Bell Cote on the Parish Church, Iona, Argyll & Bute, Scotland. - Bell Towers on Waymarking.com

After the Reformation which swept across Scotland in 1560 Iona lost not only its abbey and its nunnery but also St Ronan's Church which had served as the island's parish church since the 1200s. This resulted in no formal place of worship on the island since the arrival of St Columba on Iona almost a thousand years earlier.

This was the situation until the building of the Iona Parish Church and manse in 1828, one of 32 "Parliamentary Churches" (so named because they were paid for with funds voted by Parliament) built across the Highlands and Islands to a standard design produced by the engineer Thomas Telford for a T-shaped church and an accompanying manse. The two buildings cost just over £1000 out of a total cost of £54,500 for the scheme.

Displayed in the porch of the church are the original and revised plans for the church. The church was no longer T-shaped but oblong with pews lengthways to focus the congregation's attention on a long communion table and on the pulpit built onto the east wall between its two windows.

Later, in 1938, the interior of the church was realigned so that the pews are set across the width of the church and face its south end, which became home to a pulpit and smaller communion table.

The Parish Church stands back from the main road to Iona Abbey to the north of the manse which is now the Heritage Centre and Garden Tearoom. 50 yards in front of the church by the side of the road stands MacLean's Cross, a tall free-standing cross probably erected in the 1400s as one of Iona's many crosses serving as prayer stations for pilgrims coming to the island. Today it is a rarity: only a handful of Iona's stone crosses survived the Reformation compared with, by one count, the 357 that did not.

The bell cote containing a single bell is built above the southern gable and is the most ornate part of the exterior which is plain. It is open plan with a tall spire and four small spires at the corners of the cote. The bell is hung dead with the clapper swung using a rope down the outside of the building. I could not see any inscription on the bell.

Address of Tower: The Parish Church Baile Mor Iona, Argyll & Bute Scotland PA76 6SJ Still Operational: yes Number of bells in tower?: 1 Rate tower: Tours or visits allowed in tower?: No Relevant website?: Not listed

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