Like so much rubble

Our intended destination for our drive to Port Weymss was the ruins of St. Columba's Church on Orsay (or St. Orain's Church, depending on source).  We also wanted to visit the Rinns Lighthouse (built by the Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson in 1825), before returning to Port Weymss.

In total, we anticipated a couple hours excursion at most.

March 23, 2017  Orsay Island, Rinns Lighthouse and St. Columba's Church ruin, center

The small isle of Orsay was near, but we could not find a boat to take us over.  Keep in mind, the channel between Port Weymss and Orsay has a fast race, and requires a helmsman who is knowledgeable of the waters.  This place is the windward side of the North Atlantic.

March 23, 2017  Darla at Port Weymss (Islay) in front of St. Columba's Church (Orsay) 

We were intrigued by the story.   Building the Rhinns (Rinns) lighthouse in 1824 was inseparably linked to the Orsay church ruins.  Once again (not that we need further proof), it reflected an inhuman indifference.

During construction of the lighthouse in 1824, many early medieval grave slabs from the Orsay churchyard were dug up, and then simply disposed of by tossing them into crevices and crannies of the adjacent rock...as if they were so much rubble back fill.

April 2, 2018 Grave slab fragment, Islay Museum

If there is a positive side to the episode, some of the broken grave slab fragments have been recovered, and are now on display in Islay's Museum at Port Charlotte.


The attached photo must serve by way of an example.  The Orsay slab fragments are in the Islay Museum of Life.  However, I do not have a photo of them. 

[We visited Islay again this past Easter (2018).  During our first trip to Islay in 2017, the museum was not open.  In 2018, we landed on Islay from the Feolin ferry at Port Askaig, after a circuitous and more adventurous route from Oban to Tayvallich.  And then a rigid inflatable passenger boat from mainland Scotland over to Jura.]

The two grave slab fragments shown in the photo were relocated for protection from Kilchoman churchyard.  This small museum contains quite a date range of Islay artifacts, including the ignominiously discarded grave slabs from Orsay church.

The earliest of the Orsay slabs was estimated as possibly being from the late 500s...essentially concurrent with St. Columba.  Other Orsay slabs date to the 700s and 800s.

The existing church ruin is considered late medieval.  But it was likely built over an earlier sanctuary.  Put in perspective, the medieval church was built perhaps 500 years after the initial church on Orsay was founded.  The Orsay church is said to have been roofed and furnished by John I (MacDonald), Lord of the Isles, in 1380.  So, this is an ancient church by any measure.


A note is warranted regarding the name of the church ruin on Orsay.  It is confusing, at least to the novice history buffs on this "side of the pond".  Canmore's website (Historic Environment Scotland) refers to the church as "St. Orain's".

The Ordinance Survey map, however, lists it as St. Columba's Church, primarily because locals insist that it was dedicated to St. Columba.  Indeed, records do suggest that.  Exchequer Rolls dating to 1507 refer to it as "St. Columba's Church".

Perhaps both of these could be true.  St. Orain's seems to have been built inside a walled compound.  That may account for the difference.  Canmore does not typically make mistakes with their archeological notes.  But then neither does the Ordnance Survey.  To avoid the difference, most refer to it as "Orsay Church".  That works.