Kirkmichael

Associated Chapels: (none known but see Chapelton in Cullicudden).

Parish Church: OS Ref: NGR NH 706659 H.E.S. No: NH76NW 1.00 Dedication: St Michael

The parsonage of this church had been erected into a prebend of Ross by 1429 and so continued up to the Reformation, the cure being a vicarage perpetual.

St. Michael's Church was the parish church and the origin of the name of Kirkmichael. In 1662 it became the church of the combined parishes of Kirkmichael and Cullicudden, now called Resolis. The building continued in use until a new church was built at Resolis in 1767. Thereafter it was allowed to fall into decay.

The remains of St. Michael's Church are oriented E to W. The central portion, measuring 7.1m square, was roofed in the 19th-century to be used as a private burial place of the Munros of Poyntzfield. The chancel was reused as a burial aisle by the Shaw-Mackenzie's of Newhall.

The chancel measures 5.8m by 5.4m externally with walls 0.7m wide. The most interesting feature of the building is the remains of a wall which projects westwards from the NW angle of the mausoleum. It is constructed of poorly-bonded, uncoursed, rubble-masonry, with small stone pinings. It is 3.6m in length, 1.3m high and 0.8m wide, with the remains of an archway visible on its inside face. It obviously pre-dates the mausoleum and chancel in construction, and is probably a section of the original N wall of the old church.

In recent years Kilmartin has been the focus of intense effort to repair the building and create a visitor attraction. The Kilmartin Trust was established to enable this project and their efforts have been stunningly successful.

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