The Dating of Early Masonry Churches in Scotland: An Assessment of John Potter’s Contribution of 2008

Abstract

John Potter classifies blocks of masonry by the way they are carved, identifying a Patterned or pre-Norman style and a Norman one. He then dates the buildings he examines to one or other of the two periods, allowing no overlap or continued use of the old style in the early part of the new one. This article illustrates the effect of allowing an overlap, with special reference to St Margaret’s Chapel and Restenneth church.

Keywords:

• masonry
• Anglo-Saxon
• Norman
• Scotland
• overlap of periods
• St Margaret’s Chapel
• Restenneth

Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to record my thanks to the late Richard Fawcett and to Rachel Pickering for the extensive help they have given me with the article. Their advice was essential to the forming of the arguments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For example, J. F. Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement in three Scottish ecclesiastical national monuments’, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 138 (2008), 205–22; Searching for Early Welsh Churches: A study in ecclesiastical geology, British Archaeological Reports, British Series 578 (Oxford 2013); Patterns in Stonework, Early Churches in Northern England: A further study in ecclesiastical geology, British Archaeological Reports, British Series 617, Part A (Oxford 2015); Patterns in Stonework, Early Churches in Northern England: A further study in ecclesiastical geology, British Archaeological Reports, British Series 624, Part B (Oxford 2016).

2 H. M. Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architecture, vol. III (Cambridge 1978), 940–48.

3 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 205.

4 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 205.

5 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 219.

6 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 207–11.

7 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 209.

8 Potter, ‘‘Early stone emplacement’, 209–10. It is unclear what ‘see below’ refers to.

9 D. Murray/Kirkdale Archaeology, HSCO-90130-2016-02 Edinburgh Castle—St Margaret’s Chapel (Edinburgh 2016), 4–6, 12.

10 R. Fawcett, The Architecture of the Scottish Medieval Church, 1100–1560 (London 2011), illus. 17.

11 Potter, ‘Early stone emplacement’, 212.

12 H. M. and J. Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architecture, vols I and II (Cambridge 1965), II, 711; Fawcett, Scottish Medieval, 7–8.

13 There are illustrations of the imposts at Restenneth and Bernay in E. Fernie, ‘Early church architecture in Scotland’, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 116 (1986), 393–412, figs 11 and 12.

14 T. Ó Carragáin, review of J. Potter, Patterns in Stonework: The Early Church in Britain and Ireland. An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Geology, British Archaeological Reports, British Series 496 (Oxford 2009), Med. Archaeol., 54 (2010), 469–70.