 At some point the cathedral grounds had become the burial ground for Elgin . The town council arranged for the boundary wall to be repaired in 1685 but significantly , the council ordered that the stones from the cathedral should not be used for that purpose . Although the building was becoming increasingly unstable the chapterhouse continued to be used for meetings of the Incorporated Trades from <unk> to 1676 and then again from 1701 to around <unk> . No attempt was made to <unk> the structure and on Easter Sunday <unk> the central tower gave way , demolishing the nave . Following this collapse , the " quarrying " of the cathedral 's stone work for local projects began . Many artists visited Elgin to sketch the ruins , and it is from their work that the slow but continuing <unk> can be observed . By the closing years of the 18th century , travellers to Elgin began to visit the ruin , and pamphlets giving the history of the cathedral were prepared for those early tourists . In 1773 Samuel Johnson recorded , " a paper was put into our hands , which deduced from sufficient authorities the history of this venerable ruin . " 
