The chancel arch occurs, in some instances, as a later development. This, together with a few other details, seems to point to the influence of the Continental or Romanesque style which was slowly beginning to make itself felt in some parts of the country. All the above types of structures have been thoroughly examined and described by Mr. Muir, and will be more fully dealt with in the detailed descriptions of the churches derived from Mr. Muir’s works.
There still remain some special examples of Celtic structures to be mentioned. These are the well-known round towers, of which those at Abernethy and Brechin have already been referred to. A third round tower is also found attached to the church of Egilsay, in Orkney.[45] These towers are, undoubtedly, all examples of a style imported from Ireland. They are detached specimens of a group, of which no fewer than seventy-six examples still exist in that country, besides twenty-two others which are known to have existed formerly. It has been shown by Dr. Petrie that the Irish round towers were erected as places of refuge in connection with monasteries, to which the monks might repair with their relics and treasures in case of alarm. Such shelter was only too much required, as the valuables of the monastic institutions formed a very tempting bait for pillage by the Norsemen, whose depredations were so alarming during the ninth century.
The history of the round towers of Ireland is easily traced in their architecture, and has been fully explained and illustrated by Dr. Petrie in his well-known book on the subject, and in the late Lord Dunraven’s beautiful work on the early structures of Ireland. These towers are always found associated with religious sites. The earliest examples are comparatively rude in structure, while the later ones gradually improve in style of masonry and finish, until the latest are built with ashlar work, and contain some Romanesque ornaments and details. In all, however, the leading principles of their construction are the same. ([Fig. 12.]) The tower is round on plan, and is finished on top with a conical roof. The door is narrow, and is placed, for security, at a considerable height above the ground, and the lower floor is sometimes built up solid, so as to resist conflagration. The windows are small, except those on the top story, which are generally set facing the cardinal points, and are larger, so as to allow the sound of the bell to be heard—one of the uses of the tower being to serve as a belfry. The Irish practice of inclining the jambs of the doors is maintained, and in the early examples the lintel is straight, while in the later ones the door is finished with a semi-circular arch, and enriched with several orders of mouldings and ornaments bearing a markedly Norman character. This remark applies also to the four windows of the top story, which are plain in the early examples, and gradually become more ornamental and Norman like. The Irish towers are almost invariably built alone, and free from other structures; but some late examples are constructed in connection with churches, and enter from them by a door on the level of the floor of the church. The idea of using these towers as a place of security is thus departed from, and they are then simply of use as belfries.[46] Finally, they become absorbed into the structure of the church, and are erected merely to serve as belfries on the gable.
In the three Scottish round towers we find the same characteristics as in those of Ireland. The tower at Egilsay (q.v.) is rude in style of masonry, but as
Fig. 12.—Irish Round Tower at Devenish. (From Scotland in Early Christian Times.)
it enters from the church on the level of the floor, it is evidently of the late type above referred to. The towers at Brechin and Abernethy (q.v.) are built with more carefully selected and wrought materials, and both have the door, which is built with inclined jambs, set some feet above the ground. The latter has the four upper windows covered with semi-circular arches, showing a considerable amount of Norman character in the mouldings and enrichments, as well as in the style of masonry. That at Brechin has a door with sloping jambs, having a Crucifixion carved above it and dragonesque sculptures at the base, and other details connecting it in a marked manner with the style of the round towers of Ireland. There can be no doubt that these are outlying examples of the Irish class of towers, while they exhibit also some features of the Romanesque architecture which, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, had penetrated thus far northwards.
The next step in architectural progress consists of another structure, comprising a tower of a character somewhat related to the above, but having the Norman character more fully developed. This is the church of St. Regulus at St. Andrews (q.v.), the tower of which is lofty and square. This tower may be compared to the square tower of Cormac’s Chapel at Cashel, in Ireland, which is stated by Dr. Petrie, on good authority, to have been finished by 1135.[47] They both possess Norman features, well developed, and their square form and close attachment to a church are elements which distinguish them from the other and older round towers. Probably, however, they were also intended, like the latter, to form places of secure retreat as well as belfries. Both bear the signs of being late buildings of their class.
The dates of all the Irish round towers are somewhat uncertain, but probably extend from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, having, as already stated, been erected at the time of the invasions of the plundering Northmen. The dates of the destruction of several are recorded, and have been collected by Dr. Petrie, who also shows that many churches which had been destroyed by the Northmen were repaired and rebuilt about 1150.[48]