A walled clan cemetery on a river island combines graves, heraldic sculpture and a carefully staged approach through the surrounding landscape.
Quick facts
- Date
- Burials possibly medieval; formal landscape mainly late 18th century
- Architect / designer
- Designer unrecorded
- Type
- Clan burial enclosure, screen wall and ceremonial approach
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB8277)
- OS grid reference
- NN 57317 32632
Architecture, archaeology and continuing use
Large rubble piers and a three-arched screen wall begin a processional route to a near-square burial enclosure. Stone heads associated with the clan crest rise above the walls, which contain chiefly graves and an early slab effigy.
Its story
The date of the first burials is uncertain, but the place includes a grave associated with Finlay Macnab, who died in 1573–74. Its present ceremonial form appears largely to reflect late-eighteenth-century Highland Romanticism.
Why it is included
Category B designation recognises an exceptional combination of clan history, burial architecture and designed landscape, closely related to the bridge and falls.
What to notice
- The three arched openings in the screen wall.
- Heraldic stone heads placed above the enclosure.
- The separation between public river landscape and private burial space.
Reading the surroundings
The burial ground is private and access may require permission or a key. Observe it from lawful public viewpoints unless authorised, and never disturb graves or the scheduled archaeology on the island.
Timeline
- 1573–74 Finlay Macnab’s recorded death provides an early dated association with the burial place.
- Late 18th century Walls and a ceremonial approach formalised the island as a clan memorial landscape.
- 1803 Dorothy Wordsworth recorded the place during her Scottish tour.
- 1971 The burial ground and its architectural features received Category B listing.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
Neither the first use for burial nor the designer of the formal composition is securely documented.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: Clan Macnab Burial Place, LB8277 — Designation status, mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park: Killin — Public heritage context for the Macnab burial ground, Kinnell and Killin’s clan landscape.
Location
OS grid reference NN 57317 32632 · Location confidence: High: the national designation supplies an official mapped National Grid Reference; the independent source confirms the Place relationship, history or current identity. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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