Scheduled Monument
St Blane's church,monastery and 'the cauldron',ButeSM90264
Status: Designated
Documents
Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).
The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.
Summary
- Date Added
- 04/05/1994
- Type
- Ecclesiastical: burial ground, cemetery, graveyard; chapel; monastic settlement; precinct walls; well
- Local Authority
- Argyll And Bute
- Parish
- Kingarth
- NGR
- NS 09457 53500
- Coordinates
- 209457, 653500
Description
The monument consists of the site of the early monastery of St Blane's. Remains include the ruins of the parish church, two grave yards, an extensive monastic enclosure, traces of other walls, a number of possible small buildings (or 'cells'), a structure called 'the cauldron', a well, a corn kiln and the socket stone for a cross.
The monastery was founded at an unknown date prior to AD 574 and there is clear evidence of Christian burial in the 6th and 7th centuries AD. The list of abbots extends to 790, when the Viking raids began. St Blane's Church is a fine 12th century Romanesque building, consisting of a nave and chancel. It was used as the parish church of Kingarth until the early 18th century. The associated cemetery is in two parts and the lower graveyard contains traces of a small building orientated E-W. Both graveyards are filled with lines of graves, mostly of 12th to 13th century date. The monastic enclosure is defined to the W by a near vertical rock face and on the other sides by a restored cashel wall from which another wall (now traceable merely as footings) branches off. Remains of other buildings, possibly monastic cells, lie to the SW and NW of the church and St Blane's Well is also located within the enclosure. The cauldron is a circular stone-built enclosure about 10m in diameter of unknown date and origin. Just outside the cashel wall on its NE side is the base stone for a substantial cross and also the remains of a corn drying kiln, about 4m in diameter.
The area proposed for scheduling measures a maximum of 450m NNW-SSE by 225m E-W, to include the church, graveyards, cashel wall, other enclosures, well, possible cells, corn kiln and cross base and an area around in which associated remains may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.
References
Bibliography
No Bibliography entries for this designation
About Scheduled Monuments
Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.
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Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
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Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the
scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).
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