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THE following correspondence
between the eminent antiquary, General Hutton, whose collections as to the
ecclesiastical and monastic remains of Scotland are deposited in the
Advocates' Library, and Mr John Dow, tenant of the Abbey of Inchaifray, will
be read with interest. The ancestors of Mr Dow had been in possession of the
Abbey lands from the time of the Reformation, and ho was consequently
qualified to give information as to the buildings. The letters from Genera!
Hutton are in the hands of the contributor. Mr Dow's communication is among
the General's MSS., vol. vii., Perth, No. 115. Adv. Lib., Edin.
Kelso, 26th "February, 1789.
Mr Duwr,—Since I saw you in
October last, I have unluckily lost or mislaid the memorandums I made
concerning the Abbey of Inchaffray. I write, therefore, to request you will
have the goodness to favour me with as full an account as you can give me of
the present remains of the building, and what other parts now destroyed you
and your father remember standing, mentioning the times as nearly as you can
recollect when they fell or were taken down. I wish you would look carefully
about the ruins, to see if there are any inscriptions or carved stones, &c.
A plan or ground-plot of the remains laid down from the dimensions of the
different parts, with a compass to explain the situation, would be very
acceptable to me. Perhaps young Mr Ramsay would do me the favour to assist
in making out this plan or ground-plot. Inchaffray is called in Latin, "Insula
Missarum." Tray, is there any apoearance of the ground on which the building
stands ever having been surrounded with water? I hope you will oblige me so
far as to write me as full an account as you possibly can, not omitting the
smallest circumstances. Mention anything curious that you or your father,
&.c., have found among the ruins, either as to carved stones, coins,
coffins, tombstones, monuments, inscriptions, &c. Mention, too, whether you
have heard anything of the bells of the Abbey since I saw you. I wrote to
the minister of Dunning upon this subject, but he has not yet answered my
letter.
I will be glad to hear from
you as soon as you can, my stay in the country for the present being very
uncertain. Be assured I shall not forget your trouble, and if you wish it I
will send you a historical account ot the Abbey, containing all the
circumstances I have collected relating to its Abbots, &c., Sic. You will
direct your letter to H. Hutton, Esq., ac Capt. Dickson's, Kelso. I hope
yourself and family have been in good health since I saw you. Wishing you
all every happiness and comfort through life.—I am, your sincere friend and
well-wisher,
H. Huiton.
Mr Dowr to General Hutton.
Abbey of Inchaffray, 5th
March, 1780.
Sir,—I was favoured with
yours of the 20th ultimo, 2nd in obedience to your request shall endeavour
to give you accurate an account as I can of the Abbey of Inchaffray. What
now remains of this Abbey is the north gavel of the house where the clergy
lived —with the walls in ruins of the area—which formed a regular square, on
the east or north-east side of which stood the church, having two large
aisles on the north, with a small entry in the middle. In these aisles was
found a stone, now lying at Abercairney, on which were carved s lion, and
the effigy of the Earl of Strathern—in armour and flower de luces. On the
north-east corner stood the steeple, formed of carved work. This steeple
fell in one night, during the end of K. Charles 2d's reign. On the S.E. side
of the church was the burial-yard. At the S.E. side of the church stood also
a four-square house, the intention of which I cannot now recollect. Within
the church are two stone coffins yet to be seen — both entire. But as to the
dimensions of the church I cannot now give you an exact measurement, but
they are rather longer than what I gave you formerly. The area may be about
sixty feet long nearly, as far as I can recollect from memory. On the south
side of the area stood the Chapter House, and beyond it another very large
building, the use of which I cannot now recollect. On this side also stood
the Front House, where the Lord Abbot lived himself. To this house was the
water conducted from a neighbouring well, still called Lady Well, by lead
pipes which emptied themselves into a large stone trough, which still
remains. On the west side was the clergy's house, the N. gavel of which
stands as above, with a large vault below. There were other five vaults,
which are now destroyed. Straight west from this stood another large
building, said to be the clergy's—with a wall between the two buildings —and
beyond that was a fruit garden, of which my grandfather ate the fruit. On
the north or north-west side was an entry, which extended to the rising
ground on the north. On the south side was the principal entry leading to
the Abbey from Madderty side, with a bridge across the Fow or water then
standing. On the rising ground on the south was the Pigeon House, with a
large building for the accommodation of strangers. With regard to the time
at which these various buildings were pulled down, I cannot pretend to give
an accurate statement, as they were taken down at different periods to
supply stones to modern buildings; but if this be essentially requisite, I
might with a little trouble find out the periods accurately. The buildings
ate mostly formed of carved stones, but there are no inscriptions nor dates
to be found. One half of a stone only remains, with some old characters,
which cannot now be read. The whole buildings were surrounded with water,
narrower on the south and north, but wider and more extensive towards the
east and west. I forgot to mention the East Entry, which extended to the
north-east rising ground by a stone causeway, 60 feet broad. Around the
whole building was a wall of ashler work beyond the outer side of the
Precinct in order to keep off the water. To the north, on a rising hill, is
a place called the "Scar-Law Ivnowe," on which they tried their criminals,
and on the south side is a little mound called "Tillichandie," on which they
were executed, on which the Executioner's Lodge stands to this day. As to
the monuments, I have never seen any—-it is probable some may be ljving in
the rubbish. There have been coins found—which my father distributed to
gentlemen in the country to whom the Forty-Five proved fatal—and now lost.
With regard to the Bells of the Abbey, I can give no certain account. The
Seal of the Abbey, as belonging to Lord Madderty, is still in the library of
Innerpeffroy ; the only exact copy of the seal is preserved in lead in the
possession of Mr Malcolm, in our neighbourhood. My brother keeps the
original seal; Mr Malcolm has the impression taken from it. I have not had
time to make out the dimensions—if necessary they may be made oat by the
assistance of others—and if you choose, Mr Malcolm will send you a
perspective draught of the ruins as they at present stand.
I can give you no further
account at present. I hope you have been in very good health since I had the
pleasure of seeing you. I shall be glad when convenient to see the
historical account you mentioned, and you may rest assured that I shall use
every endeavour to gain any farther light into the antiquities of this
Abbacy; and in case I should find any new discoveries in the course of my
investigations, I shall take care to forward them to you, and should be glad
to know if this letter shall come safe to your hand.—I am, Sir, your most
obedient humble servant,
John Dow.
3. General Hutton to Mr Dow.
Kelso, 20th June, 17C9.
Mr Dow,—I wrote you a long
letter on the 8th of March last, upon receipt of yours, but as I have not
heard from you since, I am apprehensive my letter has not reached you.
I would thank you very kindly
for an impression of the Seal of the Abbey of Inchaffray, which you say is
preserved in the Library at Innerpeffray. Please to be careful to take a
fair impression, as I want it to make a drawing from. I fancy it would be
best to take the impression upon wax; and if you know of any person going to
Edinburgh, it might be sent directed to me at Dr Inglis, at the Cross,
Edinburgh, where it would be taken care of for me ; but if you cannot meet
with an opportunity of transmitting to Edinburgh in this manner, be so good
as send it in a letter by post, and I expect it will come safe enough, as I
have received other impressions of seals by this conveyance.
Please to present my best
thanks to the gentleman who kindly offered me drawings of the Abbey, which
will be very acceptable to me, particularly a plan or ground-plot of the
remains, showing the dimensions of the different parts. Such a plan of the
old church at Tullibardine would also be of use to me, if the gentleman
would be good enough to do it for me any time he is in that neighbourhood.
I will thank you to write me
as fully as you can with regard to the Abbey ; and if you did not receive my
letter of the 8th March, I w ill send you another containing the same
information, and probably some further circumstances.
I hope your wife and children
are well. With best wishes for the welfare of yourself and them, I am very
truly your sincere friend,
H. Hutton.
Let us know whether your rent
has been made easier to you.
John Dow's letter to General
Huiton was written for him by David Malcolm, LL.D., the schoolmaster of
Madderty. He was one of the chaplains for Scotland of George IV., the author
of the History of the House of Drummond, and a good classical scholar and
successful teacher.
Beyond a ground-plan of the
buildings, there is no other document among the General's collections as to
the Abbey of any importance. A copy of the ground-plan is given on next
page.
It may be remarked that the
allusion to the Abbots exorcising criminal jurisdiction and carrying capital
sentences into execution is inconsistent with the Canon Law, and the
tradition of their having exercised such powers appears to be at fault.
Charters, Bulls and
Other Documents relating to the Abbey of Inchaffray
Chiefly from the originals in the Chater Chest of the Earl of Kinnoull
edited by William Alexander Lindsay, KC, Wildsor Herald, John Dowden, D.D.,
LL.D., Bishop of Edinburgh, John Maitland Thomson, LL.D. sometime Curator of
the Historical Department of H.M. General Register House with Map and
Facsimiles (1908) (pdf) |
