Dornoch Cathedral, Sutherland
Address
Dornoch Cathedral, High Street, Dornoch, IV25 3SJOverview
The cathedral was founded by St Gilbert, the last pre-Reformation Scotsman to be canonised. The cathedral has a wide range of stained glass windows from both Scottish and English studios, including an east window by Christopher Whall (1913). Recent additions include fine contemporary windows from Alison Kinnaird (The Praise window, 2005 and ‘Let all creation dance’, 2014)
Highlight
Bishop Gilbert window in the south wallArtist, maker and date
Designed by Crear McCartney and made at Pluscarden Abbey, 1989Reason for highlighting
McCartney’s work at Dornoch is considered to be amongst his finest. This particular window was commissioned for the 750th anniversary of the cathedral and consecrated in the presence of the Prince of Wales. It is composed around the figure of St Gilbert as he crossed the Moray Firth to build his cathedral at Dornoch and is full of symbolism and detail.
Artist/maker notes
Robert John Crear McCartney (1931-2016). McCartney’s career was set by a visit to Chartres Cathedral where he saw the stunning ‘La Belle Verrière’. He returned to Glasgow determined to study stained glass, and instigated the creation of a course at the Glasgow School of Art. After time as manager of the Stained Glass Studio at Pluscarden Priory and teaching, he became a freelance artist in 1988.
Sources:
200 Scottish Stained Glass Artists by Rona H Moody in The Journal of Stained Glass, Scotland Issue, Volume XXX, 2006
Allison Robertson’s obituary of Crear McCartney in The Scottish Herald
Pluscarden Abbey
A stained glass workshop was established when the Priory was rebuilt after the World War II and lasted into the 1990s. Artists that worked there included Sadie McLellan and Crear McCartney.
Comments by
Iain Galbraith and Peter Hildebrand