The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Blane and St Lawrence (medieval)
Cathedral church
The former cathedral church at Dunblane is built around an earlier tower, which appears to have been free-standing when first built. This tower has four 12th-century levels, each separated from the next by an exterior stringcourse. Above these are two further levels which were built in the late-15th/early-16th century. The tower was entered by a doorway on the north side, which has worn capitals, bases, label and imposts; the shafts no longer exist. The interior face of the doorway is plain, with a taller opening, it's arch formed of simple voussoirs. Inward from this and lower, is the N face of the doorway proper, with plain lintel stone and coursed stonework above it. The ground-floor level has a recess in the E wall, which may have served as an altar. The label arch over it is carved with a series of lozenges. Inserted into the ground-floor ceiling at some later time is a stone barrel vault. Access to the upper levels of the tower is via a spiral staircase in the interior SW corner. The top story of the 12th-century tower has an arched opening on each face. The outer, exterior arch of each is plain, but further into the depth of the arch are two smaller arches resting on a shaft and associated features. On the exterior, no other decorative features occur. Following the Reformation, although the eastern part of the church was preserved, along with the tower, the nave was allowed to became derelict, and by 1622 was said to be roofless. Restoration work and some reorganisation was undertaken on parts of the church structure in the early- and late- 19th century. During this time a wooden barrel vault was built over the nave and a new roof erected.