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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
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Looking out to sea where pilgrims would have landed.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
Looking out to sea where pilgrims would have landed.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The entry way to the chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The boundary wall.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
The ruined chapel.   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
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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.

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

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katielou106

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rbenn250

  • rbenn250

Published

May 16, 2022

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Chapel Finian
A747
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, DG8 9RT
United Kingdom
54.805635, -4.680173
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Photo of Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Scotland

Places 2

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miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dumfries and Galloway

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Scotland

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