Building record MHG9106 - Kilchrist Old Church

NH54NW 14 5389 4921.
Mausoleum formerly a Chapel (NR)
OS 6"map, Ross-shire, 2nd ed., (1907)

The church of former parish of Kilchrist or Tarradale, united with Urray 1574. It was dedicated to Our Lord and known as Cill Chriosd, and is traditionally said to have been burnt in 1603. Re-roofed c1870 and is now mausoleum of MacKenzies of Ord. <1> <2> <3>

The former church was scheduled in 1957.

The former church and burial ground were listed at Category B in 1971.

"The Old Church of Kilchrist", roofed, in reasonable condition, and still used as a mausoleum. The burial ground is still in use.
Visited by OS (A A) 24 June 1975

Photographs of this building have been submitted to the HER by Eddie Freeman. <4>

A roofed redundant chapel within an old kirkyard. The late medieval church was the scene of a terrible massacre. In 1603, whilst the Mackenzie congregation were inside the chapel, a party of MacDonalds locked them in and set the church ablaze. It is said that the MacDonald piper walked round the church playing to mask the screams of those inside. The church was restored as a shell by W.C. Joass c.1870 and is now used as a mausoleum by the Mackenzie Gillanders family of Highfield. The graves in the burial ground are orientated to the east and the graveyard is reasonably maintained. Visited during the Highland Kirkyards project, run by Highland Buildings Preservation Trust. <5> <6>

Martin Briscoe has submitted photographs of this site to the Highland HER Flickr group. <7>

The statutory address and listed building record were updated by Historic Scotland in 2015. The scheduled area, i.e. the re-roofed chapel (subsequently used as a mausoleum) was specifically omitted from the listing, which now only covers the burial ground and the boundary walls. <8>

See also:
NH54NW0180 (MHG31406) Graveyard