Although Mr. Jervise attributes the above inscriptions and the erection of the chapel to 1404, the style of the lettering and the abundance
Fig. 1335.—Cullen House.
Sacrament House in Choir.
of it, together with the style of the mottoes, would rather tend to the conclusion that the work is of a considerably later date. The arch forming the entrance from the church to the chapel, with its pilasters, has certainly the character of sixteenth century work. The group of four pointed windows in the south end of the south aisle has not the appearance of decorated work, such as prevailed about 1404. On the contrary, these windows recall the revived and imitative work of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This group of windows, with its four pointed lights (round the inside of which one of the above inscriptions occurs), is evidently a late design. Possibly an aisle was built in the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the bequest was made, but it seems to have been rebuilt in the following century, when the inscriptions, which are scattered very irregularly over the structure, were reinserted and added to. The edifice was probably rebuilt when, about 1543, the Church of Cullen was converted into a college by Alexander Ogilvie of Deskford and Findlater, for the accommodation and maintenance of a provost, six prebendaries, and two singing boys. A bead-house was also erected by the same individual, for the support of a number of decayed men and women.
The choir, which is a portion added at the east end, contains a richly decorated monument in the north wall, erected by Alexander Ogilvie at the date of the church being made collegiate. The monument (Fig. [1334]) is large, and extends from the floor to the roof. It consists of an arched recess with a group of ornamental shafts at each side, and large spandrils above, containing two large round panels, each having in the centre a sculptured figure in bas-relief. Along the top runs a series of canopies
Fig. 1336.—Cullen Church. Interior of Choir.
and pinnacles of peculiar design. Within the arch lies an effigy of the founder clad in armour, supported on a basement, which is divided into eight panels, each containing a figure attired in a hood and long robe with book in hand. On a slab at the back of the arched recess is carved the following inscription:—