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Fabric Recording

Date 2015

Event ID 1026118

Category Recording

Type Fabric Recording

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1026118

ND 12040 68610 (Canmore ID: 8428) This work was undertaken as a case study during PhD research. Each construction phase of St Peter’s Church was characterised on site in terms of masonry style and mortar-making technique, and these interpretations were supported by laboratory based analysis of loose mortar and environmental samples. The extent of each phase, and any direct and/or indirect stratigraphic relationships between mortared masonry phases were then recorded, and the results broadly support the interpretation of the building previously suggested by Slade and Watson on the basis of architectural analysis. However, a number of additional and significant details have also emerged including the identification of much more primary masonry within the nave and evidence for the primary W window, and N (side-altar) window. Moreover, mortar analysis indicates that the lower section of the tower is also primary, as is the access between tower and upper chancel. Remarkably, this primary church was constructed with a three-storey chancel, the highest floor of which could be accessed from the nave. This three-storey chancel is a unique survival in the wider region.

The upstanding masonry at St Peter’s displays a rich multiphase masonry archaeology, and many contrasting shell-lime or limestone-lime mortared phases are evident. The mortar and masonry techniques displayed in the primary fabric of St Peter’s are particularly distinctive and contrast with almost all other buildings from this period surviving in the wider region. This indicates particular material and technical resources, which give further clues as to the builders’ identity. Importantly the stratigraphy suggests the remains of the chancel wall paintings are not medieval, but are rare early modern post-Reformation images.

Archive: National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) intended

Funder: Edinburgh University

Mark Thacker – University of Edinburgh

(Source: DES, Volume 16)

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