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
a solid wall between the choir and the north aisle, it has evidently
been intended, from the size of the east windows and also of those on
the south side, to provide sufficient light by them to make up for the
want of light from the north. The kind of tracery which filled these
windows cannot now be ascertained, but it may have been of the same
character as that of the windows of the west end. The tracery, which
existed till recently in the choir, was clearly a late restoration. The
pinnacles on the south buttresses and the upper part of the choir wall
are also of very late date. These have apparently been restored by
Bishop Chisholm, whose crest they bear, about the year 1500. It will be
observed that the north aisle of the choir stops short by one bay of the
length of the choir, so as to allow the presbytery to be lighted, as is
usual, by windows on three sides. The choir is 81 feet in length by 28
feet in width within the walls.
[Illustration: FIG. 514.--Dunblane Cathedral.
Door from Choir to Lady Chapel. Details.]
[Illustration: FIG. 515.--Dunblane Cathedral. Plan of Clerestory
Window.]
We now come to the most beautiful part of the structure, viz., the nave.
It measures internally 129 feet in length by 57 feet in width (including
the aisles), and is divided into eight bays. The four eastmost bays and
the westmost bay are 10 feet in width between the piers, while the three
bays next the westmost bay are 12 feet between the piers. A similar
difference is observable in the upper part of the structure, which
consists of the clerestory, there being no triforium (Fig. 516). The
clerestory is constructed with an outer and an inner wall (Fig. 515),
having a passage between them in the centre. In the outer wall are the
windows, which have two lights formed by a central mullion, with plain
splays on the jambs and pointed arch (Fig. 517). The arch head is filled
with a form of tracery consisting of a quatrefoil cut in a plain
circular panel, being thus an intermediate example between the
perforated panel of early first pointed work and the bar tracery of the
[Illustration: FIG. 516.--Dunblane Cathedral. Elevation of Bay of
Nave.]
[Illustration: FIG. 517.--Dunblane Cathedral. West End from South-West.]
decorated period. On the inner side of the clerestory gallery an arcade
(see Fig. 515) is more elaborately carried out. Each bay contains two
arches forming a continuous arcade, resting on clustered shafts with
rounded caps and bases of first pointed style. The arch mouldings are
[Illustration: FIG. 518.--Dunblane Cathedral. Interior of North-West
Angle of Nave.]
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