Pen and colour wash on paper, c.1913-30
George Mackie Watson (1860-1948)
RCAHMS
Between 1913 and 1930 the architect George Mackie Watson carried out extensive restorations of the cathedral, including the construction of a new spire. These drawings were prepared as part of the restoration process and when RCAHMS came to start the survey of Orkney in the 1920s, Watson kindly sent copies of these to help with the research for the Inventory article on the cathedral.
St Magnus’s is one of only two medieval Scottish cathedrals to have survived largely intact since the Reformation. In an effort to return the cathedral to something of its medieval appearance, Watson’s restoration of the church saw the removal of much of the eighteenth and nineteenth century furnishings and fittings, including pews and screens. The entire church was repaved and the stepped floor of the choir restored. Watson’s drawing beautifully illustrates the proposed layout for the floor tiles.
This elevation of the interior clearly illustrates the successive phases and changing styles of architecture adopted during its construction. The round arches with massive round pillars to east and west of the tower belong to the earliest phase, between 1130 and 1150, and are in the Romanesque style. Initially the east end, or choir, was only three bays in length, but around 1190 this was extended by another three bays.
In the course of this work, which continued into the thirteenth century, the upper storeys of both choir and nave were finished with the new pointed arch, or Gothic style. The great arches of the tower crossing were rebuilt at the same time, while a belfry stage was added in the early fourteenth century.