St Duthus' Chapel

 We drove to Tain today to Lidl, and to offload a ton of junk at the recycling centre, a neat site run, as seems usual in this part of the world, with great efficiency by two men who went through everything and put aside items for which they had a use.

While Mrs MW shopped I walked round to the northeast end of town to St Duthus' chapel, the oldest of three pre-Reformation churches in Tain. It stands on a mound, part of which may be man-made, and dates to the 13th century. Its main claim to fame is that, when Robert Bruce's wife, daughter and sisters sought protection in its sanctuary, they were nevertheless seized by William, earl of Ross, on behalf of the English.

Remarkably for such an ancient structure, the east (left), north and west walls all stand to roof-height. They are windowless, probably because they would have been exposed to the gales coming in off the Dornoch Firth.

The south wall, which would have had the entrance and still has one remaining window, has collapsed and is now crudely fenced off.

The building is a scheduled monument and has not been excavated. From the Statement of Scheduling - here - there is considerable potential in an excavation, not least because the site may hide an even older structure.

There's an extensive graveyard around the building full of the remains of Tain's worthies, and I spent a happy half-hour wandering around it looking at the gravestones. This one, to a section of the local Munro family, includes a father who died in 1866 aged 48, a wife who died aged 98, two daughters who died in Boston USA, one daughter who died in Tain, a son who died in New Zealand, and a George and Rolina Murray who died in Manitoba. Interestingly, it looks as if one entry, towards the bottom of the inscription, was removed.

I could have continued to wander around for hours but was pleased to leave this peaceful place in the hands of is regular residents.