architectural feeling and design was stopped and broken by the War of Independence, while the buildings at Sweetheart were carried on and completed after the current had been interrupted, and the sympathy with the advancing art of the South had not had time fully to recover itself?

We are informed[131] that, in 1381, a charter to the Church of St. Colmonel of Butyle was granted by the Bishop of Galloway to Sweetheart Abbey on account of the poverty of the abbey and the demolition of the monastery by lightning, which charter was confirmed by the Pope in 1397. This seems to point to some considerable damage sustained by the buildings about that period, and may account for the curious repairs of the tracery of the great west window and the circular window of the south transept. It may also explain the remarkable patch of the upper window in the end of the north transept, where the originally pointed window has been mended with a segmental top.

The cloister garth is still traceable and is unencumbered with buildings, except one detached gable, evidently of ancient date, but the history and use of which cannot now be determined (see Fig. 760). It contains two shields, but the armorial bearings have entirely disappeared. This view from the south-west point, which includes the above ivy-clad gable in the foreground, with the remains of the chapter house and an ancient tree on the opposite side of the cloister garth, is one of the most striking and picturesque aspects of the abbey.

The chapter house is separated from the south transept by a narrow passage or slype, from which a door opened into the transept.

The size of the chapter house has been about 30 feet by 20 feet, but only a few feet of its walls remain. It has been lighted by a large traceried window looking to the east (see Fig. 760). The refectory is said to have been on the south side of the cloisters, but it has now disappeared.

MELROSE ABBEY, Roxburghshire.

Amongst the picturesque and beautiful remains of our ancient church architecture, the ruins of Melrose Abbey most deservedly occupy a distinguished place. Apart altogether from the charm which attaches to this edifice from the poetic interest which has been thrown around it, and the attractive nature of the beautiful locality, the architecture of the building is of a high order, and particularly valuable from the richness and completeness of its details, which afford a fine illustration of a period of Scottish architecture the examples of which are not numerous. The building stands in the sheltered and cultivated vale of the Tweed, surrounded by gentle pastoral hills, presenting one of those peaceful sites dear to the Cistercians, by whom the abbey was colonised. It was founded by David I., who brought to it from Rievalle, in Yorkshire, the first monks of the Cistercian order in Scotland. A more ancient Abbey of Melrose had existed from the seventh century, on a broad meadow, nearly surrounded by a “loop” of the Tweed, about two and a-half miles lower down the river. It was established about the year 650, and the first abbot was Eata, one of the chosen band of disciples educated by Aidan, the missionary from Iona, who converted the heathen Northumbrians, and founded the Abbey of Lindisfarne. In the primitive monastery of Old Melrose St. Cuthbert spent much of his early life before passing to more distinguished charges at Hexham and Lindisfarne. Here also the monks of Lindisfarne, when expelled by the Danes, found refuge, bringing with them St. Cuthbert’s sacred body, which, after many wanderings, found a final and worthy resting-place at Durham. This establishment at Old Melrose suffered many vicissitudes, and in the eleventh century was a ruined and desolate place. It afterwards became the retreat of a few monks, amongst whom was Turgot, the confessor and biographer of Queen Margaret, and subsequently Bishop of St. Andrews. A chapel was erected and dedicated to St. Cuthbert, which at first belonged to Coldingham, but was finally presented by David I. to his new Abbey of Melrose.

The latter abbey was founded, in 1136, at a place then called Fordell, and was endowed by King David and his nobles with ample lands. The church then erected was in course of building for ten years. It was consecrated in 1146, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. As only a short time had elapsed since the founding of the abbey, the buildings then constructed probably consisted of the residence of the monks and an oratory. These erections were no doubt in the Norman style of the period, of which style some examples are preserved in the other monasteries founded in the district about the same period, such as the Abbeys of Kelso, Jedburgh, and Dryburgh.[132] How long the original structures continued it is now impossible to say, as every trace of them has long since disappeared. From its situation, in the direct path between England and Scotland, Melrose was particularly exposed to danger, and frequently suffered in the wars between the two countries.

Many of the abbots were distinguished men. Waltheof, an early abbot, was reputed a saint and worker of miracles. The connection with the parent house of Rievalle was kept up, and monks from Melrose sometimes became abbots of the Yorkshire monastery. Melrose also sent abbots to other Cistercian houses, including Kinloss, Coupar, Newbattle, Deer, and Balmerino.

The possessions of the abbey soon increased, and it held lands in many parts of Scotland. Its property was considerably augmented, in 1235, by a grant from King Alexander II. of the lands of Ettrick Forest.

In 1246 Abbot Matthew erected many convenient offices and buildings and a magnificent hall on the bank of the river for himself and his successors, but these structures have now disappeared.

In 1291 Edward I. granted protection to the monks of Melrose, but when John Baliol opposed him, he took possession of their lands. These, however, he subsequently restored, on the monks doing homage to him as liege lord. His letters to the sheriffs of counties show how extensively the monastery’s lands were spread, extending even into England. These letters were addressed to the sheriffs in Berwick, Ayr, Jedburgh, Peebles, Edinburgh, Roxburgh, Dumfries, and Northumberland.

Edward II., in 1322, invaded Scotland as far as Edinburgh, and, in retiring from his unsuccessful expedition, he slew the monks and pillaged and destroyed the abbey. The church and other buildings seem to have been greatly ruined on this occasion, and were rebuilt thereafter chiefly through the influence and liberality of King Robert Bruce. In 1326 King Robert granted the monks rents from forfeited lands equivalent to a sum of £2000 (which would now represent £15,000), to enable them to rebuild the abbey, which lay in ruins; and in 1329, shortly before his death, he addressed a letter to his son and successor, recommending the abbey to his favour, and desiring his heart to be buried in the church. Melrose, along with other portions of the south of Scotland, remained in the hands of Edward III. for about forty years.

In 1385 Richard II. carried out another unsuccessful, though destructive, invasion of the south of Scotland. As he retreated homewards he lodged one night in Melrose Abbey, and next morning set fire to it and destroyed it, as he also did to the abbeys of Newbattle and Dryburgh.

About the middle of the fifteenth century Andrew Hunter was abbot. He was confessor of James II., and was employed in many offices of State, being Ambassador to France in 1448, and concerned in negotiations with England till 1460. He was also Lord High Treasurer, 1449-53.

This abbot being a man of such high office, it is natural to look for some benefit arising to the abbey through his influence, and accordingly we find that he has left his mark on the church, his coat of arms being carved at least three times on different parts of the building. This leads to the conclusion that some portions of the structure were erected by him, and gives a clue to the date of erection of those portions.

The secularisation of the property of the abbey followed the usual course in the sixteenth century. In 1535 King James V. was invested with the administration of the revenues, and, in 1541, he conferred the abbey on his infant son—Durie, the abbot, retiring on a pension to make way for him.

During the repeated invasions of the Generals of Henry VIII., the abbeys of the south of Scotland suffered along with the churches and domestic buildings of the district. In 1544 Melrose was damaged by Sir Ralph Eure and Sir Bryan Laiton, who also defaced the tombs of the Douglases in the church—a disgrace which was avenged the following year by the defeat of the English at Ancrum Moor. The above destructive attack was followed by that of the Earl of Hertford, who demolished what of the Border abbeys had not already been destroyed.

In 1558 Cardinal Guise was Commendator of Melrose, and, in 1559, the abbey was taken possession of by the Lords of the Congregation. In 1560 it was annexed to the Crown; but an allowance was granted to eleven monks and three portioners, being apparently all who survived of the inmates of the monastery, who, in 1542, numbered one hundred monks and as many lay brethren.

Under Queen Mary the estates were granted to the Earl of Bothwell, with the title of Commendator, and, after passing through the hands of Douglas of Lochleven and Sir John Ramsay, they were ultimately acquired by the Scotts of Buccleuch.

The abbey appears never to have recovered the destruction of the sixteenth century, and gradually fell into decay. The materials of the buildings were used for the erection of other structures, and Douglas, the Commendator, built a house for himself out of the ruins.

The masonry long continued to form a quarry for the supply of the locality, being used, amongst other purposes, for the erection of the Tolbooth and for repairing the mills and sluices.

In 1618 the portion of the structure which still remained was fitted up as the parish church, and, in order to render it secure, a plain pointed barrel vault was thrown across the nave, and was supported by plain square piers built against the old piers on the north side. The original vaulting seems to have been previously demolished.

By remarkable good fortune the statues and images which filled the niches escaped destruction till 1649, when they suffered at the hands of an iconoclast, but by whose orders it is not known.

The charters of the abbey have been kept amongst the archives of the Earl of Morton, and form “the finest collection of ancient writs preserved in Scotland.”[133]

Of the once extensive structures connected with the Abbey of Melrose there now only remain the ruins of the church.

The domestic buildings and cloister, including the hall of Abbot Matthew above mentioned, were situated, somewhat contrary to the usual practice, on the north side of the church. The course of the Tweed has altered since the thirteenth century; and possibly this arrangement of the plan may have had some connection with facilities for water service in the then course of the river. A mill-lade still flows along what would formerly be the north side of the monastery; but

the domestic structures have now entirely disappeared, leaving only a portion of the cloister to indicate their position on the north side of the nave. A door at a high level in the north transept shows the access of the monks to the church from the dormitory, which lay to the north. A similar high door, leading from the dormitory to the church by a straight stair, still exists at Pluscardine Priory, and there is a corresponding doorway at Dryburgh Abbey; but in these convents the monastic buildings lay on the south side of the church.

The church is cruciform, and the Plan (Fig. 763) has this peculiarity, that the choir is unusually short and the nave is unusually long. The choir extends, with aisles, only two bays eastwards from the crossing, beyond which point the presbytery is carried one bay further, without aisles, and is lighted by large windows on the north and south sides, as well as by the great eastern window.

The shortness of the choir rendered it necessary that part of the nave should be appropriated for the accommodation of the monks, and the enclosing screen wall of this portion of the “choir” extended to the fourth pier west from the crossing, where it was carried across the nave and formed the rood screen. This arrangement is apparent from the broken portions of the screen wall, which formed integral parts of the structure of the nave piers (Fig. 764), having been built along with them, thus showing that the screen constituted a feature in the original design. The part of this screen which crosses the nave still exists. It is wide, and contained a gallery, on top of which stood the rood. Fig. 765 shows the door through it from the nave. On the left is the small stone stair leading to the gallery.

The nave now extends to eight bays in length, but it has been intended to be longer, the west end being incomplete; it is impossible, however, to say how far it was meant to extend. It is stated that the foundations of the nave have been found, in excavating, to reach to a considerable distance westward. The existing nave is 160 feet in length, and has north and south aisles. Extending southwards, beyond the south aisle, is a series of eight chapels, which produce, externally, along with the south aisle the appearance of a double aisle (Fig. 766).

The north aisle is narrower than the south aisle, the former being 6 feet and the latter 11 feet in width. This difference may have arisen from the plan of the original abbey of the twelfth century being adhered to in the later reconstruction. The position of the cloister may have hampered the design, and prevented the north aisle from being widened in the direction of the cloister.

The central nave is 26 feet in width, and the depth of the south chapels 13 feet 6 inches, and the total width of the nave, with aisles and chapels, is 68 feet.

The transept consists of two portions—the north and south transepts—and contains the usual eastern aisle only, in which are situated four chapels. The total length of the transept over the crossing is 114 feet 6 inches, and the width of the north transept, including the aisle, is 40 feet 6 inches, while that of the south transept is 42 feet 6 inches.

The length of the choir and presbytery is 59 feet, and the width 26 feet. The aisles of the transept return along each side of the choir for two bays, leaving the length of the aisleless presbytery 24 feet.

The plan or outline of the walls of the church, as above described, is still almost all preserved, but the superstructure has suffered severely. The western part of the nave beyond the rood screen is very greatly demolished. The portion eastwards from the rood screen is in better condition. The vaulting of the aisles (Fig. 767) remains, and is in good preservation; but that of the centre aisle is demolished, a pointed tunnel vault (Fig. 768) having been constructed in 1618, as above described. A few courses of the springing of the original groins, seen rising above the vaulting shafts of each bay, have been left standing. The level cornice at the springing of the inserted arch defaces the clerestory windows, and builds up the upper half of them in the interior. The roof over the arch is composed of slabs of stone carefully dressed (see Figs. 766 and 769). The carved work of the caps of the piers and other enrichments of this portion of the nave are well preserved and are of beautiful workmanship (Fig. 770).

The eight chapels which extend along the south side of the nave are in good preservation, although some parts of the three furthest west are somewhat damaged and have lost their vaulting. That of the remaining five still exists, and is protected by a flat slated roof, which stretches

over the south aisle and the chapels (see Fig. 766). The tracery in the windows of those chapels is good, and has suffered much less than usual. The vaulting of the nave, south aisle, and chapels is supported by a series of flying buttresses, which form one of the most prominent and beautiful

elements of the building. No church in Scotland retains such a striking example of that important feature of Gothic architecture.

The eastern piers of the crossing have been demolished, probably in some of the attempts to blow up the building in Henry VIII.’s time. Their destruction has entailed that of the central tower, of which only the western wall remains (see Fig. 766). The transepts have suffered by the fall of the tower, the vaulting of the north transept being demolished, except in one chapel, while that of the south transept is reduced to the south bays of the central nave and the adjoining chapel (Fig. 771). Fortunately the south wall of the transept, with its splendid decorated window, is still in good preservation (Fig. 772). From the south transept access is obtained to the roof of the aisle of the nave and the upper parts of the structure by a turnpike stair, which also forms the only mode of approach to the tower (Fig. 773).

The choir (Fig. 774), so far as the east end is concerned, is well preserved, the buttresses and gable, the celebrated eastern window, and the remarkable vaulting (Fig. 775) of the presbytery being all in good order. The remainder of the choir, however, has been greatly wrecked by the fall of the central tower; but many of the windows of the choir and transept,

with their perpendicular tracery, have escaped destruction and afford the best example in Scotland of that form of design (Fig. 776).

Having described the present condition of the edifice, we shall now consider the different parts in the order of their age, so far as ascertainable.

There seems to be no part now traceable of the church erected in the twelfth century, except perhaps one or two tombstones. It has been

pointed out above that the arrangements of that original church and cloister probably influenced the position of the north wall of the nave, and thus caused the narrowness of the north aisle. It seems not improbable that some of the original north wall may be preserved as the core of the present wall, having been faced up with newer work on each side.

But, speaking generally, the building, as it now stands, is all of a date subsequent to Bruce’s time, and much of it is later than the destruction which occurred under Richard II. in 1385. The nave, from the crossing to the rood loft, and part of the transepts are, undoubtedly, the oldest

portions of the existing edifice. The work in these is, for the most part, of the Scottish decorated period. The nave piers, with their beautifully-carved caps, and the mouldings of the arches are distinctly decorated work; and the flying buttresses and pinnacles on the south side of the nave are, without doubt, of the same period (see Figs. 766 and 773). So also is the south wall of the transept, with its magnificent window and tracery and its buttresses, enriched with fine canopies and quaint figures carved as corbels (see Fig. 772).

All these features bear a close affinity to the decorated work of the nave of York Minster, erected about 1400. The flying buttresses, with pinnacles enriched with crockets and foliaged finials (see Fig. 766); the niches (Fig. 777), with their elaborate canopies and corbels composed of figures of monks and angels (see Figs. 769 and 778); the statues which formerly filled the niches, of which very few now remain; the decorated tracery of the south transept window (see Fig. 772); and the whole character of the work, both in its general scope and in its details, is of fine decorated design, and vividly recalls that of York, Beverley, and other English examples. It is not improbable that some parts of the nave and transept were erected during the period between the death of King Robert Bruce and the invasion of Richard II. It should be mentioned that Bruce’s bequest was not all received till 1399, and the operations also, probably, proceeded slowly. The doorway in the south wall of the south transept (Fig. 779) is apparently an insertion in older work. It is of a later style than the window above; and the irregular setting of the masonry on each side indicates that there has been some patching and restoration in this part of the building. Fig. 780 shows the jamb mouldings of this doorway. A passage or gallery passed along the interior at the base of the large south window. It had a parapet of pierced work, now destroyed, supported on a carved cornice (Fig. 781), having angels playing on instruments introduced at intervals.

It is sometimes said that the north wall of the transept (Fig. 782) is of earlier date than the rest; and, at first sight, the three simple lights and the semicircular doors might give ground for that view. But, on closer inspection, it is seen that the windows correspond with those of the clerestory of the nave, and the round arches are simply one of the peculiarities of Scottish Gothic in which that form is preserved, especially in doorways, throughout all the periods of the style. The long lying panel about the middle of the north wall further indicates a late date.

It seems to have contained a row of statues, as fourteen pedestals or corbels still occupy its base. The small circular window in the gable, filled with simple tracery (similar to a window at Dryburgh), is also a late feature.

The south chapels of the nave have apparently been added during the repairs of the earlier part of the fifteenth century. The forms of the flying buttresses (see Fig. 766), which extend beyond the outer wall of the chapels so as to comprise them, show that the restoration of this part of the nave is all part of one design; and the arms of Abbot Hunter (Fig. 783), which occur on the niche-corbel of the east buttress, indicate that these buttresses were probably executed towards the middle of the fifteenth century. The tracery in the windows of the south chapels would tend to confirm the belief that they belong to the decorated period, but for the fact that this feature cannot be fully relied on in Scotland as an index of date, tracery similar to this being sometimes used at a later time.

There is a distinct change in the design of the transepts from that of the nave, as if the former had been added to the latter at a later period.

This is observable in the west wall of the north transept (see Fig. 782), but still more so in the west wall of the south transept (Fig. 784). The window nearest the nave is of a different design from that of the one further off. The former (Fig. 785) may be older, and the latter (which is the same as the other windows of the choir and transept) was, probably, built at the same time as the latter. The stair turret is, doubtless, also of this date. It may be remarked, in connection with this point, that the bases of the two piers of the south aisle of the nave, next the crossing (see Fig. 784), differ from those of the remainder of the nave aisle (Fig. 786), as well as from the bases of the east piers of the transept (Fig. 787). These bases also differ from those of the nave piers (Fig. 788). The same Fig. also shows the exterior base of the choir. The pier at the angle of the south aisle with the transept has no wall-shaft to carry the vaulting, which springs from a corbel (see Fig. 784). The vaulting at this angle is also peculiar, and does not fit well with the aisle vaults further west, but has a straight piece of wall built in perpendicularly for the cross rib to stop upon (see Fig. 784). These points appear to indicate that the piers next the crossing are older than the remainder. The vaulting shafts of the main nave piers are somewhat unusual in design (Fig. 789), having in their lower part the appearance of a double shaft, although above the corbel, near the level of the capitals, they assume the form of a triple vaulting shaft of the usual design. The same arrangement has been copied in the transept (Fig. 790), where the piers seem to have been carried up from old bases, as the double vaulting shaft has no proper base, but simply buts against the round form of the ancient base (see Fig. 787), and in some cases fits on to it awkwardly.

Turning now to the choir, we find that the east wall and the other eastern parts of the structure are more recent than the nave. Probably this portion of the church (see Fig. 774) had been more damaged by Richard II. than the nave, and required to be almost wholly rebuilt. The style here corresponds closely with the “perpendicular” of England which prevailed in the fifteenth century. Most of the clerestory windows of the choir and presbytery are markedly in this style. The great eastern window (see Fig. 774) is exceptional and unique, but it has more of the character of perpendicular than any other style. The design of the buttresses is slightly different from that of the south wall of the transept (compare Figs. 772 and 774), but the niches and canopies are very similar. The upper part of the gable consists of a series of niches

over the window arch, which diminish as they ascend towards the apex; and the gable coping, crowned with a pierced parapet, filled in with quatrefoils, corresponds generally in both cases. The design of the choir appears to have been borrowed from that of the transept, but is of a lighter character; or possibly the latter may have been damaged in 1385, and the upper part of both gables may have been designed by the artist who had charge of the restoration in the fifteenth century. It will be observed that flying buttresses are continued round this part of the structure as well as the nave.

As above stated, the upper portion of the choir walls has been reconstructed at a date in the fifteenth century later than the nave. The windows

here and in the clerestory of the east wall of the transept are quite perpendicular in character, and are apparently of the same date as the presbytery. The clerestory windows of the choir and transept (see Figs. 775 and 771) have on the exterior arches distinct from those of the windows on the inside of the wall, which are likewise of late character. A change in the form of the caps of the piers is observable in the transept (see Fig. 790), which points to their being late; while some of the windows in the lower parts of the walls of the choir and transept contain curvilinear tracery, thus indicating an earlier date for the lower part than the clerestory. There seems to have been a good deal of restoration and patching in this part of the structure.

The design of the west wall of the north transept (see Fig. 782) is different from that of the other parts of the building. Owing to the position of the cloister and to there being no aisle on this side, the place of the main piers and arches is occupied by a blank wall. The clerestory windows, however, are of the same design as the rest of the older church. The wall ribs of the vaulting include two windows in each; and the space between the windows is occupied by two niches, each carried up from a shaft, with late canopies, containing statues of St. Peter and St. Paul—the former having the keys and the latter holding his sword. These are the best preserved statues in the church, but they are not of very remarkable workmanship.

The building or restoration of the eastern part of the edifice seems, from its style, to have been carried out towards the middle of the fifteenth century. The vaulting of the south transept appears to have been erected by Abbot Hunter about the same time. On one of the keystones of the vault of the south transept are carved the Hunter arms—viz., three hunting horns, with a crosier, and the letters A. H. This fixes the date of that part of the vaulting about 1450-60, and probably more of the vaulting in the eastern part of the nave may have been carried out at that epoch. It will be observed that the vaults all contain, besides the main and ridge ribs, subsidiary ribs, or tiercerons, indicating a similarity to English examples.

The vaulting of the presbytery (see Fig. 775) is peculiar, and points to a somewhat later time. It consists of a series of ribs spread over the surface of a pointed barrel vault, so as to form a definite pattern. These ribs produce a very rich effect, but they are a departure from the principles of true groined vaulting. This system was introduced in England at a late period, and led gradually to fan tracery. In the method of vaulting, adopted in late English work, the ribs are no longer relied on, as in genuine Gothic, as the strengthening nerves or centres which sustain the panels of the vault. They become mere ornaments on the surface of plain barrel or intersecting vaults, such as those used in Roman architecture. The vaults of late architecture in England (although ornamented with ribs) are thus constructed on the same principles as those of the pointed barrel vaults of late Scottish churches (of which numerous examples will be given hereafter), the only difference being that the latter are generally left plain, although occasionally enriched with ornamental surface ribs. Very fine examples of vaulting similar to that of the presbytery of Melrose may be seen at Winchester Cathedral[134] and other English examples of the fifteenth century.

The south chapels to the west of the fifth buttress west from the transept, on which buttress another specimen of Abbot Hunter’s arms (Fig. 791) is engraved, are of comparatively late date. This buttress belongs to the earlier part of the nave, and the chapel seems to have been repaired when the additional chapels to the west were erected. Besides the three hunting horns in the shield of Abbot Hunter in the examples above mentioned, the arms engraved on the fifth buttress contain two crosiers saltierwise, and the initials A. H. on the right and left; also, in chief a rose, and in base a mason’s mell, for Melrose. The work in the chapels to the west is inferior to that of those to the eastward, although copied from them. The chapels each contain an enriched piscina (Fig. 792); and these are so inferior in style of workmanship as to lead to the belief that they were inserted after the chapels were built. One of them contains the initials of Abbot William Turnbull, whose date is the beginning of the sixteenth century. A late piscina (Fig. 793) has also been inserted in the south transept.