The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 2/3MacGibbon, David
History
The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 2/3
MacGibbon, David
Church architecture -- Scotland
The south wall of the west church has some indications of transition
work, the masonry being arranged in the cube courses peculiar to early
work. Towards the west end (in the gable of the manse) there is a round
arched doorway, now built up, but it contains very little indication of
style. This was, doubtless, the usual entrance to the nave from the west
end of the cloister. The south wall is about 7 or 8 feet high from the
level of the nave floor, and more than twice that height from the level
of the cloisters. The windows were above the top of the wall, as is seen
at the east end adjoining the tower, where there exist the springing and
jamb of a window, with continuous mouldings both on the north and south
sides. These are, undoubtedly, fragments of fifteenth or sixteenth
century work. Slezer, in his views, shows a series of six or seven
round-headed windows at above level along the south side of the west
church. It is sometimes conjectured that these may have been Norman, but
certainly the existing jambs of the eastmost windows above referred to
are not so. Slezer, we may remark, is not to be depended on for accuracy
of details. It is said that these windows were taken down for materials
to build dykes with by the late parish minister, Dr. Erskine.
The position of the west end of this church is a matter of conjecture,
but it is almost certain that the present modern entrance gateway is
built on its site. The projecting part of wall at =X= on Plan has a large
bead on the corner, and it is clearly the corner of the south-west
buttress of the nave, with the base mouldings returned round it.
The lower story of the tower is much older than the portion above it.
This is evident from the nature of the building, and also from the door
and window openings in it. Entering from the west church, a low doorway,
5 feet wide, leads into the tower; it is late first pointed in detail,
round arched, or very slightly pointed in some of its orders. At each
side of this doorway there are arched openings, which recall the
recesses on each side of the chancel arch at Tynninghame Church. That on
the west side is a low, plain pointed opening, about 3 feet wide, now
built up. Between the centre door and the southmost of these built up
openings there is a pointed stoup, the lower part of which is buried by
a grave mound. Above the doorway, and beneath the sloping marks of the
roof of the west church, a wide semicircular window opens into the
tower--a singular feature not easily understood. The doorways in the
interior of the tower are all of late work--similar to that of the
sixteenth century in Scotland. Fig. 636 shows the upper part of the
interior of the west door. The style of the work is clearly late. The
initials A. M. may stand for the name of Mallet, as there seem to be
three mallets on the shield.
[Illustration: FIG. 636.--Culross Abbey. Interior of Doorway of Tower.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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