
George IV farthing
George IV (1820-30) farthing, 1823.
This coin was found at Lincluden Abbey and offers an example of copper coinage issued under the reign of King George IV. The obverse design features the robed and laureate bust of the king. Helmed Britannia is seated on the reverse, holding a trident and an olive branch against a shield. The inscription on the obverse reads 'GEORGIUS IIII DEI GRATIA'. The Latin translates as:' George IV by the grace of God'. On the reverse, the legend quotes 'BRITANNIAR: REX FID: DEF:’ which means ' King of Britain and Defensor of the Faith’. George IV ascended to the throne in 1820, after his father's death, George III. Prior to accession, George IV served as Prince Regent from 1811 until 1820, due to his father's ill health. Dubbed the first gentleman of England, he was disliked by the general population for his extravagance and lack of leadership during the Napoleonic wars. He was a patron of the arts, with a predilection for paintings, furniture and architecture. The first George IV farthing was minted in 1821 and the last in 1830. Dates not minted, 1820, 1824.
Lincluden Collegiate Church
Nunnery to church
Lincluden was founded as a Benedictine nunnery in the 1160s, probably by Uchtred, son of Fergus, Lord of Galloway.
A petition to the pope to have the nunnery replaced by a college in 1389 hints at moral and physical decay at the convent. Buildings had apparently fallen into disrepair, while the nuns are said to have used the nunnery’s revenues to dress their daughters “born in incest” in fine clothes.
That petition, by Archibald ‘the Grim’, Lord of Galloway, was successful. He expelled the nuns and replaced them with a provost, eight priests and 24 bedesmen. They were to pray for the souls of Archibald, his family and descendants.
Finely built
The church was built for Archibald in around 1400 by the Frenchman John Morrow, one of the finest master masons in Scotland. The choir and part of the nave survives today. There is also a later domestic range to the north.
The choir, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Scotland, features:
- a stone pulpitum, or screen, separating the choir from nave. This is decorated with alternating angels and cherubs, and scenes from the life of Christ
- the sedilia, or seating for the priests officiating at mass
- a piscine, or stone basin for washing communion vessels, on the south wall
In the north wall is the monumental tomb for Archibald’s wife Princess Margaret, Lady of Galloway, who died in 1450.
Morrow hints at his involvement in Lincluden in an inscription at Melrose Abbey. This states he also ‘had in kepyng al mason werk … of Nyddysdayl and of Galway [Galloway]’.
After the Reformation
The church survived the Protestant Reformation of 1560, though the last mass was celebrated in the 1580s. The last provost left about 1590, when ownership passed to the Maxwells of Terregles. They converted the collegiate church’s domestic ranges into a mansion house, which was abandoned by the late 1600s.
Details
- Date Made
- 1823
- Dimensions
- 2 x 22mm
- Time Period
- 19th century, Modern
- Property Information
- Lincluden Collegiate Church
- Object Number
- E6007
- Access Status
- Storage