Built in 1842, Kirkapol Church serves the eastern half of Tiree. It is almost square and resembles a typical non-conformist chapel in design. The masonry is local rubble with sandstone dressings and quoins of pink granite brought from the Ross of Mull.
The church contains a memorial to the Rev. Hector MacKinnon, a native of Tiree, who began his ministry here (1892-94) and later became so powerful a preacher he was called the ‘Spurgeon of the North’.
Nearby are the remains of a former parish church dating from the 14th century dedicated to St Columba and a smaller 13th century chapel, both probably built on the sites of earlier churches. The name Kirkapol derives from the Norse for Church Town.
Black and white postcard of Kirkapol Church.
Postcard of Kirkapol Church in the 1950s. (Original in Filing Cabinet 5 drawer 1)
Audio cassette recording of Elsie MacKinnon of Lodge Farm, Kirkapol talking to her daughter Fiona MacKinnon in June 1998.
Elsie MacKinnon of Lodge Farm, Kirkapol talks to her daughter Fiona in June 1998 about her adoption by Katie MacKinnon in 1925 when aged 9, the differences between Ashford in Middlesex where she came from and Tiree, her schooldays in Scarinish and Kirkapol, the work she did on Saturdays, toys and presents, Sundays on Tiree, the work on the croft, learning Gaelic, the population of the island, school sports, the work her aunt did and playing with friends, a school picnic at the Ringing Stone, the sense of community, fostering children, the people in Kirkapol, the construction of Ormer Cottage and the fire in the Scarinish shop.
Audio cassette recording of Rosie Macintyre of Scarinish talking to Maggie Campbell on 18/8/2004.
Rosie Macintyre of Scarinish talks to Maggie Campbell in August 2004 about her childhood memories, her mother working as a maid for Lady Victoria Campbell, the cattle show in Scarinish, the walk from Kirkapol to Scarinish School every day, and what the weather was like when she was young.
