Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 1.djvu/463

SPYNIE CASTLE 443 THIRD PERIOD The windows of the hall are large, and have stone seats in their deep bays. The keep is so placed as to form a main defence on the landward side, from which attack would be chiefly apprehended, and it is pro- jected in such a manner beyond the enceinte as to protect it both on the east and north. The elevation (Fig. 386) is very simple and plain. The bold double- splayed base is an unusual feature, while the large triple corbels at the parapet are of the style frequently adopted at that period, as at Dun- notter, Clackmannan, etc. On the south front there are three panels for coats-of-arms. The upper one, which probably contained the Royal arms, is empty, and the two lower ones contain the arms of Bishops David Stewart and Patrick Hepburn. The keep is said to have been built by Bishop David Stewart, who died in 1475. The Earl of Huntly had threatened to "pull him out of his pigeon-holes," and the Bishop replied that he would build a house out of which the Earl and his whole clan should not be able to pull him. If this is a true tale, the keep may thus have been erected at a later date than some other portions of the palace. Indeed, we shall find immediately that this probably was so. But it should be observed that the keep corresponds in style with the south-east tower, and it is possible that Bishop Stewart, when he built the keep, also added the towers at the angles of the enceinte. The quadrangle has been of considerable extent, and the buildings appear to have been of an unusually fine character, but unfortunately only portions of the wall of enceinte and a few fragments attached to it now remain. We have seen that the keep occupies the south-west corner. The other three corners were also each defended by a smaller tower. One wall of that at the south-east angle still survives (Fig. 386). This tower has the same immense port-holes for guns, and the same style of corbels at the parapet, as the keep, and is undoubtedly of about the same period. The north-east tower is almost entirely demolished, and of the north- west tower only about one-half remains. Fortunately a very fine and quite unique feature in this palace is still in fair preservation, viz., the gateway in the eastern wall (Fig. 387). It is of fine design, and of a style most unusual in Scotland. It bears the arms and initials of Bishop John Innes, who was consecrated in 1406, and may thus be older than the keep. Itjvvas defended by a portcullis, and a small stair led to battlements, from which the portcullis was worked. The mouldings and design generally have more affinity with the architecture of England or France than of Scotland. It is natural to expect that a Bishop's palace should partake to some extent of the