Last night a double rainbow arched cleanly over the burial ground at Kilmuir — Cille Mhuire — which rises, just slightly, out of the flat expanse of the Hougharry machair. This evening we walked there, to the graves and the crumbling kirk. Among the remains is a gneiss cross, still bearing its boss though both arms are lost, along with other roughly cut stones likely shaped in the 10th or 11th century1Kilmuir Burial Ground (Post Medieval). Canmore ID 318017. http://canmore.org.uk/site/318017.
The roofless shell of the church stands over the site. Built in 1764, rectangular and plain, it replaced an earlier church known to have stood there by 1549. It remained in use until 1894, when a new one was built further inland.
The burial ground dates from the late 1800s and is still in use. Within its bounds lie three war dead from 1914–18, seven from 1939–45, three unidentified Merchant Navy seamen, and one unidentified airman of the RAF2Kilmuir Old Church (19th Century). Alternative Name(s) St Mary’s Church. Canmore ID 238305. http://canmore.org.uk/site/238305. The place is quiet. The stones speak plainly enough.
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- 2Kilmuir Old Church (19th Century). Alternative Name(s) St Mary’s Church. Canmore ID 238305. http://canmore.org.uk/site/238305
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