There was an early church on this site founded by St. Blane. This early church was superseded in 1150 by one erected by King David of Scotland. All that remains of this church is the fine Norman tower. The rest of the church fell into ruin and neglect, until the time of Bishop Clement, who, about 1240, began to build this beautiful church in Early English style. At the Reformation great damage was done, when over-zealous Protestants pulled down the roof and carried off much plate and treasure. For centuries the nave remained in this condition; the choir and chapter-house were roofed over, in order to form a parish church; and now a great restoration of the church has recently taken place. A new roof has been erected, after the fashion of the Cathedral church of Aberdeen, with its heraldic devices, and the whole church repaired and beautified.
The west front is Early English in design, with lancet windows, a deeply-recessed doorway, and in the gable a window with the leaf decoration praised by Ruskin. The nave has eight bays, and is Late Early English. The pulpit is modern, and also the screen. The choir has no aisles, and has six lancet windows, with a large east window. The stall-work of sixteenth-century is beautifully carved, and there are some interesting grotesques. On the west side of the choir is the chapter-house, which is the earliest part of the present church, with the exception of the tower, and has an upper room, possibly used as a treasury or Reclusorium. The tower is an important structure, of Early Norman character, and doubtless served the same purpose as the round towers of Ireland and Brechin, affording shelter in case of attack. There are good reasons for believing that originally it was separate from the church. The upper portion was added later. A fine view can be obtained from the summit. There are some interesting monuments in the Cathedral, and in the churchyard is the tomb of the heroine of the song, "Charming young Jessie, the flower of Dunblane."
DUNKELD CATHEDRAL
The first church was founded by Constantin, King of the Picts, about 800 A.D., and the Culdees were established in a monastery here. In 1107 it became the seat of a bishopric, and a colony of Augustinian canons replaced the former dwellers. A new choir was built in 1220-1250, in the Early English style. During the wars with England, in 1380, it was burnt, but almost immediately restored. The nave was finished by Bishop Lauder in 1465. He was a most munificent prelate, who did much for his Cathedral, began the tower and chapter-house, and furnished the Cathedral with gifts of much valuable church plate. There is a curious story[21] of a Highlanders' raid, and of their entry to the church, and of the bishop's perilous escape to the rafters of his church, in order to escape their hands. On another occasion the church was besieged in the time of the famous Bishop Gavin Douglas, the translator of the Æneid (1576). His election to the see was opposed by the Stewarts, the inveterate enemies of his house; and Andrew Stewart barred the door against him, and fought against him from his stronghold in the tower. Douglas soon gathered his friendly clans together, and forced an entrance. It is uncertain when the nave lost its roof, probably when certain lairds at the Reformation went on their base crusade, plundering and destroying churches, and seizing their goods and valuables.
After the battle of Killiecrankie there was a great fight here, and an asylum of refuge was found here by the people, who fortified their position with the seats, and did much damage. The roof was destroyed, and the nave has been ever since exposed to the storms of wind and rain. The choir is now used as the parish church, having been rebuilt. The nave has seven bays, and measures 120 feet by 60 feet. The piers are of massive Norman character, and there is a somewhat poor triforium and clerestory. The original choir was built by Bishop Sinclair in 1350. The tower, 96 feet high, is Perpendicular, the work of Bishop Lauder (1469), and finished by Bishop Brown in 1501, and is a very good example of the style. The south porch was built by Lauder, but it is now in ruins. The chapter-house is the work of the same bishop. It contains the vault of the Dukes of Athol. Here, near the porch, is buried Alexander Stuart, Earl of Buchan, better known as the "Wolf of Badenoch" (1394), who burned down Elgin Cathedral and devastated the place. Few churches have passed through such stormy scenes as Dunkeld, and its ruined state is a melancholy testimony to the lawlessness of the tumultuous times, which have left their mark upon its desecrated walls.
ST. ANDREW'S CATHEDRAL
Of the once great Cathedral of St. Andrew, the Primatical See of Scotland, few traces are left. Its consecration in the time of Robert Bruce was marked by unparalleled pomp and circumstance. All the most distinguished in Church and State were present, no less than seven bishops and fifteen abbots, the king and well-nigh all the flower of his nobility. It was originally founded by Bishop Arnold (1159-1162). Its plan was cruciform, and was 355 feet in length, and the nave 200 feet, and there was a Lady Chapel at the east end. It had a grand central tower, and six turrets, of which three remain. A fire partly destroyed it in 1378, but it was restored and embellished, and finished in 1440. In 1559 John Knox preached a fiery sermon in the town church, which led the magistrates and inhabitants of the city to plunder the Cathedral and strip it of its altars and ornaments. The whole church was ransacked and left to fall into ruin. Soon the central tower fell, and carried with it the north wall; and since then the church has been used as a quarry. The ruins are picturesque in their decay. All that remain are the east and west gables, part of the south wall of the nave and the west wall of the south transept. The style of these ruins is partly Norman and partly Early English. Under the east window, built up in the wall, is a curious Runic inscription. The Castle at St. Andrews is closely connected with the Cathedral, as it was built by Bishop Roger in the thirteenth century as an episcopal residence. The old Castle was destroyed in the fourteenth century, and soon afterwards rebuilt. Here Cardinal Beaton was murdered, who had witnessed the burning of Wishart in front of his Castle. The Bottle Dungeon is a curious place of incarceration, and, besides the towers and walls, there is an interesting subterranean passage which enabled persons to escape from the Castle in time of siege.