The Skelmorlie Aisle of Largs Old Kirk is the remains of a church in the town of

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

The majority of the

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

(church) was demolished in 1802 when the new parish church came into use, but the

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

, a division of the once larger building containing the mausoleum, was retained.

The Montgomerie tomb

The Skelmorlie Aisle contains a notable

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

built by a local landowner, Sir Robert Montgomerie of Skelmorlie Castle, seventh

Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

of Skelmorlie, as a burial site for himself and his wife, Dame Margaret Douglas. The aisle was added to the old

(church) of Largs in 1636, and comprises a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

canopied tomb above the burial-vault entrance. The barrel vaulted ceiling of the aisle was painted 1638 in panels, with heraldic emblems and signs of the Zodiac, etc. by a Mr. Stalker. A third coffin within the tomb is said to be that of Sir Hugh Montgomerie of

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

, a hero of the

Battle of Otterburn The Battle of Otterburn, also known as the Battle of Chevy Chase, took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and Eng ...

.Clan Montgomery Society, Page 7 It can be compared with other significant tombs, such as that of the Cunninghames, Earls of Glencairn at

Kilmaurs Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census record ...

in East Ayrshire. Sir Robert's coffin is especially long and much of the lead on the bottom of the coffin is missing, supposedly taken by local fishermen who believed that lead weights made from it would result in a large catch of fish.

Painted ceiling

The painted timber ceiling is signed and dated 1638 by J. Stalker and is in

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

contrast, albeit the designs are derived from the work of a goldsmith at the French royal court, Etienne Delaune. Lively scenes illustrate the seasons as well as the Montgomerie and Douglas conjoined

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, oddly with the quarters of the Montgomerie arms incorrectly placed as in the Polnoon example. The arms in the panel above the entrance door also have this 'mirror image' arrangement. James Stalker was a former apprentice of an Edinburgh painter, John Sawers. His work seems to be otherwise unrecorded.

Access

Today Skelmorlie Aisle is in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

. Admission is free, although visitors need to be accompanied by a guide from the adjoining Largs Museum. Both the kirkyard and museum are open from Easter until late September on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1:30pm to 4.30pm.

References

Notes

Sources

* Clan Montgomery Society of North America. 1983 Tour of Scotland. * Campbell, Thorbjørn (2003). ''Ayrshire. A Historical Guide''. Edinburgh : Birlinn. .

External links

Commentary and video on the Skelmorlie Aisle and the history of the Montgomerie familyThe Murder of Alexander Cunninghame and Cunninghame of Clonherb by Sir Robert MontgomerieVideo and commentary on the Queensberry Aisle and Douglas Vault, Durisdeer
* {{coord, 55.79475, N, 4.86858, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1636 Churches completed in 1636 Historic Environment Scotland properties in North Ayrshire Category A listed buildings in North Ayrshire 1636 establishments in Scotland Largs