Property in Care (PIC) ID: PIC074 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90170) Taken into State care: 1965 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2004 HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE INNERPEFFRAY 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. SC045925 Principal Office: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH
Historic Environment Scotland Scottish Charity No. SC045925 Principal Office: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH
INNERPEFFRAY CHAPEL BRIEF DESCRIPTION The first known reference to a chapel of St Mary was in 1365; however, the aboveground remains of Innerpeffray Chapel appear to be entirely 16th century in date when John, first Lord Drummond, provided endowments for four chaplains: by 1542 the priests had been incorporated into a college. The red sandstone rectangular chapel would have consisted of a structurally undifferentiated chancel and nave separated by a screen (above which there would have been a rood loft); the arch further west demarcated a vestibule, the provision of which is unusual, and over which there may have been a room and belfry. The sacristy on the north side of the chancel no longer survives. There are two doorways on the south side: the east for the priests and the west for layfolk, with a processional door into the west gable. The base of the medieval altar is at the east end; its survival is rare, though the mensa (slab over altar base) has been removed. After the Reformation the chapel continued to be used as a burial place for the Drummond family. A number of important funerary monuments survive. The room above the vestibule was reconstructed with a celestial scene painted on its underside. It later housed Scotland s first public lending library founded by David Drummond, third Lord Madertie, before 1680. The purpose-built library next door dates to the mid-18th century. The chapel was taken into guardianship in 1965; the scheduled area was extended to include the graveyard in 1995; the graveyard is not in care, however. The 1707 Faichney Monument was moved into the chapel from the graveyard in 1997. CHARACTER OF THE MONUMENT Historical Overview A chapel of St Mary is mentioned in 1365 and 1483; by 1506/07 it housed a chantry, which acquired collegiate status by 1542, and where priests would have prayed for the welfare of Lord Drummond and his family in life and for the salvation of their souls after death. 1581 and 1591 references to provosts associated with the chapel demonstrate that the Drummonds continued their Catholic worship after the Reformation though the college would have had to have been disbanded. The provostry itself would have often been held by younger sons of the Drummond family. The building survived the Reformation because of its primary function as a family burial place and by 1680 it was partly used as a library providing access to the private collection of the Drummond family who resided in their towerhouse nearby (rebuilt 1610). The sacristy was demolished at an unknown date thereafter. 1/5
By the mid-20th century, the then owner, Lord Perth, was concerned about its condition; at that time the floor was covered in gravel, the roof was in poor condition and the internal walls had been harled in places. After it came into care in 1965 major works were undertaken which included reroofing (using as much of the original material as possible), laying a Caithness flagstone floor over concrete in 1968, inserting a damp-proof course into the walls (replaced in 1982, this also failed however), replastering, external drainage and remounting the painted ceiling on a backing of fibreglass and epoxy resin on metal lath. Drainage works were carried out in 1982 with further works planned for 2004 in order to limit moisture ingress and salt formation which is affecting the ceiling and may threaten other interior decoration. Archaeological Overview Two small areas within the chapel, to the immediate north and south of the altar, were archaeologically excavated in 1969, glazed pottery having been found in the course of repair works. Four funeral urns, perhaps dating to the 15th century, were found on the south side of the altar and associated with the burials of an adult and infant beneath modern 19th century grave cuts. These vessels are now in the collections of the National Museums of Scotland. No ground-breaking works were necessitated by removal of the Faichney Monument into the chapel in 1997; an archaeological watching brief was carried out in the graveyard as part of its removal from the boundary wall in 1995. The interior of the chapel, the graveyard and its immediate vicinity are archaeologically sensitive given the known presence of human remains and the potential for the remains of other structures associated with the college such as accommodation for the priests and gardens. Artistic/Architectural Overview Architectural Development The 16th century chapel would have been rendered in lime harl, traces of which are visible. A number of significant structural elements survive that enable the internal layout of subdivisions and lofts to be understood. There would have been a timber roof over the chancel and nave, which was possibly boarded and painted. Taller windows lit the altar in the chancel where the priests, and members of the Drummond family, would have sat during services. Corbels surviving in the north and south walls would have supported a loft above the screen that separated the chancel from the nave. A low window here would have lit a pair of altars in front of the screen, and an upper window, possibly rising into a dormer, would have lit a rood painting on the loft and perhaps a rood altar. A small squint, opening to the north side of the wide arch between the nave and vestibule, suggests that this arch also contained a screen which controlled access to the nave but permitted limited viewing of the nave. A room over the vestibule and a belfry would have been accessed from the spiral stair in the north-west corner; it could have been the camera ( chamber ) described in 1581 which was reserved to William Lindesay, provost of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Innerpeffray only when he should stay there. 2/5
Other features include the survival of the base of the main altar, a holy water stoup to the east side of the lay entrance, consecration crosses in the plaster and an ogee-headed niche in the external east gable which probably held a figure. The door, which would have led to the sacristy where the priests prepared themselves for services, is now a cupboard in the north wall. The chapel would have been accompanied by other college buildings; it is possible that the building of the adjacent library may have obliterated some of them. Four roundles or towers were said, in 1581, to have once stood at each corner of the churchyard, traditionally thought to be the residences of the chaplains. The central rood loft and screen would have been dismantled after the Reformation and the room above the vestibule rebuilt in the 17th century with a decorative underside (see below) and containing a fireplace and a window in the gable. A door was broken through the north side of the nave to access the central burial vault. Painted Decoration Wall painting: three incised consecration crosses survive in the nave and there is also one in the vestibule; these represent the points where the bishop anointed the walls as part of the service of dedication. Faint traces of colour are discernible at the west end, on the north and south walls of the nave and on the east walls of the arch. Painted ceiling: the underside of the room above the vestibule was decorated with a brightly painted celestial scene on lath and plaster; about one-third of this survives on a new base (of 1968) with central sunburst, clouds, stars and an angel to its north side. The surface has since been prone to the development of biological growth. HSCC have cleaned the dark staining on a number of occasions; measures to reduce the high humidity and fluctuation of interior environmental conditions have not yet been successful. Stone Collection The highly decorative 2.4m high, 1.3m wide and 0.33m deep red sandstone 1707 Faichney Monument was removed from the graveyard in 1995 and installed within the south-west corner of the nave over a damp-proof membrane in 1997. The shaped pediment is surmounted by a full-faced head flanked by finials in the form of male and female figures supporting poppy head terminals (probably representing the Opiate of Death). Within the pediment a man, presumably John Faichney, and his wife and the initials JF JM are carved in relief within an oval foliate wreath. OUR CHILDREN BELOW are represented as two columns of five children framing the main panel. It consists of two trumpeting winged angel heads over a scroll I HOPE IN GOD ALREADY, the family coat of arms and the memento-mori next to a female death head with bound jaw. The date of commemoration Dec 16 1707 may refer to the death of John Faichney s wife who might be represented by the death head. There are also a number of moulded red sandstone fragments which are located within the north-west corner of the chapel. 3/5
Wall memorials Four wall memorials, a tomb (moved against the north wall from the centre of the floor in 1970) and two hatchments relate to the chapel s continued use for Drummond family burials after the Reformation. Rising damp has exacerbated the deterioration of some of these. The most significant are the hatchments and the Drummond monument on the north wall of the nave: Lozenge-shaped funeral hatchments depict the Drummond coat of arms and were painted for Andrew John Drummond, 7th Viscount Strathallan ( 1817) and Clementina ( 1822), daughter of 10th Lord Elphinstone (whose hatchment incorporates her family s heraldry) and who, in 1785, married James Drummond (afterwards 11th Earl of Perth). These were restored by HSCC in 1974 and again in 1993. Dampness has caused light blooming of the surface. The 17th-century sandstone Drummond Monument consists of a rectangular framed panel with a broken scroll pediment over the cornice, flanking lion heads and winged angel s head beneath. The panel contains an inscription and shields to commemorate Sir James Drummond ( 1650) and his wife Dame Katherine Hamilton ( 1638). Traces of paint are discernible. Social Overview The Friends of Innerpeffray Library hold occasional events in the chapel. The library itself, immediately next to the chapel, is open to the public and maintained by a Charitable Trust. The graveyard memorials are likely to be significant for genealogists and art historians. There has been no formal assessment of the significance of the chapel to the local community. Spiritual Overview The chapel was dedicated to St Mary. It has spiritual associations for the Drummond family as their long-term burial place and as the place where prayers were offered for their salvation. Members of other local families would, however, have been buried within the graveyard and there are references to burials having also taken place outside its walls. Innerpeffray Chapel is no longer used for religious services. Aesthetic Overview The chapel sits on a promontory above the River Earn. At present, the mature trees to the immediate west and north of its graveyard screen it and limit views. The west end of the chapel abuts the white-painted A-listed 2-storey Neo- Palladian Innerpeffray Library, built in 1758-62 by Charles Freebairn of Alloa, architect, and John Feichney, master-mason and is an attractive backdrop to the chapel. A cutting about 50m to the south-east was archaeologically investigated in 2004 and is part of a Roman road. The chapel is located at a nodal point and lies within a landscape that includes a Roman fort and camp nearby; the fort at Strageath 4/5
was excavated 1973-86. The remains of the seat of the Drummonds of Innerpeffray lie 1km to the north-north-east. The picturesque approach to the chapel is on foot from the east via a path which is bordered by fields in pasture. The chapel itself has trees on its west and south sides and the schoolhouse garden to the north. What are the major gaps in understanding of the property? Little is known about the form of the chapel in the early medieval period and before its endowments as a college in the 16th century. Research on the historical landscape would inform our understanding of the site choice and relationship between the Drummond home and their chapel. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Key points The early 16th-century chapel has survived, in a roofed state, to the present day and with significant pre-reformation architectural features intact, in particular the base of the medieval altar at its east end and the evidence for the subdivision of the space by screens. The survival of medieval and early modern painted decoration is rare in Scotland; here these are the incised consecration crosses and a sizeable fragment of ceiling decoration. The funeral hatchments to the Drummond family are rare and well-preserved examples. The close physical relationship between the Drummond s towerhouse, which probably stood on the site of its predecessor, and their chapel is important. Its association with the foundation of the first public lending library in Scotland adds significantly to the property s cultural value. The chapel contains the nationally-important 1707 Faichney Monument which is a superb example of the stonemason s craft. Associated Properties Tullibardine Chapel; Church of Stobhall; Maybole Collegiate Church; St Duthus s Church, Tain; Castle Semple Collegiate Church; Fowlis Easter Parish Church. Keywords Collegiate Church; Chapel; Drummond; Reformation; Carved Stones; painted decoration 5/5