an oblong or oval form, and one half compartment at each end. At the
foot the compartments are empty. On the right side the 1st compartment
contains a bishop with crosier; the 4th, a bishop at prayer, and, on a
scroll, the name Robert Wyshart (Bishop of Glasgow). On the left, the
1st compartment contains a bishop celebrating, with the name Johes D.
Lychtgow (Abbot of Paisley); the 4th, an abbot at prayer, with the name
of Abbot Lythgow repeated. Several compartments contain monks at prayer,
and others are blank. Mr. Semple thinks that the left side may be part
of Abbot Lithgow’s monument, and the right side part of that of Bishop
Wishart.
Of the cloisters and conventual buildings few traces remain; but the
outline of the cloister court is preserved. It is surrounded (see Fig.
953) with post-Reformation structures, occupying the site of the chapter
house, refectory, &c. These were converted into the “place of Paisley,”
as the residence of the Abercorn family, which has been already fully
described.[16] These buildings probably contain portions of the walls of
the refectory and other conventual structures erected by Abbot Shaw at
the end of the fifteenth century. The western side of the cloister
buildings was removed about twenty years ago, in order to widen the
adjoining street. The wall, gatehouse, &c., erected by Abbot Shaw, have
now almost entirely disappeared.
The cloistral buildings were much altered and added to in 1675 by the
Earl of Dundonald, and fitted up as a mansion house, and they still bear
traces of considerable splendour in panelled walls, with stone
fireplaces and ornamental ceilings. One of the latter on the upper floor
is a fine example of the plaster and painted decoration of the period.
Turning to the ground Plan, it seems highly probable that the walls are,
in part at least, of pre-Reformation date, and that we have here
[Illustration: FIG. 967.--Paisley Abbey. End of Altar Tomb in St.
Mirin’s Chapel.]
part of the work of Abbot Shaw, who erected a refectory and other
buildings at the end of the fifteenth century. It will be observed that
the main wall of the south range, running east and west, is very thick
(4 feet to 5 feet), while the outside wall, forming the south side of
the cloister, is only about 2 feet thick. The latter was probably
erected when the place became a mansion house, in order to form a
passage, and thus obviate the necessity of passing through the rooms,
while the thick wall was the original outside wall of the refectory or
of cellars below it. The south wall of this building also probably
consists in part of the south wall of the refectory, but the large
windows in it are, doubtless, insertions.
The building marked as chapter house on the Plan occupies the position
in which that chamber would likely be. It is now divided into two, and
has lost all traces of its ecclesiastical purpose--one side being used
as a bottling store and the other as a stable. There is a large
fireplace in the north wall, of distinctly Gothic design. That is not a
usual feature in a chapter house; but in the sacristy over the chapter
house of Glasgow Cathedral there is a large fireplace. At Paisley, the
arrangement may have been reversed. The vestry may have been on the
ground floor and the chapter house above. This building is at present
some five stories in height, the upper floors being reached by the wheel
stair shown on the Plan. It is from this high building that the chamber
over St. Mirin’s is reached, which is a fair indication that this
chapter house tower, as it may be called, is as old as St. Mirin’s. The
same stair also accommodates the refectory range of buildings on the
south side of the cloister, which are three stories in height, and have
another stair at the west end.
It is thought by some that the first central tower erected over the
crossing was of inferior workmanship and gave way. Another central tower
is believed to have been erected by Abbot Tervas. This tower probably
fell during the siege by Lennox and Glencairn, no doubt destroying much
of the choir and transept in its fall. It has been mentioned above that
western towers appear to have been contemplated. Possibly it may be one
of these to which Martine, when speaking of John Hamilton, Archbishop of
St. Andrews, refers when he says, “At which church [Paisley] he built a
prettie handsome steeple, which fell before it was well finished.”[17]
It is thought that the body of Archbishop Hamilton was buried in the
abbey, and a tablet in the church looks as if it marked his grave. It
contains his arms and initials, J. H., and “the motto he assumed, which
contrasts strangely with his troubled life, ‘Misericordia et pax.’”
Several monuments with inscriptions of sixteenth century date exist in
the building. On the west buttress of the north transept, at 21 feet in
height, is the shield of the Stewarts, with a pastoral staff and the
word “Stewart.”
One of the south piers of the nave is called the Cathcart pillar, having
carved upon it a shield with the Cathcart arms (see Fig. 964). This is
believed to be a memorial of Sir Allan Cathcart, one of the knights who
sailed for the Holy Land with Bruce’s heart. The heart was brought back
by Sir Allan, and buried at Melrose.