Reference

Event ID 553735

Category Documentary Reference

Type Reference

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/553735

The cathedral of the See of Brechin, created c 1150, altered to serve as a post-Reformation parish church, with a c 1000 Irish-type round tower attached to the SW corner.

The original cruciform cathedral dedicated to the Holy Trinity appears to have remained intact until 1806 when major structural alterations were carried out. The north and south transepts were removed, new and wider aisles were built on each side of the nave and the outer walls were carried to such a height that the whole nave could be covered with a roof of one span.

13th century work survives in the west doorway, two of the nave piers and in portions of the ruined side-walls. A 15th century square tower flanks the doorway on the north.

The round tower, originally free-standing is 86'9" high with projecting base, and tapers upwards to the conical roof added in the 14th century. It is built of large sandstone blocks with internal string-courses which indicate division into seven storeys, with a large window facing each of the cardinal points at the top. The arched doorway is raised above ground level and displays typically Irish features such as inclined jambs.

D MacGibbon and T Ross 1896-7; D E Easson 1957; V G Childe and W D Simpson 1954