Scheduled MonumentsScotlandKilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard
Medieval · St fillan's church and churchyard

Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard

Scotland
HES SM9915
Period
Medieval
Site type
St fillan's church and churchyard
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland

Overview

History & significance

St Fillan's Church and Churchyard, Kilallan is a medieval ecclesiastical site in Renfrewshire, Scotland, dedicated to Saint Fillan, an early Christian figure venerated across central Scotland. The church and its associated burial ground occupy a landscape underlain by mafic volcanic rocks from the Dinantian period, formed over 300 million years ago during the Mississippian epoch when lava flows and explosive volcanic activity shaped the geology of this region. These ancient extrusive rocks and tuffs provide the foundation upon which the medieval community built their place of worship.

The site represents a characteristic medieval parish church and graveyard, reflecting the spiritual and social role such institutions played in rural Renfrewshire communities. The dedication to Saint Fillan, whose cult was particularly strong in the west-central Lowlands, suggests the church may have been established to serve a scattered agricultural population across several centuries of the medieval period.

The site is protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9915, ensuring the preservation of this important record of medieval religious life and burial practice in the region.

Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9915. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard?

St Fillan's Church and Churchyard, Kilallan is a medieval ecclesiastical site in Renfrewshire, Scotland, dedicated to Saint Fillan, an early Christian figure venerated across central Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM9915.

What period does Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard date from?

Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a st fillan's church and churchyard. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard?

Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard 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 SM9915.

What other scheduled monuments are near Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Gryffe Wraes Cottage, anti-aircraft site 185m WNW of (2.4 km), Houston South Mound, cairn 155m W of Gryffe High School (3 km), Back O' Hill Farm, cup marked stone 235m WNW of (3.5 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard report
Or see a real report first
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard

Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard stands on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Dinantian, bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.

The wider landscape

Around Kilallan, St Fillan's church and churchyard

Battle of LangsideBattle (1568) · ~13 milesBattle of Loudoun HillBattle (1307) · ~24 miles