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MHG29789 - Raitts Chapel

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Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

The first mention of Raitts Chapel in the historical record is in a church document of 1380. This details an argument between Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray, and Alexander Stewart, the Lord of Badenoch (later known as the Wolf of Badenoch) in which the two clashed spectacularly over secular powers of juristiction over the Church.
The church held parcels of land in Badenoch, including those attached to the 'chapel of Rate and Nachton (Dunachton)' (Reg. Moray, no. 159). These lands would have been peopled by teneants who were obliged to yield a teind (or tithe) to the Church from their farming produce; the teind would have helped to maintain the chapels and their incumbent priests and would have contributed toward the Church's income in general. (Barrow 1989, 1-5). In 1370, Stewart had pledged to act as the Bishop's sheriff in Badenoch, protecting the Church's lands there as if they were his own.

The site of Raitts Chapel, at Chapelpark Farm, Lynchat, was subjected to topographic survey and archaeological evaluation in August 2000. The site is visible as a sub-rectangular to trapezoidal enclosure, measuring 45m ENE-WSW by 24m at its W end and 20m at its E end, and defined by a turf and stone bank; its E portion has been disturbed and partially levelled by ploughing. The chapel, dedicated to St Moluog (who founded the monastery at Lismore and died in AD 592), is mentioned in documents from the 13th to 14th centuries; it appears to be one of a suite of 9th to 10th-century chapels in Badenoch. Six small trial trenches were opened over the bank and interior. That over the bank established that it had been built of stone with an earthen core and later widened and heightened. Two of the trenches in the interior found plough-truncated grave cuts. One measured 1.8m long and the other was 2.06m; both were aligned E-W and cut wider at the W end to accommodate the head. Slight staining in the base of each cut indicated the presence of burials. Further work, including geophysical survey and excavation, is planned to establish the extent of burials and any structural remains inside or outside the enclosure. <1>

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Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 7868 0191 (53m by 40m)
Map sheet	NH70SE
Civil Parish	ALVIE
Geographical Area	BADENOCH AND STRATHSPEY

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