St Clement’s Church

📌 Rodel, Isle of Harris
★★

🛠️ Access currently to ground floor only (checked April 2024)

St Clement’s Church, Rodel is 500 years old, built as a burial site for the MacLeod clan. The church can be found at the extreme southern tip of the Isle of Harris, in an elevated position at the centre of a small loop of road which also takes in Rodel village harbour, and remains in good shape thanks to several restorations following fires, periods of decline and the Reformation. The church tower will probably be the first thing that catches your eye. Close up, you’ll notice small carvings on each face including a sheela na gig on the south side: a naked female with an exaggerated vulva. At some point it must have been possible for visitors to reach the top of the tower, but the final ladder has been removed; stairs still lead part of the way up from the nave. While inside the building there are several elaborate carvings, cross slabs and tombs to admire. These include the tomb of Alastair, 8th chief of MacLeod, and founder of the church.