St Duthac’s Church and pilgrimage museum, Tain

This site of immense pilgrim significance in the Middle Ages, the shrine of St. Duthac, inspired James IV to make the journey here 18 times

‍Highlights

• Former shrine of St. Duthac
• Museum about Tain pilgrimage
• St. Duthac’s Church
• Ruins of medieval chapel

This is the most northerly entry in mainland Britain, and one of the best. It is rare to find anywhere in Scotland that promotes its history of pilgrimage so explicitly, even outdoing Whithorn at the other end of the country. A new pilgrimage route, the Northern Pilgrims Way, has been introduced by the Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum, starting in Tain and ending in Kirkwall, further underlining the rich history here.

Tain’s museum is spread between three buildings on the same site. Two of them are of particular interest for this book: a pilgrimage centre and the church of St. Duthac. The third museum building tells the secular history of the town. The three sites are known collectively as Tain Through Time.

The pilgrimage centre sells tickets to the whole museum complex and has a remarkably detailed exhibition on the history of pilgrimage here. It will also lend you a CD guide to St. Duthac’s Church next door.

St. Duthac (1000–1065) was born in Scotland but died in Ireland – early Scottish saints usually did those the other way around. The return of his relics in 1253 to his place of birth sparked an overwhelming interest in pilgrimage. Tain became one of Scotland’s most important shrines.

The saint was a bishop, remembered for his devotion to hearing confession and for giving spiritual advice. The pilgrimage centre illustrates several of the saint’s miracles, including the time he gathered up some red-hot coals in his apron as a young boy and carried them home to his mother without burning. His saint’s day is 8 March.

Given the small number of religious artifacts surviving Scotland’s Reformation, it is almost another miracle to find an intact, if rather weather-beaten, sculpture of the saint on display in St. Duthac’s Church. Dating back to medieval times, this is a direct link to the saint’s veneration.

Next to the sculpture, which is in the far left-hand corner from the entrance, are some niches cut into the stone wall. The one high up is thought to be a relic safe where the saint’s skull was kept. King James IV visited St. Duthac’s relics as a pilgrim 18 times. I reached up and traced my finger over the long-abandoned shelf, a thin layer of dust lying where the hopes and prayers of the nation once rested.

Tain’s pilgrim credentials are all still here: the church remains a consecrated building and does hold services from time to time. The St. Duthac’s Way pilgrimage route to St. Andrews is among other route revivals, although it currently runs only from Aberdeen rather than reaching all the way to Tain.

St. Duthac’s relics disappeared at the Scottish Reformation in 1560: they were sent to Balnagown Castle for safeguarding by Alexander Ross, the local laird. A dissolute man, the museum attendant hinted, Ross was no doubt more delighted to ‘safeguard’ the gold and silver casings than the blessed relics they contained.

A few minutes’ walk from the museum complex lies a ruined chapel that marks the birthplace of St. Duthac. It probably once housed his relics too, before they were moved to the newer church in the 15th century. It is a peaceful place, seldom visited, and at the time of my trip fenced off due to falling masonry. You can still touch the outer walls.

Whether or not the ruins will ever be cleared and the site incorporated into a local visitor and pilgrim attraction is unknown. Ten years after my first visit, the ivy still grows and the church remains fenced off. A growth in pilgrim numbers might prompt a modest revival. St. Duthac’s relics brought fame and relative fortune to this amiable town in the past, saintly power undimmed by the passage of time.

Directions‍

Tain Through Time, Tower Street, Tain IV19 1DY‍

www.tainmuseum.org.uk‍

W3W: tint.tasks.point GPS: 57.8125N 4.0548W (museum)

W3W: glows.hush.outs GPS: 57.8131N 4.0458W (ruined chapel)

Tain railway station 250m to museum, 400m to chapel‍

The pilgrimage centre, museum, and church are on Tower Street and Castle Brae, a lane leading off the High Street in the town centre. The complex is open Mon–Fri from 1 April to the end of October, and Saturdays Jun–Aug. For more information see the website or call 01862 894089.

The ruin of the chapel is a few minutes’ walk away, sitting in the middle of a large cemetery. Keep walking down Castle Brae and follow signs to the golf course, along Chapel Road. It is easy to spot and accessible at any time.