dumfries-1920/04-104

Transcription

CAERLAVEROCK.] -- HISTORICAL MONUMENTS (SCOTLAND) COMMISSION. -- [CANONBIE.

No trace of this is to be found. The field in
which it is situated lies behind the farm of
Newfield.
lxi. S.W. -- 24 July 1912.

The O.S. maps also indicate sites as under:-
40. St Columba's Chapel and Well, about
1/2 mile south of Glencaple. -- lx. N.E.
41. Kilblain," South Kilblain. -- lxi. N.W.

CANONBIE.
ECCLESIASTICAL STRUCTURE.

42. Tomb, Churchyard, Canonbie. - A frag-
ment of 13th-century ecclesiastical work is
preserved within the churchyard of Canonbie
Parish. It lies to the south of the modern
church and within recent years has been
utilised in the construction of a tomb en-
closure - that of the Rev. James Donaldson,
late minister of Canonbie.
It consists of a recess, 4 feet 8 inches wide
and 4 feet 4 inches high, with a segmental
arch of roll-and-hollow mouldings enriched
with a dog-tooth ornament. These mould-
ings are carried down the jambs to a stop
at a sill; above is a hood-moulding terminat-
ing at either side in label-stops - one knotted
and zoömorphic, the other floriated. The
back appears to be modern. From its posi-
tion in a portion of the south wall of the old
parish church it has been suggested that this
fragment was the sedilia, although the design
is unusual for such a construction.
Several graveslabs of no great interest,
dating from the end of the 16th century, are
built into the north wall of the churchyard
near the entrance.
liii. S.E. -- Visited 27 March 1915.

CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC STRUCTURES.
43. Hollows Tower. - This tower (fig. 26) is
situated on the right bank of the River Esk,
midway between Langholm and Canonbie. It
has been completely defended by the river bank
to the north and partly by the sloping marsh-
land to the west. On the eastern side, where
the ground is level and unprotected by nature,
the tower was probably enclosed originally by
the walls of an outer courtyard.

On plan (fig. 27) the building is oblong and
measures some 23 feet 2 inches by 15 feet
3 inches within walls averaging 6 feet in
thickness, and the total height from the step
at the entrance to the top of the corbel-course
measures nearly 40 feet. The doorway is at
the south end of the west wall and gives
access to the wheel-stair, which has com-
municated directly with the upper floors and
with the parapet walk. Originally it was
equipped with a strong outer door and an
iron yett, neither of which now remains.
The wheel-staircase projects on the interior
floor space. the ground floor is vaulted and

[Plan Inserted]
FIG. 27. - Hollows Tower (No. 43).

lighted by narrow shot-holes, the north wall
having two such openings, one above the
other.
On the first-floor level is the hall, measuring
about 24 feet 2 inches by 16 feet 3 inches
and having a window with stone seats in the
east and west walls. A wide fireplace with
moulded jambs is formed in the north wall,
with an aumbry on each side, and there is a
narrow opening to the south. The two upper
floors and the attics have each also consisted
of a single apartment. The stone corbels for
carrying the floors remain. There are no
fireplaces above the level of the second floor.
The corbel-table, which has supported the
stone parapet, is of the ornate type charac-
teristic of the 16th century. The upper
member consists of a bold cable-moulding,
returned at intervals where gargoyles have
occurred. Below this is a continuous band,

-- 26