The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3MacGibbon, David
History
The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3
MacGibbon, David
Church architecture -- Scotland
In the seventeenth century the east end was used as a church and the
west end as a school. In 1760 the Parish of Tynningham was added to
Whitekirk, and some of the fittings of the former were brought to the
latter. Thus the Haddington gallery in the north transept was adorned
with the front of the gallery from Tynningham. During this century some
attempts have been made to improve the structure. In 1832 a “pseudo
south transept” was built, and the Seacliffe gallery (which resembles a
large Dutch cabinet) was introduced.
This church, like many others erected in the fifteenth century, is on
[Illustration: FIG. 1187.--St. Mary’s, Whitekirk. Plan.]
the plan of a cross without aisles (Fig. 1187). The choir is vaulted
with a pointed barrel vault, and the outer roof is slated. Over the
crossing (Fig. 1188) rises a square tower, finished with a plain
parapet. The east
[Illustration: FIG. 1188.--St. Mary’s, Whitekirk. View from
South-West.]
end is square, and there is a fine entrance porch at the south-west
angle. The church is built with red freestone, which is toned with age,
and the whole building is one of the most picturesque and pleasing of
our old parish churches.
The nave and choir measure internally 103 feet in length by about 22
feet in width. The choir is divided by bold buttresses into two bays,
[Illustration: FIG. 1189.--St. Mary’s, Whitekirk. Buttress and Window in
Choir.]
in each of which is a traceried window, the cusping of which is
peculiar. The forms of the buttresses and tracery are shown in Fig.
1189. The east end has a small circular quatrefoiled window set high in
the wall (Fig. 1190), over which is a panel containing a shield bearing
a fessé with a crozier behind it, probably the arms of Abbot Crawford of
Holyrood (1460-1483).
The west end (Fig. 1191) and the south transept have been rebuilt.
The south-west porch (Fig. 1192) is one of the most striking features
[Illustration: FIG. 1190.--St. Mary’s, Whitekirk. East Gable.]
of the structure. It measures 13 feet wide by 9 feet deep internally,
and has a stone bench on each side. The entrance is by an open archway,
with clustered shafts, having enriched caps from which spring the bold
mouldings of the arch. At each of the outer angles of the porch is a
diagonal buttress having a niche on the inner face, and finished on the
top with crocketed pinnacles. Over the doorway there is a panel with
small buttresses at the jambs, and canopied head with scroll ornament
over.
The interior of the porch is roofed with pointed barrel vaulting, having
ribs springing from carved corbels. The door to the church is square
headed and is surmounted by a niche, which formerly contained a statue
of the Blessed Virgin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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