roxburgh-1956-vol-2/-05_026

Transcription

No. 567 -- MELROSE PARISH -- No. 567

forty acres bounded by a stout mantel-wall. Although
all trace of this wall has gone, excavation supple-
mented by record evidence has enabled Dr. James
Curle to follow its course with some accuracy. The
following particulars have been taken from Dr.

[Plan Inserted]
Fig. 349. Melrose Abbey (No. 567) ; plan of precinct.

Curle's account, ¹ and the line of the wall, as deter-
mined by him has been shown on the plan (Fig. 349)
together with the principal monastic buildings in
solid black.
Church and cloister were situated about the middle
of the enclosure. The main gate stood astride the
approach, which has become the modern Abbey
Street, at a point 166 yds. S. of the church. As at
Beaulieu, there was a chapel above it, and in front
of it rose the Abbey Cross (cf. No. 585). The pre-
cinct had three other gates, respectively to N., E.,
and W., as shown on the plan. Two of its minor
divisions can be located, the penthouse yard, situated
at the SW. corner and SE. of the main gate, and " the
baikhouse yeard " occupying the NW. corner. The
latter was bounded on the N. and W. by the mantel-
wall, on the E. by the path leading to the N. gate,
and on the S. by the canal or mill-lade. In the corner
formed by path and lade stood the corn-mill. As
the lade cut off about one-quarter of the precinct it
was bridged at several places. The westernmost or
upper bridge carried the path running to the N. gate,
and when the path became a road the bridge had to
be widened on both sides, but the stout soffit-ribs of
the original portion can still be seen. The next
bridge downstream, situated immediately N. of the
Commendator's House (p. 287), is post-monastic.
A third, situated beside the Abbot's camera (p. 287),
is represented only by its S. abutment. The fourth
stands comparatively entire still farther E. This has
a present width of 12 ft. 10 in. and has two stout
soffit-ribs, both stop-chamfered on their outer sides.
The surviving buildings of the abbey stand S. of the
lade, but at present they are divided into two groups
by Cloisters Road, formerly Valley Gate, which
branches E. from Abbey Street. Church and cloister
stand on its S. side, while extensions of the E. and
W. ranges, the Commendator's House, and the
Abbot's camera all lie to the N. of it. Since this road
cuts across the outer ends of the E. and W. ranges of
the cloister it is obviously post-monastic in origin.
MATERIALS. With a view to identifying the sources
from which the builders of the abbey obtained their
material, the Geological Survey of Great Britain, at
the Commissioners' request, had an examination
made of the masonry. The following facts are taken
from the report of the officers who carried out the
work. ² The abbey occupies the site of a pre-glacial
channel of the Tweed, pebbles of stream-worn grey-
wacke being still seen in the bottom of the drains.
The earlier buildings, those dating from between
1136 and 1385, are constructed largely of agglomerate,
mainly obtained from Quarry Hill (cf. No. 621)
situated SW. of Melrose between Dingleton and
Harleyburn. In the work constructed between 1385
and 1505 sandstones were most extensively used ;
these were no doubt quarried on the Eildon Hills,
where the remains of the workings marked " Bourjo "
(No. 622) on the O.S. map, can still be seen N. of
the path leading to the neck joining Eildon Hill
North to Eildon Mid Hill, and also near Ploughlands
(No. 566), a mile and a half E. of Maxton. The
extensive use of agglomerate in the Commendator's
House, together with the unusual mixture of stones,
bears out the statement that it was constructed largely
of re-used material (p. 287).
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION. In Britain the
negative attitude of the Cistercians towards art
became modified in the 13th century, and by the
close of the 14th century, when this church came to
be rebuilt, the prohibitions laid down in their statutes
no longer held good. No more splendid church was
ever erected in Scotland, the only Scottish building
comparable with it in wealth of ornament being the
choir of St. Matthew's Collegiate Church at Roslin, ³
dating from about 1457. Another significant change
from early Cistercian custom was that the Order had
become less exclusive. The first hint of this at
Melrose is in a Papal indult of 1320 ⁴ granting per-
mission to the widow of Sir Alexander Stewart, who

1 A Little Book about Melrose, 1-22.
2 P.B.N.C., xxx, 1938-46, 178-182.
3 Inventory of Midlothian, No. 138. Similarity in some of
the architectural details suggests that Melrose masons went
on to Roslin.
4 Calendar of Papal Registers, Letters, ii, 1305-42, 208.

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