An account of this abbey is given in _The Castellated and Domestic
Architecture of Scotland_,[121] in connection with its occupation by the
English, in the time of Henry VIII., as a fortification. But being an
important ecclesiastical structure, and in some respects a unique one,
it is thought desirable to give it a place in this volume, with some
additional particulars and illustrations.
The Island of Inchcolm, or Æmonia, as it was originally called, is
believed to have formed the cradle of religion in the East of Scotland,
as the more famous Iona did in the West; and it is thought that the
first seeds of religion were implanted in it by St. Columba himself. In
early times the founders of Christianity loved to establish themselves
on islands, and in the Frith of Forth ecclesiastical remains are found
not only at Inchcolm, but also on Inchkeith, the Bass, the Isle of May,
and the Island of Fidra.
Like Iona, the Island of Inchcolm became especially celebrated as a
place of burial, and large sums were paid for the privilege of
interment on the island. This circumstance is referred to in
_Macbeth_,[122] in connection with the defeat of “Sweno, Norway’s
King”--
“Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed at St. Colm’s Inch
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.”
The island appears to have been inhabited up to the twelfth century by a
Columban hermit. Fordun narrates that the abbey owes its foundation to
Alexander I., who, in 1123, was driven ashore on the island by a storm,
where he and his followers were maintained for three days by the hermit
who then made Inchcolm his retreat, and who divided with them his scanty
fare of shellfish and the milk of one cow. In recognition of his safe
delivery, Alexander founded and endowed a monastery, and brought to it
Augustinian Canons from the abbey he had established at Scone. The
monastery continued to prosper, and, in 1216, received a large addition
to its possessions from Allan Mortimer, proprietor of the domain of
Aberdour, on the mainland adjoining, who purchased the right of
interment in the church by bestowing on the abbey one half of his
estate.
It is from this period that the existing buildings began to be erected,
and the construction probably went on for a considerable length of time
thereafter. In 1265 Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, built the new choir at
his own expense. He was High Chamberlain in 1255-57, and, at his death
in 1272, his heart was laid, according to Father Hay, in the wall of the
new choir.
Although the island position of the monastery made it usually a safe
retreat, it did not protect it from the attacks of the English fleet
during the War of Independence. In 1335 it was harried by the English,
who carried off the precious chalices and censers, crosses and
chandeliers, relics, vestments, and images. The abbey was again attacked
in 1336, and in 1384 the fleet of Richard II. plundered it and set it on
fire. Some repairs were, doubtless, required thereafter, and we find
that in 1402 the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, adjoining the south side
of the choir, was founded by the Prior, Richard of Aberdeen, and Thomas
Crawford, Canon of Inchcolm.
In 1418 Walter Bower, the editor and continuator of the _Scotichronicon_
of Fordun, was appointed abbot, and carried out his literary work in the
abbey.
As the period of the Reformation approached, the monastery seems to have
fallen off, and in 1543 Abbot Henry resigned office, and the abbey was
deserted.
After the battle of Pinkie, in 1547, the Duke of Somerset occupied
Inchcolm as the best post for commanding the Frith of Forth.
The lands of West Aberdour were acquired from Abbot Nicholas by James
Stewart of Ochiltree, who became Commendator of the Abbey; and his
second son, James Stewart, Lord Doune, was, in 1611, created a peer,
with the title of Lord St. Colm. He married the daughter of the Regent
Murray, and the lands were united to the estate of the Earl of Moray,
who thus became proprietor of Inchcolm.
The island is about half a mile in length, and lies about one mile and
a-half from the harbour of Aberdour, on the north side of the Frith of
Forth. It consists of an elevated portion at each end, with a low lying
isthmus between them, on which the abbey is built, the buildings
extending across the full breadth of the land.
Notwithstanding the many attacks and injuries the structure has
sustained, its remote situation has preserved the monastic buildings in
a more complete state than in most of our old abbeys. The edifice, as it
now stands (Fig. 737), consists of the usual cloister court (about 45
feet square), having the church on the north side and the chapter house
beyond the east range. The monastery has the remarkable peculiarity of
having had the buildings surrounding the cloister constructed so as to
contain on the ground floor nothing but the cloister walk, and on the
upper floor, above the ambulatory, the refectory, dormitory, and other
domestic apartments of the canons. The cellars, stores, and other
offices have been erected in a wing to the south-east. A detached
building to the north of the church, now in ruins, was possibly the
infirmary. To the west of the monastery lay the garden, which is
enclosed with a wall. The well, which is sunk on the south of the
garden, is built round with ashlar, is 50 feet deep, and contains a
supply of good fresh water. A strong retaining wall runs along the north
side of the buildings next the sea, and encloses the monastery on that
side.
A very interesting relic of the original eremitical occupation of the
island still survives at the north-west angle of the garden. This is a
small cell covered with a pointed vault, the true importance of which
was first pointed out by the late Sir James Y. Simpson,[123] who drew
attention to it as the cell of the Columban recluse who occupied
Inchcolm at or before the unexpected visit of Alexander I. It consists
(Fig. 738) of an irregular stone building, measuring internally 15 feet
7 inches in length on the north side and 17 feet on the south side, by a
width of 6 feet at the east end and 5 feet at the west end. The height
from the floor to the spring of the arch is 4 feet 8 inches, and to the
crown of the arch 8 feet. The cell is covered with a pointed barrel
vault, the arch of which is composed of radiating stones, and is covered
with stone flags, which form a curved roof on the exterior. The form of
the arch indicates that the vault is not of the most ancient type of
Celtic building, in which the arch consisted not of radiating, but of
overlapping, stones pushed out horizontally over each other till they
met with a flat stone in the centre.[124] The doorway, however, which
is at the south-west angle, presents on the interior some appearance of
the latter form of construction (Fig. 739),[125] while on the exterior
(Fig. 740) it is formed with a round radiating arch. There is one small
square-headed window in the east end, 13 inches in width and 24 inches
in height, the jambs of which are in single stones, without moulding or
chamfer. In the south wall there is a rude ambry, 12 inches wide and 17
inches deep.
[Illustration: FIG. 737.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. Plan of Ground Floor.]
This cell has, doubtless, been often repaired (indeed, it requires some
repair now), and it is possible that the vault and stone roof may not
be the original ones; but the walls are certainly ancient, and the
structure is very interesting from its being one of the very few relics
of the Columban church which survive in the eastern part of Scotland.
[Illustration: FIG. 738.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. St. Colm’s Cell: Plan
and Section.]
[Illustration: FIG. 739.--The Abbey of Inchcolm.