Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St Ninian's Chapel, Southend (Kintyre)
Grid reference
NR 727 045 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
172700 604500
Latitude
55.28203916443369
Longitude
-5.5796184592857685
Altitude (metres)
10
County
Argyllshire
Nearby places
Kilmashenachan, ~eccles. SOE (Kintyre) (0 miles)
St Ninian's Well, Southend (Kintyre) (0.53 miles)
St Ninian's Lands, Southend, Kintyre (1.41 miles)
Kilmashenachan, settlement, SOE (Kintyre) (2.2 miles)
Kilbride, ~eccles. SOE (Kintyre) (2.67 miles)
Object Classification
Antiquity
Ecclesiastical
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
The chapel is on the north side of the tiny island of Sanda, off the south tip of Kintyre. There is an early medieval cross-slab at the site, and a 'St Ninian's Well' (q.v.) nearby, which is mentioned in c.1630. But early OS 6 inch maps (1st edn, 1843 x 1882; 2nd edn, 1892 x 1905) do not attribute any dedication to the chapel. In the early seventeenth century a story was recorded that fourteen sons of a holy Irish man, Senchan (Senchanij), were buried beside the chapel on the island of nearby Sanda, their bodies covered by seven large polished stones. A story was told about a shinty-ball being knocked into the burial ground by accident, and a fearful young man putting one hand and one foot into the sacred space to extricate the ball: 'During the middle of the night the youth expires. All praise Go, and subsequently venerate the sacred bodies with greater devotion' (Cox 2010, 90-93). The same source records the presence of 'the forearm of St Ultan' on the island (brachium Sancti Ultani) which, enclosed in a silver case, was carefully preserved ... by a nobleman of the renowned family of the MacDonnells' (ibid).
Relationships with other parishes
Relationships with other places
Within St Ninian's Lands, Southend, Kintyre
Adjacent St Ninian's Well, Southend (Kintyre)
Names
2 head-names linked to this place ?Cella Sancti Adamnani
Head name
Cella Sancti Adamnani
Place
St Ninian's Chapel, Southend (Kintyre)
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Probable
The status of this name is
Obsolete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
Cella Sancti Adamnani 1384, Cox, 2010
Historic formCella Sancti Adamnani Head nameCella Sancti Adamnani PlaceSt Ninian's Chapel, Southend (Kintyre) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceCox, 2010, 65 Date of citation1384 x 1387 |
Source code
Cox, 2010
Author
Richard Cox
Source title
Scottish Gaelic Sanda and its Aliases
Journal
Journal of Scottish Name Studies
Pages
61-102
Volume
4
Year
2010
Saints in this place-name
Adomnán (ns) (certain)
Adomnán m. Rónáin of Iona (certain)
St Ninian's Chapel
Head name
St Ninian's Chapel
Place
St Ninian's Chapel, Southend (Kintyre)
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
Aedicula S
Historic formAedicula S Head nameSt Ninian's Chapel PlaceSt Ninian's Chapel, Southend (Kintyre) Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceCox, 2010, 88 Date of citation1620 approx x 1620 approx |
Source code
Cox, 2010
Author
Richard Cox
Source title
Scottish Gaelic Sanda and its Aliases
Journal
Journal of Scottish Name Studies
Pages
61-102
Volume
4
Year
2010
Saints in this place-name
Ninian (ns) (certain)
Ninian of Whithorn (certain)