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Ballachly chapel and graveyard is a medieval religious site situated in Caithness, north-east Scotland, approximately 90 metres south-west of the settlement of Ballachly. The chapel represents a small parochial or domestic place of worship, typical of medieval rural communities in the far north of Scotland. Such chapels frequently served local populations and may have been associated with a larger parish church or monastic establishment.
The graveyard surrounding the chapel indicates sustained use of the site for Christian burial over generations, a common pattern at Scottish medieval chapels. The landscape around Ballachly sits upon bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, formed during the Middle Devonian period and composed of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This geology shaped the local building materials available to medieval builders and determined the character of the surrounding terrain.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under statutory designation SM2704, recognising its archaeological and historical significance as evidence of medieval ecclesiastical activity in Caithness.
Ballachly,chapel and graveyard 90m SW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2704. View the official record →
Ballachly chapel and graveyard is a medieval religious site situated in Caithness, north-east Scotland, approximately 90 metres south-west of the settlement of Ballachly. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2704.
Ballachly,chapel and graveyard 90m SW of dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a chapel and graveyard. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Ballachly,chapel and graveyard 90m SW of is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2704.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Berriedale Water, cairn 250m NNW of Millery (6.8 km), Dun Burn, cairn 200m NE of An Dun Broch (7.4 km), An Dun, broch, Berriedale (7.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Ballachly,chapel and graveyard 90m SW of's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Ballachly,chapel and graveyard 90m SW of stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.