BRECHIN CATHEDRAL
Brechin has many interesting features, notably its half-finished Cathedral, the famous round tower which was undoubtedly connected with it, or an earlier shrine, and the ruins of the Maison Dieu or hospitium founded by William of Brechin in 1256. The old Cathedral was founded by King David of Scotland in 1150. It is a plain and unpretentious building, now used as a parish church, and it has suffered much from restorers and renovators. Its plan was originally cruciform, but some vandals at the beginning of the eighteenth century entirely destroyed the transepts. The west window and doorway are thirteenth-century work. Most drastic treatment did this church receive in 1806, when besides the destruction of the transepts, the aisles were removed, and new and larger ones erected. The renovators were not satisfied with the old arches of the nave; so they built new and wider ones, and raised the walls, so that one roof could span the whole, and thus eclipsing the clerestory windows. The south side of the nave seems later than the north. Its piers are lighter than those on the opposite side. At the north side of the choir are three lancet windows. The church is disfigured by galleries and pews. The ruins of the chapel of the Maison Dieu are small but interesting. An Early English doorway and a few lancet windows remain. The Round Tower is the principal architectural feature of Brechin. Ireland possesses many of these curious structures, and besides this one Scotland has only one other, the tower at Abernethy. Its date is about 980. The object of such towers is mainly to provide a place of refuge in times of attack, where the monks could store their treasures and protect themselves. They may also have been used as belfries, and their origin is certainly ecclesiastical. There is no staircase, access to the top being gained by ladders resting on wooden floors. The height is 86 feet, the thickness of the wall near the base 4 feet, and the inner diameter 8 feet. An octagonal spire crowns the summit. There is a doorway on the west which is adorned with rude carvings. Over the doorway is a carved representation of the Crucifixion, and on either side of the door are ecclesiastics, and below are strange creatures realistically carved. These figures are interesting memorials of Celtic art.
ABERDEEN CATHEDRAL
One mile north of the large and flourishing city is the quiet, ancient town of Old Aberdeen. Here is the Cathedral of St. Machar, built entirely of granite. It is not remarkable for its sculptured elegance or vast dimensions, but it has an interesting history, and its flat panelled ceiling, adorned with numerous heraldic shields, is a distinguishing feature. The church is small, and is only 200 feet in length. Its Patron Saint was a companion of St. Columba, who journeyed here on his missionary work, and founded a church about the year 597. A second church was begun in 1183, but this was not equal to the ambition of Bishop Cheyne, and was destroyed by him in order to make way for a better. This again was superseded by a church begun by Bishop Kinnimond, in 1357, but the work progressed slowly, and not until the rule of Bishop Leighton (1422-1440) was the nave finished with the north transept and west towers. The roof was added by his successor, Bishop Lindsay, and the central tower and spire by Bishop Elphinstone, who began the ill-fated choir. Bishop Stewart built the chapter-house. The troubles of the Reformation and of the Civil War wrought much havoc. The lead was torn from the roof; the bells were shipped off to Holland and lost at sea. The stones of the choir were used for fortifications by Cromwell's troops; the great tower fell and destroyed the transepts, and all that remains of this church is the nave. The west front is an imposing piece of work. The west window consists of seven lofty narrow openings, with cusped arches at the head. The towers, capped with spires, are very massive in their granite ruggedness. There are five bays in the nave, with round piers, Decorated arches, no triforium, and small clerestory windows. On the ceiling are forty-eight heraldic shields of princes, nobles and bishops who aided in the erection of the church.
King's College, founded by Bishop Elphinstone in 1498, should be visited. The original oak canopied stalls, misereres, and lofty open screen in the chapel, are some of the finest work of the period. The influence of the French Flamboyant style is evident in their execution. These beautiful works of art were saved from destruction by the bravery of the Principal, who summoned his people, and protected his treasures from the fury of the barons of Mearns, after they had sacked the Cathedral.
DUNBLANE CATHEDRAL
This Cathedral is one of the few specimens of Gothic art in Scotland which escaped destruction at the Reformation. Nearly all the building is Early English, except the tower, which is Early Norman. Ruskin wrote his praise of this edifice:—
"He was no uncommon man who designed the Cathedral of Dunblane. I know nothing so perfect in its simplicity, and so beautiful, so far as it reaches, in all the Gothic with which I am acquainted. And just in proportion to his power of mind, that man was content to work under Nature's teaching, and instead of putting merely formal dog-tooth, as everybody else did at that time, he went down to the woody banks of the sweet river, beneath the rocks of which he was building, and took up a few of the fallen leaves that lay by it, and he set them on his arch, side by side for ever."