This cell has, doubtless, been often repaired (indeed, it requires some repair now), and it is possible that the vault and stone roof may not be the original ones; but the walls are certainly ancient, and the structure is very interesting from its being one of the very few relics of the Columban church which survive in the eastern part of Scotland. [Illustration: FIG. 738.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. St. Colm’s Cell: Plan and Section.] [Illustration: FIG. 739.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. Horizontal Arch of the Door, as seen from within the Cell.] [Illustration: FIG. 740.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. Exterior Arch of the Doorway.] As above pointed out, the abbey buildings are of different periods, and have evidently been subjected to several alterations at different times. The church appears to be the oldest part of the edifice. It has originally consisted (see Fig. 737) of a nave, internally 35 feet in length by 20 feet in width; a central tower, 24 feet long by 22 feet wide [Illustration: FIG. 741.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. View from North-East.] [Illustration: FIG. 742.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. View from North-West.] [Illustration: FIG. 743.--The Abbey of Inchcolm. North-East Angle of Cloister.] externally; and a choir to the east of the tower, of which a fragment survives, but which was subsequently superseded by a new choir. The church was lofty as compared with its width, as is apparent from the high pointed arches (Figs. 741 and 742) in the east and west walls of the tower. It is not now discoverable how the nave and choir were roofed, but from the absence of buttresses, and the built water tables in the tower with steep slope, the roof was most probably of timber. Over the arch leading from the tower to the choir there is a doorway (see Fig. 741), which gave access to a chamber in the roof. The church was entered from the cloister by a high pointed doorway (Fig. 743) in the south wall of the tower. Adjoining this, in the south wall, a wheel stair led to the upper stories of the tower. The nave has been much altered, but still retains along the north side an early trigonal string course. The south doorway and other details of the tower also indicate a date early in the thirteenth century (see the details of the doorway in Fig. 750). The tower (see Figs. 741 and 742) rises to two stories above the church roof, and contains windows, each having two smaller arches enclosed within a round arch, and having the spandrils pierced with simple quatrefoil openings. The parapet is supported by first pointed corbels (Fig. 744). In each of the north and south walls of the tower there was originally, at the level of the church, a single pointed lancet window, the upper part of which has in each case been preserved, although greatly altered at a later date. The upper part of the south window is visible in Fig. 743; and a similar portion of the north window is preserved over the door to the transept. The tower had simple