Page:The castellated and domestic architecture of Scotland from the twelfth to the eighteenth century (1887) - Volume 2.djvu/39

 COXTON TOWER 23 FOURTH PERIOD floor, above the entrance, bears the arms of the family, with the initials I. C., and the date 1600. A remarkable oak door, carved with Samson and the Lion, formerly belonging to Amisfield, may now be seen in the Antiquarian Museum in Edinburgh. COXTON TOWER, MORAYSHIRE. This is one of the most remarkable buildings of its class in Scotland (Fig. 490). Its history is unknown, and its archaic form has led to the supposition that it must be considerably older than the date carved on the arms over the entrance doorway, viz., 1644. Mr. Billings takes this view, and thinks it must be at least a century older. But there is really no need for this supposition. Although such a complete and well-pre- served specimen of the seventeenth-century towers is rare, still several similar examples are to be found. Hallbar in Lanarkshire, Scotstarvet, Fifeshire, and others to be described immediately, are very parallel instances. The ornament round the coat of arms (Fig. 491), and the cable moulding on the open turret, quite correspond with the date given, while the form of the shot-holes on the basement story, and of those under the window-sills of the upper rooms, clearly point to a late date. The shot-holes are as small as possible at the face of the wall, being only 3 inches or so in width, for the double purpose of preventing their being seen, and rendering them difficult to shoot into. In earlier build- ings the shot-holes are generally deeply splayed towards the exterior, which renders them liable to both the above disadvantages. The open angle turret or bartizan on the south-west angle is referred to by Billings as unique, but similar turrets are to be seen at Claypotts, near Dundee. The tower of Coxton is situated about two miles eastwards from Elgin, and is visible from the railway. Its position is on the brow of a gentle slope, but is not specially selected for defence. Although well provided with shot-holes, it has not been intended for a strong tort, but was rather a manor-house sufficiently strong to resist the sudden attacks of marauders, to which all houses were then so liable. In one respect, however, it is particularly strong : it is built so as to be practically incombustible. The walls are 5 feet thick, and every floor is vaulted, the vaults being arranged so that they are set at right angles to one another on the alternate floors (Fig. 492). Those of the three lower floors are semicircular, and carry the floor above only ; but the vault of the top story is pointed with a high pitch, so as to carry the stone flags which form the covering of the roof. The angle turrets are also roofed with stone. The doors and windows were thus the only parts of the building which could be affected by fire, and, in order to guard against this risk