Paisley Abbey is fortunate in having found in the Very Rev. J. Cameron
Lees, D.D., formerly one of the ministers of the parish, so able a
historian. We are largely indebted to his work, _The Abbey of Paisley,
1163-1878_, for the following historical notices.
The Abbey was founded by Walter, son of Alan, the High Steward of
Scotland, who had accompanied David I. from Shropshire, and received
lands from him in Renfrewshire. Having resolved to follow the example of
his patron, and found a monastery on his estate, Alan entered into an
agreement with Humbold, prior of Wenlock Abbey, in the native county of
his family, to establish at “Passelay” a house of the Cluniac Order of
Benedictines, being the same order as the house at Wenlock. Humbold
therefore, in 1169, brought thirteen monks from the parent house, and,
having settled them in Renfrewshire on an island of the Clyde called the
King’s Inch, returned to Wenlock. There would at that time appear to
have been a very ancient church in existence at Paisley, dedicated to
St. Mirinus, an Irish saint of the sixth century, who had been a
disciple of the great school of St. Comgal at Bangor. A new monastery
was now to supersede the establishment of St. Mirin, but the name of
the ancient saint was preserved in the dedication of the abbey.
It was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; to St. James, the patron saint
of the Stewarts; to St. Milburga, the patron of the monks of Wenlock;
and to St. Mirinus, the Celtic missionary of the locality. The monastery
was at first established as a priory; but, in 1245, it was raised to the
rank of an abbey by Pope Honorius III.
The establishment was well endowed, and during the first half of the
thirteenth century it was thoroughly consolidated under Abbot William,
who presided from 1225 to 1248. During the prosperous reigns of Kings
Alexander II. and III. the church was erected, but of the work of that
period (the thirteenth century) there remain only a portion of the west
front and part of the south wall of the nave, including the south-east
doorway to the cloister, and three windows. The structure appears to
have suffered severely during the War of Independence. It stood in the
vicinity of Elderslie, the lands of Sir William Wallace, and doubtless
met with a similar savage treatment to that allotted to the patriot
leader. It is stated to have been burnt by the English in 1307, and the
burning would appear to have led to a very complete destruction of the
edifice, as the portions of the original work which survive are very
small.
The connection of the Stewart family with the abbey continued till,
through the marriage of Walter with Margery, daughter of Robert the
Bruce, the Stewarts succeeded to the throne. The earlier Stewarts were
all buried in the abbey, which also contains the tomb of Robert III.
In consequence of the destruction of the monastery, caused by the wars
with England, the buildings long remained, like other structures in
Scotland at that period, in a dismantled condition; but gifts having
been received from the Bishops of Argyle and Glasgow to aid the monks in
their distress, and to assist in restoring the fabric, operations were
begun. Part of this work was apparently carried out by Bishop Lithgow
(1384-1433), who was buried, by his own desire, in the north porch,
where the inscription to his memory is still preserved. The chief part,
however, of the rebuilding of the Abbey Church was carried out under
Abbot Thomas de Tervas (1445-1459). This abbot obtained the privilege of
having a tavern and selling wine within the gates of the monastery, and
is believed to have raised money thereby for the reconstruction of the
church. According to the ancient chronicle of Auchenleck, he found the
place in ruin and the “kirk unbiggit.” He carried up the triforium and
clerestory, and finished the roof. He also erected a great portion of
the steeple, and built a stately gatehouse. Having completed the
building of the church, he proceeded to Rome, in order there to procure
suitable furnishings, and brought back adornments of sumptuous
character--jewels, cloths of gold and silver, precious books, the
“statliest Tabernkle in al Scotland,” and “ane lettren of brass.”
During the fifteenth century many altars were erected and endowed by the
burgesses, and the Chapel of St. Mirin, which occupies part of the site
of the south transept, was erected in 1499, and endowed by James
Crawford of Kylwynet, a burgess of Paisley, and his wife.
At the decease of Abbot Tervas, Pope Pius II. decreed that the
disposition of the office of abbot and of the whole revenues of the
monastery should fall to the Pope. A commendator thus came to be
appointed, and the rights of the abbey began to be invaded. However,
Abbot George Shaw (1472-1498) endeavoured to guard the possessions of
the monastery from encroachments. He also succeeded in having the
village of the abbey erected into a burgh, with the usual privileges.
Abbot Shaw likewise improved the buildings of the abbey. He erected a
refectory and other structures, and reared a lofty tower over the
principal gate, and enclosed the grounds and gardens of the convent with
a wall of ashlar, about one mile in circuit, and adorned it with statues
and shields.
Abbot Shaw placed his arms on several parts of this wall, and in the
middle of the north portion he inserted three shields--the central one
bearing the royal arms; that on the right the Stewart arms, for the
founder; and that on the left the abbot’s own arms. He also erected a
tablet on the north-west angle, containing his name and the date of
erection. Only a small portion of this wall remains, but the panels
containing the royal arms and the inscription are preserved in the
Coates Museum. The latter is as follows:--
“Ya callit ye Abbot Georg of Schawe
About yis Abbay gart make yis wav
A thousande four hundereth zheyr
Auchty ande fywe the date but veir
[Pray for his saulis salvacioun]
Yat made thys nobil fundacioun.”[8]
Mr. Chalmers[9] is of opinion that this inscription was designed by John
Morow, whose name appears on a tablet at Melrose Abbey.[10] “The
character of the lettering in design and workmanship is the same as at
Melrose. The references to the building operations, the poetical form of
the compositions, the manner in which the names are introduced--‘Callit
was I,’ and ‘ye Callit’--and the devout expressions with which they
close, make it clear that the inscriptions are the work of the same
author.” Whether that is so, or whether the inscriptions simply reflect
the style, both literary and artistic, of the period is questionable. In
any case, the idea is ingenious. Mr. Chalmers points out that the fifth
line, which is erased, was probably cut out by the Reformers, as being
out of keeping with their religious views, while the remainder indicates
the care with which the historically valuable part was preserved.
The days of Abbot John Hamilton (1525-1544), who became Bishop of
Dunkeld, and was afterwards promoted to be Archbishop of St. Andrews,
were evil for the monastery of Paisley, as for all other similar
institutions in the country. When driven from St. Andrews, the
archbishop sought safety at Paisley; but that house being sacked and
burnt by the Reformers, he had to take refuge at Dumbarton Castle, where
he was made prisoner, and afterwards executed at Stirling.
The Master of Sempill had been appointed bailie of the monastery, and,
at the dissolution, the whole of the church property was handed over to
Lord Sempill. The property finally came into the possession of Lord
Claud Hamilton, nephew of the archbishop, and the monastic buildings
were converted into the “Place of Paisley,” the residence of the
Abercorn family.[11]
Before the Reformation the monastery consisted of the church, the
cloister, and the conventual buildings. The church (Fig. 953) comprised
a long aisleless choir, a nave with aisles, a north transept, a south
transept, with St. Mirin’s Chapel attached to the south of it, and a
tower and spire over the crossing.
The choir can still be traced, as the walls remain standing to the
height of 9 feet, and contain an elegant sedilia and piscina. The choir
measures, internally, about 124 feet in length by 22 feet in width. It
may be questioned whether the choir was ever finished during the
restoration. The walls present rather the appearance of having been
abandoned at a certain stage in the progress of their erection than of a
building which had fallen into ruin. They stand at a uniform level,
marked by a string course all round, and have not the irregular heights
generally found in ruins. The building is of fifteenth century work, and
doubtless occupies the place of an earlier choir, which had been
demolished.
The wall at the east end of the nave, which separates it from the
transept, is of a substantial kind, and may have been erected when the
structure was restored in the fifteenth century, with the intention of
rendering the nave a complete church, until the transept and choir were
restored. The latter seems never to have been carried into effect, but
to have been in progress when all work was interrupted by the
Reformation.
There are no indications at the junction of the choir and transept of
the large piers which would naturally be built so as to correspond with
those at the west side of the crossing (Fig. 954). The fine sedilia,
although greatly mutilated (Fig. 955), is the principal feature in the
eastern part of the edifice. It is 11 feet 2 inches long, and contains
four seats, contrary to the usual practice, which is to have three
seats. The design is elegant, and resembles that of the sedilia at St.
Monan’s, Fifeshire. Adjoining the sedilia is the piscina, the basin of
which is broken, but the aperture is still visible. The recess, which
has an angled head, slopes backwards.
[Illustration: FIG. 953.--Paisley Abbey. Plan.[12]]
In this respect it resembles one at Auchterarder. On each side are two
small recesses, about 12 inches wide, for holding the sacred vessels.
The north transept (see Fig. 954) is in ruins, but the north wall, with
the remains of a fine traceried window (Fig. 956), still exists, as well
as a traceried window in the west wall. These traceries were restored a
few years ago. The mode in which the turrets at the angles above the
buttresses are corbelled out recalls similar features at Dunkeld
Cathedral. These turrets resemble the roofed bartizans of castellated
structures.
[Illustration: FIG. 954.--Paisley Abbey. Junction of Nave with North
Transept.]
The south transept is also in ruins, and the tower and spire have
disappeared. The Chapel of St. Mirin, however, is still well preserved,
but the openings connecting it with the south transept have been built
up.
The nave is the only part of the main divisions of the church which
survives as a whole. It measures, internally, 92 feet in length by 60
feet in width, and contains six bays, divided by massive piers, all
surmounted by a triforium and clerestory. There is a porch on the north
side and two doorways from the cloister on the south side.
The oldest portion of the building is, undoubtedly, the eastern part of
the south wall of the south aisle of the nave, where it adjoins the
transept. This portion of wall consists of three bays (Fig. 957),
containing the south-east doorway from the cloister to the nave, and
three pointed windows in the upper part. The doorway is of the
transition style, having a round arch-head, with numerous bold mouldings
springing from carved and foliaged
[Illustration: FIG. 955.--Paisley Abbey. Sedilia in Choir.]
caps with square abaci (Fig. 958). The windows above are very simple in
style, and are apparently early first pointed work. This part of the
building probably dates from the first half of the thirteenth century.
The western portion of the south aisle of the nave (Fig. 959) and the
whole of the south clerestory (see Figs. 957 and 959) are evidently
portions of the restored church of the fifteenth century. The south
aisle wall contains the south-west and south-east doors from the nave to
the cloister. The windows of the south wall have the sills placed at a
high level, so as to admit of the roof of the cloister walk being
placed against it. The corbels which supported the roof still exist, and
are shown in the sketches.
[Illustration: FIG. 956.--Paisley Abbey. Windows in North Transept.]
[Illustration: FIG. 957.--Paisley Abbey. East Part of South Side of
Nave.]
The west end of the nave (Fig. 960) is also in part amongst the ancient
portions of the structure. The western entrance doorway is clearly, from
the style of its architecture, a work of the thirteenth century. The
doorpiece
[Illustration: FIG. 958.--Paisley Abbey.
South-East Doorway in Cloister.
A. Door Jamb.
B. Arch Moulding.
]
projects, and has a nook shaft on the projecting angles. The doorway is
a single pointed opening, deeply recessed, with a series of free shafts
in the jambs, having rounded and moulded caps, and the arch mouldings
are arranged in square orders. The outer order contains a dog-tooth
ornament. A sharply pointed arch flanks the doorway on each side, and
has similar shafts and mouldings to those of the central opening. The
aisle windows of the west front also belong to the first pointed period.
The thin nook shafts, with moulded caps having round abaci and central
bands, are all in the style of the thirteenth century.
The upper portion of the west front above the two large windows is
undoubtedly of considerably later date. The design of the west front,
which contains above the doorpiece two large windows, with pointed
niches and small circles inserted between the arch-heads, is probably
original, but the upper portion and gable, including the large traceried
window, are doubtless part of the restoration of the fifteenth century.
The tracery of the two central windows is peculiar, and may possibly be
of the fourteenth century, but that of the large upper window is later,
probably of the same period as the restoration of the interior of the
nave. The tracery of the large upper window is a specimen of the late
kind of design employed in Scotland in the fifteenth century. The change
of style caused by the restoration of the fifteenth century is well
marked in the interior at the west end of the nave. The first or western
bay of the main arcade is original (Figs. 961 and 962), including the
first arches (one on each side), the first pillars and the arches
between them, and the aisle responds. These pillars and arches are of
large dimensions and first pointed section (Fig. 963), and appear to
have been designed to carry western towers, but a part of their
thickness has been cut off next the choir. A portion of the triforium
wall, a piece of the string course over the main arcade, and the
corbelled vaulting shaft in the angle as high as the top of the
triforium, are also parts of the original structure. The later work has
been joined to the above old parts in a very awkward manner. The wall
over the large pillars has been thinned on the side next the nave, and
the different width and sections of the mouldings have not been properly
adjusted, the result being that part of the older moulding is left at
the springing of the second arch on the north side, and the mouldings of
the later section are butted against it (see Fig. 961).
[Illustration: FIG. 959.--Paisley Abbey. West Part of South Side of
Nave.]
[Illustration: FIG. 960.--Paisley Abbey. West End of Nave: Exterior.]
[Illustration: FIG. 961.--Paisley Abbey. West End of Nave and Part of
North Side.]
[Illustration: FIG. 962.--Paisley Abbey. West End of Nave and Part of
South Side.]
There are signs of further alteration above the west arch. A clumsy new
string course is introduced, which slightly changes its section after
passing along half a bay. A second vaulting shaft is carried up in the
[Illustration: FIG. 963.--Paisley Abbey.