The History of Dundee,
1874 History by James Thomson

James Thomson's 1874 work

INTRODUCTION

This work has been transcribed - verbatim - from the 1874 edition. Much about the history of Dundee has been changed, revised and updated by Historians over the years - So please refer to those new histories of Dundee for a more modern understanding of the History of Dundee.
This exercise is to just to make available the original source material from the 1875 Book.

Iain D. McIntosh, Friends of Dundee City Archives

Part II Section 2

THE ANCIENT CHURCH AND TOWER OF ST. MARY.

Having described what may be called the minor ecclesiastical antiqui­ties, we now propose to give an account of an edifice of a higher rank, which in former times was regarded as the glory of Dundee, and the surviving fragment of which is still an object of pride to every native, and of admiration to every stranger who surveys its noble proportions. The Church of the Blessed Virgin has long ago disappeared, by the violence of warfare or the flames; but the great Tower has outlived human and elemental violence, and restored, as it has been by rever­ent and skilful hands, stands in something like its pristine grandeur, to recall the memories of the past, and gather round it the associations of the present and future generations of Dundee.

The story of its foundation, by David Earl of Huntingdon, in ful­filment of a vow made on his return from the Crusades, has been so frequently repeated, and possesses moreover that air of romantic interest which commends it to popular belief, that it almost seems a pity to disturb the illusion. But the historian, who aims at presenting a truthful narrative, must not evade the duty of eliminating fact from fiction, and presenting the sober truth in preference to legendary stories, highly seasoned with the marvellous, and having nothing to support them but constant reiteration. In opposition, therefore, to the belief hitherto accepted, we venture to affirm that the Earl of Huntingdon was certainly not the founder of the edifice, of which the western tower remains to us; and as the question is of considerable interest, the evidence which can be adduced in support of this state­ment may be briefly submitted.

In the first place, it may be mentioned that the story of Earl David's shipwreck, the vow, and fulfilment of it in the erection of St Mary's at Dundee, originated with Boece, since whose day it has been merely copied and re-copied, without doubt or enquiry, into other works, until, by the force of iteration, it has come to be accepted without challenge. As Boece's History was published in 1526—more than three centuries after the event described—it is obvious that he could only have ob­tained his material in one of two ways—either from writings then accessible, or from floating tradition. No previous writer, such as Fordun or Wynton, and none of the archives of the great religious houses of St Andrews, Arbroath, or Brechin, make any allusion to Boece's story, so that we are in a manner shut up to the alternative of tradition as the source of it. It seemed to be the fashion of the times to associate the foundation of every important religious building with some unusual occurrence, and where recourse was not had to a miracle, some legendary marvel supplied its place. It is too well known that from this vague and dubious source Boece drew much of his matter, so that his unsupported statement carries little or no weight. He is an author whom succeeding writers might copy, but would not quote. Lord Hailes, an author of a very different stamp, and whose work is well known as a model of learning and research, gives the gist of the story from Boece, but with the important substitution of Lindores for Dundee. Here is the passage:—" Many were the disasters of this zealous prince. Shipwrecked on the coast of Egypt, he was made captive. His rank unknown, he was purchased by a Venetian, who brought him to Constantinople; there some English merchants accidentally recognised him; they redeemed and sent him home. After having surmounted various difficulties, he was in imminent danger of a second shipwreck on the coast of Scotland. He ascribed his deliverance to the Virgin Mary, and, in memory of her efficacious intercession, founded a monastery at Lindores, in Fife. There is nothing incredible in this story; yet the evidence of it is somewhat suspicious."

The suspicion does not apply, however, to the founding of the Abbey at Lindores by the Earl of Huntingdon, and which he dedi­cated to St Mary and St Andrew. That is matter of history, and beyond all doubt; and being so, it will be at once seen, that, if the date (1198) given by Hailes for that foundation be correct, it is in the highest degree improbable, to say the least, that the Earl should be simultaneously building another splendid votive church in Dundee, dedicated to the same saint. (It is right to say, that some writers give 1178 as the date of foundation of Lindores, but apparently that is either a misprint or an error. To assume it would raise many difficulties, such as the youth of the Earl, and his being about that time a hostage in England for obligations undertaken by his brother, King William, to say nothing of inconsistency with the known period of the Crusade, from which he had just returned.)
This supposition is further negatived by this other ascertained fact, that, about the year 1200, Earl David granted the church of Dundee, with the tithes of the church lands, to the Abbey of Lindores. This would imply that our church was then but a small cure, such as might be gifted, along with a score of other parish churches, to swell the revenues and power of the greater and more favoured establishment on the other side of the Tay. Indeed, it is ascertained that the church was rated in the taxation at only forty pounds Scots, a sum which, singularly enough, was afterwards assigned to defray the maintenance of a promising student from Lindores, while pursuing a theological course at the University. From these considerations, we are justified in holding with Mr Jervise, that "there is nothing to show that Earl David ever, in the literal sense of the word, founded a church at Dundee,—the very name of St Mary's itself not being met with in any chartulary or other writing until about the year 1406,"

Passing from the scanty .documentary evidence which exists on the subject, we shall next examine the architectural style of the "Old Steeple," from which a reliable conclusion may be arrived at as to its age. That also justifies the statement that the edifice, of which it formed a part, could not have been reared in the days of the Earl of Huntingdon. To enable the general reader to appreciate the conclusiveness of this argument, it may be explained that the development of Gothic architecture was in a regular progression, which admitted of classification into styles or "periods," having certain well-defined features, and each extending over a space of time which can be fixed with tolerable certainty. This classification provides a basis, analagous to that laid down in the science of geology for example, enabling one to refer with confidence any particular example to its proper place in the series. The large field for generalization afforded by the numerous Gothic buildings of England has enabled the classification of styles to be satisfactorily fixed for that country. Every country has, however, more or less of individuality in its architecture, and in none is this more marked than Scotland; besides which, our adoption of the successive styles was tardier, and the transitions were more prolonged, than in the sister country. "Though so near a neighbour, and so mixed up with England in all the relations of war and peace, the Scotch never borrowed willingly from the English; but, owing probably to the Celtic element in the population, all their affinities and predilections were for continental nations, and especially for France. So completely is this the case, that there is scarcely a single building in the country that would not look anomalous and out of place in England; and though it is true that the edifices are not entirely French in design, the whole taste and character of them is continental, though wrought out in a bolder, and, generally, in a simpler and ruder fashion, than the corresponding examples in other countries

The one thing which the Scotch seem to have borrowed from the English is the lancet form of window, which suited their simple style so com­pletely that they clung to it long after its use had been abandoned in England. This circumstance has given rise to much confusion as to the dates of Scottish buildings, antiquarians being unwilling to believe that the lancet windows of Elgin and other churches really belong to the middle of the 14th century, after England had passed through the phases of circle and flowing tracery, and were settling down to the sober constructiveness of the Perpendicular." (Ferguson's Architecture, vol. ii, p. 893.) The retention of the round arch, which naturally belonged to the Norman, through suc­ceeding styles down even to the days of the Flamboyant—as seen in the doorways of St Giles's, Edinburgh; Balmerino; and our own Tower —is another distinctive peculiarity of our Scottish Gothic. It has also been remarked, that, in our ecclesiastical edifices, features of civil and castellated buildings were not unfrequently adopted, so that our Tower has been characterised as more like one belonging to a conti­nental hotel de ville than a church. All these minor variations, how­ever, do not interfere with the general classification of the successive styles which prevailed in Scotland.

To convey a proper idea of the subject, we submit a chronological table of the various styles of Gothic architecture in England, parallel with their development in Scotland. In the former, the nomenclature of Eickman has been adopted as being simplest and best known, but with, the synonyms of other authors appended:—

The Decorated style, it will be observed, was being developed in England shortly before the War of Independence. During that protracted and heroic struggle, the whole energies of the Scottish people were devoted to sterner duties than the erection or embellishment of public buildings, and a great gap therefore occurs in our architecture, until some years of peace had supervened upon the decisive battle of Bannockburn (1314). The Decorated style was then taken up, but in a feebler spirit, that told of the impoverished state to which the sacrifices of the war had reduced the country. The English types, too, gave place to a distinctly foreign influence—the outcome evidently of the closer intercourse with France and the Low Countries; so that, while the English Perpendicular is scarcely represented—the east end of Melrose (circa 1460) being almost the only example—the Continental Flamboyant, which never took root in England, became the dominant style in Scotland, This style is characterised, amongst other features, by the waving flame-like forms of the tracery, the prevalence of circular windows, the retention of the round arch in doorways, and elaborately pierced parapets. It is also to be remarked, that, "during the 15th century, the figure of the blessed Virgin, bearing in her arms the infant Saviour, occupied much more frequently a prominent posi­tion on the exterior of churches, in a niche over the portal, or in a niche in the western wall of the towers......... Sculptured represen­tations of the Annunciation, and of the Lily Pot, the symbol of purity, which was considered an emblem of the blessed Virgin, were not uncommon."1 We need scarcely point out how distinctly the above and other peculiarities of this late style appear in St Mary's Tower.
The church at Linlithgow contains a window with tracery of the Scotch Flamboyant style, unsurpassed for the elegance of its design, of which Dunkeld had a duplicate, (This may be accounted for by the circumstance that Bishop Brown,"of Dunkeld, was also vicar of Linlithgow at the time of its completion (1434-1514)) and which has been found in almost identical form in the Lamberti Kirche at Munster, and else­ where in Westphalia; while the large circular window of our Tower may be described as a simplified reproduction of that in the west front of St Pierre at Caen, in Normandy.

Having fixed their character, let us now examine the dates of Scottish churches, which, from their coincidence of style—the late Decorated verging into the Flamboyant—may be held to be contem­poraneous with St Mary's. Linlithgow and Dunkeld belong to the latter end of the 10th century. The former had its Tower finished with flying buttresses supporting an open lantern, in imitation, it is supposed, of the ancient Scottish Crown; but which, in recent times, was removed as insecure. St Giles's, at Edinburgh, a well known example of the same style, dates, for the Choir (now High Church) and Tower, from the reign of James II., 1437-1460 (The crown, which had become dilapidated and dangerous, was rebuilt in 1648.) King's College at Aberdeen, was finished so late as the early part of the 16th century; and St Nicholas at Newcastle—the last of the crowned towers, the only one known out of Scotland—was completed about 1450. The crown of the last-named work is accepted by all good judges as the nearest to what our Dundee Tower was originally designed, and, accordingly, Sir G. Scott proposes to reproduce it, with a change of the angle pinnacles from octagon to square, and some other unimport­ant modifications in detail.

The concurrence of these examples of square towers, identical in general style, and exhibiting in particular that peculiar finish, leaves no reasonable doubt that our Tower must be referred to the same period in which they were erected. This view might be further supported by reference to numerous other churches, which exhibit the same late Decorated or Flamboyant features, and agree historically with the recognised time in which that style prevailed. We shall only mention King's College Chapel, Aberdeen; Brechin; St John's, Perth; St Monan's; Corstorpnine (1429); Trinity College Church, Edinburgh (1470); Haddington (1290); Seton; Paisley (1445), &c. Roslin Chapel (1466) is an example which stands by itself; but, in the exuberance of its ornamentation, many details, identical with those found elsewhere, may be detected—as, for instance, the small buttress niches, the corbels of which are segment-sided, a peculiarity which is found also in our Tower. (We should rather say they were so; for Mr Scott has, in restoring these niches, departed from the originals, by making the corbels all straight-sided. As very slight details are often of great value in ecclesiological discussions, we ap­prehend few will approve the liberty thus taken)

In the case of Roslin, the foreign influence is directly traceable, William St Clair, the founder, having brought the workmen specially from the north of Spain, where it is ascertained French Freemasons had been extensively employed. (“We are not left to infer the influence which France exercised upon Scottish architecture merely from the similarity or identity of style: we have record of Frenchmen who had oversight of the chief temples of the north. A rhymed inscription, on the south transept of Melrose, relates that John Murdo, 'born in Parys certaynely, had the charge of St Andrews, Glasgow, Melrose, Paisley, and the abbeys of Nithsdale and Galloway."—Quarterly Review, June 1849.)

These bands of masons, it is well known, moved from place to place, establishing their "lodges" at the scene of their labours. Masons' "marks" are to be found on St Mary's Tower identical with those found on other build­ings in the South of Scotland, which both accounts for similarity of details, and strengthens, if that were needed, the argument for fixing the age of a particular edifice from that of others presenting similar features.

The conclusion at which we arrive, from the comparison of style, and collation of ascertained dates of contemporaneous edifices in Scot­land, is that the Tower of St Mary's, so far from belonging to the time of David, Earl of Huntingdon, must be assigned to the period of the Jameses, most probably the first half of the fifteenth century, At the same time, it may be observed that, where a western tower formed part of the design for a church, it was usually the last portion to be built, and thus the main body of the edifice might have been of an earlier style. St Mary's followed the orthodox plan of such structures, in taking the form of a Latin cross, having its greatest length from east to west, and consisting of Chancel or Lady Chapel, Choir, Tran­septs, and Nave, terminating with the western Tower. It was cus­tomary to commence with the eastern end or head of the cross; and, when the choir was finished down to the Transepts, that portion was used for the celebration of divine service. The remaining sections were proceeded with, often after the lapse of many years, as necessity arose, or the funds could be provided; (The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Andrews, begun iu 1159, was not completed, through various causes, until 1318.) and hence considerable diver­sity of style appears in almost every edifice of any magnitude. It has, indeed, been supposed that a chapel occupied part of the site of St Mary's Church, (A chapel, dedicated to St Mary, is believed, on good grounds, to have stood not far from the present churches, on the east side of Couttie's Wynd, and this may have been the old St Mary's referred to) and, being converted into the Chancel, formed the nucleus of the larger structure, to which the Transept, Nave, and other parts were added to complete the cruciform figure; but this is mere conjecture, and the probabilities are against it. The more likely sup­position is, that the eastern portions were commenced from thirty to fifty years prior to the completion of the Tower—say, during the latter years of the fourteenth century, which accords with the earliest au­thentic notice of the fabric. In that case the choir and chancel would be of early Decorated, possibly of a transitional character from Early English, while the Transepts and Nave might present a later Decorated character, approaching that of the Tower itself.

Owing to the limited extent of the town, which then extended no farther westward than the present High Street, the church was erected in the fields outside the western gates, and for a long period was desig­nated the " Kirk in the Fields." In some titles of property, in the Nethergate, still extant, to which the churchyard was a boundary, the church was called by that name so late as the beginning of the seven­teenth century. The dimensions of the original edifice, when entire, can be approximately stated, and are here given, along with those of other cathedral or collegiate churches in Scotland:—

* Exclusive of Tower, which would add other 34 feet.

It will be seen from the above that St Mary's, in point of size, held an honourable place in comparison with even the most celebrated ecclesiastical edifices in Scotland; nor is the idea of its importance diminished when we come to enumerate the chaplainries connected with it, and the numerous altars before which the services of the old faith were celebrated within its walls. From various sources, more or less authentic, we have compiled the following particulars of the

FOUNDATIONS THAT WERE WITHIN THE CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.

I. Chantry of our Lady and St George the Martyr, and Altar of All Saints.—In the year 1398, Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk, knight, the first Earl of Crawford, having been victorious in a tournament at London Bridge, on the festival of St George, the tutelary Saint of England, founded and endowed in this church, in December 1406, a chantry of five priests or vicars choral, which he dedicated to the honour of our Lady of Victory and St George the Martyr, in remembrance of his prowess. At the same time, he also founded an altar, which he dedicated to the memory of All Saints, at which he appointed two chaplains to officiate, and endowed both the chantry and this altar with an annual stipend of forty merits, payable out of his dwel­ling-house, called the "Earl's Lodging," which stood at the foot of Union Street The other endowments of the choristers, separate from All Saints, in so far as our means of information extend, are as follow:—

At the foundation of the choir, the noble founder granted annually, and forever, for its support, twelve inerks, payable out of his lands of the Kirktown, and Halltown, or Hatton of Inverarity, near Forfar; twelve merks, payable out of his lands of Aberbothrie (now, we believe, called Balmyle), near Meigle; twelve merks, payable out of his lands of Balgay, Meggineh, and Barony-mill of Megginch, all in the parish of Errol; and twelve merks, payable out of lands of Dunlin, Dounie, and Mill of Dounie, all in the barony of Dounie, and parish of Monikie. Each of these grants was conveyed by a separate charter, and each was separately confirmed by Robert, Duke of Albany, Regent of the kingdom, under his seal of office, being all dated at Perth on the same day, the 24th February, 1406. Besides these, the choristers had revenues amounting to £83 2s. 11d., which were drawn out of the profits of certain houses and properties, situated at different places in the town and elsewhere. Of this sum, however, a part, amounting to £1 5s. 4d., was payable out of the Mill of Ballumbie; £1 10s. out of the Laird of Fintry's mill, and a merk, or 12s. 4d., out of the mill of one of his tenants, both at Mains. The gross income of the choir, so far as known, including the moiety of forty merks granted by the founder, was j£128 9s. 7d., averaging to each of the choristers an an­nuity of £15 12s. 9d.

II. St Andrew the Apostle.—In the beautifully groined vault, which formed the east end of the south or front aisle of the Chancel, there were a chapel and an altar, dedicated to the honour of St Andrew the Apostle and national tutelary. At what time and by whom they were erected we cannot say, neither can we state how the chaplain was endowed, farther than, at the  Reformation, the revenues, as ascer­tained by the mort ancient existing Rent Roll of the town's property, amounted to only £13 13s. 6d.

III. The Rood or Holy Cross.—There is nothing known concerning the founder or foundation of this altar, beyond the somewhat dubious fact of its having occupied one of the arches of the Chancel; and all that is known relative to its endowments is, that they amounted to only £9 16s. 8d., arising from certain properties in the town. Of this paltry provision, an annuity of £1 6s. 8d. was paid by the Laird of Fintry out of his mill at Mains.

IV. The Holy Blood.—This was, perhaps, the last altar or chapelry which was founded within the church, or within the town, before the Reformation; but, as the particulars concerning it are fully stated in the Merchant's Letter or Charter of the Guildry, it is unnecessary to repeat them here.

These four foundations, with the exception of the doubt expressed in connection with No. III., are all that are known with certainty to have been within the church before the Reformation, as there were none founded after that era, although Sir George Douglas says there is a charter under the Great Seal, dated 19th February, 1589, for the support of a chaplain in the Church of Dundee, but we suspect the date is a misprint for 1389, or, perhaps, 1489. Besides those above mentioned, there were other four altars, which, as their sites cannot be traced to any particular point in the town, it is possible may have been erected within the Church; but as this is a matter wholly uncer­tain, we shall content ourselves with stating their names and the value of each living at the Reformation. 1st, St John the Baptist, living, £17 13s. 4d; of this sum £4 were an annuity paid out of Trottick Mill by the Laird of Wester Powrie. 2nd St Agatha, living, £11 6s. 8d. 3rd St Catherine of Sienna, living, £9 18s. 4d. 4th St Ninian, living, £8 14s. 10d.

The exact position of the various chapels and altars within the Church cannot now be determined; but, from casual allusions to several of them, the known position of similar foundations, in contemporary churches and other data, it is believed that the accompanying ground-plan of the Church, in which an attempt is made for the first time to indicate these and other arrangements of the ancient edifice, is at least an approximation to the truth. It is confessedly a work of difficulty thus to recall the features of a building of which every fragment has long been obliterated, and some of these features must be regarded only as probabilities, derived from the study of contemporaneous buildings of the same class. One of these, the chevet or open apse, surrounded by an aisle having chapels grouped around it, is a sugges­tion based upon French models. This beautiful feature grew out of the practice of enlarging the small ancient chapel, by piercing its walls to communicate with an encircling aisle, and adding the choir portion to the west end. The latter was used for the accommodation of the people, while the original chapel became the sacred shrine of tomb or relic—the Holy of Holies, in which the clergy celebrated high rites and prayed apart. Later, this arrangement formed the model of new churches; and, although we profess no favour for traditions as such, it may be conceded that the one already noticed, relating to an early existing sanctuary on the site of St Mary's, gives some colour to the chevet arrangement introduced into our plan.

Having set aside the traditional account of the building of the Church, it would have been satisfactory if we could offer an authentic narrative of its erection, but unfortunately no records can be found for such a task. Ecclesiologists have the same confession to make regarding almost every one of the ancient ecclesiastical edifices of Scotland; nor is this to be wondered at when it is remembered that, generally speaking, churchmen were the designers, and migrating bands of craftsmen the rearers of these medieval works. Any chronicles, therefore, which would throw light upon their erection, are to be sought for in the archives of the mother abbeys or cathedrals; yet. even in regard to famous places like St Andrews, Arbroath, or Glasgow, asso­ciated with the names of such dignitaries as Lamberton, Bethune, and Wischart, the Registers that have been preserved contain little to dispel the uncertainty which invests the subject. We have already seen that St Mary's belonged in property to the Abbey of Lindores, which drew the tithes of the church lands. These included the ancient burgh; and, in return, the Abbey undertook to maintain the vicar, and to uphold the fabric of the choir as the parish kirk. "By dio­cesan and papal authority, it was afterwards arranged that the vicar should receive the altarage, or the baptismal, burial, and certain other dues, instead of the vicarage teinds; and, subsequently, by consent of the bishop, the burgesses bound themselves to maintain the choir, and the church in general, on receiving an annuity of five merks from the Monastery of Lindores." This took place in 1442, and, as we surmise, about the time or not long after the fabric had been com­pleted. From that date, frequent mention occurs of gifts made to the magistrates, in the way of church furniture and ornaments. In 1491, George Spalding, a wealthy and pious burgess, presented some altar plate, including "ane Ewcaryst of syluer owr gylt, ane gryt bell, ane syleuer chalyss owr gylt, ane new mess buyk, .... ane new war stall to keip the vestiamentis of the hye altar in till, ane gryt kyst, and twenty schillings of annuell rent"—a proviso being added that the book and chalice were only for the service of "the Lady preyst." The magistrates winced their sense of the costliness of this gift by requir­ing the officiating priest to exhort the people to pray for Spalding, "hys sawll, hys wyf, and for thar antecessowris and successowris," after his own and his wife's death, and to say psalms, and "kast haly watter on thar grawys. An annual mass was also to be said in the choir of the kirk, with "diregeis and torchys at the sawll mess;" and they were to "gar ring thar bellis of the kirk, and the hand-bell throu the tovne as efferis." The donor and his successors were also to have "larys [graves] in the quer of the kirk, under the farrast gree befor the hye altar." This was a concession which sufficiently shows the high estimation in which Spalding was held, as in early times inter­ments were forbidden in the Church; and, after this rule came to be relaxed, the remains of high personages or church dignitavies only were honoured with sepulture within the Church. The western Tower was not so scrupulously preserved, and it is found, in the case of St Mary's, to be full of human remains.

Though belonging to Lindores in property, the Church of St Mary's was subject ecclesiastically to the See of Brechin, and accordingly such references as the above are met with in the Register of that bishopric. The earliest recorded "person de Dundee" was William of Kerneil, who was alive in 1214. Down to 1455, no other name is found; but in that year Pope Calistus III. issued a bull in favour of Gilbert Forster, Archdeacon of Brechin. in virtue of which he was to succeed one Richard Craig in the vicarage of the Church of Dundee. The only other ascertained incumbent, before the Reformation, was John Barry, who held the, cure about 1490-5. With the establish­ment of the Protestant faith, the succession of pastors becomes more readily traced. According to the accounts hitherto accepted, the first minister was Mr William Christison; but, as we have already shown, the post was previously filled by Paul Methven. His successor, Mr Christison, is described by Melville as "a faithful pastor," and a par­ticular friend of his elder brother, Roger Melville, burgess of Dundee. The stipend, in 1567 was 200 merks (£11 2s. 2Bd.)—payable out of the thirds of the Abbey of Lindores, and of "Scone, in the baronye of Angus vnder the Bra" (probably Kinnochtry near Coupar Angus).

Besides Mr Christison, who died in 1603, there was one William Kyd, whose duty it was to read prayers or Scripture-lessons within the church, and whose salary was the modest pittance of £40, Scots (£3 6s. 8d.) The following is the succession of ministers from the Reformation :—
(These lists are mostly compiled from Dr Scott's great work—Fasti Ecclesia Scoticana – Vol. III., part 2)

The choir and chancel portion of the ancient fabric, which we are now describing, was variously known as St Mary's, the East, and the Old Church—the latter, from its being the first of the four divisions of the complete structure, which was used as a place of worship accord­ing to the Reformed ritual. After the appropriation of the Transept, it acquired the name of the "Eist Littile Kirk " The numerous alter­ations made, at different times, upon this portion so changed its character that the original form could scarcely have been recognisable. The spaces between the twelve piers which separated the aisles, were all filled with galleries, resting on the capitals, with the exception of four in the south, and one on the north side. From the Council minute of 10th January, 1561, when a kirk-master was appointed, it appears that the edifice was in very had order, repairs were authorised, and "na stanes or tymmer to lie in the kirkyaird on pane of confiscation." Three years afterwards, little or no progress had been made: the repairs had become so urgent, and funds so scarce for executing them, that various expedients were resorted to, such as the fines imposed on delinquents, special collections every Sunday, and privileges granted to such craftsmen as could be found to give their services. A "glasin wricht" was rewarded with a "maill-free" house or lodging, for repairing the "glass woundokis," and agreeing to uphold them during his lifetime, which he found to be no easy task, in consequence of "bairnis reclesslie breking the glass."

("Ye Magistrates and Counsall have disponit to yair well belovit Andrew Cowper, glasin wright and master-gunner, all and haill ye biggin, whilk ye said Andro presentlie occupies, by and on ye south-east end of yair new flesch-house, with free ish and entre yairto, for all ye dayis and space of ye said Androwis lyf-time, bott ony revocatioun; for ye whllk ye said Audrow Cowpr has acht himself, now, presentlie to mend and repair ye haill glass woundouks of ye said Paroche Kirk of yis burgh, and mak ye samen sufficient, and alsua sail uphald ye samen during his lyfetime, prowiding giff ye said Andro can try ony persoune breken ye said glass windouks, or ony bairnis of yis burgh recklislie duing ye samen, or wilfulie, yat ye said bairnis sail recompense and pay to ye said Andro ye hail of ye skayth; and alsua the said Andro sail attend ye Artailyrie of his burgh in vsiug yearoff, quhen tym necessar sail chance, and yis lugeing above written to be maill are to ye said Andro dureing ye space forsaid."—(M.S.. Head Court Minute, 28th Aug., 1566.)

In 1581, special collections were again ordered for “reparation of the kirk, revestrie, and loft of steple" and again, in 1588-9, a vigorous effort was made to accomplish certain repairs, and have "all impedimentis within the samin removit, and loftis maid therein." By what seems a strange perversity, accommodation of a very different sort was also ordered to be provided within the walls of the church, as we find by the following Council minute, under date Jan. 1588:—"The baillies and counsall, finding the place of imprisonment devysit for fornicatoris and adulteraris to be very incommodious, it is concludit that there sall be ane new prissoun biggit above the volt of St. Androis Iyile, in the eist end of the Kirk for that effect, and the present passage to serve thairto, and hes nominat William Man, baillie, attendare on that wark."

As the greater part of the accommodation in this, the parish church, belonged in property to the heritors, to the various incorporated trades, and private families, the galleries and pews exhibited great diversity of taste. The front seats of some were covered with coloured cloths, prettily festooned and fringed, while those of the Magistrates and Hammermen, with the double-fronted gallery of the Fraternity of Sea­men, were richly decorated with carved work. Until the year 1834, when the church was thoroughly cleansed and gas introduced, numbers of brazen chandeliers were suspended at different places, and, when all were blazing on a winter evening, they produced a very splendid effect. The pulpit and desk, both covered with velvet of so deep a green as to be almost black, were built of oak, upon one of the pillars on the south side of the middle aisle, and were ornamented with elaborate carvings—chiefly flower pieces, and these principally roses, in all stages of growth, from the bud to the full-blown flower, all of which were extremely beautiful. The octagonal canopy of the pulpit was particu­larly fine, and was much and justly admired. The whole was the work of a native artist, Mr Bruce, who spent two years in executing them. This pulpit was erected about 1731, and at the same time the church was seated with fixed desks or pews—forms, stools, and such, like moveable seats having been previously used. The old pulpit, with its appurtenances, was sold to the Scots Episcopal congregation, and was fitted up in St Paul's Chapel in Castle Street. The pews which belonged to the Incorporations were marked with their symbols or armorial ensigns, but only two of the shields were accompanied with devices—the Bakers and Coopers; the former having "floriant pistores," and "praise god for all" and the latter "circumeundo vincit."The gallery in the east end, appropriated to the use of the Magistrates and Council, which stretched across the middle aisle, was marked in the centre panel of its finely carved front thus—"for provest, bailzies, and covnsel, 16zl," along with the arms of the town in bold relief. This gallery, until the year 1826, was covered with a coarse woollen carpet, which then gave place to a covering of velvet, similar to that on the pulpit, and just so deep as not to obstruct the view of the carvings. Previous to the same year also, the access to this gallery, and that of the Hammermen in St Andrew's aisle, was by a broad clumsy stair on the outside of the church, which was dignified with the high sounding name of the "King's Stair," de­rived from Charles II., who attended divine service in this Church while he resided in the town, before his march to and defeat at Wor­cester. Part of the accommodation, being the front pews in the west gallery,—which like the eastern, stretched across the middle aisle,— was the property of the Incorporation of Bonnetmakers, according to the following quaint inscription, which was on a large board bearing three "blue bonnets" with red rims, and other symbols of the Trade, fixed to the south wall, adjoining the pews :—

THIS IS THE BONETMAKERS SET QVHA LIST TO SPEYR.

There was formerly another gallery above this, which was taken down in or shortly before 1790; and below it, in the area of the church, there was one, if not two, pews which belonged to the ancient family of Abercrombie of Pitalpin, and seem to have been originally erected by Captain Andrew Abercrombie of Pitalpin, who put his arms and the date, 1620, upon a small pillar which stood at the entrance of one of the pews, a few feet within the north door of the Church.

Before the abrogation of the ancient ecclesiastical establishment, this part of the original building contained the high or chief altar, and the choir, whence it was appropriated to the celebration of the grandest rites of the Catholic communion. Its length was 95 feet, the width of the middle span 25 feet, and of the lateral aisles 16½ feet, making an aggregate width of 58 feet.

The Chapter-house or Session-house.—Behind the East Church there was a strong rectangular building, within which the Parochial Kirk-session and the Presbytery of the bounds held their meetings. This building was divided into two floors by a groined vault. The lower apartment, which communicated with the church by a low pointed-arched doorway, was the place in which, before the Reformation, the members of the chantry and the other priests belonging to the church assembled to transact their several affairs. The upper apartment, to which there was access from the lower by a very narrow staircase, erected in 1826, but, before that time, from the outside of the build­ing, "was thought to have been used in ancient times as a penitentiary, or place of durance, for such persons as brought themselves under the ban of the Church by their irregular conduct. The lower, and larger apartment, or Session-house, as it was called, was considered as having been the confessional; but it would rather seem to have been the capitular hall of the Church and choristers, where they met in chapter when their affairs required attention. Whether the upper apartment, which had a low stone bench carried round it, had ever been used as a place of restraint in the Catholic times is not easy to say, as it rather appears to have been a record room. It is certain that, under the first Reformed Establishment, it, as well as the Steeple, was used as a place of punishment for those convicted of immorality, and for setting at nought the statutes of the "ecclesiastical magistrates." Having, at some early period, been found inconvenient, from the lowness of the roof, or some such cause, an addition was made to the elevation of the walls, which were covered with a stone arch, and above that with a sloping roof of flag slates. Even with this accommodation it was still found incommodious, and another, much less in capacity, but more convenient perhaps in point of position, was, as we have already seen, ordered to be erected at the south-east angle of the church, above St Andrew's aisle. In the same angle there was a slender octagonal tower, covered with a stone spire, between forty and fifty feet in height.

This tower contained a staircase, by which inveterate transgressors of the rules of decorum were conveyed to the prison, and thence to the leads of the aisle, to do penance in the fashion of Paul Methven, or in any other approved method, their necks being encircled by the clasps of the iron "jouggis" or "chokes," a ring for fixing these being found at each of the clerestory windows. The prison was taken down in 1826, and more appropriate embellishments were substituted in its place. Upon a spur that supported one of the cupples of the roof the arms of the Guildry were rudely scrieved, bearing the date 1610, Under the shield, the word IVLLIOZ was placed, and below that I. AVGS, but in much larger letters. What these words signify we do not pre­tend to say, unless that the first may be supposed to be July 2, the figure 2 being anciently represented by z; and the second to be 1st August, indicating a space of time more than sufficient for the erection of the prison. We consider the erection of the Session-house to date no higher than the establishment of the chantry, and to have been built by Lord Crawford for the use of the members of his foundation. It may be interesting to state that George, second Earl of Panmure, having died at Edinburgh, on the 24th March, 1671, his remains were brought for interment at Panbride, and lay some days in this apartment. At the meeting of Town Council, 18th April, 1671, a letter was read from George, third Earl, inviting the magistrates and "neighbours," that is, the burgesses, to the funeral, and requesting liberty to entertain the invited in the Council-house and outer Tolbooth; and, also, that the body should remain in the Vestry of the East Church till the day of burial. Again, on the 9th of May, the Council, in consideration that his Lordship's remains were to be brought to Dundee that day, authorised the Provost to order as many "great gunnes" to be fired as he should think fit, and the same to be done on the day of the funeral.

The Vestry and Library.—At the west end of the south aisle of the East Church there was a small apartment, the dimensions of which were similar to those of St Andrew's aisle at the east end. In this apartment the clergymen who officiated in the East and South Churches assembled before and after service; and it contained a library of nearly eighteen hundred volumes, among which there were many rare and curious works, some of them being as old as the invention of printing by moveable types. The older books were in their original oaken bindings, literally in boards, and many of them bore to have been repaired by William Christison, the second reformed minister of the town and parish, who died about 1590, which gives a considerable antiquity to the library, and evidently shows that its formation belonged to the ancient Church and the Catholic clergy. The know­ledge of its existence did not extend to many beyond the lay and clerical members of the Kirk-session; and few besides them, it is believed, took the trouble to inquire into the nature of its contents. The original founder, and time of foundation of the library, are equally unknown, and will in all probability remain so. All that can at the present time be advanced with certainty concerning it is, that, by act of Head Court, dated 6th March, 1636, entituled "Anent the Librarie," the Kirkmaster, and (as we understand) the parish minister, both for the time, were joint librarians—that the Magistrates and Town Council were patrons and visitors—that in former times it was open to the inhabitants at large, upon leaving a pledge of security that the books should not be injured—and that, in 1834 or 1835, or, perhaps, both years, there were some very acrimonious and unseemly disputes concerning it between the Town Council and the Kirk-session, which the destructive fire of 1841 for ever silenced, there being not twenty volumes saved.

Ancient Monuments,—Near the north-east corner of the wall that encircles the churches, and immediately behind the East Church, there are two large ancient monuments built in the wall, which, about the year 1821, were dug up beside or from under the old Session-house. One of them apparently has been the lid or cover of a stone coffin, the other is flat, and had an inscription in Saxo-Roman characters, thus:—

"hic:: lacet: vlelmvs: dictvs: longvs: cvivs: animvm: reqviescat: in: pace:____"

'It would be idle as well as useless to inquire who this " William," called the "Long," was, though it has been said that an age of about a thousand years may be ascribed to the monument, but this is out of the question; and, as we are precluded from entering into a disquisi­tion on the point, we shall only call attention to the other relics of antiquity that the preparations for building the new church brought to notice, coupled with some previous matters.
The first of these to which we refer is an old monument, in the form of the cover of a stone coffin, hewn into three panels, which was dug up while a drain was constructing at the north side of the old

East Church in 1838. The centre panel bears the standard of the cross, the head of which, at the top of the stone, is contained within a circle, and is handsomely ornamented. Upon the standard, and im­mediately under the circle, a large escutcheon bearing three shields of the arms of the family of Hay is placed. On the left panel a sword is represented, whilst the right is inscribed as follows, in old Saxon cha­racters, slightly cut in:—

"HIC. IACET. IOHANNES. FILIVS. PHILIPPI. CISSORIS."
[Here lies John the son of Philip Cissoris.]

This last name, as well as its connection with that of Hay, is un­known, but it is undoubtedly a proper, though now, perhaps, an extinct family name. The Hays of Errol can be traced to the Anglo-Norman barons who came to England with the Conqueror; and a branch of the family possessed the lands of Dronley from the 15th century downwards. To one or other of these branches the individual here referred to may have been connected by marriage. Along with the monument bearing the above inscription, a few silver pennies, a coffin breastplate, about sixteen inches by twelve, a short sword, the blade of which was twenty inches and a half long, and two inches broad at the broadest part near the point, the hilt five inches and a half, and the cross four inches long and one thick, were also found, with various fragments of arms, among them a two-handed sword, very much decayed. All these relics were picked up and carried away by parties who attended the operation of making the drain, in expectation of something curious being discovered.

In excavating the foundation for the new East Church in 1842, a number of other monuments, variously sculptured, and a very large freestone coffin, formed of one block, and hollowed out to the size and figure of the body which it had contained, were dug up. Some of these monuments were small, but they bore crosses tastefully executed, and some of the large ones had the same emblem elaborately finished. One bore a pair of woolcomber's sheers; and another, which still remains and is in good preservation, has a kind of ship, with a beauti­ful cross for a mast; on the left side of which there is a bear attempt­ing to ascend the rigging, and on the other side there is a figure somewhat resembling a hand, but very much decayed. Above the bear there is a hand in the act. of drawing a sword, a small part of the blade of which is seen; and close to this, but on the very verge of the monument, an old-fashioned hatchet is represented.

A very few of these monuments bore inscriptions.   On one there was

"HIC IACET RANVLPHVS CIVIS DE DVNDE ORATE PRO ME IESV."

(This was probably the Sir Ralph of Dundee, who, at the close of the 13th century, held the lands of Benvie, Balruddery, and others, which the family retained until 1368; and if so, may be regarded as among the oldest of our monumental fragments.)
Another had

"HIC IACET WLL GD CIVIS DE ------EWAAT I H S."

A third had, in Saxon characters,

"ORA PRO ANIM. MATILD FILIA THOMA."

There was a large flat blue stone with an inscription, in italic characters, but so faintly cut in that only an occasional word could be distinguished. This monument would seem to be, from the character of the inscription, not much older than the Reformation in 1560.

THE TRANSEPT

Or cross part of the original building was 174 feet in length, 44 in breadth, and of uniform height with the other parts, namely, 54 feet. It had no aisles, and, in the ancient edifice, it would contain the baptistry, confessional, &c. In many contemporaneous buildings, a low tower marked the intersection of the transept with the nave and choir; but whether St Mary's ever possessed such a feature is doubtful. When separate places of worship came to be formed, the arches leading to the nave and choir were built up, and the transept itself was again divided to form two churches, the northern arm being distinguished as the Cross, and the other as the South Church. At the Reforma­tion, however, it would appear that the transept was, as it now is, used as one place of worship, and called the Cross Church; for a Council minute of 1582 orders collections "for bigging the Croce Kirk." It had apparently remained till that time in the ruinous state to which it is said to have been reduced by Edward I. in 1303, but more probably by the English in 1547, when they burned the town, and gave Balmerino Abbey, and all churches and religious houses they could reach, to the flames. We next find it thus referred to in the minutes of the Head Court :—

"17th Jan 1588. Quhilk day the bailleis and counsall being convenit within the counsal-hous, lies, with advyss of the dekynis of craftis, concludit with commune consent that the Croce Kirk sail be buildit and repaint with all possible diligence, and that ane maister of wark sall be nominat & electit thairto—viz., Johne traill, quha is nominat be commune suffrage to that effect; & for the present it is condescendit to that ane taxatioun of 500 merkis sail be liftit vniversallie of all inhabitants of this burgh, bot exceptioun of persouns, in respect of the necessitie and gudeness of the wark, and lyikwayis that the haill vnlawis that sail happine to be vpliftit of ony nychtbouris of this burgh being convict in ony penalties contenit in the actis, sail be applyit to the help and reparatioun of the kirk."

This effort was successful, to the extent of rebuilding the west wall of the north transept, and restoring the roof; but the work, as may be surmised from the difficulty of raising funds, was of a mean descrip­tion, the walls being built of common ruble work, and the four windows inserted of various dimensions. Two years after, we find a minister installed, and the succession has since been continued, as appears from the following list of incumbents:—

(Church destroyed by Fire 1645)

The cure of the South Church was subsequently served by a senior and junior clergyman, making it a collegiate charge—the former being the vicar, as the minister of the East Church is the parson of the parish. The Junior or third charge was erected in 1609, and appropriated to St Paul's Church in 1836. The following list of incumbents is here given:—

One of the principal contributors to the re-edification of the South Church, in 1588, was Captain Henry Lyell of Blackness, on whose monument, in the east wall, an inscription bore that he had the merit of the whole. It is said that the whole transept was roofed with timbers removed from the Abbey Church of Balmerino, and that these oaken rafters did duty a third time in covering the old Parish Church of Monifieth. (Mr Campbell, in his Balmerino and its Abby, p. 147, rather supports this statement, which nevertheless is open to doubt.)

A very large extent of the accommodation here, as in the East Church, was corporation and private property—the pews of the incorporations, with the exception of those belonging to the Guildry, being pointed out by their armorial ensigns and dates.

Under the north gallery, and along the east wall, there was a long series of pews the property of the Corporation of the Shoemakers, marked on one of the seats in low relieved characters — "hir sits the cordnars." These seats were fitted up before 1650 by the members of the Corporation, 58 in number, who voluntarily assessed themselves in sums varying from £1 10s. to £11 Scots, the whole amount being £222 4s. Scots.

The fleshers and bakers also sat in this church, the former having painted upon the front of their loft the appropriate text - "man shall not live by bread alone;" while their neighbours, the bakers, asserted their importance by an equally apt quotation - "bread is the staff of life.”

On the south side of the pulpit, and stretching along the east wall to the south end of the church, there was a series of nineteen or twenty pews belonging to the Fraternity of Seamen, marked with a large and beautifully carved figure of a ship under sail, well manned and armed, all in very bold relief, such as is represented in sea paint ings of sea pieces of the old school This was the first property in the churches acquired by the Fraternity, and the expense of fitting up the space with seats, which occurred soon after the burning of the churches in 1645, was defrayed by a tax of 6d. per pound on the wages of seamen belonging to the port, and 8d. per pound on the wages of stranger seamen resorting to the same. On the southern pillar of the arches in the western wall there was inscribed - "master john wederburn of blackness, 1667," accompanied with his arms; and on the northern pillar - "provest, baillzies, and covnsel, 1653." 

On the south side of the pillar, the ensigns of the Corporation of Fleshers were placed, which covered the beginning of the inscription, and which most likely had been the word "for." The pillar thus marked appears to have been erected for, and used by the Magistrates and Council, during the time Charles II. resided in the town, and also during the partial establishment of Episcopacy; for, though the date 1621 was on the front of the gallery of the East Church appropriated to them, it is probably they had not uniformly used it till the final establishment of Presbyterianism, after the Revolution in 1688, at which time the altar and other Episcopal appointments were removed. This church, like the Cross Church, both before and after being roofed in 1598, was used for interments; this appearing to have been applied chiefly as a place of sepulture for the ministers, and the more respectable and wealthy class of citizens. The following are the inscrip­tions which possessed any general interest.

I. - Captain Henry Lyell of Blackness.

"Rez. ad opvs. tompli. Salomoni misit. Hiramvs.
Ligua. Tyro, triticvm. paetvs. mvltvmg. rogatvs.
Qui. svb. rege. meres, dux. ferrvm. gratis. & vlti.
Transmittis. templo. instavranbo. Henrioi. Lyelle.
Qvina. qvater. Tyrio. Salomo. dedit. oppida. regi.
Qvam. qvinis. qvaterine. fvit. tr. plvris. es. vnis."
[To Sol'mon's Temple King Hiram sent from Tyre
Fine Cedar-wood, but upon great desire;
This Church, thou henry lyell, to repair
Did freely give all that was necessar;
Tho' the Tyrian King gave Sol'mon towns twice ten,Thou greater than these both! and best of men.]

("Theater of Mortality"—a curious collection of epitaphs from the principal burying-grouuds in Scotland, by Mr Robert Monteath, Edinburgh, 2 rols., 1704 and 1713 ; republiahed in 1 vol., Glasgow, 1834.)

The armorial bearings that adjoined this inscription were, a cross cantoned with four crosses patee; the crest of a unicorn's head couped, with the device, at. al. times. god. me. defend. On a label between the helmet and shield there was inscribed—C. hendri lyel.

II. - Provost James Hallyburton.

The place where this gentleman was interred was unknown till the time the church was repaired in 1827, when his grave, with a chest-formed monument, richly ornamented with coats of arms and other devices, was discovered on the 17th October in that year, under the floor of the lateran, immediately before the window on the north side of the pulpit. Before the new floor was laid down, the monument was placed close to the wall under the window, but the whole was destroyed by the fire of 1841. The following inscription was on the cover:—

"Hie. sitvs. est. Jacobvs. Halybvrtonvs. patrvis. nobilis. viri Georgii. Halybvrton. de. Petcvr. Militis. qvi. Praefectvram. Deidoni. vrbanvm. favciter. annos. 33. gessit. obiit. anno. Dom. 1588. aetatis. svae. 70.
"Alecti. Praefect. Patriae. Vindex. Pvpili. Tvtor. Ecclesiae. Iesv. Alvmnvs. fvit."

[Here lies James Hallyburton, uncle of a noble man, George Hallyburton of Pitcur, Knt., who for thirty-three years happily administered the office of Provost within the town of Dundee. He died in the year of the Lord 1588, and of his age 70.

Provost of Dundee, Defender of his Country, Protector of the Orphan, and a Son of the Church of Jesus.]

III. - Andrew Fletcher.

This gentleman's monument, a flat slab, lay in the area of the church, and was inscribed thus:—
"Memoriae. Andreae. Fletcheri. mercatoris. &. civis. primario. vrbis. Deidonanoe. in. testimonivm. svse. pietatis Robertvs. Magister. David. &. Magister. Ionnes, filii. hoc. monvment. caedendvm. cvrabant. obiit. nonis. Ivnii. anno, aerae. Christianae. 1637. aetatis. avae. 71.”

"Hic. ossa. &. cineres. iacent. marmore. quasqve.
exvvias. mortis, vir. trvcvlenta. rapit.
Fama. decvs. virtus, non. depopvlando. sepulchris.
Haec. reliqva. in. terris. sunt. monvmenta. tvi."

[To the memory of Andrew Fletcher, merchant and worthy citizen of the city of Dundee, in testimony of their affection, Robert, Mr David, and Mr John, his sons, caused this monument to be erected. He died 9th June, in the year of the Christian era 1637, and of his age 71.

Thy bones and ashes lie beneath this stone,
And all the spoils death could triumph upon;
Thy fame and praise, thy virtue cannot die,
These upon earth stand monuments of thee.]

IV.- Rev, Thomas Davidson.

The following inscription was on an elegant tablet of white marble, surrounded with a broad border of veined black marble, with a neat globular urn surmounting the circular head of the tablet. The whole was inserted in the wall, high above the middle of the line of pews belonging to the Seamen Fraternity, on the south side of the pulpit; and all shared the common fate in 1841.

"Near this place is deposited the mortal part of Mr Thomas Davidson, a faith­ful minister of Jesus Christ, first at Stirling Castle, then at Whitekirk in East Lothian, and afterwards nearly thirty years in this city. His manners were easy and gentle, his temper serene and benevolent, his piety fervent and sincere, his labours in the service of his Great Master unwearied.
He exchanged this mortal life for immortality November xxviith, m.d.cclx., aged lxxxii. His eldest son, William Davidson of Rotterdam, to perpetuate his memory, caused this monu­ment to be erected.

In clearing out the ruins, preparatory to commencing the building of the new church in autumn 1845, a large flat stone was found in the area, immediately in front of the monument in the wall. This stone was wholly covered with the following obituary notices:—

"Here lieth the Revd. Samuel Johnston, late minister of the Gospel in Dun­dee, who died the 24th of February, 1731, in the 77th year of his age.
"Here also interred is the Revd. Mr John Willison, minister of the Gospel in Dundee, who died on the 3rd day of May, 1750, in the 70th year of his age, having been 13 years minister in Brechin, and 34 in Dundee.
"In the same place lieth the Revd. Mr Thomas Davidson, who, having been 19 years minister of the Gospel at Whitekirk, and 28 at Dundee, died there on the 17th of November, 1760, aged 84 years.

"Likewise under this stone are deposited the remains of the Revd. Mr Alexander Ferrier, who was born at Largo November 19th, 1728, ordained minister of the Gospel in the Dissenting Congregation at Alnwick, Novr. 5th, 1755, translated to Oxnam Septr. 21st, 1758, and from thence to Dundee August 4th, 1763, and who died October 29th, 1764, aged 35 years."

V. - Rev. James Robertson.

After the rubbish caused by the burning was partially cleared away, a few fragments of flat monuments were found. On one the arms of Robertson, three boars' heads erased, and those of Scrymseoure, a lion rampant, holding a scymeter in his dexter paw, were represented on two separate shields. The dexter shield was accompanied with the initials, m. i. r., being those of Mr James Robertson, the first minister of the South Church, and who died about 1623. The left shield bore the arms of his wife. All that remained of the inscription was—

tv intestm
no sacrvm
lii anno Dom. 16., aetatis svae 68.

VI. - Rev. Colin Campbell.

On another fragment there were also two shields, the dexter one containing the gyron, lymphad, and checque' escutcheons of the armo­rial bearings of Campbell, with the initials m. c. c., and the same interlaced in cypher, being those of Mr Colin Campbell, the second incumbent of the Third Charge. The other shield bore the three escut­cheons of Hay, the name of Mrs Campbell, the shield being flanked with an ox-yoke on each side. All that remained of the inscription was—

vs. et. annos. 3
lo Pastori. vio

VII.- A third fragment, of Balgay stone, bore.

Alex Watson
et Jacobi Watson ejud
Caetera vict
Disce ex vicina lu

The extremely shattered condition of this stone prevented the know­ledge of who Alexander Watson was; but, from the fact of it being within the church, we consider him to have been the Provost after the middle of the 17th century, who purchased the lands of Wallace Craigie in 1672.

Cross Church or Fourth charge, which later became St John’s.

Of this division of the old church there is little to record. In 1645, it was destroyed by fire, and, while in a ruinous state, was occupied in 1651 as a stable by the cavalry under General Monk, and again, in 1745, by those of the Pretender. It was repaired and fitted up for divine service in 1759, and erected into a Fourth Charge by the Court of Teinds 23rd July, 1788.

In 1830, its internal arrangements were altered, and the capacity of the church enlarged by the erection of an aisle on the west side. Like the East Church, this one had a second­ary gallery in the south end until 1823—a lofty, dark, and unfre­quented region, accessible only by the same steep and gloomy staircase that communicated with its neighbour "cock-loft" in the East Church. The ministers of this charge have been the following:—

On his resignation, Mr Thomson emigrated to America, whence, after the lapse of a few years, he returned, and was again, as is said, installed for a short time in his former cure of this church. This gentleman was rather eccentric, if not unsound in mind; and latterly, he published a book of a very extraordinary nature, under the title of "Charles and Alectum," purporting to be an account of his life, trials, and experiences. In this book, among other things, he inveighs bitterly against the Magistrates, and particularly against Provost John Pitcairn, for their unchristian usage of him, severely reproaching the Provost for sending a whole company of soldiers to annoy him, by exercising them in his dining-room, in the old hospital, at the foot of South Tay Street, where he lived. It is said the last time this gentleman preached in this church, which was the last time he ever preached, a black cat walked several times before him round the pulpit. This, of course, as a man of his temperament would judge, he considered to be the devil come to put an end to his usefulness, as it certainly put an unceremoni­ous end to his sermon.

The STEEPLE or ST. CLEMENTS CHURCH - FIFTH CHARGE

This occupies what formed the nave or western division of the ancient structure, and measured 120 feet in length, 68 in width, of which the centre was 40, and two side angles each 14 feet—and 54 feet in height from the floor to apex of roof. The present edifice—a comparatively modern, and by no means attractive building—was erected in 1789, the charge having been erected into a stipendiary of the Establishment by the Court of Teinds, 23rd July,1788. Its minis­ters have been —

DESTRUCTION OF THE CHURCHES BY FIRE.

The descriptions which we have given apply to the four churches as they existed until 1841. In the early morning of Sunday the 3d January in that year, the inhabitants were roused by the bells pealing the alarm of fire, and, when they hurried by hundreds to the spot, it became too apparent that the time-honoured structures, which had become dear to our citizens as the temples in which their forefathers had for centuries observed the ordinances of religion, were inevitably doomed to destruction. By six o'clock of that winter morning, the conflagration, which originated in the South Church, was at its height, the three churches, from base to pinnacle, being one huge mass of fire. The lurid glare of the flames, as they enveloped the roofs, and shot up at times with fiery peaks into the sky, rendered the sight one of weird grandeur, such as can never be forgotten by those who witnessed, in sad and fearful expectancy, the awful fury of the devouring element. As the masses of roof fell crashing into the body of the building, the raging violence of the flames increased tenfold, and seemed to mock the impotence of human effort to arrest the work of devastation. From the back of the edifice, the volume of fire, gathering still fiercer energy, moved towards the front, shrouded in dense clouds of smoke, through which the livid flames shone in gloomy but portentous splen­dour. After a moment of suspense, the flame? burst with irresistible fury through the beautiful Gothic window facing the street, in an immense mass of inconceivable brilliancy, carrying with it every portion of mason work, the glass having been previously destroyed. At this moment the scene was truly sublime. The assembled populace were driven back from the fire by the intensity of the heat, and looked on with mingled feelings of awe and apprehension. At this fearful crisis every hope of saving any portion, of the edifice seemed, by com­mon consent, to be abandoned. For an instant, every exertion of the firemen was paralysed, and the groups, huddled together in the streets, looked on in silence, subdued by the grandeur of the scene. Their sympathies were then painfully excited by observing fitful gleams shoot through the body of the East Church, the fatal precursors of its destruction. The Cross Church was already enveloped in flames when this venerable relic of antiquity caught fire. The crashing of the galleries, as they yielded successively to the flames—the fall of ponderous roofs, which shot volumes of fire into the air, accompanied by dense clouds of embers—the sharp reports from the stones, as they burst from the walls and pillars, resembling the discharge of artillery —and the frequent explosions which proceeded from the base of the buildings, combined to create impressions of the most powerful and extraordinary character.

While all this was progressing below, the ancient Tower, attached to the Steeple Church—the only one not in flames — rose phoenix-like above the sea of fire, the peal of bells in its interior imparting a mourn­ful grandeur to the spectacle. The utmost efforts were made by the firemen to prevent the fire spreading to the Steeple Church, and hap­pily this was effected, and both the Church and Tower were fortunately preserved. The South and Cross Churches were entirely gutted, nothing but the bare exterior walls being left standing, and the Old or East Church was a perfect wreck. The only articles saved were the silver communion service, and the records of the Presbytery of Dundee,, which were got out of the room above the Session-house.( One of the baptismal silver basins was melted, and only a small part of the fused metal was recovered. Among the very few articles that were saved entire there was one of the old-fashioned, broad, shallow pewter plates, in which the collection was made at the church door. This plate has an inscription round the brim in two lines, with a large space between the words—"This basin belongeth to the Church of Dundee, which was given by John Pitcairn, merchant, anno 1658.")

Much regret was felt at the destruction of the library, composed of ancient works in Greek, Latin, &c., the writings of the Fathers of the Church. The sum of £1000 was insured on each of the churches; but the damage sustained could not have been less than £15,000, while otherwise the loss was irreparable. The origin of the fire was attributed to the overheating of a stove, situated in a passage between the South and Steeple Churches.

The East or Parish Church was first rebuilt, the foundation-stone having been laid on Her Majesty's birthday, the 19th May, 1842; the new Church opened for worship on Sunday, 10th March, 1844, by the Rev. Dr McLachlan. The building, as it now stands, is 88 feet in length, and 66 feet wide, externally; and consists of a nave of 27 feet, and side aisles of 12 feet clear width. The length is divided into five bays by clustered piers and arches internally, which carry the clere-story and corresponding buttresses on the external walls of the aisles. The roof is open-timbered, and galleries run along the aisles, and across the west end, reached by side-doors and staircases, the main entrance being at the east end, behind the pulpit, an inconvenient arrangement, and one quite at variance with ancient models. The large east window has three divisions filled with stained glass.

The north light contains the arms of the Fraternity of Master Seamen (a ship full rigged), and the "gvildb taodvnensis sigillvm." The centre contains the armorial bearings and other emblems of the town of Dundee; and the south division the arms of the Maltmen, and of the Three Trades, with the motto—"tria jvncta in vna." The re-erection, of the transept churches was delayed, by diversity of opinion, as to whether one or two should be undertaken. It was finally arranged that only one place of worship, now called the South Church, should be located there. It was commenced in 1846, and opened in the following year. This church measures 109 feet externally, from north to south (being much shorter than the old transept), 40 feet in width at the extre­mities, and 72 feet in the centre, where it extends westward in line with the Steeple Church, the recess thus formed containing a gallery.

The South and East Churches were designed by the late Mr Burn of Edinburgh. The style is Decorated Gothic, and though the design may not, either in composition or detail, satisfy the exacting criticism now applied to modern Gothic, it must be regarded as a dignified and church-like structure. Now that the western Tower has been restored, the ugly and inappropriate Steeple Church only remains to be assimilated to its style, in order to produce a group which might worthily recall the effect of ancient St Mary's in its pristine grandeur.

THE TOWER.

Having already adverted, in the body of the work, to the incidents associated with the Tower, and discussed its age and general features, we shall now submit such other details regarding it as appear to be worthy recording. It would be interesting to know who designed it, but that question, though often asked, is not so easily answered, being involved in the dubiety which exists as to the precise date of its erection. In the course of a somewhat extensive investigation on this point, however, we have fallen upon what appears to us a probable solution of the question; but it may be as well first to clear the ground of the hypothesis set up by tradition. According to that accommo­dating, but unreliable authority, the architect or builder was Alan the Dorward, Hostiarius or door-keeper to the king, and an ancestor of whom held the lands of Lundie. The story goes that, on the comple­tion of the fabric in 1198, King William was so pleased with it that he presented Dorward with a gold ring; and that, being afterwards engaged in boar-hunting on the Sparrow-muir, now the Hawkhill of Dundee, he there lost the ring, and offered, without success, a hand­some reward for its recovery. "That a gold antique ring was found, about the year 1790, while digging the foundations of Heathfield House, on the Hawkhill, is matter of certainty, it is of pure gold, weighs eight pennyweights and seven grains, and is now in the posses­sion of Mr Ueish of Laws, who obtained it from Mr Webster of Heath-field. It is ornamented by a beautifully engraved head, representing that of an old man with a crown; and on the breast is a mullet or star of five points. It is impossible to say at what time, or by whom, the ring was worn or dropt; but, in addition to the story of its having belonged to an architect of William the Lion's reign, another version says it was that of the master-mason of David II., and that he received it from that prince, and lost it in the manner related."

We have already given the chronological refutation of the story, bo far as it associates William the Lion's reign with the erection of St Mary's; but the other suggestion, of David the Second's reign, is more plausible. The latter part of his reign coincides with the style of the Church and Tower; and, on looking into the records of that period, we light upon a master-mason who had then acquired a considerable fame in church-building. This was Sir William Dischington, a surname familiarly contracted into Distin, and well known in the east of Fife. (The family held the estate of Ardross, near Elie, in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1517, Thomas Dishington was captain of the Palace of St Andrews. A couplet from an old ballad relative to Crail runs thus:

"Was you e're in Crail town ?
Saw ye there Clerk Dischington?"

Anderson's Scott. Nation, II., page 38.)

"We know that Dischington was architect or master-mason of the beautiful church at St Monans, which agrees completely in style with our Tower, and with the church and steeple at Brechin. Again, it is found that Dischington received, in 1366, from David II., a grant of the mill of Aberlemno, and the adjoining lands of Tillywhandland and Balglassie, together with an annuity from those of Flemington, all lying a few miles westward of Brechin. Is it straining probabilities to conclude, that the services for which the king bestowed these substantial rewards were of the architectural kind in which the Fifeshire knight was known to be proficient?

The Tower, as will be seen from the illustrations we give of it, is square throughout, and is in two great stages, each finished by an open quatrefoil parapet, with pinnacles at the angles, and at intervals on each side; the upper parapet having a bold cusped cresting over the coping. The lower stage is 96 feet in height from the floor level to the top of its parapet; from which, to the top of upper cresting, the height is 50 feet. The base measures 40 feet on the side externally; the internal dimension being 26½ feet, diminishing to 25 feet square in the upper or belfry stage. The walls, for some reason or other, differ in thickness, the west being eight feet, while the east is but 6 feet. The lower stage has buttresses at the corners, terminating in diminutive pinnacles, which rise to the height of 57 feet. The buttresses have small canopied niches in the lower stage, which doubtless contained figures; but, being easily reached by the iconoclastic hands of the Reformers, these niches have long been empty. The centre pinnacle of the first parapet contained a figure of the virgin and child, which, being more difficult to reach, has come down to our day, though much de­cayed by the corroding tooth of time, and has been duly replaced in the recent restoration. Another figure, that of St David, has been placed in a recess on the south front; but why that saint should be pitched upon does not appear, as the probabilities are altogether against his association with the edifice, and in favour of St Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland. On the east side, a few feet above the ridge of the nave, another recess has been filled with an effigy of the Saviour, with still less justification, as the mouldering original, so far as it could be made out, appeared to be rather a coat-of-arms, perhaps the triple-flowered lily of the Virgin, which is known to have been the seal of the Chantry, and eventually became, in the shape of " the pot and lily," the ensign armorial of the town of Dundee.

The grand entrance to the Tower was by the double doorway in the west front, each opening having a round arch, and both embraced in an elliptic arch, enclosed by a square hood—a peculiarly provincial feature. Over the doorway is a noble six-light window, the head of which is filled with simple but effective tracery. This lights the fine entrance hall, which is ceiled by a lofty groined vault, 46 feet above the floor, having a circular opening five feet diameter in the centre, while a corresponding arch on the east side, now built up, formed the entrance to the nave of the Church. Over the large west window there is a rose or wheel window, 13 feet in diameter, filled with quatre-foil tracery hexagonally disposed ; and over this again a simple two-light window, remarkable for its dissimilarity from the others as regards mouldings, it having indeed no mouldings on the jambs but simple splays.
The upper stage of Tower is subdivided by a string moulding into two stories, the lower one having grouped windows, three on each side, except the north, where the stair-turret leaves space only for a pair; and similarly, the upper story has a pair of the same style of windows on each of three sides, and one on the northern side. A circular stair, polygonal externally, is placed at the north-east angle of the Tower, entered by a doorway in the corner of the large hall, and to which also access is got from the outside by a door which was broken out at the time the prisoners were transferred from the Town House to the Steeple, before the new Gaol Buildings were erected.

The cape-house, which occupies the summit, has been the object of considerable discussion, and its preservation has even been advocated, as a genuine and appropriate finish to the Tower. That it has no claim to be considered of the same age as the Tower, or part of the original design, is obvious on the most cursory examination. The masonry is of a much later kind, and portions of moulded work are to be seen built into it which were evidently prepared for quite a different purpose, and for which also preparations have been made, near the top of the Tower walls, by building over, the angles, as will be seen on the section here given. This strengthening of the angles, technically called a sqidnch, was provided for carrying a flying buttress on each corner, or some form of lantern or spire, and would never be thought of for a cape-house. Such a house was, without doubt, an afterthought, hurriedly put up, as the disposition of the loopholes indicates, for a place of observation; and to be regarded therefore as an excrescence which must be removed, if justice is to be done to the Tower.

The primary purpose of the Tower had doubtless been to serve as a belfry, and accordingly we find early and continuous reference to the bells contained in it. The oldest are the two commonly called the great and the little bell. In the time of the rebellion, in 1745, a large part was broken out of the edge of the former, and a considerable rent made, by a violent ringing to celebrate the arrival of some succours sent from France. It remained in this state till 1819, when it was taken down, sent to London, and re-cast, but of a considerably less size. The names of the Magistrates at the time are round the crown, in Roman capitals, thus:—

"Dundee, 1819. patrick anderson, provost; david brown, david hazeel, james gray, archibald ogilvie, bailies ; david blair, junr., dean of guild;
T. MEARS OF LONDON, FECIT."

The little bell was also inscribed thus:—

"VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN ETERNUM. ME FECIT J. OVDERROGGE, ROTERODAMI, 1693."

It is probable that the same founders had also originally cast the large bell at the same time.
In 1872, a movement was set on foot to provide, as a sequel to the restoration of the Tower then in progress, a peal of bells worthy of the noble belfry; and, under the energetic superintendence of Mr John Leng, six new bells were provided, through the liberality of individual donors, while a general subscription furnished the means for mounting these in a suitable style. The "old bell," mentioned above, forms the tenor or eighth of the series, its weight being 20 cwt., diameter 49 inches, note E; but the "little bell," having been found unsuitable, was re-cast to form the seventh.
It now weighs 14 cwt. 1qr., is 43 inches diameter, and gives the note F sharp. It cost £121 1s. 6d., and bears this inscription:—

DUNDEE, 1872. JAMES YEAMAN, PROVOST; W. BROWNLEE, ALEX. MAXWELL, A. H. MONCUR, G. T. GRAHAM, W. CHALMERS, D. PETRIE, BAILIES; R. MACNAUGHTAN, DEAN OF GUILD; D. MACDONALD, CONV. OF PROPERTY COMMITTEE.

6th, - Weight, 11 cwt. 1 qr; 40 ins. diameter; note G sharp. The gift of John Leng, Esq.- cost £105.
Inscription.—deum labiis exsultationis laudabit os meum. dedicatum a
JOHANNE ET EMILIA LENG, MDCCCLXXII.

5th - Weight, 9 cwt. 3 qrs.; 38 inches diameter; note A. The gift of Thomas Thornton, Esq. - cost £90.
Inscription. —hocce donatum est a thoma thornton et helena hean ejus
UXORE MORTUA : A.D. MDCCCLXXII

4th - Weight, 8 cwt.; 34 inches diameter; note B. The gift of J. W. Thomson, Esq. - cost £75.

Inscription.—1872: dedicated by J. W. thomson to the memory of his beloved
FATHER, THE REV. JAMES THOMSON, MINISTER. OF THE STEEPLE CHURCH FOR LIL. YEARS. QUIS DESIDERIO SIT PUDOR AUT MODUS TAM CARI CAPITIS?

3rd . - Weight, 7 cwt.; 32 inches diameter; note C sharp. The gift of Frank Henderson, Esq. - cost £65. Inscription.—in memoriam henrici henderson, in pace mdccclxxi. ex DONO FRANK HENDERSON, MDCCCLXXII.

2nd —Weight, 6 cwt. 1 qr.; 30 inches diameter; note D sharp. The gift of James Cox, Esq.—cost £60. Inscription.—presented by james cox of clement park, first bailie of dundee, AND SENIOR PARTNER OF THE FIRM OF COX BROTHERS, CAMPERDOWN Linen WORKS, 1871.

1st. - Weight, 6 cwt.; 29 inches diameter; note E. The gift of William Harris, Esq. - cost £56. Inscription. - gulielmus harris, ex-mercatoribus taodunensibus unus et unus
QUONDAM EX MAGISTRATIBUS HUIC OPPIDO QUO ORIUNDUS HOCCE DONUM DEDIT, MDCCCLXXII.

The bells were cast by Messrs Hears & Stainbank of Whitechapel, London, and are considered worthy of their reputation. They have been rendered more complete and serviceable by the hand chimes, the cost of which was defrayed by Messrs W. Myles and P. Anderson, which now give the citizens frequent gratification, and form an effective feature when their harmonies are pealed forth on public occasions. The bells were inaugurated and formally handed over to the municipal authorities on the Queen's birthday, 21st May, 1872 ; on which occasion there was also placed, under the base of the centre shaft of the doorway, a memorial stone, in the cavity of which, besides the usual coins and official lists, the following document was deposited:—

"On Wednesday, the twenty-first day of May, 1873, in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, being the day fixed by the Magistrates of Dundee for the celebration of the fifty-fourth anniversary of Her Majesty's birth, in presence of the Magistrates and Town Council and others assembled, the contents of this glass bottle were deposited under the middle base of the doorway of the Tower of St Mary, known as the Old Steeple of Dundee, by James Cox, Esquire, senior partner of the firm of Cox Brothers, manufacturers, Camperdown Linen Works, Lochee and Dundee, and Provost and Chief Magistrate of the Royal Burgh of Dundee.

"A peat of bells, given by subscriptions of individual inhabitants, were this day handed over to the Town Council on behalf of the community.

"According to Boethius, lib. xiii. 275, 276, this Tower was founded by David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother to William First of Scotland, in commemoration of his being saved from shipwreck in sight of Dundee, when returning from the Holy Land, where he had been in the Third Crusade with Richard First of England in 1189.
"Having fallen into disrepair, its restoration was undertaken, in 1870, under the superintendence of Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect; and the expense, estimated to be about £8000, was defrayed, partly by subscriptions from the inhabitants, and partly from the funds of the Common Good of the burgh."

CHURCH OF ST. MARY.
References to Plan of original structure, as supposed to have existed in 15th century,

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