stirling-1963-vol-1/05_197

Transcription

No. 157 -- ECCLESIASTICAL MONUMENTS -- No. 158
and period ¹ (e.g. Nos. 142, 161). The S. wall returns
only 4 ft. 5 in. from the W. end, though its footings con-
tinue for a further 23 ft. until interrupted by a burial-
enclosure. Nothing is known about the internal arrange-
ments beyond the record that the pulpit was in the centre
of the S. side. ² ; in particular, no traces of gallery-fittings
appear inside the gable.

GRAVEYARD. On the E. side of the graveyard is the
Lennox family vault, a harled, two-storeyed structure
measuring externally 16 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 2 in. It is now
so thickly covered with ivy that no details can be seen
beyond the closed-up entrance in the W. side, with its
V-jointed margin and flat arch bearing the date 1715 on
the keystone; the slated dome and lead finial; and the
forestair on the E. that gives access to the upper room.
The upper storey is said to have been added by Miss
Lennox early in the 19th century, to serve as a waiting-
room between services. ³ The entrance to the vault,
marked on the lintel "Closed 1884", is blocked by two
slabs (Pl. 44 E), formerly table-tombs ⁴ ; both measure
5 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 1 in. and are very sharply cut. One
bears the marginal inscription HEIR LYIS ANE
HONORABIL MAN IAMES KINKAID OF THAT ILK
QVHA DESISIT YE 13 OF FEBROVAR ANNO 1604,
and bears two shields on the space within. The upper
shield is flanked by the initials IK and is charged for
Kincaid: A triple-towered castle, in chief two mullets.
The two circular marks seen in base may or may not be
true heraldic charges. The lower shield, evidently that
of his wife, is flanked by the initials IF and is charged:
In chief three rosettes between three piles, in base an
annulet. The other slab is of similar design, but has been
used for two lairds of Kincaid and their wives. The
marginal inscription reads HEIR LYIS ANE HONORABIL
MAN IAMES KINCAID OF THAT ILK QVHA DESISIT
YE 9 OF IANVAR ANNO 1606, The upper shield in the
central space is flanked by the initials CL and has IK
above it; it is parted per pale and charged: Dexter, a
crenellated tower, in chief two mullets; sinister, 1st and
4th, a lion rampant, 2nd and 3rd, three buckles on a
bend. The wife of this James Kincaid, whom he married
about 1571, was Christian Leslie, an illegitimate daughter
of the 4th Earl of Rothes, ⁵ and the sinister coat is charged
for Leslie. The lower shield is flanked by the initials
IK and has S above it. It is parted per pale and charged:
Dexter, a crenellated tower, in chief two mullets;
sinister, three cinquefoils. Below is inscribed D / MH,
and in smaller letters, flanking the D, there has been
added DESISIT 1645 / 18 IAR. The dexter coat is that
of Sir James Kincaid of that Ilk, son of the James
Kincaid who died in 1606, and the sinister one that of
his wife Dame Margaret Hamilton. ⁶ Apart from these
two slabs, no gravestones of earlier date than 1707 were
found, though some almost certainly exist among the
large numbers of turf-covered slabs. Cameron ⁷ records
in particular a stone commemorating a Covenanter
named William Boick, who suffered at Glasgow in 1673.
Over the E. side of the churchyard gate there has
been mounted a large carved slab, perhaps originally
the pediment of a monumental tomb, measuring
6 ft. 11 in. in breadth by 3 ft. 8 in. in height at the
centre. It consists of a central panel with a moulded
border, bearing a skull and cross-bones with the date
1621 below and MEMENTO MORI above, which is
supported by lateral panels with shaped tops bearing
floriated decoration. The whole is surmounted by a
finial bearing an hour-glass.
Within the gate, on the W. side, there is a watch-
house of no architectural interest.

610796 -- NS 67 NW ("St. Machan's Church, remains of")
15 October 1953

158. Parish Church and Graveyard, Strathblane.
THE CHURCH. The parish church of Strathblane was
built between 1802 and 1804, ⁸ replacing a "mean
building" of the preceding century. ⁹ It is of no architec-
tural interest, and the font, ¹⁰ in its present form, shows
no trace of antiquity. Set in the floor just S. of the
Communion table there is a worn slab bearing a sunk
shield, flanked by the incised initials IM, perhaps for
James Montrose; the initials IG, for James Graham,
appear below the sinister side, but whatever originally
balanced them on the dexter - perhaps a date and L for
Lord - has now disappeared. The shield is charged, for
Montrose: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, three escallops on a
chief; 2nd and 3rd, three roses. The date 1604 read by
Guthrie Smith ¹¹ cannot now be seen. The identity of
the person commemorated is doubtful, as no holder of
the title died in 1604 and all those from the 2nd Earl to
the 1st Duke had the initial I; but the 3rd Marquess
died in 1684, and it is quite likely that this date may have
been misread as 1604. A brass plate, let into a pew, states
that the tombstone commemorating Archibald Edmon-
stone of Duntreath, who died in 1689, and his ancestor
Princess Mary, sister of James I, ¹² lies underneath the
floor at the point so marked, but this could not be
verified.

THE GRAVEYARD. A list of all the stones in the grave-
yard, as in 1886, was published by Guthrie Smith, ¹³
Epitaphs and heraldic carvings dating from before 1707,
but not later ones added to the original inscriptions, are
given below, arranged under Guthrie Smith's serial

1 Cameron states (ibid.) that an aisle was added on the N.
when the gable was rebuilt, but it seems more probable that
the whole structure originated in the 17th century and that the
rebuilding of the gable was a later repair.
2 Cameron, ibid.
3 Ibid., 66 f.
4 Ibid., 67.
5 The Scots Peerage, vii, 292.
6 R.M.S., vii (1609-20), No. 110.
7 Op. cit., 68.
8 Strathblane, 230 f.
9 Stat. Acct., xviii (1796), 575.
10 On which see Strathblane, 232.
11 Ibid., 236.
12 Fully described in Strathblane, 236, 309 f.
13 Ibid., 269 ff.

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