Church Of The Three Holy Brethren, Lochgoilhead

Church Of The Three Holy Brethren, Lochgoilhead

This is a harled, skew-gabled, T-plan church with a session house extension to the south, standing within an L-plan graveyard at the head of Loch Goil. Although the building appears to be 18th century in character, it is a multi-phase structure with a medieval core concealed beneath 18th and 19th century additions and alterations. The church retains significant pre-Reformation and Renaissance monuments and is little altered overall.

Documentary evidence from Papal documents dated 1379 and 1405 confirms that the church existed by the late 14th century. However, the unusual dedication to The Three Holy Brethren, thought to be 6th century Irish saints, suggests that a church may have occupied this site for several centuries before written records began. The longitudinal plan of the 14th century church is retained in the east and west aisles, and a significant amount of the fabric of these aisle walls is believed to be medieval. The north aisle was added in the 18th century, forming the T-plan. The session house, surmounted by a birdcage bellcote, was added to the south behind the central pulpit in 1832. It is likely that the large windows in the west and east aisles, including the two lancet-glazed round-headed windows flanking the session house on the south elevation, were formed or remodelled at this time. A small north porch was added by Campbell Douglas in 1894–5 and was slightly extended in the late 20th century to form toilet facilities.

The interior retains the 18th century T-plan, focussing on a pulpit situated at the centre of the south wall, with the session house situated behind. The panelled timber pulpit was brought from Kiltearn Church, Ross and Cromarty, in 1955 and is thought to date from 1791. At the west end is the early 19th century Drimsynie Loft, a gallery supported on two timber columns. The east arm of the church contains the chancel of the medieval chancel. In the north wall of the former chancel is a tomb-recess, probably of 16th century date. It is round-arched with two carved slabs forming a tomb-chest; above the arch is a cornice with quatrefoil carvings, and three flat niches with rib-arched canopies and corbelled bases with shields, two of which bear Campbell arms.

On the east wall of the former chancel is a large, early Renaissance mural monument which incorporates the blocked doorway of the former Ardkinglas burial aisle, demolished in 1850. The monument is composed of an ashlar wall with a doorway to centre and two pairs of distinctive attached columns with bulbous finials. Above is a two-tier pediment with scrolled edges and further columns and finials, all surrounding a central armorial panel with a Latin inscription, translated as 'Here lies James Campbell of Ardkinglas, knight, who died..'. The monument is not dated, possibly because it was built during the lifetime of the person it commemorates; it is thought most likely to have been Sir James Campbell, Comptroller of the Royal Hospital (1584–5), who died in 1592.

The coombed, timber boarded ceiling was installed in 1888, and the existing pews date from 1895. The font is a sandstone block with bevelled edges and central basin, standing on a modern pedestal; its origin and date are unknown.

The building is constructed of harled rubble with some droved ashlar margins and chamfered jambs and lintels to openings of the north aisle and doorways of the south wall. It has timber sash and case windows with varying numbers of panes. The pitched roof features sandstone skews and cavetto skewputts (excluding the session house). The session house has a coped ashlar ridge stack with circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods are fitted throughout.

The L-plan graveyard contains a number of 18th and 19th century headstones, several carved with symbols of death, occupation or decorative devices. A truncated obelisk with strapwork detailing, topped by an urn, bears a long inscription to Colin Campbell of Drimsynie (died 1833).

The majority of the graveyard is bounded by a random rubble wall, which at points is incorporated into adjoining buildings. In the south wall is a gateway aligned with the centre of the church, with circular rubble gatepiers topped by wrought iron Art Nouveau ogee cages and Art Nouveau style cast-iron gates. The east gateway has square gatepiers with cast-iron gates.