It is thought that a Catholic place of worship was established in the early 1800 in a room in the red sandstone, Stella Maris, on Shore Road as a place of worship for Harriet, the wife of Alexander Hamilton, owner of the Kames Estate.  The chapel in this photograph was built by Alexander Hamilton though sadly he died before it was opened in 1849.  When the estate was sold in 1854 the chapel was part of the estate and was bought by Duncan Hoyle.  A priest had to travel from the mainland to conduct services but in 1854 a resident priest was appointed though he found the Stella Maris chapel unsuitable as there was neither a priest’s house or school attached.  The first St Andrew’s Chapel was opened in 1866 and it is unclear how long the Port Bannatyne chapel continued to be used though the Chapel and Stella Maris were purchased by a Mr Thomas McKenzie.  He had started off as a hawker in Paisley before moving up in the world to describe himself as an antiques dealer and purchased the chapel and house in the 1860s with the property still being listed in valuation rolls as a chapel until 1887 but by the 1890s it is showing on maps as unused.  Thomas McKenzie and his family are buried in Rothesay Cemetery, the grave being marked by a very large and elaborate tombstone.  Mr McKenzie even named one of his daughters Stella Maris. The chapel was bought by William Woodhouse Strain in 1922 and he converted it into a hall.  It was demolished in 1962, the date of this photo, and the Strain Houses now occupy the site. (P03-2594, B15.24)