Lismore Seminary was situated in Kilcheran House on the island of Lismore in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

part of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

, Scotland. It served as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

for the

Roman Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts th ...

in the 19th century. At the time it was the only seminary in the west of Scotland and for the Vicariate Apostolic of the Highland District.Scalan News
from Scalan.co.uk, accessed 18 March 2013 The house still stands and has a

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

from the time of the seminary within the grounds. Both the house and the kiln are category B listed sites.British Listed Buildings
accessed 18 March 2013

History

Before the seminary moved to Lismore, Scottish seminarians were trained at Samalaman House near

Loch Ailort Loch Ailort ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Loch Ailleart) is a sea loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. Loch Ailort is a shallow, V-shaped loch, with the small Ardnish Peninsula on the north side, and the large, southwest-facing Moidart Peninsu ...

. The house was previously owned by Bishop Alexander MacDonald. The seminary was there from 1783 to 1803. The number of students at the college was increasing but the site was quite a small place, cramped and uncomfortable, with leaking roofs and unsubstantial walls. So, from 1798, Bishop John Chisholm started to look for a larger and more suitable location.History
at Blairs Aberdeen, retrieved 19 March 2013 In 1803, a property was found that cost £5,000 that had a large enough house and substantial gardens. Somehow the Vicariate was able to afford it. So, Bishop Chisholm founded the new seminary on the island of Lismore. The island was staunchly Presbyterian, and there must have been an unexpected feeling on the island when the inhabitants learned of a Catholic seminary being located in their vicinity. Objections were also raised by Catholics in Scotland. Samalaman seminary was on the mainland and in an area occupied by Catholics, but the new seminary was on an island with no Catholic inhabitants. Bishop Chisholm dismissed these objections by saying that it was more "accessible here to the world than where I have formerly been at

Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, Highland, Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the ...

", and that "we never had more or so much liberty to apply ourselves to learning and spiritual matters in any other place". In addition to founding the seminary, Bishop Chisholm also ordered the construction of a limestone kiln that was built so that the seminary could benefit from revenues made by a local quarry. The lime kiln made such a local impression that, 1814, when

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

visited the area, he wrote that: ::::''We coasted the low, long and fertile island of Lismore where a Catholic bishop, Chisholm has established a seminary of young men intended for priests, and what is a better thing, a valuable lime work. Reports speak well of the lime, but indifferently of the progress of the students.'' While Lismore seminary served the Vicariate Apostolic of the Highland District,

Aquhorthies College Aquahorthies College or the House of Aquahorthies (alternatively spelt Aquhorthies or Aquhorties); was a Catholic seminary in Scotland from 1799 to 1829. At the time it was the only Catholic seminary in the east of Scotland. The house still stands ...

in the east of Scotland served the

Vicariate Apostolic of the Lowland District The Archdiocese of Saint Andrews & Edinburgh () is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Scotland. It is the metropolitan see of the province of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, consisting of the additional suffragan sees of A ...

. In 1829, with the number of students increasing, it was decided to close both colleges and move the students to the larger

St Mary's College, Blairs St Mary's College, Blairs (commonly known as Blairs College), situated near Aberdeen in Scotland, was from 1829 to 1986 a junior seminary for boys and young men studying for the Priesthood (Catholic Church), Roman Catholic priesthood. Part o ...

near

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Preceding seminaries

The seminary at Samalaman was only the latest of a series of attempts made by the Vicariate Apostolic of the Highland District to have a permanent seminary for its students within Scotland. However, various bishops had to almost constantly move the seminaries. This was mainly because Catholic life in Scotland was so fraught and dangerous during the 18th century. Also, it was because of severe financial mismanagement of the funds allocated to the seminaries. This led to considerable stress amongst the Highland district priests and led to friction with their fellow Scottish Catholic Lowland district priests.Mairena, Maria Christina C.
The Restoration of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Scotland
', (Washington D.C., 2008) pp. 70-71

Eilean Ban

This seminary opened on an island previously used as a secret chapel in the middle of

Loch Morar Loch Morar () is a freshwater loch in the Rough Bounds of Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. It is the fifth-largest loch by surface area in Scotland, at , and the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles with a maximum ...

, but students had to be sent home after the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. One of the students during that time became Bishop Hugh MacDonald.Morar Cross
from Scalan.co.uk, accessed 20 March 2013 The seminary was opened again after twenty-six years, but became too small for its needs, so the college was moved to Guidal.

Guidal

This was on the mainland, but the students and staff fled when government soldiers approached the college in the aftermath of the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

and burned it down.

Glenfinnan

The seminary was in two rooms of an inn that was built in 1754, in what is now the Glenfinnan Hotel. The rector, John Macdonald, visited the premises and subsequently wrote that it was not a suitable place because of the loudness of the inn.

Buorblach

When the seminary moved to Buorblach (sometimes spelt Bourblach) it had five students and the building needed to be repaired. The seminary closed soon after Bishop Hugh MacDonald died in 1773. The seminary opened again in 1776, but it struggled on for another three years before being permanently closed and the students moved to Scalan College.

Samalaman

The seminary in Samalaman House was on the shore of

until it moved to Lismore.

References

{{Catholic seminaries in Scotland Category B listed buildings in Argyll and Bute Catholic seminaries in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1801 Educational institutions disestablished in 1829 1801 establishments in Scotland History of Catholicism in Scotland Listed educational buildings in Scotland Lismore, Scotland Lime kilns in the United Kingdom