Kirkmadrine Chapel And Stones

When I plan a road trip, I like to visit different types of places. I spotted a chapel en route to the Mull of Galloway and thought it worth a visit. It turned out the be a pretty little chapel with ancient memorial stones.

The Kirkmadine Chapel has a glass-fronted foyer, behind which are memorial stones that were recovered from the churchyard sometime in the 1840s. Before we venture into the chapel, let me tell you about these fascinating stones.

The Kirkmadrine Stones contain three of the oldest Christian memorials in Scotland. Three have been dated back to 500AD, while the other stones date from between the 700s to 1100AD. It confirms the existence of a Christian church at Kirkmadrine from the late 500AD. They help to understand how northern Britain emerged from the shadow of Rome in 400AD.

They have Latin inscriptions and Greek chi-rho (form of Christogram) crosses, with inscriptions that commemorate priests.

One reads "Here lie the holy and chief priests, Ides, Viventius and Mavorius", while another commemorates someone named "Florentius". Another refers to the Book of Revelations, "the beginning and the end", although this may not be a memorial stone but a stone inscription from within the church.

This modern chapel now occupies the site of what was the parish church of Toskerton, now Kirkmadrine, which was united to Stoneykirk in 1618. The building is no longer used as a church.

Kirkmadrine was dedicated to St. Medran of Muskerry, an early bishop of Ossory, and belonged to Whithorn Priory. Although Galloway was British in early medieval times, it had strong networks with Ireland.

The parking area is at the gate of the chapel, simply follow the grass path up to the chapel itself.

The chapel is a Scheduled Monument, managed by Historic Environment Scotland.