What the original form of the cloister buildings may have been it is now difficult to determine. As has been pointed out above, their arrangement is very unusual, the cloister walk occupying the whole of the ground floor, and the domestic buildings being on the first floor. This arrangement is quite contrary to that generally adopted, the usual plan being to have a one-story cloister walk round the court, giving access on the ground floor to the sacristy, chapter house, &c., in the east range, to the refectory in the south range, and to the cellars, &c., in the west range. At Inchcolm the ambulatory, or cloister walk—about 15 feet wide—occupies the whole of the ground floor round the east, south, and west sides of the square, while the church stands on the north side. This arrangement would be somewhat awkward as regards the principal entrance to the church through the tower, which would be left in the open court without any covered way leading to it. An attempt has been made at a late date to obviate this drawback by continuing a one-story cloister walk round the north side of the court (see Fig. 737).
The ambulatory is lighted by small round-headed windows towards the court (see Fig. 743), having wide square ingoings with stone seats (Fig. 746); and the sill of the recess is raised about 12 inches above the level of the cloister walk. Entering from the east walk is the chapter house, an octagonal building, 24 feet in diameter, of a somewhat later date than the nave and tower.
At the south-west angle of the cloister court was the staircase which led to the upper floor (see Plans). The latter (see Fig. 745) has been very greatly altered, and has been divided by cross walls and partitions, so as to form a dwelling-house. A square tower has also at a late period been added on the exterior next the south-west angle (Fig. 747). It would appear, however, that formerly the apartments, although situated on the
first floor, were arranged in the usual manner. The dormitory occupied the east side, and had direct communication with the choir. The refectory was in the south range, and the pulpit from which one of the monks read during meals is yet preserved, with a few steps in the thickness of the wall leading up to it (see Fig. 745). The pulpit is also seen projecting on the exterior in Fig. 747. The west side was probably occupied by the lay brethren. A large fireplace, corbelled out on the exterior, was built in the east wall of the latter department, as shown in Fig. 754. There was an exterior door to the garden from the cloister walk on this side.
The nave, tower, and original choir were, without doubt, the earliest parts of the edifice. The two-story cloisters did not at first exist, as is apparent from the exterior window of the south wall of the choir, above referred to. Probably there was then an ordinary cloister walk running south from the principal doorway of the church, from which a one-story building would enter on the east, according to the usual plan, containing sacristy, chapter house, &c. Remains of a stone seat, which exist along the east wall of the ambulatory, may indicate the original position of the chapter house; and there are distinct evidences of alterations in the east wall, to the south of the existing chapter house. At first the refectory would probably be on the ground floor of the south range, and the dormitory may have been on the first floor over it. The above would be the arrangement of the monastery when built about the beginning of the thirteenth century, soon after it received the gift of Wester Aberdour from Allan Mortimer.
Less than a century later a complete remodelling of the edifice took place. The ground floor was converted into the ambulatory and heightened into two stories, and the new chapter house was erected to the east, with a doorway from the new cloister walk. At the same time, the then existing accommodation having been found too small, the old church was abandoned as such, and the tower and nave were converted into the abbot’s house, a new church being erected to the eastward. The evidences of the conversion of the church into the abbot’s house are quite distinctly apparent. The large arches in the east and west walls of the tower (see Fig. 741) were built up with pointed arches introduced in the inserted building, and the height of the nave and tower divided into two stories by the insertion of a round barrel vault carrying a floor. An extra thickness of 15 inches was added to the nave walls, so as to carry the inserted vault (see Fig. 737). A wing was also added to the tower in the position of a north transept, in order to provide another room on the first floor level, the north window of the tower being converted into a door. The south window was widened and furnished with a stone seat; but, as above mentioned, the arched head of both these windows is preserved. The north room is provided with a fireplace and garde-robe. The ragglet for the roof of the north addition is not built like those on the east and west sides of the tower, but is cut into the tower wall, thus showing it to be an
afterthought. The upper stories of the tower were remodelled, that over the first floor having a pointed barrel vault inserted, and the story over being made into a dovecot, with built nest recesses all round. A wider wheel stair was added at the south-east angle of the tower, to give access to the abbot’s house. The ground floor of nave and tower under the new arch became cellars; and a round aperture, 3 feet 8 inches in diameter, is provided in the floor of the tower for access from the cellar to the first floor. The upper floor of the nave now became the hall of the abbot’s house, having a large fireplace with overhanging hood built in the west wall, of which the remains still exist. Windows were also cut in the north wall to light the hall. The old door to the church was built up, and a new door provided from the cloister walk into the new church.
It is difficult to determine when these alterations took place, and possibly they did not all happen at one time. We are informed that a new choir was erected by Richard, Bishop of Dunkeld, towards the end of the thirteenth century. It seems not unlikely that the remodelling may have taken place about that time, and it is well known that almost no building was carried on in Scotland from that period till the fifteenth century. Besides, the frequent disturbances caused to the abbey by the English fleet during the fourteenth century rendered building operations at that time impossible. The church, however, seems to have been spared, as it is on record that the lady chapel to the south of the choir was added to it in the beginning of the fifteenth century.
The general appearance of the cloister ambulatory (see Fig. 746) would at first sight lead one to suppose it to be of an old date. The small round-headed windows without caps and with chamfers on edge (see Fig. 743), their wide recesses, with stone seats, and the round vault of the ambulatory, have an archaic look; but on close inspection, it will be noticed that the west wall is built against and partly bonded into the original south-east buttress of the tower (see Fig. 743), thus showing that this wall is more recent than the tower. This fact also confirms the view given above that the space opposite the south wall of the choir (where the old window is) was open, and that at least the upper floor, where the dormitory now is, was a later addition.
The chapter house (Fig. 748) seems also to have been erected towards the end of the thirteenth century. It is in the first pointed style, as the mouldings of the caps, bases, window jambs, &c. (Fig. 749) show. It is one of the very few octagonal chapter houses in Scotland, that of Elgin Cathedral being the only other with which we are acquainted. The octagon is regular and the ribs of the vault, which spring from a round shaft 4½ inches in diameter in each angle, meet in a carved boss in the centre, having a circular aperture from which a light might be suspended. The bases of the angle shafts are of first pointed character, and rest on the stone bench. The ribs of the vault have a hollow in the centre (see
Fig. 749), like some of those in Glasgow Cathedral. The building is lighted by pointed and moulded windows (see Fig. 748) on three sides, and one window on the north-east side, which is smaller than the others, and has a plain trefoiled arch head in the interior. The window jambs have no caps. A small circular window occurs near the top of the arch of the south-west side of the octagon (Fig. 751). The doorway enters through the wall of the east ambulatory. It has jambs containing free shafts and first pointed mouldings (Fig. 752). The caps of the shafts are first pointed in style, but they have no bases (see Fig. 749). The jamb mouldings terminate in a rather unusual way on a broad splay. The arch is semicircular, or nearly so. A stone bench runs round the interior of the chapter house, and is raised one step above the floor. In the east end are three arched recesses (see Fig. 748) with good jamb mouldings, finishing on a splay at bottom, but without caps or bases (see Fig. 749). These were, doubtless, the seats of the abbot, prior, and sub-prior. They are raised two steps higher than the other seats. Externally, the chapter house is provided with buttresses on the angles (Fig. 753), terminated with gablets, except on the north side, where a continuous water table, with numerous set-offs, is provided, probably because this side was concealed by the choir, and there was no room for buttresses.
Over the east wing of the ambulatory is the dormitory, which is covered with a lofty pointed barrel vault, and is lighted by small, square-headed windows (see Fig. 743) looking into the cloister court. There is also a squinch in the east side, from which the high altar could probably be seen. From the east side of the dormitory a steep stair leads to a building which has been erected at a late date over the chapter house. Tradition states that Walter Bower had this upper story built as a quiet retreat, where he might carry on his literary labours undisturbed. It is a rude erection (see Fig. 753), and greatly damages the external appearance of the chapter house. It has eight sides, and is clumsily roofed with a pointed barrel vault. There is a large chimney in the north side, a large double window in the south side, and a small window in the south-east side.
The new choir or church erected to the east of the tower has been a structure of considerable size, having been probably about 100 feet in length by about 20 feet in internal width; but this building has now been almost entirely removed, the stones having been used, as we are informed, for the erection of a mansion on the mainland opposite. Only the fragment at the south-west angle, which is incorporated with the dormitory, and in which the ancient window already mentioned exists, now survives. At the east end of the south wall one moulded jamb of the sedilia can be traced (see Fig. 750), from which it is apparent that the choir must have extended some feet further eastwards.
Near the sedilia is the entrance to the lady chapel, a structure about 28 feet long by 22 feet wide internally. It is placed at right angles to the choir, and has been covered with a barrel vault, a portion of which
still overhangs on the west side (see Fig. 741). In the east wall is a destroyed piscina, which no doubt adjoined the altar. The entrance archway has had on the jambs a half-round shaft and two splays on each side (see Fig. 750). A few feet of it remain, together with the base (see Fig. 750), which is of late design, and might correspond with the date of Richard of Aberdeen, by whom the lady chapel is said to have been built.
It has been mentioned that the cloister walk was continued across the north side of the square by a one-story structure. This is now demolished; but, from the foundations which remain (see Fig. 737), it has evidently consisted of a thin parapet wall, strengthened with five buttresses. The passage was about 11 feet wide, and had a wide arch in the solid wall at each end opening into it (Fig. 754). The roof was probably entirely of wood, and there is a ragglet cut in the stone work at each end, which shows that the slope of the roof was flat. These ragglets are rudely cut into the masonry, and that at the west end passes across the corbel of a projecting chimney. This passage would thus appear to have been a late addition.
The cellars, stores, &c., which are frequently in the west range of the cloister buildings, have in this instance been erected in a wing to the south-east. This wing (Fig. 755) is two stories in height. On the basement floor (see Fig. 737) it contains towards the east end a vaulted cellar, about 50 feet in length by 13 feet in width, lighted by loops in the south wall. At the east end a large oven is built out towards the north side, and had a room over it. On the upper floor (see Fig. 745) there has been a series of five or six offices, two containing large fireplaces, and one an oven in the angle. At the west end (see Fig. 747) the building has been carried up a story higher, and had a wheel stair in the re-entering angle. An entrance passage to the interior of the monastery passed through two archways under the north-west portion, and led to the entrance tower near the south-west corner of the cloister.
The south or exterior wall of the above range of offices has been strengthened with buttresses, but, being close to the sea, the south wall has been considerably damaged, and only the basement now survives.
As above mentioned, the south-west tower of the cloister (see Fig. 747) appears to be an addition of probably the fifteenth or sixteenth century, when, indeed, the most of the upper floor of the south and west walls would appear to have been erected. The corbels at the parapet of the tower have the character of those of the castles of the period. A window in the south-west gable (see Fig. 747) is round headed, and has a hood moulding with carved terminals, which look like sixteenth century work. The pulpit is projected on two buttresses, the space between which forms a recess for a seat on the ground floor. The projection for the pulpit has the appearance of being an addition. The large, square-headed upper
windows in the south wall have a moulding on the jambs, and appear to be of late date.
A good view of the whole monastery is obtained from the eastern eminence of the island (see Fig. 755). On the summit of this height there is a flat piece of ground, which has been made available as a fortress, and is enclosed with an embrasured wall, one part being of extra strength and height, and, doubtless, formed the citadel. These fortifications were erected about a century ago, during the war with France.
Attention has been specially directed in the Introduction[126] to the fact that while, during the Norman and first pointed periods, a strong resemblance is observable between the architecture of England and Scotland, after the first pointed period there is a break in the continuity of the architecture of the two countries. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, owing to the political events which then took place, architecture in Scotland came to a standstill, and was not generally resumed till the end of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the country began to recover from the disastrous effects of the long struggle with England. Various restorations had been encouraged by royal grants during the fourteenth century, but some of the edifices so aided were only reconstructed to be again demolished by raids from the South.
In consequence of the unfortunate condition of the country, there is thus a wide gap in the continuity of the architecture of Scotland during the fourteenth century. When the country revived, and building again began in the fifteenth century, attention was chiefly devoted to the restoration of the churches throughout the country, which had nearly all suffered severely during the constant disturbance of the previous hundred years. Few new works were undertaken, all the energy and resources available being required for the rebuilding and completion of some of the more venerated and cherished cathedrals and monasteries.
The nave of Glasgow Cathedral appears to have been completed in the early part of the fourteenth century, and the west end of St. Andrews Cathedral was also to some extent repaired and rebuilt about that time. Elgin Cathedral was in a large measure rebuilt after the great destruction by the “Wolf of Badenoch” in 1390, and the Northern Cathedral of Ross, at Fortrose, was enlarged about the same period.
Of the ancient monasteries, those in the Border lands were much destroyed. Melrose Abbey now retains not a single portion of the original church. It had been completely demolished in the first part of the fourteenth century, but was partly rebuilt, through the liberality of Robert I., after the middle of that century; only to be again destroyed by Richard II. during his raid in 1385. To that savage raid was due the destruction of most of the sacred edifices of the south-east of Scotland. Richard’s troops penetrated as far as Edinburgh, when the town and church of St. Giles were consumed; and, in their retreat, the invaders set fire to the abbeys of Newbattle, Dryburgh, and Melrose. Paisley Abbey, in Renfrewshire, and Crosraguel and Kilwinning Abbeys, in Ayrshire, were also greatly injured during the contest with England. Jedburgh was likewise much damaged in the Border warfare, and Holyrood and Arbroath Abbeys show signs of having required restorations in the fifteenth century.
When all the adverse circumstances of the country during the fourteenth century are considered, it is not astonishing to find that examples of the decorated style which prevailed in England at that time are rare in Scotland. The representatives of that style are not only scanty in number, they are also late in date. When building in Scotland revived, the decorated style had been superseded in England by the perpendicular; but the two countries being no longer in unison, the former style did not reach Scotland till it had passed away in England. It was, however, ultimately adopted in the northern part of the island, and the architecture of Scotland, during the early part of the fifteenth century, was carried out in a style which approaches nearer to the decorated than any other style.
This style, as we shall see, passes gradually into a later and somewhat debased style, which, while it exhibits many features borrowed both from France and England, yet possesses some interesting peculiarities which render it a distinctly Scottish style, and will be treated of as the third or late pointed style of Scotland.
The decorated structures of Scotland, though somewhat belated and inferior in size, are yet in many respects not unworthy in point of design to take their place beside those of the later part of that period in the sister country.
The decorated or middle pointed period in Scotland extends till about 1460. Up to that time the architecture is comparatively pure in style, and is chiefly based on the decorated work of England; but after that date it degenerates and becomes of a debased and mixed character, and contains indications of late importations from abroad.
The first building which illustrates the Scottish decorated period is the Abbey of Sweetheart in Dumfriesshire. This edifice was probably begun about the time when hostilities broke out between England and Scotland, and is intimately associated with the name of Baliol. What length the works may have gone when stopped by the war cannot now be ascertained, but the original design in the early decorated style has to all appearance been carried out when building was resumed. The large traceried windows and the details of the nave arcade and clerestory all point to the decorated period. Possibly, owing to the English connection of the Baliols, the design may have been brought from the South in the latter part of the thirteenth century, and carried out with modifications at a later time.
Amongst the principal structures of the Scottish decorated period, Melrose Abbey holds a prominent place. This building, which had been partly restored through Bruce’s influence, was destroyed by Edward II. in 1322. The restoration was again proceeded with, and the structure was again partly demolished by Richard II. in 1385. The works had to be once more restored, and the structure was not completed till the beginning of the sixteenth century.
A considerable mixture of styles, as would in the circumstances be expected, is therefore found in the different parts of Melrose Abbey; but there can be little doubt, from the nature of the work, that some parts of the building belong to the Scottish decorated period, while other parts have a stronger leaning to the perpendicular style than any other Scottish church. A comparison of the details of this structure with those of York Minster, to which they bear a close resemblance, is convincing evidence of the decorated character of much of the work at Melrose. Whether we look at the beautiful windows and tracery, or at the buttresses, with their simple, but elegant, outlines and panelled surfaces; or at the elaborate and beautiful niches which adorn them, with their fine tabernacle work and spirited sculptures and figures; or at the pinnacles, with their carved crockets and foliaged finials, the style of the whole of the details will be found to correspond very completely in the decorated portions of these two buildings at York and Melrose. Other portions of the work have likewise considerable similarity to the later perpendicular work at York.
The details which connect the other structures of this period with the decorated style will be more particularly referred to in the descriptions of the buildings. A general statement of the characteristic features and details of the style has already been given.[127]
Special attention should, however, be drawn to one feature of Scottish architecture which became very prominent in, and characteristic of, the later phase of its development—viz., the pointed barrel vaulting carrying a stone roof, which covered almost all the churches of the third period.
This we find introduced for the first time during the Scottish decorated period at Lincluden College, a building which was erected early in the fifteenth century, and is a very fine example of decorated work. The roof was designed as a double one, the lower roof over the choir being groined and vaulted in the usual manner; while above this vault there was a pointed barrel vault, with strengthening ribs at intervals, on which rested a roof composed of dressed overlapping stones. Beneath the slope of the upper vault a small room was introduced between the two vaults. At the parish church of Bothwell, also erected by the same Earl of Douglas about the year 1400, a pointed barrel vault supporting a stone roof is employed, but there is no inner groined vault.
These two structures are early examples of a mode of construction which specially distinguishes the churches of the late pointed architecture of Scotland—viz., the almost universal use of the pointed barrel vault supporting a stone roof.
The above two edifices further illustrate another circumstance in connection with the churches of the fifteenth and subsequent century. We have seen that during the fourteenth century, and in the early part of the fifteenth century, attention was chiefly directed to the restoration and completion of the large cathedrals and abbeys begun in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. After the latter date large edifices of a similar description ceased to be undertaken. The religious enthusiasm of the people which gave birth to these splendid structures seems to have exhausted itself, and pious efforts were now chiefly confined to the liberality of individuals who endeavoured to raise monuments to commemorate themselves by the erection of small collegiate and other churches, or by founding altarages and chantries in the large edifices already in existence.
As already mentioned, the decorated style in Scotland is of a belated character, and is not generally so pure as that of the corresponding period in England. It will, however, be recognised that the examples given are sufficient to justify the division of the styles herein proposed. It will also be observed that the examples of the decorated style form a striking contrast, both to the preceding edifices of the first pointed period and to the buildings of the later or third pointed style, by which they were succeeded.
The remains of this beautiful edifice are situated in a quiet sequestered vale near the base of the hill of Criffel, about seven miles south from Dumfries. The abbey stood on level ground near the Pow Burn, a stream which flows into the estuary of the Nith.
The ruins, though much dilapidated, are extensive, and belong to a fine period of Scottish Gothic, of which comparatively few examples survive. The conventual buildings have been almost entirely demolished and carried off as building materials, only a small portion of the chapter house and some foundations of walls still remaining. The church, however, is complete in all its divisions, although the roof is gone and the walls are much damaged. It comprises (Fig. 756) a choir without aisles, a nave with two side aisles, north and south transepts (with eastern chapels opening off them), and a square tower over the crossing. A level field, extending to about twenty acres, called the Precinct, surrounds the abbey, and is still partly enclosed with a strong wall built with large blocks of granite.
The monastery derives its name of New Abbey from having been founded a considerable time after Dundrennan Abbey,[128] in the same county, which was regarded as the Old Abbey.
Sweetheart Abbey was inhabited by Cistercian monks, and dedicated to the Virgin. The founder was Devorgilla, daughter of Allan, Lord of Galloway, and mother of King John Baliol. Her husband was John Baliol of Castle Barnard, in Yorkshire. When he died, in 1269, his wife had his heart embalmed and placed in an ivory coffin, which she carried about with her, and, finally, at her death in 1289, at the age of 76, it was buried with her in a grave in front of the high altar of the abbey—hence the touching name of Sweetheart Abbey. The institution was richly endowed by Devorgilla, who had abundant means. She was the foundress of Balliol College, Oxford; and by her the old bridge over the Nith at Dumfries was erected, portions of which still survive.
The date of the foundation of the abbey is 1275. The names of many of the abbots are preserved, but they do not seem to have been specially distinguished, except the last, Gilbert Brown, who maintained the doctrines of Romanism in a written controversy with the well-known reformer, John Welsh, of Ayr. The abbot was afterwards exiled, and died at Paris in 1612.
In the sixteenth century the monks found it necessary to place themselves under the protection of a powerful layman. They therefore adopted the plan then common, and, in 1544-48, feued the Barony of Lochpatrick and other property to Lord Maxwell, and made him heritable bailie of the whole of their lands.
The property became vested in the Crown by the Annexation Act of 1587, and, in 1624, it was granted to Sir R. Spottiswood. Since that time it has passed through the hands of several proprietors. At the Reformation the records of the monastery were lost, having been either destroyed or carried abroad by the monks.[129]
During last century the buildings suffered great dilapidation, but towards the close of the century, by the exertions of the parish minister and some of the gentry of the neighbourhood, the structure was saved from further demolition, and put in a proper state of repair.[130] Since that time it has been still further repaired, and is now in good preservation.
Few of our ancient churches are so complete as regards all the divisions of the plan. The nave retains its central compartment, 118 feet in length by 33 feet in width, divided into six bays, and is separated from the side aisles—which are 17 feet in breadth—by two arcades of six arches each. The outer wall of the north aisle is almost entirely demolished, but this, fortunately, rather adds to the picturesque effect of the ruin, whether viewed from the interior or the exterior. In the former case, the distant glimpses of the country as seen through the arches, and, in the latter case, the beautiful view obtained of the interior of the church as seen from the outside (Fig. 757), lend an unusual charm to the edifice. The side aisles have evidently been vaulted, from the remains of the vaults still visible. It should be observed that the main arches are slightly depressed, their centres being below the level of the caps. The western doorway is plain and small, and seems, from the corbels above for the support of a roof, to have had some kind of porch in front of it. The doorway was originally surmounted by a large window filled with tracery; but at a later time the tracery seems to have given way, and has been partly
replaced by solid masonry, which sustains a wheel of tracery in the arch (possibly part of the original window), while the lower part is divided into three smaller windows, with little buttresses between, each light having been filled with separate tracery. The nave is also provided with the usual door adjoining the transept and leading into the cloisters. There is no triforium, the wall over the nave arcades (Fig. 758) being blank till the clerestory is reached. The latter consists in the interior of a series of three arches in each bay, and on the exterior (see Fig. 757) chiefly of semicircular windows filled with five pointed openings in each. The sill of the inner arches is kept considerably below the level of that of the outer windows, so as to diminish the blank space between the clerestory and the nave arcade. The main piers consist of a series of rounds, with larger filleted shafts at the angles (Fig. 759), and the caps and arch mouldings (see Fig. 758) indicate first pointed work.
The inner trefoiled arches of the triforium are of great beauty, and are enriched with fine bold mouldings (see Fig. 758), supported on bold shafts, the caps of which are carved with finely executed foliage, partly showing some survival of first pointed feeling in the design, and partly copied directly from natural foliage. They indicate a transition stage from the early to the middle pointed style. The nave wall is not divided into bays, with the usual vaulting shafts, the roof being doubtless of timber.
The central tower over the crossing stands on four piers, similar in section to, but larger than, the nave piers. The tower itself is square and plain, and rises, with a double crow-stepped gable above a plain parapet, to a height of over 90 feet. The water tables of the steep roofs of the four arms of the church are distinctly visible on the exterior of the tower.
The transepts extend 33 feet north and south of the crossing. They are 31 feet wide, and each contains two bays, with a chapel in the eastern aisle opposite each bay. The east aisle of the south transept is the only portion of the whole edifice which retains its vaulted roof. One of the bosses bears a shield containing arms, said to be those of the abbey. The charge consists of two pastoral staves in saltier, over which is a heart, and beneath three mullets of five points. The motto is indistinct.
The façade of the south transept (Fig. 760) retains a portion of its circular window, the tracery in which, like that of the great western window, has apparently given way, and has had to be partly built up in a similar manner with solid masonry. This portion of the church possesses a few features which seem to point to it as the oldest remaining part of the edifice. The forms of the windows indicate a somewhat earlier date than the rest of the church. A small portion of the triforium in the north transept (Fig. 761) has been spared, which shows that it has been similar in design to that of the nave.
The choir (see Fig. 761) is without aisles, and is 50 feet long by 28 feet wide, and divided into three bays. It is lighted with one large traceried east window and two traceried windows on each side; and the tracery, as rarely happens in Scotland, is still preserved. It is a peculiarity of this structure that most of the arches are depressed, the centres from which the arches are struck being below the level of the capitals; and this peculiarity is particularly apparent in the great east window of the choir.
is also noticeable in the side windows and throughout the building, even the arches of the main arcades of the nave having, as already pointed out, a similar form. The inner mouldings of the window arches by this arrangement abut against or die into the jambs, a form not in itself displeasing; but the incompleted and broken appearance of the arches of the hood at the face of the wall cannot be regarded as beautiful.
Some further peculiarities are also to be noticed in connection with the tracery. A prominent moulding is carried round the mullions and the lower arches only of the eastern window, while the upper parts of the tracery are plain and rather heavy in appearance. In the case of the side windows of the choir a similar moulding is carried round the whole of the tracery, and the effect, owing to the depression of the arches, is somewhat squat and heavy.
The most beautifully detailed feature of the church is undoubtedly the triforium. Although now only well preserved in the nave, it has originally gone round the whole edifice, small portions of it being still preserved, as above mentioned, in the triforiums of the transepts and choir (see Fig. 761). In the two latter places it has been simpler than in the nave, the caps being moulded in these situations, and beautifully carved with foliage in the nave.
The semicircular arch of the upper window in the east gable (Fig. 762) of the choir and the similar form in the exterior windows of the triforium of the nave (see Fig. 757) are quite in accordance with Scottish usage, and give no clue to the date.
The sedilia and piscina of the choir have been of fine workmanship, but are now sadly destroyed.
It is unfortunate that so few written records remain to fix the dates of the different parts of the edifice. It is known to have been founded in 1275, and if in England, the building would, from its style, be attributed to the period immediately succeeding; but in Scotland, the period from 1296 onwards was a time of war and disturbance, when very little building was in progress. Probably the choir was begun in the lifetime of the foundress, and was sufficiently far advanced to permit of her burial within the walls; but the building would certainly be interrupted during Edward’s invasions, and was not likely to be resumed till after a considerable interval. Some portions of the transept have already been referred to as probably the oldest parts of the existing edifice. The choir seems to have been next constructed or completed, and the nave not long afterwards, probably during the fourteenth century. Although ecclesiastical buildings in Scotland were rare at that period, still we know that Bruce encouraged the re-erection of churches at Melrose, Crosraguel, St. Andrews, and elsewhere, and there can be little doubt but that in this remote and quiet region building operations may have been in progress during his reign. The design and workmanship at Sweetheart are, as we have seen, in some respects inferior and contrast disadvantageously with the beautiful work at Dundrennan Chapter House. May we hazard the conjecture that the latter was executed before the true current of