This monastery was one of the three houses of the order of Valliscaulium
founded under Alexander II. in his recently acquired dominions in the
Highlands, the other houses of the order being at Beauly, in
Inverness-shire, and Ardchattan, in Argyleshire.
The policy adopted by David I., in the twelfth century, of extending
civilisation and order by the planting of religious houses, was thus
continued by his successor in the thirteenth century. We have seen how
Alexander II. encouraged the building of Elgin Cathedral, and it is
recorded that, besides the above monasteries, he endowed religious
houses in Elgin for the Dominicans and Franciscans.
Pluscarden Priory stands in a long, well-sheltered valley, about six
miles south-west from Elgin. The hills on either side are of moderate
height, and the glen is well planted and cultivated. The priory, which
is dedicated to St. Andrew, stands on a level holm on the bank of the
Blackwater, and has a southern aspect at the base of a wooded hill. It
is surrounded with fine old trees, and the ancient gardens and precincts
of the monks are now cultivated as a thriving nursery, and kept in
beautiful order. Part of the ancient wall of the precinct, with a
gateway towards the east, is still preserved. The climate is mild and
suitable for the growth of vegetation, as is apparent from the very
luxuriant crop of ivy which covers the buildings and almost entirely
conceals their architecture.
The first charter of Alexander II. is dated in 1236, and endows the
monastery with the whole valley of the Blackwater, and with mills in
Elgin.
Little is heard of the priory for many years after its institution
beyond the usual disputes with the neighbouring lay proprietors
regarding boundaries, &c., but the establishment seems to have gradually
dwindled, and in 1398 the buildings had been allowed to fall into
disrepair. The election of Alexander as superior at that date proceeded
on the expectation that he would be able to defend the possessions of
the monastery and repair the church and dwellings of the monks.
During the fifteenth century it seems to have fared ill with the
monastic establishments of Morayshire, for we find that the priory of
Urquhart, in that county, founded by David I. in 1125, had also dwindled
like Pluscarden.
In 1454 John Benaly, prior of Urquhart, whose brethren consisted of only
two monks, petitions Pope Nicholas V. that he would unite the priory of
Urquhart to that of Pluscarden. He states that, owing to various
calamities, the income of the priories had so diminished that they were
unable to support a prior in each house with a decent and competent
number of religious men, or to keep up the buildings and services; so
that in Pluscarden there were generally not above six monks, and in
Urquhart only two.[58]
It is stated by Shaw and other writers that the monks of Pluscarden had
become vicious, and that, therefore, the priory was reformed and made a
cell of Dunfermline.
It appears, however, that the change arose as above described, and,
after due inquiry, William de Boys, Sacristan of Dunfermline, was, in
1460, appointed Prior of Pluscarden and Urquhart, and John de Benaly,
formerly Prior of Urquhart, was made Sacristan of Dunfermline. The
Valliscaulians, or White Monks, were then superseded by the Black
Benedictine Monks from Dunfermline, and the priory became dependent on
that house.
The last Benedictine prior was Alexander Dunbar, who died in 1560, and
the first lay prior was Lord Alexander Seton, afterwards Earl of
Dunfermline, who obtained possession of the abbey and lands. The monks
do not appear to have been disturbed at the Reformation, but were
suffered to die out gradually, as one monk still remained in 1586. After
passing through the hands of various proprietors, the priory and lands
were acquired by the Earl of Fife, and are now the property of the Duke
of Fife, by whom the edifice and its surroundings are carefully attended
to and kept in good repair.
The existing buildings (Fig. 557, Plan) consist chiefly of the remains
of the church, comprising an aisleless choir, north and south transepts
with eastern aisles, and a square tower over the intersection. There is
no nave, that portion of the structure having, apparently, never been
erected. The monastic buildings consist of the sacristy, which lies to
the south of the transept, and is known as St. Mary’s aisle; the chapter
house; the slype and the monks’ hall, which all extend in a line further
southwards, the whole forming the east side of the cloisters. The
cloister garth measures 102 feet by 94 feet, and is surrounded by a wall
partly ancient. To the south-east lies a detached ruin, supposed to have
been the prior’s house. The oldest parts of the edifice are the
transepts, with their eastern aisles, which are in the first pointed
style, and were, doubtless, built during the thirteenth century, soon
after the foundation. The transept measures 93 feet 6 inches in length,
and, including the aisles, is 46 feet in width within the walls.
The sacristy, or lady chapel, which extends along the full breadth of
the south end of the transept and aisle, is probably of the same date.
The design of the north end of the transept (Fig. 558), which was
probably built about the same time as Elgin Cathedral, has some
resemblance to the east end of the choir of that edifice, but is much
plainer. It exhibits two stories of pointed windows, with a large
circular window above, now built up. This wall also contains the only
well-preserved
[Illustration: FIG. 557.--Pluscarden Priory. Plan.]
exterior door to the church. There is no triforium, but the clerestory
on the east side is lofty, and has internally a high pointed and
trefoiled
[Illustration: FIG. 558.--Pluscarden Priory. North Transept.]
arcade, with a passage in the thickness of the wall. Externally, the
windows of the clerestory of the north transept are plain pointed
arches. Throughout the building the windows are mostly designed as
triplet lancets, enclosed in one pointed arch (Fig. 559). In some cases
the enclosing arch
[Illustration: FIG. 559.--Pluscarden Priory. View from South-East.]
[Illustration: FIG. 560.--Pluscarden Priory. East Side of South
Transept.]
assumes a segmental pointed form, which enables the side lancets to be
carried higher than in the ordinary arch. This is observable in the
clerestory of the south transept (east side), both in the exterior and
interior (see Figs. 559 and 560). The mode in which the face of the wall
in the inside of the clerestory passage is carried in this position is
very effective, and well worthy of notice. A somewhat similar
arrangement is carried out in the clerestory on the west side of the
south transept (Fig. 561), but is modified over the arch into the nave,
so as to allow of the wall passage being carried up a few steps in the
thickness of the wall. This arrangement forms a kind of triforium. The
moulded work of the transepts is simple, and the shafts, caps, and arch
mouldings are distinctly of first pointed date. But this part of the
structure has been dreadfully damaged, the shafts of the piers, with
their caps and bases, having all been burned, and have crumbled away,
presenting a most disfigured appearance. This appears to have been the
result of the fire afterwards referred to.
[Illustration: FIG. 561.--Pluscarden Priory. West Side of South
Transept.]
Both in the choir and the crossing there are signs of great alterations
and repairs. It is thought that the building must have suffered severely
from fire at some time, having probably been burned by the “Wolf of
Badenoch,” in 1390, when Elgin was destroyed. The work which has
subsequently been done indicates that a considerable amount of
strengthening was found necessary. The western piers of the crossing
have been in great part burned away, and are strengthened with new
masonry; and the opening between the north pier and the south pier is
built up (see Plan). On the east side of the crossing a plain double
wall has been erected between the piers, so as to support the arch
above, which carries the tower. In this double wall an archway, only
about 7 feet in width, leads into the choir. To the north of the archway
a staircase in the centre of the double wall led apparently to a gallery
above, while the space within the double wall to the south of the
archway forms a large closet.
Traces of painted decorations are still visible in the vault over this
part of the church. These consist now of a few gilt stars on a blue
ground; but when Cordiner wrote, about one hundred years ago, he was
able to identify the portrait of St. John under a canopy, accompanied by
his eagle, also a rainbow, and the sun, moon, and constellations.
The choir, which has no aisles, measures 56 feet in length by 27 feet
wide internally. It has originally been constructed in a light manner,
with very wide window arches, having small piers and buttresses between
them, and it seems to have been vaulted, or intended for vaulting, the
springers of the vaults being visible in the interior (Fig. 562). But
this mode of construction was evidently found too weak, and it became
necessary to partly build up the great arches of the windows and to
introduce much smaller windows within them. The choir is so densely
covered with ivy that these features are not easily detected on the
exterior (Fig. 563), but in the interior view (see Fig. 562) they are
plainly visible. At what period the choir was built it is difficult to
say. The exterior buttresses, so far as visible through the ivy, might
be considered of an early form, but they resemble those of the lady
chapel of Elgin and other structures in the North, which are not very
early. The large vesica piscis over the east window arch, and the
trefoiled triangle in the gable, are likewise rather late features (see
Fig. 559). Keeping in view the great size of the intended windows, which
were clearly meant to be filled with tracery, and the small caps of the
jambs, both exterior and interior, the building may be ascribed to the
fifteenth century. Probably the first design with the very large
openings may have been carried out early in the fifteenth century, soon
after Alexander the prior was appointed, who was expected to improve the
buildings of the priory, which had fallen into decay.
The insertion of the smaller windows, and the strengthening masonry
within the wide openings, may have formed part of the restoration of the
dilapidated structure which William de Boys would be sure to institute
when he and his Benedictines took possession of the priory in the middle
of the fifteenth century. We shall see that parts of the chapter house
and other portions of the structure may be attributed to the same
revival.
The reduced side windows of the choir contain portions of late tracery,
and in the filled in mason work of each is inserted a dedication cross
(see Fig. 562), which seems to point to a new dedication of the restored
edifice. The design of the smaller windows introduced within the arch
of the very large east window is remarkable (see Figs. 559 and 562). The
four small pointed arches, surmounted by a traceried window above,
faintly recall the east windows of Elgin Cathedral, while the peculiar
tracery of the upper window plainly indicates a very late date.
[Illustration: FIG. 562.--Pluscarden Priory. Interior of Choir.]
[Illustration: FIG. 563.--Pluscarden Priory. Tower, and South-East Angle
of Choir and Transept.]
The square tower over the crossing is seen (see Fig. 563) to rise
externally only a short way above the apex of the roofs of the choir
and transept. Like the choir, it has been intended to be vaulted, the
springing stones being still visible (see Fig. 558); but the supports
were either found to be too light, or were so damaged by the fire that,
as above mentioned, the piers and arches had to be strengthened with
supporting walls brought up from the foundation. The upper part of the
tower appears to have originally been of the date of the transept, and
to have been restored, like the rest of the edifice, at a later period.
This is evident from the shape of the window openings, which are of
first pointed work, and also from the corbels of the parapet, some of
which are original and of early form, while others, which have been
restored, are of the late form common in the churches and castles of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The large trefoil apertures have
suffered from the fire, and have been built up.
To the north of the choir is a small vaulted structure about 16 feet
square, called the Dunbar Vestry (see Plan). It is evidently of late
date, and its style supports the tradition that it was erected by Prior
Dunbar shortly before the Reformation. It is vaulted, and bears the arms
of Dunbar on one of the bosses.[59]
[Illustration: FIG. 564.--Pluscarden Priory. Sacrament House in Choir.]
Apparently of the same date is the sacrament house (Fig. 564) inserted
in the north wall of the choir, and a door between the choir and vestry,
which has the three-sided arch common at the period. On the north side
of the vestry are some remains of a door and wheel stair, the latter of
which appears to have led to the roof. The position of the vestry is
very awkward, being placed within two feet of the transept aisle, the
windows of which are thus almost obscured by it.
The part of the church lying immediately to the south of the transept is
called the sacristy, or the lady chapel. It is vaulted, and from the
form of the mouldings, caps, window, &c., is evidently of the same date
as the transept. The vaulting at the west end has been partly rebuilt,
and a fireproof closet formed in the angle, no doubt for the purpose of
containing valuables used in the service. At the east end a ruined
opening into the transept seems to have been a squint to allow the
service at the altar to be seen from the transept. Traces of colour are
still observable here, but in Cordiner’s time many emblematic paintings
were visible.
To the south of the sacristy is the chapter house, and beyond it the
slype. These have been restored within recent times, and the east
windows renewed in the same pointed segmental form as the old ones. The
doors and windows to the west have also been partly renewed.
The sketch of the chapter house (Fig. 565) shows the interior looking
north-west, with the double door and two side windows which face the
cloister. The apartment is about 29 feet square, and has a central
pillar on which the vaulting rests. A figure of the Agnus Dei may be
observed on one of the bosses. The chapter house has evidently, from the
first pointed details visible in the door, windows, and corbels, been
erected in the thirteenth century; but the details of the central
pillar, with its slender shafts introduced amongst the mouldings,
clearly indicate a restoration of the chapter house at a date well
advanced in the fifteenth century. The fireplace is of modern design.
Still further to the south is the monks’ hall or fratry (Fig. 566), a
chamber 45 feet long by 28 feet wide. It is vaulted, and the vaulting is
carried by two central pillars. These are plain octagons, into which the
chamfered ribs of the arches die. The tracery in the window at the south
end is modern, but the large opening is old, having been made so as to
admit as much sunshine as possible from the south. This apartment is now
used for service by the Free Church of the district, and contains the
old pulpit, brought from the ancient church of St. Giles in Elgin, when
it was rebuilt, an interesting example of florid Renaissance carving.
There can be little doubt but that all these buildings south from the
lady chapel belong chiefly to the restoration instituted by the
Benedictines in the fifteenth century.
In the interior of the south-west angle of the transept may be observed
a wide stone staircase. This leads to the upper floor of the buildings
which lie to the south of the transept, and were formerly the monks’
dormitories. One small room over the lady chapel may possibly have been
a scriptorium or an oratory. This part of the domestic edifices has now
been restored and roofed in, and set aside by the Duke of Fife as a
place of shelter and amusement for the visitors to the priory.
The cloister garth is planted with shrubs and kept in good order. Owing
to the slope of the ground there have been steps up to the south
entrance to the garth, and there still remain steps at the north door,
which is a semicircular doorway of good, though late, design. It is
evidently meant for a reproduction of Norman work.
Another doorway is still preserved at the south-west angle of the
cloister, which was probably the entrance to the refectory. Owing to
the
[Illustration: FIG. 565.--Pluscarden Priory. Chapter House, looking
North-West.]
[Illustration: FIG. 566.--Pluscarden Priory. Interior of Fratery.]
slope of the ground, the refectory and fratry have been raised on
vaulted cellars.
Of the prior’s house only the ruins of some of the walls remain. These
show that it has been extensive, but there are no features to give a
clue to its date. Some remains of the priory mill, which adjoined the
prior’s house, are also still observable.