Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona)
Grid reference
NM 286 245 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
128600 724500
Latitude
56.33498230348545
Longitude
-6.391732083941716
County
Argyllshire
Nearby places
Cill Mo-Neachdain, eccles. KKV (Iona) (0.06 miles)
St Mary's Chapel, KKV (Iona) (0.09 miles)
Reilig Orain, KKV (Iona) (0.09 miles)
St Oran's Chapel, KKV (Iona) (0.09 miles)
Tobar Odhrain, KKV (Iona) (0.12 miles)
Object Classification
Antiquity
Ecclesiastical
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
This is the Benedictine Abbey which was erected on the site of the ancient Columban monastery in, or shortly before, 1203, not without considerable controversy. NMRS: In 1499 the church became the Cathedral of the Bishops of the Isles. The earliest dedication of the church (as distinct from the monastery?) to the Virgin is so far recorded c. 1695 by Martin Martin. He describes it as 'built in form of a cross, the Choir 20 Yards long, the Cupilo 21 foot square, the Body of the Church of equal length with the Choir, and the two cross Isles half that Length. There are two Chappels on each side of the Choir, the entry to them opens with large Pillars, neatly carved in Basso Relevio, ... The Altar is large and of as fine marble as any I ever saw.'
Relationships with other parishes
Within Iona, former parish, KKV
Within Iona, former parish, KKV (formerly)
Relationships with other places
Adjacent Reilig Orain, KKV (Iona)
Names
3 head-names linked to this place ?Monasterium Sancti Columbae
Head name
Monasterium Sancti Columbae
Place
St Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona)
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Obsolete
Is this a current OS form? ?
No
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Monasterium Sancti Columbe 1389, Highland Papers
Historic formMonasterium Sancti Columbe Head nameMonasterium Sancti Columbae PlaceSt Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceHighland Papers, iv, 135 Date of citation1389 x 1389 Feature named in sourcemonastery |
MacPhail, J.R.N, 1914-34, Highland Papers (4 vols), Scottish History Society, Edinburgh.
Monasterio Sancti Columbe 1444, Highland Papers
Historic formMonasterio Sancti Columbe Head nameMonasterium Sancti Columbae PlaceSt Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceHighland Papers, i, 90 Date of citation1444 x 1444 |
MacPhail, J.R.N, 1914-34, Highland Papers (4 vols), Scottish History Society, Edinburgh.
St Mary's Abbey
Head name
St Mary's Abbey
Place
St Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona)
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Saints in this place-name
Mary, Mary the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady (ns) (certain)
Mary the Blessed Virgin (certain)
St Mary's Cathedral
Head name
St Mary's Cathedral
Place
St Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona)
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Obsolete
Is this a current OS form? ?
No
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
St Mary's Church 1695, Martin 1703
Historic formSt Mary's Church Head nameSt Mary's Cathedral PlaceSt Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceMartin 1703, 257 Notes on the context of this place-nameThe 1981 reprint is of the second edition of this work, published 1716. K. Ahronson has a date of 1994. |
Source code
Martin 1703
Author
Martin Martin
Source title
A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland
Year
1703
Notes
The 1981 reprint is of the second edition of this work, published 1716. K. Ahronson has a date of 1994.
St Mary's Cathedral 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formSt Mary's Cathedral Head nameSt Mary's Cathedral PlaceSt Mary's Abbey / Cathedral (Iona) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Saints in this place-name
Mary, Mary the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady (ns) (certain)
Mary the Blessed Virgin (certain)
Place-name data
The place-name data featured in this resource is copyright of the University of Glasgow.
Map Layers
The map interface was produced using the Leaflet.js library. Attribution for the base layers is as follows:
Default map:
Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community
Satellite map:
Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community
Satellite map with labels:
Base map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA, Imagery © Mapbox
Modern OS map:
Ordnance Survey OpenData. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2010)
OS 1840-1880 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
OS 1920-1933 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
