Cathedral Square, Dunblane Cathedral (Cathedral Church of St Blaan and St Laurence including churchyard, boundary wall and Riccarton's stile) excluding scheduled monument number SM90109

Dunblane Cathedral is a major 13th-century cathedral church, primarily built in the mid to late 13th century, with a mid-12th-century Romanesque tower and later medieval additions. The building was comprehensively restored in 1889 by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson. The cathedral comprises an eight-bay aisled nave with a square-plan Romanesque tower (with later Gothic upper storeys) topped by a short octagonal spire on the south side, and a lower Lady Chapel (originally the chapter house) projecting north of the choir. The structure is built of coursed dressed yellow sandstone with red sandstone to the tower and ashlar dressings. It features a moulded tiered base course, with a plain base course to the tower, and cill bands at lower levels to the choir, nave and aisles. There are bracketed eaves bands, a parapet to the choir, and coped gables throughout.

The cathedral is largely of early Gothic (First Pointed) design with some later alterations. Externally, bays are divided by shallow buttresses: those to the clerestory of the nave and north side of the choir are gableted at their apex, while those on the south side of the choir are surmounted by plain tapered pinnacles. Windows are largely Gothic pointed-arched with hoodmoulds and splayed reveals.

The tower is of six stages, projecting to the right of centre of the south aisle. Each stage is marked by a band course, with a parapet and angle bartisans at the apex. The first stage has a narrow round-arched window to the centre of the south and west elevations, with a narrow rectangular window to each of the outer faces (south, west and east) in the second stage. A slightly larger round-arched window, divided into two round-arched lights by a central shaft with plain capital and base, appears on each face above. The upper two storeys were added around 1500 and feature Y-traceried bipartite windows to each face of each of the upper two storeys (except possibly the north side of the lower storey), with those in the lower stage obscured by later clock faces. The coat of arms of Bishop James Chisholm appears on the parapet.

The nave is of eight bays with lean-to aisle roofs projecting the full length on either side. Generally, each bay of the aisle has a single round-arched mullioned quadripartite window with pointed plate tracery lights, and a pair of smaller pointed-arched windows to the clerestory above, some with transitional plate/bar tracery. At the east end of each aisle, a large transitional plate/bar-traceried gabled window breaks the eaves, creating a transept-like appearance; the south window is more sophisticated with clustered shafts forming the mullions. Two bays on the outer right of the north aisle have large plain replacement mullioned segmental-headed tripartite windows. The third and fourth bays from the right on the south side are occupied by the tower at aisle level.

Entrances are located in the penultimate bay from the right on the south elevation and the third bay from the right on the north elevation; each has moulded Gothic archways with flanking nook-shafts set diagonally and late 19th-century two-leaf boarded timber doors with strap hinges. A smaller pointed-arched entrance, surmounted at aisle level by a small round-arched bipartite window, is in the penultimate bay from the left on the south side. A pointed-arched mullioned bipartite window is on the right return of the south aisle (the north aisle adjoins the Lady Chapel).

The choir is of six bays. On the north elevation, the Lady Chapel projects five bays to the right as a continuation of the nave aisle, with a segmental-headed/pointed-arched mullioned tripartite window to each bay (the arch of those in the outer flanking bays being more steeply pitched). There are pairs of small lancet windows above in two bays on the outer left and the penultimate bay to the right. A slightly projecting stack breaks the eaves, incorporating a two-tier gableted buttress between two bays on the outer right; it has three octagonal panelled upper storeys. The outer flanking buttresses are wider; that to the right (adjoining the nave aisle) incorporates a small lancet window. A round-arched mullioned tripartite window appears on the left return, with an irregular pointed-arched mullioned tripartite above. At clerestory level to the main body of the choir, there is a pointed-arched mullioned tripartite set back in each bay. The outer left bay has a tall window with geometric bar tracery (15th century with late 19th-century tracery).

On the south elevation, each bay has a tall window with geometric bar tracery (15th century with late 19th-century tracery). The dividing buttresses are surmounted by plain pinnacles (around 1500 and bearing the crest of Bishop Chisholm).

At the east end, there is a large central window with geometric bar tracery and clustered shafts forming the mullions (15th century with late 19th-century tracery), flanked by narrow lights. Projecting eaves-level buttresses on either side are flanked by buttresses at right angles, surmounted by tall 15th-century pinnacles with spire-like caps. A cross finial tops the gable.

The west end features a central pointed-arched entrance with deep splayed reveals and a late 19th-century two-leaf boarded timber door with elaborate strap hinges. Flanking blind pointed arches each have trefoiled heads and are supported on carved shafts. Above is an arcade of three tall pointed-arched windows, each with transitional tracery. A vesica with reveal carved with foliage appears in the gablehead, with a cross finial. Flanking eaves-height buttresses to the nave include that to the left forming part of a square-plan stair tower with a pyramid roof. The end walls of the aisles are set back on either side, both with shallow gables.

The roofs are of grey slate. Windows are fixed leaded lights, most of the larger ones with stained glass. Cast-iron downpipes and hoppers probably date from the late 19th-century restoration.

Internally, the cathedral retains some early fixtures and monuments and much fine stained glass and woodwork of late 19th and early 20th-century date. The aisle and choir have vaulted timber roofs (both originally timber-roofed); that to the nave dates from 1893 during the restoration of the cathedral and is decorated with bosses representing coats of arms of the cathedral's feudal patrons. The Lady Chapel has stone vaulting in the form of a series of five groin vaults with bosses carved with foliage. There is a stone pointed ribbed barrel vault at the base of the tower.

In the choir, there is a timber choir screen by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson from 1889-93. The organ case was adapted to accommodate the 1989 Flentrop organ. The communion table incorporates ogee-headed panels by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson. Some 15th-century choir stalls commissioned by Bishop Ochiltree (1429-47) flank the communion table, with carved misericords including bat, dragon, green man and thistle motifs. An aumbry is in the south wall. A moulded pointed-arched recess with nook shafts in the north wall incorporates a tomb with an effigy of a bishop, thought to be Clement (builder of the cathedral and bishop from 1233-58). The south windows are by Louis Davis; the east window depicting the life of Christ and four Old Testament prophets is by Charles E Kempe.

The Lady Chapel (formerly the chapter house) was converted to a war memorial around 1918. It has timber panelling and stained glass windows by Douglas Strachan and Gordon Webster.

In the nave, bays are divided by piers comprising clustered shafts with bell capitals supporting pointed arches with finely moulded reveals. The clerestory forms an unbroken arcade with windows of similar design to the external ones with transitional plate/bar tracery, but also with clustered piers to the vertical shafts. The octagonal pulpit and sounding board are by Rowand Anderson from 1889-93. There is a large brass pulpit on an octagonal base with lions at the base, probably later 19th century. Pews are by Sir Robert Lorimer. Canopied choir stalls of around 1500 (commissioned by Bishop James Chisholm) flank the west entrance. A carved stone font bearing the date 1879 (in the south-west corner) is by Rowand Anderson. The Great Bell (founded 1612, recast 1660 and 1809) and Lesser Bell (founded 1687, recast 1723) are situated in the north aisle.

The west window depicting the Tree of Jesse from 1906 is by Clayton and Bell of London. The east window of the north aisle, Compassion of Christ from 1968, is by Gordon Webster. The west window of the south aisle, Baptism of Christ from 1926, is by Douglas Strachan; an adjacent window, St George and Hope from 1915, is by Louis Davis; two windows to the left, Departure and Arrival (based on 'Nunc Dimittis') from 1917, are by Louis Davis. Two windows at the east end of the south aisle by Charles E Kempe depict saints or Christ as Good Shepherd. Wrought-iron pendant light fittings date from 1935.

The Clement Chapel is a small chamber with a quadripartite rib vault at the west end of the south aisle, dedicated as a chapel in 1964. It contains a small stained glass window, Bishop Clement by Gordon Webster from 1964, and a brass bas relief, Christ in Majesty by Maxwell Allan from 1964.

Grey slate roofs cover the building. Windows are fixed leaded glass, with larger ones having stained glass. Rainwater goods appear to largely date from the late 19th-century restoration (one of the hoppers dated 1890).

The churchyard is enclosed by a low rubble boundary wall with rounded and ridged coping, largely late 19th century, with some taller sections having slab coping. Riccarton's Stile, a pointed-arched gateway on the east side, dates from 1814 and was designed by William Stirling. The churchyard contains several interesting 18th-century gravestones, including to the Lennox family carved with skull and crossbones and cherub. Various 19th-century cast-iron gravestones are also present. Two lantern standards flank the east end and one is by the south gateway; all comprise ashlar shafts surmounted by cast/wrought-iron posts with lanterns at the apex; that to the south is more elaborate with a cast-iron post, possibly by Lorimer from the early 20th century.

In accordance with Section 1 (4A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997, scheduled monument SM90109 is excluded from the listing and covered by a separate designation record.