The authors beg again to tender their acknowledgment of the assistance they have received from many quarters. They have especially to thank Mr. T. S. Robertson, Architect, Dundee; Mr. William Galloway, Architect, Wigton; and Mr. R. Bruce Armstrong, for the drawings and descriptions they have kindly contributed, and which are referred to in the text. To Mr. John Honeyman and Mr. T. L. Watson, Architects, Glasgow, they are also indebted for assistance in connection with Glasgow Cathedral.
Since the description of St. Andrews Cathedral in this Volume was written, considerable progress has been made with the works referred to in the text, as being carried on for Lord Bute by Mr. Kinross, Architect, and several new points have been disclosed.
The west doorway from the cloister into the nave (which is in a modern vinery) has been opened up on the south side, and its massive first pointed architecture has been shown. The arch is pointed, and the details (including dog-tooth enrichments) correspond in style with the entrance to the chapter house (see [Fig. 452]).
The whole of the crypt of the refectory (see [Fig. 454]) has been excavated and the pillars uncovered, showing that there were two rows of pillars and three vaults in the width of the building. The pillars, which are round, have been restored so far as they were incomplete, and so have the groined arches, the new work being executed in red sandstone, so that it may be easily distinguishable from the old work, which is of a light coloured freestone. The masonry of the old pillars being considerably shattered, it has been found necessary, in restoring the crypt, to insert an iron column in the heart of each pillar, in order to give them sufficient strength to carry the weight of the vault. It is not known to what use this crypt was applied.
In the east range of buildings running south from the chapter house, the excavations have been continued, and the pillars of a vaulted chamber below the dormitory have been revealed. As this chamber contains a fireplace, it may possibly have been the day room or calefactory of the canons, as only one fireplace (and that in the calefactory) was allowed in the monasteries. There is, however, some doubt as to whether this fireplace is original. At the south end of this chamber a deep drain or water channel, carefully built with ashlar, has been found. This was, doubtless, the main sewer of the monastery, through which there flowed a constant stream of water. The stream which fed the mill race (see [Fig. 457]) is not far distant. The latrines were, without doubt, situated above this sewer.
In the grounds of the existing school of St. Leonard’s, which lie on the south side of the road leading from the “pends” to the harbour, was formerly situated St. Leonard’s Hospitium, or Guests’ Hall, for the reception of pilgrims and strangers visiting St. Andrews. This Hospitium was an ancient foundation, but according to Martine it was rebuilt by Prior John White in the middle of the thirteenth century. Of this structure there still survive the ruins of the east wall, and by recent excavations made to the westwards, it has been discovered that the building consisted of a large hall, having a central nave and two side aisles. The foundations disclosed show that there were four bays in the length of the hall.
The following translations from Bower’s continuation of Fordun’s Scotichronicon,[5] which Lord Bute has been good enough to send us, together with his own valuable notes, throw some light on the dates of parts of the cathedral and other matters connected with it, especially the work done by Prior Halderston, 1418-1443, viz.:—
“This Lord [prior] James Halderston [inducted in 1418], master in Divinity, was extremely eloquent and of a good presence, and very careful and neat in his person and dress. After he had ruled his house well for twenty-four years, he died at his monastery on July 18, and was honourably buried in the north wall of the Chapel of our Lady, in the cathedral church, A.D. 1443.
In connection with above, Lord Bute mentions that Bower (p. 366) states that Bishop Henry Wardlaw, who died April 6th, 1440, “was buried in the Church of St. Andrew, with greater pomp than his predecessors, in the wall between the choir and the Chapel of our Lady,” thus making it evident that the Chapel of our Lady was the chapel on the north side of the choir.
“He [Prior Halderston] adorned the church of his monastery with wonderful and remarkable beauty, both in the carving of the stalls and in the painting of figures. The nave of this church had been erected by his predecessor, the Lord [prior] James Bisset, of worthy memory [who sat from 1393 to 1416], in a sumptuous manner, with rafters and ceilings [tignis et tecturis], but inside it was an empty, vast, and deserted synagogue. He [Halderston] fitted it throughout in becoming manner with glass windows, along with the erection of altars, figures, and decorations and polished pavements.” Lord Bute asks—“Did he add the altar against the screen which crosses the south aisle just west of the eastmost door into the cloister?”