Help us to preserve three 12th-century ruinous churches in Kintyre, Scotland, along with their collection of 36 medieval intricately carved graveslabs of West Highland style.

We are asking for your support to ensure the 3 churches and the 36 intricately carved West Highland Graveslabs remain accessible for future generations to marvel at their exquisite stonework. By contributing today, you will help safeguard these irreplaceable monuments and their stories for generations to come—please join us in preserving this unique part of Scotland's heritage.

St John’s Church in Killean, St Kenneth’s Church in Kilchenzie and St Kevin’s Church in Kilkivan are Scheduled Monuments of national importance and all date back to long before Robert the Bruce’s time. Killean Church’s architectural decorations strongly suggest its high significance in its time.

Alongside these historic churches, one can find the centuries old graveyards containing the final resting places of generations of those who once lived in Kintyre.

Time has not been kind to these structures. Walls have become overgrown with ivy and are often unstable, and weathering has dimmed much of the ancient carvings. At Kilkivan, exposure to the elements had caused considerable weathering of the grave slabs and placed them in danger of mechanical damage from masonry collapse.

Our project aims to:

• Conserve and stabilise the three 12th-century church buildings for future generations.

• Provide interpretation of the sites and their significance

• Conserve the medieval carved graveslabs and display them in specially designed shelters

• Develop a heritage trail and improve access to the ruins and historic graveyards and create an educational resource

We are fortunate enough to have the renowned Architectural Historian, Dr Peter Burman, as our Patron. We are working with a conservation specialist and have already completed an emergency phase to prevent severe loss of historic fabric due to collapsing masonry. The Kilkivan graveslabs have been removed to a place of safety for the time being.

The complete restoration will cost in the region of £1,200,000. Out of this, it is assumed that approx. £400,000 will be required to conserve the Graveslabs and erect new protective shelters. It is hoped that Historic Environment Scotland and the National Lottery Heritage Fund will fund up to 80% of this, leaving us with a shortfall of approximately £240,000.

Your donations could make all the difference to this project and the preservation and restoration of Kintyre’s Medieval history.

You can stay up to date with our progress by visiting our website