Baile Mhaodain

The old kirk of Ardchattan - located up on the hill behind the Priory
Alternative names / spellings : Baleveodan / Balevodan / Bailie Mhaodain / Ballevodan / Baile Mhodan / Cill Bhaodain / Baodán
Bailevedan 1641, Argyll Synod / Bailevedan 1642 / Bailevedan 1642 / Bailevedan 1642 / Balleveedan 1651, Argyll Synod / Ballivadan 1655, Argyll Synod

Before the Priory was established in 1230 the Monks would be expected to walk up the hill to the Church of Baodan for worship seven times every day.

research
GD112 Papers of the Campbell Family, Earls of Breadalbane (Breadalbane Muniments)
Ardchattan/Baile Mhaodain/Ballevodan, in presbytery of Lorn. 1569-1832. GD112/51/2-7

http://www.saintsplaces.gla.ac.uk (more local references at bottom of the page)
Saints Places
See http://saintsplaces.gla.ac.uk/place.php?id=1324286529 : Cill Bhaodain : Kil-Bedan 1600, Geog. Coll. II / Kilbedan 1630, Geog. Coll. II / Saints in this place-name : Báeth, Báetán, Báithíne, Mo Báe (ns) (certain)
Saints Places
see also http://saintsplaces.gla.ac.uk/place.php?id=1324288088 : BAILE BHAODAIN / Balliebodane 1603, OPS / Ballveodan 1662 / Ballveodan 1662 / Ballveodan 1662 / Baile Mhaodain 1843, OS 6 inch first edn. / Baile Mhaodain 2011 / Baile Mhaodain 2011 / Baile Mhaodain 2011

The Fasti attributes the site to St Modan, but it is, in fact, St BAETAN / Baodán .. this gaelic grammatical error is why we have a more modern kirk in Benderloch with the patron saint of St Modan ! (the genitive form of the names Maodán is Mhaodáin and that of Baodán is Bhaodáin but they sound very similar, as the Mh- and Bh- are both pronounced "v")

Ministers
1639 - The first recorded Minister of the Parish was John McIlverie (Ardchattan and Muckairn co joined, named Baileveden and Kilespickerral respectively
1641-1654 (Cromwells forces) Archibald McCalman
There was then a long ga
1667 Rev. Colin Campbell, much respect and long serving minister

There are graves here, (Does anyone have any details of the names and memorial inscriptions there - some stones are now hidden? - pictures and transcriptions below)

Photographs of Balevodan HERE

Watson (1926, 262) notes a place called Baile Bhaodáin (Balliebodane 1603, Ballebadan 1631, Ballibodan 1697) near Ardchattan, which was at the site of Cill Bhaodáin, apparently named after a saint called Báetán, perhaps the second abbot of Iona1

“Upon a high ridge behind the Priory are the church and burying-ground of St. Baodan, the patron saint of the parish.” ‘Deirdre and The Lay of the Children of Uisne’ translated by Alexander Carmichael, pub. 1914, via NLS

The RCAHMS site describes it as “Uncertain age. Oblong. Random rubble, much dilapidated. Overgrown. Roofless. Window in each gable.” AND “Burnt to the ground c.1800.”

ARDCHATTAN, OR BAILE MHAODAIN. from Fasti ecclesiæ scoticanæ; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation
[The ancient church of this parish was dedicated to St Modan. Hence comes its name of Baile Mhaodain (St Modan s town ship).
In 1231 Duncan MacDougall of Lorn founded, near the parish church of St Modan, a priory of the order of Val de Choux, dedicated to St Catan. This monastery gave to the parish its modern name of Ardchattan (St Catan s Height). Near the church was St Modan s Well, and hard by St Modan s Fair was held.
In 1618 the parishes of Ardchattan and Muckairn were united. They were severed again in 1649. The Act Rescissory of 1661 repealed their disjunction, and Muckairn was thus annexed a second time to Ardchattan. It was, however, disjoined again quoad sacra on 9th December 1846.
At Kilcholumkill in this parish, on the north shore of Loch Etive, there was a chapel of St Columba. At Benderloch there is now a mission chapel of St Modan.]

The name of Baile Bhaodain was used for the area covered by the present parishes of ARDCHATTAN AND MUCKAIRN.

There was a flat stone in Glen Sallach N of Ardchattan which was called Suidhe Bhaodain ( Baetan's Seat) which was of a similar nature to other Saints' seats (e.g..Moluag's Seat in Lismore)
Local folklore says that it was transported to Ardchattan, split and now acts as gateposts at the entrance to the chuchyard of the PRIORY! This may be untrue but makes a good story !2

There is a holy HEALING well (Tobar Bhaodain) which is kept clear to this day.
The graveyard is full of Macintyres and some MacCallums

A great blog of visiting the kirk and tombstones : https://the-hazel-tree.com/2016/03/25/ardchattan-in-the-footsteps-of-st-baodan/

“This is the burying ground of Dugald Thomson, late joiner, Barcaldine, and his wife, Flora McIntyre, and their heirs”3

ardchattan-old-church-95.jpg?w=500

“In memory of Peter McIntyre, late of Ardachy, died 26th April 1838 aged 77
Isabella McIntyre, his wife, died 12th Nov 1847 aged 71
Donald, their son, died 5th (?) April 1824 (?) aged 26
Anne, their daughter, died 23rd Sept 1845 aged 29
whose remains are interred in the adjoining grave No.2(?)”4

ardchattan-old-church-5.jpg?w=600&h=902

“Erected by Alexʳ McCallum of the Smack Henry
In memory of his father Duncan McCallum who died 30th Novʳ 1823
and of his Mother Betty Niven who died 11th March 1840″5

ardchattan-old-church-101.jpg?w=500

Small burial ground nearby (19th century onwards)6

ardchattan-old-church-1.jpg?w=500
A comment on the Hazel tree site suggests a book to read to muddy the water on the Modans but provides other good stories of the Loch and community
19th Century book written by Robert Herbert Story D.D. and Minister of Rosneath in 1878 about this place and its ancient saint.The book is called Saint Modan of Rosneath and it is available on Google Books for free. It explains many things about this ancient place including the fact that there were a two Saint Modans but only the one from Rosneath was connected to this site. - Book online here

SAINTS IN THIS PLACE-NAME
Báeth, Báetán, Báithíne, Mo Báe (ns) (certain)

video from youtube of the kirk and area :

Saints places locations connected here
EAS BHAODAIN
CILL BHAODAIN
BAILE BHAODAIN
TOBAR BAODAN
Ardchattan Priory
ARDCHATTAN parish


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