Making the entire length of Buildings, inclusive of West Tower, nearly
250 feet.]
tower at the west end of the church, which contained the belfry, fell
more than a century ago, and, in falling, destroyed the west gable of
the church.
The buildings of the priory have now been reduced to the nave (Fig.
876), an aisleless structure, 74 feet long by 24 feet wide internally,
and to some underground vaulted buildings, which no doubt formerly
supported the choir and other erections above. Considerable excavations
and investigations have recently been made on the site by the Marquis of
Bute, under the careful superintendence of Mr. William Galloway,
architect, whom we have to thank for the accompanying Plan (Fig. 877)
showing the outline of all that remains of the priory. The explanations
attached to the Plan give Mr. Galloway’s views as to the various parts
of the edifice.
[Illustration: FIG. 878.--Whithorn Priory. Nave, from South-East.]
The west tower (1), which fell in the beginning of last century, is now
a mere ruin a few feet in height, and the new west wall (2), built in
consequence of the destruction of the old gable wall, diminishes the
size of the nave. The eastern wall of the nave (Fig. 878) is a
post-Reformation erection, evidently added to enable the old nave to be
used as a parish church. The cloister (5) lay to the north of the nave,
which accounts for there being no windows in the north wall of the
latter. Not a vestige now remains of the cloister walk or garth.
The chapter house (10), slype (8), and (6) site of domestic buildings
extended to the north of the transept. The old foundations and portions
of walls remain in connection with the parts tinted black. The parish
church (6) is now built on old foundations, with a porch at 7. 9 shows a
piece of causeway flooring _in situ_, and 11 is the foundation of a
pillar of the chapter house. The crypts (14), which are on a basement
floor, show the extent of the choir, and 13 is the crypt or basement of
a large building to the south. A considerable portion of the vaulting of
these crypts has been preserved. To the east 17 probably indicates the
foundations of the lady chapel. To the north of the choir is a detached
structure (16), believed, from the remains of feathers, &c. found in it,
to have been a larder. The remainder of the ground is entirely covered
with graves, so that it was only accidentally that a small portion of
the foundation of the south transept (12) was discovered.
[Illustration: FIG. 879.--Whithorn Priory. Tomb Recess in Nave.]
The nave (see Fig. 878) still retains its ancient side walls, which are
probably of the fifteenth century. The south-east doorway is of good
form, and the mouldings are also good. “It bears the arms of Alexander
Vaus, Bishop from 1426 to 1450.”[168] In the interior (Fig. 879) the
north wall
[Illustration: FIG. 880.--Whithorn Priory. South-West Doorway of Nave.]
contains two pointed recesses for monuments, of which the design is
excellent. The general design is of first pointed character, but the
moulding on the left side has been repaired with ornament of fifteenth
[Illustration: FIG. 881.--Whithorn Priory. Font.]
century work. The most important feature connected with the nave is the
doorway at the south-west angle (Fig. 880). It is set in a slight
projection of the wall, which contains features, such as the pointed
window over the doorway, which indicate a late period. The doorway
itself is undoubtedly Norman, and probably of an early date. It is much
worn away, and has been greatly damaged by the erection of a porch (now
removed), the roof of which has cut into the mouldings. The shafts are
built in nooks, and have caps carved with owls’ heads and other
ornaments, now much decayed. One cap is carved with a quatrefoil, which
is certainly a late addition. The abacus is of simple section, and is
carved with sunk faceted ornaments. The arch comprises four orders,
besides a hood mould. Three of these orders are enriched with chevron
ornaments, and one order (the second from the inner opening) has an
irregular arrangement of geometric patterns and circular discs. Similar
geometric patterns are introduced in the west doorway at Dunfermline
Abbey. It will be observed that some of the voussoirs are incomplete.
Thus in the outer order the second voussoir to the left of the head over
the centre has the chevron very imperfectly cut, and is evidently an
insertion. The same remark applies to the voussoir below it to the
right, which has only one half of a chevron, and in the next order
straight below the head a rounded stone is substituted for the proper
voussoir. All these divergences from the usual careful work of Norman
building seem to indicate that there has been an alteration of the
doorway. Most probably it has been rebuilt and the imperfect voussoirs
introduced to make up deficiencies in the old work.
The hood mould, which is plain, had a terminal at each end, carved as a
large human head.
The remarkable figures carved on the projecting wall, above each side of
the arch, are worthy of observation. The sculpture on the right side and
the lower one on the left have a strong resemblance to the figures often
found on the ancient sculptured stones, and, when taken in connection
with the sculptures at Dalmeny, point to a close affinity between the
sculptured figures on the ancient stones and the architecture of the
twelfth century in Scotland. It may be mentioned that many fragments of
sculptured stones, chiefly carved with interlacing work, have been dug
up in the neighbourhood, and are kept in the existing part of the old
church.
The ancient font (Fig. 881) has been preserved. It is bowl shaped and
extremely simple in design, and may be of Norman date. Mr. Galloway
informs us that it was long used as a trough for pounding stucco, and
stood at the Town Hall. It is now reverently placed in the church.