the year mentioned in Provost Bannatyne’s inscription. Further, in the Chamberlain Rolls of 1434,[111] reference is made to the three chaplains of the Chapel of St. John the Baptist—“contiguous to the Parish Church of Corstorphine,” showing the independent existence of that chapel after the date in the Bannatyne inscription. It seems, therefore, most probable that this was the chapel erected by Sir Adam Forrester.
Sir Adam was succeeded by his son Sir John Forrester, who filled the office of Great Chamberlain of Scotland, and on the return of James I. from England was appointed Master of the Household in 1424. The
Fig. 1179.—The Collegiate Church of Corstorphine. Tomb in South Transept.
collegiate church was founded and endowed by Sir John. Although the inscription to Bannatyne, the first provost, says that it was begun in 1429, the foundation was only completed by a Papal Bull in 1444, at which date Sir John was probably living. The foundation consisted of a provost, four prebendaries, and two singing boys.
From the above records, and also from the style of the architecture, there can scarcely be a doubt but that the church to the west was the collegiate church erected after 1444, and in designing it, the plan was so arranged as to incorporate the older Chapel of St. John the Baptist as the chancel of the new church. It is remarkable that, although the chancel
Fig. 1180.—The Collegiate Church of Corstorphine. Tomb in South Transept.
contains monuments to his successors, there is none to Sir Adam, the supposed founder of it. It may, however, be mentioned that Mr. Laing believes that an inscription on a stone, which has been built out of its proper place, in the small porch to the west of the tower, has been taken from a monument to Sir Adam.
Whether the above view of the history of the Church of Corstorphine is correct or not, the chancel or the Chapel of St. John the Baptist is the