Chapter III: Part 3

the palace wall. A portion of the south-west tower is still visible in the interior, and contains a doorway. The upper part of the west end (Figs. 492 and 494) was reconstructed by Charles I. in 1633. It contains two nondescript windows of seventeenth century Gothic, with an inscription between them, which events have not confirmed, viz.:--“He shall build ane House for my name and I will stablish the Throne of his kingdom for ever. Basilicam hanc Carolus Rex Optimus instavravit 1633.” The tympanum of the doorway has also been altered at this time, and an oaken lintel introduced, containing a shield, with the initials of Charles I.

The western doorway (see Fig. 495) has been a beautiful specimen of first pointed work. The jambs contained on each side free shafts, alternating larger and smaller. The caps were beautifully carved with foliage, and surmounted with rounded abaci. They had also a central band. The arch orders were very richly carved with running foliage of different designs, separated by plain mouldings and dog-tooth enrichments. The tympanum contained a series of small arches and shafts, resting on a lintel carved with angels’ heads (Fig. 496). The interior of the doorway (see Fig. 492) was also unusually rich, having shafts in the jambs, with carved caps and large dog-tooth enrichment in the label.

The north-west tower (see Fig. 494) is about 24 feet square externally. The west side is ornamented with two tiers of arcades. The lower arcade (Fig. 497) contains five pointed arches, with a trefoiled arch within each. These rest on triple shafts, with carved caps and rounded abaci. Over each shaft and between the arches there is a circle containing a boldly carved Norman head. This feature is unique, and its effect is fine. The upper arcade (Fig. 498) consists of three larger arches, each containing two smaller arches, and all resting on shafts with carved and rounded caps. The shields in the larger arches are pierced with bold quatrefoils. Two circles occur in the spandrils over the arches, but they do not now contain heads.

The same design is continued round the south side of the tower and along the west wall of the nave as far as the main doorway, but the north and east sides of the tower are plain. Above the two arcades the tower contains a large two-light window (see Fig. 494) on the north, east, and west sides. The jambs are lofty, and each contains two round shafts (see Fig. 498), with splays between, ornamented with plain balls similar to those of

the windows in the north wall. The caps are carved and have square abaci. The large outer arch of each window is of square section and perfectly plain, having only a small chamfer on the edge, and a label moulding. Each window is divided into two openings by a single central shaft, having a carved cap and broad square abacus, on which rest the two plain pointed arches of the inner openings. The shield above is pierced

with a bold quatrefoil. The jambs and central shaft have a moulded band in the middle of their height, and the windows are built up solid to that level, one of the mouldings of the band being carried across as a cornice; but this is probably a late insertion. On each external angle of the tower a large nook shaft is carried up, and finished with a cap on top and base at bottom.

As above mentioned, the two western piers of the crossing (see Fig. 493) are still standing. They consist of shafts similar to those of the main piers of the nave, but considerably larger, and are carried up to the same height as the vaulting shafts of the nave, where they have similar caps and a bold pointed arch thrown across the nave. Within this arch there has been erected, in modern times, a large traceried window. The spaces below the window and across the side aisles have been built up with fragments of the demolished structure, and a window is thus formed at the east end of each aisle.

During the fifteenth century the church has evidently undergone a thorough repair. It is thought that this was undertaken by Abbot Crawford, who presided over the abbey from about 1460 to 1483. The work executed at this time consisted of the addition of seven buttresses on the north side and several buttresses on the south side of the aisles. Those on the north side (see Fig. 486) are large, and may either enclose the old buttresses, or have been substituted for them. They have a set-off near the centre, above which each contains an elaborately ornamented and canopied niche. Beneath and above the niche there are carved panels which have contained angels and shields, with coats of arms. The arms of Abbot Crawford are said to have been carved on the panels, but they are now too much decayed to be distinguishable.

Above the upper panels the buttresses are continued with several set-offs, and finished with a small square pinnacle. The pinnacles have been crocheted and terminated with a carved finial, but they are now greatly wasted away. There were, doubtless, flying arches from the above buttresses to the clerestory (see their springing in Fig. 484), but they must have fallen with the roof.

A somewhat elaborate north doorway (see Fig. 486) has been introduced, in a style similar to that of the buttresses, in the second bay from the west tower. The arch is semicircular, and has an ogee canopy. There are small niches above the arch on each side which contained statues, now demolished. This doorway was probably constructed by Abbot Crawford at the same date as the buttresses.

A series of buttresses was also erected about the same time on the south side of the fabric. It is believed, however, that these buttresses are partly old, or are on old foundations. In order not to interfere with the cloister walk, which ran along next the south wall, and where it would have been inconvenient to have any projections, the buttresses were carried in the form of flying arches over the top of the cloister roof. At the clerestory level (see Fig. 493) flying arches, similar to those on the north side, rested against the upper portions of buttresses and pinnacles introduced between the windows. On the outside of the cloister walk the flying arch abutted upon oblong masses of masonry, which, probably, at one time were finished with pinnacles, but these no longer exist. Fig. 499 shows the lower part of the eastmost of these buttresses, from which it is evident that the outer enclosure of the cloister walk was connected with them, and extended as an open arcade between them.

Abbot Crawford was succeeded by Robert Bellenden, who presented the abbey with many costly gifts. Amongst these were the bells, a great brass font, and a chalice of gold. He further completed the restoration of the fabric begun by Abbot Crawford by covering the roof with lead. This took place before 1528.

In 1539 the office of commendator was bestowed on Robert, natural son of James V., while still an infant.

The “great brass font” was carried off by Sir Richard Lee, an officer of Hertford’s army, in 1544, and taken to St. Alban’s Abbey. It was afterwards sold for old metal.

The brass lectern of the abbey seems also to have fallen into Sir Richard Lee’s hands, and was by him presented to the parish church of St. Stephen’s, at St. Alban’s, where it still stands. It is a handsome lectern of the usual form, having an eagle with outstretched wings to receive the volume. It contains a shield with a lion rampant and a crozier, with the inscription, “Georgius Crichton, Episcopus, Dunkeldensis.”[34] Before becoming bishop, Crichton was Abbot of Holyrood, 1515-24.

KILWINNING ABBEY, AYRSHIRE.

Of this once important abbey only a few fragments now survive. The monastery occupied extensive grounds on the banks of the river Garnock, situated a few miles from the sea in the northern division of Ayrshire known as Cuninghame. The ruins of the south transept of the church may still be seen from the Kilwinning Railway Station towering above the houses of the town.

The site seems to have been occupied in the eighth century by an Irish monk called St. Winnan, who is believed to be the same as St. Finnan of Moville. On the spot sanctified by his cell, a monastery was founded in the twelfth century by Richard or Hugh Moville, said by Pont[35] to have been a knight who fled from England in consequence of his connection with the murder of Becket. He was welcomed by the King of Scotland, who created him Great Constable of the Kingdom, and presented him with the lordships of Cuninghame, Largs, and Lauderdale. But the dates are difficult to reconcile. It seems, however, that towards the end of the twelfth century a colony of Tyronensian Benedictines was imported into Kilwinning from Kelso Abbey, and, as usually happened at that period, was speedily endowed with lands and became wealthy. To judge from the style of the surviving architecture, the church must have been erected early in the thirteenth century. The south entrance doorway from the cloisters to the nave (Fig. 500), although pointed, contains some lingering Norman enrichments, while the other principal remains indicate the work of the thirteenth century. The history of the monastery is somewhat obscure. The chartulary has been lost, but the names of a number of the abbots are preserved.[36]

In the _Collections of the Archæological Association of Ayr and Wigton_ (1878) are printed a number of documents showing agreements between the monks of Kilwinning and others regarding churches and benefices. Amongst other papers there are notices of a charter by Robert I., granting to the monks fishings in Leven and Clyde; a petition by David II., showing that in consequence of wars and inroads the abbot and convent were reduced to a state of want and poverty, and granting them aid; several letters by Pope John XXII., early in the fourteenth century, confirming grants of different churches and patronages; confirmations by Robert II. and Robert III. of prior benefactions and new gifts; grants by James III. and confirmation by James IV. of certain royal grants formerly made to the abbey. An instrument narrates how, in 1512, the precincts of the abbey were invaded by the Earls of Glencairn and Angus on behalf of a rival abbot, thus showing that the monastery began to suffer from the turbulence of that period. Towards the middle of the sixteenth century the abbacy passed into the hands of commendators who, “for the utility and advantage of the said monastery,” as it was expressed, but really in order to secure as much as possible of the spoil, granted charters of the monastic lands to their lay friends and relations. Thus, in 1552, there is a confirmation by Queen Mary of a charter granted by Gavin, commendator of the abbey, in favour of Hugh, Earl of Eglinton, whereby “on the narrative of the usefulness and necessity to the said monastery of a prudent and legal justiciar, chamberlain, and bailie for the administration of justice to the tenants and inhabitants of the lands of the said monastery, and for their lawful defence against any that attempted to trouble them,” and also remembering the good services of the Earl and his predecessors “in the safeguard and defence of the rights and liberties of the said monastery, and especially in opposing by force and resisting malignant and heretical men in these times attempting every year to invade their monastery lands and possessions and to rob their revenues,” the feu right of the office of justiciary, chamberlainry, and bailiacy of certain of the lands of the monastery is granted to the said Earl, together with a salary of £40 Scots. Further charters are also granted to different parties in consideration of sums paid by them, said to be for the repair and restoration of the monastic buildings, which were ruinous and decayed.

In 1565 the abbacy was set apart, along with Paisley, Kelso, Jedburgh, and Newbattle, for the royal charges. By a charter under the Great Seal in 1603-4, the whole lands and possessions of the monastery were raised into a free temporal lordship in favour of Hugh, fifth Earl of Eglintoun.

The office of commendator appears to have survived, and in 1606, after the restoration of Episcopacy, retained the privileges attached to the order, and we find the bishops (who were the commendators) taking their seats in Parliament as formerly. This continued till 1638, when presbytery prevailed.[37]

The buildings of the abbey appear to have been destroyed shortly after the Reformation. According to Knox the Earl of Arran, together with the Earls of Glencairn and Argyle and the Protestants of the west, cast down Fail, Kilwinning, and part of Crosraguel Abbeys, and, as stated by Pont, the work of destruction was completed in 1591. Part of Kilwinning Abbey, however, was repaired and fitted up as a Presbyterian place of worship. This was taken down in 1775, and the present very plain parish church was erected on the site of the choir. Shortly after this time (1789) the building was visited by Captain Grose, who mentions that the tower or steeple was then being repaired by the Earl of Eglinton.

The Plan (Fig. 501) shows what parts of the monastic edifices can now be seen above ground. These consist of the south wall and gable of the south transept, and one pier with respond and arch between the south transept and its east aisle; the handsome door (see Fig. 500) which led from the nave into the cloisters; the entrance to the chapter house from the cloisters; a long ancient wall which formed the wall of the south aisle of the nave; and some portions of the west end of the nave and the south-western tower.

In the architectural notes which accompany an account of the abbey in the publication of the _Archæological Association of Ayr and Wigton_,[38] Mr. Galloway gives an account of the result of certain diggings and explorations carried out by him.

From these it was ascertained that traces of the outline of the rest of the church could be distinguished, as shown on the Plan. It was thus found that “in its original state Kilwinning was a cross church, 225 feet in extreme length internally, 64 to 65 feet in breadth at the nave, and 98 feet from north to south of the transepts. The nave had north and south aisles throughout its entire length, the transepts had eastern aisles only, and there was a small chancel about 30 feet in breadth, without aisles.” The church was terminated at the west end with two square towers, which projected slightly beyond the walls of the nave. The mode of construction of these towers formed a rather exceptional feature in Scottish church architecture. The towers were not carried down with solid walls to the foundation according to a usual plan (as at Elgin, Aberdeen, &c.), but rested on two sides on arches which opened into the nave and aisles, and thus formed a continuation of the aisles of the nave. Of these arches only that which opened into the south aisle remains, together with the pier and respond which supported it. The arch (Fig. 502) is acutely pointed and the springing is high, thus giving it a kind of horse shoe shape. The foundations of some other parts of the south

tower were, by excavation, ascertained to exist. The mouldings and caps of the existing piers and arch all belong to the first pointed period, but from having been long exposed to the weather, they are considerably decayed. The mouldings on the west angle of the pier are carried up to a great height without any caps (see Fig. 502). The caps would, doubtless, be placed at a higher point than the shafts now reach to. This indicates that the arches of the towers on the side next the central aisle of the nave were very high, probably reaching to the level of the clerestory arch, and thus effectually including the space of the towers in the nave. This arrangement of the tower arches next the nave is quite unique, and would give the appearance of a western transept at the entrance to the church.

The north-west tower has entirely disappeared, but its position has been ascertained to have corresponded with that of the south tower. Above the existing arch from the tower into the south aisle, and on the east side of it, a small portion of an arch of the triforium may still be observed (Fig. 503). A small shaft with cap and a portion of the arch yet remain. In Grose’s view some fragments of the clerestory are also shown, but they no longer exist. To the north of the south tower pier a strong wall, 6 feet in thickness, has been erected across what was originally part of the nave. This, Mr. Galloway thinks, was probably built as a reparation of the fourteenth century, the structure having probably suffered injury during the wars of independence. Whether the wall was erected at that time or not, there can be little doubt that it was constructed after the demolition of the original west front and tower, as a substitute for the former. The wall is built across the church between the east faces of the two towers, thus leaving the high arches of the towers, if they then existed, outside the edifice. It seems probable, however, that the south tower had by that time been partially demolished, and its ruins have remained ever afterwards exposed to the weather. Hence the extremely weather worn appearance the stones now present. The north tower, we know, remained complete till this century. It is shown by Grose, and an account exists of its being struck by lightning in 1805, and of its fall five years thereafter. A new tower has, in recent times, been erected on the site of the old north tower.

This renewed west wall has a plain pointed doorway and a lofty double window (see Figs. 502 and 503), with a simple mullion and transome of rather indefinite design. The doorway is extremely plain and small, being only about 3 feet in width, and having a double splay on the jambs and arch.

The nave seems to have consisted of seven bays in addition to the towers, and was of unusual width. A considerable portion of the south wall of the south aisle survives, and still retains the corbels which carried the vault of the south aisle. This wall, no doubt, formed the north side of the cloister walk, and contained the fine doorway from the cloister to the nave, shown in Fig. 500. Some traces of late Norman work are, as already noticed, observable here. The arch is pointed, and contains four orders of mouldings. The label is enriched with the dog-tooth, while the other ornaments, as well as the details of the caps and bases, are of a somewhat Norman character. The design of this doorway is thus in the transition style, while the remainder of the building is all of early pointed work. The undercut cross bars, which formed a chevron enrichment rising above a roll, have all been knocked off, only the stumps being left. One of the caps contains traces of two figures, and the ornamentation of the bases is peculiar (see enlarged sketches in Fig. 500). Two plain round headed doorways can be traced in the south wall of the nave, near its west end. They doubtless led from the nave into the cloister.

Modern buildings now occupy the site of the cloisters, and the old cloister wall is incorporated with them. One of these houses bears the date of 15--, and comprises some of the plain vaulted structures which appear to have formerly been part of the abbey buildings.

The south wall of the south transept, with its gable (Fig. 504), is, fortunately, fairly well preserved, and forms a lofty and prominent object in the landscape, rising to a height of about 90 feet. Its triple lancets, with their plain chamfers on the outside, and bold mouldings in the interior (Fig. 505), and circular light above, are characteristic of thirteenth century work. The mouldings and dog-tooth enrichments of the arch of the eastern aisle (see Fig. 505) are indications of the same period. Similar mouldings and ornaments have been carried up into the triforium, and remains of a circular cusped opening are visible in the east wall above. One arch of the arcade of the east aisle, with one pier and respond, still survive. All the work connected with them is of fine first pointed design. A doorway in the south-west angle of the transept led to the stair to the upper parts of the structure, and, doubtless, also to the dormitory over the chapter house, &c.

From Mr. Galloway’s explorations it was discovered that the foundations of the north wall of the north transept still exist, thus enabling the dimensions of the church to be determined. Both transepts had, as was very usual, only an eastern aisle.

To the south of the south transept some portions of the slype or passage from the cloisters to the eastern side of the monastery, and parts of the chapter house, yet remain. The slype has a plain semicircular arched doorway (see Fig. 507) next the cloister, and has had a stone bench or seat running along each side. The passage has been arched with a cradle vault in ashlar, of which a small portion still survives. The chapter house is in ruins, but the west wall (Fig. 506), which contains the semicircular entrance from the cloister and two semicircular windows, one on each side of the entrance, is still preserved. The windows were divided into two openings by a mullion and two plain arches. The doorway and double windows have numerous mouldings, and the doorway is enriched also on the inside (Fig. 507.) The mouldings are bold, and the same mouldings are repeated in the jambs and arches. The caps are simple (see section in Fig. 506), but they are not adjusted to the mouldings of the jambs, having a plain soffit, against which the shafts and mouldings of the jambs butt. These are all indications of somewhat late design. As was usually the case, the doorway and side windows of the chapter house were left open; that is, without a door to close the doorway or glass in the windows, so that all that passed in the chapter house might be seen and heard from the cloister. The chapter house has been of quadrangular form, 19 feet in width by 38 feet 4 inches in length. Only the entrance front remains.

Of the choir the outline only could be traced during the excavations. The eastern angles terminated with massive buttresses. The extreme external width over the bases was only 42 feet 6 inches, thus leaving a choir not more than 30 feet in width internally. From the massive foundations discovered at the intersection of the nave and transepts, it is surmised that there may probably have been a central tower as well as the two western towers.

DUNBLANE CATHEDRAL,[39] PERTHSHIRE.

The dioceses of Dunblane and Brechin were founded towards the close of the reign of David I. from the remains of the old Pictish bishopric of Abernethy, after numerous portions had been abstracted by St. Andrews.[40]

The town of Dunblane stands on the left bank of the Allan Water about four miles north of Stirling. The old town is small and consists of a single narrow street leading from the bridge over the Allan up to the platform on which the cathedral stands surrounded by its ancient churchyard. Indications of the age of many of the houses may be observed in the coats of arms inserted in their walls.

It is believed that St. Blane, in the seventh century, here founded a Columban establishment, which is said to have been an offshoot from Kingarth in Bute.[41] The bishopric was re-established by King David I. in 1150. The ancient square tower of the cathedral which still survives is a relic of the structure erected in the twelfth century. Nothing is known of the cathedral from that time till 1233, when Clement was appointed to the see. Finding everything connected with the bishopric in a neglected condition, he repaired to Rome and laid the case before the Pope, pointing out that the Columban monastery had fallen into lay hands, that the church was roofless and without a pastor, and that divine service was only occasionally performed. He succeeded in his appeal, and, in 1238, the Bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld were appointed to settle matters between the Bishop of Dunblane and the Earl of Monteith who had raised certain claims. Clement died in 1258, after having re-established the bishopric, and, it is believed, partly, if not entirely, rebuilt the cathedral.

To judge from the style of the architecture, it is probably the case that the structure was at least begun by him, though the style indicates that it was not completed before the end of the thirteenth century.

This cathedral is one of our noblest structures, and situated as it is on the high east bank of the Allan, which here swells out into a broad

expanse, the view of the edifice, as seen from the south-west (Fig. 508), with its lofty front and ancient tower rising above the wooded bank of the stream, is particularly charming.

The structure (Fig. 509) consists of a nave of eight bays, with north and south aisles, an aisleless choir of six bays, an northern aisle unconnected with the choir, except by a doorway, and the twelfth century tower attached to the south aisle of the nave.

The tower is 22 feet 6 inches square, with walls about 5 feet in thickness. It is awkwardly placed in connection with the church, the walls not being parallel to those of the nave, while the tower projects into the south aisle from 6 feet to 7 feet 6 inches. A high window in the east wall of the ground floor of the tower is, in consequence, built up by the wall of the aisle. The ground floor has a pointed ribbed barrel vault, and a wheel stair in the south-west angle leads to the top. The doorway of the tower is in the north wall, and now enters from the south aisle of the nave (Fig. 510); but, so far as can be ascertained, the doorway appears to have been originally an external one. The sill is about 3 feet above the existing level of the floor of the nave. It has a nook shaft on each side, with the usual Norman cap and base, and a semicircular arch head. There is no appearance of any building having originally been joined to, or abutted against, the tower, which would therefore seem to have stood detached. It would thus be to a certain extent in accordance with the traditional design, being detached like the Irish towers, though square on plan, not round like them. It also resembled the Irish towers in having the doorway raised some feet above the ground. As Dunblane was several times pillaged and destroyed by the Norsemen, the tower may have been intended, as the ancient round towers were, to serve as a place of defence against such inroads, as well as for a belfry.

The tower (Fig. 511) is six stories in height. The lower four of these stories form part of the original structure, and have small narrow apertures, except the fourth story, which was probably the original top story or belfry, and has a two-light window on each side. These consist of an opening with plain jambs and round arched head, divided into two lights by a central shaft having Norman cap and base and two small plain round arched heads within the outer arch. The four lower stories of the tower are all built with red freestone, the fifth story is of yellow freestone, the sixth or top story of a grey freestone, and the tower is finished with a parapet of red freestone. The two highest stories are evidently of a late date. The top story contains a large pointed window on each side with a central mullion. The form of these windows is inelegant, and they are probably of sixteenth century date. The parapet, with its angle bartisans resembling those of the castles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but with almost no projection, is apparently still later than the belfry story. On the parapet are the arms of Bishop Chisholm, about 1500. The slated

wooden roof is comparatively modern, but is on the lines of the one which preceded it.

Judging from the style of the architecture the next oldest part of the fabric after the tower is the north aisle of the choir (generally called the lady chapel). The work here (Fig. 512) is all of a rather early first pointed style. The buttresses are plain with simple set offs, and the windows consist of two or three small pointed lights enclosed within one larger arch. The latter are low segmental pointed arches, and the haunches are raised so as to allow the small side lights to be carried as high as possible. This building is vaulted (Fig. 513) with pointed groins of first pointed section, which spring from semi-octagonal shafts with early caps, and the bosses at the intersection are carved with first pointed foliage. Above the vault there is an upper story with small two-light windows. It is approached by a wheel stair in the thickness of the west wall, entered both from the lady chapel and the nave aisle. Such upper stories over the aisles of early churches are not uncommon, as at Durham, Ely, St. Albans, Dunfermline, &c., but they generally form an upper gallery and admit light to the centre. Here the upper windows admit no light to the choir, the wall of the latter being solid. Possibly this upper chamber may have been used for a scriptorium or similar purpose. Upper stories were frequently employed for writing rooms, as at Arbuthnot and Inchcolm, the room over the chapter house of the latter being the place where Bower wrote his history.

It is remarkable that this north aisle of the choir, or lady chapel, should be entirely separated from the choir by a solid wall in which there never was any opening into the aisle except the small doorway near the east end, which is of first pointed date.[42] This doorway, with its details, is shown in Fig. 514. Whether this aisle was the first part of the structure erected by Bishop Clement in order to be used as a temporary church while the remainder of the cathedral was building, or whether the choir built by him was afterwards rebuilt, the north aisle being left unchanged, it is now impossible to say. That the choir is of later date than the aisle there can scarcely be any doubt; but it does not appear to be of much later date. The same base mouldings are carried round the whole building, and the design of the east end of the choir, with its large central and two narrow side windows (see Fig. 512) and plain pinnacles, shows some features of first pointed character; but both the large window of the east end and those of the south side (see Fig. 511) point to a time about the beginning of the decorated period. The windows of the clerestory on the north side above the roof of the north aisle, with their small buttresses, are, however, of a similar early character to those of the north aisle. Whatever may have been the object in building

a solid wall between the choir and the north aisle, it has evidently been intended, from the size of the east windows and also of those on the south side, to provide sufficient light by them to make up for the want of light from the north. The kind of tracery which filled these windows cannot now be ascertained, but it may have been of the same character as that of the windows of the west end. The tracery, which existed till recently in the choir, was clearly a late restoration. The pinnacles on the south buttresses and the upper part of the choir wall are also of very late date. These have apparently been restored by Bishop Chisholm, whose crest they bear, about the year 1500. It will be observed that the north aisle of the choir stops short by one bay of the length of the choir, so as to allow the presbytery to be lighted, as is usual, by windows on three sides. The choir is 81 feet in length by 28 feet in width within the walls.

Door from Choir to Lady Chapel. Details.]

We now come to the most beautiful part of the structure, viz., the nave. It measures internally 129 feet in length by 57 feet in width (including the aisles), and is divided into eight bays. The four eastmost bays and the westmost bay are 10 feet in width between the piers, while the three bays next the westmost bay are 12 feet between the piers. A similar difference is observable in the upper part of the structure, which consists of the clerestory, there being no triforium (Fig. 516). The clerestory is constructed with an outer and an inner wall (Fig. 515), having a passage between them in the centre. In the outer wall are the windows, which have two lights formed by a central mullion, with plain splays on the jambs and pointed arch (Fig. 517). The arch head is filled with a form of tracery consisting of a quatrefoil cut in a plain circular panel, being thus an intermediate example between the perforated panel of early first pointed work and the bar tracery of the

decorated period. On the inner side of the clerestory gallery an arcade (see Fig. 515) is more elaborately carried out. Each bay contains two arches forming a continuous arcade, resting on clustered shafts with rounded caps and bases of first pointed style. The arch mouldings are

also of fine bold first pointed form. Of this arcade, four and a-half bays on the north side and four bays on the south side next the east end have the arcade, without central shaft or tracery. The remainder of the clerestory arches on both sides have the opening divided by a central shaft carrying two pointed arches, and the arch head is filled with a quatrefoil cut out of a circular shield like those above described. The western bay (Fig. 518) is exceptional, having one arch with and one without tracery on each side of the nave, the openings without tracery being the east one on the south side and the west one on the north side. It may also be pointed out that the four east bays have ashlar work in the spandrils of the main arches, while the spandrils of the four west bays are filled in with rubble work.

The main piers and arches are all of nearly the same design (Fig. 519). They are set diagonally to the nave, and have four half shafts at the cardinal angles and one intermediate shaft and two square projections between on each side. In the south piers the square angle is cut off these projections, otherwise the plan of the piers is the same. They have all rounded first pointed caps, composed of mouldings over a bell, and the bases are of usual first pointed forms (see Fig. 516).

The west end (Fig. 520) is one of the finest parts of the cathedral. On the ground floor it contains the western doorway (Fig. 521), deeply recessed with a series of shafts and arch mouldings of line first pointed design, flanked by an acutely pointed blind arch on each side with trefoiled head within it. This ground story is surmounted by three lofty pointed windows (see Fig. 520), all of equal height, and each divided into two lights by a central mullion, and having the arch head filled in the central window with a cinquefoil, and in the side windows with a quatrefoil. The windows are all enclosed with a label moulding, having carved terminals. The jambs and arches have plain triple splays (Fig. 522), and the openings in the arch heads are cut out of plain circular shields like the windows of the clerestory. A passage like that of the clerestory runs round in the west wall, and has an inner arcade of clustered shafts, with arch mouldings and tracery similar to those of the clerestory. In the interior arcade the three arch heads are all filled with cinquefoils cut through what is almost a plain shield (Fig. 523). The gable is filled with an elegant vesica piscis (Fig. 524), to which Ruskin draws attention in his _Edinburgh Lectures_.

The edifice has not been intended to be vaulted. The buttresses of the nave are light (see Fig. 517), and they are finished with plain

gablets. The cornice is supported on a corbel table of pure first pointed design. There is no transept, but an attempt has been made to supply its place by the insertion of large traceried windows in the first bay of the nave next the choir (see Fig. 508). The east window of the south aisle of the nave (see Fig. 511) has the shield over the central mullion carved with a quatrefoil sinking on the inside, but it is not pierced through to the outside, which is left quite plain. The aisles are of very plain design, the windows being somewhat similar to those of the lady chapel, and the buttresses being very plain. Two windows at the west end of the north aisle (Fig. 525) are of peculiar form, having a flat segmental arch and being divided by two mullions. These appear to be a comparatively late alteration. There has been a north porch (see Fig. 525) to the nave, of which only the ruined doorway, with first pointed shafts and arch mouldings, now remains. There is also a plain south doorway in the nave aisle (see Fig. 511).

The north buttress of the west end has been made large so as to contain a wheel stair to the upper galleries (see Plan) of the edifice (see Fig. 517), and in the buttress on the south side of the west doorway a small vaulted chamber has been formed, in which some interesting relics of Celtic times have been preserved, amongst others a stone carved with a Celtic cross, ornamented with a figure like a Greek fret.

As already mentioned, the greater part of the structure is of first pointed date. The lady chapel may be the oldest part (after the tower), and next to it is the east portion of the nave. The western half of the nave seems to have followed soon after the eastern portion, and is carried out nearly after the same design. The transition tracery in the arcade of the clerestory and west end is very interesting, as showing bar tracery in the act of being formed. This could scarcely have occurred in Scotland before the end of the thirteenth century.

The style of the choir is further advanced than the nave, and exhibits some transitional features between first pointed and decorated work. The great east window and the large side windows of the choir probably contained tracery more advanced than that of the west end, and may probably date from the fourteenth century. The pinnacles and parapet are, as already pointed out, of about 1500.

By great good fortune six of the stalls of Dunblane Cathedral with their canopies, and several others without canopies, have escaped the destruction which has overtaken almost all the carved woodwork of our ancient Scottish churches. Those preserved here (Fig. 526) show some excellent carving.

Vesica in West Gable.]

These stalls contain on one of the misereres the arms of the Chisholm family, surmounted by a mitre. Three bishops of this name presided in succession at Dunblane. First, James, eldest son of Edmund Chisholm of Cromlix, who was advanced to this see in 1486. In 1527, by reason of his age, he resigned the bishopric in favour of his half-brother, William Chisholm (second), who was consecrated the same year, and was bishop

till his death in 1564. Third, William Chisholm, nephew to the preceding, who was first coadjutor to his uncle, and then his successor. He was forfeited for non-compliance with the new measures both in Church and

State, sometime before the 3rd July 1573, and retired to France, where he died in his old age a Carthusian at Grenoble.

The first of these bishops, James, receives very favourable notice from Bishop Spottiswoode in his _History of the Church_ (Vol. I. p. 215, Spottiswoode Society edition). “A severe censor he was of the corrupted manners of the clergy, and recovered many lands and possessions which were sacrilegiously taken from the Church before his time;” and otherwise he speaks highly of him. The same authority condemns his successor, Bishop William, as “a wicked, vicious man, who, for the hatred he bore to the true religion, made away all the lands of the bishopric, and utterly spoiled the benefice.” Bishop Keith bears the same testimony, saying that “he alienated the Episcopal patrimony of this church to a very singular degree.” The extent to which this alienation went will be best understood from the remark of Bishop Keith regarding the second Bishop William, that he “dilapidated any remains of his bishopric,” clearly implying, as his more detailed account shows, that there was little left to squander.

In these circumstances it is not at all probable that either of the Bishops William would spend money in the adornment of their cathedral. There is therefore no difficulty in concluding that the stalls were provided by Bishop James Chisholm, and that they date between the years 1486 and 1534, the year of his death. Although he resigned in 1527, he retained to himself the administration of “the fruits of the bishopric of Dunblane.”[43]

The carving is very spirited, and full of grotesque figures (see details in Fig. 527). It corresponds in style with the date of Bishop James Chisholm, and has probably been brought from Flanders, where so much

carving of the kind was executed about that time. The lion (Fig. 528) is especially good of its kind. It was taken out of the cathedral during some of the alterations and repairs made on it about the beginning of this century; and at the same time a considerable quantity of carved woodwork was removed and converted into household furniture. Fig. 529 shows some of the carvings on the lower side of the misereres of the stalls which have no canopies.

The cathedral contains a few ancient sculptured monuments. One of these is in the north wall of the choir, and consists of a tomb, under a recessed canopy, containing the effigy of a bishop (Fig. 530), said to be Finley Dermock, who was bishop of the see in the beginning of the fifteenth century. This bishop built the first bridge over the Allan, at Dunblane, which still survives, although widened and improved. The head of the crozier and the right hand which held it have been knocked off; otherwise the effigy is in good preservation. The feet rest against an animal, much mutilated, whose tail runs into a wreath of foliage of first pointed character.

Another episcopal effigy, attired in pontifical vestments and mitre, rests in a tomb (Fig. 531) in the south wall of the eastmost bay of the nave. This is believed to be the monument of Bishop Michael Ochiltree, who occupied the see about the middle of the fifteenth century, and added much to the rich ornaments of the cathedral. The tomb and effigy are evidently of late date, and both are much decayed.

In the north aisle of the nave are preserved two effigies (Fig. 532), said to be those of Malise, eighth Earl of Strathearn, and his countess. The figures are life-size, and are carved in a block of sandstone. “When discovered in the choir, the block was above a coffin of lead, having inscribed on it the date 1271.”[44] The figures, however, are undoubtedly of later date.

INCHMAHOME PRIORY, STIRLINGSHIRE.

The ruins of this priory are situated on a small island of about four acres in extent in the beautiful lake of Menteith. Its retired and peaceful position is well indicated in the name of Inchmahome, which means the Isle of Rest. This secluded situation has to some extent saved the buildings from demolition and the grounds from alteration; so that this venerable priory, surrounded as it is with ancient and gigantic walnut trees, and the remains of the gardens of the monks, has a peaceful and impressive beauty and interest of its own.

But although the church is fairly well preserved, the monastic buildings have not escaped the ordinary causes of destruction so entirely as their situation would have led one to expect.

The adjacent island of Talla is almost entirely covered with the ruins of the castle of the Earls of Menteith,[45] which seems to date mostly from the seventeenth century, and in the construction of which the materials of the suppressed priory, lying so conveniently at hand, were no doubt largely employed. The Earl must also have found the gardens on the island of the abbey convenient, and appropriated them as a pleasure ground.

The instrument authorising the establishment of the priory of Inchmahome still exists. It is given in the name of the Pope by the Bishops of Glasgow and Dunkeld in the year 1238, and authorises a monastery to be built for the religious men already settled in the island. The priory was founded and endowed by Walter Comyn, fourth Earl of Menteith, for monks of the Augustinian order. From the style of its architecture the church evidently belongs to the middle of the thirteenth century. Its details, such as the lofty lancet windows, the nave piers and arches, the western doorway, &c., bear a striking resemblance, on a small scale, to those of the neighbouring cathedral of Dunblane.

The Plan (Fig. 533) shows a choir 66 feet long by 23 feet 8 inches wide internally, without aisles, and with plain lancet windows, without tracery (Fig. 534), those of the east end forming five lights (now built up). The mullions are preserved, but the arched heads are gone.

There is a good sedilia (Fig. 535) and two ambries in the south wall, and on the north side of the choir are the ruins of what seems to have been a sacristy built as a north aisle, with only a door from the church, in the fashion of the north aisle of Dunblane. From the base mouldings being carried round this aisle, it is evidently an original part of the design, and the corbels for the wall plate show that it had a lean-to roof like an ordinary aisle.

The nave is 75 feet in length, and its width varies, being 23 feet 8 inches at the east and 27 feet 2 inches at the west end. This difference seems to have arisen from the south wall having been rebuilt. The nave has a north aisle connected with it by four arches, two of the piers and arches of which are still standing (Fig. 536). The caps, bases, and sections of piers and arch mouldings (Fig. 537) are all good first pointed work. The west doorway is also very fine, and is pretty well preserved (Fig. 538). It comprises a central pointed doorway with deep ingoing, having numerous shafts with moulded caps and bases, and a deep series of first pointed mouldings in the arch head (Fig. 539). On each side of the central doorway are two pointed wall arches with similar caps and mouldings, but with only a shallow recess. The spandrils between the arches contain trefoil and quatrefoil recesses.

There are the remains of a tower at the north-west angle of the nave (Fig. 540), but this has been a later addition. There seems, from the original base course, to have been a tower of some kind here from the first, but it has evidently been rebuilt, and divided into stories, as if for habitation. In this operation the arches of the nave and aisle adjoining, which were originally open, were built up with rubble, but that has now been cleared out again.

On the south side of the choir is situated the chapter house (see Fig. 533), 24 feet in length by 15 feet in width internally. It is vaulted with a semicircular tunnel vault, over which there is a room in the roof (see Fig. 534). The chapter house has a good east window, and there is the usual stone seat all round. An outside staircase led to the upper apartment. The cloisters and cloister garth have been situated to the south of the nave; the corbels for the cloister roof still remain. There is no south aisle, and there are no south windows or buttresses to the nave along what was the cloister walk. To the south of these structures are several remains of the monastic buildings, but much destroyed.

The kitchen and offices at the south end (see Plan) are the best preserved portions, having the fireplace, windows, water drain, &c., and the kitchen is still covered with a plain round tunnel vault, over which there was an upper floor. The refectory probably ran along the south side of the cloister. A staircase near the kitchen led to the dormitory, of which it would form the day access.

Arch Mouldings.

Cap and Base.

FIG. 537.--Inchmahome Priory. Details of Nave.]

There is at first sight a strange confusion amongst the conventual buildings, owing to what turns out, on careful examination, to be a comparatively recent erection built in the middle of them.

The chapter house seems to have been appropriated as a mausoleum by the Earls of Menteith and Airth, and a long avenue has been

constructed and enclosed between two high walls leading up to it. This was, no doubt, erected with the materials of the demolished monastic buildings right through the centre of what was the cloister garth. This enclosure is said to have been erected in haste to receive the remains of Lord Kilpont, son of the first Earl of Menteith and Airth, who was assassinated in the camp of Montrose at Collace, in 1644, by Stewart of Ardvoirlich; a weird Highland story, on which Scott has founded his romance of _The Legend of Montrose_. The body was sent home to his father, then a State prisoner in his own castle of Talla, and was buried here.

In the choir are the graves of some of the most distinguished men of the families of Comyn, Stewart, Drummond, and Graham, with numerous monuments, much defaced--amongst others, that of Walter Stewart, fifth Earl of Menteith and his Countess (Figs. 541 and 542). The Earl was one of the most historic men of his day. He was present at the battle of Largs, in 1263; he was a witness to the marriage of the Princess Margaret to Eric of Norway, 1281; and he was a distinguished crusader under Louis IX.

(Drawn from Sketch by Mr. R. B. Armstrong.)]

In 1543 Queen Mary, as a child, found refuge here along with her mother after the battle of Pinkie, and she stayed here for some months until a favourable opportunity was found for sending her to France. Dr. John Brown has pointed out that amongst other interesting and suggestive relics in the garden may still be seen what seems to have been the young queen’s miniature or child’s garden--a small flower plot, the boxwood edging of which has now grown up into a thick shrubbery.

(Drawn from Sketch by Mr. R. B. Armstrong.)]

At the south side of the island there is a high mound, called the “Nun’s Walk,” about which a romantic and tragic tale is told. This may, however, have been an artificial mote or mound, raised for the purpose of receiving an early wooden castle on its summit. There is a similar mound close to Lincluden College, Dumfriesshire.

ELGIN CATHEDRAL, MORAYSHIRE.

This once noble edifice, of which even the remaining fragments are amongst our finest examples of mediæval architecture, stands in the fertile plain of Moray, in the centre of the region which borders the Moray Firth, and is remarkable for the pleasantness and salubrity of its climate. This province was long a subject of contest between the Scottish kings and the Mormaers of Moray. The latter were defeated by Alexander I., and more permanently subdued by David I., who both proceeded to carry out the ecclesiastical policy of their family by founding in this newly-acquired land various religious establishments.

The priory of Urquhart, of which now not a stone remains, was established by David I., near the mouth of the Lossie, in 1125, for Benedictines from Dunfermline; and the abbey of Kinloss, near the Findhorn, was founded, in 1150, for Cistercians from Melrose. The churches of Birnie, Spynie, and Kineddar also come into notice about this period.