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
which has grooves for glass. The gable of this aisle has crowsteps. The
doorway is in the south wall, and adjoining it on the west is a stoup
(Fig. 1484) with a pointed arch cut out of a single stone, and in the
north wall there is the usual ambry. There are two windows in the south
wall and one in the west gable. This gable has the usual set-off at
about 5 feet above the ground, and at the ground level in this wall
there is a wide relieving arch, apparently intended to give scope for a
tree root. The skews of this gable are finely wrought, and the apex
stone, now lying inside (Fig. 1485), has the edge fillet continued as a
saltier on the face of the ridge roll.
The belfry, entirely concealed by ivy, occupies an unusual position on
the east gable. All the openings are lintelled, and appear to have been
altered in Presbyterian times.
WAST-TOWN CHURCH, PERTHSHIRE.
A ruined structure situated in the centre of its churchyard, in the
decayed hamlet of Wast-Town, at a distance of about two miles northwards
from Errol Railway Station, and not far from the old Castle of Kinnaird.
The church (Fig. 1486) has consisted of a nave and chancel, the former
about 43 feet long by 15 feet 2 inches wide inside, having walls from 3
to 4 feet thick. The chancel was apparently of the same width as the
nave,
[Illustration: FIG. 1486.--Wast-Town Church. Plan.]
but it has been entirely demolished, and the chancel arch has been built
up. This was doubtless done to make the church suitable as a preaching
station after the Reformation. There are a north and a south doorway,
the former square-headed with a splay, the latter (Fig. 1488) round
arched with a bead on edge all round. In the south side there are two
windows with square tops and a bead moulding, and one window in the
north side having a cusped and pointed top, as shown in Fig. 1487. This
window has a moulding on the outside consisting of a hollow, wrought on
a broad splay. All the windows are finished on the inside in a manner
similar to the one shown, the width of their daylight being about 13
inches. There are three openings through the walls at the west end (see
Fig. 1486) about 7 inches square and about 4 feet above the ground, the
object of which is not very clear, and they are now considerably ruined.
Possibly they are putlog holes.
[Illustration: FIG. 1487.--Wast-Town Church. Window in North Side.]
[Illustration: FIG. 1488.--Wast-Town Church. View from South-East.]
The chancel arch, which is 9 feet 9 inches wide, is in two orders (Fig.
1489), each splayed on edge. The wall is 2 feet 4 inches thick, and the
[Illustration: FIG. 1490.--Wast-Town Church.
Belfry.]
arch springs from wide spreading caps, which either rested on shafts,
now removed, or only on corbels. This cannot at present be determined,
[Illustration: FIG. 1489.
Wast-Town Church.
Chancel Arch.]
owing to the building up of the archway. The detail of this cap or
corbel is somewhat novel and peculiar in design.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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