2024

NS0863 : St Mary's Chapel, Townhead, Rothesay

taken 2 years ago, near to Rothesay, Bute, Argyll And Bute, Scotland

St Mary's Chapel, Townhead, Rothesay
St Mary's Chapel, Townhead, Rothesay
With the High Kirk behind.
Chapel of St Mary, Rothesay, Bute

The C13th chapel of St Mary's Kilmary, or Lady Kirk, is thought to be the chancel or choir of the original parish church of Rothesay which was built on the site of the former "Cathedral of the Isles" which once stood near this spot.
Around 1200 Bute was a single parish with its church at the monastery of St Blane's (q.v.) however by the late C14th a second parish had been created centred on St Mary's (of which this chapel is thought to be a remnant).
St Mary's is first mentioned in 1321 as the burial place of Alan, bishop of Sodor & Man; his successor (Bishop Gilbert) was also buried here, leading to the supposition that this had become the cathedral church.
The main part of St Mary's was demolished in 1692 after the dramatic changes in the Scottish church of the preceding years.
This little chapel is all that remains and it too was in a parlous state with no roof and derelict for many years, but it has been subsequently rescued and re-roofed.
It contains a number of interesting tombs and other gravestones, and makes a very interesting comparison site to the ruins of St Blane's in the south of the island. (See Link )

Links:
HES (not very informative): LinkExternal link
Canmore: LinkExternal link - this includes a number of interesting photos including many taken before the chapel was re-roofed, showing its dilapidated condition.
Britain Express website: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Thomas Nugent and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Religious sites Primary Subject: Chapel
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · St Mary's Chapel [25] · High Kirk [13] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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NS0863, 74 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Thomas Nugent   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 22 August, 2024   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 3 September, 2024
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 0862 6370 [10m precision]
WGS84: 55:49.7089N 5:3.4241W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NS 0863 6369
View Direction
Northwest (about 315 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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