In a rural island landscape where kirks and chapels tend to be pretty little low-key buildings, one church breaks with tradition, quite dramatically. Our Lady of Sorrows, at Garrynamonie in the Outer Hebrides, is the product of the 1960s trend for Brutalist architecture, robust blocky structures with sharp lines and vast expanses of white concrete.
Topped with its crowning glory, an incongrous neon cross, it survives as both a very obvious landmark and an important Modernist building, despite being largely at odds with the treeless vista of low hills and rolling grassy pasture and heather moorland that surround it.
The angular Roman Catholic chapel was built to accommodate 300 worshippers in 1965. Designed by architect Richard J McCarron it is roughly square in plan with a monopitch roof. It took 15 months to construct, largely from brick and timber, with the parish priest acting as the main contractor and locals pitching in their help.
The church has stood largely unaltered since then, occupying an elevated site by the B888 overlooking the crofting townships of North and South Boisdale, Garrynamonie and Smerclate, in the southern part of South Uist, from where its parishioners are drawn.
While the exterior is stark, the interior is rather more welcoming with a generous amount of wood softening up the surroundings. This includes a large sloping wooden ceiling, wooden pews and a painted oak altar. The church is open daily throughout the year and holds Vigil Mass on Saturday evenings.
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