Chapter VII: Part 7

The repairs carried out by Prior Alexander were probably the work required for the erection of the tomb of Sir Kenneth and his own tomb, which was in a recess in the choir on the opposite side of the wall from that of Sir Kenneth.

The tomb of Sir Kenneth (Fig. 652) is a good specimen of the work of the period, and is very similar to other tombs of the same kind at Fortrose and Fearn. The recumbent figure, clad in full armour, rests on an arcaded tomb or pedestal, and the recess, which is covered with a pointed canopy, is enriched with a crocketed label and pinnacle bearing a shield, and the whole tomb is flanked by two thin buttresses. On the sill is engraved the following inscription:--“Hic Jacet Kanyens M. Kynych d’us de Kyntayl. q. obiit dii Februarii A. Di M.CCCC.LXXXXI.”

The chamber to the south of the choir has also contained monuments, but they are now destroyed. It measures 22 feet by 17 feet internally, and seems to have been connected by a door with the conventual buildings to the south. It has contained two stories, the upper story forming a gallery, connected with the church by a wide arch (see Fig. 649).

The choir contains a double piscina, near the east end, in a good first pointed style.

Under the triangular windows in the south wall of the nave are a piscina and ambry. These mark the position of an altar, which may have been erected at the rood screen, which probably separated the nave from the choir at this point, thus dividing the portion of the church open to the parishioners from that reserved for the clerics. Opposite this piscina there is a door (now built up) in the north wall, and near it, on the outside, there is another piscina. This may possibly mark the position of another chapel, which may have been that of the Holy Cross above, said to have been erected by Hugh Fraser in the fifteenth century.

NEWBATTLE OR NEWBOTLE ABBEY,[90] MID-LOTHIAN.

Newbotle Abbey or, as it is now called (without the name having any special meaning), Newbattle Abbey is situated on the river Esk, about two miles south from Dalkeith. It was founded by David I. in the year 1140, for monks of the Cistercian order, who were brought to Newbotle (or new residence) from Melrose. The “leader of the colony” appears to have been Ralph, the first abbot, who obtained numerous gifts and privileges for the convent, and consecrated a “cemetery within the precinct of the monastery.” The second abbot, Alfred, who died in 1179, was also a great benefactor to the abbey. He brought to it many relics, which he enclosed in a silver chest. “He adorned the chapter house with handsome seats, and also erected proper stalls, with convenient desks or _menologies_ of wood, in the cloisters on the side where the ‘collation’ or reading of the lives of the saints was held, for the use of the brethren during the reading of collation before compline at the washing of feet at Maunday.”[91]

During the time of the tenth abbot, Constantine, the church was dedicated by Andrew de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, in March 1233.

In the year 1241, Mary de Couci, queen of Alexander II., “looking to her time of peril, and impressed with the frail tenure of life, bequeathed her body to be buried in the church of Newbotle.”[92] This would seem to indicate that the fabric of the church, if not finished by this time, was far advanced. Mary de Couci survived for about thirty years, when her desire to be buried here was carried out; and Father Hay describes her tomb, apparently from the record of an eye-witness. “In the midst of the church was seen the tomb of the queen of King Alexander, of marble, supported on six lions of marble. A human figure was placed reclining on the tomb, surrounded with an iron grating.”[93]

In 1275 Waldeve, the seventeenth abbot, “going the way of all flesh, with blessed end, departed to the Lord, leaving his house in full peace and excellent condition.”

Gervase, the nineteenth abbot, who demitted office in 1323, settled for ever on the infirmary of the abbey an annual rent of three merks, “to be expended for the uses of the sick and the recreation of the feeble.”[94] These few notices seem to show that about the middle of the fourteenth century the abbey was in a fairly complete state. It possessed great estates in the counties of the Lothians, Lanark, Peebles, and Stirling. Father Hay writes that, about this time, he “finds, from the books of receipts and expenses, the annual income of the monastery could maintain eighty monks and seventy lay brethren, with the corresponding establishment.”[95]

But evil days were at hand. In 1385, during the expedition of Richard II., “the English,” writes Father Hay, “burnt the monastery of Newbotle; and, at the same time, several of the granges and farms of the monastery were destroyed, and the others were deserted, while the lands were left untilled. The towers or peles, built by the monastery for protection against English marauders, fared in the same way. Some of the monks were carried away prisoners; others fled to other monasteries. The few who remained in the abbey, having scarce sufficient food, were compelled, by great distress, to sell twenty-nine excellent chalices, nine crosses of exquisite workmanship, and other sacred ornaments, with their silver household plate. At that time the greater part of the abbey tower was ruined by the falling of the cross.” These events happened during the time of Hugh, the twenty-third abbot.

The work of restoration was, doubtless, gone on with as soon as convenient; and, in 1390, Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith, by his will, gave his body to be buried in the monastery of St. Mary of Newbotle. “At the same time he bequeathed to the abbey a ‘nowche,’ or jewel of St. John, worth 40 merks, or its value, and, in addition, £23, 6s. 8d. for the building of the church and wages of the masons employed upon it. For the service of the monks’ refectory he gave twelve silver dishes, weighing eighteen pounds, six shillings sterling, enjoining his heirs to see that they should not be abstracted from the use of the refectory or sold.”[96] Two years later Sir James, in another will, bequeaths similar sums to the abbey, without appropriating a part to the building or to the payment of workmen, which seems to show, as Mr. Innes remarks, that the rebuilding of the abbey church had been completed in the meantime.

In 1419 Edward of Crechton paid a sum for the restoring and building of the monastery.

In the Hertford expedition of 1544, “upon the 15th day of May the horsmen raid to Newbottill and brynt it.”[97] As is remarked by Mr. Innes,[98] this was, perhaps, but a partial destruction, as, three years afterwards, Mary of Lorraine held at Newbotle a great convention of the lords of her party, preparatory to declaring war with England.

The last so-called abbot was Mark Ker. He is styled Commendator of Newbotle in 1560; and the lordship of Newbotle, being conferred on his son, has remained with their descendants to the present day.

Such is the scanty history of this great abbey, so far as relates to the structure and ornaments; but of the former almost nothing remains above ground except part of the monastic buildings on the east side of the cloisters.

The abbey, including the church, appears to have been almost completely demolished shortly after the Reformation, the only parts of the monastic buildings allowed to remain being the fratry and portions of the chapter house, which were incorporated with the mansion house, and of the former of which a view has already been given.[99]

The accompanying Plan (Fig. 653) has been prepared by Mr. John Ramsay, the resident Clerk of Works to the Marquis of Lothian, showing the result of considerable excavations recently carried out at the building, together with some details which have been discovered. The Plan shows that the buildings extended about 400 feet from north to south by about 270 feet from east to west, and that the monastery was of the usual plan.

The recent excavations deal chiefly with the foundations of the abbey and church, although explorations within the mansion have also brought to light some old work hitherto concealed from view. The first discovery of the existence of buried portions of the abbey was made in 1878, when some works were in progress; and again, in 1892,

A. Presbytery. B. Crossing. C. Nave. D. North Transept. E. South Transept. F. Slype or Sacristy. G. Chapter House. H. Fratry. I. Large Hall. J. Necessaria. K. Kitchen. L. Refectory. M. Passage with Stair. N. Cellars. O. Entrance to Cloister. P. Perhaps Porter’s Room. Q. Cellars or Workshops. R. Necessaria of the Conversi. S. S. Arched Culverts, separated by a Wall. T. South Boundary Wall.

FIG. 653.--Newbattle Abbey. Plan.]

when digging was going on connected with the planting of trees, some further remains were found. But in 1893-4 a systematic search was made, both above and below ground, which enabled an almost complete Plan of the abbey to be accurately measured and laid down.[100]

The total length of the abbey church, within the walls, was 239 feet 3 inches, and on the exterior 253 feet 3 inches; while the interior width was 57 feet 1 inch, and the exterior width (excluding the buttresses) was 66 feet 7 inches. The nave, which contained ten bays, had a length of 161 feet 6 inches, and its central aisle a width of 31 feet, while the side aisles were 13 feet. The choir and presbytery comprised one bay and a-half, and had two large piers, each 10 feet in diameter. The crossing had four similar large piers, and measured 41 feet 9 inches over the piers. The piers supported a tower over the crossing. The transept was 117 feet 6 inches in length from north to south, and had an eastern aisle, making the width 45 feet. The north transept had enormous angle buttresses and a square pier. The large piers and flat angle buttresses of the choir indicate early work, probably Norman.

The great angle buttresses at the north transepts belong, doubtless, to a late period. The Plan clearly shows that they have been added to existing flat buttresses, in the same manner as was done at the east wall of St. Andrews Cathedral. Unfortunately, no details have been discovered to enable the date to be more definitely fixed.

The east side of the cloister, which is included in the modern mansion, extends southwards from the church for a distance of about 200 feet. Adjoining the transept has been the slype or sacristy; then comes the chapter house, of which only the bases of a double row of pillars remain. It was about 35 feet long by 27 feet wide, and projected towards the east; but the east end, being under the mansion, cannot be explored. The buildings adjoining to the south are well preserved on the ground floor. They are erroneously designated the crypts, as they are entirely above ground. The long range, with central pillars, was the fratry, beyond which was a large hall. On the south side of the cloister there was a passage and a well-preserved kitchen, with a large fireplace, measuring 12 feet 6 inches by 6 feet, and having still traces of smoke. Adjoining it, to the west, are the foundations of the refectory, 106 feet long by 33 feet 6 inches wide. It will be observed that, as usual in Scotland, the refectory is parallel with the church. On the west side of the cloister the foundations of several buildings have been laid bare. Next the nave there has been a passage containing a staircase to the dormitory of the conversi; then came a large apartment, 67 feet long by 28 feet 6 inches wide; then the entrance passage to the cloister, 6 feet 2 inches wide, with a doorway 4 feet 9 inches wide. To the south of this is another large apartment, 68 feet long by 23 feet 9 inches wide, having foundations of a central row of pillars, the bases of which are all different (Fig. 654). Still farther south are found remains of a large arched conduit or drain, 2 feet 6 inches wide, and the same height.

In the vaulted fratry there stands an old font (Fig. 655), which was found at Mavisbank House, some miles distant, about the year 1873, by workmen when digging for foundations of proposed new buildings. On the supposition that it contained the arms of Abbot Hasmall, and therefore belonged to Newbattle, it was brought here. It is interesting as being evidently intended, from the coats of arms with which it is adorned, to be a memorial of the royal family during the first half of the sixteenth century. The arms it contains are:--

1st Shield.--Arms of Ramsay.

2nd Shield.--Arms of Margaret of England (daughter of Henry VII.),
wife of James IV.

3rd Shield.--Arms of Magdalene of France (daughter of Francis I.),
first wife of James V.

4th Shield.--Arms of Scotland (James V.)

5th Shield.--Arms of Marie of Lorraine (daughter of Claude, Duke of
Guise), second wife of James V.

6th Shield.--Supposed to be the arms of James Hasmall, Abbot of
Newbotle (1542-1554).[101]

7th and 8th Shields.--Blank.

Only the bowl of the font is old. It is octagonal, and measures about 2 feet 6½ inches in width and 12½ inches across each face. The height of the bowl is 1 foot 7½ inches, and the depth 13½ inches, with a square hole at bottom.

There is also preserved at Newbattle the seated figure of an ecclesiastic, holding a book on his knee (Fig. 656). It is probably a work of the fourteenth or fifteenth century, as in the earlier years of Cistercian rule figure representations were prohibited; and the little rosette ornament seen on the sedilia indicates that period. The head is unfortunately broken, but the figure otherwise is beautifully preserved. The total

height of the fragment is about 27¼ inches, and the breadth about 15 inches, with a relief of about 5 inches.

A number of stones containing mouldings have been found, some of the sections of which are shown. Some of the mouldings (as in Figs. 657, 658, and 659) are early, while the other mouldings (as in Figs. 660, 661, and 662) are for the most part late. It is not known to what parts of the

Vaulting Ribs.]

Cap and Base of Doorway.]

building any of these details belonged, except in the case of Fig. 659, which is from the doorway at the west end of the refectory. The door entered from the western cloister walk, and is partly _in situ_. Fig. 663 represents a cap and base supposed to belong to the nave arcade, from their having been found in the nave.

Fig. 660 gives a series of arch mouldings, one of them being a window, with its mullion. The door jamb, with its base mouldings (Fig. 661), is probably a fifteenth or sixteenth century piece of work.

A. An Olive-Green Ground, White Pattern.

B. A Red Pattern on a White Ground.

The different colours are done in the surface glazing. It is put on about ⅛ inch thick, and the thickness of the tiles from 1¼ to 1½ inch.]

Ground Dark Green. Yellow Pattern, on a cut out Tile.]

Fig. 662 shows a series of vaulting ribs, the two upper ones being of a somewhat early date, while the others are later in character.

Many tiles have been found in the ruins, which are now preserved in the house; and a few of them are illustrated. In Fig. 664 we have two square tiles, the lesser one having an olive-green ground with a white pattern; the larger one is a red pattern on a white ground. Those shown on Figs. 665 and 666 are shaped tiles, cut out by hand to the actual form of the figure, so that each separate tile is of one colour--in Fig. 665 it is a dark green ground with a yellow figure, and on Fig. 666 a black and brown ground with a white figure.

LISMORE CATHEDRAL, ARGYLESHIRE.

The Island of Lismore lies near the south end of Loch Linnhe, and at a short distance from the mainland of Argyleshire. In 1236 the See of the Bishopric of Argyle was transferred from Mackairn, on the south side of Loch Etive, to Lismore, where a Columban monastery had been founded by St. Moluoc at an early period.

The cathedral was probably erected soon after the transference of the see in the thirteenth century. It is said to have been a structure 137 feet in length by 29⅓ feet in width. Of this pile there now only survives a single quadrilateral chamber, without aisles, used as the parish church, and measuring internally 51 feet in length by 23 feet 6 inches in width (Fig. 667). It has four buttresses of simple form against the south wall, and two at each of the north and south angles of the east wall. The walls and buttresses are entirely covered with rough casting. There is a doorway near the centre of the south wall (Fig. 668) which has had a nook shaft on each side, and a round arched head with a water table, but its details are destroyed. In the interior the arched head is segmental, and the label has bold first pointed terminals (Fig. 669). There has also been a sharply pointed doorway in the north wall (Fig. 670)--now built up--which retains in the interior a label moulding with head terminations, one being the head of a bishop.

In the south wall, and in the usual position near the east end, there are remains of a triple sedilia, much damaged, but having shafts between the seats, with moulded caps (Fig. 671). There is also a piscina in a pointed recess, having a trefoil headed niche in the wall behind, all much damaged (see Fig. 671).

Interior Terminal of South Doorway.]

North Doorway.]

In the exterior of the north wall, and near the buttress at the east end, there has been an ambry. This ambry, together with the absence of buttresses on the north side, seems to indicate that there was a building on that side, probably in the form of an aisle, connected with the cathedral. The eastmost portion was probably the sacristy, which would enter by the north doorway. On the south side of the church the wall, with its buttresses (see Fig. 668), has evidently been the exterior of the church. It contains a segmental headed modern window in each bay. The south buttress of the east wall is widened at the lower part, and contains a round arched recess, in which there has probably been a monument. The east end has been greatly altered, and has had a staircase block built against it, and a gallery door and high window inserted.

Piscina and Cap of Shafts of Sedilia.]

The western wall, with its doorway, which has plain sloping jambs all covered with rough-cast, is, doubtless, a comparatively recent construction, built when the choir was converted into the parish church and reroofed in 1749.

There are traces of old buildings to the west, which are now used as private burial-grounds, but it is impossible to say what purpose they formerly served.

ST. KENTIGERN’S, LANARK, LANARKSHIRE.

The Parish Church of Lanark existed in the twelfth century, and was conveyed, with its possessions, to the Abbey of Dryburgh by David I. This conveyance is frequently confirmed in subsequent deeds.

The church, from time to time, received numerous gifts of lands and houses from the burgesses and the neighbouring proprietors. Amongst other endowments, a chaplaincy was founded in the beginning of the fifteenth century by John Simpson, burgess of the town. The income of the church and its lands was drawn by the monks of Dryburgh, and the cure was served by a vicar and curates. At the Reformation the lands went with the Abbey of Dryburgh, which was erected into a temporal barony.[102]

The Church of St. Kentigern was used for service long after the Reformation, and was only abandoned when a new church was erected in the middle of the town in 1777.

FIG. 674.--St. Kentigern’s. Plan and Base of Doorway Shaft.]

St. Kentigern’s stands in the old burial-ground, about one-quarter of a mile south-east from the town. It has been of an unusual arrangement of plan (Fig. 672), consisting of a double chamber, divided by a row of pillars and arches down the centre, each division possibly, and one division certainly, having a chancel at the east end. The northern division has almost entirely disappeared, but the central row of pillars and arches (Fig. 673) and the walls of the southern division are still fairly preserved. At the point =A= on Plan is the base of a doorway shaft (Fig. 674), which was discovered some years ago by excavation. This possibly represents the north doorway of the church. If so, the north division was about 2 feet wider than the south division. The south division is 74 feet in length by 20 feet in width internally. The five pillars are alternately round and octagonal, and the two responds are half octagons. The caps (Fig. 675) are of varied and good design, and the arches have a double splay on each side.

The south wall (Fig. 676) contains the relics of a fine first pointed doorway, and five narrow lancet windows with wide splayed reveals inside. The doorway has had two nook shafts on each side, with markedly first pointed foliage in the caps (Fig. 677), and the pointed arch has bold and characteristic mouldings (Fig. 678). The west wall (see Fig. 673) has been much ruined, and is now restored. At the east end there is a chancel arch fully 8 feet in width. The responds which support it are half octagons, and the arch has a double splay on each side. There are traces of small nail-head ornaments on the caps. All the details point to the work being of the first pointed period. The chancel is entirely gone, but the marks on the wall show that it has been about twelve feet in width. There is a small lancet window, with wide internal splay, in the east wall to the south of the chancel arch, and the latter is placed close to the central row of pillars. This arrangement seems to have been adopted so as to bring the chancel as near the centre of the church as possible, perhaps with the view of enabling it to serve as the chancel for the whole church, as there may have been no chancel to the east of the northern division. But this point could only be ascertained by excavation. To the east of the northern division, where a chancel might have been, there has been erected (probably in the seventeenth century) a mausoleum or tombhouse for the family of the Lockharts of Lee. This rather seems to support the idea that there was no chancel in that position.

BURNTISLAND CHURCH, FIFESHIRE.

At Kirkton, a village lying a short way north of Burntisland, there stand, in an old churchyard, the remains of an ancient church, believed to have been dedicated to St. Adamnan or St. Serf. The church (Fig. 679) consists of a nave and chancel and remains of a south aisle. The nave measures 41 feet 9 inches in length by 20 feet 6 inches in width externally, and the chancel is 27 feet 6 inches long by 17 feet 9 inches wide externally. The chancel is architecturally distinguished from the nave being diminished by 14 inches in width on each side, and the chancel arch is pointed, with an opening 7 feet 8 inches wide, and consists of a single plain order springing from imposts having a simple splay (Fig. 680). The jambs of the opening are plain, and have a splayed base. The opening has been built up so as to enclose the chancel for a private burial-place. The chancel contains the usual priests’ door in the south wall, and two narrow pointed windows on the same side, greatly splayed to the interior. It is remarkable that there is no window in the east end, and the north wall is also blank.

The south wall of the nave has been removed, probably when a south aisle was added. Its place was, doubtless, at one time supplied by pillars and arches, but they are now gone. Part of the outer wall of the south aisle still remains. To the south of this there is a small building, which may have been a sacristy, or perhaps a tombhouse.

The north door to the nave is still partly preserved, and there was probably a south door opposite it. In the west end, which still exists (see Fig. 680), there is a simple pointed window, greatly splayed within.

The walls are built with freestone ashlar. All the features seem to indicate that the church was erected in the thirteenth century, although it has been surmised that it was rebuilt in the fifteenth century. The simplicity of the chancel arch and the absence of an east window are against that supposition.

PRESTONKIRK CHURCH, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

This church, like several others in the eastern part of this county, is dedicated to St. Baldred of the Bass Rock.[103] It is situated within a mile of East Linton Railway Station. The church has originally been a first pointed edifice, but now there only survives a small eastern choir of that period, the main body of the church having been rebuilt. The choir (Fig. 681), which is now cut off from the church by a solid wall, is 15 feet long by 17 feet 6 inches wide internally. It has three tall lancet windows of equal height in the east end (Fig. 683), separated by first pointed buttresses of good form, as seen in the detailed sketch (Fig. 682). The south wall has two simple lancets with hood moulds, and on both sides there is a broad set-off below the windows. The north wall is plain, and without special features. The building is a pleasing fragment of first pointed work.

COWIE CHURCH,[104] KINCARDINESHIRE.

This ruined structure, is situated near the coast on the north side of Stonehaven Bay, about a mile from the town, and stands in an ancient churchyard still in use. This church is an example of a simple oblong structure in the first pointed style. It measures (Fig. 684) 70 feet in length by 18 feet in width internally. The walls are built with whinstone, and the door and window dressings are of freestone. The north wall is broken down to near the level of the ground. The interior has been lighted by three lancet windows in the east end, and there has also been a stunted window inserted in the west gable. The doorway is the only opening in the south wall which is still partly entire. It has a segmental arched lintel, and is moulded on the outer angle of jambs and lintel. The moulding (Fig. 685) would indicate a late period. The north wall is broken down almost to the foundations. There is a plain sacrament house in the north wall near the east end.

Section of Lancet Windows.]

Inside of East Windows.]

The three lancet windows in the east end (Fig. 686) are the only features with noticeable details. They are of different heights, and are arranged in good proportion. The external jambs and arches have an outer splay (see section, Fig. 687), inside of which they are checked for shutters, the windows having never been glazed. The arched heads have pointed and splayed rear arches and wide ingoings (Fig. 688).

THE ABBEY OF DEER, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This monastery was situated in a beautiful valley on the banks of the river Ugie, one mile and a quarter south-west of Mintlaw Railway Station. It was founded in the year 1218 by William, the first Earl of Buchan, who, by his marriage in 1210 to Marjory, the only child of the last Mormaer of Buchan, became the founder in the north of the powerful family of the Cumyns. He died in the year 1233, and was buried in the abbey. In consequence of the accession of the Earl of Carrick to the Scottish throne, the Cumyn family, who had opposed the Bruce, were so completely overthrown that, says Fordun, “of a name which numbered at one time three earls and more than thirty belted knights, there remained no memorial in the land, save the orisons of the Monks of Deir.” Now not one stone of the abbey church is left standing, and only a few fragments of the conventual buildings remain. This is much to be regretted, especially as it is known that considerable remains of the church existed down till 1854.

About the year 580 a church was founded in Deer by St. Columba and his nephew Drostan, on ground supplied by the Mormaer of the district as a return for the prayers of the saint in favour of his sick child. This Columban establishment survived till the time of David I., and was superseded by the monastery founded, as above stated, by the Earl of Buchan for a colony of monks of the Cistercian order from Kinloss. The site of the church (Fig. 689) is marked on the ground by an excavation over its whole area. The structure consisted of a nave about 98 feet long by 40 feet wide, including a north aisle, an aisleless choir or presbytery about 25 feet long and 24 feet wide, and north and south transepts. The total length of the church over all was 157 feet. The nave had a north aisle, and was divided into five bays. The bases of the pillars remained in position till 1854. The south transept was 39 feet wide, or about 6 feet 2 inches wider than the northern one, and it had probably a narrow eastern aisle.

The conventual buildings lay on the south side of the church, and are built on ground sloping southwards towards the Ugie, so that a basement story was required. The interior of the whole range of buildings is so overgrown with vegetation and filled with debris that it is with the utmost difficulty one can make his way through the ruins, and thus an accurate examination of the place is hardly possible.

The cloister was about 70 feet from north to south by about 90 feet from east to west. On the south side there is a range of buildings about 125 feet long by 31 feet wide, divided into four apartments, forming the basement story, over which the refectory was probably built. To the east of this, lying north and south, is the fratry, measuring 35 feet in length by about 19 feet in width inside. Projecting southwards beyond the fratry by its full width a long range of buildings extends 80 feet eastwards, and measures about 21 feet in width over the walls. At the west end of this range there is an apartment about 20 feet from east to west by about 16 feet wide, which may probably have been the kitchen. In the north wall of this apartment there is a flue about 10 inches square. The room enters from a passage adjoining on the east side. There appears to have been a stair in this passage leading down to the lower buildings, and probably up to the dormitory, but the block of ruins at this part is so great as to render further observation impossible. Of the buildings which occupied the east side of the cloister all traces have now disappeared.

Doorway in Passage.]

Arches in the Ruins.]

It is highly probable that the church was completed before the monks erected any permanent dwelling for themselves, and this may partly account for the resignation of the tenth abbot, Dene Adam of Smalham, a monk of Melrose, who demitted office in 1267, “choosing rather to live in the sweet converse of his brethren of Melrose, than to Govern an unworthy flock, under the lowly roofs of Deir.”[105]

All the conventual buildings now existing are of a date subsequent to the founding of the abbey, but under the circumstances already narrated, and from the absence of mouldings, it is somewhat difficult to fix their period. The openings are all round arched and simply splayed. The doorway into the passage adjoining the kitchen has a carved keystone (Fig. 690), a rather unusual feature in Gothic work. The carving, which is cut in granite, is decidedly Gothic in feeling, although in all probability late. There exists a view of the abbey as it existed in 1770.[106] The view appears to have been taken from the south, although it is rather difficult to fix the point of view; but, assuming that it is from the south, it shows the north wall of the building just described as in a much better state of preservation than it is now, and the south wall as rather more ruinous. We understand that the north wall was repaired sometime in this century. Judging from the view and from the remains, the south elevation seems to have been finished with a series of gables, having round-arched and splayed windows. Only a few fragments of the church remain, and there can be no doubt as to their period. They are genuine relics of the original church founded in the thirteenth century. The principal fragment consists of two cusped arches (Fig. 691), probably forming the top of a sedilia. They measure in width 1 foot 10½ inches each by 2 feet 3½ inches high inside, and are recessed about 12 inches.

Three or four corbels of the characteristic first pointed kind are preserved; one of these is shown in Fig. 692.

The only other wrought stone belonging to the church is a very peculiar one. It lies loose, and appears to have contained a double piscina--one having its basin supported by a projecting corbel in the ordinary manner, and the other with its basin and corbel turned upside down. Its construction will be understood from the sketch (Fig. 693). In the one basin, which may be called the upper, the aperture proceeds from a sprout at the back, and emerges in the centre of the lower basin. The upper basin is 7 inches deep and the lower 3½ inches. The other dimensions will be seen on the drawings, with sections of the respective corbels.

Adjoining the ruins is the Abbey Bridge, spanning the Ugie. It is a quaint structure, and may be partly as old as the remains of the conventual buildings; but it appears to have been repaired or partly rebuilt, as it contains the arms of James Keith of Bruxie, with the date 1718.

DEER CHURCH, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This church is situated in a beautiful bend of the river Ugie, in the churchyard of the village of Deer, and is rather more than a mile distant from the abbey. It is roofless, but the walls stand at about their original height, and consist of a nave and chancel (Fig. 694). The nave is of an unusual form, being wider than it is long; but it is probable that it was originally longer than it now is. The exterior width is 26 feet 10 inches, and the length 24 feet 3 inches. The chancel is 37 feet 7 inches long by 16 feet 9 inches wide externally. It is separated from the nave by a wall containing a round splayed arch, 7 feet 6 inches wide, and (owing to the present level of the ground) only 6 feet 6 inches high in the centre. The level of the floor was, doubtless, originally a foot or two lower. The present entrance doorway to the nave is modern, and is in the centre of the west end. There are the marks of an old doorway in the north wall, which show a plain arched construction inside, and in this a window has been inserted at a late period. Another square-headed window in the south wall completes the lighting of the nave. There has also been a square-headed doorway in the south wall. There are two piscinas in the nave--one adjoining the chancel arch on the north, and having its basin in the depth of the recess; the other (Fig. 695), in the south wall, had a projecting basin, which is now sliced off. The most interesting and perfect feature of the church is the locker or ambry in the north wall of the nave (Fig. 696). The top is of a drop-arched form. The arch and the jambs and sill are checked for a door in the usual manner. Above the door, and visible whether the door was shut or open, is a pointed arch with a kind of rude tracery enclosing a cross pattee cut out of grey granite. The locker is 13 inches wide.

Sockets in the wall at the springing of the chancel arch (see Fig. 697) indicate the former existence of a rood screen. In the south side of the chancel there remain the indications of a stair which led up to a narrow door, now built up, the sill of which is at about the level of the springing of the chancel arch (Fig. 698). Unless this led to some kind of pulpit from which an audience in the nave could be addressed, it is difficult to determine its use. The wall here on the nave side is so completely covered with ivy that this point could not be made out.

The walls appear to have been in part rebuilt, especially the south wall of the chancel near the east end, where there are visible, both outside and inside, stones having fifteenth or sixteenth century rosettes carved on them. In the east wall there is a finely carved heraldic stone (Fig. 699) with the arms effaced.

There is an arched recess for a monument (Fig. 700) on the exterior of the south side of the nave at the west end, which can hardly be seen for the dense growth of ivy. The sculptured stones and coat of arms are evidently insertions.

Deer is the site of a very early monastery, founded by St. Columba, of which the venerable _Book of Deer_ is the only remaining memorial. It was written in the ninth century, and contains the Gospel of St. John, with portions of the other gospels, and notes on the margins relating to the monastery written in Gaelic at a later period. The existing church has no connection with this ancient monastery further than that it probably occupies the same position. It was, doubtless, erected about the fifteenth century.

AUCHINDOIR CHURCH, ABERDEENSHIRE.

The ruined church of Auchindoir is situated in a remote part of Upper Aberdeenshire, about six miles south-west from Kennethmont Station, between Insch and Huntly. It stands on a slight elevation near the mouth of the Craig Burn, which joins the river Bogie a short

distance below. It has been pointed out by Mr. Jervise[107] that the orientation of the church is peculiar, as it stands more north and south than east and west; but in the following description the usual orientation is assumed. The church is a simple oblong (Fig. 701), measuring 50 feet in length by 19 feet 6 inches in width internally. Mr. Jervise thinks it has been added to at the west end, and it has at least been altered at that point, and a belfry added on the top of the gable (Fig. 702). The rest of the building has also been considerably altered, and a doorway inserted in the east end and square windows introduced to make it suitable for Presbyterian worship.

Towards the west end there are two doorways, opposite one another, in the north and south walls. That in the south wall (Fig. 703) is a fine specimen of early first pointed work. The round arch is retained (as is common in Scotland), but the details are all of first pointed design. The section of the jamb and arch mouldings (Fig. 704) and the dog-tooth enrichment of the label are clear indications of that style. Mr. Jervise doubts whether these features are genuine, and suspects that they are late imitations of the first pointed style; but Mr. Muir has no doubt about the doorway being of “late transition work, belonging, apparently, to that precise period in the progress of the art when the already softened features of the Normans were beginning to merge altogether into the still more flexible and varied forms of the first pointed style.” This opinion is confirmed by all the features of the doorway. The bold foliaged caps on each side (of which the detached shafts are gone) are undoubted proofs of the genuine nature of the work. This doorway could never have been produced in later times.

The north doorway is simple, having a plain round arch with a splay on edge, and a recess for a bolt in the ingoing.

The church contains a simple piscina in the south wall, and a very elaborate ambry, or sacrament house (Fig. 705), in the north wall near the east end. The decorated adjuncts of this ambry are about 6 feet in height. The opening is moulded, and has a quasi buttress on each side, crowned with a crocketed pinnacle in a late style of art. A pointed roof, or flat canopy, rises over the ambry, having on the top a representation of the crucifixion, with a skull carved at the base; over the cross is a scroll bearing the letters I N R I. There are two scrolls on the roof, carved with the inscription, HIC·Ē CORP DUĒ C V M, and on the sill of the ambry, M·A·S·, which inscription Mr. Jervise renders thus: “Here is the body of our Lord, with Mary, the Apostles, and Saints.” The ambry has an inner recess on the left side.

This work is evidently very late in style, but it can scarcely be so late as Mr. Jervise supposes. He says:--“I am inclined to ascribe the erection of the Sacrament House, if not the Kirk, of Auchindoir to the laird and lady whose arms and initials are upon shields within it. One of these shields, dated 1557, bears the Gordon arms and motto, HOIP IN

GOD; the second, initialed V·G:C·C·, presents the arms of Gordon and Cheyne, impaled with the motto, GRACE ME GYID.”

There can be no doubt that Mr. Jervise is in error as to the church being erected in 1557; but it was probably altered at that date, as the eastern or priests’ doorway in the south wall (which is now square headed, and has a transome and upper light over it) bears the date 1557. That was probably the time when the church was altered for Presbyterian worship. The sculptured ambry was probably executed in the early part of the sixteenth century, before the Reformation.

In 1513-14 the Church of Auchindoir was erected into a prebend of King’s College Chapel, Aberdeen. That would be a likely time for the introduction of the sacrament house. The building continued to be employed for divine service till 1810, when a new church was erected in the neighbourhood. The old churchyard which surrounds the old church is still used for interment.

When this church ceased to be used for service, the roof and woodwork were sold, and some of the panelling, including the back of the pulpit, which is carved with shields, is preserved in a farmhouse in the vicinity.

ST. CUTHBERT’S, MONKTON; AND ST. NICHOLAS’, PRESTWICK, AYRSHIRE.

These two ruined churches are situated within a mile of one another on the level ground near the sea, which forms the basin of the river Ayr, near its mouth.

Prestwick is an ancient town, which had a parish church; while Monkton derived its name from the residence of a body of monks from Paisley. Both St. Nicholas’ and St. Cuthbert’s were originally churches of Prestwick, and were distinguished as Prestwick de Burgo and Prestwick Monachorum. Both these churches were bestowed on Paisley Abbey, in 1163, by Walter, son of the Great Steward of Scotland, and endowed with valuable lands.

Prestwick Church is mentioned in the Paisley Chartulary, in 1212, as a chapel; Monkton continued as a rectory till the Reformation, and the two parishes were united in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Till 1837 both churches were used for public worship.[108]

The Church of St. Cuthbert (Fig. 706), at Monkton, has originally been a simple oblong chamber, 46 feet in length by about 20 feet in width internally. The walls of this part of the structure are undoubtedly ancient, but they have been considerably altered, and a north wing has been added after the Reformation. The belfry (Fig. 707) erected at that period still exists on the east gable.

The only portion of the building which proves its antiquity is the doorway in the south wall (Fig. 708). It has a round arch, but the mouldings are of thirteenth century forms. There has been a nook shaft on each side with bell-shaped caps, and an inner order with a large roll. This fragment is precious as one of the few ancient features which have escaped obliteration in this part of the country.

St. Nicholas’ stands on a mound close to Prestwick Railway Station, and is surrounded by an ancient burying-ground. The church (Fig. 709) is a simple oblong, 44 feet long by 20 feet wide within the walls. It is a very plain structure, and has evidently been altered, having square-headed windows (Fig. 710) inserted so as to render it suitable for Presbyterian service. The only noticeable features are the buttresses at the east end. There are two of these, one at each side and a small one in the centre, which are massive and present the appearance of early work. Doubtless they and the walls are old, but have been altered. There has been a plain belfry on the east gable, now reduced to a portion of the base. There are three small buttresses at the west end, but they are of a slighter character than those at the east end.

LUFFNESS MONASTERY, HADDINGTONSHIRE.

The monastery of the Redfriars at Luffness is believed to have been founded by Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, in 1286. The remains of the church, which consist for the most part of foundations, are situated in the private grounds of Luffness House, not far from the junction of the Peffer Burn with Aberlady Bay, and about half a mile from the village of Aberlady. The church (Fig. 711) has consisted of nave and choir, without aisles, the choir being internally 49 feet and the nave 42 feet in length, and both about 19 feet 6 inches wide. Both show the bases of buttresses at the east and west ends, and there seems to have been a wall between the nave and choir, which possibly sustained the rood loft. In the north wall of the choir and near the east end (Fig. 712) are the remains of an arched recess, which contains a much worn effigy, supposed to be that of the founder.

A pointed doorway leading to the choir adjoins the monument (Fig. 713), and the altar steps are seen rising beyond it. Part of the pavement still remains at the east end, and in the centre is a flat monumental slab (Fig. 714), much decayed, but on which can still be made out the following inscription:--“(Hic jacet) honorabilis vir Kentigernus Hepburn (dominus?) de Wauchtoun;” and the sacred monogram “I.N.R.I.” on the upper part of the cross. Kentigern Hepburn was son and heir apparent of David Hepburn of Wauchton. He received, on 5th September 1498, a charter from his father of certain lands--viz., the lands of Quhiltinfuld in Edinburgh, half a plougate in Cockburnspath and lands of Elstanefurd, with superiority of lands of Towly in Fife and Elstanefurd. He also held, from his father, a charter of the lands and barony of Luffness. He married Margaret Lauder (see Great Seal, 1424-1513). The arms on the shield in the centre of the cross are those of the Hepburns. The style of the slab would indicate that of the fifteenth century.

ALTYRE CHURCH, MORAYSHIRE.

About four miles south of Forres, and in the middle of an extensive forest, not far from Altyre House, stand the ruins of an ancient first pointed church. The parish of Altyre belonged formerly to the parsonage of Dallas, but in 1659 it was disjoined from Dallas and added to the parish of Rufford. The ruins of the church, which stand in a dense thicket of bushes, are in fair preservation. The building is very plain, consisting of a simple oblong chamber (Fig. 715) about 50 feet in length by 15 feet in width internally. There appear to have been no buttresses originally, but one has been added at the north-east angle (Fig. 716), and

a very massive prop has been built at the north-west angle, the ground on the north being a bank sloping downwards from the church. There are two doorways opposite one another near the west end, one in the north wall and one in the south wall. In the east wall there is a two-light window with simple branched mullion. The side windows are plain lancets, there being two in the north wall and three in the south wall. The west wall is blank. The walls and gables are still standing. Although the church may be classed as first pointed, it is evidently of the latest period of that style.

ST. MARY’S CHAPEL, RATTRAY, ABERDEENSHIRE.

This chapel, standing in the centre of its churchyard, is situated at the east end of the lonely loch of Strathbeg, not far from Rattray Head, a place well known and feared by sailors. It measures internally 45 feet from east to west by 18 feet 9 inches from north to south (Fig. 717). The gables are nearly entire, with considerable portions of the side walls. Almost all the stone dressings within reach have, as usual, been torn out for common purposes, so that the building is in a tottering condition, and is greatly robbed of its interest; but enough remains to show that it is a genuine church of the thirteenth century. It is built of rough angular stones, with red freestone dressings. In the east wall (Fig. 718) there are three round-arched and widely splayed windows, the centre one being the highest and widest, viz., 2 feet wide and, according to the new statistical account (which appears to be reliable), 11 feet high, and the other two are each 7 feet high. The gable itself is said to be 32 feet high in its present condition. There appear to have been north and south doors near the west end, and no other openings in the side walls. In the west gable there is a window 8 or 10 feet above the ground, and from 3 to 4 feet wide. The church has thus been entirely lighted from the east and west ends. It is needless to say that there are no remains of any of the usual internal features, the polished stones of such having been carried off, forming too strong a temptation to be resisted.

The earliest notice of this chapel is between the years 1214 and 1233, when William Cumyn, Earl of Buchan, gives certain lands for the yearly payment of two stones of wax, afterwards given by the Earl “in free alms for ever to the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the town of Rettre in Buchan.”[109] Again, in 1451, the chamberlain of the crown lands in Buchan makes a deduction of six shillings, “paid to the Chaplin of Rattre.” And in 1460 King James III. confirms a charter for a yearly payment of five pounds and the third part of a stone of wax to the chapel of the “Beate Marie Virginis de Ratreff.”[110]

ST. MAGRIDIN’S CHURCH, ABDIE, FIFESHIRE.

The parish of Abdie is situated in the north of Fife, about two miles south from Newburgh. It was originally called the parish of Lindores, but that name was appropriated by the abbey, which was also founded in the same parish. The loch of Lindores, on the south bank of which the ruins of the church of Abdie stand, still retains the ancient name. The church was of much earlier date than the abbey, and Mr. Laing[111] states that there can be little doubt that the church of Lindores (now Abdie) was of Culdee origin, and was one of the earliest religious settlements in the country. The name Lindores signifies the “church by the water,” a peculiarly appropriate designation in this instance. “In a writing of the thirteenth century on a fly-leaf of a volume preserved in the Imperial Library, Paris, it is recorded that the consecration of ‘Ebedyn’ church by David de Bernhame, Bishop of St. Andrews, took place on the 5th day of September A.D. 1242, a date which corresponds with the style of its architecture.”[112]

From the foundation charter of the abbey of Lindores we find that the first bequest it received was the church of Lindores, and the lands belonging to it.