Road to the isles, 22nd June, Croc-an-Raer church

This now abandoned church was built in 1836 by the Marquess of Bute to satisfy the Gaelic speaking population of north Bute, around 1400 of them, who used to attend a Sunday service at the church in Rothesay. However the Rothesay church stopped giving services in Gaelic and there was much dissent in response.
Croc-an-Raer held Gaelic services until 1895 when the language had all but died out in Bute. By 1980 the church was in a state of disrepair and became too expensive to renovate. It still has a large and well kept graveyard.
Here is a small selection of infrared photographs of it.





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