BENMORE & KILMUN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TRUST

The Argyll Mausoleum Project

Connected to, but separate from, the church in Kilmun stands the Argyll Mausoleum – the burial place for the Dukes of Argyll, Chiefs of the Clan Campbell, from the 14^th century until 1949. Originally owned by the Argyll family, it is now owned by Argyll & Bute Council. The building is in urgent need of restoration and repair, and the Council have asked the Trust to take the lead on this project.

The tradition of burying the Chiefs of the Campbell clan at Kilmun began, so the story goes, with the untimely death in the lowlands of Celestine, the son of the "Black Knight of Loch Awe", an early leader of the Clan Campbell. This was probably in the 14^th or early 15^th century. Kilmun was already a gateway to the West Highlands and the body was brought by ship to Kilmun. However, due to a blizzard, the party could not proceed to Loch Awe and permission was sought from the chief of the Clan Lamont in Dunoon for the unfortunate young man to be buried in the church at Kilmun. As was common in those times with burials of important people, the body would have been buried beneath the aisle of the church. In 1442, Sir Duncan Campbell, the first Lord Campbell, endowed a collegiate church on the site and he and his wife Marjory (great, great grand-daughter of Robert the Bruce) were subsequently also buried in the church with their effigies above the tombs. From then on, the tradition continued that many of the Dukes of Argyll and their families were buried beneath the aisles of Kilmun church. In 1660, a separate private chapel attached to the church was built for the Argyll tombs. In 1794, the separate Mausoleum was constructed, with some of the more important remains being moved from the church into the Mausoleum. This included the effigies of Sir Duncan Campbell and his wife. The present larger church was built in 1841, and two of the walls of the Mausoleum now are integrated with the church. In 1890, the Mausoleum was renovated by the Marquis of Lorne, subsequently the ninth Duke of Argyll, and the original slated roof was replaced by the current cast iron dome. The ninth Duke married Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. When her father-in-law (eighth Duke) died in 1900, Princess Louise made a sculpture in his memory. This, along with other interesting items, is part of the collection of artefacts to be found inside the Mausoleum. The last burial in the Mausoleum, in 1949, was of the 10^th Duke of Argyll.

Over the last few years, the condition of the Mausoleum has deteriorated, with a lot of rain water penetration. Attempts have been made to correct the problems, but these have only proved of short term benefit. A major renovation project is now required. The Council commissioned estimates for repair in 2005, but it did not prove possible to raise the necessary funds at that time. At the beginning of 2008, Argyll & Bute Council asked the Trust to take over the project to restore the Mausoleum. Since then, the Trust has been running a number of activities to get the restoration project off the ground:

 

1. A complete update of the cost estimates, exploring all possible options for restoration so that the building can be preserved for generations to come. This was completed in June 2008.

 

 

 

 

2. Setting up all the necessary legal and company framework to ensure that the restoration project and the subsequent management of the site have a solid and secure business base. This should be complete in Summer 2009.

 

 

 

 

3. Partnering with all key organisations such as Argyll & Bute Council, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park, Argyll Estates, Church of Scotland and others to ensure the buy-in of all relevant stake holders.

 

 

 

 

4. Preparing a marketing plan for management of the building and artefacts one restored and for a sensitive program of visitors from schools, communities and tourists. This includes the restoration of a ruined adjacent council property as a visitor and interpretation centre.

 

 

 

5. A proactive program to identify and secure sources of funding for the restoration of the building and artefacts.

 

Once restored, the building will be opened to the public for the first time and will be made available for supervised visits by schools, the local community and visitors.