Skelmorlie Aisle, Renaissance burial vault in Largs, Scotland
Skelmorlie Aisle is a two-story building attached to Largs Parish Church, featuring a Renaissance stone burial monument on the upper level and a vault for lead coffins below. The upper chamber contains ornate carvings and detailed artwork throughout both levels.
Construction took place in 1636 as an addition to the parish church, and it survived when the main building was torn down in 1802. This allowed the aisle to remain standing as an independent structure.
The painted ceiling shows biblical scenes and zodiac signs created in 1638 by J Stalker. These images reveal how people in seventeenth-century Largs lived and what they believed in.
You can visit on Thursday through Sunday between 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM from April through September by going through Largs Museum. The museum staff can guide you to the aisle and answer questions about what you see.
The interior features a painted barrel vault ceiling decorated with detailed Renaissance artwork created by a skilled craftsman. Few examples of such elaborate interior decoration survive from this era in Scotland.
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