The Crosses of Kirkmadrine: Discovery of the Missing Third Stone
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
I. E CROSSETH F KIRKMADRINEO S : DISCOVER E MISSINTH F YO G THIRD STONE. BY THE RIGHT HON. SIR HERBERT E. MAXWELL, BART., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D., F.S.A.ScoT. Amon mane gth y valuable services rendere archaeologo dt late th e y yb r ArthuSi e rmos th Mitchell f t o notable on s hi, swa e discovere th f yo inscribe sculptured an d d stone t Kirkmadrinesa , Wigtownshire. There is a tinge of romance in the paper which he contributed to the Proceedings of the Society in 1872, describing how he found two pillar crosses applied to the humble purpose of gate posts (fig. 1), and was tantalised by infor- mation abou thirdta , whic vanishedd h ha f whic o t h,bu Dr Mitchels wa l earle showth yn i 'sixtiedrawinga ns wa t sI that. , having occasioo nt visi parise th t f Stoneykirk,ho wanderee 1h d inte ancienoth t graveyard of Kirkmadrine. "When climbing over the gate, I observed that there was a figure and an inscription on the stone pillar on which it was hung. The figure I recognised as one which I had seen in the Catacombs at Rome, and the parise 1Th f Stoneykiro h k absorbe e parisheth d f Kirkmadrino s d Olayshanan e t aftee th r Reformation. The modern form of the name disguises the dedication to St Stephen. It occurs Stevenskirs a Courn ki Sessiof to n paper usualls 1725n wa si t y,bu know Steenie's na s Kirk, which, in the old pronunciation, sounded like "staney," i.e. full of stanes, and English surveyors and map-makers made it appear genteel by altering it to Stoneykirk. ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM AND LIBRARY. 199 of the socket, from which depend three vertical relief markings, much weathered, margifoune th n d o Cauldshielf no s Loch, Roxburghshire (fig. 1) . Circular Button of Jet, lj inch in diameter, flat on one side and convex on the other, pierced with a V-shaped perforation on the flat side, and ornamented on the convex surface with thirteen small punctulations roughly parallel to the edge, found in cutting a drain on Marshalmark Hill, New Cumnock. Axe of Igneous Rock, 3y^ inches in length, butt imperfect, If inch in breadth across the cutting edge, from Connemara, Ireland. Axe of White Fint, chipped but unpolished, 4£ inches in length, from Thamee th s Valley. The purchase for the Library was announced of:— The Ancient Cross Shaft t Bewcastla s Ruthwelld ean e Righ th y tb , . RevBrowneF . G . , O.) D.D& . , D.C.L.(C . , LL.D. Cambridge, 1916. 4to. The following Communications were read:— THE CROSSES OF KIRKMADRINE: DISCOVERY OF THE MISSING THIRD STONE. BY THE RIGHT HON. SIR HERBERT E. MAXWELL, BART., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D., F.S.A.Scoi. 1 Amon mane gth y valuable services rendere archaeologo dt late th e y yb r ArthuSi re mos Mitchellth f t o s discover notable hi e on s , th wa ef yo inscribed and sculptured stones at Kirkmadrine, Wigtownshire. There is a tinge of romance in the paper which he contributed to the Proceedings of the Society in 1872, describing how he found two pillar crosses applied humble th o t e purpos f gateo es tantalise postwa d s inforan (figy , db 1) . - mation abou thirda t , whic vanishedd h ha f whico t r Mitchelhbu D , s wa l earle showth yn i n'sixtiedrawinga s wa t sI that. , having occasioo nt visit the parish of Stoneykirk, he wandered into the ancient graveyard of Kirkmadrine. 1 '' When climbing over the gate, I observed that there was a figure and an inscription on the stone pillar on which it was hung. The figure I recognised as one which I had seen in the Catacombs at Rome, and the The parish of Stoneykirk absorbed the parishes of Kirkmadrine and Clayshant after the Reformation1 modere Th . nname forth f meo disguise dedicatioe sth t StephenS o nt . It occurs as Stevenskirk in Court of Session papers in 1725, but was usually known as Steenie's Kirk, which, in the old pronunciation, sounded like " staney," i.e. full of stanes, and English Surveyors and map-makers mad t appeaei r gentee alteriny lb Stoneykirko t t gi . THE CROSSES OF KIRKMADRINE : THE MISSING THIRD STONE. 201 inscription, which was easily read, appeared to me of remarkable interest. I knew enougsculpturer ou f ho d stoneimmediatele b o st y aware thaI t d falle ha n somethino n gcounterparo n whic d ha h t anywhere elsn i e Scotland. .. I foun. d thaothee th t r pillar whico t , gate hth e fell, similaa d alsd ha an or , figurwhait n o et appeare ae b continuatio o dt n of the inscription. " 1 Dr Mitchell then searched for other objects of interest and inquired diligentl neighbourine th f yo g farmers whether thed yha ever seen or heard of carved stones in the old graveyard. He recovered a broken sculptured slab (tig. 2), which had been built into the kirkyard "wall as a " through stane " or stepping-stone, and he was told that there had been once a third inscribed cross, not unlike the pair which gate found hth eha n i dpillars s said t thiswa , bu ;t i , d beeha n carrie foro t f m a lintedof farmhousea n i l , and could not now be traced. followine th n I g year r Mitchel2D l returne Kirko dt - madrine, determine exhauso dt l meanal t s which might lead to the recovery of the vanished stone. "Remember- ing that I had found the so-called reindeer stone as the coppigstyea f eo I though, buildino n t meao gto r nfo examination. dide H ", indeed, find another fragmenf o t sculpture built into the wall of the kirkyard (tig. 3), but missine th t no g s crosswa t i . "I then enquired whether there was no old person in the parish who had shown an affection for the relics oa bygonf onee 0 I heartime11 .t f bu do Mention, , however oftes wa , n Williar madM f eo m Todd oln a ,d schoolmaste neighbourine th n ri g paris Kirkmaideiif ho , who had been a correspondent of the late Mr M'Diarmid e Dumfriesoth f s the wa nCourier,o livinwh n d go an his pensio n Drummoreni . Next n mornina d ha I g opportunit d f callinyo ha I aske e himn h d go f dan i , everememberee h rf i seen d an , d anythino tw g e ofth , stone t Kirkmadriiiea s . 'Ther three,e t oncear a e eh ' Fig . Sla2 . b from said ; ' I have often seen them, and remember them Kirkyard Wall. well.' I assured him that there were only two now, but told him I had heard from others of a third. After some reflection, he assure thae dm t beewhad ha n t I correcttol s dwa once—aboud ; thaha e th t fifty years ago—made a drawing of them, and that it was possible he had e drawinth possessiongs stil hi des send s n i ol lk wa t n amonford A an ., g e paperth t containei s foldee d on ther s d likewa lettera e , browd nan 1 Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot., vol. ix. pp. 568, 569. Arthur Si r Mitchel t recordeno knoe s w yeare ha lt t w musdi th bu , t have been anterioo t r 1867a, when the second volume of Dr John Stuart's Sculptured Stones of Scotland was published, containing plates and description of the Kirkmadrine crosses. 202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MAY 14, 1917. stained with age, and on this we found the drawings of the three stones, whic exactle har Platf o . yFig3 e copieXL d represent3 . an , figsn 2 d i , 1 . s missine th g stone, which, like the ' well-knowe othersth s ha , n monogram enclose circlea belon d wordi e an th , wt i s INITIU FINIT ME S (fig. 4) . " Thes fairley drawingma y e infe w substantiae rudee t th ar rs bu , l accurac sketce e thir th losd th f yf do an h to stone fro e accuracmth f yo e sketche th e otheth f ro s two ,n stil whicca l e comparw h e wite hth originals, as carefully depicte Platf figso n di 2 e.d 1XXXIXan onle yTh . mistake Mr Todd appears to have made is in siibstituting an R for an M at the end of INITIUM. I assume this to be an error in his drawing." Mitchell'r D s discovery, happen- ing jus timn ti enablo et Johr eD n Stuart to describe and illustrate the two Kirkmadrine crosses,1 and coinciding wite recognitioth h n of the Peter Stone at Whithorn,2 attracted considerable attention owing to a peculiar feature com- mon to all these three crosses, but unknown elsewhere in Scotland, and indicativ vera f eo y high eccle- siastical antiquity. This feature e Chi-Rhth s i o monogram, origin- ally displayed on the labarum or standard of the Emperor Con- stantine.8 The lonely little grave- yar Kirkmadrinf do e became quite a recognised place of pilgrimage for antiquaries mort ,bu e than half a century had to pass before any trace of the missing third cross was forthcoming turnw no s t I .