stirling-1963-vol-1/05_176

Transcription

No. 133 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 133
century date to which a square-ended chancel had been
added in the first half of the 16th century. At the W. end
of the nave stood the early 18th-century steeple replacing
an earlier tower in the same position. ¹
Immediately to the N. of the NE. angle of the steeple
is the upper portion of a pier (Pl. 30 C) which probably
formed part of the nave arcade; the fragment is evidently
not in situ and may have been placed in its present
position when adapted for use as a gravestone. The pier
is cylindrical and has a diameter of 2 ft. 11 in., but only
the upper four courses of masonry remain, together with
a simply moulded capital of 15th-century date. Only the
E. portion of the chancel survived the disaster of 1746,
and this still stands 99 ft. 10 in E. of the steeple; it
measures 25 ft. 2 in. in length by 25 ft. 6 in. in breadth
over walls 2 ft. 10 in. in thickness, and is built in sand-
stone ashlar. The S. wall (Pl. 30 B) stands to its full
height and finishes in a cavetto-moulded eaves-course.
Four feet E. of the present SW. angle there is a buttress
which rises in two offsets to end in a gablet, but there are
no buttresses at the angles nor any evidence that the
chancel was vaulted. One complete window remains,
and the E. jamb of a second can be seen just W. of the
buttress. The surviving window is square-headed and
of three lights, and has simple hollow-chamfer mouldings
on jambs, lintel and mullions. The E. wall is without
windows while the N. wall has been in large part
removed to give access to a later burial-aisle. Internally
the only feature of interest is a piscina set low down
in the E. wall near the SE. angle; the recess is 10 in. by
9 in. deep and has had an ogival hood-mould which is
now much worn.
About a hundred years after the erection of the
chancel there was added to it on the N. a burial-aisle,
which still survives, the junction of the two structures
being visible as a straight joint in the masonry of the
E. wall. Apart from the lower courses of this wall, which
are of ashlar, the aisle is built of rubble roughly brought
to courses, but it has been partially reconstructed at a
later period. It measures 10 ft. 11 in. by 16 ft. 5 in.; there
are no voids and the only feature of note externally is
the cavetto-moulded eaves-course, the greater part of
which survives. The aisle is entered through the original
N. wall of the chancel, in which there has been inserted
a segmental-headed arch which springs from moulded
responds of 17th-century date. The remains of a mural
monument of uncertain date can be seen in the W. wall.
After the destruction of the main body of the church,
the remaining portion of the chancel was sealed off by
the building of a W. wall, and both chancel and aisle
were used as a burial enclosure which is now entered
through the segmental-headed doorway situated in the
N. wall of the chancel, just E. of the present NW. angle.
The most attractive as well as the most prominent
surviving feature of the old church is the fine steeple,
which was begun in 1734 (Pl. 30 A). It was the work
of two local masons, Robert Henderson and Charles
Bachop of Stirling, and was built for the heritors of
St. Ninians at the cost of £100 sterling. ² The tower is
square in section and measures 15 ft. 10 in. by 16 ft. 3 in.
at base; it is about 60 ft. high and rises in four stages,
each of which is defined by a moulded string-course.
The masonry is of rubble with dressed margins and
rusticated quoins. Above a moulded eaves-cornice there
rises a domical roof surmounted by a cupola, all in
ashlar, while at the base of the dome a carved stone urn
stands at each corner of the tower. Internally, a steeply-
rising turnpike-stair gives access to the belfry and to
the intermediate chambers. In design this tower is an
advance upon the traditional type of Scottish steeple, and
the substitution of the distinctive ashlar dome and cupola
for the more usual ogival slated roof points to the
infiltration of Classical taste.
Immediately to the W. of the tower is the Auchen-
bowie burial enclosure, the rusticated entrance-piers of
which are also by Henderson and Bachop. ³

TOMBSTONES. (i) Twenty-three yards SW. of the
buttress on the S. side of the choir and 8 yds. N. of the
S. boundary-wall of the old churchyard there is a stone
which measures 1 ft. 4 in. in height by 1 ft. 2 in. in
breadth (Pl. 42 B). A cross with wedge-shaped arms and
a hollowed centre is roughly carved in relief on both sides
of the stone and on its upper surface there is a set of
incised initials. The stone resembles one from Hoddam
which has been ascribed by Mr. C. A. Ralegh Radford
to the 10th or 11th century, ⁴ but there is no evidence,
apart, perhaps, from the place-name Eccles itself, for
a church at St. Ninians at such an early date. The
initials were no doubt added in the 17th or 18th century
when the stone was re-used. (ii) Fifteen yards NW. of
the NW. angle of the choir there is a headstone which
measures 1 ft. 11 in. in height and 1 ft. 10 in. in breadth.
A small incised cross is carved on one side. The stone is
probably of mediaeval date, but its present position
suggests that it has been cut down and re-used in post-
Reformation times. (iii) Ten yards S. of the tower is a
recumbent stone which bears the initials ID and KA
in raised letters; below is the date 1680. divided by the
handle of a spade which occupies the lower part of the
stone. Below the initials ID is carved a mill-rind. The
stone has been used more than once and also bears the
date 1775 and some sets of incised initials. (iv) Fifteen
yards SW. of the E. entrance of the churchyard is a
recumbent stone bearing the incised date 1683 and the
initials IN and WN. (v) Ten yards WSW. of the E.
entrance of the churchyard the upper portion of a
headstone has been erected on a modern base. The
surviving fragment measures 2 ft. 8 in. in breadth by
3 ft. 3 in. in height and has been carved on both sides.
The E. face has the following incised inscription within

1 A suggested reconstruction of the full plan and elevation
of the old church is given in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1902-3), 105 ff., but
although this may be approximately correct in its broad out-
lines, it is based on insufficient evidence and many of its details
are certainly inaccurate.
2 The building contract is printed in T.S.N.H.A.S. (1902-
1903), 118 f.
3 Ibid.
4 T.D.G.N.H.A.S., 3rd series, xxxi (1952-3), 190.

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