Fig. 759.
New Abbey, or
Sweetheart Abbey.
Nave Pier.
The inner trefoiled arches of the triforium are of great beauty, and are enriched with fine bold mouldings (see [Fig. 758]), supported on bold shafts, the caps of which are carved with finely executed foliage, partly showing some survival of first pointed feeling in the design, and partly copied directly from natural foliage. They indicate a transition stage from the early to the middle pointed style. The nave wall is not divided into bays, with the usual vaulting shafts, the roof being doubtless of timber.
The central tower over the crossing stands on four piers, similar in section to, but larger than, the nave piers. The tower itself is square and plain, and rises, with a double crow-stepped gable above a plain parapet, to a height of over 90 feet. The water tables of the steep roofs of the four arms of the church are distinctly visible on the exterior of the tower.
The transepts extend 33 feet north and south of the crossing. They are 31 feet wide, and each contains two bays, with a chapel in the eastern aisle opposite each bay. The east aisle of the south transept is the only portion of the whole edifice which retains its vaulted roof. One of the bosses bears a shield containing arms, said to be those of the abbey. The charge consists of two pastoral staves in saltier, over which is a heart, and beneath three mullets of five points. The motto is indistinct.
The façade of the south transept ([Fig. 760]) retains a portion of its circular window, the tracery in which, like that of the great western window, has apparently given way, and has had to be partly built up in a similar manner with solid masonry. This portion of the church possesses a few features which seem to point to it as the oldest remaining part of the edifice. The forms of the windows indicate a somewhat earlier date than the rest of the church. A small portion of the triforium in the north transept ([Fig. 761]) has been spared, which shows that it has been similar in design to that of the nave.
The choir (see [Fig. 761]) is without aisles, and is 50 feet long by 28 feet wide, and divided into three bays. It is lighted with one large traceried east window and two traceried windows on each side; and the tracery, as rarely happens in Scotland, is still preserved. It is a peculiarity of this structure that most of the arches are depressed, the centres from which the arches are struck being below the level of the capitals; and this peculiarity is particularly apparent in the great east window of the choir.
