This monastery was pleasantly situated on the north side of the river
Beauly, not far from the point where it falls into the sea at the head
of the Beauly Frith, which forms the inner portion of the Moray Frith.
The land is level and fertile, and the scenery on the river is very
beautiful. The priory is about ten miles west from Inverness, and about
one mile from Beauly Railway Station. It is believed to have been
founded in 1230, and was thereafter endowed by Sir John Bisset of
Lovat.[88] The priory was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and was
occupied by seven French monks of the Order of Valliscaulium. This was
one of the strict orders established at the time of the revival of
religion in the twelfth century. The mother house of the order was at
Langres, in Burgundy. Of this order there were only three priories in
Scotland: one at Pluscarden, in Morayshire; one at Ardchattan, in
Argyle; and one at Beauly. The monks were austere in their lives, and
formed a centre of devotion and enlightenment in the midst of these wild
and uncivilised districts. The charter of the foundation was confirmed
by Pope Gregory XI. in 1231. The priory was probably erected during the
thirteenth century, but its records are few for a long period.
The Frasers succeeded the Bysets in the lands surrounding the priory,
and Hugh Fraser, who was first Lord of Lovat, died in 1398. His son,
Alexander, was a great benefactor of the priory, and is said to have
erected a beautiful steeple of carved oak on the west gable, and put
curious bells therein.
Hugh Fraser (about 1430-40) afforded means for building the north work
of the priory and the chapel of the Holy Cross.
The church was soon after repaired at the expense of the superior, a
natural son of Alexander of Kintail, who was there buried, A.D. 1479.
His tomb is opposite that of his brother, Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of
Kintail, with the date 1491. Sir Kenneth was the first of his family who
was buried at Beauly, having married a daughter of Lord Lovat and
obtained the Beauly property.
In 1530 Abbot Robert Reid of Kinloss received a gift of the Abbey of
Beauly _in commendam_.[89] It is recorded by Ferrerius that many new
buildings were erected and old ones repaired by this abbot. He is stated
to have collected materials in 1537 and to have rebuilt the nave in
1540, and the structure bears evidence of his operations. He also
restored the bell tower, which had been destroyed by lightning; but in
1541 that work was demolished, and the bells destroyed by a violent
storm, which also did much damage throughout the country.
In 1544 Bishop Reid (being now promoted to the See of Orkney) removed
the ruinous house of the prior, and erected a new and spacious house,
with six vaults on the basement; but of this structure there is now no
trace.
Robert Reid was succeeded, as commendator, by his nephew, Walter Reid,
who was also his successor in the abbacy of Kinloss. The possessions of
the Priory of Beauly were alienated, in 1571, by Walter, the new
commendator, as were also those of Kinloss. The lands thus became the
property of the Lovat family. On the forfeiture of Lord Lovat, in 1516,
the abbey reverted to the Crown.
The priory consisted of the church, with a cloister to the south, which
was, in all probability, surrounded by the usual monastic buildings; but
the latter, including the spacious prior’s house erected by Bishop Reid,
have almost entirely disappeared. The walls of the church (Fig. 648)
survive, but even these have been sadly abused. The buttresses have all
been torn down, apparently for the sake of the freestone dressings, and
the tracery of the windows has been greatly demolished.
The church consists of a single long aisleless chamber, a little over
150 feet in length by 24 feet 6 inches in width (within the walls). The
eastern part formed the presbytery and choir, and the western part the
nave, but there is no architectural feature to mark the divisions. About
the place where a transept might have been there are two projections,
which break the long line of the exterior. These projecting chambers or
chapels are shut off from the main church by solid walls containing
doorways and monuments. They thus formed separate chapels, or one of
them may have been a sacristy. The architecture of the choir and
presbytery (Fig. 649) is remarkably fine, and is of first pointed
character. Although in this remote region its date may probably be later
than usual, it can scarcely be, as Mr. Muir suggests, so late as the
beginning of the fourteenth century.
The details are very simple, the jambs and arches having plain splays.
The caps of the shafts adjoining the windows in the interior are moulded
and have round abaci, but the shafts, which were detached in the early
manner, have disappeared. The arrangement of the arches is different on
the two opposite sides. The east window was very wide, and, doubtless,
was filled with tracery, which had several mullions. This may have been
a later addition; the tracery has entirely disappeared. The lower
portions of the buttresses of the choir have been rebuilt within recent
years, probably in consequence of an agreement entered into between Lord
Lovat and the Crown, whereby the former undertakes to keep the buildings
in good repair.
[Illustration: FIG. 648.--Beauly Priory. Plan.]
The most striking feature of the nave is the row of triangular pointed
windows running along the south side (Fig. 650). These have evidently
been curtailed in height in the design, so as to admit of the roof of
the cloister walk resting against the south wall of the church, the
corbels for its support being yet visible. The west end of this wall has
evidently had domestic buildings of a high and substantial character
erected against it, some fragments of which still remain, showing a
fireplace, portions of a staircase, &c. (see Fig. 650).
[Illustration: FIG. 649.--Beauly Priory. Choir, looking East.]
The western façade bears the marks of Bishop Reid’s workmanship, and is
no doubt part of what is meant to be attributed to him when it is said
that he rebuilt the nave. The triangular south windows above mentioned,
and the two light pointed windows on the south side of the nave, are
undoubtedly much earlier than his date, which was about 1540-50, but
other parts of the walls of the nave may have been re-erected by him
when he restored the west end. The latter (see Fig. 650) is beyond doubt
his work. The doorway in the centre, the arch of which is semicircular,
contains the monogram I.H.S. on one of the label terminations, while the
other drip stone shows two hands and two feet, with a heart in the
centre (Fig. 651), emblems of the Passion. The arch of the doorway is
round; but this, as we have seen elsewhere, is a common feature in
Scottish work of all dates, and occurs especially often in late work.
The upper part of the west wall contains three pointed lancet windows,
and is an example of the revival of early features in late work. Some
of the windows in the side walls are of similar form, and are probably
of the same date. The sill of the central window in the west end is kept
high, so as to admit of a shallow ogee-headed niche for a figure over
the entrance door. The figure may have represented the Baptist, but the
niche is now empty. On a panel on the sill are Bishop Reid’s initials,
R. R., and his arms, a stag’s head (see Fig. 651).
[Illustration: FIG. 650.--Beauly Priory. Nave from South-West.]
The part of the church which projects to the north measures 25 feet by
22 feet 6 inches internally. It has been vaulted in two bays, the vaults
springing from corbels in the walls; part of the vault still remains.
This chamber is said to have been the sacristy. It has a turret at the
north-west angle, containing a stair to the roof. In a recess in the
wall which divides this chapel from the choir lies the tomb
(abovementioned) of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of Kintail.
We have seen that the “north work” was erected at the expense of Hugh
Fraser (1430-40), and the style of this chapel corresponds with that
date.
[Illustration: FIG. 651.--Beauly Priory.]
Drip Stone and Panel.
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 652.--Beauly Priory. Tomb of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie.]
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.