The CHURCH AT LYBSTER[191] (Reay), in Caithness, corresponds in style
and plan so closely to the church of Weir that it may be described here
briefly. There is no other church in Caithness of any antiquity which
demands special notice. Ecclesiastical sites of early date are thickly
scattered over the county, but the ruins of the buildings themselves
have suffered so much that there is scarcely an architectural feature
left to guide us to conclusions as to their date. The church at Lybster
is fortunately an exception. It consists of chancel and nave, slightly
larger than Weir, and very rudely constructed. There is a doorway with
inclined jambs in the west end, of which a representation is given in
the accompanying plate; but Mr. Muir notices as a singular feature of
the building that there are nowhere traces of windows, although all the
elevations except the east one, which is broken down to a little below
the gable line, remain nearly entire. The entrance to the chancel is of
the same form as the doorway, having inclined jambs. “With regard to
even the probable age of this building,” says Mr. Muir, “I would not
like to venture an opinion. The diversified shapes and sizes of the
stones, and the primitive form and smallness of the entrances to the
nave and chancel, would suggest extreme earliness of date; whilst, on
the other hand, the refined character of the ground-plan would indicate
a period of time not more remote than the 12th century.”
[Illustration: Chancel-Arch of Church at Weir.]
[Illustration: Doorway in West end of Church at Lybster, Reay.]
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