Trinity College Church

Category

Library Item

Item no

43376

Title

Trinity College Church - west (east) and south elevations

Description

Drawings of geometrical west and south elevations of Trinity College Church taken from James Grant's sketchbook, and numbered print 72.
Geometrical view of west elevation (top) and south elevation (bottom).

Artist / maker

Grant, James

Date

1848

Type

Ink and colour; Pen work; Wash drawing

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The upper image shows Trinity College Church's east elevation (Grant has mistakenly called it the west elevation), with the choir apse at the centre and the north sacristy jutting out on the right. The sacristy (or vestry) may originally have been the Lady Chapel or a Chantry dedicated to Mary of Gueldres, the foundress. At the top you can see the unfinished tower, which was given crow-step gable ends in the traditional Scottish style rather than being built up to its full height.

The lower image shows the south elevation. This view shows a number of architectural features which have been incorporated into what survives today of Trinity College Church: the large pointed arch window with loop tracery at the end of the transept (or the identical one on the north side) has now been incorporated into the west end of the remaining building, slightly reduced in height. The three smaller clerestory arch windows in the choir wall, above the aisle, have been incorporated into the south wall. The surviving south wall also has three other arch windows below, which may have been assembled from the windows on the north choir wall of the original building, or the two identical window heads on either side of the east (apse) wall. The east end of the surviving building is the curved apse and pinnacles above which can be seen on the right of this image.

Grant presumably made these images soon before the church was demolished in 1848.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Architectural features > Doors and doorways

Architecture > Architectural features > Roofs

Architecture > Architectural features > Tracery windows

Places > Edinburgh areas > Old Town

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

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