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James III created his second son, also James (born 1476), Marquis of Ormond at his baptism; he granted him the Lordship of Ardmeneach in 1481, and elevated him to the Dukedom of Ross in 1487. This same, Marquis of Ormond resigned his lands, except Ormond, in 1502, having become 'an ecclesiastic' (Douglas 1813, 416; Origins Parochiales, II, ii (1855), 542-4).
The Sacrament House might well have been gifted to the church by the new duke and marquis, particularly as he obviously had religious leanings, or it could have found its way there indirectly having first been part of the furnishing of the castle chapel, dedicated to Our Lady. The period of royal association with Ormond and Avoch corresponds with dates of other known such ecclesiastical wall cupboards in Scotland, mostly with more sophisticated architectural decoration (McRoberts 1965, 56). The only other recognised Sacrament House in Easter Ross is in the mainly 18th- and 19th-century Contin Parish Church (NH 456 557) which incorporates portions of its medieval predecessor. In the late 19th century a small Sacrament House with arch-pointed head was revealed at the east end of the north wall during the removal of the gallery. This is also surrounded by a wide, but splayed, filleted roll and hollow moulded border, has no door or lining, and a rubble interior. McRoberts ascribed the aumbry to c 1500. Overall measurements are 2 ft 9 in high by 2 ft 8 in wide by 1 ft 6 in deep (84 by 81 by 46 cm) (McRoberts 1965, 56).
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