Eskadale
10 miles west of Beauly, south side of the River Beauly, is the Lovat family private chapel
The church
Built in 1827 by the 14th Lord Lovat
It is remarkable that so large a Roman Catholic chapel was raised as early as 1827, only thirty-four years after the Catholic Relief Act. The traceried rose window was added to the east gable in 1881, a source of wonder to a congregation that numbered more than eight hundred by the turn of the century.
Few places match Eskadale for tranquillity, and a visit remains spiritually rewarding. More at eskadale.org.
The graveyard
Names among the stones
One stone bears the foreign name of “The Chevalier” John Stuart Sobieski, reputed descendant of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
Many priests are buried here too, among them Father James Gordon of Beauly and Father Angus MacKenzie of Eskadale, who died after a servant gathered monkshood root by mistake for a radish sauce served with their roast beef in Dingwall.
West of the church lies the private burial ground of the Lovat family, including Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 17th Lord Lovat and 24th chief — “Shimi” — who commanded the brigade that landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944.