The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 1/3MacGibbon, David
History
The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 1/3
MacGibbon, David
Church architecture -- Scotland
than at the base by about 2½ inches, and the responds taper even more.
The latter have no bases, while the centre shafts have only the merest
fillet. The south window (Fig. 166) has a square lintel. It is about 3
feet 8½ inches wide by 4 feet 1½ inch high, and has no taper. The
opening is divided by a mullion, placed flush with the outer face of the
wall. The east window is a single light, about 1 foot 7 inches wide
inside, increasing by 2 inches to the outside. It is 3 feet 11 inches
high, and is 2 inches wider at the lintel than at the base. We have
minutely described these windows, as they are peculiar in their
differences, and are undoubtedly original. We know of no reason why the
north and west ones should be so much more ornamental than the other
two.
This tower appears to have stood quite isolated, like that of Dunblane
Cathedral. There is nothing to indicate that it was attached to any
building. There are no roof ragglets, but only the faintest mark caused
by the pointing where the roof of the present ruin joined the walls.
What position the tower occupied in regard to the early church, which
[Illustration: FIG. 164.--Muthill Church. View of Tower from
North-West.]
doubtless stood here, cannot now be ascertained. There seems to have
been a doorway on the west face of the ground floor (see Fig. 164),
about 4 feet wide, formed with a flat arch about 7 feet 6 inches above
the present level of the ground; but it is doubtful if the door came to
the level of the ground, which seems to have been raised in the course
of centuries. A door opened into the church on the east side of the
tower. It is about 3 feet wide by 6 feet 2 inches high, and has also a
flat arch; but it is not easy to say whether these doors are original or
are insertions. In the basement floor on the north and south sides there
is a square-headed window, about 7 or 8 feet above the floor. The one on
the north side is 12 inches wide by about 1 foot 10 inches high, and is
divided by a mullion placed similarly to that in the south belfry
window.
From the foregoing description, it seems not unlikely that the same
ideas which prevailed with the builders of the round towers actuated the
men who built this one. It probably contained the bells, and was used as
a place of safety detached from the church.
The tower is enclosed on three sides by the church. From the east face
of the tower the nave measures 46 feet 1 inch in length, and, including
the tower, the central aisle of the nave measures 58 feet 10 inches in
length by 20 feet 6 inches in width, and the total width inside,
including the aisles, is 45 feet 5 inches. The total length of the
church inside, including the chancel, is 105 feet 5 inches, and the
width of the chancel is 16 feet.
[Illustration: FIG. 165.--Muthill Church. Plan and Section of Top Story
of Tower.]
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