Hidden Scotland
Sign in
St Clement's Church at Rodel, its square tower rising above the churchyard under a blue sky.
Outer Hebrides

St Clement’s Church, Rodel

The grandest medieval building in the Western Isles, built by the MacLeods at Rodel, with a carved chief's tomb.

Welcome

St Clement's Church stands on a knoll at Rodel, at the southern tip of Harris, close to the sea, and it has been called the grandest medieval building in the Western Isles.

Alasdair Crotach MacLeod of Dunvegan and Harris, eighth chief of the clan, founded it in the early 1500s as the burial place of the MacLeods, and its cross-shaped plan and west tower were unique in the Western Highlands at the time.

Inside is an unmatched collection of late medieval carving, and the finest piece is Alasdair's own tomb, made in 1528, nineteen years before his death: his effigy in armour, guarded by lions, lies beneath an arched recess crowded with carvings of the apostles, angels with trumpets, the Virgin, a castle, a galley under sail and a hunting scene. His son William's tomb of 1552 is in the nave. Look up at the tower too: its faces carry a bishop, perhaps St Clement, two fishermen in a boat, a bull's head and, on one side, a female figure of a kind common in Ireland.

A little further outFlavourA small restaurant in Tarbert where every table is a chef's table for an eight-course tasting menu.16 min by roadSee itChris plating lobster on blue plates in the Flavour kitchen, a row of dishes ready on the counter.
Before you go

The church is at Rodel, at the southern end of the A859, a few miles beyond Leverburgh.

Cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

Getting there
CalMac ferry from Uig on Skye to Tarbert, or from North Uist to Leverburgh.
Where
Rodel, the southern tip of Harris.
Where it is

Rodel, Isle of Harris, HS5 3TW.

Close byAt Rodel, the south tip of Harris.
  1. Tweed scarves, "Love, Faith, Hope" boxes and Harris Tweed eggs on a shop counterGrannie Annie's, South HarrisA quirky roadside shop on the road to Rodel in South Harris, full of vintage finds, tweed, art and crafts, run by Annie Tempest.1 mile1 min by road
  2. Northton Salt FlatsNorthton Salt Flats6 miles9 min by road
  3. Nisabost beach from the rocks, white sand and turquoise water below green dunes.Nisabost Beach & MacLeod’s StoneA white-sand beach on the west coast of Harris, with a tall prehistoric standing stone on the headland above.12 miles16 min by road
  4. Seilebost's curve of white sand and turquoise surf below a conical hill, from above.Seilebost Beach, HarrisA white beach on the south side of Luskentyre Bay, looking over the water to Taransay and Ben Luskentyre.13 miles19 min by road
  5. The Golden Road winding past small lochs through the grey rock of South Harris, the sea beyond.The Golden RoadThe single-track road of 1897 along the rocky east coast of South Harris, through a string of tiny townships.14 miles18 min by road
Directions
Chris plating lobster on blue plates in the Flavour kitchen, a row of dishes ready on the counter.RestaurantsFlavour11 miles
A curved timber-roofed house glows with lit windows at dusk, chairs set on the gravel and decking outside.Outer HebridesHarris HideawaySleeps 2 · 26 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the church, and when each is next free.

A curved timber-roofed house glows with lit windows at dusk, chairs set on the gravel and decking outside.Harris Hideaway
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Outer Hebrides
  • 15 miles from St Clement's Church
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Outer HebridesAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.