Documents

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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.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM5703_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011600)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a medieval church situated on a plateau above the head of Loch Laggan at c.250m OD, and an Early Christian cross slab which stands within the graveyard. The church was originally scheduled in 1993. The monument is being re-scheduled now to include the cross slab.

The church is dedicated to St Kenneth, "Cainnech Mocu Dalon of Achadh Bo", an Irish Saint who founded the monastery of Aghabo in Laois and died about AD 600. The present church is medieval but retains the name of the original foundation, "Laggan-Choinnich", which translates as the hollow of St Kenneth. The site of this earlier building is probably nearby. The existing church is recorded as "Laggan Choinich" on a map of Badenoch and Lochaber by R. Gordon of Straloch in 1641/48.

The rectangular church measures 17.5m by 5.75m, within walls 0.9m thick. The W gable is virtually intact, but the E gable and intervening walls are reduced to about 1.9m in height. The walls are rubble-core with random-coursed outer faces. The S wall is strengthened by the addition of an external buttress to the E of the entrance, where there is a recessed font in the jamb. At the E end of the S wall there is a tomb recess with an arched canopy (partly obscured beneath the present ground level).

To the S of the church stands an upright, rectangular cross slab, possibly dating to the 10th century. The slab is located some 8m S of the S wall of the church and 22m W of the E boundary wall of the graveyard. It stands about 2m high and is 1m wide and 0.5m thick. A simple cross is incised upon its W face. It has been broken in the past (apparently since 1992). The lower half of the stone is in situ, whilst the remainder has been re-erected against its W side.

In plan, the area to be scheduled comprises two rectangles, a larger one aligned roughly E-W which is centred on the church, and a smaller one aligned roughly N-S, centred on the cross slab. The largest area extends up to 2m from the exterior walls of the church itself and measures a maximum of 23.5m E-W by 10.5m N-S. The scheduled area around the cross slab has maximum dimensions of 4m N-S by 2.1m E-W. Both areas are shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it is an interesting example of a Medieval church which preserves the dedication to the early Irish Saint Kenneth of Achadh Bo (died AD 600), although place names suggest the original foundation is probably located at a different spot, the monument probably overlies an earlier building. As such the monument provides and has the potential to provide further evidence, through analysis and excavation, which may contribute to our understanding of ecclesiastical architecture, burial practices, local history and traditional culture, place-name studies, parochial history and settlement evolution.

References

Bibliography

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.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

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.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

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).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

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Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.