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Inchmahome Priory - Port of Menteith, Perthshire, Scotland (HS)

This small Augustinian Priory was founded by Walter Comyn, earl of Menteith in around 1238, on the largest of three islands on the Lake of Menteith. Walter had a castle built on the closest island, but sadly the remains are now gradually falling into the water and it is unsafe to land there. The Priory can be visited during spring to autumn by boat, and the journey across provides a romantic view of the remaining buildings, with first the tower appearing, then the five lancet windows in the east end, and the rest  glimpsed between the trees as you approach.

Inchmahome Priory on an  island in the Lake of Menteith

Walter's motives for founding the Priory were probably mixed. As well as providing his soul with after-death care, it was a prestigious thing to display your piety and power with religious buildings on your land. At the time, the Comyn family held much of the surrounding land and the Earldom of Menteith through an advantageous marriage and the site was probably already used by the church. Because the canons were Augustinian, they also served the community as parish priests. They were not very expensive for the Earl to keep, as the priory was small and this reflected the other contemporary Augustinian foundations at Blantyre and Moneymusk, although there were larger priories in Scotland such as Jedburgh and St Andrews.

The land had come to Walter through marriage to Isabel, countess of Menteith, and when he died, there was a suspicion that she was involved in his death. The subsequent dispute over the inheritance was taken to the papal court to sort out, and it was eventually decided in favour of Walter Stewart, through his marriage to Isabel's cousin. There is a touching stone effigy now housed in the repaired roofed building on the island, the chapter house. Walter and his countess are depicted lying almost as if in bed, with their arms around each other.

The regular life of the canons continued on the island up until the Reformation, with some notable visitors, including Robert  Bruce and the young Mary, Queen of Scots, hidden here for a few weeks while being pursued by the English Army after the battle of Pinkie in 1547. The Reformation saw the land and the buildings pass into secular hands, and led to the priory's gradual decline.

The exterior of the east window from the north east

The layout of the buildings is that of a typical Augustinian priory, with the most decorated processional door to the west, and a smaller door for the lay worshipers on the left-hand side. Also on the left is a small arcade, with two arched bays remaining. On the right, the nave wall is higher, and there would have been clerestory windows above. Unusually, the tower is sighted at the bottom of the arcades, and seems to have been built later as the join is very clumsy. It was possibly used as a bell-tower, but may also have been a look-out tower. Further up the nave, there was a rood screen dividing the parishioners from the priors, who sat on wooden choir stalls leading up to the high altar. You can still see the three carved arches where the priest and his assistants sat during mass, and the piscina where the chalice could be cleaned. To the right of the main church are the cloisters, the chapter house, the refectory and dormitory, all the usual buildings defined by their function. One unusual feature at Inchmahome is that the cloisters on the east and west sides are absorbed within the adjacent buildings, not separate walkways roofed over by a lean-to. This also occurs on another island priory at Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth, so could perhaps be a reluctance to use too much space where it was limited by the size of the island.

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