Cathedral spire and garden of 'Trevose', Dornoch

Cathedral spire and garden of 'Trevose', Dornoch

ID: QZP40_CARD_1888 DESCRIPTION: Dornoch Cathedral is a parish church in the Church of Scotland, serving the small Sutherland town of Dornoch. It was built in the 13th century, in the reign of King Alexander II (1214-49) and the episcopate of Gilbert de Moravia (died 1245) (later Saint Gilbert of Dornoch) as the cathedral church of the diocese of Caithness (moved to Dornoch from Halkirk). In 1570 the Cathedral was burnt down during local feuding. Full 'repairs' (amounting to one of the most drastic over-restorations on any important Scottish medieval building) were not carried out until the early 19th century, by the Countess of Sutherland. Among the 'improvements' carried out, the ruined but still largely intact aisled medieval nave was demolished and a new narrow nave without pillars built on its site. The interior was reordered in the 1920s, with the removal of Victorian plasterwork to reveal the stonework (but note that the medieval church would have been plastered throughout). The site of the medieval high altar was raised and converted into a burial area for the Sutherland family, who introduced large marble memorials alien to the original appearance of the building. Trevose is the name of a house adjacent to the Cathedral. PLACENAME: Dornoch OLD COUNTY/PARISH: SUTHERLAND: Dornoch PERIOD: 1970s; 1980s SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Highland Libraries' Postcard Collection Asset ID: 33803 KEYWORDS: