Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 5

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entrance is on the S side ; and on the ground-floor to the
E of it are the guard-room, into wliich Regent Murray
is said to have been at first carried, a bakehouse, and
stables. In the E side are the old entrance, with guard-
house and dungeons on one side and the kitchens on the
other. One of the vaults beneath the guard-room is
known as the Lion's Den, whether from its lying below
the Great Hall, known as the Lyon Chamber, or from
its having been the actual den of a lion kept by some of
the kings is uncertain. On the W side are vaulted
chambers, probably intended for servants. On the lirst
floor to the E of the S entrance is the chapel, and the
whole of the E side is occupied by the Lyon Chamber, or
parliament hall, a fine room, measuring 98J feet long,
30 wide, and 35 high at the side walls. On the W side
are the so called bedroom of James III. and the room
where Queen Mary was born. The fountain in the
centre of the quadrangle is now very much destroyed.
The E entrance seems to have been made by James V.,
and the now empty niches ' were filled with statues of
the Pope, to represent the Church ; a knight to indicate
the gentry ; and a labouring man to symbolise the
commons, each having a scroll above his head, on which
were inscribed a few words of legend, now irretrievably
lost. ' The group on the S side represented the Saluta-
tion of the Virgin, and these were originally brightly
painted, and so late as 1629 payment was made for
' painting and laying over with oyle cullour, and for
gelting with gold the haill foir face ' of the N side, and
for ' gelting and laying over with oyle cullour the Four
Orderis above the utter yett ' — i.e., the outer gate on
the S side. These four orders were carved panels, with
the badges of the four orders of knighthood that James
V. held, viz. : — St Michael, the Golden Fleece, the Gar-
ter, and the Thistle. The sculptured panels at present
occupying the upper part were placed there in 1848,
and probably represent pretty nearly the original designs.
The cannon in the palace grounds is a trophy of the
Crimean war, and was brought from Bomarsund.
To the S of the palace is the parish church, of which
Billings saj's that it is ' assuredly the most important
specimen of an ancient parochial church now existing in
Scotland, both as to dimensions and real architectural
interest. ' We have already seen that there was a church
here dedicated to St Michael as early as the reign of
David I., and in the time of Alexander II., in 1242,
there is word of a new church having been erected, and
probably some parts of this are incorporated witli the
present building. In 13S4 Robert II. contributed
26s. 8d. for the erection or repair of the church tower,
and in 1424 the church was injured and considerably
destroyed by the fire that reduced the town to ashes.
A considerable portion of the present building, which is
Scottish Decorated in style, probably dates from the
time of James III., and the steeple at least seems to
have been finished during his reign, for the open crown
that once formed the finish at the top had a vane formed
by a hen, with the points below marked by chickens,
which is said to have been borrowed from a favourite
device of James's — a hen with chickens under her wings,
and the motto, Non dormit qui custodit ; but many
alterations and additions were made in the time of
James V., between 1528 and 1536. On 29 June 1559
the Lords of the Congregation, on their march S from
Perth, destroyed all the altars within the building, and
all the images, except that of St Michael, which still
remains. In 1646 the buUding was divided by partitions,
by which chambers were formed for the accommodation
of the university classes, moved from Edinburgh, as
already noticed. In 1812 it was very extensively
repaired, pews and galleries introduced, and a new roof
and ceiling put in. The crown that formerly surmounted
the tower, being thouglit so heavy as to endanger the
entire structure, was taken down about 1821. 'The
incorporated trades who, after the Reformation, had
their dues to the altarages changed into the upholding
of the church windows, claimed a sort of vested interest
in the building, and the shoemakers held for a time the
privilege of holding the annual meeting for the election
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of their deacon in the south transept, known as St
Kathcrine's aisle.' The part used as in; parish church
has more recently, in 1871, had the whitewash removed
and repairs made, and a fine organ has been introduced.
There are about 1100 sittings. The total length of the
building is 185 feet, and the width 105 across the tran-
septs, while the height is about 90 feet. Internally the
length is 146 feet, not including the apse, and the
breadth 62 feet, exclusive of the transepts. The steeple
contains three bells, the largest of which has the inscrip-
tion, Lynlithgw villa me fecit. Vocor alma Maria.
Domini Jacohi quarli tempore magnijici. Anno milemo
qtmdringeno nonageno, with the royal arms, a copy of
the old town seal, and a curious monogram. The next
bell, recast in 1773, has on it the names of the founders,
and copies of both sides of the old town seal. The third
bell, which was recast in 1718, seems to have borne the
name of Meg Duncan for a long time, as it has the
inscription, SinU quondam Meg Duncan. The windows
are noticeable for the great variety of design. The S
transept contained an altar dedicated to St Katherine,
and was the place where James IV. sat when he saw the
apparition that warned him against his fatal expedition
to England, an incident minutely chronicled by Pit-
scottie, and forming the basis of Sir David Lyndsay's
tale in Marmion. 'There were in all twenty-four altar-
ages, dedicated to different saints, but these were removed
in 1559, and probably still further damage was done by
Cromwell's dragoons, who used the church as a stable.
The vestry contains a stone altarpiece, representing the
betrayal and suSerings of Christ. The church anciently
belonged to St Andrews priory, and was long served by
perpetual vicars. John Laiug, one of its vicars, rose in
1474 to be bishop of Glasgow, and George Crichton,
another of them, became in 1500 abbot of Holyrood,
and in 1522 bishop of Dunkeld.
An ancient chapel, dedicated to St Ninian, stood in
the western part of the town, and on the S side, on the
eminence still called Friars' Brae, was a Carmelite Friary,
erected in 1290, and the third of this order in Scotland.
Though it was in existence at the Reformation, no part
now remains, but a well not far off is known as the Friars'
Well. To the E was a Dominican Friary, some traces
of which existed down to 1843, or later, 'to the SE was
a hospitium, which is noticed as early as 1335, and
seems to have been an almshouse, possibly a leper-
house. It was dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. It
possessed considerable lands, which are said to have
been in 1526 alienated by the then preceptor to Sir
James Hamilton of Finnart. An almshouse existed,
however, down to 1637. St Magdalene's cross, on the
old fair ground, was where St Magdalene's distillery
now stands.
The Town-hall is in High Street, at the corner of
the Kirkgate, and may nowadays be counted a some-
what plain building. The original building was erected
in 1668-70, after a design by John Mylne, the royal
architect, with funds obtained by the charge of double
customs, and from an additional fair, both privileges
being granted after the Restoration, to compensate for
losses sustained during the time of tlie Commonwealth.
Great injury was done to it by fire in 1847, but it was
restored in the following year, and the spire, originally
added about 1678, renewed. A clock to replace the old
one, destroyed by fire, was placed in position in 1857,
funds being provided by public subscription. It was
the first turret clock constructed in Scotland on the
same principles as the Westminster clock, with a gravity
escapement. Besides the town-hall proper, the building
also contains the old sheriff-courtroom and the old
prison. The council chamber contains a set of old
Scottish weights and measures, and a portrait of Henry,
the historian (1718-90), who bequeathed his library to
the town. The county hall, behind the town-house, is
a plain building with a large hall, containing portraits
of the great Earl of Hopetoun (Raeburn), second in
command under General Sir John Moore ; of his brother,
General Sir Alexander Hope (Watson-Gordon), long M. P.
for the county ; and of the late Earl of Rosebery. The
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