Mystery carvings came from dismantled royal church

For decades, Daren Frankish wanted to cognize the communicative of the past chromatic carvings connected the partition of his Edinburgh workshop.

The lawnmower store proprietor tried looking for accusation successful books and consulted radical connected to spiritual orders without immoderate clues.

But aft helium contacted BBC Scotland, we spoke to a scope of experts who person been capable to lick the mystery.

Dr Lizzie Swarbrick, an adept successful Medieval Scottish creation and architecture, said galore of the carvings came from the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity successful Edinburgh.

It was regarded arsenic 1 of the finest buildings from precocious medieval Scotland but was dismantled to marque mode for Waverley railway presumption successful 1848.

The religion was aboriginal rebuilt elsewhere but galore of the stones "went missing" portion arguments raged astir where.

The religion was built for Queen Mary of Guelders successful 1463 successful representation of her husband, King James II who had been killed by an exploding cannon erstwhile inspecting his caller artillery astatine Roxburgh Castle.

When the religion was dismantled to marque mode for Edinburgh's main railway presumption each the stones were numbered and stored successful a immense heap connected adjacent Calton Hill.

It took much than 20 years for disputes betwixt religion leaders and assembly officials implicit wherever the religion should beryllium rebuilt to beryllium resolved.

By the clip reconstruction of the religion began successful 1872, lone a 3rd of the stones remained. It was lone imaginable to implicit the apse, choir and transepts.

Dr Swarbrick was capable to corroborate that immoderate of the stones ended up successful the partition of what is present Mr Frankish's store successful the city's Springvalley Gardens.

The medieval adept said: "When I saw photographs of these carvings it acceptable my bosom racing due to the fact that it is different portion of the puzzle from the Church of the Holy Trinity.

"It is truly chill to find them.

"The Holy Trinity is 1 of the finest buildings from precocious medieval Scotland, truthful to present cognize determination are chunks of it successful this partition is beauteous and precise exciting."

Dr Swarbrick said the religion erstwhile stood connected the spot present occupied by level 1 of Edinburgh Waverley railway station.

It was rebuilt successful Chalmers Close connected the newly-formed Jeffrey Street, overlooking the archetypal site.

She said the gathering had assorted uses implicit the years but was seldom unfastened to the public.

"Many people, adjacent Edinburgh residents, don't realise that Scotland's finest precocious medieval church, the instauration of a Queen, lies conscionable down an alley disconnected the Royal Mile."

The religion was built of section sandstone from a adjacent quarry and was created successful the decorated English Gothic style.

Water was discharged from the extortion via gargoyles which were said to crouch successful agony nether the value of their load.

Dr Swarbrick said immoderate of the decorations wrong the religion were rather unusual.

Mr Frankish, 52, who owns Lawnmower Services, said helium was blessed to amusement radical the carvings astatine his shop.

He said: "I've spent 35 years trying to find retired what these carvings are and wherever they are from.

"So to yet find retired is precise exciting. To deliberation they are much than 550 years aged has taken my enactment away.

"The communicative astir the religion wherever they came from is truthful absorbing and to perceive astir the royal transportation is conscionable brilliant.

"I'm precise relieved to yet observe what they are."

A spokesperson for Historic Environment Scotland said fragments could person been removed from the stones of Holy Trinity successful the precocious 19th oregon aboriginal 20th Century.

Adam Cumming, chap of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland specialising successful medieval religion archaeology, said the store partition had been assembled from recycled stone.

"People person picked up beauteous bits from Calton Hill wherever the pieces of the Holy Trinity were stored.

"It is the crushed wherefore the apse (in the rebuilt church) is smaller."

It is thought that the carvings which came from Holy Trinity see a angiosperm and 2 gable ends.

Another carving of an upside down horseshoe is thought to beryllium from a aboriginal period.

Historian Eric Melvin, who lives successful the Morningside area, said determination were 2 imaginable possible section sources for the chromatic which had not travel from the Holy Trinity.

These were St Roques Chapel, which stood successful the grounds of the adjacent Astley Ainslie Hospital, oregon the Convent of St Catherine of Sienna, astatine St Catherine's Place.

He said they were some destroyed successful 1559 by a mob.