7 inches wide, with a chancel about 24 feet 4 inches long by 16 feet
wide, thus making the total interior length about 67 feet 4 inches.
There is a tower at the west end, about 20 feet square over the walls,
and 11 feet by 9 feet 6 inches inside. The tower has originally opened
into the church with what appears to have been a round arch, which is
now partly concealed by a gallery and other erections. This opening has
been reduced in size, as shown on the plan, to a doorway about three
feet wide. The doorway is pointed, and of old date.
As the whole building is harled or rough cast on the outside and
plastered on the inside, it is impossible to say definitely whether the
tower is Norman or later. The work of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries consists of the south porch (Fig. 288), built up against the
Norman doorway (Fig. 289), and a north aisle or chapel, which opened
from the nave with a round arch, now built up. This chapel, which is
ruined, was barrel vaulted. The windows in the south wall are also of
this period. The mullions and tracery of those of the nave are modern,
as is also a monument erected against the interior of the east wall,
which may possibly conceal a Norman east window. The four-light window
in the south wall of the chancel (Fig. 290), although of this late
period, is quaint and pleasing, the small circle in the apex giving it
quite a touch of originality.
[Illustration: FIG. 290.--Stobo Church. Window in South Wall of
Chancel.]
A round arched recess for a monument in the north side of the chancel
also belongs to this period. It has contained a coat of arms, which is
effaced.
The original windows in the north side of the chancel remain. The
daylight is about 7 inches wide by about 2 feet high. There has been a
Norman doorway in the north side of the nave. It has a plain arch, and
was probably not unlike the doorway in the opposite wall, which is of
very simple design, with octagonal shafts. The capitals are slightly
mutilated.
The window to the west of the porch is modern, as are the doorway and
stair in the tower. The latter is of wood, and leads to the gallery
already referred to. There does not appear to have been a stone stair in
the tower. The belfry is late, as is the present tower roof. It is
impossible to say how the tower was originally finished.
The walls being lined with wood on the inside, the usual fittings are
concealed, the only feature visible being the locker, shown on Plan,
near the east end. It is widely splayed in the ingoing, and is not
Norman. The south chancel door is probably of the period of the
adjoining windows.
Stobo Church, like most of the churches of Peeblesshire, “belonged to
the diocese of Glasgow at the epoch of Earl David’s Inquisitio in 1116,
and both the church and manor were confirmed to that see, by several
bulls of successive Popes, in the twelfth century.” In Bagimont’s Roll
(1275) it is mentioned as the “Rectoria de Stobo” and the “Vicaria de
Stobo.”[179] It was the church of a _Plebania_,[180] having subordinate
churches or chaplainries within its territory, over which its priest,
who was styled dean, exercised a certain authority. There were four
subordinate parishes--viz., Broughton, Dowie, Drummelzier, and
Tweedsmuir. In 1116 the rectory of Stobo was converted into the valuable
prebend of Tweeddale in Glasgow Cathedral.
DUDDINGSTON CHURCH, MID-LOTHIAN.
This ancient Norman edifice has formed the place of worship for the
locality since the twelfth century, and is still used as the parish
church. It is picturesquely situated on the north side of Duddingston
Loch,
[Illustration: FIG. 291.--Duddingston Church. Plan.]
immediately under the south side of Arthur’s Seat, and within a mile of
Edinburgh.
[Illustration: FIG. 292.--Duddingston Church. From South-East.]
The structure has undergone many alterations during the six centuries of
its existence, but still retains its original Norman character to a
greater extent than at first sight might be supposed; indeed, it is one
of the best preserved examples we have in Scotland, although the
introduction of a
[Illustration: FIG. 293.--Duddingston Church. South Doorway.]
few prominent features in later times, such as the windows and
buttresses, have somewhat detracted from its antique appearance.
The building appears to have originally consisted of a nave and chancel;
if it had a tower, it must have been of smaller dimensions than the
present one, as the base of the west wall abuts against the side walls
of the present tower instead of returning along it, as it would
otherwise in all likelihood have done.
The nave (Fig. 291) measures about 33 feet 4 inches long, and was
probably about 19 feet wide inside. The chancel is about square, being
16 feet 1½ inch from east to west by 15 feet 6 inches wide, the total
inside length of the church being 52 feet 9 inches.
On the outside a series of pilaster buttresses divided the nave into
four bays; these still exist along the south side, measuring about 2
feet on the face, and having a projection of 9 inches, with a large base
returned round them. To these pilasters massive buttresses (Fig. 292)
projecting three feet have been added. At the corners of the church the
original angle pilasters remain unaltered. The old doorway in the west
bay of the south side (Fig. 293) still continues unchanged, except that
it
[Illustration: FIG. 294.--Duddingston Church.]
is built up, and has an incongruous granite slab occupying the whole
space. The opening of the doorway is about 4 feet 2 inches wide. The
arch is richly sculptured with the chevron in two orders, the inner
order being supported on shafts decorated with the chevron in a manner
not found, we think, anywhere else in Scotland. On one of these shafts
there are two sculptured scenes. The upper one represents the
Crucifixion. (See Fig. 293.) The lower one (Fig. 294) shows a figure
holding aloft a drawn sword; beside the sword, in the shade where the
shaft disappears at the jamb, there is what looks like a key, possibly
the symbol of St. Peter, so that the subject may be the incident of
cutting off the ear of the High Priest.
The chancel arch (Fig. 295) is the only Norman feature now remaining in
the interior. It is in two orders, having on the outer order the usual
chevron ornament, with a notched hood moulding similar to what is found
at Dunfermline. The inner order has a bold bead on the edge. The arch is
quite plain on its inner face towards the chancel. It is carried by
three semi-shafts (Fig. 296), with cushion caps and simple bases. The
abacus has been carved with facets.
On the exterior of the chancel there occur on the north and south sides
(see Fig. 292) characteristic Norman corbels supporting the wall-head
parapet. These consist generally of the usual bridled heads and
monstrous faces, but they are now very weather-worn.
The north wall of the nave has been taken down and a north aisle added
(see Plan), apparently in the year 1631, as that date (Fig. 297) is
carved on a window lintel of the east wall. In the north gable of this
aisle there are two traceried windows, somewhat after the style of the
Perpendicular Period. (Fig. 298.) It will be observed that the mouldings
of the loop form of the tracery do not mitre with the arch mouldings.
At a later period a central window, without tracery, has been placed in
the north wall of the aisle. It corresponds exactly with the windows
[Illustration: FIG. 295.--Duddingston Church. Chancel Arch.]
seen in the south side, and with the one in the east wall of the
chancel, judging from which it was probably at this later period that
all the present windows, seen in Fig. 292, were inserted. The original
windows were, doubtless, the usual small windows found in Norman
churches, and when they came to be enlarged, the builders probably
increased the buttresses to compensate for the weakening of the wall,
and added the conical finials on them and on the gables (see Fig. 292).
It is obvious that to this period also the upper part of the tower
belongs. The lower part of the tower, although not of the original
structure, is, we are inclined to think, of considerable antiquity; it
opens into the church with a plain, round arch. The staircase shown in
it and on the north aisle lead to galleries.
[Illustration: FIG. 296.
Jamb of Chancel Arch.]
[Illustration: FIG. 297.
Lintel in East Wall, North Aisle.]
[Illustration: FIG. 298.
Window in North Aisle.]
During the reign of William the Lion (1165-1214) the church and lands of
Dodin-ston were acquired by the Abbey of Kelso, but from whom they were
acquired is not known. There were several persons of the name of Dodin,
but the one who gave his name to this place does not appear to be known.
But there was a “Hugo filius Dodini de Dodines-tun” who witnessed a
charter to the Canons of Holyrood in the time of William the Lion
(Dalrymple _Collection_, Pref. lxvii.; also, _Caledonia_, Vol. II. p.
791.)
In 1296 John Combale, the vicar of Dodinestun, swore fealty to Edward I.
In the ancient _Taxatio_ (end of twelfth century), Duddingston Church is
rated at twenty-five merks.
ST. ANDREW’S CHURCH, GULLANE, HADDINGTONSHIRE.
The village of Gullane lies in the parish of Dirleton, about four miles
north-west from Drem Station, and half-a-mile from the sea.
The old church of St. Andrew is now a roofless ruin, thickly clad with
ivy, and standing in the middle of the ancient churchyard. The church
was bestowed early in the thirteenth century on Dryburgh Abbey by Sir
William de Vaux, and in 1446 it was erected into a collegiate
institution by Sir Walter de Haliburton. Both these knights were the
proprietors of the Castle of Dirleton in the vicinity.
The structure (Fig. 299) consisted of nave and chancel, the chancel
being entered from the nave by a semicircular chancel arch, almost the
only remnant of the edifice of the twelfth century which survives.
[Illustration: FIG. 299.--Gullane Church. Plan.]
The chancel as it now stands is 35 feet in length by 15 feet 6 inches in
width internally. The eastern portion is a comparatively recent
addition, and has a square east wall, but it is believed that the
chancel formerly terminated towards the east with an apse. Part of the
old south wall of the chancel, extending to about 20 feet in length,
still remains. It contains two pointed windows, with late mouldings on
the exterior, probably fragments of the restoration of the fifteenth
century, at the time when the church was made collegiate. These windows
have been reduced to mere slits by being built up with slabs in the
interior. This filling up was probably inserted when the place was
converted into a burial-ground for a private family, in order to prevent
entrance through the windows.
The south wall of the nave is still about 72 feet in length, but the
north wall is reduced to about 43 feet long. The west end is gone, and
the nave has been divided up into private burial-places. The windows
which remain in the south wall of the nave have been much altered in
Presbyterian times, having had flat lintels, &c., introduced.
The chancel archway (Figs. 300, 301) is 8 feet in width. It has square
jambs on both sides of the wall, and a central half shaft on each jamb
of the opening. The caps of these shafts (see Fig. 301) are fairly
preserved, and
[Illustration: FIG. 300.--Gullane Church. West Side of Chancel Arch.]
show a form of volutes, with a cabled necking and a three-sided abacus,
which was continued as a string course along the walls on each side.
The arch has been built up, but the two plain orders of the east side
are visible, and the outer order on the west side (Fig. 300), carved
with a bold chevron and finished with a three-sided hood, is well
preserved. There can be no doubt as to this part of the structure being
of Norman origin, and the north wall of the nave has a three-sided
string course, which seems to indicate the same date, but the remainder
of the structure
[Illustration: FIG. 301.--Gullane Church. East Side of Chancel Arch.]
has been greatly altered. The earth inside the choir has been filled up
to near the caps of the chancel arch. A round arch in the north wall of
the chancel appears to belong to a side door at the original level of
the floor.
An “aisle” or wing has been built out to the north from the nave. It has
been entered by a large semicircular arch from the nave, and has had a
large north window, but these openings are now built up. This erection
seems to be of about the time of the Reformation.
UPHALL CHURCH, AND ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH, STRATHBROC, LINLITHGOWSHIRE.
The Church of Uphall is a Norman structure throughout, and consists of
nave, chancel, and a western tower. It has been subjected to various
[Illustration: FIG. 302.--Uphall Church. Plan.]
alterations and extensions, but the original plan is still perfectly
clear, and is shown by Fig. 302, which ignores the changes, except the
addition of the south aisle or wing. The building has no side aisles.
The nave measures about 35 feet long by 15 feet wide, and the
[Illustration: FIG. 303.--Uphall Church. Doorway.]
chancel 30 feet 6 inches long by 13 feet wide. The doorway (Fig. 303) is
in the usual place at the west end of the south front. It is of Norman
design, having a nook shaft at each side, with cushion cap and plain
square abacus. The arch is round, and has two orders, the inner order
being square edged, and the outer composed of mouldings, and having a
moulded label. It is probable there was some piece of carving beneath
the arch, or else the square lintel is an alteration. A stoup adjoining
in the south wall has a pointed opening, and probably dates from the
fifteenth century. There is another doorway opposite in the north wall,
which is perfectly plain, and, so far as it can be seen, it appears to
be original; but, as the lower parts of the walls are covered with wood
boarding, other requisites which may exist, such as ambries and piscina,
are concealed. None of the windows are original, so far, at least, as
they are seen on the exterior, and the whole masonry on the inside is
covered. The east window in the south wall (Fig. 304) has a horizontal
arched lintel, with radiating joints, and probably dates from late in
the fifteenth century. It is impossible to say whether there were
windows in the east wall or not, and, as regards the north wall, it has
nearly all been taken down between the west door and the chancel arch,
in order to admit a modern addition. The chancel arch itself has been
taken away, and the
[Illustration: FIG. 304.--Uphall Church. Window in South Wall.]
wall above removed, and the place occupied by it has been filled up with
lath and plaster, and slated on the outside.
The western tower (Fig. 305) has been appropriated as the burial-place
of the Buchan family; so that it now forms no part of the church. It is
entered by a fanciful Norman door in the west end. The windows in the
tower are all modern, and so, we need hardly say, is the belfry. The
upper part of the tower has been rebuilt at a late period, probably
during the fifteenth century alteration.
The south aisle probably dates from the seventeenth century, and was
built by the Shairp family, whose mansion house of Houston is in the
neighbourhood. It is now partly used as their burial aisle, and is a
quaint structure, forming an agreeable contrast to the modern additions.
The parish of Uphall was formerly called Strathbroc, and at this place,
near the modern mansion of Kirkhill, and about one mile east from
Uphall, stood the old parish church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, which
was abandoned in the sixteenth century, when the Church of Uphall
became the parish church. What kind of building it was before this does
not appear to be known. The Rev. Mr. Primrose, who has devoted much
attention to the antiquities of the locality, suggests that it was the
chapel of some order of monks.
[Illustration: FIG. 305.--Uphall Church. Western Tower and South Wing.]
Of the Church of Strathbroc only two relics now remain. The one is the
font (Fig. 306), of which the basin only is old. It was rescued from the
adjoining farm steading, where it served a useful, if not dignified,
purpose, and placed on its present base, and now stands in the Roman
Catholic Church of Broxburn. It is octagonal in shape, and contains
(Fig. 307) the letters M· and IHS·, repeated twice. Two of the faces
bear the inscriptions STA/ECCLESIA· and NICOLAS·, and two faces are
vacant.
The other relic of St. Nicholas is the bell which now rings in the
parish church of Uphall. It contains the inscription “Campanum Sancti
Nicholai de Strathbroke, 1441.”[181] Mr. Primrose states that the bell
was recast in 1503, and contains the Seton arms--Kirkhill at this period
belonging to that family.
[Illustration: FIG. 306.--Strathbroc Church. Font.]
[Illustration: FIG. 307.]
ABERCORN, LINLITHGOWSHIRE.
The ancient church of Æbbercurnig, or Abercorn, lies in a sheltered spot
amidst the fine woods surrounding the grounds of Hopetoun House, about
three miles west from Queensferry.
[Illustration: FIG. 308.--Abercorn Church. South Doorway.]
It is believed that when the Northumbrian kingdom was extended to the
Forth in the seventh century, a church was founded here in 675, under
St. Wilfrid, as a central point from which to superintend the northern
part of his diocese. Under Trumuini, this church became the see of the
earliest bishopric in Scotland, during the years from 681 to 685. But
the victory of the Picts over the Northumbrians at Dunichen caused the
latter to retire from Lothian, and drove the monks back to Whitby. The
site, however, continued to be occupied by a church, and part of the
existing structure belongs to the Norman period. It has been very
greatly altered in modern times--so much so, that a round-headed doorway
(Fig. 308) in the south wall is now almost the only portion remaining
which can be
[Illustration: FIG. 309.--Abercorn Church. From South-East.]
identified as of Norman date. This Norman doorway has the usual nook
shafts, with cushion caps, and the lintel within the round arch is
square. The tympanum is filled with stones, arranged in zig-zag
patterns, and is one of the few examples in Scotland of a tympanum
filled with a shield containing ornament of any kind.
Several burial-places have been added on the south side of the church
since Reformation times. (Fig. 309.) These can generally be identified
by the coats of arms they bear.
To the north-east of the church there has been erected, probably in the
eighteenth century, a house of two stories as a place for the lord of
the manor, from which he obtained access to his private gallery, erected
about that time at the east end of the choir, which it still disfigures.
In the churchyard there are many interesting tombstones, and amongst
them are two stone monuments of rather unusual form. (Fig. 310.)
[Illustration: FIG. 310.--Abercorn Church. Monuments.]
These consist of solid stones, doubtless intended to be laid over
graves, triangular in section, with the ridge rising to the centre. One
has the sides carved with figures of fish-scale pattern, arranged in
rows; the other has the scales of a squarer shape. The ends are broken.
They are good specimens of the hog-backed form of tombstones.
KELSO ABBEY, ROXBURGHSHIRE.
In 1113, David, Earl of Huntingdon, introduced thirteen Reformed
Benedictine monks from Tiron, in France (hence called Tironenses), and
settled them at Selkirk, near his castle there. But the place was not
found suitable, and in 1128, after David had become king, the monks,
with the consent of the Bishop of Glasgow, were removed to Kelso, where
they were established near the royal castle of Roxburgh. The foundation
of the new abbey was laid in 1128, and the church was dedicated to the
blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist. The monastery soon
became the richest and most powerful in Scotland. In 1165 the Pope
granted permission to the abbot to wear the mitre, and the abbot claimed
precedence of all the superiors of monasteries in Scotland. But in 1420
this precedence was decided by James I. in favour of the Prior of St.
Andrews. Many of the abbots of Kelso were men of learning and celebrity,
and were employed in important offices in and out of the kingdom, and
others were promoted to bishoprics.
During the War of Independence the abbey, which lay near the Border,
suffered severely. The monastery was laid waste, and the monks were
supported by contributions from the other houses of the order. In 1344,
the buildings of the abbey having been destroyed by fire, David II.
granted permission to the monks to cut wood in Selkirk and Jedwart
Forest, to enable them to carry out the necessary reparations.
In 1511 the abbacy passed into the hands of the Bishop of Caithness, as
commendator, and its decline soon followed. After the Battle of Flodden,
in 1513, David Ker of Cessford took possession of the abbey, and had his
brother made abbot. In 1522-3 invasion and havoc spread over Teviotdale.
Lords Ross and Dacre pillaged the town, sparing the
[Illustration: FIG. 311.--Kelso Abbey. Ground Plan.]
abbey; but in 1523 Lord Dacre sacked and burned it. The abbot’s house
and buildings surrounding it, the Chapel of the Virgin, and the cells of
the dormitory were all reduced to ashes; the lead was stripped from the
roof, and the abbey rendered uninhabitable. All religious services were
stopped, and the monks had to retire in want and poverty to a village
near. From 1536 till 1558 James Stewart, natural son of James V., filled
the office of abbot, and drew the revenues. In 1542 the Duke of Norfolk,
[Illustration: FIG. 312.--Kelso Abbey. South Side of Chancel and South
Transept.]
and in 1545 the Earl of Hertford, again attacked and further destroyed
the monastery. On the latter occasion the defenders sought refuge in the
tower, which they defended till darkness enabled some of them to escape.
The shattered walls seem still to have afforded some shelter; but they
[Illustration: FIG. 313.--Kelso Abbey. From South-East.]
were again still further reduced by Lord Eure in 1546. Finally, in 1560,
when a few monks still remained, the buildings were attacked by the mob,
and all the remaining fittings and furnishings destroyed. In 1559 the
revenues and property of the abbey had been taken possession of by the
Lords of the Congregation in the name of the Crown.
These were afterwards distributed amongst the favourites of James VI.,
and were finally conferred on Sir Robert Ker of Cessford, who was
created
[Illustration: FIG. 314.--Kelso Abbey. Crossing and North Transept.]
Lord Roxburgh in 1599. The abbey still belongs to his successor, the
Duke of Roxburgh, and the remains of the late Duke are buried in the
south transept.
In 1649 a vault was thrown over the transept, so as to convert it into a
parish church, and above this another vault served as a prison. This is
shown in Grose’s view, made a century ago.
[Illustration: FIG. 315.--Kelso Abbey. From West.]
During service on a Sunday in 1771, a panic was caused by the fall of a
fragment of cement, and the church was thereafter abandoned. The ruins
were partly disencumbered by the Duke of Roxburgh, 1805-16, and in 1823
the buildings were repaired by the noblemen and gentlemen of the
county.[182]
After the many batterings and the long neglect the abbey church has
endured, it is astonishing to find even the fragments which still exist.
The edifice has consisted (Fig. 311) of a choir or chancel of
considerable length, with north and south aisles, and of a transept and
nave, without aisles. The north and south divisions of the transept and
the nave form three arms of equal length round the three sides of the
crossing, above which rises the massive square tower.
The church has been originally constructed in the late Norman style of
about the end of the twelfth century, passing into the transition style;
but the upper part of the tower has been rebuilt at a later period.
A portion of each of the departments of the church survives, but in the
case of the chancel there remains only a fragment. The chancel is the
only part which had aisles, but these have now entirely disappeared; and
of the chancel itself, all that remains (Fig. 312) is two of the south
main piers, with their arches, and two stories of arcades above, which
represent the triforium and clerestory. This arrangement is peculiar,
and the effect is striking.
[Illustration: FIG. 316.--Kelso Abbey. West Doorway.]