Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations Â»

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places Â»
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom Scotland Dumfries and Galloway Chapel Finian
AO Edited

Chapel Finian

Named after a 6th-century saint, who was also a scholar.

Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

Added By
katielou106
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Looking out to sea where pilgrims would have landed.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The ruined chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The entry way to the chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The boundary wall.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

This small chapel was named after the 6th-century Irish saint, St Findbar, a scholar and monastic founder who is said to have taught St. Columba. St Findbar, or Finnian, was educated at Whithorn and died in 579 CE.

The chapel was most likely built at some point in the 10th or 11th-century. Although it is possible that this was not the first chapel to be built at this site.

It's located in a rather bleak, coastal location. This position is due to the fact the nearby beach was used as a landing spot for pilgrims heading to the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn.

The chapel is a very simple design, it had a single rectangular room with an entry point in the south wall surrounded by a dry-stone perimeter wall. The two long walls were buttressed with three buttresses. Large upright stones were set on their edges to form the foundations and door jambs.

The site was excavated in the 1950s, although little was discovered about the internal layout of the chapel. 

The boundary wall would have contained a timber-built house for the priest, a burial ground, and a well, which can still be located. The well was said to have healing properties.

The setting is a little wild and windy, which helps you imagine the gratitude that early pilgrims must have felt when they finally arrived here by boat.

Related Tags

History & Culture Churches Ruins

Know Before You Go

There is a small pull in across the road from the chapel where you can park.

Community Contributors

Added By

katielou106

Edited By

rbenn250

  • rbenn250

Published

May 16, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Chapel Finian
A747
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG8 9RT
United Kingdom
54.805635, -4.680173
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Druchtag Mote

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Drumtroddan Rock Art

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Drumtroddan Standing Stones

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Scotland

Places 2

Nearby Places

Druchtag Mote

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Drumtroddan Rock Art

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Drumtroddan Standing Stones

Mochrum, Scotland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Scotland

Places 2

Related Places

  • Ruins of the church in Dvorine from above.

    Banja, Serbia

    Dvorine

    The remains of a luxurious 14th-century church built by the last despot of Serbia.

  • Birkenhead Priory

    Birkenhead, England

    Birkenhead Priory

    The oldest standing building on Merseyside is special for its rich history as a Benedictine monastery and its unique connection to the origins of the Mersey Ferry.

  • Church of St. Sophia in Nessebar

    Nessebar, Bulgaria

    Hagia Sophia Church

    This fifth-century church is one of the oldest Christian sites in the Balkans.

  • Basilica of Panagia Limeniotissa 

    Paphos, Cyprus

    Basilica of Panagia Limeniotissa

    The ruins of a fifth-century church dedicated to Our Lady of the Harbor.

  • The remains of Lennel Kirk.

    Lennel, Scotland

    Lennel Kirk

    This Norman church survived the Reformation before suffering 300 years of neglect.

  • DOMUnder

    Utrecht, Netherlands

    DOMunder Subterranean Ruins

    Underground attraction offering tours of the foundational ruins of a church nave that collapsed in 1674.

  • Leiden, Netherlands

    Vrouwekerk

    Only a few walls remain of the last church the Pilgrims used before they sailed to North America.

  • Old church ruins.

    Alassa, Cyprus

    The Church of St Nicholas

    These ruins disappear beneath the waves every winter.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.