Chapel Finian

3D Model

Chapel Finian is a simple stone chapel built on the west shores of the Machars of Wigtownshire. It was excavated by CA Ralegh Radford and the DGNHAS in 1950, and is now a Historic Scotland Property in Care.

The chapel shares some characteristics with other earlier medieval chapels in the area, and with some early Irish churches, but with notable differences. The regular butresses along each wall and at the corners are unusual, and the position of the doorway on the south wall is unlike the Irish style.

The surrounding enclosure is similar to that constructed around St Ninian’s Chapel on the Isle of Whithorn, which may date to around 1300. It’s possible that Chapel Finian was built earlier than this, and Radford suggested a date of around 900 to 1000. There is no reliable dating evidence however, and it is possible that the site comprises early and late phases spanning the early and later medieval periods.

Read more at HES