arch, and resting on the string course, are two detached figures, which
recall the figures similarly placed at Whithorn Priory. That on the
right represents a man holding a spear, that on the left, although
apparently a human figure, is too far gone to be clearly made out.
This doorway is particularly interesting from being, as we believe, the
only example in Scotland of similar well-preserved sculptures upon a
church. In England, as pointed out by Mr. Romilly Allen, sculpture
[Illustration: FIG. 260.--Dalmeny Church. Window in Nave and Choir.]
of this description is common on Norman structures after 1135,
especially on doorways and fonts. It is difficult to form an idea of the
meaning of many of these sculptured figures, occurring, as they do, in
the strangest juxtaposition. On this point Mr. Romilly Allen
observes[171] that “one of the most remarkable features in Norman
sculpture is the way in which the Agnus Dei is associated with what
appears to us to be the most incongruous surroundings, such as animals,
serpents, and a bird at Parwich in Derbyshire; animals and a figure
holding a pastoral staff at Hagnaston in Derbyshire; a tree with birds
and Sagittarius and Leo at Stoke Subhampton in Somersetshire, &c.” Such
descriptions would well apply
[Illustration: FIG. 261.--Dalmeny Church. Doorway.]
to the doorway of Dalmeny Church, where we have associated with the
Agnus Dei, Leo, Sagittarius, serpents, birds, dragons, and human
figures, one, perhaps, bearing a pastoral staff.
Numerous similar figures may be also seen on the sculptured monuments
[Illustration: FIG. 262.--Dalmeny Church. Figures on Inner and Outer
Orders of Doorway Arch.]
of Scotland, and thus a connection is observed between these remarkable
erections and the sculpture of Norman buildings, which brings the
earlier monuments into close connection with the later, and provides
them a place in the general history of art in the country. Sculptures of
a similar description have, at one time, existed at Dunfermline and
Jedburgh, but they are now too far wasted away to be intelligible.
LEUCHARS CHURCH, FIFESHIRE.
Situated four and a half miles from St. Andrews, and one mile from
Leuchars Railway Junction, this church, like that of Dalmeny, forms one
of the best-preserved examples of our parish churches of the Norman
period. Though not complete, like Dalmeny, the choir and apse of
Leuchars, which alone remain, are even more richly decorated with the
[Illustration: FIG. 203.--Leuchars Church. Plan.]
characteristic ornaments of the style than the former. As usual, the
church is without aisles.
It is scarcely possible to ascertain the date of these early structures,
but we find from the registry of the Priory of St. Andrews that the
Ecclesia de Lochres existed in the year 1187. There are letters by
Orabile, Countess of Mar, attesting that she was present when her
father,
[Illustration: FIG. 264.--Leuchars Church. View from North-East.]
Nes, the son of William, gave the Church of Leuchars, in Fife (Lochres),
to the Canons of St. Andrews, 1171-1199.
Orabile was married to Robert de Quinci. Between 1210 and 1219 Syer de
Quinci, Earl of Winchester, gave to the Canons of St. Andrews three
merks of silver yearly from his mill of Leuchars for the souls of his
[Illustration: FIG. 265.--Leuchars Church. 1. Details of Apse. 2.
Details of Choir. 3. Corbel in Apse.]
grandfather and grandmother, of his father, Robert de Quinci, and his
mother, Orabile.[172]
The church (Fig. 263) now consists of a choir, 19 feet 9 inches long by
18 feet wide, with a circular apse, 12 feet 6 inches wide and 12 feet
deep. There are traces of an arch at the west end of the choir, which
opened into the nave; but the latter is now rebuilt.
[Illustration: FIG. 266.--Leuchars Church. Interior of Apse.]
The general view (Fig. 264) shows the exterior of the semi-circular
apse, with its arcade of two stories, the shafts of the upper tier
resting on the arches of the lower one, and all the shafts bearing
cushion caps. Those of the lower story are double shafts, and those of
the upper story are double
[Illustration: FIG. 267.--Leuchars Church. Exterior of Choir, &c.]
shafts, with a broad fillet between them. All the arches are enriched
with chevron and billet mouldings, and the upper tier has an extra order
of elaborate billet-work. The string course between the two arcades is
carved with zig-zags (Fig. 265). The cornice is supported on a series of
boldly-carved grotesque heads, all varying in design.
On the top of the apse vault there has been built, in the seventeenth
century, an incongruous turret, which, although not of bad design, is
extremely out of place. To support this belfry, a plain arch has been
introduced in the interior amongst the Norman work of the apse. (Fig.
266.)
The design of the exterior of the choir (Fig. 267) is similar to that of
the apse, there being two arcades, one above the other, surmounted by a
cornice, with corbels carved as grotesque heads. The lower arcade,
however, has interlacing arches (see Fig. 265), which indicate a late
period of the style. The two arcades are separated by a string course,
enriched with scroll floral ornament.
In the interior (see Fig. 266) attention is drawn to the elaborate
carving of the chancel arch, which has two orders of complex chevron
ornament, and an outer order or hood mould of four rows of billets. The
soffit of the arch is also enriched with chevrons, so arranged as to
form a row of lozenge ornaments in the centre. The chancel arch is
carried on a central attached shaft and two plain nook shafts, built in
courses, with simple cushion caps and plain bases.
The chancel is vaulted with heavy moulded groins, springing from the
cushion caps of short single shafts resting on grotesque heads. (See
Fig. 265.) A small window is introduced in each of the divisions formed
by the shafts, and each window has a pair of nook shafts in the interior
and enriched arch above. The lower part of the apse is plain, and is
separated from the upper part by a string course, enriched with faceted
ornaments.
BUNKLE CHURCH, BERWICKSHIRE.
There exist in Berwickshire the remains of a number of Norman churches
which, unfortunately, are very fragmentary. This is the more to be
regretted, as the portions still remaining of some of them show that
they must have been equal, if not superior, in richness of detail to
most of the better preserved specimens in other parts of the country.
The fragments at Edrom and Legerwood are of the finest Norman
architecture, while the extreme simplicity of the work at Bunkle seems
to indicate that it is very early in the style. At Chirnside and St.
Helen’s but little is left; indeed, the latter is now almost only a
memory of the past.[173]
The numerous remains of Norman parish churches scattered throughout
Berwickshire point to the direction from which the Roman influence
gradually spread over the country.
Amongst these fragments, the small piece of Bunkle Church (Fig. 268)
which survives is one of the earliest. It is situated about 4½ miles
north-west from Chirnside Station, on the Duns Branch Railway, and
stands in the immediate neighbourhood of the fragmentary ruins of
[Illustration: FIG. 268.--Bunkle Church. Plan and View of Apse.]
Bunkle Castle. The building appears to have been entire till about 1820,
when it was demolished, and the materials used in the erection of the
existing parish church, which adjoins it. Only the semi-circular apse,
with the arch leading into it, remains of what was the original parish
church. The building is extremely plain, and Mr. Muir[174] suggests
that it may be of even earlier than twelfth century date. The apse is
about 11 feet in width, and projects 7 feet internally. It has a small
round-headed window to the north-east, and another to the south-east,
but none to the east. These windows are placed high, and are 18 inches
wide on the outside, and are widely splayed inwards. Adjoining the
south-east window are the remains of a piscina, about 14 inches square
by 11 inches high. The entrance to the apse from the choir is preserved.
It is 7 feet 6 inches in width, and 7 feet 10 inches high to the
springing of the arch. The wall is 3 feet in thickness. The jambs are
plain, and the semi-circular arch is also plain, having one deep
square-edged order extending the full thickness of the wall. The impost
is a simple fascia, with a small splay on the under edge. The apse is
vaulted with a plain semidome similar to that of St. Margaret’s Chapel
in Edinburgh Castle, and the roof is formed with overlapping stones. A
few stones are observable in the walls of the new church which are
carved with zigzag ornaments, and were, doubtless, derived from the old
building.
EDROM CHURCH, BERWICKSHIRE.
Of the ancient parish church of Edrom, situated about one mile from
Edrom Railway Station, there still survives a Norman doorway of
beautiful workmanship. (Fig. 269.)[175] It has been preserved by being
made the entrance to a burial vault at the west end of the church. This
doorway (Fig. 270) is one of the finest of the style in Scotland, and is
of considerable size, being 11 feet high and 4 feet 8 inches wide. It
has two shafts (one of them a nook shaft) in each jamb, and the ashlar
work of the wall forms the support of the outer order. The arch contains
three orders, all elaborately carved with Norman enrichments. The inner
enrichment (Fig. 271) consists of a series of chevrons; the central
order is also ornamented with two sets of chevrons, arranged so as to
form lozenge shapes between them, which are filled with delicate
carvings. The outer order contains a repeating ornament, arranged in
squares, and the whole is enclosed with a small label carved with a
delicately foliaged ornament.
The caps of the shafts are somewhat remarkable. Fig. 271 shows those of
each side. The cushion caps and the elaborately carved scrolls of the
left central cap correspond with ordinary Norman work, but the peculiar
and twisted serpent-like forms of the right jamb are remarkable.
It is not quite clear that the doorway is in its original state. There
are three capitals on each side, only two of which have shafts. It is
not unlikely that the remaining two capitals had either shafts or some
kind of decoration continued to the base, as at Iffley or Middleton;
Stoney,
[Illustration: FIG. 269.--Edrom Church. Norman Doorway.]
Oxfordshire; or Kirkham Priory, Yorkshire (see _Parker’s Glossary_). It
is also probable that the opening was square-headed, and the tympanum
filled with a shield, as at Abercorn and Linton.
The lands and church of Edenham, with Nisbet, were granted to
[Illustration: FIG. 270.--Edrom Church. Doorway.]
St. Cuthbert’s monks by Gospatrick, Earl of Dunbar, and confirmed, in
1139, by David I. The investiture is in favour of the Prior of
Coldingham.
[Illustration: FIG. 271.--Edrom. Caps of Shafts.]
[Illustration: FIG. 272.--Edrom. Angle Buttresses.]
[Illustration: FIG. 273.--Edrom. Arms on Buttress.]
[Illustration: FIG. 274.--Edrom. Shield on Aisle.]
An aisle of some interest is attached to the church. It contains in a
panel occupying the position of a niche on one of the buttresses a
modern inscription giving the history of the aisle, viz.:--“Founded by
Robert Blackadder, Archbishop of Glasgow, in the year 1499.” The only
portions of the aisle still preserved which are of any interest are the
two angle buttresses (Fig. 272). Both of these have had niches with
canopies and corbels for supporting figures. The canopy of one is gone,
but a sundial occupies its place. The archbishop’s arms and initials
(Fig. 273) are carved on the buttress. His family name is derived from a
place of the same designation in the parish. Another shield (Fig. 274),
with arms almost obliterated, occurs a little further west.
LEGERWOOD, BERWICKSHIRE.
[Illustration: FIG. 276.--Legerwood Church. Window.]
Legerwood stands in the hilly region, about four miles north-east from
Earlston Station. The parish church is old, and has been often repaired.
Attached to it, but entirely cut off by a wall, are the roofless
[Illustration: FIG. 275.--Legerwood Church. Plan.]
ruins of the original Norman chancel (Fig. 275), which is complete, and
measures internally 17 feet 4 inches square. It is fairly preserved, and
contains some good Norman work. The chancel arch is entire, but is
partly concealed on the face with plaster, and the ingoing is entirely
hidden by the stone wall, which separates the chancel from the church.
There is a 10 inch diameter round shaft in each internal angle, which is
continued up as high as the walls, but there are no indications of
vaulting. A small round-headed window, 9 inches wide, is introduced in
the centre of the east and north sides (Fig. 276), and apparently a
doorway has existed in the south wall. The chancel arch has been large,
being about 14 feet 8 inches wide, including the columns, and is
enriched with shafts and carving; but, unfortunately, it is so built up
that only portions are visible. The caps and mouldings, so far as they
can be seen, are shown in Fig. 277. The
[Illustration: FIG. 277.--Legerwood Church. Caps.]
ornament consists largely of square facets, with various forms of
sinkings. A small recess, 11 inches deep, 15 inches wide, and 17 inches
high, which occurs in the north wall, is
[Illustration: FIG. 278.--Legerwood Church. Recess in North Wall.]
shown in Fig. 278. It has not been fitted with a door.
Masons’ marks are distinctly chiselled on the stones of the chancel.
Throughout the chancel there are clear indications of coloured
decorations, consisting of a cross or star in red on a circularly-shaped
ground of white. Fig. 278 shows one on the wall, and another in the
recess.
Till the Reformation the Church of Legerwood belonged to Paisley Abbey,
to which it was granted in 1163; but “John Priest of Ledgureside” is
found witnessing a charter granted in 1127 by Robert, Bishop of St.
Andrews, in favour of the Priory of Coldingham. The modern church
appears to occupy the site of the original nave, as its east wall and
part of the return of the side walls are old. The nave measures 47 feet
10 inches long by 27 feet 9 inches wide. A piece of stone carved with
Celtic interlaced work is built into the south wall near the west end,
and on the corner there is a double sundial, bearing the initials W. G.,
and the date 1682.
CHIRNSIDE CHURCH, BERWICKSHIRE.
Another fragment of Norman work survives at Chirnside in the doorway of
the ruined church, situated about one mile from Chirnside
[Illustration: FIG. 279.--Chirnside Church. Doorway.]
Railway Station. The village stands high, and commands an extensive
view. The church has been much restored, but the ancient Norman walls in
great measure remain. Its size can, therefore, be determined, being 78
feet in length by 23 feet ½ inch in width. The only architectural
feature remaining is the doorway on the south side. (Fig. 279.) It is
contained in a shallow projection of 9½ inches, which is 10 feet 2
inches in breadth. The doorway is 2 feet 10¾ inches wide, and the height
to the lintel is 6 feet 10 inches. The arched head is somewhat peculiar,
consisting of two segmental arches, resting on caps placed at different
levels.
Each jamb contains two nook shafts (the two outer shafts being modern),
with simple bases and cushion caps, the inner cap being lower than the
outer. A bead runs round the jambs and square lintel, and the tympanum
is plain. Each cap carries an order, the inner order being enriched with
a series of chevrons, and the outer order with mouldings. The soffit in
both orders is plain. The outer order is enclosed in a small label,
which has a break at the termination--a very unusual feature in Norman
work.
At the sides of the doorway there are remains of a projection, probably
a porch. The church had a western tower, which was taken down in 1750.
It was vaulted in stone.
The Church of Chirnside, before the Reformation, was under the patronage
of the Collegiate Church of Dunbar. In the taxation of 1176 the
_Ecclesia de Chirnesyd_ is valued at 50 merks. The church is probably
somewhat older than that date.
ST. HELEN’S CHURCH, BERWICKSHIRE.
The ruins of this church stand in a lonely and lofty situation
overlooking the sea, about three miles eastward from Cockburnspath. The
fabric is now in a greater state of dilapidation than is shown by the
annexed views, which are copied from a sketch by James Drummond, R.S.A.,
engraved in the _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland_.[176] It is accompanied by a description and plan by Mr.
Thomas S. Muir, from which it would appear that about the middle of this
century the east gable wall, which was then entire, was taken down, the
stones being used for agricultural purposes, and that most of what is
shown of the chancel arch shared a similar fate. The dimensions can
still be ascertained from the ruins.
The church (Fig. 280) was a Norman structure, with the exception of the
west gable wall, and consisted of a nave about 30 feet 9 inches long by
18 feet wide, and a chancel 15 feet 2 inches long by 11 feet 6½ inches
wide. The total internal length was thus about 48 feet 11 inches. The
building was barrel vaulted throughout. The apertures where the north
and south walls of the nave are shown broken down (see Fig. 280)
probably indicate the position of a north and south doorway. There were
two windows
[Illustration: FIG. 280.--St. Helen’s Church. Plan.]
in the south wall, with three shallow arched recesses beneath. (Fig.
281.) These recesses measure 11 inches deep by about 3 feet high, and
have not been fitted with doors. Their purpose is unknown. The chancel
arch, when entire, measured about 7 feet in width. The stone shown in
[Illustration: FIG. 281.--St. Helen’s Church. View looking East.]
the foreground of Fig. 281 gives an idea of the section of the jambs of
the arch, only part of which now remains. A broad band connected with
the caps runs along the north and south walls of the nave. The band is
decorated with a circular rosette ornament. As will be seen from this
view, the arch was flanked on each side by a square recessed opening,
similar in position to those at the chancel arch at Tynninghame, but the
recesses at the latter are arched. Beneath each of these there is a
small opening, as shown on view, about 6 inches square, which goes into
the wall for about two feet, but the place is now too ruinous to permit
of the matter being further investigated.
The north wall of the chancel is almost entire, and has had no opening.
The south wall is nearly all gone, and, as already stated, nothing
remains of the east wall. The narrow east window, with its wide internal
splay, appears to have been set in a recess, and enriched round the arch
and down the jambs with a single chevron ornament.
[Illustration: FIG. 282.--St. Helen’s Church. West Gable Wall.]
The west gable wall (Fig. 282) has been rebuilt in the fourteenth or
fifteenth century. It is without opening of any kind, save the numerous
putlog holes used for the masons’ scaffolding when erecting the
building.
This was the church of Aldcamus, incorporated before the year 1750 in
the parish of Cockburnspath. The manor of Aldcamus was granted by King
Edgar (1098-1107) to Durham, and “thenceforth belonged to the monastery
of Coldingham, as a cell of Durham.”[177] How long after this date the
church was built we do not know; but as Chalmers remarks in a footnote
that it was the manor, not the church, which Edgar granted to Durham, it
may be doubted whether the church then existed. It appears to have
fallen into ruin about the time of its annexation to Cockburnspath.
TYNNINGHAME CHURCH, HADDINGTONSHIRE.
The few relics which survive of this ancient monastery lie buried in a
thick clump of trees, which stands between the modern mansion of
Tynninghame and the river Tyne, about three miles north-east from East
Linton. This was one of the churches dedicated to St. Baldred, of which
there were several on the East Coast. That Saint seems to have selected
the Bass Rock as his place of abode, whence his fame spread through the
adjoining regions. He is believed to have come from the establishment of
the Columbans at Lindisfarne, whose diocese extended as far as the Frith
of Forth. He died in 606. The foundation of Tynninghame was laid by St.
Baldred, or Blathere,[178] and the church continued as a separate parish
till 1760, when it was united to Whitekirk.
[Illustration: FIG. 283.--Tynninghame Church. Plan.]
What remains of the structure is of Norman architecture, and exhibits
elaborate ornamental work of that style. The plan of the church (Fig.
283) is in part still traceable. The west end of the choir, with its
great arch (Fig. 284), is fairly preserved, and the outline of a
rectangular choir, about 18 feet in length by 17 feet in width, is
observable, although the side walls are greatly demolished.
[Illustration: FIG. 284.--Tynninghame Church. West End of Choir.]
The nave, if it ever existed, has entirely disappeared. At the east end
an enriched chancel arch still survives (Fig. 285), and also portions of
pillars, which indicate that there has been an eastern apse.
The western arch (see Fig. 284) is supported on a series of nook shafts,
some of which are broken away. These carry simply formed caps, with
[Illustration: FIG. 285.--Tynninghame Church. Arch of Apse.]
square abacus, carved with scale work. The arch contains three orders
enriched with ornaments and a label. The first and third orders are
enriched with very elaborate chevron ornaments; the central order has
the billet and the hood mould, a series of small semicircles placed back
to back. An arched recess occurs in the wall at each side of the
central arch. That on the north side is original, and is ornamented
with the chevron. The arch on the south side has been renewed. It is not
clear what purpose these arches served, but most probably they contained
altars. Arched recesses in this position, although not common, are
sometimes found in Norman churches. The arch of the apse (see Fig. 285)
is enriched in three orders, and the caps of the shafts have volutes
(Fig. 286). Two of the pillars which formed part of the apse survive.
The details of the caps and central band are shown in Fig. 286.
Many of the smaller ornaments of this structure are very beautiful, and
are well preserved. On the south side (see Fig. 284) there remains the
recessed pointed arch of a monument, in which parts of a decayed
recumbent effigy are visible. The three shields on the top give it a
picturesque effect.
[Illustration: FIG. 286.--Tynninghame Church. Caps in Apse.]
The ruined church is now used as the family mausoleum of the Earls of
Haddington.
STOBO CHURCH, PEEBLESSHIRE.
This church is situated in the valley of the Tweed, six and a half miles
west from Peebles, and within one mile of Stobo Railway Station. It is
[Illustration: FIG. 287.--Stobo Church. Plan.]
[Illustration: FIG. 288.--Stobo Church. View from South-East.]
a Norman structure, to which some alterations and additions have been
made in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The building is still
used as the parish church. The roof and interior fittings are modern, as
are also the skews and gabled skew putts, of which latter there was no
suggestion in the old work. But the most serious injury inflicted on the
[Illustration: FIG. 289.--Stobo Church. Norman Doorway.]
structure was the entire destruction of the Norman chancel arch at the
restoration of the building in 1868, “in order to insert a modern
pointed one.”--(_Transactions of the Aberdeen Ecclesiological Society,
1887_, p. 6.)