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This unassuming church ruin, dating from the 1300s, is the site of one of Scotland's most infamous massacres. On the first Sunday of May 1578, a congregation of Clan MacLeod worshippers were burned alive by a raiding party from the rival Clan MacDonald of Uist. They blocked the exits and set fire to the thatched roof. The act was in revenge for another massacre on the Isle of Eigg the previous year.
Unfortunately for the MacDonalds, a mortally wounded young girl managed to escape and raise the alarm. Unable to escape as their boats had been stranded by the ebbing tide, they were killed in the ensuing battle. They were then unceremoniously buried beneath a turf dyke which was toppled on top of their bodies, thus the incident became known as the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke.