Fig. 336.—St. Mary’s, Rutherglen. Plan.
Ure gives a drawing of the interior of the church, with detailed sketches of some of the capitals of the piers. Four of these capitals are preserved in a garden rockery in Rutherglen, and the annexed sketch ([Fig. 338]) shows them as they are seen lying there half covered up and concealed. The upper one, which shows the bed of the capital, is a respond from one of the end walls, and the diameter of the column, as indicated by the inner circle, is 18 inches, the breadth across the abacus being 2 feet 5 inches. The enrichments of these capitals correspond with those indicated by Ure in his view, and he informs us that the pillars, of which there were five on each side, “are smooth and round, except the middle ones, which are octagonal.” He further says that the arcade “arches are pointed, but the point is hardly discernible,” and with this the view in his book agrees. Above the arcade he shows a small square window, probably measuring about 2 feet each way, and widely splayed inside. Immediately above this was the roof. The walls were “about 20 feet high, including the pillars on which they are supported.” It is satisfactory to find Ure’s description of the church supported by the
Fig. 337.—St. Mary’s, Rutherglen. Tower, &c.
remaining fragments. The lower member, shown in Fig. 338, is a carved stone, probably part of the chancel arch. It is enriched with the alternate billet ornaments so frequent in such arches during the Norman period.
The church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was granted to the Abbey of Paisley by William the Lion before the year 1189, and it continued in their possession down to the period of the Reformation. There were several altars, with endowed chaplains.
Fig. 338.—St. Mary’s, Rutherglen. Norman Caps.