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
[Illustration: FIG. 324.--Kelso Abbey. Caps and Enrichments of Arcade.]
The style of the caps of the arcade on the ground floor (Fig. 324) is
somewhat florid and unusual. The interlacing arches are also in some
places much carved and ornamented, and some portions are wonderfully
well preserved.
A recess for a tomb is seen in the south wall of the transept (see Fig.
312), and in the recess beneath there are two ambries or lockers and a
piscina, the only one remaining in the building.
To the south of the transept there is a vaulted chamber, 26 feet long by
10 feet 6 inches wide, which may have been the sacristy. It has a wide
entrance from the west, and an arcade with detached shafts and round
arches has run along each side. There has been a window at the east end,
and in the north-east angle a passage leading at a doorway to the
exterior, and also probably into the church.
ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH, HADDINGTON.
This ruined structure stands on a slightly-elevated site at the east end
of the Nungate, a suburb of the town of Haddington, on the right bank of
the Tyne. The Nungate is joined to the town by an ancient bridge of
three wide arches and two smaller ones. St. Martin’s belonged to the
Abbey or Nunnery of Haddington, which was situated about one mile to the
east of the town. The nunnery was founded in 1178 by Ada, Countess of
Northumberland, widow of Prince Henry (son of David I.), and mother of
Malcolm IV. and William the Lion. The abbey is now entirely demolished,
and not a stone of it remains. St.
[Illustration: FIG. 325.--St. Martin’s, Haddington. Plan.]
Martin’s Chapel is the only ecclesiastical structure connected with it
which still survives. In 1567 the prioress, with consent of the chapter,
disponed the greater part of the lands of the abbey, which were
conferred by Queen Mary on William Maitland of Lethington.
The chapel has all the appearance of being very ancient, “and probably
existed as a church when Alexander de St. Martin gave over to the
prioress and nuns his lands and tenements of St. Martinsgate.”[183]
It is a simple oblong (Fig. 325), 55 feet in length by 16 feet 6 inches
in width internally, and appears originally to have had no buttresses;
but several have been added at a later date. The side walls are 4 feet 6
inches in thickness, but do not appear to have been sufficiently strong
to resist the thrust of the barrel vault with which the building was
covered, and a portion of which (Fig. 326) still exists.
In the east wall there is an opening (Fig. 327) with plain jambs and
round arch, which is sometimes called the doorway, but which is clearly
the chancel arch. From excavations made a few years ago, it was
ascertained that there were foundations of a choir 12 feet square, with
a square east wall. The arch is, doubtless, late Norman in design,
having a simple moulding on each jamb to form the imposts, and a plain
moulding running
[Illustration: FIG. 326.--St. Martin’s, Haddington. Interior of West
End.]
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