Their first convent was in Edinburgh, where these friars were established in 1446. This convent was followed by one in St. Andrews, and a third house was settled at Aberdeen in 1450. The order then extended to Elgin, where it was introduced by John Innes, a member of a well-known Morayshire family, in 1479. The Franciscans, having no rentals to be taxed and no lands to alienate, probably fled when the Reformation came. Their convent was plundered by Montrose, but the church was not demolished, and still stands with its four walls complete, though sadly damaged. The domestic buildings have been obliterated or converted to modern uses.
The church (Fig. 1290) is a simple oblong structure, 110 feet in length by 22 feet in width internally. It had an entrance door for the public in the north wall, near the west end. From the marks in the wall above it (Fig. 1291) there seems to have been a wooden porch or awning over the doorway.
The church has been well lighted with large traceried windows (see Fig. 1291) in the east and west end walls, and with six side windows in
the north wall and one in the south wall. Each of the end windows had three mullions with intersecting tracery in the arch, and the side windows were all divided into two lights by a central mullion, with two curved divisions in the arch. Near the centre of the building, and on both sides, there occur two small windows, one over the other, the lower one being single with ogee head, and the upper one having a central mullion. These windows have evidently been for the purpose of lighting the rood screen and loft. The lower windows would light the space under the rood loft, where there was no doubt an altar, and the upper windows the gallery or space over the screen. The corbels which carried the loft can still be traced on both sides of the church. A piscina in each of the side walls, close to the screen, shows that there were altars placed against it. In the north window, adjoining the screen, there is a stone sink, probably used by the priests as a lavatory. At the east end of the church there is an ambry in each of the side walls, and a window in the south wall to light the sanctuary. Under it is a recess, probably used as a sedilia. The conventual buildings have evidently been built to the south of the church. The junctions of four walls forming buildings on two sides of a courtyard still remain, and in the south wall of the church, between the above, may be observed the corbels which carried the roof of the cloister walk. There are also two doors from this side into the church. The structure is of a plain and simple style, corresponding to the character of the mendicant friars who occupied it. It was doubtless erected soon after the Observantines were introduced in 1479, and bears the character of the architecture of the period.
After the Reformation the church was no longer used for service. Criminal Courts sat in it till the middle of the seventeenth century, and it also served as a place of meeting of the crafts or trades in Elgin. Afterwards it became a place for Episcopal services, and it is now the property of the Convent of St. Mary of Mercy.
This structure, which took the place of an older one, was built by the well-known prelate Bishop Gavin Dunbar[136] at his own expense, between the years 1518 and 1532. Its architect was Alexander Galloway, parson
of Kinkell, a well-known Churchman, who is specially referred to in the description of the later church. This church was dedicated to the Virgin. At the Reformation it was bestowed on Marischal College, and was thereafter known as the College Kirk. It was at first an oblong structure (Fig.
1292)[137] with massive buttresses, but in 1768 the north projection was built, and the length of the church was reduced by 20 feet,[138] and probably
the west end (shown in Fig. 1293) was then erected. There was formerly a spire or steeple, probably at the west end. The church now extends to six bays in the length (Fig. 1294), divided by buttresses, and having a pointed window in each bay. It is fitted up with galleries in the most incongruous style, but has several good examples of carved bench ends and other wood-work (Fig. 1295).
The chief feature of the building is the east end (Figs. 1296 and 1297), with its immense window, one of the largest examples of tracery now remaining in Scotland. It is divided into seven lights, and although it is of the simplest design, being merely a series of intersecting arches, an agreeable variety is obtained by stopping several of the bars near the top from running their full course, and thus obtaining larger openings, which contrast with the others of smaller size. A similar kind of design was very frequent in
late work in Scotland, but none of the other examples possess the size and elegance of this one. The delicate detail of its slightly arched transome is noteworthy. The buttresses (see Fig. 1297) also are of a good form; indeed, it is remarkable, considering its lateness, how pure and simple the details are.
In the process of extending the college, it was contemplated to demolish this church, but fortunately, we believe, that intention has been abandoned.
Amongst the numerous remains of ancient ecclesiastical structures still surviving in the Western Isles, the Church of St. Clement, situated near the south point of Harris, holds a prominent place, being one of the very few ancient structures in that region which are not ruinous, and are still in use for public worship.
The origin of the church is uncertain, but it is supposed to have been originally founded by an emissary from Iona, and to have fallen into decay during the occupation of the Norsemen. It is thought that the necessities of the monastery, thus arising, were probably relieved by David I. “from the revenues of the newly instituted Abbey of Holyrood House,” and that this may have given the monks of the latter the claim to St. Clement’s, which they afterwards substantiated.[139]
It is agreed amongst writers on the subject[140] that the church was restored or rebuilt by Sir Alexander M‘Leod, Rector of Harris, who seems to have used the materials of an older building in the restoration. This is evident from the random manner in which some carved figures are built into the walls of the west tower.
Mr. Ross points out that Alaster Crotach or Humpback had, in 1498, a charter from King James IV. for the hereditary lands of Ardmanich, &c., and that he was succeeded by his son William, who died in 1553.
The Old Statistical Account informs us that the church was repaired by the said Alexander M‘Leod, who died (as the inscription on his tomb in the church bears) in 1527.
Of the domestic buildings of the priory not a stone now remains. The church was burnt and was repaired in “1784 by the late patriotic Alex. M‘Leod, Esq., of Harris. After the church was roofed and slated, and the materials for furnishing it within laid up in it to a considerable value, it unfortunately took fire at night through the carelessness of the carpenters, who had left a live coal in it among the timbers. So zealous, however, was this friend of religion and mankind in his design of repairing it, that by his orders and at his expense it was soon after this accident roofed, and it is now [1794], though left unfinished since the time of his death, used as one of the principal places in the parish for celebrating divine service.”
The church was again repaired in 1787. About 1866 it had once more become dilapidated, and was repaired under the supervision of Mr. Alexander Ross, architect, Inverness, to whose kindness we are indebted for permission to use the description and illustrations in his
article on St. Clement’s in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, above referred to.
The building is chiefly remarkable from containing an elaborately sculptured monument to Alexander M‘Leod of Dunvegan or Harris.
The structure (Fig. 1298) is small and is cruciform in plan. It has a square tower at the west end, the full width of the nave, which is founded on a rock at a higher level than the nave (Fig. 1299).
The choir is not architecturally distinguished from the nave, and the whole building is 61 feet in length (internally) by 15 feet in width.
It has a square east end, and is lighted by a large traceried east window, and by two small windows in the side walls. The former is
pointed, and is divided by two mullions into three lights. The tracery in the arch-head consists of a circle divided by six radiating bars.
The church (Fig. 1300) has two square-headed windows and two pointed windows in the south wall, and one square and one round-headed window in the north wall (Fig. 1301), and the entrance doorway, which is in the north wall, is also square lintelled.
The transept consists of a north and south chapel, which are not exactly opposite one another. They have square-headed windows in the north, south, and east walls. Each chapel is entered from the nave by a moulded and pointed arch (see Figs. 1300 and 1301)) springing from responds. The latter have both in their section and caps (Fig. 1302) a certain resemblance to Norman work. As pointed out by Mr. Muir, the details indicate the second pointed period, “though, as in the mouldings at Iona, the adoption of forms resembling Norman and first pointed has given to it an appearance of greater antiquity.”
The monuments are the most remarkable features in the building. These are three in number, two of them being placed against the south wall, one in the choir and one in the nave (see Fig. 1300) on either side of the arch leading into the south transept. The third monument is at the south end of the south transept.
The monument in the choir is the most elaborate, being specially rich in sculpture. Its form (Fig. 1303) is peculiar, having, in addition to the usual recessed arch, a sloping gable-shaped moulding, which encloses the design on top, and is continued perpendicularly down each side. The space between the arch and the enclosing moulding is divided into nine panels, each containing a distinct carving of figures. That in the apex represents God the Father, holding between his knees a cross bearing a figure of the Crucifixion. Each of the panels at the sides contains one or two figures of angels waving censers, and saints holding scrolls. The wall
at the back of the arch is also divided into panels, containing sculptures in three rows. In the upper row the panels comprise angels censing with a star in the centre, and at each side an angel holding a candle. In the central row the chief panel contains the Virgin and Child, supported by a bishop or abbot on each side, one of whom holds a skull. These figures are each enclosed in a Gothic canopy. The left panel shows the faint outline of a castle, and that on the right a galley (the M‘Leod arms). The third row exhibits several panels. That on the
left is a hunting scene, a knight with sword and spear, followed by attendants holding dogs in leash. The next panel contains three stags, well carved. To the right of this is a panel representing an angel holding up a pair of scales to weigh the souls of the departed, in which process he is interfered with by a demon. A similar scene is carved on one of the pier caps in the choir of Iona Cathedral (see Fig. 985).
To the right is a long panel containing the following inscription in Gothic letters:—
Hic · loculus · cōposuit · · · · Allexāder · filius · Vilm̄i · Mac · Clod · dn̄o · de · dūvegan · Anno · dn̄i · Mº · CCCCCº · XXVIIIº
The meaning of this apparently is that Alexander, son of William MacLeod of Dunvegan, made this tomb A.D. 1528.
On the pedestal under the arch lies the effigy of the said Alexander M‘Leod of Dunvegan (Fig. 1304), clad in full armour, and holding a long sword with cross hilt. The effigy is unfortunately much decayed. The head rests on a pillow with an animal above, and the feet rest on a lion. At the side of the monument a lion encloses the tomb.
The style of the carving and the subjects represented recall the sculptures at Iona. The figures of the abbot and bishop are similar in style to that of the abbess at the Iona Nunnery, and the scene of the angel weighing souls with a demon interfering occurs on one of the caps in the Iona
choir. The division of the flat surfaces into panels, each containing a separate subject, is characteristic of Celtic decoration. The hunting scene and the ship are also common in Celtic work. The peculiar Celtic foliage of Iona is here wanting. Enough, however, exists to associate the style of the work with that of the rest of the Western Isles, while the Gothic influence is also very distinct.
The date is fixed by the inscription, and the introduction of the nail-head ornament shows the revival here, as at Iona, of earlier forms, as above pointed out by Mr. Muir.
The tomb in the recessed arch to the west of the south transept is of much simpler design than the corresponding one to the east above described. It consists (see Fig. 1300) of a semicircular moulded arch with a hood moulding stopped on carved corbels at each end. Over the upper part of the hood a triangular space is enclosed with a moulding, finished at the apex with a fleur-de-lys. This triangular space contains an oblong panel, much decayed, exhibiting the Crucifixion, with a figure on each side. The effigy “represents a man in armour with high peaked bassinet and camail over a habergeon reaching to the knee. The nature of the defences of the feet and legs is not indicated. He holds a long, straight, cross-hilted sword in front, the pommel reaching to the breast, and the point placed between the feet. A dagger hangs at his left side, but the military belt is wanting.”[141]
The third tomb is at the end of the south transept. The effigy (Fig. 1305) is somewhat similar to the last described, but is much wasted by exposure.
A remarkable recessed tomb having some analogy with those at Rowdil is described and figured in a paper by Professor Norman Macpherson in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. XII. p. 583. It consists of a plain round arch in the north wall of the ruined Church of St. Donan in the island of Eigg. In the wall at the back of the recess is a large square panel containing sculptures, which “afford an interesting example of Celtic notions of heraldry.” These sculptures appear to represent the Clanranald shield, having in the place of the first quarter a hand grasping a cross, in the second what appears
to be a lion, in the third a galley, and in the fourth a castle. A tree, like a laurel, springs from the base and stretches to the top, with a bird on the highest branch.
The external appearance of St. Clement’s is shown by Fig. 1299 and by the elevations (Figs. 1306 and 1307). The latter also show the tower and the peculiar carved heads and other figures, above alluded to, as probable insertions from an older structure. Fig. 1308 shows the small figure of a saint, inserted over the cabled string course on the west side of the tower, and the narrow cusped window above it. The north elevation (see Fig. 1307) and the sections (see Figs. 1300 and 1301)) explain the mode in which the tower is built upon a higher level than the church.
Notwithstanding the very numerous small churches and chapels found in the Western Isles,[143] there are comparatively few remains of monasteries. The original Celtic religious establishments were, doubtless, monastic in their form and structure, but of convents in the later sense, corresponding with those so common on the mainland, few traces are now to be seen. Next to the great Abbey of the Isles at Iona and the nunnery on the same island, the largest monastic establishment in the Western Isles of which the structures survive is the Priory of Oronsay.
This island lies about ten miles west from Jura, and can be most conveniently reached from Portaskaig, in Islay. The isle is about two and three-quarter miles broad from east to west by about two miles from north to south. It stands at the south end of the larger island of Colonsay, from which it is separated by a narrow channel, dry at low tide.
It is traditionally narrated that St. Columba and his companion, St. Oran, landed on Oronsay after leaving Ireland; but finding that the latter country could still be seen from the highest point of the island, they forsook it and sailed to Iona. St. Oran, however, gave his name to the island, and, together with Colonsay, it seems, from the numerous remains of churches which once existed on these islands, to have been a sacred locality, the remains of nine old churches and the sites of three more—ten in Colonsay and two in Oronsay—being still traceable. The most important appears to have been the Monastery of Kiloran, in Colonsay, of which no remains now exist. Next to it was the Priory of Oronsay. This priory of Canons Regular of St. Augustine appears to have been founded in the fourteenth century by the Lord of the Isles as a cell of the Abbey of Holyrood at Edinburgh.
The priory is situated at the extreme west end of the island, on the lowermost slope of the Beinn Oronsay, just short of the point where its rugged cliffs front the Atlantic.
The general arrangement of the buildings (Fig. 1309) is peculiar. The ground slopes rapidly from north to south, necessarily carrying the drainage with it; yet, contrary to the usual custom, the cloisters and residential buildings were placed to the north of the church. Exclusive of projections at the north-east and south-west angles, and a mortuary chapel on the south, the structures occupy a parallelogram about 87 feet from north to south, by 65 feet from east to west. The latter length is also that of the church proper, which occupies the south side of the square, but has at the west end a narthex about 15 feet square internally, which projects beyond the general range of the buildings. The walls of the narthex are now level with those of the church, but as there are roughly hewn corbel stones for carrying a floor overhead, it is probable this is only the lower stage of a bell-tower, of which the upper part has been long since demolished. The greater thickness of the walls and two sadly injured freestone buttresses on its south face (Fig. 1310) favour this idea. Entrance is obtained by a doorway with a plain pointed freestone arch, having a hood moulding close to the westmost buttress (see Fig 1310). The church is, internally, nearly 18 feet in width; and at the right hand, on entering, there remains the solid foundation of a stone stair leading to a tribune or organ gallery, recesses for the ends of massive beams to carry it being still visible, together with rough rubble corbelling on either side.
On the left is a narrow doorway, neatly formed with thin schist stones, leading to the cloisters. Internally the church is entirely devoid of architectural decoration, but an extensive range of stalls, of which traces still exist, and other wood-work, including an open roof, must have redeemed an otherwise bald interior, into which very little light can have been admitted. The principal source of light was a 5 feet wide window at the east end (Fig. 1311), divided by mullions into three lanciform lights,
the pointed arch-heads of which run up to the main arch. The other gable, seen on the right in Fig. 1311, is modern, and forms the entrance porch to what may have formerly been the chapter house, but which has been appropriated, in recent times, as a burial-place by the proprietor of the island. Apart from this there were only three windows in the nave, two very small, and another rather longer with a cusped head, all formed in freestone, and on the extreme east end of the south wall near the altar a square-headed window with slab lintel and sill. Between these windows a
plain schist doorway gives access to the mortuary chapel of the M‘Duffies or M‘Fies, which is about 25 feet long by 12 feet wide over the walls. These are unbonded into the south wall of the church, and were covered with a plain lean-to roof, in which there was evidently a priest’s apartment. The chapel is lit from the south by two small windows, and in a recess on the north side is the burial-place of Abbot M‘Duffie, covered with a carved slab representing the abbot fully vested, with his right hand raised in benediction, and a pastoral staff in his left. Pennant says:—“In the same place is a stone enriched with foliage, a stag surrounded with dogs, and a ship with full sail; round which is inscribed ‘Hic jacet
Murchardus Macdufie de Collonsa An. Do. 1539 Meuse Mart Ora me ille, Ammen.’”[144] Beyond this chapel, at the south-east angle of the church, is a singularly massive buttress, at the bottom of which, on the level of the floor and accessible by a narrow opening from the interior of the church, is a curious ambry about 3 feet cube, strongly lintelled overhead, and designed, no doubt, for the safe keeping of the church treasure, but is now desecrated as a “bone-hole.” The altar still remains built of freestone, evidently reused from some previous building.
On the north side of the chancel the arrangement is very peculiar. An opening about 8 feet wide, with a plain pointed freestone arch (Fig. 1312) resting on schist impost caps, gives access to a kind of trance or passage, having an ambry at the ground level on the left and a blocked up window on the right. It is formed between the north wall of the church and the south end of the chapter house, which is gabled independently of the church. Its only apparent use may have been as a sacristy. It is roofed in by large flat stones, with a rapid slope to the east. The east range of buildings is pretty complete, except on the north, where the gable fell some years ago. On the ground floor a large apartment, 19 feet 6 inches long by 15 feet 4 inches wide, with a doorway entering on the east cloister walk, was no doubt the chapter house.
The range of domestic buildings on the north has been sadly ruined, this having been the point where entry was obtained, in recent times, for the removal of materials, and thus of the north and south walls only fragments remain. A massive wall, still happily intact, encloses the cloister on the west. The internal area is rather over 41 feet square, with cloister walks about 7 feet broad, and the arcading presents some very singular features. The south arcade (Fig. 1313), which is evidently the most ancient, is composed of five low narrow arches with circular heads, very neatly turned with thin schist slabs, without any freestone or architectural dressing of any kind. The other three arcades were evidently part of a later restoration, and the peculiar form in which they were constructed is evidently due to the nature of the materials employed, viz., schist slabs of the same quality as that used for the sculptured slabs.
When Martin visited the island in the latter part of the seventeenth century, the three arcades and the enclosing walls were quite complete. A century later, in 1772, Pennant found the north arcade demolished with the exception of the end arches, while the east and west arcades remained intact. These subsequently disappeared also, and it was not until 1883 that Mr. Galloway found, scattered throughout the church and churchyard, sufficient materials to complete the restoration of one arcade. This was accordingly done on the west side (see Fig. 1313) in that year. Amongst the shafts and “pillars” found there were happily both of those mentioned by Martin as bearing inscriptions. The hewn work of these arcades was formed entirely of the peculiar kind of schist used in the sculptured crosses and memorial stones in the Western Highlands, and it may have been the facility of obtaining this material in the slab, rather than the cube form, which determined the special character of the arcading. Each arcade had openings or arches nearly 30 inches from centre to centre, there being seven in the east and west arcades, and probably one or two more in the north arcade. They were built with slab shafts, averaging 2 feet 10 inches high by 1 foot broad, and 2 or 3 inches thick, with neatly moulded and socketed caps and bases. On these
there rested the slabs, shaped at each end so as to meet exactly in the middle, thus forming a straight lined arch, and the haunches were filled up with rubble. With this both Martin’s and Pennant’s descriptions exactly agree.
The north range of the buildings, which no doubt contained the refectory and dormitories, has been too much dilapidated to admit of any intelligible description. In a line with it, however, and extending eastward beyond the priory square (see Plan), there is a small chapel of very early character, built entirely in rubble, without any freestone dressings. It is 17 feet over the walls and 33 feet in breadth; but for no apparent reason the west gable is slewed round to the south, making an inequality of 2 feet in the length of the sides. There has been a wide window in the east gable, but owing to the demolition of the wall its character cannot be judged. There are two small windows in the north side and one in the south, mere slits with no provisions for frames or glazing. There is an entrance doorway on the south side at the west end and a priest’s door at the east. On the north side there is a very small door nearly opposite that of the entrance on the south.
The foundations of the altar still remain, and a line of stones still indicates the position of the chancel rail. The base of the pulpit remains on the north side, and at the west end there has been a tribune or organ gallery, which has been accessible by a door in the east gable of the priory buildings. In this gable, on the ground floor, an archway has been formed 6 feet 8 inches in width, with a plain pointed rubble arch, which seems to have been subsequently filled in, and a square-headed doorway of much smaller size substituted.
Immediately to the north of this chapel, and separated from it by an 8 foot wide passage, is a most interesting example of a monastic barn and byre, 39 feet in length by 22 feet in breadth. It is an excellent specimen of rubble building with freestone dressings to the windows, &c., in the same style as the church, and may be coeval with the later restoration. The windows are small, and on the north side close to the ground are openings for the discharge of refuse from the byre. In the south-east angle a small chamber has been formed for the herd, with a little eyelet and ambry, and it would no doubt be cut off by partitioning from the other occupants. At the south-west angle there is a small door opening inwards, and some indications that a chamber had been formed between the building itself and the north wall of the priory. At the south wall head (internally) there has been inserted a 4 or 5 foot long schist slab, with a quaint human head carved in the centre. It serves no purpose where it is, and must evidently have been a relic of some older structure. There can be no doubt there was a doorway to the west, but, if so, the present entrance shows no traces of it. The building is still roofed, and in use.
Pennant states that the church “contains the tombs of numbers of the ancient islanders, two of warriors recumbent (7 feet long), a flattery perhaps of the sculptor to give to future ages exalted notions of their prowess. Besides, there are scattered over the floor lesser figures of heroes, priests, and females, the last seemingly of some order, and near them is a figure cut in stone of full size, apparently an abbess.”[145]
These figures, as illustrated by Pennant, strongly recall the corresponding monuments at Iona and elsewhere throughout the West Highlands and Islands.
The slabs have now been set up against the walls of the church (see Fig. 1311), while others still exist in the burying-ground outside.
Close to the south-west angle of the narthex stands the celebrated Oronsay cross[146] (see Fig. 1310). It stands on mason work covered by a slab 3 feet by 3 feet 3 inches, perforated with a hole in which the cross is fixed. The shaft is 12 feet in height. On the west face there is a Crucifixion on the disc, and the shaft is carved on both sides with the usual Celtic ornament in round panels. The inscription near the base is now illegible.
The site of the ancient Church of St. Maelrubba, at the head of Loch Eynort in the south of Skye, is now occupied by a more recent ruin.[147] A very interesting relic of the ancient church is, however, preserved in the remarkable font (Figs. 1314 and 1315), which, after some wandering and neglect, has at last found a suitable resting-place in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in Edinburgh. An account of its transference from the shore of Loch Eynort to the Museum is given by Mr. J. Russell Walker, in a paper on “Scottish Baptismal Fonts” in the Proceedings of that Society, 1886-7, p. 412. The bowl is circular, both externally and internally, and the basin is 1 foot 6½ inches in diameter and 13 inches deep. The circumference is divided into four equal parts by four figures representing—(1) The Crucifixion, (2) The Blessed Virgin with the Child, (3) a mitred bishop in full canonicals with a crosier in his left hand, and (4) St. Michael slaying the dragon. The panels to the right and left of the Crucifixion are filled with interlaced work, and those to the right and left of the bishop with inscriptions not now legible. On the lower sloping parts between the figures are floral designs. The font is of hornblende gneiss, and the carving is remarkable in that hard material. There seem