Wigtownshire and the greater part of Kirkcudbrightshire; the bishop remained under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of York till at least the fourteenth century, and in 1472 became suffragan of St. Andrews. In 1491, when Glasgow became a metropolitan see, the Bishop of Galloway became a Vicar-General of it during vacancies. The canons of Whithorn Priory formed the chapter of the see of Galloway, and the prior ranked next to the bishop; the diocese was divided into three rural deaneries. The shrine of St. Ninian became a place of pilgrimage for people from all parts of Scotland, and was visited by Scottish queens and kings--James IV. visited it generally once and frequently twice a year throughout his whole reign. The priory became wealthy, and the church and other buildings were of great extent. Among its priors may be mentioned Gavin Dunbar (1514), who was tutor to James V. and afterwards Archbishop of Glasgow; and James Beaton, who was prior and afterwards Bishop of Galloway, was advanced to the archbishopric of Glasgow in 1509, and of St. Andrews in 1522. The buildings of the priory are now reduced to the nave--an aisleless structure--and to some underground vaulted buildings, which no doubt formerly supported the choir and other erections above.[183] The west tower fell in the beginning of last century; the cloister lay to the north of the nave; the chapter-house, slype, and site of domestic buildings extended to the north of the transept. The north wall of the nave interior contains two pointed recesses for monuments, which are of excellent design. At the south-west angle of the nave is a doorway which is undoubtedly Norman,[184] and the sculptures on the right and left of the projecting wall point to a close affinity between the sculptured figures on the ancient stones and the architecture of the twelfth century in Scotland.[185] The ancient font, probably of Norman date, bowl-shaped, and of simple design, has been preserved in the church, and St. Ninian's Cave--probably a place of religious retirement--about three miles south-east of the village, contains some very old stone crosses, and on its east wall some very old inscriptions, a number of which are partly unintelligible by being covered with more recent ones. The neighbourhood will always be associated with St. Ninian, the apostle of the Britons and of the Southern Picts, and may be called the historical fountain-head of the Scottish Church. 11. DIOCESE OF LISMORE OR ARGYLL Lismore is an ancient settlement, and is the Epidium of Ptolemy, one of his five Ebudae.[186] The island lies near the south end of Loch Linnhe, and at a short distance from the mainland of Argyllshire.