*ing the staircase at the north-west angle of the north transept (see
Fig. 596) is a noteworthy feature, differing as it does from the other
buttresses flanking the end walls. It occupies part of the space which
naturally falls to the eastmost window of the nave aisle, and this
opening, instead of being designed as a smaller window to fit the space,
is treated with the same design as the others, and thus presents the
appearance of having been cut in two. In each of the four great gables
the vesica aperture occurs; and this, along with the constant repetition
throughout the whole building of certain features, such as the parapets
with their supporting corbels, the peculiar gargoyles, the slender
buttresses in the clerestories, and the terminations of the main
buttresses, all show that the keynote of the design struck by the early
builders was taken up and continued by their successors. As above
pointed out, this, no doubt, partly arose from the lower portions of the
whole structure having been begun at an early period, though, in part,
not finished till a later time. Even in the chapter house building (Fig.
597), the upper story of which is of a distinctly Scottish character,
the continuation of early features has not been lost sight of. Here the
details of the church built by Bishop Bondington in the thirteenth
century furnished models for the work even of the fifteenth century. The
lower windows are similar in form, the parapets of the chapter house
wing are continued round at the same level as those of the aisles of the
choir, and the buttresses are also similar. Attention may be drawn to
the curious treatment of the upper water tables of the buttresses of
this wing. The slope is divided into two halves, one half rising a
little higher than the other.
[Illustration: FIG. 596.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. North Transept.]
[Illustration: FIG. 597.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. Chapter House, from
North-West.]
The chapter house wing is two stories in height, and the staircase
finishes on top (Fig. 598) with a cape house, after the manner of the
pele towers. This wing measures on Plan about 30 feet square internally,
and has a central pillar supporting the vaulting on both floors. The
chapter house, which is on the ground floor, was, as we have seen, left
in an unfinished state in the thirteenth century. In the early part of
the fifteenth century, Bishop Lauder has evidently recommenced work at
it.
[Illustration: FIG. 598.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. East End of Cathedral
and Chapter House, from South-East.]
The wall shafts (see Fig. 584), with their early section and first
pointed caps and bases, have the appearance of being older than his
time; but the Dean’s seat, which has been inserted in the east side
(Fig. 599), is part
[Illustration: FIG. 599.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. Dean’s Seat in Chapter
House.]
of his work. It is in the design of that period, and contains the
following inscription along the top--viz., Wilms: fuda: instut: Caplm:
Dei, which Archbishop Eyre thus renders,[67] “William laid the
foundation of this chapter house in God’s honour.” The William referred
to was Bishop William Lauder, whose arms (a Griffin Segreant) occur on a
shield on the lintel below the inscription. The shield is surmounted by
the bishop’s crosier.
[Illustration: FIG. 600.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. Sacristy, looking
North-East.]
The shield of Bishop Lauder is also inserted on the exterior of the west
side of the chapter house. It is shown on a slab in Fig. 600, and is a
characteristic piece of heraldic decoration. Fig. 600 shows the upper
apartment or sacristy.
The completion of this wing was carried out by Bishop Cameron, who built
the upper story, or sacristy, and vaulted the building. It is not quite
clear whether the vaulting of the lower story was executed by Bishop
Cameron or Bishop Lauder. The central pillar (Fig. 601) is late, and the
boss of the north-west compartment seems to contain the Cameron arms.
The groin ribs (=A=) are of early form, while those of the sacristy (=B=)
are of a late section. The vaulting springers of the chapter house may
have been built at the same time as the chapter house shafts--_i.e._, in
the thirteenth century--and completed in the fifteenth century with the
same section as they were begun with; while the groins of the sacristy,
being entirely of fifteenth century work, are of the section of that
period.
[Illustration: FIG. 601.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. Details of Central
Pillar, &c., in Chapter House.]
The shields in the bosses of the chapter house are somewhat difficult to
decipher; but that in the south-east bay may possibly represent the
royal arms of Scotland and England impaled, and stand for James I. and
his wife, Margaret Tudor.[68] King James returned to Scotland in 1424,
about which time the chapter house vault may have been built.
The upper chamber is undoubtedly the work of Bishop Cameron. The central
pillar has two shields in the capital. That fronting a person entering
contains the royal arms, surmounted by a crown (see Fig. 600); and the
shield on the opposite side contains Bishop Cameron’s arms. There is
here an analogy with the central pillar of the chapter house of Elgin
Cathedral, where the royal arms and those of the bishop by whom it was
completed are carved on the capital. The Cameron arms also occur in the
cap of the wall shaft opposite the coat above referred to, and likewise
over the fireplace (see Fig. 600).
[Illustration: FIG. 602.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral. Rood Screen and
Entrance to Choir and Lower Church.]
The sacristy contains, as shown in the sketch (see Fig. 600), stone
built projecting cupboards and a large fireplace. The arms of Bishop
Cameron on the mantel above the latter contain an example of how
heraldry and architecture may be made to work together; one of the
members of the cornice over the fireplace being continued across the
shield, so as to form one of the fesses of the Cameron coat. A wide
wheel stair close to the entrance connects the chapter house and the
vestry above. A shield containing a bull’s head, the arms of Bishop
Turnbull, is inserted in the outside of the west wall, near the top. The
wing may have been completed by that prelate.
[Illustration: FIG. 603.--St. Mungo’s Cathedral.