Part 14

The east wall has angle pilaster buttresses, with scarcely any projection to the east, but having a few inches projection to the north and

south respectively. The south wall of the church appears, from a return and tuskings at the east end, to have continued further eastwards. In the south wall, adjoining the tower, there is a plain, round, arched doorway. As will be seen from the plan, the present choir is not in the line of the centre of the tower. Probably the existence of earlier monastic buildings on the south side may have prevented extension in that direction; and so, in order to get the width required for the new choir, it was necessary to extend the building northwards. From the presence of the sloping skew recess on the west face of the tower, it is obvious that the nave, which now no longer exists, and is only indicated by this roof mark, was built nearly in continuation of the walls of the choir. In Dr. Jamieson’s time, when the foundations of the nave existed, it was so, and is shown in his drawings running westwards to the west wall of the cloister, a distance of about 59 feet. The plan shows that the west enclosing wall is broken off just at the point where the west wall of the nave joined it.

On the south side of the tower and choir there are raglets, indicating where the monastic buildings have abutted against them. Of these buildings all that exist are the boundary walls, shown on plan. These contain a doorway to the south, and another to the west. They are quite plain, with segmental arched heads. In front of the west door lies a flat tombstone, probably

the one referred to by Dr. Jamieson as being dated 1553. Dr. Jamieson further mentions that the courtyard was paved, and that the present trees and shrubs, which encumber and confuse the place, are recent. In describing the situation of the priory, he says that it stands on ground which “juts out into a lake, or loch, of the same name. This, although now drained in part, has nearly surrounded it. There is a small neck on the west, where it is said there was a deep ditch and a drawbridge.”

The date of the foundation of the priory is not known, but it is recorded that David I. granted to the Prior and Canons 20s. yearly from the rents of the burgh of Monros, as well as the teinds of these rents.[141] The monastery was dedicated to St. Peter, and was of the Order of St. Augustine. Between 1159 and 1163 it was attached to Jedburgh by Malcolm IV.

After the Reformation, it continued to be the parish church of Forfar, where, says Dr. Jamieson, there was only a private chapel, “an aisle of the old church, till it was pulled down a few weeks ago, as they are about to build a new church.”

Further particulars of the history of Restennet, and of its early Celtic importance, with a very minute and illustrated description, will be found in the _Archæologia Scotica_, Vol. V., Part 2. There can be no doubt of the great antiquity of the tower; and, as pointed out by Mr. Galloway in the above paper, its features associate it with Irish architecture. It may, therefore, be classed along with the towers of Abernethy and Brechin; but it is of a ruder, and possibly earlier, type than they are.

ST. REGULUS’, OR ST. RULE’S, ST. ANDREWS, FIFESHIRE.

This remarkable edifice stands in the ancient churchyard at a distance of fully 100 feet south-east from the Cathedral of St. Andrews (_q.v._) St. Regulus’ was, doubtless, the Cathedral Church of St. Andrews before the edifice, afterwards constructed as the Cathedral, and now ruinous, existed.

The early occupation of the site of St. Andrews for religious purposes is referred to in the Introduction.[142] Cellach was the first Bishop of St. Andrews, about the beginning of the tenth century. He was succeeded by ten Culdee Bishops, the last of whom was Fodath, who performed the ceremony of the marriage of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret. The settlement of the Culdees became broken up and partly secularised, and under Bishop Robert (1121-59) Canons regular were introduced in 1144, who gradually absorbed the Culdees into their community.

Dr. Joseph Robertson[143] states it as his opinion that “no one acquainted with the progress of architecture, who diligently peruses the _Historia B. Reguli et Fundationis Ecclesiæ S. Andreæ_, will have much difficulty in identifying the building [of St. Regulus] with the small ‘basilica’ reared by Bishop Robert, an English Canon regular of the Order of St. Augustine, between the years 1127 and 1144.” Robert, Prior of Scone, was elected Bishop in the reign of Alexander I., but was not consecrated till the reign of David I., in 1138. The passage, referred to by Dr. Robertson is as follows:--

“But before the newly-elected Bishop (Robert, Prior of Scone) was consecrated, King Alexander, who was now in his last illness, left his sole surviving brother, King David (who now is), heir both of the kingdom and of his devotion to the Church and his care of the poor. The undertakings of his late brother he endeavours to carry to completion. He has founded many monasteries for monks, canons, and nuns, and on these he has bestowed many benefactions; while to the servants and handmaids of Christ themselves he has done many acts of kindness, on which we cannot here enlarge. He obtained that the Bishop of St. Andrews, Robert, already mentioned, was consecrated by Thurstan, Archbishop of York. This being done, Robert returned to his see, and

proceeded to put in practice what he had in his view--viz., the enlargement of his church, and its dedication to divine service. On this work he expended the seventh part of the altar dues which fell to him, reserving them for his own use. But inasmuch as the outlay was small, the building made correspondingly small progress, until, by the Divine favour and the influence of the King, offerings flowed in, and the work went on apace. The basilica was thus founded, and in great part constructed.”--_Chronicles of the Picts and Scots_, p. 191.

There can be little doubt that the building still surviving is the basilica of Bishop Robert. Its architectural features correspond with his date, and there is no other structure to which the above notice would apply. The similarity of St. Regulus’ in many points to the early churches of Northumbria has already been adverted to.[145]

The edifice (Fig. 153) consists of a chamber 26 feet long and 19 feet 10 inches wide internally, with walls about 34 feet high. The great height of the building, as compared with its width and length, is one of the points which connect it with the pre-Norman structures of Northumbria. There appears to have been an eastern apse, of which only portions of the foundations next the main structure now remain. A lofty square tower (Fig. 154) at the west end of the oblong chamber is the most striking feature of the building. It is about 110 feet high, and measures about 21 feet 4 inches square over the walls.

At the east end of the main building a lofty archway (Fig. 155) opens towards what was probably the apse. The opening is 9 feet wide by

25 feet 6 inches high. Each jamb has three attached shafts (Fig. 156), with somewhat rude caps and bases, and bold mouldings in the arch. The existence of this archway clearly indicates that there was a building towards the east of it, and we have no doubt that it was an apse; while the main building was the chancel, and the nave stood (as will be shown) to the west of the tower.

The tower is pierced with an archway in each of its east and west walls. The lower part of the west wall of the tower projects about 2 feet 2 inches on each side beyond the side walls, with a breadth of about 2 feet 5 inches, and finishes upwards in a roughly-tapering form at the level of the top of the western arch. (See Fig. 154.) These projecting portions of wall have somewhat the appearance of side buttresses to the tower, but they are more like the remains of the east wall of a nave, which now no longer exists. They have not the character of originally-built early buttresses, but have rather that of the remains of projecting walls, dressed up at a later period. Besides, it is a characteristic of the structure that it has no buttresses flanking the other arches. There is observable on the west face of the tower the mark of a roof. This mark, if produced on each side to about the level of the top of the chancel walls, would indicate the roof of a nave about ten or twelve feet wider than the tower. There seems to be no other way of explaining the mark of the roof and the projecting portions of the side walls except by supposing that there was at one time a nave to the west of the tower. This would also give a reason for the existence of the

east and west arches in the tower, which otherwise are somewhat unintelligible.

The arch opening from the chancel to the tower is 9 feet 10 inches wide by 27 feet high, and is of a plainer description than the apse archway.

The jambs have a square recess or nook on each face of the wall with a shaft in each recess; and the arch above is quite plain, with square edges. The western arch, from the tower into the supposed nave, is shown in Fig. 154. It is 10 feet 4 inches wide by 28 feet high. Both of the archways in the tower are now built up. The moulding of the west arch, as far as visible, is shown in Fig. 157. The capitals of all the shafts are rather shapeless and clumsy, but the necking and arch mouldings are of good design. The arches are all slightly of the horse-shoe form.

The three-arched openings above described are all of about the same dimensions, and as the two eastern ones cannot be called doorways, so neither can the western one be considered as merely the entrance doorway to the church, but would rather appear to be the arched opening from the nave into the tower and chancel. When we consider that this church was once a cathedral, as well as the church of a monastery, and also, perhaps, served the purpose of a parish church, it seems probable that it must have been a larger building than the simple oblong chamber to the east of the tower which now survives. Considerable discussion has taken place with reference to the probable arrangement of the plan. Some have supposed that the church consisted of the simple oblong chamber which still exists, with an eastern apse and western tower; while others maintain that the existing oblong was the choir, that there was a western nave, and that the tower was central. Sir G. Gilbert Scott points out that in the latter case St. Regulus’ would be parallel to Jarrow Church, while in the former case the church may have had a lofty western porch, as had those of Wearmouth and Barton-upon-Humber. Sir Gilbert, however, thinks that the large size of the western arch, and the mark of

the roof on the tower, suggest a nave.[146] The seals of the church, dated 1204 and 1214, which are preserved at Durham, show a nave and chancel.

The chancel is lighted by four windows, two on each side, placed at about 14 feet above the ground. (See Fig. 155.) They are round headed, the circles being cut out of a single stone on the outside, but arched on the inside. The openings are 6 feet 6 inches high and 1 foot 10 inches wide, and have broad splays internally.

The building has a cornice at the wall-head, containing a series of simple corbels. A string course runs round the tower below the top story, and above it there is a belfry window on each face, about 3 feet wide by 8 feet 9 inches high. Each window is divided into two openings by a rounded centre shaft (Fig. 158), and there were round nook shafts at each side, but these have now fallen away. There are a few small openings on each face at different stages. The tower is crowned with a cornice, having two rows of simple corbels similar to those of the chancel cornice. On the east side there is an opening into the space which was covered by the chancel roof. The floors of the tower have been of timber, and there is one set-off in the inside of about 6 inches, at a height of about 64 feet. There was no access stair. At the north-west corner of the chancel, and at the wall-head level, there are two caps which have a very distinct appearance of being of first pointed date.

NORMAN ARCHITECTURE.

A general description of the features which distinguish this style of architecture has been given in the Introduction,[147] together with a short summary of the Scottish structures in the Norman style.[148] The more minute features will be referred to in the descriptions of the various churches. It may, however, be pointed out that few structures survive in Scotland which exhibit elevations of façades, such as the east and west fronts of churches, or the north and south façades of transepts, which show the true Norman character. In all Norman churches of any importance in other countries the façades forming the end elevations in the above positions are composed of several stories, piled up one above the other. (See Fig. 17.) In the later styles, the design of the façade is generally composed of one predominating feature, such as a large traceried window, or a series of lofty lancets (like the Five Sisters of York), rising above a single lower story, which generally contains a doorway. But in Norman architecture the façades are usually divided up into a series of stories, one over the other--an arrangement which, to a certain extent, fails to give the impression of one large structure, such as is conveyed in the façades of the later Gothic styles.

In Scotland proper there is only one building of magnitude in which this storied style is preserved--viz., the Abbey Church of Kelso. The same features may, however, be still observed in the façades of the transepts of Kirkwall Cathedral, Orkney. At St. Andrews Cathedral the original storied Norman east end was subsequently altered. In other large Norman churches, such as Dunfermline Abbey, the façades have been removed or altered. The smaller churches in the Norman style are not of sufficient height to give expression to this peculiarity.

It has been shown in the preceding chapter that some of our early Celtic structures were transitional, and contained some signs of the approach of the Norman style; but after its introduction, in the twelfth century, that style at once became universal in the civilised parts of the country, and all the churches of that date of which any portions survive were erected in accordance with the Norman fashion. It has been often remarked that the twelfth century was the great church-building epoch in Scotland, as elsewhere, and the number of these Norman edifices still traceable in the south and east of the country is very large.

The parish churches are generally small and aisleless, most of them being single oblong chambers, with an eastern chancel, sometimes with an eastern apse, and occasionally there was a western tower. St. Nicholas’, Aberdeen, was cruciform, and had a central tower.

During the Norman period monasticism prevailed, and almost all the large churches were conventual. These churches were always designed on the cruciform plan, and contained choir, nave, and north and south transept, each portion having side aisles, and the transepts usually only an eastern aisle. The small churches and side aisles were frequently vaulted, but the large churches appear to have been designed for wooden roofs.

The details and ornaments of the style are often very elaborate, and invariably correspond with those in use in England at, or rather earlier than, the corresponding period. In the early examples, the design was very simple, and ornament was sparingly used; but as time advanced the style was gradually enriched, until towards the close of the period the ornament became very elaborate, especially in the arched heads of doorways, as at Kelso, Jedburgh, and Dunfermline.

A common feature in Norman buildings was an arcade running round the walls below the windows. Almost every Norman structure of importance in Scotland contains this arcade, either in the interior or exterior, or both, and the caps and arches are generally elaborately and richly carved with ornaments. Here, and generally throughout Norman structures, the chevron or zig-zag enrichment is a characteristic feature. The other enrichments of the period in other countries consist of the billet, the bird’s beak, faceted sinkings, grotesque heads, rosettes, &c., all of which are found in the Scottish examples. The doorways are generally the points where the carving is richest, and it naturally followed that the doorways are often preserved where the other parts of the buildings are altered or rebuilt. The windows are always single, and simple in details.

Some of the towers above enumerated are amongst the earliest examples of Norman work which survive. They contain some reminiscences of the early defensive purpose of such structures. They are extremely simple in design, being square on plan, and carried up, without break or buttress, to the parapet, where they were finished with a gabled roof, forming the saddleback arrangement still preserved in the tower at Muthill.

The only break in the height is formed by string courses, which mark the unequal stories. A small wheel stair usually leads to the top. The doorway in some instances is placed several feet above the ground.

Amongst these towers are to be found most of the small fragments which still survive of the extensive building works encouraged by David I. in the first half of the twelfth century.

In the following descriptions the churches are arranged, as far as possible, in the order of their probable dates, commencing with the oldest and simplest, and continuing with the later and more elaborate examples.

MARKINCH TOWER, FIFESHIRE.

The Church and Churchyard of Markinch stand on the top of a small hill, round the base of which lie the houses of the town. The church and its Norman tower are thus conspicuous objects as seen from the railway in approaching from Kirkcaldy, which is about seven miles distant to the southward. The inch, or island, is believed to have derived its name from having been formerly surrounded by a marsh.

A church was consecrated here in 1243, and dedicated to Saints John Baptist and Modrest. There was at one time a Culdee cell in this locality, but afterwards the church belonged to the Priory of St. Andrews.

The only part of the original structure which survives is the tower, which is undoubtedly an ancient Norman building.

It is nearly square on plan (Fig. 159), being 16 feet from north to south by 17 feet from east to west. The tower rises (Fig. 160) without a break (except a string course at each floor) to the height of four stories,

or 73 feet to the top of the parapet. The original entrance (Fig. 161) is by a door, two feet wide, at the north-west angle. The sill is now about two feet above the ground, but it doubtless stood several feet higher originally. From the doorway a wheel stair leads to the upper floors. The stair and upper floors were lighted by small windows, with round heads. These are now built up, except one in the south side, which has been changed into a trefoil head. The top story is lighted by a window in each face. Each of these windows (see Fig. 159) consists of two openings, divided by a central shaft. On the exterior each opening is arched, with a small semi-circular arch, cut out of one stone; but in the interior both openings are spanned by one arch. The arrangement of the shafts is peculiar, the central shaft being placed so as to be in the centre of the abacus which carries the small arches, while the side shafts are wrought upon the angles of the jambs, and do not stand in the same plane as the central shaft. The caps are Norman, of the usual cushion form, with heavy abacus; but they and the bases are now much decayed.

The original mode of finishing the tower is now matter of conjecture, but it was doubtless (as stated by Mr. Muir) finished with a saddleback or gabled roof. It is now terminated with a modern cornice, above which a heavy modern spire has been erected, the top story being domed in order to carry the spire.

The top story is slightly diminished in size, and is set back over the string course. The lower string courses are of three-sided section, and have been carved with the ordinary Norman enrichment of the lozenge (see Fig. 161). These are now nearly wasted away. The church attached to the tower is entirely modern, and a modern doorway of entrance has been cut through the tower.

MUTHILL CHURCH, PERTHSHIRE.

The parish of Muthill lies about three miles south of Crieff. The ancient church, with its venerable tower, remained entire and in use as the parish church till about the year 1818, when, unfortunately, it was abandoned for a new building erected about that time. We are enabled to give a view[149] of the old church (Fig. 162), made by John Claude Nattes about the year 1799, from which it will be seen how eminently picturesque the old structure was, and how deplorable is the ruin which has overtaken it in the last half-century.[150]

The church (Fig. 163) consisted of the ancient square tower at the west end, with a nave having north and south aisles, and an aisleless choir. The tower is one of the best preserved of the Norman towers in Scotland. It is nearly square on plan, and measures about 15 feet 3 inches on each side, with walls about 3 feet 2 inches thick. It has two offsets (Fig. 164) on the outside of the two upper stories, and a string course above the lower stage. This string course is of the usual Norman section, and is ornamented with the lozenge pattern, except on the east face, where it is plain. The walls are built plumb inside, with neither corbels nor projecting courses to carry floors. The tower is about 51 feet 3 inches high from the ground to the eaves, and about 16 feet 6 inches more to the apex of the gables. The latter, with their crow-steps, doubtless belong to a late period; but they probably represent the original mode of termination of the tower. The roof must be at least some centuries old. It is constructed with timbers about seven inches square, in the manner shown on section (Fig. 165); they are fixed together with wooden pins. With slight repairs and attention, which it greatly

requires, the roof would last for generations to come. We may remark that several cracks in the masonry, which were very conspicuous when we sketched the tower about fifteen years ago, have now been filled up.