Scheduled MonumentsScotlandSt Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan
Laggan

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan

Scotland
HES SM5703
Site type
Laggan
Nation
Scotland
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab is a medieval ecclesiastical site located in Inverness-shire, in the Scottish Highlands. The monument comprises the ruins of a small church dedicated to Saint Kenneth, a figure venerated in the early Christian traditions of northern Scotland, together with an associated carved cross slab that demonstrates the religious significance of the settlement. The site sits upon bedrock of the Grampian Group, Neoproterozoic psammite and semipelite that underlies much of the Central Highlands, creating a landscape of moorland typical of the Inverness area.

The church structure and cross slab represent medieval ecclesiastical practice in the Highlands, when small rural churches served scattered communities and served as focal points for Christian worship and burial. Cross slabs of this period frequently marked significant graves or served devotional purposes within early Christian communities. The surviving remains testify to longstanding religious activity at Laggan, reflecting patterns of church foundation and settlement common throughout medieval Inverness-shire.

The monument is protected as a scheduled ancient monument under Historic Environment Scotland reference SM5703, recognising its archaeological and historical importance to Scotland's medieval heritage. The site contributes to understanding settlement patterns, religious organisation, and landscape use in the medieval Highlands.

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5703. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan?

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab is a medieval ecclesiastical site located in Inverness-shire, in the Scottish Highlands. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM5703.

Who is responsible for protecting St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan?

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan 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 SM5703.

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan'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.
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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Dun-da-Lamh, fort
Iron Age · Fort5.7 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan

St Kenneth's Church and cross slab, Laggan stands on Grampian Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite and semipelite.