St Clement's Church, Rodel

16th-century church at the southern tip of Harris with remarkable carved tombs

St Clement's Church at Rodel sits at the southernmost point of Harris, overlooking the Sound of Harris towards North Uist. The building dates from around 1520 and contains the finest carved stonework in the Outer Hebrides. The interior holds three elaborately carved late-medieval tombs, including the tomb of its builder, Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, with its remarkable panel of figures carved in a style that mixes Christian and older imagery.

The church fell into disrepair after the Reformation and was partly restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland and is open to visitors. The setting alone would make it worth stopping — a small stone building at the edge of the sea, with views across the sound and the hills of North Uist clearly visible on a clear day. The drive south from Tarbert passes through increasingly dramatic rocky landscape.

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A story
The church was built around 1520 by Alasdair Crotach MacLeod, chief of the MacLeods of Harris. He had his own tomb installed inside during his lifetime — an effigy of a knight in full armour, decorated with hunting scenes, apostles, and a sheela-na-gig (a carved female figure) that pre-Christian in character. The combination of piety and pagan imagery on a 16th-century tomb is unusual anywhere in Scotland.