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.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM5343_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600011245)

Summary

Description

The monument consists of the ruins of a small pre-Reformation Church situated within a graveyard in use.

It is dedicated to St Aula (St Olaf). This is the only example of a Norse Saint's commemoration in the Western Isles. It is oblong on plan, twin gabled and orientated NW-SE. The external dimensions of the building are 7.5m by 6.1m over walls 0.7-0.9m thick. The masonry is of random rubble with pinnings and lime mortar.

The gables are complete and set back twice: at wallhead (2m) and between skew-put (c.5.5m) and wallhead. The entrance (1.4m high and 0.9m wide) is in the SW wall. There are bar-holes for inner and outer doors. The exterior dressings are chamfered and groove marks on the SE side of the door suggest resetting. Above the entrance on the exterior is a stone carved with the letters: "IB MK" and the date 1681. These are now becoming illegible. The interior lintel of the doorway has fallen and is lying against the NE wall.

There are two windows. The one in the SW wall to the west of the entrance is flat headed and dressed with a deep exterior splay. The other (possibly older) window in the NW wall is a narrow slit window with a deep interior splay without dressings. There was probably a slate floor at some time. E of the church is a contiguous rectangular depression about 1.5m deep orientated in the same direction as the church and measuring 11.5m by 5m.

The area to be scheduled is rectangular and measures a maximum of 25m WNW-ESE by 10m NNE-SSW to include the church and buried archaeological features which may relate to earlier activity, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it preserves evidence of, and has the potential to provide evidence for, ecclesiastical architecture, the nature of Medieval Christian settlement and contemporary material culture in the Outer Isles. Archaeological investigation of the building and its environs may yield information about phases of use of the site.

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.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

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.