The Skelmorlie Aisle of Largs Old Kirk is the remains of a church in the town of

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The majority of the

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

(church) was demolished in 1802 when the new parish church came into use, but the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

, a division of the once larger building containing the mausoleum, was retained.

The Montgomerie tomb

The Skelmorlie Aisle interior, Largs, 1890

The Skelmorlie Aisle contains a notable

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

built by a local landowner, Sir Robert Montgomerie of

Skelmorlie Castle Skelmorlie Castle stands on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, at the north-western corner of the county of Ayrshire. The structure dates from 1502, and was formerly the seat and stronghold of the Montgomery Clan.Boyd, Page 9 T ...

, seventh

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

Skelmorlie Skelmorlie is a village in North Ayrshire in the south-west of Scotland. Although it is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire, it is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly ...

, as a burial site for himself and his wife, Dame Margaret Douglas. The aisle was added to the old

(church) of Largs in 1636, and comprises a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

canopied tomb above the burial-vault entrance. The barrel vaulted ceiling of the aisle was painted 1638 in panels, with heraldic emblems and signs of the Zodiac, etc. by a Mr. Stalker. A third coffin within the tomb is said to be that of Sir Hugh Montgomerie of

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census revealed that the village had 3,114 occupants, do ...

, a hero of the

Battle of Otterburn The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and English. The best remaining record of the bat ...

.Clan Montgomery Society, Page 7 It can be compared with other significant tombs, such as that of the Cunninghames, Earls of Glencairn at

Kilmaurs Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census recorde ...

in East Ayrshire. Sir Robert's coffin is especially long and much of the lead on the bottom of the coffin is missing, supposedly taken by local fishermen who believed that lead weights made from it would result in a large catch of fish.

Painted ceiling

The painted timber ceiling is signed and dated 1638 by J. Stalker and is in

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

contrast, albeit the designs are derived from the work of a goldsmith at the French royal court, Etienne Delaune. Lively scenes illustrate the seasons as well as the Montgomerie and Douglas conjoined

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, oddly with the quarters of the Montgomerie arms incorrectly placed as in the Polnoon example. The arms in the panel above the entrance door also have this 'mirror image' arrangement. James Stalker was a former apprentice of an Edinburgh painter,

John Sawers Sir Robert John Sawers FRUSI (born 26 July 1955) is a British intelligence officer, diplomat and civil servant. He was Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a position he held from November 2009 until November 2014. He was previousl ...

. His work seems to be otherwise unrecorded.Michael Apted & Susan Hannabuss, ''Painters in Scotland: A Biographical Dictionary'' (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 91.

Access

Today Skelmorlie Aisle is in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

. Admission is free, although visitors need to obtain the key from the adjoining Largs Museum. Both the kirkyard and museum are open from late May to early September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

References

Notes

Sources

* Clan Montgomery Society of North America. 1983 Tour of Scotland. * Campbell, Thorbjørn (2003). ''Ayrshire. A Historical Guide''. Edinburgh : Birlinn. .

External links

Commentary and video on the Skelmorlie Aisle and the history of the Montgomerie familyThe Murder of Alexander Cunninghame and Cunninghame of Clonherb by Sir Robert MontgomerieVideo and commentary on the Queensberry Aisle and Douglas Vault, Durisdeer
* {{coord, 55.79475, N, 4.86858, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1636 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1636 Historic Scotland properties in North Ayrshire Category A listed buildings in North Ayrshire 1636 establishments in Scotland