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Bay of Meil chapel is a medieval religious structure situated 250 metres west of Holland in Orkney, Scotland. The building occupies land underlain by Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposits formed during the Middle Devonian period. This durable local geology provided accessible stone for medieval builders throughout Orkney's ecclesiastical construction.
The chapel represents the medieval Christian infrastructure that characterised the islands during the later medieval period. Its location in the Bay of Meil area reflects the distribution of small parochial chapels that served farming communities across Orkney. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM2438, recognising its historical significance within the islands' heritage landscape.
The site's survival as an archaeological monument offers evidence of medieval religious life and settlement patterns in Orkney's rural localities during a period when the islands were economically prosperous and densely settled. The chapel's relationship to the wider landscape and nearby Holland demonstrates the organisation of medieval parish life in these northern islands.
Bay of Meil, chapel 250m W of Holland is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2438. View the official record →
Bay of Meil chapel is a medieval religious structure situated 250 metres west of Holland in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2438.
Bay of Meil, chapel 250m W of Holland dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a chapel 250m w of holland. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Bay of Meil, chapel 250m W of Holland 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 SM2438.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Head of Work,long cairn (2.2 km), Car Ness Battery,Car Ness (3 km), Earl's Palace, Kirkwall (3.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Bay of Meil, chapel 250m W of Holland'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.
Bay of Meil, chapel 250m W of Holland stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.