 = Elgin Cathedral = 
 
 Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin , Moray , north @-@ east Scotland . The cathedral — dedicated to the Holy Trinity — was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River <unk> . It replaced the cathedral at Spynie , 3 kilometres ( 1 @.@ 9 mi ) to the north , that was served by a small chapter of eight clerics . The new and bigger cathedral was staffed with 18 canons in <unk> and then increased to 23 by <unk> . After a damaging fire in 1270 , a rebuilding programme greatly enlarged the building . It was unaffected by the Wars of Scottish Independence but again suffered extensive fire damage in 1390 following an attack by Robert III 's brother Alexander Stewart , Earl of Buchan , also known as the Wolf of Badenoch . In 1402 the cathedral precinct again suffered an incendiary attack by the followers of the Lord of the Isles . The number of clerics required to staff the cathedral continued to grow , as did the number of craftsmen needed to maintain the buildings and surrounds . The number of canons had increased to 25 by the time of the Scottish Reformation in 1560 , when the cathedral was abandoned and its services transferred to Elgin 's parish church of St Giles . After the removal of the lead that <unk> the roof in 1567 , the cathedral steadily fell into decay . Its deterioration was arrested in the 19th century , by which time the building was in a substantially ruinous condition . 
 The cathedral went through periods of enlargement and renovation following the fires of 1270 and 1390 that included the doubling in length of the choir , the provision of outer aisles to the northern and southern walls of both the nave and choir . Today , these walls are at full height in places and at foundation level in others yet the overall cruciform shape is still discernible . A mostly intact octagonal chapter house dates from the major enlargement after the fire of 1270 . The gable wall above the double door entrance that links the west towers is nearly complete and was rebuilt following the fire of 1390 . It accommodates a large window opening that now only contains <unk> tracery work and fragments of a large rose window . <unk> and chest tombs in both transepts and in the south aisle of the choir contain effigies of bishops and knights , and large flat slabs in the now grass @-@ covered floor of the cathedral mark the positions of early graves . The homes of the dignitaries and canons , or manses , stood in the chanonry and were destroyed by fire on three occasions : in 1270 , 1390 and 1402 . The two towers of the west front are mostly complete and were part of the first phase of construction . Only the precentor 's manse is substantially intact ; two others have been incorporated into private buildings . A protective wall of massive proportions surrounded the cathedral precinct , but only a small section has survived . The wall had four access gates , one of which — the <unk> Port — still exists . 
 
 = = Early cathedral churches of Moray = = 
 
 The Diocese of Moray was a regional bishopric unlike the pre @-@ eminent see of the Scottish church , St Andrews , which had evolved from a more ancient monastic Celtic church and administered scattered localities . It is uncertain whether there were bishops of Moray before c . 1120 but the first known <unk> — possibly later translated to <unk> — was Gregory ( or <unk> ) . He was probably bishop in name only , with the first resident diocesan being Richard of Lincoln . Gregory was a signatory to the foundation charter of <unk> Priory , issued by Alexander I ( <unk> mac Maíl <unk> ) between December 1123 and April 1124 , and again in a charter defining the legal rights of the same monastery . He is recorded for the last time when he witnessed a charter granted by David I to <unk> Abbey in c . 1128 . After the suppression of <unk> of Moray 's rebellion in 1130 , King David must have regarded the continued presence of bishops in Moray as essential to the stability of the province . These early bishops had no settled location for their cathedral , and sited it successively at the churches of <unk> , <unk> and Spynie . Pope Innocent III issued an <unk> bull on 7 April 1206 that allowed bishop Bricius de Douglas to fix his cathedral church at Spynie — its inauguration was held between spring 1207 and summer 1208 . A chapter of five dignitaries and three ordinary canons was authorised and based its constitution on that of Lincoln Cathedral . Elgin became the lay centre of the province under David I , who probably established the first castle in the town , and it may have been this castle , with its promise of better security , that prompted Bricius , before July 1216 , to petition the Pope to move the seat from Spynie . 
 
 = = Cathedral church at Elgin = = 
 
 Despite Bricius 's earlier appeal , it was not until Andreas de Moravia 's episcopate that Pope Honorius III issued his bull on 10 April 1224 <unk> his <unk> Gilbert de Moravia , Bishop of Caithness , Robert , Abbot of <unk> and Henry , Dean of Ross to examine the suitability of transferring the <unk> to Elgin . The Bishop of Caithness and the Dean of Ross performed the translation ceremony on 19 July 1224 . On 10 July , Alexander II ( <unk> mac <unk> ) had agreed to the <unk> in an <unk> that referred to his having given the land previously for this purpose . The land grant <unk> the Papal mandate and there is evidence that building had started in around 1215 . Construction of the cathedral was completed after <unk> . <unk> John of <unk> recorded without explanation that in 1270 the cathedral church and the canons ' houses had burned down . The cathedral was rebuilt in a larger and <unk> style to form the greater part of the structure that is now visible , work that is supposed to have been completed by the outbreak of the Wars of Scottish Independence in <unk> . Although Edward I of England took an army to Elgin in <unk> and again in <unk> , the cathedral was left unscathed , as it was by his grandson Edward III during his assault on Moray in 1336 . 
 Soon after his election to the see in <unk> – 63 , Bishop Alexander Bur requested funds from Pope Urban V for repairs to the cathedral , citing neglect and hostile attacks . In August <unk> Bur began protection payments to Alexander Stewart , Lord of Badenoch , known as the Wolf of Badenoch , who became Earl of Buchan in <unk> , and who was son of the future King Robert II . Numerous disputes between Bur and Buchan culminated in Buchan 's excommunication in February 1390 and the bishop turning to Thomas Dunbar , son of the Earl of Moray , to provide the protection service . 
 These acts by the bishop , and any frustration Buchan may have felt about the <unk> of his brother Robert Stewart , Earl of Fife as guardian of Scotland , may have caused him to react <unk> : in May , he descended from his island castle on <unk> and burned the town of <unk> , followed in June by the burning of Elgin and the cathedral with its manses . It is believed that he also burned <unk> Priory at this time , which was officially under the Bishop 's protection . Bur wrote to Robert III seeking reparation for his brother 's actions in a letter stating : 
 Robert III granted Bur an annuity of £ 20 for the period of the bishop 's lifetime , and the Pope provided income from the Scottish Church during the following decade . In 1400 , Bur wrote to the Abbot of <unk> complaining that the abbot 's prebendary churches in the Moray diocese had not paid their <unk> towards the cathedral restoration . In the same year Bur wrote to the rector of <unk> church , telling him that he now owed three years ' <unk> of the subsidy that had been imposed on non @-@ prebendary churches in <unk> . Again , on 3 July 1402 , the burgh and cathedral precinct were attacked , this time by Alexander of Lochaber , brother of <unk> of Islay , Lord of the Isles ; he spared the cathedral but burned the manses . For this act , Lochaber and his captains were excommunicated , prompting Lochaber 's return in September to give reparation and gain <unk> . In <unk> , the money saved during an <unk> vacancy was diverted to the rebuilding process and in <unk> a grant from the customs of Inverness was provided . Increasingly , the appropriation of the parish church revenues led in many cases to churches becoming dilapidated and unable to attract educated priests . By the later Middle Ages , the standard of pastoral care outside the main <unk> had significantly declined . 
 Bishop John <unk> ( <unk> – 14 ) contributed greatly to the rebuilding of the cathedral , as evidenced by the inscription on his tomb praising his efforts . When he died , the chapter met secretly — " in <unk> camera <unk> in <unk> <unk> <unk> " — and agreed that should one of their number be elected to the see , the bishop would grant one third of the income of the bishopric annually until the rebuilding was finished . The major alterations to the west front were completed before 1435 and contain the arms of Bishop Columba de Dunbar ( 1422 – 35 ) , and it is presumed that both the north and south aisles of the choir were finished before <unk> , as the south aisle contains the tomb of John de Winchester ( 1435 – 60 ) . Probably the last important rebuilding feature was the major restructuring of the chapterhouse between <unk> and 1501 , which contains the arms of Bishop Andrew Stewart . 
 
 = = = <unk> organisation = = = 
 
 The dignitaries and canons constituted the chapter and had the primary role of aiding the bishop in the governance of the diocese . Often the bishop was the titular head of the chapter only and was excluded from its decision @-@ making processes , the chapter being led by the dean as its superior . As the diocese of Moray based its constitution on that of Lincoln Cathedral , the bishop was allowed to participate within the chapter but only as an ordinary canon . Moray was not unique in this : the bishops of Aberdeen , <unk> , Caithness , Orkney and Ross were also canons in their own chapters . Each morning , the canons held a meeting in the chapterhouse where a chapter from the canonical rule book of St Benedict was read before the business of the day was discussed . 
 Bishop Bricius 's chapter of eight clerics consisted of the dean , precentor , treasurer , chancellor , archdeacon and three ordinary canons . His successor , Bishop Andreas de Moravia , greatly expanded the chapter to cater for the much enlarged establishment by creating two additional hierarchical posts ( <unk> and <unk> ) and added 16 more <unk> . In total , 23 <unk> had been created by the time of Andreas ' death , and a further two were added just before the Scottish Reformation . <unk> churches were at the <unk> of the bishop as the churches either were within the diocesan lands or had been granted to the bishop by a landowner as patronage . In the case of Elgin Cathedral , the de Moravia family , of which Bishop Andreas was a member , is noted as having the patronage of many churches given as <unk> . 
 Rural <unk> , or <unk> of Christianity as they were known in the Scottish Church , supervised the priests in the <unk> and implemented the bishop 's edicts . There were four <unk> in the Moray diocese — Elgin , Inverness , <unk> and <unk> — and these provided the income not only for the cathedral and chapter but also for other religious houses within and outside the diocese . Many churches were allocated to support designated canons , and a small number were held in common . The bishop received <unk> and prebendary income in his separate positions as <unk> and canon . 
 The government of the diocese affecting both clergy and laity was vested entirely in the bishop , who appointed officers to the ecclesiastical , criminal and civil courts . The bishop , assisted by his chapter , produced the church laws and regulations for the bishopric and these were enforced at occasional diocesan <unk> by the bishop or , in his absence , by the dean . Appointed officials <unk> at <unk> courts looking at matters affecting <unk> , marriages , divorces , widows , orphans , wills and other related legal matters . In Moray , these courts were held in Elgin and Inverness . By <unk> the Bishop of Moray held all his lands in one <unk> and had Courts of <unk> presided over by <unk> and <unk> to ensure the payment of revenues from his estates . 
 
 = = = Cathedral offices = = = 
 
 Large cathedrals such as Elgin had many chapel altars and daily services and required to be suitably staffed with canons assisted by a plentiful number of chaplains and vicars . Bishop Andreas allowed for the canons to be aided by seventeen vicars made up of seven priests , five deacons and five sub @-@ deacons — later the number of vicars was increased to twenty five . In <unk> the vicars at Elgin could not live on their <unk> and Bishop John of <unk> provided them with the income from two churches and the patronage of another from Thomas Randolph , second Earl of Moray . By 1489 one vicar had a <unk> of 12 marks ; six others , 10 marks ; one , eight marks ; three , seven marks , and six received five marks ; each vicar was employed directly by a canon who was required to provide four months ' notice in the event of his employment being terminated . The vicars were of two kinds : the vicars @-@ choral who worked chiefly in the choir taking the main services and the <unk> chaplains who performed services at the individual foundation altars though there was some overlapping of duties . Although the chapter followed the constitution of Lincoln , the form of divine service copied that of Salisbury Cathedral . It is recorded that Elgin 's vicars @-@ choral were subject to disciplinary correction for shortcomings in the performance of the services , resulting in fines . More serious offences could end in corporal punishment , which was administered in the chapterhouse by the sub @-@ dean and witnessed by the chapter . King Alexander II founded a <unk> for the soul of King Duncan I who died in battle with Macbeth near Elgin . The chapel most frequently referenced in records was St Thomas the <unk> , located in the north transept and supported by five chaplains . Other <unk> mentioned are those of the Holy <unk> , St Catherine , St <unk> , St Lawrence , St Mary Magdalene , St Mary the Virgin and St Michael . By the time of Bishop Bur 's episcopate ( <unk> – <unk> ) , the cathedral had 15 canons ( excluding dignitaries ) , 22 vicars @-@ choral and about the same number of chaplains . 
 Despite these numbers , not all the clergy were regularly present at the services in Elgin Cathedral . <unk> was an enduring fact of life in all cathedrals in a period when <unk> clerics would accept positions in other cathedrals . This is not to say that the time spent away from the chanonry was without permission , as some canons were appointed to be always present while others were allowed to attend on a part @-@ time basis . The dean of Elgin was permanently in attendance ; the precentor , chancellor , and treasurer , were available for half the year . The non @-@ permanent canons had to attend continuously for three months . The chapter decided in <unk> to <unk> persistently absent canons who broke the terms of their attendance by removing one seventh of their income . In the Diocese of Aberdeen and it is assumed in other <unk> also , when important decisions of the chapter had to be taken , an <unk> canon had to appoint a <unk> to act on his behalf — this was usually one of the dignitaries who had a higher likelihood of being present . At Elgin in <unk> , many canons were not <unk> by the terms of their leave of absence , resulting in each of them receiving a formal warning and a summons ; despite this , ten canons refused to attend and had a seventh of their prebendary income deducted . The bulk of the workload fell to the vicars and a smaller number of permanent canons who were responsible for celebrating high mass and for leading and arranging <unk> and feast day processions . Seven services were held daily , most of which were solely for the clergy and took place behind the <unk> screen which separated the high altar and choir from lay <unk> . Only cathedrals , collegiate churches and large burgh churches were <unk> to perform the more elaborate services ; the services in the parish churches were more basic . 
 The clergy were augmented by an unknown number of lay lawyers and clerks as well as masons , carpenters , <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> . Master Gregory the <unk> and Master Richard the <unk> are mentioned in the <unk> of the cathedral . 
 
 = = = <unk> and burgh = = = 
 
 The chanonry , referred to in the cathedral 's <unk> as the college of the chanonry or simply as the college , was the collection of the canons ' manses that were grouped around the cathedral . A substantial wall , over 3 @.@ 5 metres ( 11 ft ) high , 2 metres ( 6 ft 7 in ) thick and around 820 metres ( 2 @,@ 690 ft ) in length , enclosed the cathedral and manses and separated the church community from the laity ; only the manse of <unk> lay outside the west wall . The houses of 17 vicars and the many chaplains were also situated outside the west wall . The wall had four gates : the West Port gave access to the burgh , the North Port provided access to the road to the bishop 's palace of Spynie , the South Port opened opposite the hospital of <unk> Dieu and the surviving East or <unk> Port allowed access to the <unk> called Le <unk> . The <unk> Port illustrates the <unk> defences of the gate @-@ houses ( Fig . 1 ) . Each canon or <unk> was responsible for providing his own manse and was built to reflect his status within the chapter . The castle having become unsuitable , Edward I of England stayed at the manse of <unk> on 10 and 11 September <unk> as did James II in <unk> . In 1489 , a century after the incendiary attack on the cathedral and precinct in 1390 and 1402 , the cathedral records revealed a chanonry still lacking many of its manses . The chapter ordered that 13 canons , including the <unk> and the archdeacon , should immediately " erect , construct , build , and duly repair their manses , and the enclosures of their gardens within the college of Moray " . The manse of the precentor , erroneously called the Bishop 's House , is partially ruined and is dated <unk> . ( Fig . 2 ) <unk> of the Dean 's <unk> and the Archdeacon 's <unk> ( Fig . 3 ) are now part of private buildings . 
 The hospital of <unk> Dieu , dedicated to St Mary and situated near the cathedral precinct but outside the chanonry , was established by Bishop Andreas before 1237 for the aid of the poor . It suffered fire damage in 1390 and again in <unk> . The cathedral clerks received it as a secular benefice but in later years it may , in common with other hospitals , have become dilapidated through a lack of patronage . Bishop James Hepburn granted it to the <unk> of Elgin on 17 November <unk> , perhaps in an effort to preserve its existence . The property was taken into the ownership of the Crown after the Reformation and in <unk> was granted to the burgh by James VI for educational purposes and for helping the poor . In 1624 , an <unk> was constructed to replace the original building , but in <unk> a storm substantially damaged its relatively intact ruins . The remnants of the original building were finally demolished during a 19th @-@ century redevelopment of the area . 
 There were two <unk> in the burgh . The Dominican Black Friars friary was founded in the western part of the burgh around 1233 . The Franciscan ( Friars Minor <unk> ) Grey Friars friary was later founded in the eastern part of the burgh sometime before 1281 . It is thought that this latter Grey Friars foundation did not long survive , but was followed between <unk> and <unk> by the foundation of a friary near Elgin Cathedral by the Franciscan ( <unk> ) Grey Friars . The building was transferred into the ownership of the burgh around <unk> and later became the Court of Justice in 1563 . In 1489 , the chapter founded a school that was not purely a song school for the cathedral but was also to be available to provide an education in music and reading for some children of Elgin . 
 
 = = = Post – Reformation = = = 
 
 In August 1560 , parliament assembled in Edinburgh and legislated that the Scottish church would be Protestant , the Pope would have no authority and that the Catholic mass was illegal . Scottish cathedrals now survived only if they were used as parish churches and as Elgin had been fully served by the Kirk of St Giles , its cathedral was abandoned . An act of parliament passed on 14 February 1567 authorised Regent Lord James Stewart 's Privy Council to order the removal of the lead from the roofs of both Elgin and Aberdeen cathedrals , to be sold for the upkeep of his army , but the <unk> ship that was intended to take the cargo to Holland capsized and sank in Aberdeen harbour . In 1615 , John Taylor , the ' Water Poet ' , described Elgin Cathedral as " a <unk> and beautiful church with three <unk> , the walls of it and the <unk> all yet standing ; but the <unk> , <unk> and many marble monuments and <unk> of <unk> and <unk> personages all broken and defaced " . 
 <unk> had set in and the roof of the eastern limb collapsed during a gale on 4 December 1637 . In 1640 the General Assembly ordered Gilbert Ross , the minister of St Giles <unk> , to remove the <unk> screen which still partitioned the choir and presbytery from the nave . Ross was assisted in this by the <unk> of <unk> and <unk> who <unk> it up for <unk> . It is believed that the destruction of the great west window was caused by Oliver Cromwell 's soldiers sometime between 1650 and 1660 . 
 At some point the cathedral grounds had become the burial ground for Elgin . The town council arranged for the boundary wall to be repaired in 1685 but significantly , the council ordered that the stones from the cathedral should not be used for that purpose . Although the building was becoming increasingly unstable the chapterhouse continued to be used for meetings of the Incorporated Trades from <unk> to 1676 and then again from 1701 to around <unk> . No attempt was made to <unk> the structure and on Easter Sunday <unk> the central tower gave way , demolishing the nave . Following this collapse , the " quarrying " of the cathedral 's stone work for local projects began . Many artists visited Elgin to sketch the ruins , and it is from their work that the slow but continuing <unk> can be observed . By the closing years of the 18th century , travellers to Elgin began to visit the ruin , and pamphlets giving the history of the cathedral were prepared for those early tourists . In 1773 Samuel Johnson recorded , " a paper was put into our hands , which deduced from sufficient authorities the history of this venerable ruin . " 
 Since the abolition of bishops within the Scottish Church in 1689 , ownership of the abandoned cathedral fell to the crown , but no attempt to halt the decline of the building took place . <unk> the necessity to <unk> the structure , the Elgin Town Council initiated the reconstruction of the perimeter wall in 1809 and cleared debris from the surrounding area in about 1815 . The Lord Provost of Elgin petitioned the King 's <unk> for assistance to build a new roof for the chapterhouse and in 1824 , £ 121 was provided to the architect Robert Reid for its construction . Reid was significant in the development of a conservation policy for historical buildings in Scotland and was to become the first Head of the Scottish Office of Works ( <unk> ) in 1827 . It was probably during his tenure at the <unk> that the supporting buttresses to the choir and transept walls were built . 
 In 1824 John Shanks , an Elgin <unk> and an important figure in the conservation of the cathedral , started his work . <unk> by local gentleman Isaac <unk> , Shanks cleared the grounds of centuries of rubbish dumping and rubble . Shanks was officially appointed the site 's Keeper and <unk> in 1826 . Although his work was highly valued at the time and brought the cathedral back into public focus , his <unk> clearance work may have resulted in much valuable evidence of the cathedral 's history being lost . He died on 14 April 1841 , aged 82 . A fortnight later , the Inverness Courier published a commemorative piece on Shanks , calling him the " <unk> or <unk> of Elgin Cathedral " , and writing : 
 Some minor works took place during the remainder of the 19th century and continued into the early 20th century . During the 1930s further maintenance work ensued that included a new roof to protect the vaulted ceiling of the south choir aisle . From 1960 onwards the crumbling sandstone blocks were replaced and new windows were fitted in the chapterhouse , which was re @-@ <unk> to preserve its vaulted ceiling . From 1988 to 2000 , the two western towers were substantially overhauled with a viewing platform provided at the top of the north tower . 
 
 = = Building phases = = 
 
 
 = = = Construction 1224 – 1270 = = = 
 
 The first church was markedly cruciform in shape and smaller than the present floor plan . This early structure had a choir without aisles and more truncated , and a nave with only a single aisle on its north and south sides ( Fig . 4 ) . The central tower rose above the crossing between the north and south transepts and may have held bells in its upper storey . The north wall of the choir is the earliest extant structure , dating to the years immediately after the church 's 1224 foundation ; the clerestory windows on top of it are from the later post @-@ 1270 reconstruction . This wall has blocked up windows extending to a low level above ground , indicating that it was an external wall and proving that the eastern limb then had no aisle ( Fig . 5 ) . 
 The south transept 's southern wall is nearly complete , displaying the fine workmanship of the first phase . It shows the Gothic pointed arch style in the windows that first appeared in France in the mid @-@ 12th century and was apparent in England around 1170 , but hardly appeared in Scotland until the early 13th century . It also shows the round early Norman window design that continued to be used in Scotland during the entire Gothic period ( Fig . 6 ) . The windows and the <unk> are of finely cut ashlar sandstone . A doorway in the south @-@ west portion of the wall has large <unk> and has a pointed oval window placed above it . <unk> to the doorway are two lancet @-@ arched windows that are topped at the clerestory level with three round @-@ headed windows . The north transept has much less of its structure preserved , but much of what does remain , taken together with a study by John <unk> in 1693 , shows that it was similar to the south transept , except that the north transept had no external door and featured a stone turret containing a staircase . 
 The west front has two 13th century <unk> towers 27 @.@ 4 metres ( 90 ft ) high that were originally topped with wooden <unk> covered in protective lead . Although the difference between the construction of the base course and the transepts suggests that the towers were not part of the initial design , it is likely that the building process was not so far advanced that the masons could fully integrate the nave and towers into each other ( Fig . 7 ) . 
 
 = = = <unk> and re @-@ construction after 1270 = = = 
 
 After the fire of 1270 , a programme of reconstruction was launched , with repairs and a major enlargement . Outer aisles were added to the nave , the eastern wing comprising the choir and presbytery was doubled in length and had aisles provided on its north and south sides , and the octagonal chapterhouse was built off the new north choir aisle ( <unk> . 8 & 9 ) . The new northern and southern aisles ran the length of the choir , past the first bay of the presbytery , and contained <unk> and chest tombs . The south aisle of the choir contained the tomb of bishop John of Winchester , suggesting a completion date for the reconstructed aisle between 1435 and <unk> ( Fig . 10 ) . Chapels were added to the new outer aisles of the nave and were partitioned from each other with wooden screens . The first bay at the west end of each of these aisles and adjacent to the western towers did not contain a chapel but instead had an access door for the laity . 
 In June 1390 , Alexander Stewart , Robert III 's brother , burned the cathedral , manses and burgh of Elgin . This fire was very destructive , requiring the central tower to be completely rebuilt along with the principal arcades of the nave . The entire western gable between the towers was reconstructed and the main west doorway and chapterhouse were <unk> . The internal stonework of the entrance is late 14th or early 15th century and is <unk> carved with branches , vines , <unk> and oak leaves . A large pointed arch opening in the gable immediately above the main door contained a series of windows , the uppermost of which was a circular or rose window dating from between 1422 and 1435 . Just above it can be seen three coats of arms : on the right is that of the bishopric of Moray , in the middle are the Royal Arms of Scotland , and on the left is the <unk> shield of Bishop Columba Dunbar ( Fig . 11 ) . The walls of the nave are now very low or even at foundation level , except one section in the south wall which is near its original height . This section has windows that appear to have been built in the 15th century to replace the 13th century openings : they may have been constructed following the 1390 attack ( Fig . 12 ) . Nothing of the elevated structure of the nave remains , but its appearance can be deduced from the scarring seen where it attached to the eastern walls of the towers . Nothing of the crossing now remains following the collapse of the central tower in <unk> . Elgin Cathedral is unique in Scotland in having an English style octagonal chapterhouse and French influenced double aisles along each side of the nave ; in England , only Chichester Cathedral has similar aisles . The chapterhouse , which had been attached to the choir through a short vaulted vestry , required substantial modifications and was now provided with a vaulted roof supported by a single pillar ( <unk> . 13 & 14 ) . The chapterhouse measures 10 @.@ 3 metres ( 34 ft ) high at its apex and 11 @.@ 3 metres ( 37 ft ) from wall to opposite wall ; it was substantially rebuilt by Bishop Andrew Stewart ( <unk> – 1501 ) , whose coat of arms is placed on the central pillar . Bishop Andrew was the half @-@ brother of King James II . The delay to the completion of these repairs until this bishop 's <unk> demonstrates the extent of the damage from the 1390 attack . 
 
 = = = 19th and 20th century <unk> = = = 
 
 In 1847 – 8 several of the old houses associated with the cathedral on the west side were demolished , and some minor changes were made to the boundary wall . Structural reinforcement of the ruin and some reconstruction work began in the early 20th century , including restoration of the east gable rose window in 1904 and the replacement of the missing form pieces , <unk> , and decorative ribs in the window in the north @-@ east wall of the chapterhouse ( Fig . 15 ) . By 1913 , <unk> the walls and additional waterproofing of the wall tops were completed . In 1924 the ground level was lowered and the 17th century tomb of the Earl of <unk> was <unk> . Further repairs and restoration ensued during the 1930s , including the partial <unk> of some 19th century <unk> ( Fig . 16 ) , the reconstruction of sections of the nave piers using recovered pieces ( Fig . 17 ) , and the addition of external roofing to the vault in the south choir in 1939 ( Fig . 18 ) . From 1960 to 2000 , masons restored the cathedral 's crumbling stonework ( Fig . 19 ) and between 1976 and 1988 , the window tracery of the chapterhouse was gradually replaced , and its re @-@ roofing was completed ( Fig . 20 ) . <unk> , glazing , and a new roof were added to the south @-@ west tower between 1988 and 1998 and comparable restoration work was completed on the north @-@ west tower between 1998 and 2000 ( Fig . 21 ) . 
 
 = = <unk> = = 
 
 Andreas de Moravia – buried in the south side of the choir under a large blue marble stone 
 David de Moravia – buried in the choir 
 William de Spynie – buried in the choir 
 Andrew Stewart ( d . 1501 ) 
 Alexander Gordon , 1st Earl of <unk> 
 Columba de Dunbar ( c . <unk> – 1435 ) was Bishop of Moray from 1422 until his death 
 
 = = <unk> figures = = 
 
 
 