Text size 
Nave
What is a nave?
In some medieval monastic churches and cathedrals, such as Whithorn, the western part of the church, known as the nave, served as the parish church for the local population.
This building played a central part in local people’s lives. It was where they
- received the sacraments and
- strove for salvation and entry into heaven.
To the east lay the choir, which was reserved for the canons. The distinction between the two areas was usually marked by beautifully carved and painted stone or wooden screens.
The Reformation, a revolution in religious ideas, brought many changes to worship. The boundary between nave and choir was removed, representing the new belief that men and women could have direct access to God without a priest as intermediary. Across Scotland, the screens were dismantled and often destroyed as part of the Roman Catholic past.
West doorway
| Carved in the Romanesque style, this grand entrance is one of the church’s most striking features. Although the sandstone has endured several hundred years of Scottish weather, the fine detail is still recognisable. The pillars have richly carved capitals and appear to support four arches carved with various designs. However, the doorway doesn’t belong in this location. It is set in a later opening, and the arches have been poorly set into the wall. The decoration on the arches is different, suggesting they may come from two separate medieval doors. The grooves cut into the arch were made for the roof of a seventeenth century porch. |
 |
South-east doorway
The doorway at the eastern end of the nave is really two different archways.
The stonework of the innermost arch was probably carved in the 1200s, while the outer arches are from the 1400s. We know this because of the difference in style and weathering between the two parts.
The outer arch has a decorative pair of angels holding the shield of an early fifteenth century bishop.
North wall
Inside the nave, two window sills can be seen at the top of the north wall. These date from the
 |
medieval period, when the walls were higher and a row of small windows with pointed arches ran the length of the nave. They were needed because the canons' cloister was built against the north wall, but the wall was altered to adapt the nave for use as a parish church. There are also three arched recesses in the north wall. These are probably tomb recesses, and could have held effigies of bishops, priors or other important people. Many effigies in Scottish churches were destroyed during the Reformation. |
These galleries were often inserted into Scottish Presbyterian churches from around 1700 to separate the parish’s landlords from their tenants and tenant farmers below.
East gable
After 1560, the cathedral’s nave was adapted to better suit its use as the town’s parish church.
Part of this work was to build the east gable, to enclose the nave.
A broader line of stonework lies beneath the gable. These stones are the base of a wall known as the pulpitum, which divided the nave from the rest of the cathedral.
In some cathedrals including Glasgow Cathedral these walls survive and are richly decorated with carvings of religious scenes. The arched window is contemporary with the building of the gable.
Western gable
The western gable was entirely rebuilt in the 1700s after the bell tower collapsed.
The gable is angled, probably to avoid the remains of the collapsed tower. Outside the nave, you can see the L-shaped stump of the tower, which was originally built against the doorway of the medieval nave.