Gigha / Kilchattan

Reported in Muir (1873): "Lying in the recess of the east window is the basin of a large octagonal font, the cavity circular and (as is often the case) flat bottomed". The font is noted more recently in the local web site [http://www.gigha.org.uk/history/antiquities/] [accessed 2 June 2009]: "One of the best known antiquities in Gigha is the ruined Church of Kilchattan, 'Ecclesia Sancti Catani in Gigha' of the Register of the Privy Seal (1510). The church is a dedication to St Catan, an Irish missionary of the 6th century, who came over to Bute spreading the gospel throughout Kintyre and some of the Western Isles. The church is a typical example of 13th century design, a small rectangular building with a steep roof, the length about twice its breadth, and with lancet windows in all of the walls […] The octagonal font still remains, and can be seen in the recess below the eastern window. It is two feet in diameter and the basin is eight inches deep with a central drain." The font is recorded in the RCAHMS [http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk] [accessed 2 June 2009].