text
stringlengths 1
3.86k
|
|---|
In 1808 , both the British Royal Navy and the French Navy despatched frigate squadrons to the Indian Ocean . The French , led by Commodore Jacques Hamelin , were ordered to disrupt British trade in the region , particularly targeting the large East Indiamen that carried millions of pounds worth of goods between Britain and her Empire . The British force under Commodore Josias Rowley was tasked with the blockade and eventual capture of the two well defended island bases of the French , Île Bonaparte and Isle de France . At the Action of 31 May 1809 , a French frigate named Caroline captured two East Indiamen , sheltering with her prizes at Saint Paul on Île Bonaparte . In his first major operation against the islands , Rowley landed soldiers behind the defences of the harbour and sent his ships into the bay , seizing the town and the shipping in the harbour , including Caroline . One of Rowley 's captains who had performed well in this engagement was Robert Corbet of HMS Nereide . Refitting the Caroline as a British warship and renaming her HMS Bourbonaise , Rowley placed Corbet in command and sent him to Britain with despatches . |
Over the following year , the French continued to attack British trade convoys , achieving important victories at the Action of 18 November 1809 and the Action of 3 July 1810 , where they captured another five East Indiamen as well as numerous smaller merchant ships and a large Portuguese frigate . Rowley too was active , commanding the successful Invasion of Île Bonaparte in July and renaming the island Île Bourbon , basing his squadron at Saint Paul on the island 's eastern shore . From this base , Rowley 's ships were ideally positioned to begin a close blockade of Isle de France , led initially by Captain Samuel Pym in HMS Sirius . Pym sought to reduce French movement by seizing a number of fortified offshore islands , starting with Île de la Passe off Grand Port . The island was captured , but when a French squadron broke through the British blockade and took shelter in Grand Port , Pym resolved to attack them . The ensuing Battle of Grand Port was a disaster for Rowley 's squadron , as Pym led four of Rowley 's five frigates into the bay without adequately assessing the channel through the coral reefs that sheltered the harbour . As a result , two frigates grounded out of range of the enemy and the remaining two were outnumbered in confined waters . In a complicated battle lasting several days , two of Pym 's frigates were captured and two more had to be scuttled , with their entire crews made prisoner . Rowley 's reinforcements arrived too late , and the British commodore was chased back to Saint Denis by Hamelin 's flagship . |
While Rowley and Hamelin had sparred in the Indian Ocean , Corbet had made the lengthy journey back to Britain . During his time in command of Nereide , Corbet had already developed a reputation as a strict disciplinarian , regularly beating his men for the slightest infractions , to the extent that he had provoked a brief mutiny on Nereide in 1808 . His reputation spread before him , and when he switched commands with Captain Richard Raggett of HMS Africaine , he was met with a storm of protest from Africaine 's crew . Although none of the men aboard Africaine had served with Corbet before , his preference for brutal punishment was well known in the Navy and the crew sent a letter to the Admiralty insisting that they would not serve under him . Concerned at what they considered to be mutiny , the Admiralty sent three popular officers to Africaine with the message that if the protest was quietly dropped there would be no courts @-@ martial for mutiny but if not , the entire crew would be liable to attack . To emphasise the threat , the frigate HMS Menelaus was brought alongside with her gunports open and her cannon ready to fire . Chastened , the crew of Africaine allowed Corbet aboard and the frigate sailed for the Indian Ocean a few days later , carrying instructions for the authorities at Madras to prepare an expeditionary force to invade Isle de France . |
= = Africaine off Isle de France = = |
Africaine 's journey to Madras took several months and Corbet made a number of stops on his passage , the final one being at the small British island base of Rodriguez in early September 1810 . There Corbet was informed of the disaster at Grand Port and on his own initiative immediately sailed south to augment Rowley 's weakened squadron . Arriving off Isle de France at 06 : 15 on 11 September , Corbet spotted a French schooner near Île Ronde and gave chase , the schooner sheltering behind the reefs at Grand Bay on the eastern side of the island . At 07 : 30 , Corbet ordered the frigate 's boats to enter the creek into which the schooner had fled , the small craft entering the waterway in the hope of storming and capturing the vessel . As the boats approached , French soldiers and militia appeared along the banks and began firing on the British sailors . Fire was returned by Royal Marines in the boats , but Africaine 's barge grounded soon after the ambush was sprung and became trapped , French gunfire killing two men and wounding ten . The other boat reached the grounded and abandoned schooner , but the six men aboard were unable to move the vessel unaided and were forced to depart , coming under fire which wounded five men , before they could escape the French trap . |
Retrieving his boats , Corbet determined to sail to Île Bourbon directly . By 04 : 00 on 12 September he had arrived at Saint @-@ Denis and there landed his wounded and came ashore for news , learning that two French frigates were just offshore , blockading the port . The French ships had spotted Africaine in the harbour and despatched the small brig Entreprenant to Isle de France with information of her whereabouts , although Corbet had raised flags that successfully deceived the French into believing that his frigate was Rowley 's flagship HMS Boadicea . The French ships were Astrée , commanded by Pierre Bouvet , and Iphigénie , formerly one of the British frigates captured at Grand Port , under René Lemarant de Kerdaniel . |
= = = Battle = = = |
Rowley , stationed at Saint @-@ Paul to the west of Saint @-@ Denis , received word that Africaine had arrived at Saint Denis and immediately sought to drive off the French blockade . Sailing eastwards , Boadicea came within sight of Bouvet 's squadron at 15 : 00 and the British flagship followed by the small brigs HMS Otter and HMS Staunch . Corbet recognised Rowley 's intention and joined the attack , embarking 25 soldiers from the 86th Regiment of Foot to replace his losses at Grand Bay . The French , still believing Africaine to be Boadicea , assumed that Boadicea was an East Indiaman named Windham in disguise , and fell back towards Isle de France before the British force . |
Otter and Staunch both fell rapidly behind Boadicea , while Africaine pulled far ahead . By 18 : 20 , lookouts on Africaine could no longer see the other British ships , and by 18 : 30 , Boadicea was similarly alone . Bouvet realised the lack of cohesion in the British squadron , and also recognised that Africaine was faster than either of his ships and would soon catch them . As a result , he slowed and prepared to meet the British frigate as night fell . Corbet now found himself outnumbered and began to launch rockets and flares in the hope of attracting Rowley 's attention and as the French closed with Africaine , he readied his ship for action . 6 nautical miles ( 11 km ) behind , Rowley could see the flares and flashes but was powerless to intercede in the darkness . At 01 : 50 on 13 September , the gap had closed between Africaine and the French ships , and at 02 : 20 Corbet opened fire on Astrée , with Bouvet returning the fire immediately . |
A cannonball from the second French broadside struck Corbet within minutes of the first broadside , the ball tearing off his foot above the ankle just as a large wooden splinter thrown from the gunwale struck the thigh of the same leg , shattering the bone . Corbet was brought below to the ship 's surgeon where the remnant of his leg was hastily amputated and bound , and command devolved on Lieutenant John Crew Tullidge . At 02 : 30 , Astrée pulled away from Africaine to perform hasty repairs , but Bouvet 's guns had wrecked Africaine 's rigging , leaving the British frigate uncontrollable and largely immobile . Slowly moving ahead , Africaine engaged Iphigénie at close range but was counter attacked by Astrée and found herself assailed on both sides , Astrée angled in such a position that she was able to rake the British ship , inflicting significant damage and casualties . |
By 03 : 30 , Africaine was in ruins . Tullidge was wounded in four places , but refused to leave the deck as the ship 's master had been decapitated and the other lieutenant shot in the chest . All three topmasts had collapsed and as guns were dismounted and casualties increased the return fire of Africaine became more and more ragged , until it stopped entirely at 04 : 45 , when only two guns were still capable of firing . French fire stopped at 05 : 15 , first light showing Boadicea 5 nautical miles ( 9 @.@ 3 km ) away and unable to affect the surrender of Africaine , which had hauled down its flags at 05 : 00 . Within minutes , a French prize crew boarded the battered frigate and seized the magazine of shot and gunpowder , which was shipped to Iphigénie whose ammunition was almost exhausted . |
= = = Boadicea arrives = = = |
At 06 : 00 , a breeze pushed Boadicea forward and she began to close with her former consort , Rowley watching as all three of Africaine 's masts gave way and collapsed over the side one by one . By 08 : 00 , Africaine was a dismasted hull and Corbet was dead in the bowels of the ship , although the exact manner of his death was to cause lasting controversy . By 10 : 00 , Boadicea had been joined by Otter and Staunch and bore down on the French ships and their prize , so that by 15 : 30 Bouvet was persuaded to abandon Africaine and tow the damaged Iphigénie back to Port Napoleon . By 17 : 00 , Boadicea pulled alongside Africaine and the French prize crew surrendered . Rowley later reported that a number of British sailors leaped into the sea at his approach and swam to Boadicea , requesting that they be allowed to pursue the French ships in the hope of capturing one . |
Rowley dismissed this idea given the shattered state of Africaine and instead towed the frigate back to Île Bourbon , shadowed by Astrée and Iphigénie on the return journey . The French frigates did achieve some consolation in pursuing Rowley from a distance , running into and capturing the Honourable East India Company 's armed brig Aurora , sent from India to reinforce Rowley . On 15 September , Boadicea , Africaine and the brigs arrived at Saint Paul , Africaine sheltering under the fortifications of the harbour while the others put to sea , again seeking to drive away the French blockade but unable to bring them to action . Bouvet returned to Port Napoleon on 18 September , and thus was not present when Rowley attacked and captured the French flagship Vénus and Commodore Hamelin at the Action of 18 September 1810 . |
= = Aftermath = = |
The action was the first of two in this campaign in which lone British frigates were briefly overwhelmed by superior French forces as they sailed independently to join Rowley 's squadron . On each occasion however , Rowley was able to recapture the lost frigate and drive off the French attackers . Corbet 's action was particularly violent , British casualties totalling 49 killed and 114 wounded , including every single officer and all but three of the soldiers embarked . Africaine was seriously damaged and would not be ready to return to active service for some months . French losses were less severe , Astrée suffering one killed and two wounded , Iphigénie nine killed and 33 wounded . |
The action was considered a defeat by the Admiralty and was not reported in the London Gazette . The British naval authorities were particularly disturbed by rumours that began to circulate concerning the death of Captain Corbet and the behaviour of his crew during the battle . Prominent among these rumours was the suggestion that Corbet had been murdered by his disaffected crew : historian William James wrote in 1827 that " There are many who will insist , that Captain Corbett 's [ sic ] death @-@ wound was inflicted by one of his own people . " although he goes on to point out the unlikelihood of Corbet being shot by one of his own cannon . He gives more credence to the story that Corbet committed suicide to avoid the shame of defeat , that he " cut the bandages from his amputated limb , and suffered himself to bleed to death . " This story was also alluded to in Edward Pelham Brenton 's 1825 history : " Corbet did not ( we fear would not ) survive his capture " . The truth of Corbet 's end will never be known with certainty , although James ultimately concludes that Corbet 's wound was almost certainly a mortal one and thus the most likely cause of death . |
A second accusation , and one that proved even more controversial in the aftermath of the engagement , was the claim that Africaine 's crew abandoned their guns , refused to load them or deliberately fired them into the sea in protest at Corbet 's behaviour . Corbet 's brutality was well known in the Navy , James describing him as " an excessively severe officer " who had a " career of cruelty " . James does not accuse the crew of any deliberate attempt to sabotage their ship in the engagement , instead attributing their poor gunnery to Corbet 's own failings as a commander , most significantly his failure to practice gunnery regularly . Other authors were less understanding of the crew of Africaine , Brenton stating that " they cut the breechings of their guns , and put no shot in them after the first or second broadside " , while historian Basil Hall baldly stated in 1833 that they " preferred to be mown down by the French broadsides " than fight under Corbet . This last accusation provoked outrage among naval officers , and Captain Jenkin Jones , a former shipmate of Corbet launched a successful lawsuit , forcing Hall to make a retraction . In 1900 , William Laird Clowes commented that " There is , unfortunately , much reason to suppose that Captain Corbett 's [ sic ] reputation for extreme severity had antagonised his crew , and that the men did not behave as loyally as they should have behaved " . He later castigates Brenton for the suggestion that Corbet committed suicide , suggesting that the wound alone was the cause of death . Modern historians have also been scathing of Corbet 's behaviour , Robert Gardiner calling him " notoriously brutal , " and Richard Woodman describing Tullidge as " an unfortunate victim of Corbet 's cruelty , for suspicions lingered that Africaine 's brutalised crew had failed to do their utmost in support of their hated commander . " |
= M @-@ 114 ( Michigan highway ) = |
M @-@ 114 was the designation of a former state trunkline highway and planned beltline in the US state of Michigan around the city of Grand Rapids . It was designated by the end of 1929 on various streets in adjoining cities and townships . By the 1940s , sections of it on the west and south sides of Grand Rapids were given new designations and the segment along the east side of town was finished . By late 1945 the highway designation was completely decommissioned in favor of other numbers . M @-@ 114 split into two branches , one running east – west and the other running north – south . The east – west spur routing is now local streets while the rest is part of state highways . |
= = History = = |
The first segments of M @-@ 114 were completed by January 1 , 1930 , and ran along the west side of Grand Rapids , on what is now Wilson Avenue between Lake Michigan Drive and Leonard Street . At the same time , what would become a spur was also finished from the town of Cascade to US 131 ( Division Avenue ) . By July 1 that same year , the southern segment was extended west to Clyde Park Avenue in Wyoming Township . By the end of 1936 M @-@ 114 was a three @-@ legged trunkline around the Grand Rapids area . It started at US 16 in Walker Township and ran south to Grandville where it turned to run eastward to the community of Cascade . The third leg was shown on maps as under construction from a junction in Paris Township north to a junction with US 16 in East Grand Rapids ; the trunkline continued north from US 16 to a junction with US 131 in Plainfield Township north of Grand Rapids . |
By June 15 , 1942 the highways in the Grand Rapids area were reconfigured . A Bypass US 16 ( BYP US 16 ) designation was assigned to the portion of M @-@ 114 that traveled around the southwest side of Grand Rapids ( now M @-@ 11 ) , leaving just the east and unfinished north segments left . The section along the east side of the city was completed as M @-@ 114 . A northern leg was added along 3 Mile Road at the same time . By 1945 , the northern leg of M @-@ 114 was turned back to local control and removed from the highway system . The eastern leg was assigned a BYP US 131 designation , thereby eliminating the last remaining portion of M @-@ 114 . A BYP M @-@ 21 designation was also used along part of the southern and eastern legs . East Beltline now carries M @-@ 37 and M @-@ 44 . |
= = Route description = = |
As it existed before the designation was removed , M @-@ 114 started at the corner of BYP US 16 ( 28th Street ) and what is now East Beltline Avenue in Paris Township ( now Kentwood ) and ran northward . The trunkline intersected the mainline for US 16 / M @-@ 50 at Cascade Road and the mainline for M @-@ 21 at Fulton Street near East Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids Township . Further north , the highway split into two . In Plainfield Township , a leg of M @-@ 114 continued west along the modern 3 Mile Road through an intersection with US 131 to terminate at Coit Avenue near the Grand River and the other leg continued north to a terminus with US 131 at Northland Drive and Plainfield Avenue . |
= = Major intersections = = |
South leg |
The entire highway was in Kent County . |
West leg |
The entire highway was in Grand Rapids Township , Kent County . |
North leg |
The entire highway was in Kent County . |
= Jane Dudley , Duchess of Northumberland = |
Jane Dudley ( née Guildford ) , Duchess of Northumberland ( 1508 / 1509 – 1555 ) was an English noblewoman , the wife of John Dudley , 1st Duke of Northumberland and mother of Guildford Dudley and Robert Dudley , 1st Earl of Leicester . Having grown up with her future husband , who was her father 's ward , she married at about age 16 . They had 13 children . Jane Dudley served as a lady @-@ in @-@ waiting at the court of Henry VIII and was a close friend of Queen Catherine Parr . Reformed in religious outlook , she was also a supporter of the Protestant martyr Anne Askew . |
Under the young King Edward VI John Dudley became one of the most powerful politicians , rising to be Earl of Warwick and later Duke of Northumberland . After the fall of Lord Protector Somerset in 1549 , John Dudley joined forces with his wife to promote his rehabilitation and a reconciliation between their families , which was symbolized by a marriage between their children . In the spring of 1553 Jane Dudley , Duchess of Northumberland became the mother @-@ in @-@ law of Lady Jane Grey , whom the Duke of Northumberland unsuccessfully tried to establish on the English throne after the death of Edward VI . Mary I being victorious , the Duchess sought frantically to save her husband 's life . Notwithstanding his and her son Guildford 's executions , she was successful in achieving the release of the rest of her family by befriending the Spanish noblemen who came to England with Philip of Spain . She died soon afterwards , aged 46 . |
= = Family and marriage = = |
Jane Guildford was born in Kent in about 1508 / 1509 , the only daughter of Sir Edward Guildford and Eleanor West , daughter of Thomas West , 8th Baron De La Warr . Her schooling occurred at home together with her brother Richard and her future husband , who was her father 's ward from 1512 . In 1525 , at about 16 , she married Sir John Dudley , who was 20 or 21 years old . The match had been arranged by their parents some years before . Jane Dudley gave birth to 13 children , eight boys and five girls . In most cases it is impossible to establish their birthdates exactly . An exception is Robert , the future favourite of Elizabeth I ; he was born in 1532 as the fifth son , and possibly after the eldest daughter Mary , who became the mother of the courtier @-@ poet Philip Sidney . The family life of John and Jane Dudley seems to have been happy and was free from any scandals ; around 1535 a poem praised the " love and devotion " of their marriage . |
Sir Edward Guildford died in 1534 before he could draw up his last will . Since his son Richard had predeceased him , Guildford 's nephew , John Guildford , claimed the inheritance . The Dudleys maintained that Guildford 's daughter Jane was the natural heir . They finally won the resulting court case with the assistance of Thomas Cromwell . |
= = Court life = = |
Jane Dudley served as a lady @-@ in @-@ waiting to Anne Boleyn , and later to Anne of Cleves . She was interested in the Reformed religion and , with her husband , moved in evangelical circles from the mid @-@ 1530s . In 1542 John Dudley was created Viscount Lisle . He was on friendly terms with William Parr , whose sister Catherine became Henry VIII 's last queen in July 1543 . As one of her closest friends , the Viscountess Lisle was among the four ladies leading her to the altar on the marriage day . Jane Dudley belonged also to the courtly sympathizers of Anne Askew , whom she contacted during her imprisonment in 1545 – 1546 . The forthright Protestant was burnt at the stake as a heretic in July 1546 on the contrivance of the religiously conservative court party around Bishop Stephen Gardiner . |
Renaissance humanism and science figured large in the Dudley children 's education . In 1553 Jane Dudley herself commissioned two works from the mathematician and Hermeticist John Dee about heavenly configurations and the tides . Jane Dudley was close to her children ; her eldest son , Henry , had died during the siege of Boulogne in 1544 , aged 19 . A postscript she wrote in 1552 under a letter by her husband to their then eldest son , John Dudley , 2nd Earl of Warwick , reads : " your lovynge mothere that wyshes you helthe dayli Jane Northumberland " . She also had health problems : In 1548 her husband was unwilling to leave her side , because she " had had her fit again more extreme that she had any time yet . " |
Under Edward VI John Dudley , Viscount Lisle was raised to the title of Earl of Warwick , while Edward Seymour , Earl of Hereford became Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector . In October 1549 the Protector lost his power in a trial of strength with the Privy Council , from which John Dudley , Earl of Warwick emerged as Lord President of the Council and leader of the government . Somerset , who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London , was soon allowed to rejoin the Council . Before his release , the Duchess of Somerset and the Countess of Warwick had arranged daily banquets in order to reconcile their husbands . A marriage between their respective eldest son and daughter , Anne Seymour and John Dudley , was equally promoted by the two ladies . In June 1550 a grand wedding was staged at the palace of Sheen , attended by the twelve @-@ year @-@ old King Edward . Jane Dudley continued as a great lady at court during the ascendancy of her husband , who became Duke of Northumberland in October 1551 . She was influential with him ; the financier Thomas Gresham and the diplomat Richard Morrison sought her patronage , and she also interceded for Mary Tudor , who had stood godmother to one of her daughters in 1545 . |
= = Mother @-@ in @-@ law to a queen = = |
King Edward fell ill in early 1553 . He drew up a document , " My Devise for the Succession " , whose final version of June 1553 was to settle the Crown on his Protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey , overturning the claims of his half @-@ sisters Mary and Elizabeth . Jane Grey was the daughter of Frances Grey , Duchess of Suffolk , a niece of Henry VIII by his younger sister Mary . On 25 May 1553 three matrimonial alliances were celebrated at Durham Place , the Dudleys ' London town mansion . Two of their younger children were concerned : Guildford , aged about 17 , married Lady Jane Grey , while Katherine , who was between eight and ten years old , was promised to the Earl of Huntingdon 's heir , Henry Hastings . A few months later these matches came to be seen as proof of a conspiracy by the Duke of Northumberland to bring his family to the throne . At the time the marriages took place , however , their dynastical implications were not considered significant by even the most suspicious of observers , the Imperial ambassador Jehan de Scheyfye . Modern historians have considered them either as part of a plot , or as " routine actions of dynastic politics " , in the words of David Loades . The initiative for the matches had probably come from the Marchioness of Northampton . |
After Edward 's death on 6 July 1553 Northumberland undertook the enforcement of the King 's will . Lady Jane Grey accepted the Crown only after remonstrances by her parents and parents @-@ in @-@ law . On 10 July the Duchess of Northumberland accompanied her son and daughter @-@ in @-@ law on their ceremonial entry into the Tower of London , where they were to reside for the rest of the short reign . According to Jane 's own exculpatory letter to Queen Mary a few months later , Guildford now wanted to be made king . The young people agreed on having him declared king by Act of Parliament ; but then Jane changed her mind and declared she would only make him a duke . " I will not be a duke , I will be King " , Guildford replied and went to fetch his mother . Furious , the Duchess took the side of her son , before she told him to leave the Tower and go home . Jane , however , insisted that he remain at court . According to her the Duchess also " induced her son not to sleep with me any more " , and it is clear from her writings that Jane disliked her mother @-@ in @-@ law . |
= = Downfall and struggle for her family = = |
To claim her right , Mary Tudor began assembling her supporters in East Anglia and demanded to be recognized as queen by the Privy Council in London . When her letter arrived on 10 July 1553 during dinner , the Duchess of Suffolk , Jane 's mother , and the Duchess of Northumberland broke into tears . Mary was gathering strength , and on 14 July the Duke marched to Cambridge with troops to capture her . As it came , he passed a tranquil week until he heard on 20 July that the Council in London had declared for Mary . On the orders of the Privy Council Northumberland himself now proclaimed Queen Mary at the market @-@ place and awaited his arrest . His wife was still in the Tower , but was soon released . She tried to intercede personally for her imprisoned husband and five sons with Mary , who was staying outside London . However , five miles before reaching the court the Duchess was turned away on the Queen 's orders . She then wrote a letter to her friend Lady Paget , the wife of William , Lord Paget , asking her to plead with the Queen 's ladies for her husband 's life . Her plea , if it went not unheard , was in vain , and the Duke of Northumberland was executed on 22 August 1553 on Tower Hill after having recanted his Protestant faith . |
Following Wyatt 's rebellion , Guildford Dudley was beheaded on 12 February 1554 shortly before his wife . Knowing the Queen 's character , in June 1554 Jane Dudley pleaded with the authorities to allow her remaining sons to hear mass . During 1554 the Duchess and her son @-@ in @-@ law Henry Sidney worked hard pleading with the Spanish nobles around England 's new king consort , Philip of Spain . Lord Paget may also have proved helpful , and Henry Sidney even travelled to Spain in their cause . In the autumn of 1554 the Dudley brothers were released from the Tower , though the eldest , John , died immediately afterwards at Sidney 's house Penshurst in Kent . At the same location Philip Sidney was born on 30 November 1554 . His godmother was his grandmother Jane Dudley , while his godfather was Philip of Spain . |
Amid the confiscation of the Dudley family 's possessions in July 1553 , Mary had allowed Jane Dudley to retain her wardrobe and plate , carpets , and other household stuffs , as well as the use of the Duke 's house in Chelsea , London . There , she died on either 15 or 22 January 1555 , and was buried on 1 February at Chelsea Old Church . In her will she tried to provide for her sons financially and thanked the Queen , as well as the many Spanish nobles she had lobbied . The Duchess of Alba was to receive her green parrot ; to Don Diego de Acevedo she gave " the new bed of green velvet with all the furniture to it ; beseeching him even as he hath in my lifetime showed himself like a father and a brother to my sons , so shall [ I ] require him no less to do now their mother is gone " . She also remembered " my lord , my dear husband " , and stipulated : " in no wise let me be opened after I am dead . ... I have not lived to be very bold before women , much more I should be loth to come into the hands of any living man , be he Physician or Surgeon . " She avoided to be specific on religion , but stressed that " who ever doth trust to this transitory world , as I did , may happen to have an overthrow , as I had ; therefore to the worms will I go as I have before written . " |
= = Ancestry = = |
= Elgin Cathedral = |
Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin , Moray , north @-@ east Scotland . The cathedral — dedicated to the Holy Trinity — was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River Lossie . It replaced the cathedral at Spynie , 3 kilometres ( 1 @.@ 9 mi ) to the north , that was served by a small chapter of eight clerics . The new and bigger cathedral was staffed with 18 canons in 1226 and then increased to 23 by 1242 . After a damaging fire in 1270 , a rebuilding programme greatly enlarged the building . It was unaffected by the Wars of Scottish Independence but again suffered extensive fire damage in 1390 following an attack by Robert III 's brother Alexander Stewart , Earl of Buchan , also known as the Wolf of Badenoch . In 1402 the cathedral precinct again suffered an incendiary attack by the followers of the Lord of the Isles . The number of clerics required to staff the cathedral continued to grow , as did the number of craftsmen needed to maintain the buildings and surrounds . The number of canons had increased to 25 by the time of the Scottish Reformation in 1560 , when the cathedral was abandoned and its services transferred to Elgin 's parish church of St Giles . After the removal of the lead that waterproofed the roof in 1567 , the cathedral steadily fell into decay . Its deterioration was arrested in the 19th century , by which time the building was in a substantially ruinous condition . |
The cathedral went through periods of enlargement and renovation following the fires of 1270 and 1390 that included the doubling in length of the choir , the provision of outer aisles to the northern and southern walls of both the nave and choir . Today , these walls are at full height in places and at foundation level in others yet the overall cruciform shape is still discernible . A mostly intact octagonal chapter house dates from the major enlargement after the fire of 1270 . The gable wall above the double door entrance that links the west towers is nearly complete and was rebuilt following the fire of 1390 . It accommodates a large window opening that now only contains stub tracery work and fragments of a large rose window . Recessed and chest tombs in both transepts and in the south aisle of the choir contain effigies of bishops and knights , and large flat slabs in the now grass @-@ covered floor of the cathedral mark the positions of early graves . The homes of the dignitaries and canons , or manses , stood in the chanonry and were destroyed by fire on three occasions : in 1270 , 1390 and 1402 . The two towers of the west front are mostly complete and were part of the first phase of construction . Only the precentor 's manse is substantially intact ; two others have been incorporated into private buildings . A protective wall of massive proportions surrounded the cathedral precinct , but only a small section has survived . The wall had four access gates , one of which — the Pans Port — still exists . |
= = Early cathedral churches of Moray = = |
The Diocese of Moray was a regional bishopric unlike the pre @-@ eminent see of the Scottish church , St Andrews , which had evolved from a more ancient monastic Celtic church and administered scattered localities . It is uncertain whether there were bishops of Moray before c . 1120 but the first known prelate — possibly later translated to Dunkeld — was Gregory ( or Gregoir ) . He was probably bishop in name only , with the first resident diocesan being Richard of Lincoln . Gregory was a signatory to the foundation charter of Scone Priory , issued by Alexander I ( Alaxandair mac Maíl Choluim ) between December 1123 and April 1124 , and again in a charter defining the legal rights of the same monastery . He is recorded for the last time when he witnessed a charter granted by David I to Dunfermline Abbey in c . 1128 . After the suppression of Óengus of Moray 's rebellion in 1130 , King David must have regarded the continued presence of bishops in Moray as essential to the stability of the province . These early bishops had no settled location for their cathedral , and sited it successively at the churches of Birnie , Kinneddar and Spynie . Pope Innocent III issued an apostolic bull on 7 April 1206 that allowed bishop Bricius de Douglas to fix his cathedral church at Spynie — its inauguration was held between spring 1207 and summer 1208 . A chapter of five dignitaries and three ordinary canons was authorised and based its constitution on that of Lincoln Cathedral . Elgin became the lay centre of the province under David I , who probably established the first castle in the town , and it may have been this castle , with its promise of better security , that prompted Bricius , before July 1216 , to petition the Pope to move the seat from Spynie . |
= = Cathedral church at Elgin = = |
Despite Bricius 's earlier appeal , it was not until Andreas de Moravia 's episcopate that Pope Honorius III issued his bull on 10 April 1224 authorising his legates Gilbert de Moravia , Bishop of Caithness , Robert , Abbot of Kinloss and Henry , Dean of Ross to examine the suitability of transferring the cathedra to Elgin . The Bishop of Caithness and the Dean of Ross performed the translation ceremony on 19 July 1224 . On 10 July , Alexander II ( Alaxandair mac Uilliam ) had agreed to the transference in an edict that referred to his having given the land previously for this purpose . The land grant predated the Papal mandate and there is evidence that building had started in around 1215 . Construction of the cathedral was completed after 1242 . Chronicler John of Fordun recorded without explanation that in 1270 the cathedral church and the canons ' houses had burned down . The cathedral was rebuilt in a larger and grander style to form the greater part of the structure that is now visible , work that is supposed to have been completed by the outbreak of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1296 . Although Edward I of England took an army to Elgin in 1296 and again in 1303 , the cathedral was left unscathed , as it was by his grandson Edward III during his assault on Moray in 1336 . |
Soon after his election to the see in 1362 – 63 , Bishop Alexander Bur requested funds from Pope Urban V for repairs to the cathedral , citing neglect and hostile attacks . In August 1370 Bur began protection payments to Alexander Stewart , Lord of Badenoch , known as the Wolf of Badenoch , who became Earl of Buchan in 1380 , and who was son of the future King Robert II . Numerous disputes between Bur and Buchan culminated in Buchan 's excommunication in February 1390 and the bishop turning to Thomas Dunbar , son of the Earl of Moray , to provide the protection service . |
These acts by the bishop , and any frustration Buchan may have felt about the reappointment of his brother Robert Stewart , Earl of Fife as guardian of Scotland , may have caused him to react defiantly : in May , he descended from his island castle on Lochindorb and burned the town of Forres , followed in June by the burning of Elgin and the cathedral with its manses . It is believed that he also burned Pluscarden Priory at this time , which was officially under the Bishop 's protection . Bur wrote to Robert III seeking reparation for his brother 's actions in a letter stating : |
Robert III granted Bur an annuity of £ 20 for the period of the bishop 's lifetime , and the Pope provided income from the Scottish Church during the following decade . In 1400 , Bur wrote to the Abbot of Arbroath complaining that the abbot 's prebendary churches in the Moray diocese had not paid their dues towards the cathedral restoration . In the same year Bur wrote to the rector of Aberchirder church , telling him that he now owed three years ' arrears of the subsidy that had been imposed on non @-@ prebendary churches in 1397 . Again , on 3 July 1402 , the burgh and cathedral precinct were attacked , this time by Alexander of Lochaber , brother of Domhnall of Islay , Lord of the Isles ; he spared the cathedral but burned the manses . For this act , Lochaber and his captains were excommunicated , prompting Lochaber 's return in September to give reparation and gain absolution . In 1408 , the money saved during an ecclesiastic vacancy was diverted to the rebuilding process and in 1413 a grant from the customs of Inverness was provided . Increasingly , the appropriation of the parish church revenues led in many cases to churches becoming dilapidated and unable to attract educated priests . By the later Middle Ages , the standard of pastoral care outside the main burghs had significantly declined . |
Bishop John Innes ( 1407 – 14 ) contributed greatly to the rebuilding of the cathedral , as evidenced by the inscription on his tomb praising his efforts . When he died , the chapter met secretly — " in quadam camera secreta in campanili ecclesie Moraviensis " — and agreed that should one of their number be elected to the see , the bishop would grant one third of the income of the bishopric annually until the rebuilding was finished . The major alterations to the west front were completed before 1435 and contain the arms of Bishop Columba de Dunbar ( 1422 – 35 ) , and it is presumed that both the north and south aisles of the choir were finished before 1460 , as the south aisle contains the tomb of John de Winchester ( 1435 – 60 ) . Probably the last important rebuilding feature was the major restructuring of the chapterhouse between 1482 and 1501 , which contains the arms of Bishop Andrew Stewart . |
= = = Diocesan organisation = = = |
The dignitaries and canons constituted the chapter and had the primary role of aiding the bishop in the governance of the diocese . Often the bishop was the titular head of the chapter only and was excluded from its decision @-@ making processes , the chapter being led by the dean as its superior . As the diocese of Moray based its constitution on that of Lincoln Cathedral , the bishop was allowed to participate within the chapter but only as an ordinary canon . Moray was not unique in this : the bishops of Aberdeen , Brechin , Caithness , Orkney and Ross were also canons in their own chapters . Each morning , the canons held a meeting in the chapterhouse where a chapter from the canonical rule book of St Benedict was read before the business of the day was discussed . |
Bishop Bricius 's chapter of eight clerics consisted of the dean , precentor , treasurer , chancellor , archdeacon and three ordinary canons . His successor , Bishop Andreas de Moravia , greatly expanded the chapter to cater for the much enlarged establishment by creating two additional hierarchical posts ( succentor and subdean ) and added 16 more prebendaries . In total , 23 prebendaries had been created by the time of Andreas ' death , and a further two were added just before the Scottish Reformation . Prebendary churches were at the bestowal of the bishop as the churches either were within the diocesan lands or had been granted to the bishop by a landowner as patronage . In the case of Elgin Cathedral , the de Moravia family , of which Bishop Andreas was a member , is noted as having the patronage of many churches given as prebends . |
Rural Deans , or deans of Christianity as they were known in the Scottish Church , supervised the priests in the deaneries and implemented the bishop 's edicts . There were four deaneries in the Moray diocese — Elgin , Inverness , Strathspey and Strathbogie — and these provided the income not only for the cathedral and chapter but also for other religious houses within and outside the diocese . Many churches were allocated to support designated canons , and a small number were held in common . The bishop received mensal and prebendary income in his separate positions as prelate and canon . |
The government of the diocese affecting both clergy and laity was vested entirely in the bishop , who appointed officers to the ecclesiastical , criminal and civil courts . The bishop , assisted by his chapter , produced the church laws and regulations for the bishopric and these were enforced at occasional diocesan synods by the bishop or , in his absence , by the dean . Appointed officials adjudicated at consistory courts looking at matters affecting tithes , marriages , divorces , widows , orphans , wills and other related legal matters . In Moray , these courts were held in Elgin and Inverness . By 1452 the Bishop of Moray held all his lands in one regality and had Courts of Regality presided over by Bailiffs and Deputies to ensure the payment of revenues from his estates . |
= = = Cathedral offices = = = |
Large cathedrals such as Elgin had many chapel altars and daily services and required to be suitably staffed with canons assisted by a plentiful number of chaplains and vicars . Bishop Andreas allowed for the canons to be aided by seventeen vicars made up of seven priests , five deacons and five sub @-@ deacons — later the number of vicars was increased to twenty five . In 1350 the vicars at Elgin could not live on their stipends and Bishop John of Pilmuir provided them with the income from two churches and the patronage of another from Thomas Randolph , second Earl of Moray . By 1489 one vicar had a stipend of 12 marks ; six others , 10 marks ; one , eight marks ; three , seven marks , and six received five marks ; each vicar was employed directly by a canon who was required to provide four months ' notice in the event of his employment being terminated . The vicars were of two kinds : the vicars @-@ choral who worked chiefly in the choir taking the main services and the chantry chaplains who performed services at the individual foundation altars though there was some overlapping of duties . Although the chapter followed the constitution of Lincoln , the form of divine service copied that of Salisbury Cathedral . It is recorded that Elgin 's vicars @-@ choral were subject to disciplinary correction for shortcomings in the performance of the services , resulting in fines . More serious offences could end in corporal punishment , which was administered in the chapterhouse by the sub @-@ dean and witnessed by the chapter . King Alexander II founded a chaplaincy for the soul of King Duncan I who died in battle with Macbeth near Elgin . The chapel most frequently referenced in records was St Thomas the Martyr , located in the north transept and supported by five chaplains . Other chaplaincies mentioned are those of the Holy Rood , St Catherine , St Duthac , St Lawrence , St Mary Magdalene , St Mary the Virgin and St Michael . By the time of Bishop Bur 's episcopate ( 1362 – 1397 ) , the cathedral had 15 canons ( excluding dignitaries ) , 22 vicars @-@ choral and about the same number of chaplains . |
Despite these numbers , not all the clergy were regularly present at the services in Elgin Cathedral . Absence was an enduring fact of life in all cathedrals in a period when careerist clerics would accept positions in other cathedrals . This is not to say that the time spent away from the chanonry was without permission , as some canons were appointed to be always present while others were allowed to attend on a part @-@ time basis . The dean of Elgin was permanently in attendance ; the precentor , chancellor , and treasurer , were available for half the year . The non @-@ permanent canons had to attend continuously for three months . The chapter decided in 1240 to penalise persistently absent canons who broke the terms of their attendance by removing one seventh of their income . In the Diocese of Aberdeen and it is assumed in other bishoprics also , when important decisions of the chapter had to be taken , an absentee canon had to appoint a procurator to act on his behalf — this was usually one of the dignitaries who had a higher likelihood of being present . At Elgin in 1488 , many canons were not abiding by the terms of their leave of absence , resulting in each of them receiving a formal warning and a summons ; despite this , ten canons refused to attend and had a seventh of their prebendary income deducted . The bulk of the workload fell to the vicars and a smaller number of permanent canons who were responsible for celebrating high mass and for leading and arranging sermons and feast day processions . Seven services were held daily , most of which were solely for the clergy and took place behind the rood screen which separated the high altar and choir from lay worshipers . Only cathedrals , collegiate churches and large burgh churches were resourced to perform the more elaborate services ; the services in the parish churches were more basic . |
The clergy were augmented by an unknown number of lay lawyers and clerks as well as masons , carpenters , glaziers , plumbers , and gardeners . Master Gregory the mason and Master Richard the glazier are mentioned in the chartulary of the cathedral . |
= = = Chanonry and burgh = = = |
The chanonry , referred to in the cathedral 's chartulary as the college of the chanonry or simply as the college , was the collection of the canons ' manses that were grouped around the cathedral . A substantial wall , over 3 @.@ 5 metres ( 11 ft ) high , 2 metres ( 6 ft 7 in ) thick and around 820 metres ( 2 @,@ 690 ft ) in length , enclosed the cathedral and manses and separated the church community from the laity ; only the manse of Rhynie lay outside the west wall . The houses of 17 vicars and the many chaplains were also situated outside the west wall . The wall had four gates : the West Port gave access to the burgh , the North Port provided access to the road to the bishop 's palace of Spynie , the South Port opened opposite the hospital of Maison Dieu and the surviving East or Panns Port allowed access to the meadowland called Le Pannis . The Panns Port illustrates the portcullis defences of the gate @-@ houses ( Fig . 1 ) . Each canon or dignitary was responsible for providing his own manse and was built to reflect his status within the chapter . The castle having become unsuitable , Edward I of England stayed at the manse of Duffus on 10 and 11 September 1303 as did James II in 1455 . In 1489 , a century after the incendiary attack on the cathedral and precinct in 1390 and 1402 , the cathedral records revealed a chanonry still lacking many of its manses . The chapter ordered that 13 canons , including the succentor and the archdeacon , should immediately " erect , construct , build , and duly repair their manses , and the enclosures of their gardens within the college of Moray " . The manse of the precentor , erroneously called the Bishop 's House , is partially ruined and is dated 1557 . ( Fig . 2 ) Vestiges of the Dean 's Manse and the Archdeacon 's Manse ( Fig . 3 ) are now part of private buildings . |
The hospital of Maison Dieu , dedicated to St Mary and situated near the cathedral precinct but outside the chanonry , was established by Bishop Andreas before 1237 for the aid of the poor . It suffered fire damage in 1390 and again in 1445 . The cathedral clerks received it as a secular benefice but in later years it may , in common with other hospitals , have become dilapidated through a lack of patronage . Bishop James Hepburn granted it to the Blackfriars of Elgin on 17 November 1520 , perhaps in an effort to preserve its existence . The property was taken into the ownership of the Crown after the Reformation and in 1595 was granted to the burgh by James VI for educational purposes and for helping the poor . In 1624 , an almshouse was constructed to replace the original building , but in 1750 a storm substantially damaged its relatively intact ruins . The remnants of the original building were finally demolished during a 19th @-@ century redevelopment of the area . |
There were two friaries in the burgh . The Dominican Black Friars friary was founded in the western part of the burgh around 1233 . The Franciscan ( Friars Minor Conventual ) Grey Friars friary was later founded in the eastern part of the burgh sometime before 1281 . It is thought that this latter Grey Friars foundation did not long survive , but was followed between 1479 and 1513 by the foundation of a friary near Elgin Cathedral by the Franciscan ( Observants ) Grey Friars . The building was transferred into the ownership of the burgh around 1559 and later became the Court of Justice in 1563 . In 1489 , the chapter founded a school that was not purely a song school for the cathedral but was also to be available to provide an education in music and reading for some children of Elgin . |
= = = Post – Reformation = = = |
In August 1560 , parliament assembled in Edinburgh and legislated that the Scottish church would be Protestant , the Pope would have no authority and that the Catholic mass was illegal . Scottish cathedrals now survived only if they were used as parish churches and as Elgin had been fully served by the Kirk of St Giles , its cathedral was abandoned . An act of parliament passed on 14 February 1567 authorised Regent Lord James Stewart 's Privy Council to order the removal of the lead from the roofs of both Elgin and Aberdeen cathedrals , to be sold for the upkeep of his army , but the overladen ship that was intended to take the cargo to Holland capsized and sank in Aberdeen harbour . In 1615 , John Taylor , the ' Water Poet ' , described Elgin Cathedral as " a faire and beautiful church with three steeples , the walls of it and the steeples all yet standing ; but the roofes , windowes and many marble monuments and tombes of honourable and worthie personages all broken and defaced " . |
Decay had set in and the roof of the eastern limb collapsed during a gale on 4 December 1637 . In 1640 the General Assembly ordered Gilbert Ross , the minister of St Giles kirk , to remove the rood screen which still partitioned the choir and presbytery from the nave . Ross was assisted in this by the Lairds of Innes and Brodie who chopped it up for firewood . It is believed that the destruction of the great west window was caused by Oliver Cromwell 's soldiers sometime between 1650 and 1660 . |
At some point the cathedral grounds had become the burial ground for Elgin . The town council arranged for the boundary wall to be repaired in 1685 but significantly , the council ordered that the stones from the cathedral should not be used for that purpose . Although the building was becoming increasingly unstable the chapterhouse continued to be used for meetings of the Incorporated Trades from 1671 to 1676 and then again from 1701 to around 1731 . No attempt was made to stabilise the structure and on Easter Sunday 1711 the central tower gave way , demolishing the nave . Following this collapse , the " quarrying " of the cathedral 's stone work for local projects began . Many artists visited Elgin to sketch the ruins , and it is from their work that the slow but continuing ruination can be observed . By the closing years of the 18th century , travellers to Elgin began to visit the ruin , and pamphlets giving the history of the cathedral were prepared for those early tourists . In 1773 Samuel Johnson recorded , " a paper was put into our hands , which deduced from sufficient authorities the history of this venerable ruin . " |
Since the abolition of bishops within the Scottish Church in 1689 , ownership of the abandoned cathedral fell to the crown , but no attempt to halt the decline of the building took place . Acknowledging the necessity to stabilise the structure , the Elgin Town Council initiated the reconstruction of the perimeter wall in 1809 and cleared debris from the surrounding area in about 1815 . The Lord Provost of Elgin petitioned the King 's Remembrancer for assistance to build a new roof for the chapterhouse and in 1824 , £ 121 was provided to the architect Robert Reid for its construction . Reid was significant in the development of a conservation policy for historical buildings in Scotland and was to become the first Head of the Scottish Office of Works ( SOW ) in 1827 . It was probably during his tenure at the SOW that the supporting buttresses to the choir and transept walls were built . |
In 1824 John Shanks , an Elgin shoemaker and an important figure in the conservation of the cathedral , started his work . Sponsored by local gentleman Isaac Forsyth , Shanks cleared the grounds of centuries of rubbish dumping and rubble . Shanks was officially appointed the site 's Keeper and Watchman in 1826 . Although his work was highly valued at the time and brought the cathedral back into public focus , his unscientific clearance work may have resulted in much valuable evidence of the cathedral 's history being lost . He died on 14 April 1841 , aged 82 . A fortnight later , the Inverness Courier published a commemorative piece on Shanks , calling him the " beadle or cicerone of Elgin Cathedral " , and writing : |
Some minor works took place during the remainder of the 19th century and continued into the early 20th century . During the 1930s further maintenance work ensued that included a new roof to protect the vaulted ceiling of the south choir aisle . From 1960 onwards the crumbling sandstone blocks were replaced and new windows were fitted in the chapterhouse , which was re @-@ roofed to preserve its vaulted ceiling . From 1988 to 2000 , the two western towers were substantially overhauled with a viewing platform provided at the top of the north tower . |
= = Building phases = = |
= = = Construction 1224 – 1270 = = = |
The first church was markedly cruciform in shape and smaller than the present floor plan . This early structure had a choir without aisles and more truncated , and a nave with only a single aisle on its north and south sides ( Fig . 4 ) . The central tower rose above the crossing between the north and south transepts and may have held bells in its upper storey . The north wall of the choir is the earliest extant structure , dating to the years immediately after the church 's 1224 foundation ; the clerestory windows on top of it are from the later post @-@ 1270 reconstruction . This wall has blocked up windows extending to a low level above ground , indicating that it was an external wall and proving that the eastern limb then had no aisle ( Fig . 5 ) . |
The south transept 's southern wall is nearly complete , displaying the fine workmanship of the first phase . It shows the Gothic pointed arch style in the windows that first appeared in France in the mid @-@ 12th century and was apparent in England around 1170 , but hardly appeared in Scotland until the early 13th century . It also shows the round early Norman window design that continued to be used in Scotland during the entire Gothic period ( Fig . 6 ) . The windows and the quoins are of finely cut ashlar sandstone . A doorway in the south @-@ west portion of the wall has large mouldings and has a pointed oval window placed above it . Adjacent to the doorway are two lancet @-@ arched windows that are topped at the clerestory level with three round @-@ headed windows . The north transept has much less of its structure preserved , but much of what does remain , taken together with a study by John Slezer in 1693 , shows that it was similar to the south transept , except that the north transept had no external door and featured a stone turret containing a staircase . |
The west front has two 13th century buttressed towers 27 @.@ 4 metres ( 90 ft ) high that were originally topped with wooden spires covered in protective lead . Although the difference between the construction of the base course and the transepts suggests that the towers were not part of the initial design , it is likely that the building process was not so far advanced that the masons could fully integrate the nave and towers into each other ( Fig . 7 ) . |
= = = Enlargement and re @-@ construction after 1270 = = = |
After the fire of 1270 , a programme of reconstruction was launched , with repairs and a major enlargement . Outer aisles were added to the nave , the eastern wing comprising the choir and presbytery was doubled in length and had aisles provided on its north and south sides , and the octagonal chapterhouse was built off the new north choir aisle ( Figs . 8 & 9 ) . The new northern and southern aisles ran the length of the choir , past the first bay of the presbytery , and contained recessed and chest tombs . The south aisle of the choir contained the tomb of bishop John of Winchester , suggesting a completion date for the reconstructed aisle between 1435 and 1460 ( Fig . 10 ) . Chapels were added to the new outer aisles of the nave and were partitioned from each other with wooden screens . The first bay at the west end of each of these aisles and adjacent to the western towers did not contain a chapel but instead had an access door for the laity . |
In June 1390 , Alexander Stewart , Robert III 's brother , burned the cathedral , manses and burgh of Elgin . This fire was very destructive , requiring the central tower to be completely rebuilt along with the principal arcades of the nave . The entire western gable between the towers was reconstructed and the main west doorway and chapterhouse were refashioned . The internal stonework of the entrance is late 14th or early 15th century and is intricately carved with branches , vines , acorns and oak leaves . A large pointed arch opening in the gable immediately above the main door contained a series of windows , the uppermost of which was a circular or rose window dating from between 1422 and 1435 . Just above it can be seen three coats of arms : on the right is that of the bishopric of Moray , in the middle are the Royal Arms of Scotland , and on the left is the armorial shield of Bishop Columba Dunbar ( Fig . 11 ) . The walls of the nave are now very low or even at foundation level , except one section in the south wall which is near its original height . This section has windows that appear to have been built in the 15th century to replace the 13th century openings : they may have been constructed following the 1390 attack ( Fig . 12 ) . Nothing of the elevated structure of the nave remains , but its appearance can be deduced from the scarring seen where it attached to the eastern walls of the towers . Nothing of the crossing now remains following the collapse of the central tower in 1711 . Elgin Cathedral is unique in Scotland in having an English style octagonal chapterhouse and French influenced double aisles along each side of the nave ; in England , only Chichester Cathedral has similar aisles . The chapterhouse , which had been attached to the choir through a short vaulted vestry , required substantial modifications and was now provided with a vaulted roof supported by a single pillar ( Figs . 13 & 14 ) . The chapterhouse measures 10 @.@ 3 metres ( 34 ft ) high at its apex and 11 @.@ 3 metres ( 37 ft ) from wall to opposite wall ; it was substantially rebuilt by Bishop Andrew Stewart ( 1482 – 1501 ) , whose coat of arms is placed on the central pillar . Bishop Andrew was the half @-@ brother of King James II . The delay to the completion of these repairs until this bishop 's episcopacy demonstrates the extent of the damage from the 1390 attack . |
= = = 19th and 20th century stabilisation = = = |
In 1847 – 8 several of the old houses associated with the cathedral on the west side were demolished , and some minor changes were made to the boundary wall . Structural reinforcement of the ruin and some reconstruction work began in the early 20th century , including restoration of the east gable rose window in 1904 and the replacement of the missing form pieces , mullions , and decorative ribs in the window in the north @-@ east wall of the chapterhouse ( Fig . 15 ) . By 1913 , repointing the walls and additional waterproofing of the wall tops were completed . In 1924 the ground level was lowered and the 17th century tomb of the Earl of Huntly was repositioned . Further repairs and restoration ensued during the 1930s , including the partial dismantling of some 19th century buttressing ( Fig . 16 ) , the reconstruction of sections of the nave piers using recovered pieces ( Fig . 17 ) , and the addition of external roofing to the vault in the south choir in 1939 ( Fig . 18 ) . From 1960 to 2000 , masons restored the cathedral 's crumbling stonework ( Fig . 19 ) and between 1976 and 1988 , the window tracery of the chapterhouse was gradually replaced , and its re @-@ roofing was completed ( Fig . 20 ) . Floors , glazing , and a new roof were added to the south @-@ west tower between 1988 and 1998 and comparable restoration work was completed on the north @-@ west tower between 1998 and 2000 ( Fig . 21 ) . |
= = Burials = = |
Andreas de Moravia – buried in the south side of the choir under a large blue marble stone |
David de Moravia – buried in the choir |
William de Spynie – buried in the choir |
Andrew Stewart ( d . 1501 ) |
Alexander Gordon , 1st Earl of Huntly |
Columba de Dunbar ( c . 1386 – 1435 ) was Bishop of Moray from 1422 until his death |
= = Referenced figures = = |
= St Mary 's Church , Nether Alderley = |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.