Transactions. 57 



III. Buit/le Old Church. By Mr James Matthewson, 

 Dalbeattie. 

 The brief notes here contributed are intended as a small aid 

 to the solution of the question, " Is Buittle Church of the time of 

 Devorgilla ■?" In ground plan the church measures 80 ft. 10 in. 

 in length by 25 ft. 4 in. in greatest width. The nave measures 

 46 ft. in length by 21 ft. 8 in. wide ; the chancel, 34 ft. 10 iu. 

 long by 25 ft. 4 in. wide. The west door is circular-headed, 3 ft. 

 2| in. wide, a plain 2 in. chamfer running round the outside, 

 checked at 8| inches inwardly, and thereafter slightly splayed. 

 Over this door is a small round-headed window measuring 3 ft. 

 8 in. by 1 ft. 8 in. Two windows remain in the nave, one in the 

 north, the other in the south wall. Between the nave and chancel 

 a pointed chancel arch still stands. The clear width of passage 

 measures 9 ft. 6 inches. The plan of the pier below the caps and 

 profile of caps are here given full size ; but an evident tilling up 

 of the floor prevents a proper examination of the bases. In the 

 chancel one windoAv appears in the north wall and two in the 

 south. The north window measures 3 ft. llf in. high by Hi iiL 

 wide. It is round-headed, and the interior elevation, as shown in 

 the sketch, is worthy of notice. In the east gable is a door 3 ft. 

 2 J in. wide, covered by a thin lintel, which forms the sill of a centre 

 window. This window measures 8 ft. high by 14] in. wide. At 

 a distance of 3 ft. 1 1 in. on either side stand windows 6 ft. 8 in. 

 high by ll-^ wide. The three east windows are all round-headed, 

 and finished externally by a plain chamfer. In the north wall, at 

 the junction of the nave and chancel, and near the present floor 

 level, I some time ngo found, bedded in the old mortar, a portion 

 of roofing slate. The slate had a pin hole, and had been well 

 dressed. It had apparently been used by some of the builders as 

 a levelling for the bed of the stone immediately above. Some of 

 the stone dressings are a reddish freestone, others resemble mill- 

 stone grit. In some parts of the building both kinds appear 

 indiscriminately mixed. The perfect condition of the present 

 pointed arch between nave and chancel, the jumble of materials in 

 some places, the broken slate, and other features, seem to suggest 

 that a much older church may have existed on or near the site of 

 the present one, and that the present building is much later than 

 Devorgilla. 



