Of the western alley of the cloister there are considerable remains. The manse, adjoining the nave, appears to include a part of the original buildings. It is dated on the Plan “1647,” that figure being carved on a dormer; but portions of the walls are undoubtedly older, and possibly a thorough examination might reveal ancient features. To the south of the manse is the vaulted entrance to the cloister (Fig. 643), and further southward the truncated remains of the building shown in Fig. 644. The latter enters from the exterior by a narrow door, having a stair in the thickness of the wall adjoining leading to the upper floor. As already mentioned, there are extensive cellars beneath. This range of buildings was what Mr. Sharp calls the Domus Conversorum,[86] or the place for the workmen and servants of the monastery, which contained their day room on the ground floor and dormitory above. [Illustration: FIG. 644.--Culross Abbey. Chamber on West Side of Cloister.] About a quarter of a mile north from the abbey there exist the remains of a lodge, with indications of an arched “pend.” The lodge is still in use, but quite modernised. This archway was probably an entrance to the grounds of the abbey. The most remarkable feature of the edifice is the tower which divides the east church from the west. From its architecture we may at once conclude that the upper portion is a structure of late date, probably of the sixteenth century. The interior doorway (see Fig. 636) is clearly of about that period, but some of the features of the lower story seem, as above mentioned, to point to that part being of an earlier time, probably thirteenth century. The puzzle here is to understand how this solid tower should have been set down in the centre of the church, thus completely cutting off the western portion from the eastern, and forming two separate churches. Two possible solutions of this difficulty present themselves. 1. The two churches may have been intentionally kept separate, the western portion being the parish church and the eastern that of the monks. Such an arrangement is unusual in Scotland, but Mr. Freeman has described several churches in England where one portion belonged to the parishioners and the remainder to the monks. The chief difficulty connected with this theory is that the parish of Culross (as above mentioned) was provided with a separate parish church at a little distance away.[87]