Fortrose Cathedral

 










(Note: Blog moving to new site: http://northscotland.blogspot.co.uk/) Fortrose Cathedral is a Medieval building which was founded in the 13th Century, possibly on the site of a n older monastic community. It was the seat (cathedra) of the Bishop of Ross until the Scottish Reformation in 1689. This photograph does not actually show the cathedral as such: this is only the chapterhouse: a small remnant of a once vast building. The building was not so much devastated by Protestant zeal as it decayed due to indifference. This indifference began during the reign of the Catholic Stuart monarchy. The building is made from Old Red Sandstone, which owes its distinctive colour to iron oxide. This rock once formed the floor of a giant arid plain. The Cathedral is surrounded by Yew Trees (taxus) which have long been associated with death and the underworld in Gaelic myth.

St Columba's Church

The building in the centre of this photograph is St Columba’s Free High Church. Not a ‘High Church’ in the sense of being ‘Catholic’ but named after the mound it’s built on. This building was constructed between 1851 and 1852 to designs by James Mathews (1819-1898) and Thomas Mackenzie (1814-54). Both of these men had their roots in the North East and studied with Archibald Simpson. MacKenzie designed a lot of buildings between Moray and Perthshire, but designed a few in Ross-Shire and Inverness as well. Perhaps due to his longer life-span, Mathews designed a considerably amount of buildings in Inverness-shire, Ross-shire and even further afield. John Rhind later modified their plans and St Columba’s was damaged in a fire and restored between 1948 and 1951 by Leslie Graham Thomson (later known as Leslie Graham McDougall). St Columba’s is interesting and unusual for a Highland Calvinist building for its inclusion of gargoyles. These add some variation to the line of Protestant churches on Inverness river bank. Seeing their vicious yet harmless sandstone faces amidst the pretty yet deadly petals of the foxglove (digitalis) that grows on the masonry is an ironically beautiful sight.

Dingwall Free Church

Greetings and thanks to my two followers sticking with this site during a fallow period. Anyway, this is a photograph of Dingwall Free Church, which was designed by John Rhind (1836-89) and built between 1867 and 1870. It is an attractive, if austere, building. The material is undoubtedly the Old Red Sandstone of Easter-Ross. Architecturally, its octagonal dome and pilarets make it stand out in Highland architecture. Dingwall played a large part in the Easter Ross Evangelical revival of the 18th century and subsequently had a healthy Free Church congregation. Rhind was born in Banffshire in 1836 and his father was the Inverness-based architect George. In common with Alexander Ross, he designed many gothic buildings. Rhind was elected to the town council in 1880 and worked strenuously until his death in 1889.

Rev Walter Gregor of Pitsligo

Rev Walter Gregor was a Church of Scotland minister from Pitsligo near Banff. Whilst his ministry was a success and he was greatly respected by his congregation, he pursued other interests at the same time. Indeed, he served as curator of Banff museum for a while. Subsequently, Gregor achieved a degree of fame as a folklorist and ethnologist. He wrote an account of Banffshire dialect, which highlighted some curiosities of the Scots language of the region. Many of these were terms pertaining to plants and animals, and in translating these, Gregor demonstrated that he was well acquainted with scientific Latin terminology.

However, his most accomplished work was possibly the research he carried out into the folklore of North East Scotland. Certainly his work was unmarred by hypocritical puritanism: as his morbid tales of kelpies and the ghoulish 'yaird swine' show. Perhaps even more surprising than his ability to write about dark myths was his ability to write down some of the earthier folk-traditions, such as cats emitting semen if they jump over food. Many of the more puritanical members of his flock must have been somewhat taken aback by his unembarassed recordings of such things.

Ardkeen Tower

Castle Hill has long been the site of a fortification. Most of these were utilitarian, but strong. The present day castle is essentially a baronial folly. Yet most Invernessians feel a strong affection for this bright pink sandstone edifice and wouldn't care for a more dignified building, even if our modern day civic developments were to give us any cause for optimism in that regard.

Yet overshadowed by Inverness castle, there lies one of the most aesthetically pleasing pieces of architecture in the Highland capital: Ardkeen Tower.

Little is known about this building's history except that the construction was finished in 1840. The name of the architect is unknown. Yet in terms of contruction it has an elegant portico and a fine lead dome. The building was used as an observatory for some time. Due to its small size and some of the other houses on Castle Hill, it is easy to miss this. But to natives of Inverness, it is an attractive landmark. When the oblique sunshine of afternoon strikes its dome, it is a stand out feature of one of the most beautiful areas of Inverness.