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Kensaleyre Church is a medieval religious site in Inverness-shire, Scotland, situated on Palaeocene basalt bedrock that forms part of the Hebridean Igneous Province. The dark, fractured volcanic stone beneath the site would have provided building material readily available to medieval masons. The church occupies a landscape rich in prehistoric activity, evidenced by two substantial cairns located 320 metres and 180 metres to the south-west, likely Bronze Age burial monuments that predate the church by over a thousand years.
The monument lies within an area of significant archaeological importance, where evidence of successive periods of settlement and ritual activity accumulated across millennia. The presence of both the earlier cairns and the later ecclesiastical building reflects the long-term significance of this location on the Scottish mainland.
Kensaleyre Church is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3511, recognising its historical importance and archaeological potential. The site's designation ensures that the church and its surrounding landscape, including the nearby prehistoric cairns, remain subject to statutory protection and informed management for future generations.
Kensaleyre Church,two cairns 320m & 180m SW of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3511. View the official record →
Kensaleyre Church is a medieval religious site in Inverness-shire, Scotland, situated on Palaeocene basalt bedrock that forms part of the Hebridean Igneous Province. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM3511.
Kensaleyre Church,two cairns 320m & 180m 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 SM3511.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Carn Liath,chambered cairn 380m SW of Kensaleyre Church (0.1 km), Dun Cruinn,fort,Kensaleyre (0.9 km), Kensaleyre Church, cairns and standing stones 1200m SSE of (1.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kensaleyre Church,two cairns 320m & 180m 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.
Kensaleyre Church,two cairns 320m & 180m SW of stands on Palaeocene basalt, bedrock that formed in the Paleocene. The rock here is basalt group.