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
south side, the space is lintelled over between the square pier and the
stair turret. As the stair turret probably existed (at least for part of
its height) before this alteration, the large window, which occupies the
full available width, had to be squeezed in as best it could, and thus
came to stand in the unsymmetrical position it occupies (see Fig. 977).
This supposed alteration may also, perhaps, explain the peculiar way in
which the ogee canopy of the window is twisted to one side at the top
(see Fig. 976), which Mr. Billings has difficulty in accounting for. The
small circle in the gable being right over the entrance door (as the
original window in the west end doubtless also was), it was found, when
the window came to be enlarged, that there was no room to carry the
canopy and its fleur-de-lys finial straight up without removing the
small circular opening, and so the canopy and finial had to be pushed to
one side.
The side aisles are 12 feet in width, and the south one has been
vaulted. The tracery in many of the windows still survives, and is
varied and generally good in design. A restoration of the tracery in the
west window may be seen in Mr. Billings’ work. The tracery is of the
kind common in the Scottish architecture of the fifteenth century.
Attention has already been drawn to the peculiar flat-headed windows at
the west end of the north aisle of Dunblane Cathedral. At Dunkeld, the
corresponding window is flat arched (Fig. 979), and at St. John’s
Church, in Perth, the window in the same position is either flat arched
or has a lintel. It is singular and interesting to find this similarity
of treatment, as regards the north-west window, in these three churches,
which are all situated in one part of the country. Over the north-west
window at Dunkeld are the arms of Bishop Brown (a chevron between three
fleur-de-lys), surmounted by a mitre. There is an inscription on a
ribbon round the arms, but it would require a very minute inspection to
make it out. George Brown was consecrated Bishop of Dunkeld by Pope
Sixtus IV. in 1484, and died 14th January 1514-1515, aged seventy-six
years.
The ruins of a large porch still exist on the south side of the nave
(see Fig. 976). From the forms of the finials and other details it has
evidently been a somewhat late addition. This was, doubtless, the
portico which Canon Myln states was erected by Bishop Lauder at the
south entrance to the church.
The upper part of the stair turret of the west front, the broken angle
pinnacle at the base of the gable, and the corbelled octagonal finial on
the south-west angle of the south aisle are all late additions. The
corbelled turret at the angle resembles the angle turrets of the
castles. A similar turret exists at the angle of the north transept of
Paisley Abbey.
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