SCOTTISH ARCHITECTURE

Tradition has it that the first stone church to have been raised in Scotland was at Whithorn ( anciently ‘Candida Casa’), where St. Ninian had brought Christianity from Gaul. In fact, there is also a very old and quite strongly held idea which holds that the stone-masons had been Coptic Christians from the Near East. It would appear that ,at this same time in Ireland, Wales and other parts of the "Celtic Fringe" ,most churches were being constructed mainly of wood or of wattle and daub. This is difficult for us to comprehend perhaps, when one only has to look at the landscape there and see the abundance of stone, although admittedly there is said to have been a considerably greater part of the land covered by forests in those remote times, some 1500 years ago. However we know that stone was being used for construction long, long before the Christian era. The brochs of northern Scotland, those round towers with passages running throughout their walls with openings facing only inwardly, toward the center of the structure….and also the remains of what were once dwellings at Callanish or in the Orkneys, all bear substantial proof of this. It is also interesting to note that most ancient buildings of this type were circular rather than square or rectangular in shape. Of course, even into the 20th century, the ‘tigh fada’ (long-house) or as often called the "black house" was much in evidence in the Highlands and in the Western Isles. These long, low buildings had thatched roofs(often held down against the strong winds by the use of ropes which were weighted with stones),a smoke hole rather than a chimney, and rather than a wall fire-place as we know it today, a fire on the hearth which was a part of the floor. As primitive as this may sound to us, the homes were not without charm and even had a beauty of their own. In damp weather and days of low-hanging clouds which seemed to drop rain without ceasing, the soot in the rafters was known to mix with the moisture in the atmosphere and a black, sooty mixture would fall back and down into the house.There could also be a problem with smoke lingering within the dwelling and certainly that could make for an uncomfortable state of affairs. Even so, the "improvement" which is provided by wall-end fireplaces and proper chimneys was not always greeted with as much enthusiasm as one might expect, for the older generations often lamented the loss of a fire around which a family might gather to hear and tell stories, to sing and discuss the days’ events. As stated, the Tigh Fada was not without its charm and was not as uncomfortable as we might think it to have been, although some livestock often lived under the same roof, separated by a wall from the family. In his journey to the Hebrides,the usually quite opinionated (and Scoto-phobic) Dr. Samuel Johnson found the buildings to be quite pleasant within, often having whitened walls, floors which had a hard, polished look to them and often with woven matts or coverings of some kind. The "polished" floors may very well have been pounded earth with a coating of animal blood, rubbed to a high finish(which, all things considered, may have been less hazardous to the inhabitants than many of the manufactured and highly toxic floor coatings of our own time). In any case, the Tigh Fada or black house had remained the abode of the crofting and/or seafaring folk of the North and West for a very long time. Perhaps they were ‘blackest’ of all in the 19th century, when windows were avoided, there having been a tax on windows at that time.

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Tigh Fada  (Long house or Black house)

Certainly not all buildings in the Highlands were without square corners. Houses of the more prosperous folk, the merchants, inns and castles….all had the familiar look with which we are more accustomed. An excellent example of a Highland home of this type is to be found in the old Leannach Cottage ,close by Culloden Moor, where that most terrible slaughter of the clans took place in 1746. For the most part, the roofs were most often thatched with heather and even many of the old Highland churches had thatching.

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Leannach Cottage

Lowland Scots, those who lived in the South and the more gently rolling country of the East had been living in towns and villages from a much earlier time, and as a result of this they were able to have guilds of skilled tradesmen, merchants and a brisk trade with the world beyond Scotland’s own shores. Quarried and cut stone was used much more regularly as well, and we see the more frequent stepped gables ,called "Corbie Steps", dormers and even terra cotta tile roofs. Corners, doors and windows are well defined by cut and fitted rectangular blocks. Fife has some wonderful coastal villages such as Crail, Culross, Anstruther, all to be seen if one takes the coastal road South from St. Andrews. St. Andrews itself has to be seen to be appreciated or even to be believed, for even in its state of so many ruins, it is amazing. Crieff in Perth, or Gatehouse Of Fleet in Galloway are breath-taking. Now, of course, many of the Castles in the Highlands have dressed stone and well-pronounced corners, lintels and corbled gable ends but the tremendous architectural detail which can be found in the south are very much more rare.

While one cannot but be impressed with the simplicity, the economy of line and form, the use of space in Scottish homes (even the Baronial Houses and the Castles are quite pleasing in their relative simplicity), the craftsmen of Scotland have amply demonstrated their skills over the years and can easily stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in countries with much more in the way of both population and wealth. Rosslyn Chapel, a few miles south of Edinburgh ,is a case in point. It is surrounded by legend and mystique , thought to be one of the most hallowed places in Christendom, despite its small size. At the same time, it is a showcase of the stone-carvers’ craft. Here can be found the famous "Apprentice Pillar", a marvel in its own right, in the midst of so many other intricate, symbolic carvings. St. Margaret’s Chapel at Edinburgh Castle is tiny, but full of wonder. St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, has simply too much to take in on one visit, and crowned with that peculiarly Scottish form, the "Crown Spire" gives evidence of men who understood their material and who had a flair for strength and function coupled with a love of detail and a playful approach to design. Edinburgh is a city filled with as many diverse styles as one could imagine, but the tall, older buildings seem to present a view of a city which probably looked to be somewhat Flemish (thanks to the linen trade with the Low Countries), we can see the continuum of that Celtic love of intricacy, mystery and playfulness , translated through strict discipline into architectural detail in stone. There cannot be another city in the world with this blend of cultures into statement that is all its own. No, not even New York!

The great cities of Scotland were given quite a face-lift in the 18th and 19th centuries and much has been seen in print about the wonderful Scottish Renaissance. To be sure, there were buildings of the popular Paladian , Greek Revival and Regency styles, and Georgian Architecture had established itself extremely well. Yet these styles were the styles of the wealthy cosmopolitans of their times; those who had made the "Grand Tour of Europe and who spent long holidays at the Spas and resorts of the continent.Scots masons rose to the task of cutting and placing sandstone and granite for the raising of latter-day Greek temples, Roman baths and villas.For such styles were not Scottish , any more than they were French or Swedish or Russian. They were merely the international styles of the wealthy, those patrons of art and architecture who had vast holdings in one country or another, but who ,ironically did not usually carry the spirit of any one nation's people.

After all is said and done, the character of a people would seem to be most apparent in the dwellings , those outer shells of the families who reside within the walls The Scottish home reflects there having been a compromise between the harsh land and climate and the limitations imposed by nature….and a desire for security and fellowship. The result is that the Scot has recognized and found the value of contentment with what he has at hand and what can be done with what is at hand, over and above the never ending reaching out for what he/she does not have. Scots homes are not places wherein the family locks away treasures, or places which are secured against the outside world. Scots homes seem anxious to receive others at any and all times. Once within, even the traveler from another land becomes, for even a short space of time, a member of the household.

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Castle Leslie

Here are some websites you may wish to visit:

Rosslyn Chapel………… www.rosslynchapel.org.uk

Melrose Abbey…………. www.aboutscotland.com/mel.html

St. Giles,Edinburgh……. www.aboutbritain.co/StGilesCatherdral.htm  

Culross,Fife……………... www.skell.org/travels/culrossgal.htm

Brochs…………………….www.orkneyjar.com ( look under "history")

 

See also:  Siol nan Gaidheal Index on main page.

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