Elgin Cathedral, a substantial ruin with long history in the north of Scotland

Introduction

This evening, I am focusing on Elgin Cathedral which lies close to the northern coast of Scotland, about 40 miles east of Inverness.

Information on Elgin Cathedral

This Cathedral was, in its prime, known as the ‘Lantern of the North’ because of its beauty and ranked in size second only to the Cathedral at St. Andrews.

 
Between 1270 and 1560 Elgin Cathedral was seat of the Bishop of Moray. David Murray was one of five Scottish bishops (catholic) who supported  Robert the Bruce's claim to the throne and Scotland's right to self-determination.This was not received well in England as a consequence the Cathedral suffered three major incidents of fire and violence, in 1270, 1300 and 1402. After each event the Cathedral was re-built. (Note that in medieval times the catholic church was the only church and enjoyed considerable power with local bishops engaging in military activities from time to time.)

In the late 14th century a local, N.E. magnate, Alexander Stewart aka ‘Wolf of Badenoch’ was censured by the Bishop for abuse of power. In a fit of rage, during a temporary power vacuum in Scotland, Stewart and his army burned and damaged the Cathedral and its associated residences. For this act, Stewart was excommunicated by the Bishop (a very severe sanction in medieval times) and was forced to pay the Bishop heavy reparations. The Cathedral was subsequently rebuilt in stages.



The ruined state of the buildings today are due to a combination of vandalism and neglect following the Protestant Reformation in 1560.

Detail from interior of Chapter House


The east end of the Cathedral is the best preserved. Choir and Presbytery date from 1270 and feature high quality window tracery. The most complete element surviving is the 15th century stone-vaulted octagonal chapter house.

A video clip of Elgin Cathedral in context of the local town can be seen in this post.

 
Elgin Cathedral is managed by Historic Environment Scotland and is open to visitors from April 1st to September 30th inclusive. 

More information

For more information on the country's history and Scotland in general please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reconstructed Roman Villa

Image
This evening, I am reporting on my visit earlier today to a meticulously reconstructed Roman Villa in Somerset, England.   Funding for the project was provided by a South African billionaire. Specific features of the reconstruction project which is known as 'Villa Ventorum': Employed hundreds of architects, builders, archaelogists, mosaic makers, fresco painters and experts on ancient plumbing. The new build was built close to the remains of the original villa which dates from AD351. Incorporates the only working hypocaust system in Europe to create authentic Roman underfloor heating. Thne system also provides heating for the internal baths. Designed to appear to visitors as though still in use. Mosaics and frescoes have been made below the top standards of the time (e.g. Chedworth ) to reflect the social rank of the resident family. Incorporates a Roman 'fast food bar' allong the lines of that found in Pompeii . (Core of above information sourced from the Times newspap...
Read more

York, England and its Roman origins.

Image
Street decoration in York York is an ancient city in northern England. Here visitors can connect with the city's growth over the past 2000 years, from the Roman period then Viking, medieval and modern. However, this post places an emphasis on the Roman period. Roman York York was known as Eboracum. Consistent with other Roman forts the plan at York was based on a playing card design with strong external defences and a grid of streets inside. Hadrian visited in AD 120 in context of initiative to build his famous wall. Initially York was garrisoned by the Ninth Legion and subsequently the Sixth Legion. Roman HQ building The civilian section contained public buildings such as bath houses and temples plus fine houses for the wealthy. The Emperor, Septimus Severus used York as a base for military campaigns in the north during 208-211. In AD 306 the emperor Constantinus I died in York and his son Constantine the Great was acclaimed emperor by the army. R...
Read more

Fort Augustus, a popular visitor site on southern tip of Loch Ness

Image
Loch Ness from flight of locks at Fort Augustus, Scottish Highlands This evening, I am posting information on Fort Augustus, a busy tourist village on the southern tip of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Summary information on Fort Augustus as follows:- Population about 650 persons. Distance, about 160 miles from Edinburgh and 35 miles from Inverness entailing journey times of 3.5 hours and 1 hour respectively. Well endowed with hotels and other accommodation plus shops, restaurants and visitor attractions. From here visitors can avail of boat trips on Loch Ness. Home to an impressive flight of five locks on the Caledonian Canal. Latter dates from 1822 and is now primarily used by pleasure boats. Closely linked with the 18th century Jacobite uprising in that (a) the village was renamed Fort Augustus (after Prince William Augustus, third son of King George II) consequent upon construction of a British military (redcoat) fort in 1742 and (b) the same Pri...
Read more