St Columba's Church, Canna

Church of Scotland Canna
Canna Rhu Church, Canna Church
Church in 2008 with the 1969 gate at left.
57°03′31″N6°29′37″W / 57.0587°N 6.4935°W / 57.0587; -6.4935
Denomination	Church of Scotland
History
Status	Active
Dedication	St Columba
Architecture
Heritage designation	Category B
Designated	5 October 1971
Architect(s)	P. M. Chalmers
Groundbreaking	1912
Completed	1914
Specifications
Number of spires	1
Materials	stone
Bells	1
Administration
Parish	North West Lochaber

St Columba's Church is a Category B listed building on the isle of Canna, in the Small Isles, Highland, Scotland.

History

Prior to the building of the church, the island's Protestant residents were obliged to travel 30 miles to the nearest parish church. The building of the church was instigated by Mary Johanna Cameron. She was the wife of Allan Thom, whose family owned Canna until 1938. The church was built in memory of Allan Thom's father, Robert, who purchased Canna in 1881 and had invested in improvements to the island's infrastructure. Although the church was built to serve the island's Protestant inhabitants, Canna was and is principally Catholic.

The church is orientated East-North-East to West-South-West, rather than the more usual East-West, though why this was done is unclear. The church has a graveyard, though this contains only a single headstone; that of Joanna and Allan Thom. ^[1]

In 1969, an ornamental wrought-iron gate was added to the churchyard and listed status came in 1971. ^[2] Owing to the shape of its tower, the church is known informally as 'The Rocket Church'.

To the west of the church sits the sculptured cross, an ancient Celtic Christian cross dated to between the 8th and 9th century. ^{[3] [4]}

Present Day

Canna's present-day population rests at around 20. As most islanders are Catholic, St Columba's, whilst still consecrated for worship, is rarely used and is all but defunct. In 2015, it was reported that the National Trust for Scotland were seeking funds to repair the church and use it as an exhibition-space for memorabilia from the 1881-1938 period. Nearby is the island's Catholic chapel, also dedicated to St Columba. ^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Church from afar
• 
  St Columba's interior
• 
  The similarly-named Catholic chapel

References

1. Historic Environment Scotland. "Canna, Church Of Scotland (Site no. NG20NE 23)" . Retrieved 21 June 2025.
2. "britishlistedbuildings" . Retrieved 29 October 2017.
3. Sculptured Stones of Scotland. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Bennett. 1867. p. 29.
4. Historic Environment Scotland. "Canna, St Columba's Graveyard, Sculptured Cross (Site no. NG20NE 2)" . Retrieved 21 June 2025.
5. Wills, Dixe (2016). Tiny Churches. Dubai: AA. pp. 294–7. ISBN   9780749577681.