Kyle of Sutherland Heritage Centre

Ionad-Dualchais a’ Chaoil Chataich

Kincardine Gravemarker

Comharra Uaighe Chinn Chàrdainn

Further information

The carvings are quite worn and weathered but if you look carefully you can see David killing a lion to save a lamb in his flock, and what may be the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, as well as other Christian symbols including angels and a stag.

Over the centuries the stone has been reused and one side has been hollowed out to hold water. The stone might have been used to hold holy water within the Church or maybe for a more domestic use such as a horse trough. It has also been used as a more modern gravestone in the 1700s and initials carved on the flat surface.

The stone was originally in the churchyard but was moved into the church for protection from the weather.

This is a site which has been of religious importance for many centuries, with the first mention of a church here dating back to 1227. A fire in the 1790s led to the building of the current church. According to local folklore, the fire was started when the beadle, in an attempt to chase off starlings in the heather roof who were disrupting the service, fired a musket shot which set the roof on fire.

Access to the church can be arranged through the Kyle of Sutherland Heritage Society who now operate the building as a heritage centre. See https://kyle-of-sutherland-heritage.org.uk/ or the notice on the former church doors for telephone contact details.

For further details, see https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG7373