Kilchoman

Not to be confused withKilchoan.

This article is about the village. For the distillery, seeKilchoman distillery.

Kilchoman Cross

Kilchoman(/kɪlˈxɒmən,-ˈhɒm-/kil-(K)HOM-ən;Scottish Gaelic:Cill Chomain[kʲʰiːʎˈxɔmɛɲ]) is a small settlement and large parish on theScottishisland ofIslay,within the unitary council ofArgyll and Bute.

Settlement

Ruined parish church

The settlement of Kilchoman consists of a small number of houses gathered around the 19th century church, a short way above the beach and dunes ofMachir Bay,"locally known as Kilchoman Beach or Machrie Beach."The site is ancient, dating back to the early Christianization of the Argyll seaboard.The current-day church was built in 1827 to serve a large community that has since disappeared.It ceased use as a place of worship in 1977.Prior to 1827, a medieval church stood on the location of the now ruined church and before that, an early chapel stood there.The burial ground enclosing the church contains many medieval and renaissance sculptures, and notablehigh cross,the Kilchoman Cross, dating from the 14th or 15th century. The sculptor of the cross belonged to theIona School.

Close to the settlement is another cemetery, the Kilchoman Military Cemetery, maintained by theCommonwealth War Graves Commission.This contains the remains of victims of the sinking ofHMS Otrantoin 1918.

A short distance east isKilchoman Distillery.

Choughsbreed in the area of farmland around the settlement, and the south shores of Loch Gorm,representing around 10% of the population of this vulnerable bird in theBritish Isles.

Parish of Kilchoman

Loch Gorm in the central part of the parish

The parish covers the west part of Islay, covering theRhinns of Islay,and the area around and north of Loch Gorm, and bounded to the east byLoch GruinartandLoch Indaaltotalling around 100 square miles (250 km²).It thus includes the settlements ofArdnave,Bruichladdich,Claddach,Conisby,Kilchiaran,Kilnave,Nerabus,Port Charlotte,PortnahavenandPort Wemyss.

See also

• List of listed buildings in Kilchoman, Argyll and Bute

Bibliography

• Walker, Frank Arneil (2000).Argyll & Bute.Buildings of Scotland. Penguin. pp. 544–545.ISBN978-0300096705.
• The New Statistical Account of Scotland: Renfrew, Argyle.W. Blackwood and Sons. 1845. pp.644–659.
• Newton, Norman (1988).Islay.Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 65–67.ISBN9780715389966.

External links

• Carved Stones of Kilchoman Parish.An 1885 account
• Kilchoman atIslay History Blog