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CHURCHES
SALEN CHURCH
The following notes were taken, with kind
permission, from Hilary Peel’s book 'Salen
Church - A History’ with illustrations by Jackie
Le May', published CCC Design & Publications
Isle of Mull 2001 ISBN 0 9541192 0 7
The first church to be built
in Salen (often called Salinicolmukill)
following the Reformation was in 1777 and at the
same time churches were built at Kinlochspelve
and Craignure. However by 1822 the church at
Salen was almost in ruins. Then in 1824, when
applications were invited by the Commissioners
of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland to build new Parliamentary churches
throughout Scotland, the heritors applied for a
new church in Salen. However in spite of its
ruinous state, the Commissioners finally agreed
they would fund a manse (completed in 1827),
establish a minister at Salen and contribute
£150 towards "the refitting and enlarging" of
the existing church. The heritors were
responsible for providing sufficient funds for
future repairs.
There is little evidence as to
how the 1828 church was enlarged and it is
believed to have been similar to Telford's
Parliamentary church design, being rectangular
with a short aisle in the centre of one of the
longer walls. In the long front wall were two
doors and at one end a small session house. A
pulpit, with a precentor's desk below it, was
probably placed between the two doors. A long
communion table would then be in front of the
pulpit and elders' seats on each side facing the
rest of the congregation. Upstairs would be two
galleries, probably reached by internal
staircases. The building would have
accommodated at least 300 people and served
Salen for 70 years.
By 1890 the church was in need
of repair having a floor consisting of rough and
uneven stone in the main area and mainly earth
between the pews and all the doors were
rotting. Seating was uncomfortable and narrow,
there was a lack of heating and body odours were
unbearable at times with so many people sitting
squashed together. However it was to be
several years later that, through the efforts of
the incumbent at that time, Rev. Colin MacCallum,
the presbytery agreed to build a new church.
Final plans were drawn up during mid 1897 and
the new church was opened on July 9th 1899 by
the Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod from Inverness, a
member of the Macleods of Morvern. The church
was full in spite of it being a stormy day and
Rev. Macleod preached a "weighty and
impressive" sermonon Luke 9: 28-29 at both the
English and Gaelic services .
The building is mid-Gothic in
style with a cruciform plan of chancel and nave,
together with north and south transepts. The
external walls are of coursed Ardshiel bullfaced
granite and freestone facings. The pulpit was
placed in the centre of the chancel, and at the
time caused Rev. Dr. Macleod to comment on there
being room for improvement to the internal
structure. To see such a lovely building from
the outside and then to go in and "find a very
noticeable pulpit placed in the very centre of
the chancel" was a great disappointment as he
felt it should have been in its "proper" place
which was to one side or the other, which was in
the original plan. This comment was taken up
for several weeks in letters to the 'Oban
Times', but the pulpit remained in this position
for 60 years. The harmonium was in the
north-eastern corner and near by a curtained off
area which was used as the vestry and could be
entered from an outside door. This door was
eventually filled in to match the surrounding
stonework in 1962. The present 'harmonium' - a
Technics Digital Piano - was purchased in 1999.
The wall around the church was
completed sometime in 1908 or early 1909 through
the efforts of the Rev. Colin MacCallum who
requested an enclosing wall "of sufficient
height and stability" in order 'to protect the
church from the encroachment of people and
animals'.
The church was able to seat
260 people and cost £1,300 to build, which was
more than the original estimate. Although the
new church was a great improvement on the old
one it came with new responsibilities and
worries, not least of which was a debt which
would remain until as late as 1905.
In 1933 a vestry - known as
The Guild Room - was added to the church and
also heating. The funding for this came through
the efforts of the Woman's Guild. Electricity
was finally installed in 1958 and in 1959 the
pulpit was moved to the side, towards the south
transept, remaining there for a further 33
years.
Following years of trying to
keep up with the repairs on the church, in March
1991 it was completely restored and converted
into a building which could be used in many
different ways as well as for worship.
Restoration was completed in November 1992.
 The
church bell hangs on a wooden construction in
the churchyard away from the church. On the bell
is an inscription "The Gift of Richard Alsager
Esq. of Upper Tooting, Surry to the Parish of
Salen in return for Mull hospitality A.D.
1834". Although Richard Alsager had met Lachlan
Macquarie many years before,
it is not known why he came to Mull in
1834 and why hospitality on the island had
caused him to donate a bell to Salen church.
The lore of St Columba is
still preserved in Mull and behind what was the
Craig Hotel, but now known as The Craig, is a
rocky bluff from which it is believed St Columba
gave a sermon which was 'not very well
attended'. Nearby is a small burn called The
Burn of the Sermons. Further up the bluff
there are traces of a chapel which is thought to
have been abandoned because of the impurity of
the water. (see Peter Macnab Mull and Iona
Highways & Byways (Luath Press Ltd. 1999)
ISBN 0 946487 58 8
Salen church is open every
day. Service Sundays 10.15 am
For further information see:
Hilary M. Peel Salen Church a history (CCC
Design & Publications 2001) ISBN 0 9541192 0 7 |
