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Affectionately known to genera-tions of Dundonians as the OldSteeple, the Tower of St.

Mary’s Church has stood watch overDundee for over 500 years. Despite itsecclesiastical purpose as a bell-towerthis venerable construction has beenused as a fortress, a prison and atourism attraction. As the burghexpanded over the centuries the sur-roundings for the tower changed froma rural to increasingly urban setting.Originally sited at the west end of theburgh amongst farming land the towerwas still the major landmark during the19th century when the entrance hadboundary railings and was surroundedby a tenement filled street with gaslamps and horse drawn carriages.Today, it is set in landscaped groundswithin a pedestrian zone where retailoutlets dominate.

As well as being the highest surviv-ing medieval church tower in Scotlandit is also the most significant remnantof medieval Dundee. It was con-structed as the final section of Scot-land’s largest burgh church, whichcame about as the result of a vow byDavid, earl of Huntingdon. Legendtells that during a storm David prayedto the Virgin Mary and vowed that ifsaved from shipwreck he would builda church to her memory. As he was setashore alongside 12th centuryDundee, a wheat field on the westernedge of the burgh became the site forthe ‘Kirk in the Field’. However, it isunlikely that the tower was construct-ed whilst the original St. Mary’schurch existed, which had beendestroyed in 1385 by the troops ofRichard II. Due to the slow pace ofrebuilding post-1385, whilst the proj-ect was under the control of the Bene-dictine monks of Lindores Abbey, thetown council accepted responsibilityand took over the project in 1442-43.It is to this second St. Mary’s that thetower was attached.

Due to repeated attacks by troopsbetween the 15th and 17th centuriesmany written records were destroyedthat it is now next to impossible todefine a precise date of construction forthe tower. Conjectural evidence

includes that of 18th century historianAH Millar who stated that the churchand tower ‘are the same without alldoubt that were built by Earl David ofHuntingdon in performance of hisvow’ during the 12th century. Howev-er, an 1891 entry in Maxwell’s OldDundee, informs us that the tower as‘the only part of the structure thatremains’ from the first church ‘is in thelate decorated style prevailing in Scot-land at the end of the 14th century.’Even contemporary beliefs were divid-ed: five years after Maxwell’s publica-tion, the antiquarian AC Lamb dis-missed this theory and declared that,

[ ] the elaborate fashion was cer-tainly not in use in this countryuntil near the end of the fifteenthcentury and its similarity to struc-tures in other parts of Scotland thatundoubtedly belong to the periodfrom 1420 to 1480 almost settlesthe question.

Present opinion also rests upon thesedates as influencing the style in whichthe tower was built. Several examplesof a similar style are seen in the statesof northern Netherlands from the14th century and are most likely to

THE OLD STEEPLE, DUNDEEKaren Nichols

St Mary’s Tower. (John Gray)

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have arrived in Dundee as a result oftrading links with the Low Countries.Similar features include the traceriedand pinnacled parapet, the triple stripwindows and the arches of the westwindow as well as the semi-circulararch over the double doors of theentrance. Extra support for a later con-struction is that tradition dictateschurches are built east to west. As thetower is ornamental as well as func-tional it is reasonable to assume thatthe tower was built last and at a laterdate than the original St. Mary’s. Asthe great bell was gifted in 1495 thisdate is understood to be close to thecompletion date for the tower.

With a telescopic design and divid-ed into five stages, two parapets, and acap-house, each of the tower’s rooms isa feature in itself. The entrance hall,antiquities room, bell-ringing room,belfry and clock room each has a storyto tell.The entrance at the west eleva-tion was originally designed as theentrance to the nave of the second St.Mary’s church. In 1548 a fire set bytroops of Protector Somerset on behalfof Edward VI’s Rough Wooingsdestroyed the wooden floors of thetower. This fire also destroyed thechurch nave to the extent that only thechoir area was rebuilt to become thethird St. Mary’s. The transepts

remained uncovered until 1588 whenthe South church was created, thus cre-ating two churches in one building.The decision to rebuild only the choirarea resulted in the tower standing iso-lated until the construction of theSteeple church in 1789. Having to con-tinually re-establish their parish churchdid not deter Dundee’s residents anddespite the numerous changes to itsadjoining buildings the Steepleremained as its builders intended.

The entrance hall is unusual in thatthe visitor must descend three stepsfrom the door to the floor, a feat thatshould not be undertaken whilstsimultaneously gazing in awe at theribbed ceiling. Within this ceiling is acentral boss that partially hides thetrapdoor used for pulling the bells andbuilding materials up through thetower. Every level up to the belfry hasa trapdoor in the centre of the room. Itis alleged that in earlier periods therewere three cells in this hall, one ofwhich was allocated to the condemnedbefore execution. The prevailingatmosphere within the hall makes ithard to equate this and the other,alleged, signs of imprisonment with theexisting ecclesiastical images.The eastwall that spent centuries blocked upnow has large glass doors and fanlightthat lead to the welcoming hall of theSteeple Church. In the northeast cor-ner of the hall is a staircase with 238steps that lead to the upper parapetand cap-house.These steps lead first-ly to the antiquities room that nowholds many stone relics of medievalDundee. Its original intended functionis not clear but the room appears tohave been used from an early period asa prison for moral indiscretions. Theroom underwent a conversion into anauxiliary prison from 1834-37 until thepurpose built prison at the Tolboothwas ready. Legend recalls that therewas at least one prisoner incarceratedwithin this area before the Civil Warbrought his unexpected release.

When Cromwell’s troops, underGeneral Monck, arrived in 1651 thetown’s brave Governor, Robert Lums-den, led the defenders.There is a locallegend of a six-week siege and that theRoyalist defenders held out in theroom for three days before beingsmoked out and mercilessly executed.Unfortunately, as is so often the case,historical records cannot support thischronology. After camping outside thetown walls Monck’s troops startedshooting on the afternoon of the lastSunday in August, restarting at 4am

Steeple before the 1870 restoration, taken from the west and showing the entry

doors to the Steeple Church and tower.

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the next day, 1 September and by11am the town walls were breached.Atsome point soon after the door to thetower staircase was set alight with wetstraw to smoke out the garrison.Despite an honourable surrender theGovernor was shot dead and hisdecapitated helmeted head was carriedto the tower’s lower parapet andinserted upon a spike of a pinnacle. It

is believed to have remained there untilit fell down with falling masonry – inthe year that King Charles wasrestored to his throne.The survivors ofthis event were the debtor and the doorlock that held back the besiegers.Thiswas saved and placed on the replicadoor and is still in operation today.

A major event in the tower’s histo-ry was the 1870-72 restoration underthe direction of the architect GeorgeGilbert Scott. A Restoration Commit-tee was founded and worked tireless-ly for four years to raise funds torestore the decayed and neglectedtower to its former glory.The choice ofarchitect was, however, not a unani-mous decision, as the Chairman,Provost Yeaman, did not approve of aneminent architect being appointedwhen any competent architect couldperform a restoration. It is possible thatother committee members had heardof Scott’s reputation for thoroughlyrecreating a building rather than pre-serving its remains. Regardless, Scottwas duly appointed and submitted hisreport to the Committee in August1870. He outlined the principal worksneeding attention as the externalstonework, the tracery and pinnacles ofthe parapets, the external statues, andboth great windows on the west eleva-tion. These two windows had beenblocked with rubble and, in the case ofthe wheel window that lights theAntiquities room, metal bars had beenplaced across it whilst a prison.

Despite the trials and tribula-tions of constant fundraising andone health and safety incidentthe restoration was hailed as asuccess. Public donations con-tributed to the majority of thetotal cost of £8,780 with dona-tions from the Council amount-ing to £2,070.The InaugurationCeremony was held on QueenVictoria’s 54th birthday in May1873, with the main event beingthe laying of a memorial stoneunder the central pillar of theentrance door. Below this stonewas placed a glass bottle withdocuments commemoratingthose on the Restoration Com-mittee, a selection of coins of therealm, that day’s edition of theDundee Courier and Argus, and achromo-lithograph of the TayRail Bridge that was in the con-struction stage. Also includedwere the donors and inscriptionson the full peal of eight bells thathad been newly installed.These

Weights that were attached to the origi-

nal clock mechanism. The wires went

up to the clock room three floors above

and were wound manually. They are in

the corner of the Antiquities room,

which is the first floor, and are part of a

display of stone relics.

A conjectural map of 15th century

Dundee that was compiled by SUAT

(Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust), Pat

Dennison, and Sylvia Stevenson. The

burgh church of St. Marys is marked

(on the left).

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names and inscriptions can still be readon the bells today. As part of the inau-guration ceremony the Ancient Societyof College Youths, London, rang aGrandsire Triple Peal, which was thefirst time it had been heard in Scotlandand lasted three hours and seven min-utes.This occasion started a bond withthe newly formed Society of OldSteeple Bellringers that lasted severaldecades.

The major talking point at the timeof the restoration was the issue of thetower’s termination. The cap-housethat sits there to this day dates from the16th century and is most certainly notthe intended termination for such atower. Scott produced a drawing show-ing his vision of a reproduction crowncomposed of ‘a series of graceful flyingbuttresses that formed a light crownarch, out of which rise an airy fleche’.It is accepted by architects, past andpresent, that visible evidence of a

crown or spire remains within theupper rooms of the tower and that itscreation was originally intended. How-ever, whether it was partially or fullyconstructed is a longer debate than canbe related here but when the subjectwas raised in 1872 it divided local opin-ion. Many felt that an imperial crownwould be a suitable ornament to com-plement the tower that was created forScotland’s largest burgh church. Onedissenter however, placed his feelings inthe local paper bemoaning in poetrythat this ‘unwearied watcher of mynative town’ should need ‘three thou-sand [pounds] more’. Obviously thecost was rising as high as the toweritself!

In addition to continuing as theprincipal entrance to the 18th centurySteeple Church the tower has also beena local tourist attraction since the endof the 19th century. An undated post-card in Dundee Reference Library col-

lection advertises the tower and showsinformation signs inviting people to seethe ground floor exhibition for only onepenny. Intermittingly since then visitorshave been allowed varying levels ofaccess. During the period 1960 to1980visitors were able to climb the staircaseto the summit and see Dundee at aperspective that shows all but is not toohigh to blur the fine details. Only since1992 and the introduction of thetower to the European Doors OpenDay scheme were visitors able to enterthe Antiquities room to see the stonerelics and bells from the old TownHouse. The following year the publicwere able to access all the rooms in thetower. In 2000, a partnership ofDundee heritage bodies enabled thetower to be opened fully to the publicwith guided tours taking visitors into allthe rooms and to the exhibition with-in the cap-house. Unfortunately thisfacility was only available for less thantwo years but the tower stills functionsas a clock tower, with a recentlyrenewed Westminster chime, and reg-ularly resounds to the sound of ringingbells.

Karen Nichols studied history at the Uni-versity of Dundee and has worked for theNational Trust, Historic Scotland, andDundee Heritage Trust.She now runs Sco-tia Heritage:http://www.dundeetours.co.uk/.

Further reading

Millar, A.H., 1776, The First History ofDundee, reprinted Dundee 1923

Maxwell, A., 1891, Old Dundee: eccle-siastical, Burghal and social prior to theReformation, Dundee and EdinburghLamb, A.C., 1895, Dundee: it’s quaintand historic buildings, reprinted by theTay Valley Family History Society,Dundee, October 2005

Fawcett, R., 1994, Scottish Architec-ture 1371-1560, Edinburgh

Society of Old Steeple Bellringers,Minutes Book 1872-96, unpublishedScott, G. G., To the committee for therestoration of the tower of St. Mary’schurch, Dundee, London, 24 August1870

JRF, Ode to the Old Steeple, Lamb col-lection, Dundee Reference Library

Design for Crown

of St. Mary's

Tower by Sir

George Gilbert

Scott.

(Unversity ofDundee, ArchivesServices/licensed viawww.scran.ac.uk)