stirling-1963-vol-1/05_075

Transcription

INTRODUCTION: THE MIDDLE AGES AND LATER
The Church of the Holy Rude stands apart from the other mediaeval churches of the
county not simply because it is the only one to have remained intact but also because, as the
parish kirk of an important burgh, it was intended to be a building of unusual dignity and
splendour. In some respects the church was a symbol of the prosperity of Stirling in late
mediaeval times, and it is perhaps not surprising that the building rivals in size the great
burgh kirks of St. John, Perth, and St. Giles, Edinburgh. About the middle of the 15th
century, work was begun on the west tower and nave, the latter being of five bays with north
and south aisles. The choir, which also has north and south aisles together with a polygonal
apse, was erected early in the 16th century, and there is evidence to show that the design was
intended to include a second tower over the crossing. The junction between nave and choir
was not completed, however, nor was the crossing-tower built. The fabric was severely
mutilated in the centuries following its erection, but within recent years it has been brought
to a condition which in large measure approaches the original conception of its designers.
The most interesting of the post-Reformation ecclesiastical buildings is undoubtedly the
Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle (pp. 211 ff.), which was erected for the celebration of the baptism
of Prince Henry in 1594. The chapel is rectangular on plan, and the S. façade contains a
central entrance-doorway flanked by double columns which support an entablature; on either
side of the doorway there is a range of three double-light windows with semicircular heads,
each pair being set within a segmental-arched outer order. The original internal arrangements
of the chapel are to a large extent uncertain, and the most interesting feature of the interior
today is some well-preserved mural decoration of the early 17th century. Most of the later
parish churches in the county were designed either as simple rectangles or on a T-plan. Among
those in the former group may be mentioned St. Ninians (1750, No. 134), Buckieburn (1750,
No. 152), Blairlogie (1761, No. 129) and Falkirk (No. 140) as reconstructed in 1810. The
North Church, Buchlyvie (1751, No. 170), one of the older secession churches in Stirlingshire,
is a particularly attractive example of a church of this type, while Gargunnock (1774, No. 172)
is a good example of a church built on a T-plan. Other T-plan churches include Logie (1684,
No. 127), Polmont (1732, No. 142), Killearn (1734, No. 161) and Edinbellie (1742, No. 168).
Most of the early 19th-century churches are treated in the Gothic manner and are "hall
churches", ¹ that is to say they comprise a rectangular hall with a gallery, the pulpit being
placed at one end of the building and the entrance-doorway and stairs at the other. The North
Church, Airth (No. 136), which was built in 1820, is perhaps the finest church of this class in
the county, another interesting example being the High Church of Campsie (No. 156), which
was erected to a design of David Hamilton in 1828. Among the other churches of this group
may be mentioned Larbert (1820, No. 146), Fintry (1823, No. 169) and Dunipace (1834, No.
148). The anti-Burgher chapel in Falkirk (1806, No. 141), a plain hexagonal building now
known as the "Tattie Kirk", is the only example of a centrally planned church noted in this
Inventory.
Bell-towers, which form an attractive feature of so many Scottish churches of the 17th
and 18th centuries, are represented in Stirlingshire by examples at Airth (1647), St Ninians
(1734) and Bothkennar (1792). The belfry at Airth (No. 137) has a pyramidal, slated roof with
dormer lights in each side, while at Bothkennar (No. 139) the pyramidal roof is of ashlar and

1 Cf. Post-Reformation Churches, 130 ff.

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