Seton Collegiate Church
Encyclopedia
Seton Collegiate Church, known locally as Seton Chapel, is a collegiate church
south of Port Seton, East Lothian
, Scotland
. It is adjacent to Seton House.
s of a cruciform church, the crossing-tower
as high as it was built (the completion of the spire
was precluded by the Reformation
), and the dubious foundations of the nave, which was not built. The walls of the choir and chancel were built by 1478, and roofed by 1508. The transepts were erected sometime between 1513 and 1588. As such the eastern limb stood without them for at least 35 years. The church was raised to collegiate status in 1492. Contained within are two effigies
: one male and one female, dating from the fifteenth century. The female effigy, badly defaced, is possibly of earlier origin.
To the immediate south west are the foundations of the buildings once occupied by the clergy and staff.
It is now in the care of Historic Scotland
, and a 4-Star Historic Tourist Attraction.
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
south of Port Seton, East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is adjacent to Seton House.
Description
The church consists of the complete eastern limb and the two transeptTransept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s of a cruciform church, the crossing-tower
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
as high as it was built (the completion of the spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
was precluded by the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
), and the dubious foundations of the nave, which was not built. The walls of the choir and chancel were built by 1478, and roofed by 1508. The transepts were erected sometime between 1513 and 1588. As such the eastern limb stood without them for at least 35 years. The church was raised to collegiate status in 1492. Contained within are two effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
: one male and one female, dating from the fifteenth century. The female effigy, badly defaced, is possibly of earlier origin.
To the immediate south west are the foundations of the buildings once occupied by the clergy and staff.
It is now in the care of Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland
Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland.-Role:As its website states:...
, and a 4-Star Historic Tourist Attraction.