Scheduled Monument (SM90308) TULLIBARDINE CHAPEL

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Property in Care (PIC) no: PIC106 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90308) Taken into State care: 1951 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2004 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

1 Property in Care (PIC) no: PIC106 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90308) Taken into State care: 1951 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2004 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE TULLIBARDINE CHAPEL We continually revise our Statements of Significance, so they may vary in length, format and level of detail. While every effort is made to keep them up to date, they should not be considered a definitive or final assessment of our properties. Historic Environment Scotland Scottish Charity No. SC Principal Office: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH

3 TULLIBARDINE CHAPEL BRIEF DESCRIPTION Shortly before his death in 1452, Sir David Murray (ancestor of the dukes of Atholl) had a chapel built less than 0.5km to the south of his chief residence, Tullibardine Castle (demolished c. 1833). This small, and probably initially rectangular, chapel was considerably enlarged by his grandson, Sir Andrew Murray, around 1500 by the addition of two transeptal aisles to form a cruciform plan with an extended nave and a tower at its west end. Collegiate status was the likely intention of the patrons, although the formalities were never completed. Services were held intermittently after the Reformation until 1745, and the burial vault under the choir continued to be used until it was filled with soil in Often only the choir or an aisle retained its roof when a church was converted into a mausoleum; Tullibardine is a rare survival with its open timber roofs over the main body of the church and aisles. None of the furnishings survives, though there are traces of consecration crosses on the plasterwork, looped window tracery and several armorial panels. The red sandstone, crow-stepped chapel is surrounded on three sides by a small graveyard. The fourth duke of Atholl sold the chapel to his son-in-law, James Drummond, in In 1902, his great-grandson, the eleventh Viscount Strathallan, succeeded to the earldom of Perth. The chapel and graveyard are the property of his descendants and came into State care in Consolidation work and roof repairs have taken place since then. CHARACTER OF THE MONUMENT Historical Overview It is believed that the church was founded in about 1446 by Sir David Murray of Tullibardine (his involvement is supported by prominent displays of arms), the family having acquired Tullibardine and its estates through marriage in the late 13th century. From the scale of his benefactions, it seems likely that Sir David intended to found a college of priests. His son, William Murray, sheriff of Perth, added another priest to the establishment in However, there is no record of it having been made collegiate, and in 1455 and in 1618 it is described as a private chapel. Sir Andrew Murray was responsible for major remodelling around 1500 in the form of north and south transepts which gave Tullibardine a cruciform plan. It is likely that the nave was also extended and the west tower added at this time. The roof timbers of the choir may belong to this phase. It is possible they would originally have been covered with painted boards. Remarkably few changes have since been made. One of the last references to the Murray family s use of the church is in reference to the burial of Lord George Murray s infant daughter in 1740 and his request to his brother, the second duke of Atholl, that he and his wife be permitted to be

4 buried with her. He was, however, permanently exiled, having earlier led the Jacobites to victory at Prestonpans in The nearby castle was partly dismantled in 1747 before being demolished about 100 years later. The chapel continued to be used for occasional worship after the Reformation, until the Jacobite Rising. Thereafter its furnishings would no longer have been required, though the burial vault under the floor of the choir continued to be used. The vault contains eleven 19th-century coffins and two from the 20th century, of the viscounts of Strathallan and earls of Perth, and members of their families. The chapel was first scheduled in At that time the owner, the earl of Perth, offered guardianship to the Ministry of Works. It finally came into guardianship in Electricity was introduced at an early date, the cast-iron rainwater goods were removed and the graveyard boundary wall extensively rebuilt. The main roof was re-slated in 1967, the lead roof on the tower repaired in 1976, then renewed in Consolidation of the masonry walls has been undertaken periodically from , and further work on the north and south gables took place in The cast-iron grille over the burial vault was renewed in 1987 ventilation is no longer essential, since the coffins were covered in topsoil in 2000 to remove a potential health hazard. Archaeological Overview There is no record of any previous archaeological work on the site. There are likely to be many unmarked burials beneath the floor of the chapel and in the graveyard; therefore ground disturbance should be avoided. Artistic/Architectural Overview The chapel founded by Sir David Murray would probably have had a simple rectangular plan, similar to most Scottish parish churches of the period. Most of the evidence for this survives in the choir. The high altar would have had a retable (decorative back panel) against the east end of the choir, lit by a single window high up in the gable. Stalls for the priests and family would have been placed along the side walls. Sir David s work on the church is recorded by three heraldic panels, which can still be seen in the church, though not in their original positions: the Murray arms in various permutations are set above the door of the north transept; in the north wall of the choir (referring to the marriage of his parents, another Sir David Murray and Isobel Stewart of Innermeath); and on the exterior next to the north window (referring to Sir David s own marriage to Margaret Colquhoun). The arms on the skewputts of the south transept gable refer to the c marriage of Sir Andrew Murray (south side) and Margaret Barclay (east side). As these arms would have been difficult to insert once the gable had been built, it is likely that they commemorate the second main building phase, which included the transeptal chapels and the westward extension of the nave. Identical masons marks on the transeptal arches, and on the south transept window, confirm that the two transepts were added in a single phase. Entrances are provided via the

5 round-arched door into the nave at the west end of the south wall and a second doorway in the north gable of the north transept. Cruciform churches were particularly popular when a great patron was involved. Tullibardine and, as a comparable example, St Clement s Church, Rodel (c. 1528) (SAM no ), were afforded additional architectural presence by having a west tower as well as transeptal chapels. There was a limited fashion for tracery composed of uncusped loops in the early part of the 16th century: Tullibardine has two of the best surviving examples in Scotland, which light the transepts. Antecedents can be found in the churches of the Low Countries. Scottish examples include the north chapel of St Andrew s Dominican Friary (c. 1516) (SAM no ) and Midcalder Church (c. 1542). A large proportion of the surviving roof appears to be late medieval in date. The couples, braced by two levels of collars, are now visible, but they may originally have had an internal skin of boards that would have been decoratively painted. In the nave, ashlar posts at the base of the rafters create a triangle of timbers that are encased in the wallhead masonry. Evidence from secular buildings shows that this was frequently done, but this arrangement is vulnerable to water ingress and resultant rot may be one reason why so many roofs have been lost. Internal wall faces bear substantial traces of plaster, including a painted consecration cross on the south wall of the south transept and a fragment of another on the west wall of the nave. Originally, the plaster would have been limewashed and richly painted in the more important areas. Wooden strapping built into the east and south walls of the choir and occasional wooden plugs survive; it cannot be ruled out that these provided support for wainscot lining. Several aumbries survive; two have ogival arches (one in the east end of the south wall of the choir, the other in the east side of the south transeptal arch). In the west wall of the tower there is a niche with canopy and bracket, beneath which is a small round opening (perhaps a spy hole or shot hole). A post-medieval memorial with memento mori in relief remains in the floor of the south transept. Members of the Murray and Drummond families and the priests attached to the chapel would have had burial rights within the chapel walls. Members of the local community would have been buried within the graveyard: the surviving gravestones date from the 18th to 20th centuries (the monumental inscriptions have been recorded by the Tay Valley Family History Society, and published by the Scottish Genealogy Society). Social Overview There has been no formal assessment of the social value of the property. It seems likely that, as a place of burial for the local community in the past, it would be significant to their descendants and the present community. The site does not suffer from vandalism. Spiritual Overview

6 The chapel originally had spiritual value because of its function as a place of worship. Its form, recognisable as a place of worship, also gives it spiritual value today. This is also reflected in its function as a place of burial, within both the chapel and its graveyard, to the wider public and to the descendants of those buried there. Aesthetic Overview The chapel sits within an agricultural landscape and is situated on a gentle slope opposite West Mains of Tullibardine farmhouse, its large barn and other farm buildings. The Castle of Tullibardine stood about 0.5 km to the north of the chapel, a little downslope. It was partly dismantled in 1747, and demolished c A 1789 drawing of the chapel shows the castle ruins in the background. The chapel s physical relationship to the site of the castle of its patrons is significant. The rural setting of the chapel, with a wooded area to the north of the castle, is similar to that depicted on Timothy Pont s map from c. 1590s. The modern setting of the chapel, with the nearby farmsteadings and field boundaries, appears to have changed little since the First Edition Ordnance Survey map (1868). What are the major gaps in understanding of the property? There has been little research on the Castle of Tullibardine and its relationship to the chapel. The historic roof timbers could be dated and add value to a wider chronology of comparable surviving examples. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Key Points Relatively few complete medieval churches have survived in Scotland; this makes Tullibardine both rare and highly significant. It is one of few chapels of its type which were completed in Scotland and has remained substantially unaltered from its c cruciform plan. Much of its late-medieval open-timber roof has survived; this is rare in both ecclesiastical and secular contexts, and is highly valuable for what it can tell us about medieval roof construction. The chapel s long association with the Murrays of Tullibardine, viscounts of Strathallan, and earls of Perth adds to its significance. Associated Properties Lauder Church; Innerpeffray Chapel; St Clement s Church, Rodel; Inchcolm Abbey (church); Dunglass Collegiate Church; Guthrie Collegiate Church, aisle roof (1464) in the New Museum of Scotland; St Andrew s Dominican Friary.

7 Keywords Murrays of Tullibardine; viscounts of Strathallan; earls of Perth; medieval; chapel; tower; burial vault

MUTHILL OLD CHURCH AND TOWER

MUTHILL OLD CHURCH AND TOWER Property in Care PIC (ID): PIC095 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90225) Taken into State care: 1953 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2005 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE MUTHILL