132 Restoration of Jedburgh Abbey, By Jas. Watson. 



not be granted : 1st — ^because the vault was originally formed to 

 hold only the remains of " the late Mr Ainslie and his wife, both 

 of whom were interred there which fiUed up the whole space ; 

 and, 2nd, "because the place in which the vault is situated, 

 which was formerly a passage, now forms part of the place of 

 public worship, having been some time ago taken in and seated." 

 An important piece of work executed at the same time was a 

 fae simile of what is known as the cloister doorway, an admirable 

 example of Transition Norman. There are few, if any, who will 

 disagree with the dictum of the late Sir Gilbert G-. Scott, that 

 this and the great western doorway are two of the most exquisite 

 gems of architectural art in this island. This being the case, 

 Lord Lothian did a good service (whatever may be the opinion 

 of some critics as to the propriety of adding new work to old) in 

 causing a copy to be made at this time, as such would have been 

 impossible a few years later in consequence of the rapidity with 

 which the old work is decaying. The mouldings generally are 

 bold and beautiful, and the delicately wrought foliated capitals 

 are protected by a circular abacus. In the arch the first order 

 inside the label mould is entirely composed of the chevron orna- 

 ment, while the second is covered with representations of human 

 and other figures, grotesque animals, and foliage, alternately 

 arranged. There is a representation of David slaying the bear ; 

 of Samson tearing asunder the jaws of the lion ; and nondescript 

 animals with human heads and bodies like birds, the tails ter- 

 minating with foliage, as is common in work of the period. The 

 third order consists of a pointed bowteU ; and the fourth is a 

 kind of zigzag moulding decorated with branchlets and leaves. 

 The new doorway has been put up in the south waU of the nave, 

 to the west of the old one. But there were other matters that 

 claimed serious attention. The tower was found to be in a very 

 unsafe condition, and something required to be done for its pre- 

 servation. The north piers and part of the waU above belong to 

 the early part of the 12th century, while the south piers and the 

 greater portion of the tower itself belong to the latter half of the 

 15th. It was in the old work where the danger lay. The danger 

 was not a thing of yesterday, for as early as 1636 one of the 

 " pryme pillars" was reported to be in a dangerous state; and 

 that for its repair it would cost a thousand marks, and " thrie 

 scoir singiU tries, threttie double tries, two hundreth daiUs to be 

 scaffolding and centtries." The frailty of this " pryme pillar" 



