St Clement's Church (, meaning Clement's Tower) is a late fifteenth-century or early sixteenth-century church in Rodel,

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

, Scotland, built for the Chiefs of the

MacLeods of Harris Clan MacLeod ( ; ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as ' ("seed of Tormod") an ...

. It is dedicated to

Pope Clement I Clement of Rome (; ; died ), also known as Pope Clement I, was the Bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church. Little is known about Clement's life. Tertullian claimed ...

. It is sometimes known as Eaglais Roghadail or Rodal Church.

Architecture

The church was built using local

Lewisian gneiss The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleopr ...

rock. Its ground plan is cruciform and there is a tower at the west end, accessible through a door at the west end of the nave and a set of stone staircases and wooden ladders. The choir and the sanctuary with the high altar, which used to be separated by the nave by a wooden screen, are located at the opposite east end of the church. In the transepts leading off from the nave on both sides, there are additional chapels, the entrance door points nord and leads to nave. The architectural style is essentially that of 1520 to 1550. In 1528,

Alasdair Crotach MacLeod Alasdair Crotach MacLeod (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair Crotach MacLeòid) (1450 – 1547) is considered to be the 8th Scottish clan chief, Chief of Clan MacLeod. He was the son of the 7th Chief of Clan MacLeod, William Dubh MacLeod, William Dubh, ...

, 8th Chief, prepared for himself a magnificent wall tomb on the south side of the choir - possibly the finest medieval wall tomb in Scotland, being crowned by an arch and ornated by carvings of biblical design. The 9th Chief, Alasadair or Alexander's son William, had his grave prepared in the south wall of the nave in 1539. In the south transept, there is a third grave probably belonging to John MacLeod of Minginish, the 10th Chief. There are five more grave slabs leaning against the wall of the north transept. The graveyard surrounding the church contains a number of MacLeod tombs.

History

According to Dean Donald Munro in his 1549 work about the Western Isles, the church was built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris, who lived in

Dunvegan Castle Dunvegan Castle (Caisteal Dhùn Bheagain) is located to the north of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Probably a fortified site from the earlie ...

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

, probably from about 1520, and is not considered the first church on the site although there is no clear evidence of an older Celtic church. Munro described the church as 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 ...

, but as there is no evidence hinting to a monastic community, this expression is believed to refer to a minister, and with it to an important parish church. It was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church before falling into disuse shortly after its completion around 1560 as a consequence of the

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, but the churchyard continued to be used as a MacLeod burial site. The church's decayed roof was renewed in 1784 by Captain Alexander MacLeod of Berneray, but burned down shortly after and had to be rebuilt once again in 1787. In the 19th century it was used as a cow byre before being restored by Catherine Herbert Countess of Dunmore in 1873, and in 1913, the tower was rebuilt after being damaged by a lightning strike six years earlier. Today, the church is under the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland () was an executive agency of the Scottish Government, executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage and promoting its und ...

. Notable 17th-century poet Mary Macleod (Mairi Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh) is said to be buried here.

References

External links

St. Clement's Church
at Historic Environment Scotland

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Clements Church, Rodel 15th-century church buildings in Scotland Category A listed buildings in the Outer Hebrides Clan Macleod Churches in the Outer Hebrides Historic Environment Scotland properties in the Outer Hebrides Listed churches in Scotland Harris, Outer Hebrides