Interior. General view of chancel in basement. Digital image of C 54040 CN.

Description Interior. General view of chancel in basement. Digital image of C 54040 CN.

Date 5/1995

Catalogue Number SC 772444

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 54040 CN

Scope and Content Chancel in chapel, Newbattle Abbey House, Midlothian This shows the altar in the chapel, which is made of variegated marble with a circular painting of the Madonna and Child below a pierced wooden canopy. The walls on either side are painted with scenes of the Annunciation, the roof is lined with varnished timber, and the importance of the whole sanctuary area is emphasised by a carved stone arch and iron altar rails. This room was originally the warming room, or 'calefactory' of the monastery in the 13th century. It was restored by the 9th Marquess, Schomberg Henry, and consecrated for his funeral in 1900. The parquet floor reproduces the design of the original medieval floor tiles, and was executed in two years by the abbey's master of works, John Ramsay, using 13,226 pieces of yew, oak, maple, plane and laburnum wood from the estate. 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 the architects John Mylne (1650), William Burn (1836) and 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/772444

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap