Elgin Catherdral

The front of the Cathedral built in the 13th century.  The hole once had a beautiful rose window. 

A visit Elgin Cathedral was first on our list, since Bill had discovered that my 12th Great Grandmother, Margaretha Crichton Gordon was buried in the Gordon Vault. Margaretha was married to Sir James Gordon, 4th Laird of Lochinvar who died in the Battle of Pinkie, also known as Black Sunday.  He is not buried here, but there. While we found the Gordon Vault, the stones were so old as to be unreadable, but I'm sure she's there.

The Gordon Vault has a wooden roof built over to help protect is from the elements.  For most of the gravestones, it was too late.

A bit of the engraving on this one is almost legible, but not enough to know who is under here.

The name of this knight is known, but he was buried much later than my grandmother.  The plaque of the wall is for the last Gordon's buried here in the 1860's.

While most of the Cathedral is open to the sky, the two towers when you first enter have been reroofed and secured.  What does this mean?  Medieval stairs to climb!  There are 3 levels in each tower, with displays of pieces of the Cathedral found during it's excavation and renovation.  We shared our climb with a family with 3 young children, who added a touch of whimsy to the visit.

When we can no longer climb medieval stairs, it may be time to stop traveling.  So far, so good!

Loved this guy with his tongue sticking out.  Was he giving the devil his opinion?

Pieces of the beautiful carvings that were once part of this amazing building.

The roof of one of the towers now has a 360 degree viewing platform.  The day was clear, so we could see all the places pointed out on the map, except for the ones blocked by the trees which have grown since this was opened.  Time for a trim.

The interior of the Cathedral from the south tower.  The covered building on the left was the chapterhouse, where the canons met for their daily devotionals and other important meetings.  The one on the right is the Gordon Vault.

The ceiling of the chapterhouse is still in good condition.

With the Scottish Reformation in 1560, even though the number of canons had increase, the Cathedral was abandoned, with it's services transferred to St Giles. The lead that waterproofed the roof was sold and removed in 1567, which lead to it's decay.  In the 19th century, thanks to one local man, the work to save what remained of the Cathedral was begun.

Looking from the top of the tower to the road leading to the Cathedral.

It was a unique feeling to walk on road to the Cathedral and realize that one of my GreatGrandmothers may have walked this way to services, almost 500 years ago.