Introduction
This evening, I am posting information on the village of Kilmun in Argyll and Bute. This includes St Munn’s Church, a rich historical and ecclesiastic site.
Information on Kilmun
Key facts and information:
- A Christian community on the site was founded by Fintan Munnu from Ireland around AD 600.
- Munnu died in AD 635 and was later canonised. After Mannu’s death the site continued as an important sacred place with patronage from the local Campbell clan.
- Attached to the church is the Argyll Mausoleum. This building houses the bodies of nearly all the chiefs of Clan Campbell who died between 1453 and 1949. Here is a video clip of the mausoleum interior.
- The church burial ground contains many ancient and interesting grave-markers including:
- An 8th century slab which bears a sunken Latin cross with slightly curved shaft.
- Early medieval ‘hogback’ gravemarker possibly dating from the 9th century.
- Memorial to Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman of modern times to graduate in medicine (1849). She was also the first female to be placed on the British Medical Register (1859). Elizabeth Blackwell made frequent visits to Kilmun.
- Inscribed stones from the 1600s onwards, many with interesting stories.
- The ancient tower (now detached from the church) is in poor state of repair. Otherwise the site is in excellent condition and contains information boards to assist visitors’ understanding.
- The site would have originally been used for worship in the Celtic Church, then Roman Catholic and now Presbyterian.
Kilmun is located close to the Firth of Clyde, near Dunoon in the west of Scotland. Travelling time (car) from central Glasgow is about two hours which includes a short ferry trip from Gourock.
Here is a video clip of Holy Loch taken from Kilmun
More information for the visitor
The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland contains a section on the Clyde Coast plus a vast array of additional information on Scotland and it’s islands. The ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This is also available via Kindle.