Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Event ID 562678
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Accessing Scotland's Past Project
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/562678
Ladykirk Parish Church dates from the late fifteenth century, and overlooks the banks of the River Tweed. It stands directly opposite Norham Castle, an English stronghold associated with the Bishop of Durham. The church appears to occupy the site of an earlier church, as the fifteenth-century building overlies earlier burials.
The church represents a remarkably complete example of the final development of Gothic architecture in Scotland. It is cruciform on plan, with the east end and the north and south aisles all following a semi-circular, apsidal plan. Several features are evident which are typical of this late stage of Gothic architecture in Scotland: the row of buttresses which line the exterior walls are surmounted by short stone pinnacles, and the building is entered by semi-circular arched doors. The roof consists of stone flags.
There is a tower at the west end, flanked by a circular stair-tower. This was apparently unfinished and not completed until the mid-eighteenth century. Some have linked the famous architect, William Adam, to this work.
It is said that this church was ordered to be built by King James IV. Tradition has it that James, on returning to Scotland following a successful military campaign in northern England in 1496, fell from his horse while fording a swollen River Tweed at Norham Bridge. He believed that he had been saved from drowning by the Virgin Mary, and celebrated his deliverance from death by founding a church which was dedicated to her.
Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project
