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Exterior - Glencairn Aisle
St. Maurs-Glencairn Church - Kilmaurs,
Scotland |
Glencairn Aisle Windows |
Glencairn Aisle Project
Join
CCUSA in restoring a piece of Cunningham history!
The
Board and Officers of CCUSA are very excited to announce that we have entered
into a partnership with the St. Maurs-Glencairn Church and the Kilmaurs,
Scotland community to restore the windows of the Glencairn Aisle. We hope to
see this project completed as soon as possible so that future generations of
Cunninghams as well as the Kilmaurs community can enjoy seeing the aisle as it
originally was when the Earl and his relatives were laid to rest.
Just
What Is The Glencairn Aisle?
The
Glencairn Aisle is the tomb containing several generations of Earls of
Glencairn, the Chiefs of Clan Cunningham, and is located in Kilmaurs,
Ayrshire, Scotland. It is attached to the St. Maurs-Glencairn Church but is
centuries older than the more modern building which dates to 1888.
At one
time it was thought that William Cunningham, the 9th Earl, built the Aisle as
a memorial to his father. Another misconception was that Alexander Cunningham,
the 5th Earl, began the Aisle before his death in 1574. However, it is now
known that James Cunningham, the 7th Earl, commissioned the Aisle and it was
completed in 1600. It is not known how many generations of Cunninghams prior
to James are buried in the crypt but when the crypt was opened in 1870 for
renovations and repairs, 15 complete skulls and portions of 5 more were
positively identified. A monument in the Aisle is dedicated to James, his wife
and his children.
What Is The
Present Condition Of The Aisle?
The
Aisle has seen good and bad days in its 407 year life. In 1793 and again in
1846, major repairs were made to the Aisle's structure including rebuilding
the roof which had fallen in. When the current church building was built on
the foundations of the prior church, the Aisle went through its most recent
renovation and the monument was repaired.
Today
the Aisle is actually in good structural condition however the four small
windows are boarded over due to vandalism and no longer allow light into the
tomb. It is the restoration of these windows back to their original glory that
we wish to call the Glencairn Aisle Project.
What is the
Glencairn Aisle Project?
The
project itself is to restore the four small (1 foot by 2 foot) windows that
are presently covered with plywood due to vandalism some time ago. Originally,
the windows were diamond-shaped stained glass but now, only the lead which
held the glass remains.
We have
contacted the Glencairn Studio in Kilmaurs, a well respected manufacturer and
restorer of stained glass windows, to do the repairs and create replacement
windows which will also include a protective screen to prevent any future
damage.
The
entire project will cost about $4,000 (US Funds) and will come from donations
from clan members, residents of Kilmaurs, and members of the St.
Maurs-Glencairn Church. With
this announcement, we are making an appeal to all Cunninghams for donations.
Please
consider sending what you can as we are moving ahead with what we believe to
be a very noble project to honor our former chiefs. You may donate by
credit card (using one of several PayPal options) or send a personal check for
any amount. Contribution information is as follows:
Check Contributions
(Make check out to "Clan Cunningham USA", designate it for "Glencairn Aisle"
and mail to:
Margie
Cheatham
Treasurer, Clan Cunningham USA
220
Oyster Bay Lane
Wilmington, NC 28409
Credit
Card Payments Through PayPal
The
amounts shown below are our most popular contribution amounts; however, a gift
of any amount is most sincerely appreciated. If you wish to give a different
amount than what is offered through PayPal, simply send a check for that
amount to our
Treasurer, Margie Cheatham, at the address listed above.
