ABBEY ST. BATHANS,Berwickshire.[157]

Fig. 1341.—St. Moloc’s or St. Moluog’s Church. Plan.

proved that these stories are forgeries, and must be entirely rejected. It is, however, probable that there was an early religious settlement at Mortlach, which may have given some foundation for the above fables. At all events, in 1157, a Bull of Pope AdrianIV.mentions the monastery of Mortlach and the five churches belonging to it.

The existing structure (Fig.1341) consists of an old building of simple oblong form, 83 feet in length internally by 24 feet in width, to which was added, in 1826, a large north wing or aisle. This wing was further vefynded in 1876, and now measures, internally, 36 feet long by 26 feet.

A small wing or projection has also been added to the south tocontain an organ, and the whole church has been reseated and fitted up for service in modern style. There are two lancet windows in the east end, which, together with some portions of the walls, may be ancient (perhaps of thirteenth century date), as it is understood that these windows were found built up, and were reopened during the late restoration, but the remainder of the church has been completely modernised.

Fig. 1342.—St. Moloc’s or St. Moluog’s Church. Effigy of Alexander Leslie.

Under a pointed arch in the thickness of the north wall, close to the east end, lies the recumbent effigy of a knight in armour (Fig.1342), supposed to be the monument of Alexander Leslie, the first of Kininvie,[155]who died about 1549. The figure used to stand upright, but has now been placed in its proper position.

A remarkable sculptured stone[156]stands in the flat ground below the church, where the battle with the Danes is said to have taken place, and of which it is traditionally believed to be a memorial.

The Abbey of St. Bothan was a convent for Cistercian nuns. Its scanty remains are situated about four miles south-west from Grant’s House Railway Station, in a beautiful valley on the right bank of the Whitadder, which here flows a calm full stream, surrounded by gently swelling hills—an ideal situation for such a house. The modern parish church appears to occupy the site of the ancient church of the abbey, and probably the nunnery buildings were included within the existing churchyard, which lies on the south side of the church. The east wall of the

Fig. 1343.—Abbey St. Bathans. East Wall.

church only is old, and is entirely ivy clad, the east window (Fig.1343) being just visible. It is round-arched and is of two lights, each 9 inches wide, with a quatrefoil above, having rather rudely formed cusping. The mullion is modern, and the tracery is recessed to about the middle of the thickness of the wall, being about 18 inches back from the outer face. There is a set-off on the gable, hidden by ivy. It is impossible to say how much of the other walls are old, but probably the modern church occupies the old foundations, in which case the ancient church was

Fig. 1344.—Abbey St. Bathans.Figure of a Prioress.

Fig. 1344.—Abbey St. Bathans.

Figure of a Prioress.

of small size, being about 45 feet long by 24 feet wide.[158]There is a sundial on the wall-head of the south wall at the east end. At the north corner of the east end there are indications of a wall with a splayed base having extended eastwards.

In the interior of the church a modern arched recess (or what appears on the face as modern) contains the recumbent figure of a prioress (Fig.1344). It measures 6 feet long, and is in good preservation. There appears to have been a dog lying at her feet, but it has been knocked off.

About a quarter of a mile to the south of the church, on the slope of a hill, there are the foundations of a chapel (Fig.1345) measuring about 38 feet long by 15 feet wide internally. The end walls are each about 5 feet thick, and the side walls about 3 feet. Nothing else belonging to the church remains, except a few fragments of what was probably a circular font, and a window sill lying amongst the ruins. It shows that the window was eight inches wide. A plain slab 6 feet long by 18 inches wide lies in the centre of the building.

The Convent of St. Bothan’s was founded by Ada, daughterof William the Lion, in 1184. She married Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, and they made adequate endowments to the convent.[159]According to Chalmers there was a previous church here, dedicated to St. Bothan,

Fig. 1345.—Abbey St. Bathans. Plan of Chapel.

which was probably given to the Countess Ada’s nuns. It is just possible that the second church, noticed above, may be the church referred to.

The ancient parish of Bassendean is now incorporated with that of Westruther, both in the south-west part of Berwickshire, and the church has long been disused.

The remains of Bassendean Church, which was dedicated to St. Mary, lie five and a half miles west of Greenlaw. The walls are broken down,

Fig. 1346.—Bassendean Church. Plan.

but the plan (Fig.1346) can still be traced. The structure is a simple oblong, measuring 54 feet 6 inches in length by about 20 feet in width externally. The doorway is in the south side, and has been provided with a slot for a bolt. The remains of a stoup and ambry exist beside the door, and there is a recess for a piscina near the east end, and an ambryin the north wall opposite it. In the centre of the south wall there has been a single-light window, and towards the east end a larger two-light

Fig. 1347.—Bassendean Church. (FromThe Churches of Berwickshire.)

window with a central mullion, now built up (Fig.1347). The plan of the jamb (Fig.1348) shows that the structure has been of an

Fig. 1348.Bassendean Church.Window Jamb.

Fig. 1348.

Bassendean Church.

Window Jamb.

advanced date. The grooves for the glass are in the centre of the wall. There is no window in either of the east, north, or west walls. Fragments of the font are lying amongst the rubbish in the inside.

The old church of Bassendean is still used as a burial-place by the Homes of Bassendean.

The church belonged to the priory of Coldstream, and appears to have been abandoned at the Reformation. It was again used for divine service from 1647 to 1649, when a new church was erected at Westruther, and St. Mary’s was allowed to fall into ruin.

The village of Cockburnspath is situated about seven miles south-east of Dunbar. The church here is peculiar and unique, in having a round tower in the centre of the west wall. It is a long narrow building (Fig.1349), measuring about 80 feet in length by 18 feet 3 inches in width. The structure has been much knocked about, having undergone at least two restorations at different times, the last being about twenty years ago. It is therefore not surprising to find that there is nothing left inside the building of any architectural interest. Four angle buttresses at the corners, however, remain intact, together with portions of an early base course near the east end, and the head of a window, containing geometrical tracery (Fig.1350), has been preserved and built into the south wall over the door near the east end. Judging from these details and from the thickness of the walls (3 feet 2 inches) it seems probable that the church is not later than the sixteenth century.

The tower (Fig.1351) is about 9 feet in external diameter, and its interior diameter is about 6 feet. It is about 30 feet high, and contains

Fig. 1349.—Cockburnspath Church. Plan.

a circular stone stair. There is a string course above the level of the ridge of the church, above which the tower rises one story. In this there are several openings or loop holes of a roughly formed cross shape, similar to those sometimes found in the old castles. The tower is built of rubble work in quite a different style of masonry from that of the church. There is nothing to indicate that it is older than the church, except its position. Mr. T. S. Robertson[160]is probably correct when he states, “From its position, I am clearly of opinion that it existed before the church, and that the church walls were built up to it. I cannot believe that any one capable of building the round tower would have taken out the centre of a gable fully 3 feet thick to insert this tower,” for it will be observedthat the tower projects inside. “The most that would have been done, had the church been earlier than the tower, would have been to slap a door of communication through the wall of the church.” The tower was probably erected independently as a belfry and for other occasional purposes. A circular stair beginning at the level of the church floor, and entering from the church by a square-headed door, is carried up as far as the upper story of the tower, which has been mended with brick work, otherwise the tower is all of one age. The walls are only 18 inches thick, but the

Fig. 1350.—Cockburnspath Church. Door and Window Head at East End.

stone steps of the stair bind them together, and make the building as strong as if it had been built of one solid mass of masonry.

The small building at the east end is probably a century later than the church. It has a pointed barrel-vaulted roof, and an original square-headed doorway in the centre of its east wall. It is now used as the heating chamber of the church.

On the apex of the south-west buttress there is a remarkable sundial, which has already been illustrated.[161]

From Mr. Ferguson’s remarks[162]it is evident that the history of this building has not been investigated. There were a chapel and a hospital at

Fig. 1351.—Cockburnspath Church. View from South-West.

Cockburnspath in early times. Robert, Chaplain of Colbrundspath, is mentioned in 1255, but Mr. Ferguson has doubts as to this being the site of the chapel referred to.

A ruined church situated about two miles north from Duns. It is in a state of complete dilapidation, and is densely covered with ivy. The structure (Fig.1352) consists of a nave and chancel of equal width, the whole internal length being about 70 feet by 14 feet 6 inches in width, and the chancel is about 18 feet 6 inches long. The round chancel arch is blocked, and it is doubtful if it is original. There are two narrow pointed windows in the east wall and one in the west wall, all widely splayed towards the interior, and finished with a segmental arch.Another window in the south wall of the chancel (shown in Fig.1353) is of the same character, only that it is lintelled on the inside instead

Fig. 1352.—Preston Church. Plan.

of being arched. Beneath this window there is a peculiar piscina (see Fig.1353). It consists of a triangular shelf projecting about

Fig. 1353.—Preston Church. Piscina.

17 inches from the wall (Fig.1354) and having a shallow basin supported on a rounded base. Above the shelf there is a round-arched recess 2 feet 2 inches high by 18 inches wide. The back of this recess leans forward, so that while it is 8½ inches deep at the base, it is only 3 inches at the crown of the arch.

There are two south doors with square lintels, one in the chancel and another in the nave near the west end. A later door has been made at the east end of the nave.

All the doors and windows are finished on the outside with a simple chamfer.

There has probably been a sacristy on the north side of the nave.

Mr. Ferguson[163]assigns this church to an early period. The small windows

Fig. 1354.—Preston Church. Plan of Piscina.

in the end walls and the shallow buttresses at the west end have an early appearance, but the same cannot be said of the details shown in Fig.1353. Mr. Muir[164]is doubtful as to its “just claim to antiquity.” This church, with that of Bunkle, about two miles distant, belonged to the Bishopric of Dunkeld.

About half a mile westwards from the town of Rothesay, and approached by an avenue of fine old trees, there stands in the ancient burial-ground the choir of the Abbey Church of St. Mary. The west end has been built up with a wall containing a wide gateway, but otherwise the chancel remains in fair preservation, although roofless. A modern church has been erected beside it, but with an interval of a few inches between the new and old structures.

The ancient chancel (Fig.1355) now measures 27 feet in length by 18 feet in width internally. The east wall, with its gable (Fig.1356), still survives, and contains a large three-light window, of which the tracery has been of the simple intersecting kind. The east ends of the side walls had each a single pointed light with pointed rear arches. Near the west end of the north wall is a plain pointed doorway, and a small window with square lintel. The west end of the south wall contained a doorway, now built up.

Opposite one another, in the centre of the north and south walls, are erected two more than usually interesting monuments. Both are recessed in the wall, and are covered with an arched canopy, and in each the effigy of the person commemorated is preserved. The monument in the south wall (Fig.1357) is the larger and finer of the two. It measures nearly 11 feet over the side buttresses. The ogee arch in which it is enclosed contains bold, but late, mouldings. The arch has been ornamented with large crockets, but they are now much wasted away. The monument has doubtless been erected in memory of one of the Stewarts of Bute, who buried here, but its heraldry is peculiar. At the apex there is a shield, which appears to contain the royal arms, but has two lions for supporters,instead of the usual unicorns. There is also on the base or pedestal of the monument a coat of arms, containing quarterly first and fourth the Stewart arms, and second and third the royal arms. The shield is supported by two angels. In a paper by Mr. John Mackinlay,[165]written in 1825, these arms are fully described and illustrated. They were then doubtless better preserved than they now are, but the arms can still be deciphered. Mr. Mackinlay tries to explain the remarkable circumstance of the Stewart arms having precedence in the lower shield over the royal arms, by supposing that they are placed on the tomb of the chief of the

Fig. 1355.—St. Mary’s Abbey, Rothesay. Plan.

Clan. But the name of the person whose monument this is has not been discovered.[166]As the bearings in quartered shields are often reversed by mistake, the same may have happened here.

The effigy is that of a knight in complete plate armour. The head rests on a tilting helmet, with a dog’s head for crest, which is attached to a cap put on over the helmet. The round hollow visible to the spectator represents the inside of the helmet. The feet rest upon a lion. Thefigure is considerably worn, but the plate armour and the gauntlets are still distinctly seen. The bottom of the shirt of mail worn under the cuirass and the jewelled sword belt and hilt of the sword are also clearly visible. A coat of arms, similar to that on the pedestal, is carved on the breast, being intended to represent the arms wrought in embroidery on the surcoat.

The lower part of the monument has been divided into panels, each containing a quatrefoil, and between the panels there were at one time small

Fig. 1356.—St. Mary’s Abbey, Rothesay. View from South-East.

figures of armed knights, each holding a spear. When Mr. Mackinlay wrote, one of these figures survived; now they are all gone, together with parts of the quatrefoils, and an irregular empty space is left where they once stood. Mr. Mackinlay mentions that some excavation was made, and an arched recess was found under the monument in which the coffins had been placed, and three skulls were discovered therein. In the upper part of the monument over the arch are two recesses, which probably at one time contained coats of arms.

Fig. 1357.—St. Mary’s Abbey, Rothesay. Monument in South Wall.

The other monument (Fig.1358) in the north wall of the chancel has been erected in memory of a lady and child, whose effigies it contains. The

Fig. 1357.—St. Mary’s Abbey, Rothesay. Monument in South Wall.

figures of the lady and child are cut in a thin slab of stone, and have not the bold effect of the knight in armour. There are no arms or inscriptionon this monument, and the name of the person commemorated is unknown. The arch over the figures is of the same description as that of the opposite monument, but it is lower and not so effective. The mouldings are also similar, and there have been crockets over the arch, which are now greatly decayed. The width of the monument over all is fully 8 feet.

The lower part of the monument on which the effigies rest is divided into eight panels by shafts, and each panel contains a sculptured figure. Mr. Mackinlay says that they represent saints, and that amongst them is the Virgin and Child. In their decayed condition the latter is not now recognisable. The figures seem rather to resemble persons in the dress of the fifteenth century, and some of them appear to be kneeling.

At the east end of the chancel there is a pointed piscina in the south wall (see Fig.1357) and an ambry in the east wall.

The style of the structure and of the monuments is undoubtedly late, probably sixteenth century.

The town of Dumbarton is situated on the left bank of the river Leven, near its junction with the Clyde, and not far from the detached rock on which stands the Castle of Dumbarton. A church existed here from a very early time, and the parish church appears to have been rebuilt at least three times, and is now a modern edifice of 1811. Previously the parish church was represented by the quaint structure shown in Fig.1359, which has entirely disappeared, along with the hospital or bead-house adjacent, which was erected in 1636 by Buchanan of Auchmore, and endowed by him with £1021. This view is copied from a pencil sketch made by Paul Sandby in 1747, which forms part of a valuable collection of sketches relating to Scotland, preserved in the Library of the Royal Scottish Academy, to the Council of which we are indebted for permission to reproduce it.

The parish church (see Fig.1359) was probably intended to consist of a choir and nave with a central tower, but only the choir and tower would seem to have been built. As frequently happened, a north aisle or transept appears from the view to have existed. This contained what was known in later times as Mr. Campbell of Stonefield’s gallery and the town council gallery, and it was entered by an outside stair. From the description of the interior in Glen’sHistory of Dumbarton, p. 74, the church was evidently a typical specimen of those picturesque, though plain, interiors which have now almost disappeared. The pulpit stood on the south side, and there were various galleries for the trades and for the

Fig. 1359.—Dumbarton Church and Hospital. (From a Drawing by Paul Sandby, 1747.)

garrison, while an upper end gallery called the hen-bauk was occupied by single ladies. In 1622 Dame Jean Hamiltone, Lady of Luss, having no convenient seat, was granted liberty by the kirk-session “to build ane seat for hirsel, upon ye top of the east gavil.” The spire was of wood, and was presumably covered with lead. Shortly after this sketch was made the spire appears, from the Burgh Records, to have been ruinous, so that its leaning appearance may be quite correct. The tower was of the low squat form, with plain parapet, common at the time.

The hospital appears, from the view, to have been of considerable extent. It was evidently two stories in height, and was lighted by round-headed windows. This bead-house and the small chapel attached to it

Fig. 1360.—Portion of Tower of Collegiate Church, Dumbarton.

were ultimately dismantled and lay in a ruinous state till, in the year 1758, they were entirely demolished by the magistrates, and the stones used to build the East Bridge and for other purposes. The church appears to have been used as the parish church till about 1810, when it was taken down and a new church built on the site.

The Collegiate Church and Hospital of St. Mary were founded in 1450 by Lady Isabella, Duchess of Albany and Countess of Lennox. She was the widow of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, who was beheaded at Stirling in 1425. About the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Earl of Lennox gifted the church, with the temporality, to the Abbey of Kilwinning. The chapter consisted of a provost and six canons, and was endowed withthe parish churches of Bonhill, Fintry, and Strathblane, and also held considerable lands in the neighbourhood of Dumbarton, which yielded to Kilwinning at the Reformation an annual revenue of £66, 13s. 4d. sterling.

The founder erected the college for the repose of the souls of “her dearest husband, her father, and her sons,” who had been slain by their relative James I. of Scotland, under the belief that they had been to blame in connection with his long imprisonment in England.

After the Reformation the college was allowed to fall into ruin, and its materials were gradually carried off. In 1858, in order to make room for the railway station, the last remnants of the edifice, one of the pier arches and its piers (Fig.1360) were removed from their position on a grassy knoll, from which a fine view of the Leven was visible, and re-erected as the gateway of a house.[167]

This structure is an interesting example of a private ecclesiastical foundation. The remains of the chapel stand in an ancient churchyard, on a knoll close to a small stream, about one and a half miles north-west from Cardross Railway Station. The building has attached to it the piece of land with which it was endowed, and is surrounded by the estate of Kilmahew, the property of John William Burns, Esq., to whom we are indebted for bringing the structure under our notice.

This chapel is believed to have been erected for the convenience of the inhabitants of the locality, owing to the great distance of their parish church at Roseneath, and also of the church of the neighbouring parish of Cardross. The Napiers were proprietors of Kilmahew from about 1300. John Napier was one of the defenders of Stirling Castle in 1304, along with Sir William Olyfard. In 1406 William Napier obtained a charter of the half lands of Kilmahew, “where the chapel is situated.”[169]

A chapel existed here in 1370, when a charter was granted to Roger Cochran of the lands of Kilmahew, “with the chapel thereof.” In 1467 a new chapel was erected by Duncan Napier, then proprietor of Kilmahew, who endowed it with an annual rent of 40s. and 10d. out of tenements in Dumbarton. In the above year the new chapel, dedicated to St. Mahew,was consecrated by George, Bishop of Argyll, in mitre and full pontificals, with the permission of the Bishop of Glasgow, in whose diocese it was situated. Possibly the existing chancel is part of the structure then dedicated.

At the Reformation this chapel was used as a preaching station by a reader under the minister of Roseneath, but when the site of Cardross Church was altered so as to bring it into its present more convenient position as regards this locality, the chapel fell into disuse. The burying-ground attached to it, however, continued in use for interments till recent years. In 1640 a portion of the chapel was turned into a school, in terms of an agreement between Robert Napier of Kilmahew and the other heritors. Under this agreement Kilmahew bound himself—first, “to give the use of his chapel of Kilmahew bewest the quir thereof, for and in place of a school; second, to mortify to the schoolmaster annually five

Fig. 1361.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew. Plan.

bolls one firlot of tiend bear, and also a house and a piece of land layand thereto beside the chapel of Kilmahew, extending to about an acre or therby, together with ane piece of land for pasture, which was of old possest by the priest of Kilmahew, by order of the said Robert Napier of Kilmahew his predecessors in time of superstition and popery; and in case the annual value of these provisions should fall short of eighty merks to make it up to that sum; third, to entertain the school master present and to come, in meat, drink, and bedding, in household with himself within the house of Kilmahew, so long as he shall discharge the duty of family exercise and prayer within the said family.”[170]

The acre of ground above referred to is now in the possession of the School Board, together with two acres excambed in 1795 for the priest’s right of pasturing a cow on Kirkton farm.

The building is now unoccupied, but it is kept in good repair. It consists (Fig.1361) of an eastern portion or choir, which is roofed, and of a western portion or nave, which is roofless. The former is ancient, but the latter appears to be comparatively modern. The choir is, internally, 13 feet 6 inches in length from west to east, by 16 feet 3 inches in width from north to south, and the walls are 3 feet in thickness. In the west wall there is a rounded and chamfered arch 9 feet 2 inches in width, now built up. The choir has two windows, one in the north

Fig. 1362.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew. View from South-East.

wall and one in the south wall (Fig.1362), each of which is square-headed, and the outer jambs and lintel have a double splay. The doorway, which is in the south wall, has also a square lintel and a bold bead and hollow round the opening. In the interior of the north wall there is an arched recess 8 feet in length by 2 feet in depth, which may have contained a monument, or may have been an Easter sepulchre. The east wall has two recesses, one of which may have contained a piscina, while the other (Fig.1363) is an ambry of an ornamental character, but evidently of very late date. There is also a window in this wall placed ata very high level, and out of the centre (see Fig.1362). The gables are finished with crowsteps, and on the south skew putts there are shields

Fig. 1363.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew.Ambry In East Wall.

Fig. 1363.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew.

Ambry In East Wall.

(Fig.1364), that at the south-west end containing the sacred monogram I. H. S., and that at the south-east end the initials M. C. In the east gable, which has a set-off above the wall-head, there is a window placed so as to light an upper room in the roof, which probably formerly existed.

The nave measures 34 feet 7 inches in length by 19 feet 8 inches in width over the walls, which are thinner than those of the choir. There is a doorway in the west end, and the enclosure contains some flat monuments lying on the ground, which commemorate some of the Napiers of Kilmahew and Buchanans of Drum (1789-80). This enclosure probably occupies the

Fig. 1364.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew.South Skew Putts.

Fig. 1364.—Chapel at the Kirkton of Kilmahew.

South Skew Putts.

site of the original nave, but the wall appears to have been rebuilt. There was apparently a nave in existence in 1640, as it was the chapel “bewest the quir” which Robert Napier then agreed to give as a school.

Fig. 1365.—Canonby Priory. Sedilia.

“Some remains of this canonry were, until recently, visible at Halgreen.... A portion of the ancient church (the sedilia) may be seen in the churchyard.”[171]

This priory was founded during the reign of DavidI.by Turgot de Rossendal, near the junction of the Esk and Liddel, and was destroyed by the English after the battle of Solway Moss in 1542. The annexed illustration (Fig.1365) shows the only fragment that survives. It is probably of thirteenth century work (but was omitted in Vol.II.)

The priory, as the residence of the canons, became known as Canonbie.

A ruin situated five or six miles south-east from Sanquhar.

The church (Fig.1366) measures 42 feet 4 inches in length by 14 feet 6 inches wide inside.

Fig. 1366.—Kirkbryde Church. Plan.

There is a north chapel, measuring about 10 feet by 9 feet 3 inches, opening into the church by a round arch.

The east wall (Fig.1367), on which is the belfry, is almost entire, as is also the greater part of the west wall and the south wall (Fig.1368).The north wall is pretty well preserved at the east end, as well as the chapel and north archway (Fig.1369). At the west end the north wall is very fragmentary.

Fig. 1367.—Kirkbryde Church. East Elevation.

The doorway in the south wall has a pointed arch cut out of two stones (see Fig.1368). There are three windows on the south side of

Fig. 1368.—Kirkbryde Church. South Elevation.

the church (see Fig.1368). One of them is entire, and has a pointed arch cut out of two stones. A kind of shoulder is wrought on the

Fig. 1369.—Kirkbride Church. View from North-West.

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