above and a belfry on the apex of the gable, dated 1782, which probably superseded an earlier one.
Fig. 1588.—Rathan Church. Doorway of Aisle.
The aisle has a round-arched doorway (Fig. [1588]) with a bar hole in the west wall, and over it a panel with an inscription in raised letters, “Alexander Fraser of Philorth, Patron,” a coat of arms, and part of a broken stone with an inscription. It is possible that these stones are not original, but have been inserted; they are so covered with ivy that it is not easy to determine. In the south gable (Fig. [1589]), which is crow-stepped, there is a well-moulded window with a straight lintel, and a sundial over. In the east wall there is an ambry (Fig. [1590]) with an ogee arch, and alongside it what was probably a piscina is now filled with an old memorial inscription.
Fig. 1589.—Rathan Church.
Window in South Gable.
The Church of Rathan was dedicated to St. Ethernan or Eddran, from whom the place is said to take its name. This saint lived towards the end of the sixth century. “He consecrated several churches, and particularly Rethin, which was afterwards dedicated to his own memory.”[256]