Kishorn Graveyard
- Where is it?
It is not visible from the road. Past Kshorn village, you will
see a wall surrounding the ruins of Courthil House. There is parking
for one car by the roadside, and further parking inside the gate.
Follow the track shoreward, and you will see the new graveyard,
with the old one behind it.
In the middle of the old graveyuard is what is believed to be the
fondation of St. donan's Chapel. This may be the oldest graveyard
in the area as St. Donan came to this area one hundred years before
St. Maelrubha.
Applecross
Graveyard -Where is it?
After ascending the famous Bealach-na-Ba road and descending to
sea level, turn right and follow the road round the bay, past applecross
House to the Church with the graveyard beside it. This is where
St. Maelrubha founded his monastery in 673A.D. An area of six square
miles around was a sanctuary, thus the Gaelic name for Applecross
- A Chomraich. St. Maelrubha travelled widely until his death and
burial here in 722A.D. The Church, now seldom used except for funerals,
was built in 1817 during the time of Rev. John MacQueen. He too
lies buried here. Fragments of carved stones form the graveyard
are in the Church for safe keeping.
Annat Graveyard
- Where is it?
Pass Loch Torridon Hotel and just past Annat village you will see
the graveyard on your right. The foundations of an ancient building
were discovered here and are probably another site of worship.
Nearby there was a well credited with miraculous healing properties.
Nowadays, peoople seem to prefer the powers of modern medicine and
it has fallen into disease.
General Information
Our graveyards are peaceful places giving a sense of continuity
to our communities.
Generation after generation lie in these sacred plots which are
situated at the head of sea lochs and enclosed by stone walls, looking
across the water to the hills beyond.
We believe that they have been in constant use since the coming
of the Saints and perhaps, much longer, as the Saints would have
established themselves in centres of population, wisely adapting
local customs to suit Christianity.
Nowadays, we have official gravediggers, but until recent times
it was the custom that the relatives of the deceased dug the graves,
or arrange for this to be done. Each family knew their own plot
and a glance around an old graveyard will show unamed "marker
stones" which were known to the families concerned. Gravestones
with names and dates are only about 250 years old, and belong to
the better-off members of society.
Since legislation was passed forbidding further interments in the
old graveyards, these have had to be extended, some several times.
An occasional funeral has taken place in old graveyards when perhaps
the last surviving member of a family has died, usually at a great
age, but we may well have seen the last of them.
Strangely, there is not graveyard at Shieldaig, though when the
site of the modern housing scheme was excavated, remains of a prehistoric
burial site were found. Most Shieldaig people are buried in Annat.
Published by Lochcarron Smithy Heritage Centre
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