St Clement's Church (Scottish Gaelic: Tùr Chliamhainn, meaning Clement's Tower) is a late fifteenth-century or early sixteenth-century church in Rodel, Harris, Scotland, built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris. It is dedicated to Pope Clement I. It is sometimes known as Eaglais Roghadail or Rodal Church.
The church was built using local Lewisian gneiss rock. Its ground plan is cruciform and there is a tower at the west end, accessible through a door at the west end of the nave and a set of stone staircases and wooden ladders. The choir and the sanctuary with the high altar, which used to be separated by the nave by a wooden screen, are located at the opposite east end of the church. In the transepts leading off from the nave on both sides, there are additional chapels, the entrance door points nord and leads to nave. The architectural style is essentially that of 1520 to 1550.
In 1528, Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, 8th Chief, prepared for himself a magnificent wall tomb on the south side of the choir - possibly the finest medieval wall tomb in Scotland, being crowned by an arch and ornated by carvings of biblical design. The 9th Chief, Alasadair or Alexander's son William, had his grave prepared in the south wall of the nave in 1539. In the south transept, there is a third grave probably belonging to John MacLeod of Minginish, the 10th Chief. There are five more grave slabs leaning against the wall of the north transept. The graveyard surrounding the church contains a number of MacLeod tombs.
Historyedit
According to Dean Donald Munro in his 1549 work about the Western Isles,[1] the church was built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris, who lived in Dunvegan Castle in Skye, probably from about 1520, and is not considered the first church on the site although there is no clear evidence of an older Celtic church. Munro described the church as a monastery, but as there is no evidence hinting to a monastic community, this expression is believed to refer to a minister, and with it to an important parish church. It was a Catholic church before falling into disuse shortly after its completion around 1560 as a consequence of the reformation, but the churchyard continued to be used as a MacLeod burial site. The church's decayed roof was renewed in 1784 by Captain Alexander MacLeod of Berneray, but burned down shortly after and had to be rebuilt once again in 1787. In the 19th century it was used as a cow byre before being restored by Catherine Herbert Countess of Dunmore in 1873, and in 1913, the tower was rebuilt after being damaged by a lightning strike six years earlier. Today, the church is under the care of Historic Scotland. Notable 17th-century poet Mary Macleod (Mairi Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh) is said to be buried here.
Referencesedit
^"Abhainn Dearg Distillery | Isle of Lewis". Retrieved 5 December 2023.
External linksedit
Media related to St Clement's Church, Rodel at Wikimedia Commons
St. Clement's Church at Historic Environment Scotland
Panorama of St Clements Church (QuickTime required)
St. Clement's Church / Tur Chliamainn, Rodel
April 09, 2024
clement, church, rodel, clement, church, scottish, gaelic, tùr, chliamhainn, meaning, clement, tower, late, fifteenth, century, early, sixteenth, century, church, rodel, harris, scotland, built, chiefs, macleods, harris, dedicated, pope, clement, sometimes, kn. St Clement s Church Scottish Gaelic Tur Chliamhainn meaning Clement s Tower is a late fifteenth century or early sixteenth century church in Rodel Harris Scotland built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris It is dedicated to Pope Clement I It is sometimes known as Eaglais Roghadail or Rodal Church St Clement s Church RodelNative name Scottish Gaelic Tur ChliamhainnSaint Clement s church photographed from the pathway leading up to the main entranceCoordinates57 44 23 N 6 57 39 W 57 73967 N 6 960783 W 57 73967 6 960783BuiltEarly 16th CenturyBuilt forAlasdair Crotach MacLeodListed Building Category ADesignated5 October 1971Reference no LB12912Location in the Outer Hebrides Contents 1 Architecture 2 History 3 References 4 External linksArchitecture edit nbsp Alasdair Crotach s wall tombThe church was built using local Lewisian gneiss rock Its ground plan is cruciform and there is a tower at the west end accessible through a door at the west end of the nave and a set of stone staircases and wooden ladders The choir and the sanctuary with the high altar which used to be separated by the nave by a wooden screen are located at the opposite east end of the church In the transepts leading off from the nave on both sides there are additional chapels the entrance door points nord and leads to nave The architectural style is essentially that of 1520 to 1550 In 1528 Alasdair Crotach MacLeod 8th Chief prepared for himself a magnificent wall tomb on the south side of the choir possibly the finest medieval wall tomb in Scotland being crowned by an arch and ornated by carvings of biblical design The 9th Chief Alasadair or Alexander s son William had his grave prepared in the south wall of the nave in 1539 In the south transept there is a third grave probably belonging to John MacLeod of Minginish the 10th Chief There are five more grave slabs leaning against the wall of the north transept The graveyard surrounding the church contains a number of MacLeod tombs History editAccording to Dean Donald Munro in his 1549 work about the Western Isles 1 the church was built for the Chiefs of the MacLeods of Harris who lived in Dunvegan Castle in Skye probably from about 1520 and is not considered the first church on the site although there is no clear evidence of an older Celtic church Munro described the church as a monastery but as there is no evidence hinting to a monastic community this expression is believed to refer to a minister and with it to an important parish church It was a Catholic church before falling into disuse shortly after its completion around 1560 as a consequence of the reformation but the churchyard continued to be used as a MacLeod burial site The church s decayed roof was renewed in 1784 by Captain Alexander MacLeod of Berneray but burned down shortly after and had to be rebuilt once again in 1787 In the 19th century it was used as a cow byre before being restored by Catherine Herbert Countess of Dunmore in 1873 and in 1913 the tower was rebuilt after being damaged by a lightning strike six years earlier Today the church is under the care of Historic Scotland Notable 17th century poet Mary Macleod Mairi Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh is said to be buried here References edit Abhainn Dearg Distillery Isle of Lewis Retrieved 5 December 2023 External links edit nbsp Media related to St Clement s Church Rodel at Wikimedia Commons St Clement s Church at Historic Environment Scotland Panorama of St Clements Church QuickTime required St Clement s Church Tur Chliamainn Rodel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Clement 27s Church Rodel amp oldid 1212269770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
