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St Peter's Kirk, Thurso, Caithness C 1150-1832 H Gordon Slade* and George Watsont

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St Peter's Kirk, Thurso, Caithness C 1150-1832 H Gordon Slade* and George Watsont Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 119 (1989), 297-325 St Peter's Kirk, Thurso, Caithness c 1150-1832 H Gordon Slade* and George Watsont ABSTRACT The ruined kirk ofSt Peter, although enlarged and extensively rebuilt in the first half of the 17th century, incorporates considerable remains of what may be an early 12th-century Bishop's Minster or Head Kirk. INTRODUCTION (illus 1-5) Had it not been for the perverse discontinuity between the timetables of the railway and ferry which enforce stasa somf yo e hour Thurstravellen e si th n oo Orkneo rt y this paper woul t havdno e been written. The charms of Thurso are not immediately apparent at a first sight, nor is the burgh extensive almosd ,an t inevitabl visitoe yth r will come acros ruine Peter't S sth f parsd o ol s t e Kirth kn i of the town. Apart from a notice which states that the church was founded by Gilbert of Moravia in 13te th h century statemena , t supporte visiblo n y db e evidence silences i l al , . After some searching two local publications come to hand; the first Visits to Ancient Caithness from the Caithness Field Club (Watson 1982); the second Old Thurso by Donald Grant (1965). The former was the more accurate and cautious, the latter more diverse and romantic, but neither gave more than a cursory accoun ruinse th f leafleto A . t sponsore Caithnese th y db s Tourist Board tro similada r pat witt hbu h additional information drawn from a survey made of the ruins in the early years of this century. St t escapePeter'no d attentioe sdth ha f MacGibbono Rosd nan s when they wrot fifte eth h volume of Castellated and Baronial Architecture of Scotland (1892). Their account was at third hand, being the notes and sketches of the Rev Alexander Miller, Minister of the Free Kirk at Buckie. These note invaluablee sar plane th r s ,fo sho detailee wth d internal arrangement kire th kf beforso s wa t ei abandoned in 1832. Miller, who had been born in Thurso in 1843, could not have known the old Kirk at first hand, but he may have had his information from the Rev Walter Taylor, who had been demolitions tim e Kirit d ministeth f ol eo t k a e th Taylor f ro M . rchargs e timgave hi th th p f et u o e a Disruption influencs hi Milled e th an , n eo r familywhosf o o etw , sons became distinguished members Free ofth e Church greats wa , . Although som Miller'f eo s correspondence with MacGibbo Rosd nan s survives, that concerning Thurso has not so far been traced. discovere Th crosa f yo s wit hrunia c inscriptio 189nn i 6 Kire clos publishes th ko wa e t 189dn i 7 and this paper together with Alexander Miller's notes formed the basis for the entry on St Peter's in the Royal Commission's Inventory for Caithness (RCAMS 1911). After this the church seems to have been forgotten unti e publicatioth l 195n ni f Georgo 7 e Hay' Architecturee Th s f Scottisho Post- Southbourn5 *1 e Gardens, London SE12 114 St Andrews Drive, Thurso 298 SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1989 Reformation Churches, although clearly recognizin interess git importanced an t , space prevented froy mHa considerin greay an tn i detail t gi . In addition to these written sources there is a survey of the church made by James Grieve, which i sThurse helth n di o Public Library. Thi mosa s si t peculiar work; fro drawinge notee mth th n so t si was carried out between 1900 and 1904, but the drawings are signed James Grieve FSA Scot, and Grieve was not elected a fellow until 1922. It is possible that he added his name to a set of drawings completed many years earlier; it is equally possible that like so many surveys and post-excavation reports these drawings were recollecte tranquillityn di certainlr fo , y the onle yar y partially accurate. Grieve has removed several parts of the building which he found confusing, added a teampull or ancient chapel containin gbishop'a s grave, designe dcompleta e syste f roofmo s together with studded doors and a pulpit, and included a seagull on the roof 'which had its nest in the tower and watched me measuring the church'. Clearly Mr Grieve must be taken with some caution. Today the church is roofless, but otherwise remarkably complete, the walls standing to their full heigh mosn ti t place ruinse (illuTh s. compriss5) naveea , measurinn i (15-6n 6 i t 4 f t f 52 2 1 mgy 5 )b (6-5 internally) 5m enclosen ;a d apsidal chancel measurin 3'/t f 24 (4-31 6'/t f y (5-0) n 2b i 56 m g) 1 3m diminishin ft6'/3 1 (4-1n o g 2i t chorapse e e o) n3th th m f smald:a o l square tower with lobes halfr ,o - drum buttresses, containing a staircase, and set at an angle to the south side of the chancel at its junction with the nave; and a square south porch (illus 3 & 4). All these are either largely medieval in construction, or re-built on medieval lines. Additionally there are two large aisles or transepts of 17th-centur thayd daten (5-6an n to i , 6 .nort4e m) t Tha f th 8 hn 1 to measurey (8-9n b i ) 3 2m t f 9 s2 t som t (5-4A f . 8 e1 5 m) perio y (7-7n b i ) 6 soutd e 7m t f porcth north-easthera e 5 s th h2 t ehwa a t ILLUS 1 Thurso in the early 19th century, from a water colour by J W Alston (Falconer Water). Reproduced by permission of Thurso Burgh SLAD WATSOND EAN PETER'T S : S KIRK, THURSO, CAITHNES 1150-183SC 9 29 2 Peter't S d ILLUsOl 1829-3 S2 2 (James Campbell). Reproduce permissioy db Trusteee th f no Thursf so o Museum. corners of the north aisle, a small aisle on the west side of the south aisle, and a chamber over the chancel. For all of these evidence survives in the ruins. populatioe th s A congregatioe sizThursf e th n o f th e o d oan n increased more accommodation providede b o t d ha ; achievethis swa buildiny db g lofts ove rnave e mos th whole nort e f th ,to th f heo soute aisl pard th f ehan to aisle, with doorways being forme windown di slapper so d throug walle hth s wherever migh conveniente b t t somA . e perio uppee dth r stagetowee th f sro were rebuilte th d an , lower stages altered to provide for a prison, and to give more convenient access to the Sessions House, which occupie chambee dth celr ro l ove chancele rth . With the abandoning of the church in 1832 it was stripped, the fittings dispersed and the roof removed. The remains rapidly became ruinous, and this in turn led to spasmodic bouts of repair, often with unfortunate results. Although the structure has been secured much of the archaeological evidenc eithes eha r been destroyed losr o , t beneat hblana d mas conservationf ko . HISTORY The foundation of the see of Caithness in c 1145 was a necessary part of the policy of expansion feudalizatiod an n which accompanie extensioe dth powe e Scottise th th f nf o r o h crow firse th t n hali f e 12toth fh century. When Caithnes beed sha n unde temporae th r l contro Norse th f eo l earlf so 300 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1989 Orkney it had come under such spiritual authority as the bishops in Orkney chose to exercise. There wa separata neeo sn r dfo e cathedra mainlane th r fo l ddiocesee parth f o t , although thers ewa probabl t leas y a churce southere th on t n ho n Pentlane shorth f eo d Firth, which would have been regarded as a head church or Bishop's Minster, where the episcopal authority would be especially exercised. With the creation of a separate see under the Bishop of Caithness it would be necessary for churca there b servo o h et t cathedrala s ea earle th yn I .dioceseneighbourine yeare th th f n si o s a , g sees of Ross and Moray there was no settled cathedral, and it was not until the foundation of Dornoch by Bishop Gilber 122n permanentls i t 4wa thae on t y established. Before that date Halkirs kha generally if tentatively been held to be the site of the early cathedral. This has been based on the place-name, and the fact that the bishop had a house (it seems not to have been a castle) there, close to the earl's castle of Brawl. Dr Barbara Crawford, in correspondence, points out that the view of most Norse scholars is that Halkirk derives from the Norse ha-kirkja, a high church in the sense of one which is of importance viee alswTh .s i o tha onlte thith ys s i possibl e interpretation, although there seeme b o st no use of this term elsewhere to describe a church which was of cathedral status. The first known date of this usage appear 122e b 2o st (Orkneyinga Saga).
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