east-lothian-1924/05-142

Transcription

NORTH BERWICK.] HISTORICAL MONUMENTS (SCOTLAND) COMMISSION. [NORTH BERWICK.

projects and contains between ground and first
floor levels a small circular staircase (originally
the only internal access between these levels)
and above the latter level, three floors, each of
a single circular chamber only 6 feet in diameter.
These were entered from a turret stair corbelled
out in the east re-entering angle. In the
corresponding angle on the west a garderobe
is corbelled out but at a higher level.
The elevations are plain and relieved only
by the disposition of corbelled turrets ; the
walling is of rubble uncoursed, at one time
rough cast, with freestone quoins, jambs and
corbellings. The latter are well proportioned,
with a bold contour, and have been carefully
wrought. The windows and other apertures of
any size have relieving arches. The first floor
windows facing south have been cut down at a
subsequent period apparently to permit of an
alteration on the floor levels. The only mould-
ing employed seems to be the edge roll, and
that is sparingly used.
The structure (fig. 19) stands fairly complete
to the wall heads but has two rents in the south
wall between the ground and first floors.
The basement is divided unequally by a
cross partition, which is carried up through all
the storeys, into two chambers, which have
evidently had vaulted ceilings. In this par-
tition must have been a door between the
chambers, but in addition the smaller chamber
on the east communicated with the upper floor
by the circular staircase on the north, and the
larger chamber with the exterior by a doorway
in the west gable. The door between this
chamber and the main staircase does not
appear to have been originally intended, and
the slapping in the east gable of the smaller
room is comparatively modern.
The windows lighting these rooms are small,
with 10 inch daylights widening internally to
3 feet between the jambs, and are disposed in
the lateral walls. In the west gable, on either
side of the entrance doorway is a cupboard
2 feet 9 inches broad. The basement apart-
ments are 16 feet broad by 30 feet 8 inches
and 16 feet 2 inches long respectively.
The staircases are ruinous, and the vaults of
the lowest apartments have fallen in, rendering
the upper floors inaccessible, but on the first
floor the arrangement of the rooms below is
repeated. The larger apartment would be the

68

hall, the smaller a private room. On the floors
above are three apartments, the western portion
being divided by a partition. These were
reached from the turret stairs on north and
south, which also communicated with the
little rooms in the wing and the north tower.
The entrance to the wing is placed in the
re-entering angle below the corbelling of the
turret staircase. The doorway has an edge-roll
on the lintel, above which is an empty recess
for an armorial panel, which is stated in Croall's
Sketches of East Lothian, to have borne the
arms of the Carmichael family with the initials
J C for John Carmichael, and the date 1577
(? see below). The staircase is wide and circular
on plan and was lit by a window, now built up,
in the south wall.
The main block measures externally 57 feet
by 23 1/2 feet. The wing projects 13 feet south-
wards and is 17 feet broad. The walls are
4 feet thick.
The exterior of the structure is wonderfully
complete, considering that it has received little
or no attention of late years, but, if left un-
tended much longer, it soon will fall into a
ruinous condition.
CRUCIFORM CARVING.-A square dressed
block of yellowish freestone is built into a
stone wall on Kingston Hill within 200 yards
of Fenton Tower. It measures 10 1/2 inches by
12 inches on face and bears an incised Maltese
cross, within the arms of which is the date
1607.1
HISTORICAL NOTE.-In 1587 John Carmi-
chael of Carmichael, afterwards Sir John, and
his wife Margaret Douglas had a grant of the
lands of East Fentoun commonly called ' Fen-
tountoure ' or Over Sydserf with fortalice and
manor, etc., which had come into the King's
hands by the forfeiture of Patrick Whytelaw
of that place.2 Apparently there was a tower
in Whytelaw's time, as might be expected.3

1 Cf. Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. xli., 432 ; 2 R.M.S.
s.a. No. 1348 ; 3 Act. Parl. Scot. iii., p. 603.

v. N.E. 8 July 1913.

108. The Bass Castle.-The stock of trachyte
known as the Bass Rock in the estuary of the
Forth, slightly over 3 miles east-north-east of
North Berwick and 1 1/4 miles from the shore, is
a natural strength that required but little

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Douglas Montgomery

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