9283: St Colm’s Isle Burial Ground

Extract from Statistical Account, 1833

There is a ruin on the island of St Colm, in the entrance to Loch Erisort, which was once a religious edifice. The ground surrounding this ruin is the only place of internment in the Parish of Lochs. St Colm is the place on which the first factor sent to the Lewis by the Mackenzies, then of Kintail, resided. It is the general opinion the said ruin on the island of St Colm is the ruin of a place of worship, erected in the days of "Mac Mhic Mhurchaidh", which was the patronymic of the first factor sent to this island by the Mackenzies.

The chapel is in fact believed to be much older, dating to perhaps the 9th century. See the Cromore record for information on use of the cemetery.