Scheduled Monument

Nunton,St Mary's Chapel (Cladh Mhuire),chapel,BenbeculaSM5664

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
26/04/1993
Supplementary Information Updated
20/02/2023
Type
Ecclesiastical: chapel
Local Authority
Na h-Eileanan Siar
Parish
South Uist
NGR
NF 76637 53797
Coordinates
76637, 853797

Description

The monument consists of the roofless shell of a small church of late Medieval, pre-Reformation, date.

The church measures externally 7.55m by 4.8m, with walls 0.76m thick. Apart from collapse above the E window in the N wall, the building survives more or less intact to the wallhead, though a rise in ground level both inside and outside has resulted in the lower 1.0 to 1.5m of the walls being buried. The entrance, in the centre of the W

gable, is surmounted externally by a small square niche; in the E gable is a splayed slit window, covered by a lintel, and there are two other similar ones in each of the side walls.

The area to be scheduled comprises the chapel itself and an area of ground extending approximately 3m from its external wallface, in which evidence relating to its construction and use may survive. The area is rectangular, 13.5m E-W by 10.8m N-S, as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a late Medieval (pre-Reformation) ecclesiastical building, whose remains also have the potential, through archaeological excavation, to shed significant light on the building's internal liturgical arrangement and on the religious, social and cultural history of the later Middle Ages.

References

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NF 75 SE 4.

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.

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Printed: 19/07/2025 22:04