Of the old monastery of Pittenweem, which was connected with that on the
Isle of May in the Frith of Forth, only some altered fragments survive.
The priory seems to have derived its name from its being built close to
a cave or “weem” on the shore of the Frith of Forth, with which it had
communication by a vaulted chamber in the garden and a long straight
staircase. The monastic buildings surrounded a courtyard. On the south
side was the prior’s mansion (now restored and occupied by the Episcopal
clergyman of the place). On the west side was the refectory, now
converted into the Town Hall, and to the north of it the dormitories.
Some of the walls of these structures still exist, with two square
projecting windows overlooking the courtyard. On the east side is the
gatehouse, a battlemented structure with a round archway passing through
it, now greatly decayed and covered with ivy. Beyond the courtyard to
the north lay some outer grounds and a chapel.[252]
[Illustration: FIG. 1583.--Pittenweem Priory. Tower, from North-East.]
After the Reformation the buildings passed into the hands of laymen, and
the monastery became the “manor place of Pittenweem.” In 1588 a portion
of the grounds was granted to the burgh, in order that a suitable church
might be erected, which was carried out soon thereafter (Fig. 1582).
Possibly some portions of the church of the priory are included in this
building, but it has in recent years been restored and extended.
[Illustration: FIG. 1582.--Pittenweem Priory. Plan.]
The quaint tower (Fig. 1583), with its mixture of Gothic and classic
features, is the only part which has not been interfered with. The
tower, which stands at the north-west angle of the church, is about 18
feet square externally. It rises with a plain square outline for a
considerable way without buttresses or anything to distinguish it from a
castle keep. There are even shot-holes under the windows, as in the
domestic structures of the time. The stair turret in the north-east
angle has the outline and corbelled gablet similar to the cape-house of
the stair turrets of the Scotch castles of the period. The spire, with
its remarkable lucarnes, helps to give the erection a little more of an
ecclesiastical character, but the balustrade again recalls the attention
to the domestic and Renaissance style of the design.[253]