Kingarth (; ) is a historic village and parish on the
Isle of Bute, off the coast of south-western Scotland. The village is within the parish of its own name, and is situated at the junction of the
A844 and B881. In the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
it was the site of a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
and
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
and the cult centre of Saints
Cathan and
Bláán (
Anglicized
Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
: ''Blane'').
St Blane's Church and monastery
Located to the north of
Kilchattan Bay, Kingarth was the central religious site for the
Cenél Comgaill
Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The ''Annals of Ulster'' report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' in 537.
Comgall
...
kindred of
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...
(after which
Cowal
Cowal () is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland to the north, and is bounded by Loch Fyne to the west, by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde to the east, and by the Kyles of Bute ...
is named), just as
Lismore was for the
Cenél Loairn
The Cenél Loairn, the descendants of Loarn mac Eirc, controlled parts of northern Argyll around the Firth of Lorne, most probably centred in Lorne but perhaps including the islands of Mull and Colonsay, Morvern and Ardnamurchan. The bounda ...
and
Iona for the
Cenél nGabráin
The Cenél nGabráin was a kin group, presumed to descend from Gabrán mac Domangairt, which dominated the kingship of Dál Riata until the late 7th century and continued to provide kings thereafter. Kings of kingdom of Alba, Alba and of Scotland ...
. It is close to the southern tip of the Isle of Bute, less than from the early historic
hill-fort
A hillfort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late European Bronze Age and Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Roman period. The fortif ...
of "Little Dunagoil", which may have been the chief secular site of the kindred.
Much remains of the church ruins, located in a hollow below a south-facing slope. The remnants of the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
are of the 12th century. In the 14th century, the building was extended, although the construction was less competent than the earlier work. The
chancel arch is
Romanesque in design. There are also a well and the base of a
manse
A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions.
Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
, which was still functioning in the 1700s.
[
There are two churchyards, the upper for the burial of men, and the lower for women. Some of the gravestones shows fragments of decoration. In the lower churchyard are also the remains of a structure thought to have been a minor chapel. In the upper churchyard a hogback tombstone, dating to around 1000, is traditionally said to be the burial place of St Blane. It indicates that the ]Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...
who inhabited the site after the abandonment of the monastery converted to Christianity. The upper churchyard also holds the grave of Sir William Macewen
Sir William Macewen ( ; 22 June 1848 – 22 March 1924) was a Scottish surgeon. He was a pioneer in modern brain surgery, considered the ''father of neurosurgery'' and contributed to the development of bone graft surgery, the surgical treat ...
(1848-1924), a surgeon who lived in the area.[
A structure known as the "Devil's Cauldron", with walls thick and about high, is thought to have been either a part of the original monastery or an older dun.]
The centre for Saint Bláán's cult had probably moved to the mainland to Dunblane
Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...
in Strathearn
Strathearn or Strath Earn (), also the Earn Valley, is the strath of the River Earn, which flows from Loch Earn to meet the River Tay in the east of Scotland.
The area covers the stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in ...
under the influence of Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
attacks in the 9th century, perhaps like the movement of the relics of Saint Cuthbert to the bishopric of Lindisfarne and those of Saint Columba
Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the ...
to the bishopric of Dunkeld. Despite this, it survived as a religious site to become one of only two parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
es on the island, the other being Rothesay; it was part of the diocese of the Isles, though perhaps originally in the diocese of Argyll. Alan fitz Walter tried to grant the church to Paisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the River Cart, White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, base ...
in 1204, but this grant does not appear to have been effective and it remained an independent parsonage
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...
until the 15th century. In 1463 it became a prebend
A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...
for the newly created chapter of the diocese of the Isles, but in 1501 it was annexed to the Chapel Royal
A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family.
Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...
at Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
, becoming in 1509 a prebend for the chancellorship of the Chapel Royal, the latter arrangement surviving beyond the Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
Fr ...
.[
]
See also
* List of known bishops of Cenn Garad
References
External links
Canmore - Bute, Kingarth Church site record
Kingarth parish has a prominent and well maintained War Memorial that records the names of all those in the Parish who made the ultimate sacrifice during the First World War, and the Second World War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingarth
Christianity in medieval Scotland
History of Scotland by location
Villages on the Isle of Bute
Parishes in the County of Bute