baird 1924) when it was found that the church was originally 33' long; at its W end there was an outshot containing at first-floor level a laird's loft, access to which was by means of an external stair. There was also a N porch, of which slight traces exist at the W end of the remaining fragment of the N wall. Against the SE angle are the remains of a barrel-vaulted structure, perhaps a post-Reformation burial aisle, which was rebuilt in 1926-7 as a chapel in the belief that it represented the cell of St Llolan, the 7th century bishop to whom the church is traditionally dedicated. This aisle measures internally 8'6" E-W x 14' N-S x c 8' high. There is a modern arched opening to the church on the W. The entrance to the "cell", situated in the N wall, is 2'7" wide. Beneath a window on the S there has been a stone inserted for preservation. It is dated 1617, and bears a shield with an inscription: Repair (e)d . . . 1725, which no doubt commemorates repair of a family burial place, very possibly the "cell" itself.

Although the site itself was probably occupied by a chapel as early as the 12th century, the existing remains, with the exception of the burial aisle or "cell" already described, probably date from the mid-18th century, when the church is known to have been rebuilt. The structure was abandoned c.1803, when a new church was built at Calzeat.

RCAHMS 1967, visited 1958; J Grieve 1928; A Baird 1928.

The remains of the church are as described.

Visited by OS(BS) 19 November 1974.