The Kildalton Cross, Islay: The Finest Early Christian Cross in Scotland
At a glance
| What | Free-standing carved high cross in the kirkyard of a ruined chapel |
| Date | Probably second half of the 8th century |
| Famous for | Often called the finest surviving Celtic cross in Scotland, still in its original place |
| Where | Kildalton, at the end of the road past Ardbeg, south-east Islay |
| In care of | Historic Environment Scotland · scheduled monument SM13236 |
| Entry | Free, open at all times |
Why it matters
Most early Christian crosses in Scotland survive as fragments in museums, or were knocked down and put back together. The Kildalton Cross is different. Carved from a single piece of stone around 1,200 years ago, it still stands complete in the kirkyard where it was raised, beside the roofless chapel of Kildalton on the south-east coast of Islay. It is often called the finest surviving Celtic cross in Scotland, and few visitors who make the drive out past the distilleries would argue.
The cross
It is a ringed high cross of the same family as the great 8th-century crosses on Iona, where the island monastery led the church of the west. The best-known panel shows the Virgin and Child, a design close to images on St Martin’s and St Oran’s crosses on Iona and to a page of the Book of Kells. Around it are scenes from the Bible and raised bosses carved with coiling serpents. Lichen and weather have softened the detail, so low sunlight, early or late in the day, brings out the carving best.
The name Kildalton comes from the Gaelic Cill Daltain, the church of the foster son, usually taken to mean St John the Evangelist, the disciple Christ entrusted to his mother.
The chapel and kirkyard
The cross stands beside the ruined medieval parish church of Kildalton, and both are protected as one scheduled monument. A plainer late medieval cross stands close by, and the kirkyard holds carved grave slabs of the kind found across the old Lordship of the Isles.
Getting there
From Port Ellen, take the road east past Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg and keep going along the single-track road until it reaches the chapel, about seven miles in all. There is room to park by the kirkyard gate. The site is free and always open. It is a lovely road, but watch for cyclists and passing places.
Around Kildalton
The road to the cross is the most famous stretch of whisky road in the world. Within a few miles you pass Laphroaig, Lagavulin beside the ruin of Dunyvaig Castle, and Ardbeg, the three great peated malts of the south coast. In Port Ellen itself, Port Ellen Distillery has been rebuilt and reopened after decades as a lost legend. On the far side of the island, Islay was the heart of the Lordship of the Isles, ruled by Clan Donald from Finlaggan. For the whole island, see our Islay and Jura whisky trail. For more stones with a story, see our guide to the famous stones of Scotland.
Sources
- Historic Environment Scotland — Kildalton Cross; scheduled monument SM13236.
- RCAHMS, Argyll: An Inventory of the Monuments, vol. 5: Islay, Jura, Colonsay and Oronsay (1984).
- Wikipedia — Kildalton Cross (dating and Iona parallels).