Ravenstruther No. 1 / Carstairs

An entry by Ed Archer in the Miscellany of the LADAS (Lanark and District Archaeological Society) [cf. www.btinternet.com/~ian.borthwick/LADAS/act/misc.html] describes and illustrates the basin of a baptismal font found by a friend of the author, a Colin McAllister, in a demolition site at Ravenstruther [approximately 3 km SW of Carstairs] on February 1, 2001. The basin appears octagonal with ornamented vertical basin panels; the motifs are described by Archer as "the Scottish saltire, the scallop shell of St James of Compostella, a fleur de lys and a lion rampant. Archer gives the date as "possibly 15th/16th century" and the probable origin as "the parish church of Carstairs. The old parish church was demolished at the time of the First Statistical Account-1790." A number of other early objects were reported found in the area, including a possible holy-water stoup [cf. Index entry for Ravenstruther No. 2]