Fig. 811.—Fortrose Cathedral. Piscina.
Besides the tracery of the windows and the beauty of the tombs, the aisle is rich in details. In the south wall there is a fine piscina ([Fig. 811]), and in the north wall an ambry, with a small stone penthouse. All the windows have label terminals, many of them finely carved with heads.
An octagonal font of remarkable design ([Fig. 812]) stands against the east wall of the aisle.
Fig. 812.—Fortrose Cathedral. Font.
We have seen that the sacristy is the only part of the original building which now remains. This is a plain rectangular structure, two stories in height, 45 feet long by 12 feet wide internally, which stands quite detached in the centre of the open space surrounding the site of the cathedral. The upper floor is, with all probability, believed to have been the chapter house; but it has been rebuilt, and is now used as the place of meeting of the Town Council. Externally the building has the appearance of a plain modern stone erection; but internally the ground floor preserves most of its original features. It is vaulted in six bays, with groined vaulting; but being low, and provided with very few small windows, the interior can only be dimly seen. The dog-tooth and other details, however, seem to indicate first pointed work. There is a range of arched seats, and an ambry at each side, towards the east end. The doorway entered from the choir, in the centre of the south side; and a staircase in the west wall led to the upper floor.
Mr. Chisholm-Batten thinks that this undercroft was the chapel of St. Nicholas, where a consistorial office was held in 1451, being more suitable for such an assembly than the open south aisle of the nave. So far as can now be ascertained, there were no other aisles connected with the cathedral.
The history of the cathedral subsequently to the Reformation is not well known. Under the Regent Morton the lead was removed from the roof, and the structure fell into disrepair. But it was partially repaired by Bishop Lindsay in 1615; and in 1649 it was not very ruinous. It would, therefore, appear that the tradition is probably correct which says that the masonry of the walls was removed by Cromwell, like that of Kinloss Abbey, for the construction of his citadel at Inverness.