What is a keeill? The Isle of Man's early chapels and where to see them

How many keeills are there?

You will see different numbers quoted, and each is right for what it counts. The Norwegian scholar Carl Marstrander, summarising the Manx Archaeological Survey, wrote that the chapels "once were scattered all over Man to a number of more than 200", and that about 160 were known at the time (Manx Notebook, Keeills of the Isle of Man). A more recent figure, cited in a Wessex Archaeology report from a 2001 study, is 174 recorded keeill sites. That count ranges from standing structures later absorbed into churches, such as Lonan Old Church, to earthworks like Lag ny Keeilley, to sites with nothing visible above ground (Wessex Archaeology, Isle of Man report).

So the honest answer is that roughly 170 sites are on record, a good number of which survive only as a name, a field tradition or a few lintel graves turned up by the plough.

What did a keeill look like?

No keeill survives intact, but the foundations give a consistent picture. Marstrander described them as built of unhewn stones, slabs, earth and rubble, bonded at first with nothing more than earth or clay and later with shell mortar. Walls were thick and banked outside with earth and stones. The plan is a plain rectangle with no division between nave and chancel. The door is narrow and tapers towards the top, there is usually just one window, and the altar stands against the east wall (Manx Notebook).

Sizes vary a lot. The Ballachrink keeill in Marown measures only about 10 feet by 6 feet inside, while Keeill Vian in Lonan reaches 23 feet by 13 feet. Many stood on a natural or built-up rise, with a burial ground, known in Manx as a rhullick, around them.

The earliest chapels may well have been even simpler. The Manx Notebook notes that the first keeills were probably mud and wattle, and have long since disappeared, so the stone-lined ruins we see are likely to be later rebuilds on the same spots.

How old are they?

This is the hardest question, and the answer is less precise than most visitors expect.

Keeill sites are generally placed somewhere between the 6th century, after Christianity reached the Island, and the 12th century, when the parish system was established. The Wessex Archaeology report explains why closer dating is so difficult: excavations have produced very few datable finds; carved cross slabs found at keeill sites can only be dated loosely and may not be the same age as the building; and lintel graves sometimes pre-date the chapel standing over them. On present evidence, surviving keeills are more likely to belong to the period after the Vikings converted to Christianity, and no pre-Viking keeill structure has yet been identified (Wessex Archaeology).

That doesn't make the sites any less old in spirit. Many were clearly holy ground long before the stones that survive were laid.

Keeills and treens

An old tradition links each keeill to a treen, one of the ancient land divisions within a parish. The Manx Notebook quotes a ballad line, "One he raised in every treenland / For the worship of the people".

It also cautions that the treen and keeill relationship is under fresh study and may not be as tidy as earlier writers thought (Manx Notebook).

Who recorded them?

Much of what is known comes from the Manx Archaeological Survey. It was set up at a meeting in Crosby, Marown, in April 1908, with P. M. C. Kermode as secretary, and its members agreed to start with "Ancient Keeills or Chapels, and Rhullics or Christian Burial Grounds" before moving on to cairns and forts (First Report of the Manx Archaeological Survey). Working parish by parish, the survey's second report recorded eight keeill sites in Marown, eleven in Patrick and fourteen in German, including three on St Patrick's Isle at Peel (Second Report).

Even then the surveyors were worried about loss. They noted sites overgrown with gorse and briars and burial grounds that had been ploughed over, and urged landowners to help preserve what remained.

Where to see a keeill

Several sites are easy to reach and repay a visit. Lag ny Keeilley, Patrick. Culture Vannin describes it as one of the best preserved and most dramatic keeills on the Island. The stone chapel sits on a levelled platform inside a circular enclosure about 40 metres across, which almost certainly marks the burial ground. A small structure nearby may have sheltered the attendant priest. Ten cross slabs have been recovered here, a much greater concentration than at any other keeill (Culture Vannin, Lag ny Keeilley). Manx National Heritage's Eary Cushlin and Creggan Mooar walk leads out to it across heath and steep slopes (Manx National Heritage). The path is narrow and exposed, so pick a calm, dry day. See our Lag ny Keeilley place page.

Maughold churchyard. This was the site of an early Christian monastery. Manx National Heritage's access guide says there are four keeills in the churchyard, two of which can be clearly seen to the north and east, and that the site is open during daylight hours (MNH Maughold access guide). The cross house holds the largest sculpture collection of any parish on the Island, including 38 stones from the churchyard and village (MNH, Carved Stone Cross Collection). Dogs aren't allowed in the churchyard itself (MNH FAQs). Our Maughold keeill complex page has the location.

Keeill Vreeshey, Marown. Manx National Heritage notes that the public footpath from the Lance Ussher Memorial Reserve at Ballaharry is the only place you will see this early chapel site, along with the ruined farm of Upper Ballaharry (MNH, Coast, countryside and ancient monuments). See Keeill Vreeshey on the map.

Others worth seeking out. The Manx Museum's list of better-preserved sites, as reproduced by the Manx Notebook, also includes Eyreton, Glenlough, Ballafreer, Ballaquinney, Spooyt Vane in Michael and Balladoole.

Visiting with care

Keeills are fragile. Most are low banks of turf and stone that are easily damaged, and many lie on private farmland. Use public footpaths, ask before crossing fields, leave stones where they are and don't dig or use a metal detector at or near a site. Protected sites carry legal safeguards; our guide to what an ancient monument is on the Isle of Man explains how that protection works.

If you would like to study the carved stones from keeill sites without travelling, Manx National Heritage has scanned the Island's crosses in 3D and made them available through iMuseum (MNH Maughold access guide).