This church is pleasantly situated at the head of a little valley
through which winds the stream of the Brothock, at a distance of between
one and two miles north from Arbroath or Aberbrothock. Previous to the
Reformation it was the parish church of Arbroath. The edifice stands on
the top of a regularly shaped mound, and occupies nearly the whole of
the summit. It has been the site of a religious settlement from a very
remote period, far earlier than the erection of the great abbey at
Arbroath. This is shown by several Norman wrought stones that have been
found on the site, as well as a large and most important group of
elaborately carved sculptured stones, relics of the Celtic church which
once stood here. Vigianus has been recognised as the Latinised form of
the name of St. Fechin of Fohbar, an Irish saint who died in 664. Dr.
Joseph Anderson mentions that the twelfth century builders had utilised
a large quantity of fragments of sculptured monuments as building
materials.[184]
In 1871, under the direction of Dr. R. Rowand Anderson, architect, the
church was restored and considerable additions were made to it. A large
polygonal apse, with massive buttresses, was built at the east end, a
second aisle was formed on the north side of the existing north aisle,
and the tower was raised and finished with a saddle-back roof. At the
same time a new roof and internal fittings were added, making the
edifice one of the most seemly parish churches in Scotland.
Previous to this restoration, the structure consisted (as shown in Fig.
1405) of a central nave of eight bays, with north and south aisles, and
a western tower. The original Norman church appears to have occupied the
site of the north aisle, and to have extended in width to about the
centre
[Illustration: FIG. 1405.--St. Vigean’s Church. View from South-East
(before 1871).]
[Illustration: FIG. 1406.--St. Vigean’s Church, looking West.]
of the present nave. Parts of the east and west gable walls still
remain. At a later period, probably about the middle of the fifteenth
century, the church was extended to the south, and was converted into a
building with a nave and a north aisle; and again at a still later
period, in 1485, the south wall was taken down and a south aisle
erected. The north and south aisles correspond in a general way with
each other (Fig. 1406), and although the pillars on the north side are
round and those on the south side are octagonal, both have very simple
caps and bases, all of late form.
The arches of the arcade on both sides are round with broad notched
splays. There are three clerestory windows on the north side, of a
square shape. They formerly had oak lintels on the inside, but these,
being decayed, were removed during the restoration, and the stone arches
shown in Fig. 1406 were put in. On the south side there are eight
clerestory windows, arched throughout.
The west tower is not in the centre, but occupies the space between the
centre of the nave and the line of the south arcade. It appears to be an
addition, but its lower plain vaulted story was probably erected before
the addition of 1485, while the upper portion is of later construction.
There is an entrance through the tower to the church, which, from the
relative positions of the two, is not in the centre. The opening of a
flat arched form is shown in Fig. 1406.
In 1242 Bishop de Bernham consecrated the Church of St. Vigean. It was
again consecrated, along with two altars and the cemetery, in 1485 after
the additions were built by Bishop George O’Brien, Bishop of Dromore, in
Ireland,[185] acting probably, as Dr. Duke says, for the Bishop of St.
Andrews.