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West Kintyre

Clachan Church Grave Slabs

The village of Clachan is near the north western tip of Kintyre, and served for many years as the ecclesiastical centre for north Kintyre.
The church was built around 1760 to replace an earlier building. Fragments of stones on the site suggest a very early Christian church, possibly dedicated to Columbanus, a disciple of St Columba.
Several of the stones are early medieval and one slab shows an extremely well carved side, decorated with a regular pattern of rectangles. Though most of the stones are very worn, the quality of the carving is striking. Many of the grave slabs are thought to commemorate the chiefs of Clan McAllister.
Though not as impressive as the grave slabs displayed at Saddell Abbey on the east coast of Kintyre, the Clachan stones are worth visiting.