PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 76

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

THE HISTOEY OF WHITHORtf. (Continued.) Two or three weeks ago I gave the first portion. My correspondent from Portpatrick will notice that I have cut out most of the modern history. What I wanted my young readers to do was to gather together the early records and reminiscences, and I am giving the history of Whithorn as written by my correspondent not because of its direct interest to us, but because it shows how interesting the early history of a place may be. Of the ancient times, a Saron arch, a few Gothic arches, and come vaults alone remain^ the Saxon arch measuring 10ft high and nearly Bft broad, and, being almost entire, is a eplendi i model, and the best specimen of the ancient type-"of "architecture in Britain. The Gothic arches vaxy from sft to 3ft high, and 4ft to 7ft broad ; bm only two of the arches in the present ruins of the old parish church are believed to belong to the primitive ecclesiastical structure. Several heraldic devices are said to be carved on the building, which is 74ft by 24ft; but the walls are so thicsrly overgrown with ivy as to' be wholly lost to view There are two vaults still visible, which are considered io have been used as 6tores for the provisions of the convent. The larger of the two is 9ft high by 29ft broad, and the smaller 4ft high by IGlfc broad. How far their subserraneaft passages at first extended it would be difficult to discover, but their original dimensions appear to have been much more extensive than now. A number of curiosities connected with the ancient monastery are to h* found in different parts of the parish ; indeed, a considerable portion of the town of Whithorn was built of the qjiarry of stones oontributed by its extensive ruins, and there are very few of tha> old houses that have not some of the freestone binding their walls. Heads of various kinds — grotesque as well as of more symmetrical form — peep out from the front walls cf several existing tenements. Chief among these monastic relics may bn mentioned an 3ng«>l, conspicuously perched on the lintel of the door of one of the Whithorn inns, bearing with outspread wins;» a barrel of what is supposed to be holy water or Bladenoch whisky on his head. The latter would now be more acceptable in Whithorn. Right abov-e the "vend," the archway leading off the main street to tl.e churchyard, is an escutcheon bearing two unicorns and a lion rampant and the crown, which is said to be the arms of .the Earls of Arran. An older church stood on tLe same site aa the present one, bur in 1822 it was superseded by the present edifice. The churchyard, measuring an acre- of ground, and environs present a most inviting and profitable field for antiquarian i research. There is a fine specimen _of Runic stone — perhaps the finest of the kind to be found in the province — to be seen Iving to the south of the priory. It must be many centuries old, and is very like some of these met with in the Isle of Man. This stone measures sft -2in long and 2ft 2in in diameter. There is also one on Ihe north side of the monastery, but this is scarcely 6o perfect, :tnd has serpentine carvings indicative, as ;t; t would appear, of serpent worship Another one, turned i p 2ft from the surface by the sexton recently, and broken in two halves, is situated near the first-mentioned s!x>ie. Thi-ough the intercession of the Earl of Sair with , the Town Council, this •stone was latterly forwarded to the Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum. Tfosre is a whinetone 6lab. measuring sft by 2ft, also en the south of the priory, which has upon it what some antiquarians call a Saxon scroll pattern. It is a circular medallion figure, bearing a stag in relief, and having the Greek letters "Omega, lola, and Delta." arranged in equi-lateral triaJigular form, which ye take to mean "0 Jesu, Domine, O Jesus the Lord.'' The lotter which we take to be "Omega" is. however, very like- th« j Greek letter "Mv" : and if it is. the whole would hi an invocation to the Virgin Mary, a? tlio mother of our Lord. Another ston<? on Ihe north side of the building, and within a railing, has upon it the Greek letters "Alpha and Omega" ("The Eeginning and the End' 1 ). On tho south 6ide , of the eathedial there \= what is potmlarlv ; known as the " Martvr"s Stone," which is | the oldest discoverable tombstone in the , churchyard. It was broken in two. but now i is united with cement, &nd bears the follow- j ing inscription: — "'Here He? Janet Brown, spouse of Hugh Dunse. The burgssses of Withorn endured persecution in the rei«n of King Charles 11, but kept 6teady iv the , faith and a good conscience." j Then? are at the west end of the j cathedral xhe remains of what was a great ; tower, in which was a belfrey, but tLe i greater part of it fell more than a century ago, by which the bell was split and the. west cable of the building destroyed. Something of scholastic interest attaches | to the building — now converted into dwel- j linghousps — in close proximity to the gate ( of th-e 'burying ground. It was the old parish school, and haa on its portal a Latin inscription, which, translated, reads thus : "Th-e seal of the muses of Whithorn, built by the gifts of the parish and town. The boy desiros to leach the wish-ed-fc- goal in the race, has undergone and achieved many things [referring to training e*er- ' eises] ; lie has perspired and chilled." J After being stripped of their educational j celebrity, tho buildings were long used as a j Freemasons' lodge, but are now partitioned into dwellings. The old manse is afeo near the church gate, and is nowemployed as a private school. In 1581, when pilgrimages, as we have said, were forbidden, the reputed bones of St. Ninian lest their charm as a soul-and-body panacea, and Whithorn, of course, its eminent attiactions and conspicuous importance. It will be thus seen that, however obscure it may be now, Whithorn was illustrious J and famous several hundred years before the majority of our large towns and t cities had reached their infancy During [ the last 60 or 70 years Whithom has been ; subjected to great and decided improve- ; ments. Prior to this period a large num- j ber of thatched and very indifferently-built houses existed in all parts of the town, and, as regards our present notions of comfort and accommodation, in many respects they were lamentably deficient. In the memory of come not very aged residents the streets were covered with grass, there being- little more than the breadth of a cart free from the green sward). In those days dunghills were before almost every door, and vftinQ fed on the luxuriapjt herbage. B«.-

' cause of this Whithorn got the certainly . not very complimentary sobriquet o p "Swinetown." Matters had come -to such' a pas 3 that we find tho following uncouth rhyme still in the mouths of some people: Whithorn is a filthy place, Like a church without a steeple, A wee dunghill at every door, And full of Irish people. But, as previously indicated; stagnant pools, midden heaps, and- unpleasant smells arethings of the past. • ■ " J In his third section ■my correspondent I gives more of the modern history of s W'hithorn and an interesting aqcobnt of ' a Roman camp and entrenchments, showi ing that the Romans must have had a. • permanent camp there. In camp I have been -found various interesting rej mains, and near the town there is a , curious hieroglyphic stone pillar, which, is the puzzle of antiquarians. The history: is then concluded by a reference to a pilgrimage to Whithorn: by 'the Marqnis of Bute, who, as. a fervent Roman ; Catholic, has built a beautiful little j church there on one of the historic sites. j I have already, however, given as much ■ space to this subject as -I can spare, but I thank my correspondent for . his paifls- , taking work. It shows how interesting' \ a story can be written of a place with a' history.