Dunblane
Dunblane,
in Perthshire, is situated on the left bank of Allan Water,
a tributary of the Forth, 5 miles North by West of Stirling.
It is a place of great antiquity, with narrow streets and
old-fashioned houses. The leading industry was the manufacture
of woollens. The cathedral is situated by the side of the
river, and was one of the few ecclesiastical edifices that
escaped injury at the hands of the Reformers.
The
first church is alleged to have been erected by Blane, a saint
of the 7th century, but the cathedral as founded by David
I. in 1141, and almost entirely rebuilt about 1240 by Bishop
Clemens. Excepting the tower, which is Early Norman and was
probably incorporated from the earlier structure, the building
is of the Early Pointed style. It consists of a nave (130
ft. long, 58 ft. wide, 50ft. high), aisles, choir (80 ft.
long by 30 ft. wide), chapter-house and tower. Ruskin considered
that there was nothing so perfect in its simplicity as the
west window, the design of which resembles a leaf.
After
the decline of episcopacy the building was neglected for a
long period, but the choir, which contains some carved oak
stalls of the 16th century, was restored in 1873, and the
nave roofed and restored in 1892-1895, under the direction
of Sir Rowand Anderson, the architect. From the time of the
Reformation the choir had been used as the parish church,
but since its restoration the whole cathedral has been devoted
to this purpose. The new oak roof is emblazoned with the arms
of the Scottish and later British monarchs, and of the old
earls of Strathearn. Several members of the families of Strathearn
and Strathallan were buried in the cathedral, and three stones
of blue marble in the floor of the choir are supposed to mark
the graves of Lady Margaret Drummond (b. 1472), mistress of
James IV., and her two sisters, daughters of Lord Drummond,
who were mysteriously poisoned in 1501. An ancient Celtic
cross, 6 1/2 ft. high, stands in the northwestern corner of
the nave. Robert Leighton was the greatest of the bishops
of Dunblane, and held the see from 1661 to 1670. The library
of 1500 volumes which he bequeathed to the clergy of the diocese
is housed in a building with an outside stair, standing near
the cathedral, and the Bishops Walk by the river also perpetuates
his memory. Of the bishops palace only a few ruins remain.
The
battlefield of Sheriffmuir is about 2 1/2 miles East of the
town. A mile and a half South of Dunblane is the estate of
Keir which belonged to Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, the historian
and art critic. The duke of Leeds derives the title of one
of his viscounties from Dunblane.
