Loch Leven, St Serf'S Island, St Serf'S Priory Church
Also known as
Culdee Monastery
Classifications:Priory(Medieval)
This place may be a listed building, scheduled monument or other designation.Check for designation records
Location Details
Local authority: Perth And Kinross
Parish: Portmoak (Perth And Kinross)
Former region: Tayside
Former district: Perth And Kinross
Former county: Kinross-Shire
Location accurate to the nearest 1 metre.
British National Grid (BNG) Coordinates: 316156, 700260
Ordnance Survey (OS) National Grid Reference: NO 16156 00260
Latitude: 56.18756Longitude: -3.35249
Datum: OSGB36 - NGR
Further details
Site number: NO10SE 3
National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) ID: 27872
Related resources
Detail of projecting stone at base of East wall.
Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland
Detail of projecting stone at base of East wall.
Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland
Detail of projecting stone at base of East wall.
Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland
Detail of piscina in South wall to East of doorway.
Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland
Detail of stone with incised carving on interior of North wa…
Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland
1 Note
Category: Descriptive accounts
Event reference: 682021
NO10SE 3 16156 00260
(NO 1615 0025) Priory (NR) (Ruins)
OS 6" map (1920)
St Serf's Priory was originally a Culdee establishment, supposedly founded before AD 843. About AD 1150 King David granted the island to the Augustinian Canons and the Culdees were absorbed or expelled. In 1580 the priory was given to St Leonard's College, St Andrews.
The remains represent the oblong chamber of a 12th century church, measuring 27 by 19 1/4 feet over walls 2 1/2 feet thick. There are traces of an archway in each end wall, the one to the east giving access to a chancel, proved by excavation to have been rectangular, and the one to the west to a tower or nave. The building has been converted into a fishing hut or bothy.
About 25 yards westward of the church are the foundations of a large rectangular structure, measuring 83 feet 2 inches by 22 feet 8 inches within walls over 5 feet thick. Excavation revealed burials to the south and west of the chapel and within the chancel.
Upon the northern side of the island there is an excavation about 100 yards long and 10 feet deep containing ruins and the stones of a small house. This may have been the site of the separate cells of the Culdee community.
A Kerr 1882; RCAHMS 1933; W D Simpson 1935; D E Easson 1957.
Under guardianship in 1961.
(Undated) information in NMRS.
There are traces of other features visible on aerial photographs (RCAHMSAP 1991) lying approx. 80m to the S of the priory. These appear to be later than the cultivation marks.
Information from RCAHMS (RHM) 29 March 1994.
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| Archive reference | Title | Catalogue level | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| 551 1/4/16/34/2 | St Serf's Priory | Sub-Group Level |  |
| 551 1/4/24/52 | St Serf's Priory Church, Loch Leven | Sub-Group Level | |
| B 46770 CN | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46771 CN | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46772 CN | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46799 | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46800 | St Serf's Priory. General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46801 | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46802 | St Serf's Priory. General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
| B 46803 | St Serf's Priory.General oblique aerial view. | Item Level | |
References
Cowan and Easson I B and D E. (1976)Medieval religious houses in Scotland: with an appendix on the houses in the Isle of Man, 2nd London. Page(s): 78, 191 RCAHMS Shelf Number: C.3.2.EAS.R
Easson D E. (1957a)Medieval religious houses in Scotland: with an appendix on the houses in the Isle of Man, London. Page(s): 78, 191 RCAHMS Shelf Number: C.3.2.EAS
Fawcett R. (2002)Scottish medieval churches: architecture and furnishings, Stroud. Page(s): 340 RCAHMS Shelf Number: F.5.31.FAW
Fawcett R. (2011)The Architecture of the Scottish Medieval Church 1100-1560, London. RCAHMS Shelf Number: F.5.31.FAW
Kerr A. (1882)'Description of the ecclesiastical remains existing upon St Serf's Island, Lochleven, at 6th July 1881', Proc Soc Antiq Scot 16 1881-2 Page(s): 159-68 figs 1-5
O'Grady O. (2018)St Serf's Priory - Our Portmoak, Radiocarbon dates Discovery Excav Scot New 18 2017 Cathedral Communications Limited, Wiltshire, England.. Page(s): 164
O'Grady OJT. (2011)'St Serf’s Priory: Culdee Archaeology Project, Perth and Kinross (Portmoak parish), geophysical survey and excavation', Discovery Excav Scot New 12 2011 Cathedral Communications Limited, Wiltshire, England.. Page(s): 156-157
RCAHMS. (1933)The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland. Eleventh report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the counties of Fife, Kinross, and Clackmannan, Edinburgh. Page(s): 305-6, No.581 figs 479, 485 RCAHMS Shelf Number: A.1.1.INV/11
Simpson W D. (1935c)The Celtic church in Scotland: a study of its penetration lines and art relationships, Aberdeen. Page(s): 72 RCAHMS Shelf Number: C.3.2.SIM
