The Pre- Reformation Churches of Berwickshire. 113 



1215 and 1218 ; and under whom, when subsequently promoted 

 to the priorate of Durham, was begun the erection of the famous 

 chapel of the Nine Altars in that superb cathedral. The details 

 are all of a date about a century later than King Edgar's 

 foundation, and may fairly be referred to the period immediately 

 following the English invasion, under King John, in 1216, when 

 the priory buildings were set fire to, and, probably, seriously 

 damaged. 



During the restorations, the workmen came upon the founda- 

 tions of an earlier church, of very nearly the same length as the 

 choir already described, but narrower, and having a round apsidal 

 eastern termination, and what appears to have been a western 

 tower or porch.* Mr Hunter regards this as affording conclusive 

 evidence that there had been a Saxon monastery on this site 

 prior to King Edgar's foundation ; but apart from the entire 

 absence of historical proof, his argument proceeds upon the 

 assumption that the remains which have been described, and 

 which, as we have seen, cannot be earlier than the close of 

 the 12th century, or the beginning of the 13th, are those of 

 the church erected by that monarch. The obviously early- 

 Norman character of the bases of the pillars, or jamb-shafts, 

 which had flanked the arch, or doorway, at the western extremity 

 of this older building, makes it almost certain that these founda- 

 tions are no other than those of the church reared by King 

 Edgar. Within what I suppose to have been the western porch, 

 were discovered the tombs of two of the priors of the monastery 

 — ^rnaldus, a.d. 1202-1208, and Eadulphus, a.d. 1209. These 

 are figured and described in Mr Huater's work. 



The south transept has measured internally 43 feet by 20 feet. 

 All that is left of it is the lower portion of the W. and S. walls, 

 about six feet above the ground, with the arch which opened 

 into the south aisle of the nave, and the bases of two pillars 

 which supported the arches of its eastern aisle. The walls 

 have been arcaded like those of the choir, the bases and portions 

 of the shafts of the lower arcade being still tolerably entire. They 

 are identical in style with the corresponding details in the choir. 

 There are traces of two plain chamfer- edged doorways at the 

 southern extremity of the transept, one in the W. and the other 



* See the Plan of the Priory in Mr Hunter's work, which shows the 

 form of this earlier biiilding. 

 -£ 



