Interior. Detail of sunburst motif on the ceiling of the first floor dining room. Digital image of C 54128.

Description Interior. Detail of sunburst motif on the ceiling of the first floor dining room. Digital image of C 54128.

Date 5/1995

Catalogue Number SC 772411

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 54128

Scope and Content Detail of dining room ceiling, Newbattle Abbey House, Midlothian This shows part of the ornate plasterwork ceiling in the dining room. The ceiling is divided into panels of varying sizes by bands of moulding which were probably 'run in place' using a shaped metal guide. The central motif depicts a sunburst, the clan crest of the Kerr family. It is surrounded by four foliate decorations. The Kerr family sunburst crest appears on the sundial in the garden, in armorial panels set into the walls, and executed in carved woodwork in the panelled rooms. The Kerr clan motto: 'Late But In Earnest' ('Sero Sed Serio' in Latin) also appears in celebration of the long history of the house. Newbattle Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1140, and its church dedicated to St Mary in 1233-4. It became a private residence in 1587 when the last abbot, Mark Kerr, converted to Protestantism and was able to retain his lands. His son became Lord Newbattle in 1596. The remains of the abbey are built into the surviving house, which was modified and rebuilt by architects: John Mylne (1650), William Burn (1836), David Bryce (1858). The house was gifted to the nation in 1937 to be used as a further education college. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/772411

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap