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PARISH CHURCH
OF TOROSAY - Craignure
Standing on a green south of the inn at
Craignure, the parish church of Torosay was
built in 1783 with His Grace the Duke of
Argyll as patron. It was thoroughly
renovated in 1828 and again in 1832
following a lightning strike. During
1869-71 the church was renovated and
repaired once more at a cost of £244.4.2d.
Two Laird's Galleries were constructed at each
end of the church both with separate external
staircases which is very unusual. They are
thought to have been for the Duke of Argyll and
possible the Laird of Lochbuie and it is
believed that they were built in this manner
because the two local lairds could not decide
who should have the privilege of facing the
minister so they faced each other! They were the
only people who had seating and the 'common'
people stood or sat on the ground floor in a
higgledy-piggledy manner. The collection boxes
had long handles to reach people and was usually
only taken at communion. At the end of the box
was a board where change was placed and shown
around.
Around 1803 Mrs. MacLaine of
Lochbuie gave two communion cups, which are
still in use today and Colonel Campbell of
Possil donated the church bell and baptismal
font in 1829 - he strongly opposed the Free Church being
set up.
1836 was known as the year of "'the merited
hastening of the Almighty', when on Sunday 15
May at 3 pm a solar eclipse occurred.. In that
year the diarist Lauchlan Maclaine's entry for
Sunday 15 May concerning that morning's service
led by the minister of Torosay, Mr Clark, was
"Gaelic service - excellent discourse Luke 21: v
25 given to a very large congregation. This
discourse was appropriate as a Solar Eclipse was
to take place at the hour of 3 o'clock PM.
This took place and was visible with grand
effect to the naked eye" .
 In 1900 the first organ was
installed in the church and used for the English
service. The precentor's box was removed in
1962 and the present communion table put in its
place. In order to help with the heating of the
church a porch was built on to the church over
the existing door in 1967.
The church was extended in
1982 to include a kitchen and toilet and a new
electric organ was also installed.
On the green in front of the church is The War
Memorial which was erected in memory of the men
of Torosay who fell in the First World War.
For more information see:
Torosay 200 compiled by George W. Campbell
from which most of these notes were taken from
with many thanks.
Jo Currie Mull the island
and its people (Birlinn 2000) ISBN 1 84158
105 4
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