The foundations of an early church with an eastern apse were found in excavations made in 1854. The outlines of this early church, as shown on a plan prepared by Mr. Hunter, in 1858, for his history of the priory, are drawn in outline on Fig. 397. These were, doubtless, the remains of the church erected in 1089. It had the circular apse of the early Norman churches. The Priory of Coldingham was refounded at the above date by Edgar, son of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret. His charter is still preserved at Durham. The church was dedicated to St. Cuthbert and St. Ebba, and granted by Edgar to St. Cuthbert’s Canons Regular of Durham, in acknowledgment of assistance he had received from England. It was colonised by Benedictine monks, sent to it by the abbot of Durham. The priory thus remained long subordinate to the English Church, although upon Scottish soil. The Canons of Durham controlled it, and drew its revenues till 1504, when it was annexed to the Scottish Crown. In 1509, the priory was at length detached from Durham, and placed under the rule of the Abbey of Dunfermline, in which position it remained till the Reformation. In the unsettled period of Robert III., and the regency of the Duke of Albany, the monks found it desirable to place the convent and its revenues under the protection of Archibald, Earl of Douglas, who appointed the Laird of Home as his under-keeper, and the Homes continued to be the bailiffs of the priory till the Reformation, when it fell entirely into their hands. In order to provide support for the Chapel-Royal in Stirling, which James III. had founded, he attempted to suppress the Priory of Coldingham and annex its revenues, and this was approved by the Parliament of 1485. However, the proposal was opposed most strenuously by the Homes and Hepburns, and tended to bring about the rebellion by which King James lost his life.[195] The buildings of the convent are said to have suffered severely from fire on three different occasions--viz., in 1216, in 1430, and in 1544. The structure was also greatly damaged by Cromwell, and since his time has served as a convenient quarry to the villagers. The result of the dilapidations thus caused has been that but little of the monastery now remains. The church is said to have consisted (see Plan) of nave and choir, each 90 feet by 25 feet, and transept, 41 feet by 34 feet. At the north-west angle of the latter rose a massive square tower 90 feet in height. Of these once extensive structures there now only remain the north and east walls of the choir, and some fragments of the south transept. The nave has been entirely removed, and the great tower fell rather more than a century ago. In 1662, the west and south walls of the choir were [Illustration: FIG. 398.--Coldingham Priory. View from North-East.]