This modest cluster of buildings holds particular significance as the location of the island’s ancient ecclesiastical complex, now designated National Monument number 24. The religious importance of this remote Atlantic outpost stretches back to at least the 7th century, with literary references documenting its sacred status throughout both the early and later medieval periods. The Civil Survey of 1654-56 makes tantalising mention of ‘five churches almost ruined’ that once stood here, though only one appears to have survived to the present day.

Among the most intriguing remnants of West Town’s ecclesiastical past is a collection of carved stone fragments gathered together on what the Ordnance Survey maps label as the ‘Altar’, a platform-like structure near the Round Tower at the western end of the settlement. These weathered pieces appear to be the remains of what was once a high cross, though time and circumstance have left them in a rather confused state. Two fragments in particular seem to belong together; one, measuring 65cm high, 34cm wide and 11cm thick, has unfortunately been placed upside down in a cylindrical base that probably didn’t originally belong to the cross. Despite this awkward positioning, the outline of a robed figure can still be discerned in light relief, complete with what might be a belt groove and feet that now appear at the top due to the inversion.

The second fragment tells a clearer story, bearing the upper portion of what is almost certainly Christ, carved in high relief with arms stretched out at right angles to his body and hair falling on either side of his face. One arm of the cross survives intact, showing the carefully rendered curve of the armpit, whilst the backs of both fragments appear to have been left undecorated. Together, these broken pieces offer a glimpse into the artistic and religious traditions that once flourished on this windswept island, where monks and pilgrims sought spiritual isolation on the very edge of the known world.