east-lothian-1924/05-238

Transcription

YESTER.] -- INVENTORY OF MONUMENTS IN EAST LOTHIAN. -- [YESTER.

area is slightly hollow in the centre, and there
is a slight mound to the east.

xvi. S.E. (unnoted). 19 May 1913.

246. Setting of Small Stones, Kingside
School.-Within the walled area 150 yards
north of Kingside School (No. 220) and 13 yards
west of the Gifford and Priestlaw Road, at an
elevation of about 900 feet above sea-level, is
a setting of five small stones. Four of the
stones are set on end, rising from 9 to 17 inches
above ground, and are placed so as to form a
rectangle measuring about 10 feet in length
and 7 feet in breadth with the longer axis
lying west-north-west and east-south-east. A
fifth stone lying flat is placed near the centre
of the south-western side.

xvi. S.E. (unnoted). 19 May 1913.

SITES.

The O.S. map indicates the following sites:-

247. Chapel, Penshiel. xvi. S.E.

248. Burial Ground, Whittinghame Castle.
xi. N.W.

YESTER.

ECCLESIASTICAL STRUCTURES.

249.-Ecclesiastical Furniture, Parish Church,
Gifford.-This church was completed in
1710, superseding the church of St. Cuthbert
at Bothans (No. [insert] 250 [end insert]), and within it are pre-
served the undernoted pieces of ecclesiastical
furniture removed from the older church.
BELL.-In the tower is a long-wasted bell
(fig. 31), 17 1/8 inches in diameter and 13 1/4 inches
high, of late mediæval type belonging to a
group almost certainly cast in Scotland, pro-
bably in Edinburgh, at a foundry which has not
yet been traced. On the skirt is the inscription
O MATER DEI MEMENTO MEI ANNO DOM M CCCC
LXXX XII. With the exception of the initial O
which is a small Lombardic, the inscription is
in Gothic letters. An S-like ornamental stop is
placed at the end of each word and each
division of the date, which is 1492. Above the
inscription is a frieze of rather roughly
moulded fleurs-de-lys ; below are two rims
enclosing a shallow hollow moulding. Im-
mediately below these rims and at the top

143

of the waist, just beneath the beginning of the
inscription, are a plain St. Andrew's cross or X,
a small Lombardic I and the representation of
a hammer, about the same size as the letters of
the inscription. The lettering , fleur-de-lys
frieze and S stop as well as the X and hammer
at the top of the waist are the same as those
on the first bell at St. Giles', Elgin, cast in
1502 ; but the Elgin bell has a small Lombardic
E S instead of I between the X and the hammer.
Very similar bells are at Dalgety, Fife ;
Uphall, Linlithgowshire ; Linlithgow (3rd) ;
and Dundonald, Ayrshire. They all belong
to the same period and are almost certainly
from the same foundry. The question is
discussed in detail in Church Bells of
Linlithgowshire pp. 6-11. The bell is rung by
an old half-wheel 46 inches in diameter.
PULPIT.-The pulpit resembles those in the
churches of Pencaitland and Spott and dates
from the 17th century. It is built of oak and
measures 3 feet 2 inches by 4 feet 4 inches in
diameter by 3 feet 5 inches in height and is
provided with a sounding board and panelled
back. The front is bayed and like the halfits
panelled, with fields enriched with strapwork
cut out of the solid.
PANEL.-In the Tweeddale gallery is a
wooden panel dated 1687 bearing an Earl's
coronet within a scroll and underneath the
initials of John Hay and Jean Scott in mono-
gram.

xv. N.E. 30 May 1913.

250. Collegiate Church of Bothans.-The
Collegiate Church of Bothans lies 100 yards
east of the mansion of Yester, on the left bank
of the Gifford Water, near the village of Gifford.
It superseded an older church on the same or an
adjacent site. The present building was laid
out on a cruciform plan, of which the only
portions left are the choir and transepts, and
these appear to have undergone extensive
alterations and repairs. Whether the nave
existed or not can only be determined by
excavation, as the west end of the crossing is
faced with an 18th century wall covering any
traces of the bonding of the nave walls.
The exterior of the building has been
repaired and largely refaced. A plain 15th
century splayed basecourse returns along the