[Illustration: FIG. 675. St. Kentigern’s. Caps of Piers.]
[Illustration: FIG. 676.--St. Kentigern’s. South Elevation.]
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 677.--St. Kentigern’s. South Doorway.]
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.
[Illustration: FIG. 678.--St. Kentigern’s. Arch Mouldings of South
Doorway.]