Bonnavoulin, Cill Dhonnaig

Fernish Church of Scotland, 1892 Simple, still gas lit, rubble and slated gothic church, hidden in trees above the road. It replaced one of 1780, whose predecessor was the medieval parish church of Killintag (Cill Leuntaig), remnants of which are still evident on the sloping burial ground at Mungasdale. Here, in the irregular, rubble-walled enclosure, stands the unpopular Christina Stewart's cenotaph (built to imitate a mausoleum), c.1830, a gothic landmark of tooled and polished ashlar. Mungasdale House, late 18th century Tacksman's house, remodelled c.1825 when the settlement was cleared to make way for a sheep farm.

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk

NM55SE 2.00 5648 5381

NM55SE 2.01 NM 56467 53799 Stewart Mausoleum

(NM 5648 5381) Cill Dhonnaig (NAT)

OS 6" map, Argyllshire, 2nd ed., (1900)

'Cill Dhonnaig' is applied to the ruin of the old parish church of Killintag, dedicated to St Fintan, which was in use till 1780, when it was replaced by a church (NM55SE 21 NM 5668 5223). The graveyard is still in use, and according to the Statistical Account (OSA 1791-9), its boundaries were distinctly marked and considered a sanctuary. The old church is of the same size and condition as its contemporary at Kiel (NM64NE 2).

The parishes of Killintag and Kilcolmkill were united about the time of the Reformation to form the parish of Morvern. (The Ordnance Survey Name Book (ONB) provides no authority for the name 'Cill Dhonnaig', which is clearly erroneous.) Name Book 1872; P Gaskell 1968; H Scott et al 1915-61; Orig Paroch Scot 1854; OSA 1791-9

St Fintan's Church, reduced to its foundations, is oriented WNW-ESE and measures 23.2m by 6.6m overall. The walling in the ESE side is 0.9m thick, but cannot be measured elsewhere. The interior has been used for burials. The graveyard has been extended and is still in use.

Surveyed at 1:10,000.

Visited by OS (R L) 10 June 1970

(NM 5648 5381) St Fintan's Church (NR) (remains of)

Cill Dhonnaig (NAT) (Graveyard)

OS 1:10,000 map, (1976)

Old Parish Church and Burial-ground, Cill Dhonnaig: The scanty remains of one of the two medieval parish churches of Morvern stand within an irregular burial-ground some 350 m NW of Mungasdail farmhouse. The church is indicated on an estate-plan of 1770, and probably remained in use until about 1780 when a new building (NM55SE 21) was erected at Fernish. The name Killintag or Cill Leuntaig, applied by the OS in 1872 to the burial-ground at Killundine (NM54NE 1), more properly belongs to this site. The only part of the church to remain in situ is a short length of the E end of the S wall, which stands to a height of about 0.9m and has a thickness of 1.0m. Turf-covered foundations indicate an internal width of 5.6m and a probable length from E to W of 19.2m. Within the foundations, lies part of a slate cross-shaft datable to between the 14th and early 16th century. It is 0.7m long and tapers in width from 0.28m to 0.25m.

RCAHMS 1980, visited 1972

One small unroofed building lying in the SW corner of a semi-circular enclosure annotated as Cill Dhonnaig is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Argyllshire 1875, sheet xxxix). The enclosure, one unroofed building lying in the centre and one small roofed building lying in the SW corner are shown the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1974).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 18 May 1998