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Linton Chapel and Graveyard is a medieval religious site located 140 metres to the north-east of Linton on the island of Shapinsay in Orkney, Scotland. The chapel and its associated burial ground occupy ground underlain by Middle Old Red Sandstone bedrock, comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited during the Middle Devonian period. This geology is typical of Orkney's landscape and would have provided the stone-building materials available to medieval communities in the islands.
The chapel represents an important element of Orkney's medieval parish infrastructure, when such small ecclesiastical buildings served the spiritual and burial needs of local populations. The survival of both the chapel structure and its graveyard together demonstrates the continued use of this site as a focus for community life and Christian practice over an extended period.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the designation SM1482, recognising its significance as a scheduled ancient monument. The site's location on Shapinsay, an island with numerous archaeological remains from various periods, places it within a landscape rich in evidence of human settlement and religious practice in the North Atlantic.
Linton, chapel & graveyard 140m ENE of, Shapinsay is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1482. View the official record →
Linton Chapel and Graveyard is a medieval religious site located 140 metres to the north-east of Linton on the island of Shapinsay in Orkney, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM1482.
Linton, chapel & graveyard 140m ENE of, Shapinsay dates from the medieval period, and is classified as a chapel & graveyard 140m ene of, shapinsay. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Linton, chapel & graveyard 140m ENE of, Shapinsay 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 SM1482.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Unyatuak,mound 180m W of Bonnyhill,Monquhanny (1.3 km), Mor Stein or Standing Stone of Shapinsay (1.9 km), Castle Bloody,chambered cairn (2.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Linton, chapel & graveyard 140m ENE of, Shapinsay'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.
Linton, chapel & graveyard 140m ENE of, Shapinsay stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.