COXTON. NOT one fragment of history has been preserved relating to the small but picturesque tower delineated in the two accompanying illustrations; and so little attention does it seem to have excited, that it is not even mentioned in any of the numerous descriptions of Scotland, although it stands out a conspicuous object in the landscape near the great north road from Aberdeen to Inverness, and is little more than two miles distant from the town of Elgin. There is, however, little reason to be surprised in this instance; for the rugged buildings of the north of Britain, instead of having been watched over or preserved, were, until recently, too frequently only so many stone quarries and stores of ready prepared timber to their proprietors, and even to strangers. But notwithstanding the neglect of history, and the want of the "long pedigree," we do not fear any lack of interest for our few remarks on Coxton. For our own part we are not sorry that this building has hitherto escaped notice; had it been otherwise, we might not, perhaps, have been the first to draw attention to the existence of one entire baronial remain in Scotland, or enjoyed the pleasure of delineating one building of a most interesting class, which the hand of man has not robbed of anything belonging to the original design. The ancient fortified house we are considering wants, certainly, the walled courtyard which formerly enclosed the two of its sides upon which small and heavily-barred windows appear; but it is otherwise perfect, and possesses peculiarities entirely its own. In general effect, Coxton resembles many Border towers, having the lower room or vault for sheltering, or rather securing, the owner's cattle against marauders, and above this the dwellinghouse of the laird, comprising the scanty accommodation of three rooms and several small closets, the latter being within the substance of the walls. To the lower dwelling-room there was no access from without, save by means of a ladder; and what is still more singular, there is no appearance on the exterior of any means of access to the upper rooms, although there is a circular newelled stair within the substance of the wall, in the angle between the covered turrets shown in the accompanying wood-engraving. The sides represented in our larger plate, which were formerly protected by the walled court, have rather a cheerful expression; and the pretty hollow corbelled and cabled open turret, from whence a parley might be held, has a character perfectly unique. But the opposite angles (shown on the following page) are sufficiently dismal, and were rather to be avoided by the stranger in former times, for not a window or opening appears in the walls, excepting so many port-holes for arrows or musketry. In many of the old Border towers and larger castles we have vaulted rooms; and indeed, in general, all the apartments on the ground-floors of this class of buildings are vaulted. Sometimes the upper room is also arched, and there is one instance (at Burgie †) where the two upper stories are by this means protected from combustion. But Coxton is entirely fire-proof; and excepting its two external doors, which are backed by massive gates of cross-barred iron, no wood whatever is used in the whole building. Neither is there a slate, for the whole roof is stone, forming on the exterior a sloping line, and internally a high-pitched pointed arch. The same fire-proof construction is applied even to the covered turrets at the angles. * An external stone stair has recently been erected. COXTON, 1-2. + A view of this tower has already appeared in this Work. |