Skelmorlie Aisle

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free for everyone; Largs and District Museum's volunteers open the aisle from April to September and can arrange visits at other times (secretary@largsmuseum.org). No membership card is needed.

ParkingNo car park

Arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport.

Parking details

Historic Scotland names no parking: the aisle is in Largs on the A78, signed from the High Street. A reviewer advises the sea front car park, as parking near the graveyard is difficult.

Driving pin: Historic Scotland's own pin at the aisle, beside Largs Museum in Kirkgate House, Manse Court. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.

About

In the old graveyard behind the shops of Largs Main Street stands the Skelmorlie Aisle, built in 1636 for Sir Robert Montgomerie of Skelmorlie and his wife Dame Margaret Douglas as a private place of worship and burial vault beside the town's medieval church. It was so fine that when the church was demolished in the early 1800s the aisle was kept, and HES says its exuberant interior has no parallel in Scotland. Sir Robert oversaw the building of his own tomb and is said to have spent nights there pondering the murderous errors of his youth. The laird's loft holds a Renaissance stone tomb carved with the couple's arms and monograms and symbols of mortality; the vault below still holds their lead coffins. Above it, a barrel-vaulted boarded ceiling painted in 1638 shows coats of arms, Bible scenes, the zodiac and the four seasons, with Summer showing the old parish church of Largs. Largs Museum volunteers open it on afternoons from April to September, and by arrangement in winter.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Skelmorlie AisleClosed for the winter until 1 April 2027 (then Thursday to Sunday 13:30 – 16:30); visits outside these times by arrangement with Largs Museum

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'Skelmorlie Aisle is free to visit. Access is facilitated by Largs Museum. 1 April to 30 September: Thursday to Sunday, 1.30pm to 4.30pm. Last entry 4pm. 1 October to 31 March: Closed. Visits outside these dates and times may be possible by arrangement. Please email secretary@largsmuseum.org.' Largs Museum, closed for the winter until April 2027, also offers tours of the aisle and the old graveyard by prior arrangement (07712 039155).

Inside is the laird's loft with the carved Renaissance tomb and the painted barrel ceiling; the vault below, with the lead coffins, is normally closed to the public. No toilets at the aisle.

Photo: The stone Skelmorlie Aisle with its slate roof and arched gable, standing alone among gravestones in Largs old graveyard, with railed tombs beside it. WeeHolly, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:01949_Site_Pre-Reformation_Chapel_1_%26_BG_-_Skelmorlie_Aisle,_Largs_005.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.