212 Report of the Meetings for 1895. 



Preston Old Church was opened to permit the piscina in 

 the chancel to be seen. Here again we quote from Mr 

 Ferguson: — "The Church of Preston is a full century later 

 than that of Bunkle, its original details being of Pirst 

 Pointed character. The main building, consisting of nave 

 and chancel, has been a long narrow oblong ; but there 

 are obscure indications of a lateral adjunct, possibly a 

 sacristy, having existed on the north side. Of the nave 

 the north wall is completely demolished, and only portions 

 of the south wall remain ; the west gable, however, is 

 pretty entire. The chancel, which measures externally 18 

 feet 6 inches by 14 feet 6 inches, is much less ruinous than 

 the nave, but is so overgrown with ivy that its features are 

 barely discernible. In the east gable are two obtusely 

 pointed windows, 4 feet 10 inches apart, each 3 J feet high 

 by 1 foot 3 inches wide. On the outside they are flush 

 with the wall, the edges being merely chamfered, and each 

 of the pointed heads is cut out of one stone. Internally 

 they are widely splayed, with a segmental arch above. 

 There is a smaller window in the south wall, very obtusely 

 pointed outside, but having a flat head and sill within. 

 Underneath it is a piscina of very poor and rude character, 

 but interesting as the only example in situ left in Berwick- 

 shire, if we except those of Dryburgh Abbey. It has an 

 excessively shallow basin, sunk in a square stone, which is 

 inserted diagonally in the wall, so as to leave a triangular 

 projection of about 18 inches at the base of an equally 

 shallow round-headed recess, measuring 2 feet 2 inches by 

 1 foot 6 inches. The basin stone is corbelled off below, 

 and has a plain half-rounded moulding along the under 

 edge, and running up the front angle of the projecting 

 portion. In the west wall of the chancel there is observable 

 a blocked semicircular arch, which may have been the 

 original chancel arch, although the dressing of the stones 

 on the side next the nave has a suspiciously modern look. 

 The only feature in the west gable of the nave is a block 

 pointed window, closely resembling those in the east gable, 

 but a little wider and scarcely so high. 



"The church, as at first built, was entered by two square- 

 headed, plainly chamfer-edged doorways in the south wall, 

 one opening into the nave, and the other into the chancel. 



