(92) Plate XLIII/a

                                                          Plate XLIII.

                                   DUNBLANE CATHEDRAL.

THESE ruins are in the parish of Dunblane, in the county of Perth, and not far from Stirling. The name
is supposed to have been adopted from that of St. Blane, the tutelar Saint of the place. In its earliest
period it was only a cell of Culdees, but was afterwards erected into a bishop's see, in the reign of King
David. The time in which it was first built is very uncertain, nor is the name of its founder better known,
as there are no records or deeds of any kind remaining, which can elucidate these points. The ruins of
the cathedral, and those of the bishop's palace, are the only antiquities in this extensive parish. The
former has been a light and elegant structure, but the greater part is now in ruins. Its extreme length is
two hundred and sixteen feet. It is fifty-six feet wide, and the walls from the ground to the battlements
are fifty feet in height. The steeple, or tower, seems to be of a more modern date than the other parts of
the building, and is one hundred and twenty-eight feet high. The choir, which is still used as a place of
worship, is almost entire. Several of the prebendal stalls remain, and are in tolerable preservation.
There is also to this part the original roof and ceiling.

The situation of the cathedral is very beautiful on the banks of the Allan, which runs through the
parish. This river takes its rise at a place called Gleneagles, about eleven miles distant. In its course it
is sometimes rapid from a confined and rocky channel, while at other parts its stream is smooth and tran-
quil. Towards the Firth of Forth, into which it discharges itself, the banks are high and rocky, and very
picturesque from the wood, with which they are partially clothed. The name of Strathallan is given to a
considerable tract of land on each side the river.—This view was taken in 1800.