Church Overview

This little oblong harled church was built in the late 18th century. Welsh naturalist and travel writer Thomas Pennant, in his famous book A Tour in Scotland and a Voyage to the Hebrides 1772, encourages his readers to “land in Jura, at a little village, and see to the right on the shore the church, and the minister’s manse”.

Fixed seating and an aisle were added in 1842, when local lairds the Campbells of Jura took the opportunity to add a segregated family loft to the building, and further alterations occurred in 1922. Today visitors will find a superb photographic exhibition of ‘Old Jura’ in the former “laird’s loft” that is reached by an external stair behind the church. Among other items of interest, the church also possesses three small stained glass windows and a large tapestry made by local school children.

Until 1861, Jura Parish was linked to Colonsay and Oronsay, when it was said to be the largest ecclesiastical parish in the British Isles. Today it is linked with five churches on Islay, St Kiaran’s, near Port Charlotte, St John’s, in Port Ellen, Kilarrow (The Round Church), in Bowmore, Portnahaven Parish Church and Kilmeny, near Ballygrant, to form a single Islay and Jura Churches Parish. 

Services

Sunday: 11.30am

Opening Arrangements

Open daily

Disclaimer

The information about churches in Scotland’s Churches Scheme has been provided by the congregations or taken from the Historic Scotland list and published sources, in particular, the Buildings of Scotland volumes and the RIAS Illustrated Architectural Guides. To contact this specific church please complete the Contact this Church form above. The information is not authoritative; please contact Scotland’s Churches Trust to let us know of any errors or omissions.