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JOURNEY DOWN THE
AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
ARDESTIE AND
CARLUNGIE EARTH HOUSES about 100 A.D.
Ours
is a Parish in which people have lived for a very, very long time. Amongst
the earliest that we know of are the men and women who lived in the earth
houses or Souterrains at Ardestie and Carlungie. An approximate date
would be between the years 50 to 250 A.D. I find it a strangely fascinating experience
to stand in the midst of those great earth passages and try to imagine
what life was like for these people. It would be a hard, tough life,
judged by modern standards. They would live in their wattle huts, going
out to hunt deer and game, growing a little corn and going fishing. At
Ardestie, you can stand in the fish-pond and a shell dump, with crabs,
lobsters and mussels, has been found. It was for their cattle, though, that
they fashioned their stone passages. They were skilled masters in using
local stone. You can stand at the sloping entrance at Carlungie down which
they drove their cattle, you can walk along the narrow curved passage
which was the byre until you come up against the wider end where the
beasts could turn round. You can see the step leading into their workshop
where they prepared and, if it was not too damp, dried their skins and
where too, they made their articles of bone and red pottery, remains of
which have been found. Covered in with local stone slabs, such a building
was far stronger than one above ground for standing up to beasts moving
about.
I
wonder what woman lost her bronze finger-ring or who was the proud owner
of the bead of white glass that have been unearthed. Was it a friendly
trader that had brought the bronze brooch from Belgium or was it taken in
a raid on a foreign boat?
A
rough life. Do we appreciate our “mod-cons”?
and
the fertility of these same fields? From the Carlungie sites, and one is
still to be excavated, look up to the lovely tree-clad Downie Hills.
From
the gently sloping Ardestie site, look out to the beautiful Tay Estuary.
No wonder these people believed in the existence of a Supreme Being.
One
thing, though, that they did not have was the Christian Gospel. And we
have it. That is the great difference between these early people and
ourselves. Give thanks then, to God for “He has shined in our hearts to
give the Light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”.
WDC - 1972
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JOURNEY
DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
THE
LAWS FORT - About 200
A.D.
If the huge stones on the battlements of the Laws Fort could speak, what
stories they could tell you. Listen to them, if you will, as they
describe the straggling line of women and children, roughly and poorly
clad, wending their way up the steep hillside to the Fort for safety. The alarm had gone out: ‘Enemy in sight’.
At once, they left their
dismal wooden dwellings around what is now Drumsturdy Road. Once in the Fort, they
crouched in the ditches, leaning against the stout wooden posts, hoping
the enemy would soon pass by. The men were already in the Fort, standing
in the shelter of the fairly high stone walls, watching and waiting.
A watchman was always there, for one could see for
miles in all, directions from that vantage point.
Careful
not to be seen, these Celtic men kept their eyes on the lower ground amid
the trees at Ardownie. “Look, there they are!” A bright spear glinted
in the sun through the trees. Further along the track, a helmet with its
coloured plume moved through
the leaves like a coloured bird. The officer in charge of the small Roman
patrol - for that is what it
was - was quite aware that he and his men were being watched by these
Celts on the Laws. His trained eye had seen movement against the
sky-line, but he did not intend to engage them. Nothing was to be gained
by attacking them as long as they remained in the strong position of the
Fort. His men had marched that day from the little camp at Kirkbuddo and
they were due back by nightfall. “Forward!” he ordered his men and the
Roman banner with its eagle was carried on. The men in the Fort watched
and waited until it seemed that the Romans had really gone. The all-clear
was given and down the hill ran the men, the women and children, leaving
only the watchman on duty by the hard grey stones of the Laws. If only
these stones could speak, or do they?
And
not too far below them (to the north) in our day, in
Newbigging Church, the people sing of
another Fort in the strong strains of “Eine Feste Burg”: “A safe
stronghold our God is still.”
WDC - 1973
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
The Camus Stone - 1010 A.D.
(another
article)
Up from their long boats drawn up on the shore, up the burns of Barry,
Pitairlie and Monikie, crossing the earth houses, past the Old Downie
motte, up the hill they come, these wild Danish Vikings on one of their
foraging raids. On the hill-top, they meet the strongly positioned barons
and men of the army of the King of Scotland, Malcolm II. In the fierce
fighting, King Camus, the Viking leader is slain. He is buried and laid to
rest. His men flee in disorder. Some run as far as Aberlemno (to
the north-east in Angus). Others
disappear into hiding. Many die. How else can we explain the Viking stone
coffin found at Carlungie?
Someone,
somehow, sometime comes upon the
burial mound and fashions over it what is one of the finest
examples in Angus of a Celtic Cross. Yes, it might have been disturbed in
1630 when various Norse ornaments were taken away by Sir Patrick Maule to
Brechin Castle. Yes, it might have been moved in the 19th Century to allow
the planning of the beautifully straight avenue from Panmure House to the
Testimonial, but still it stands for all to admire.
When
the 1000th Anniversary of the death of Camus comes round in 2010, the Camus
Stone will probably still be there. I wonder if the babies, the toddlers,
the children of our Parish today will gather for a celebration there,
maybe on 9th June, St. Columba’s Day, that great saint of the Celtic
Church.
But
go yourself one day this June. You’ll hear the moan of the doves; the
distant call of the cuckoo will reach your ears. In the peace and serenity
of this spot, the craftsman of the Celtic Church, cutting out in the hard
stone with poor tools, yet with consummate skill, his men, his flowers,
his bow and arrow and his horse will come alive to you. Look up from his
Celtic Cross, from the soft earth, through the great trees to the blue sky
and hear him sing in the words of his beloved Columba, the message of Christ that has served Monikie for 1000
years:
-
Christ
is the world’s Redeemer,
The
lover of the pure,
The
fount of heavenly wisdom,
Our
trust and hope secure;
The armour of his soldiers
The
Lord of earth and sky:
Our health while we are living,
Our life when we shall die.
WDC
- 1973
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JOURNEY
DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
AFFLECK
CASTLE; an Unfinished Tale for
Christmas
(Look here for other information, including plans, of Affleck Castle)
The Lady Auchinleck rose from the stone seat by the draughty window and
slowly walked down the Great Hall towards the welcoming fire, blazing in
the beautifully decorated fireplace. This was Affleck, her husband’s
Castle. Cold and chilly it sometimes was, but her husband, the hereditary
bearer to the Earls of Crawford, loved it. At times, at the entrance door
she would look up to the very top to the projection high above, from which
boiling pitch could be poured upon any unwelcome enemy, and a shudder
would run down her spine. She would climb the steep winding stair to the very high open rounds from which arrows could be mercilessly shot against
the approaching foe. Why are men so cruel?
From
one or other of the two watchtowers, with an eager eye, she would take in
all the surrounding countryside, West and North over the rolling moors,
South and East out to sea - she was not to know that at a later date,
sailors would use her Castle as a guide - and looking over the billowing
contours of her native Fife, her spirits would revive.
The
dancing flames were mirrored in her eyes. She was proud of her husband and
his family. With undisguised pride, he had shown her his family burial
ground in the Howff in Dundee. On occasion, she had secreted herself in
the tiny chamber just above this Hall and looked down through the spy-hole
on her husband, enjoying the company of his noble friends.
Warmed
and made happier by the heat of the fire, she turned and made her way to
the tiny oratory or place of prayer set cunningly in the thick walls.
Dipping her fingers in the holy water, in the stone aumbry, and crossing
herself, she knelt before the small altar with its flickering candles, and
prayed. She prayed for the child she was expecting - would he be like his
father and a worthy heir to Auchinleck? - and as the priest of Monikie had bidden her, she prayed for
generations yet unborn.
As
she knelt, it seemed as if in a vision, she witnessed a long unending
procession of those who were to follow her: her immediate descendants and
grandchildren, the Jacobite Reids, Baillie James Yeaman who seemed to be
building a mansion-house, Smith of Smithfield, and John Shiell and many
another, Neish and Fyvie among them, as 400 years sped by.
Then
it seemed as if a great number of boys and girls came running,
helter-skelter towards her, happy and free. She asked them, “Where do
you come from, my dears?” They stopped. “We came from Affleck Gardens,
Lady.” “Affleck, Auchinleck - my husband’s name, still in use.
Deo
Gratias. Thanks be to God!”
She
was found by her husband, still kneeling, but in a faint. That night, soon
after midnight, her baby was born. It was Christmas Day.
WDC
- 1974
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JOURNEY
DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
PITAIRLIE
You can see it every time you pass up
the road from Newbigging to Monikie, that Dovecot on Pitairlie Farm.
What
you don’t see from the modern road (but can be
seen on foot and by further exploration) is the old bridge that in olden days
took the traffic over the notorious Den of Fiends, “Aye, this bridge
will last for ever.” The master mason in 1764 gave his firm opinion.
“It’ll never fall down, however wild the spate and the weather.”
Leading his horse and walking from the newly completed bridge up to the
dovecot, he had the satisfaction of a good job well done. He would be
pleased to know that 190 years later, in European Architecture Year, it is
a “listed” building, one of historical interest and not to be
demolished.
The
masons too, who about 1550 built the dovecot, built better than they knew,
for it is a listed building, although sadly in need of urgent repair
today. (The building has been repaired and is in current use for
agricultural purposes - 2000.) It speaks of days when winter feed for man and beast was
desperately hard to find.
Before
the introduction of turnips in the early 18th Century, there was precious
little food for sheep or cattle, while, for the household there was little
variety and certainly no fresh meat. So what better than pigeon pie?
Pitairlie, like all well-to-do 16th Century families in Scotland, built
their dovecot. At least 150 pigeon nests were provided and down below,
where for long, machinery has been stored, there was the Medieval equivalent of a deep-freeze.
There, with the cool air flowing through,
flesh could be stored.
Although the roof was repaired 36 years ago, the original slates
taken possibly from the quarry further up the Den, are there. It was
probably built adjoining the first House. Traces have been
found. In a
dyke some years ago, a big round stone was discovered and on its under
part was fashioned something like a large scoop for water or rain.
An
old and famous Angus family, the Lindsays kept their pigeons at Pitairlie.
It all began with Sir John Lindsay, son of the Earl of Crawford, for he
held the lands of Pitairlie as part of the thanedom of Downie, but he was
slain at the Battle of Brechin in 1453. In 1542, David Lindsay, who may
have built the present dovecot was a witness to a legal document. His son,
David was Minister of Aberlemno in 1574. Did he come down for his pigeon
pie? They were skilled blacksmiths like John 1589-93. Sentimental too, for
on a stone were the letters, now obliterated, AL_IC_ 1631 _ Alex. Lindsay
and his wife. In 1655, an Alex. Lindsay owned Pitairlie, the Moor of
Downie, Guildy, and the Earl’s Lodgings and St. Nicholas Crag in Dundee.
With that income, he could afford to keep a well-stocked do'cot.
WDC - 1975
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
DOWNIEMILL
Five
centuries ago, when the Lindsays owned the Barony of Downie, there was a
Mill of Downie. There is still one. The deep ravine with the strong
current of the Burn was a natural place to build a Mill where grain could
be threshed and ground.
Go to the strong stone bridge at Downiemill
today. The mark on it is 1854. Before that, there would be a wooden
bridge, many times renewed, leading to the fields and on to Catty Moor,
the name given to the land East of the Newbigging Toll - Ardestie Road.
The
early millers were wealthy men. Examine the l6th century dovecot sturdily
built against the bank above the present farm-house. There, several
hundred pigeons would be reared;
their
dung providing manure, their flesh a welcome change in Winter and Spring
when meat was unobtainable. By the Law of Scotland, only a man who had a
certain value of land could possess a do'cot.
A little
further on, clamber down into the ravine and look up and around at the
remains of the millhouse. From there, David Angus, the miller had many
dealings with the great merchant, George Dempster of Dunnichen whose wife
was a daughter of Monikie Manse, Margaret Rait. Thus, in April 1737, he
sold 2 bolls of wheat to Dempster for W. Thomson for £13.-16s.-5d. After the
harvest of 1738, he watched Dempster’s cart come in with wheat at £6 a
boll. Again, in 1739, Angus sold 1¾ bolls at £7 a boll and in that one
year, received in all, £75.-5s. from Dempster.
For long, the farm
and mill were separate and round them, were several cottages, some of
which can still be seen beside the mill dam. In 1851, Thomas Arklay was a
farmer with five men and two servants. James Fyfe was miller. John Guthrie
occupied one cottage, Isabel Kinnear and her two children another. A
quarry worker occupied the third cottage. There is still a quarry there.
By 1871, the farm had 61¾ acres under Alexander Geekie, while the mill
was run by Andrew Hunter. David Whyte with his family and David Towns
occupied the cottages. The Mill declined this (20th)
century, but the farm
remained.
The
farm of Downiemill has been in the family of the Reids for many years.
Today, William Reid presides over his ancient domain. Ask him to let you
see it and walk in imagination down the centuries.
WDC
- 1981
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
AFFLECK
JACOBITES 1715 : A
True Christmas Story
(other
information, including plans, of Affleck Castle)
It was Christmas Day 1715. Thomas Reid, seated at the table in the large
Banqueting Hall of Affleck Castle, was full of hope, even in those
dangerous times. To his wife, he confided the news that three days before,
the Chevalier (James) had landed at Peterhead.
Most people in Monikie, he was
telling her, were sympathetic to the Jacobite Cause and regarded George I
as a usurper to the throne. James, Earl of Panmure had taken a large
company of Panmure retainers to the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November and
was welcoming the Chevalier in the North. The Minister, Mr. William Rait
openly supported him, calling him James VIII. Had he
not prayed for him as such
in the Kirk: had he not ordered a Fast in November for his safe arrival in
Scotland: had he not asked from the pulpit for provisions for the Jacobite
Camp at Perth and called for volunteers for Panmure’s Army? That very
day, Mr. Rait had ridden across from the Kirkton (of
Monikie) to Affleck (Castle) to celebrate
Communion after the Episcopalian order in the tiny oratory, secretly,
because Government and Presbytery had forbidden him. The Minister had told
Mr. Reid this news.
Reid
knew, of course that they had enemies. He suspected Andrew Kydd, the
Schoolmaster, as well as James Steven at the Kirkton, and old Robert Ramsay
at the Craigton, but he was more concerned with two of his own tenants,
Robert Anderson and Alexander Simmers. [In fact, all these men petitioned
against Mr. Rait to the
Presbytery. As a result, he was deposed in 1716.]
Just
then, the servant girl rushed in: - “Hurry,
Master, I think I see soldiers riding across from Stotfaulds. Hide in the
secret chamber and John will keep them at the door. Madam, let’s hide
these silver plates and cups used by Mr. Rait today.” [Later,
one of those silver cups was gifted to Dundee Kirk Session.] Meantime,
after much knocking, John opened the door and tried to delay the soldiers.
“Where’s
your Master? We have orders to arrest him as a traitor.”
For
answer, the other servants busied themselves by offering food and wine to
the hungry men. By the time they climbed the stair into the castle
Great Hall, it was
empty and so dark that they could see nothing. Apparently satisfied, the
King’s men departed.
As
soon as darkness fell, that short December day, the owner of Affleck
Castle,
heavily disguised, rode off to
find a ship. He escaped to France and exile. Later his wife and children
followed. Little peace that Christmas Day of 1715, but what heartfelt
goodwill would be shown to that quick-witted servant girl.
WDC
- 1981
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
WEAVERS
In the 18th Century, the main cottage industry was weaving, one of the
recognised ‘Trades’. As late as 1842, the Statistical Account states
that out of 300 house-holds in the Monikie Parish, 135 were weavers.
A prosperous
business it was too, as a song puts it:
“We
weaver lads were merry blades when Osnaburgh sell’d weel
An’
when the price of ilka piece did pay a bowl of meal:
Then folk
got sale for beef and veal for cash was rife
wi’
everybodie,
An’ ilka
ale-hoose had the smell o’ roas’en pies an’
reekin’
toddie.”
We
have no means of knowing in detail what particular kind of cloth was made
here: “checks, stripes, Dornicks - linen for table use - scrim birdy-thin
cloth for window-blinds - and damask” amongst them.
‘Osnaburgh’,
a coarse brown linen, began being made at Dunnichen. In 1738, a weaver
offered for sale some sub-standard flax he had made into a web. A merchant
who had been in Germany remarked on its likeness to Osnaburgh fabric and
urged the weaver to attempt more of the same kind. And so it spread
throughout Angus, and was perhaps the commonest made fabric here.
The
busy Craigton had weavers. Old James Murdoch died in 1782 and was
succeeded by his son. Their neighbour, Andrew Guild, also a weaver died in
1740. On the Bankhead Road, you will find Waterhead where young James
Henderson worked as a weaver, sadly dying, victim of the long hours of
work and damp, aged 32, mourned by his wife Anne Gibson.
Going
up the Stotfaulds road today, you will recognise the old 18th Century
smiddy at what was called Loanhead (formerly
Lonehead) of Auchinleck. (Houses
and buildings now converted into a modern dwelling - 2000.) Somewhere nearby, stood
the cottage of well-to-do James Hog, his wife Isobel Toner and their
family of weavers. Its name suggests that the cottage stood at the end or
head of the path between the fields that was used by cattle and where cows
were milked. If you want to see his huge loom, like a four-poster bed with
a frame on which were stretched the long threads of the warp on rollers,
go to the Kirkyard to find it. There he is, the shuttle in his right
hand, the winged angel and the, crown of immortality above him on the 1778
stone, every inch of which suggests prosperity. Yet, no doubt the Hogs
would agree with the thoughts expressed on a stone in Aberlemno dated
1728:
“Tho’
this fine Art with skillful hand
Brings
foreign riches to our land,
Adorns our
Rich and shields our Poor,
From cold
our Bodies doth secure,
Yet neither
Art nor Skill e’er can
Exime
us from the lot of man.”
WDC
- 1978
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
TAILORS
Before
the days of mass-produced clothes, the tailor played a vital rote in the
Parish economy. The fascinating story of the tailor is found in every part
of the Parish, visible to all.
At
Newbigging, the last Tailor’s shop was that of “Fyfie Tailor”.
Just
beside the pavement below the present Shop and part of Laburnum Cottage,
the building is still there. Robert Fyfe, the last tailor died in 1904.
His family had been around for over a century. Every day, he used to cross
the road to feed his hens where Maredda now stands. Sometimes, so it is
told, people found it difficult to pay him and once he brought home a
lively little pig in payment of a suit.
At
the Craigton, the last tailor was George Spalding. His workshop with its
Angus stone slates and a little window, beside the Cuthil’s house, still
stands.
Along
at Monikie village, John Phillip was the tailor. Have a look at the County
Council Cottage (recently occupied by the late Annie
Findlay - 2000) opposite the Mill (Granary,
now derelict). You will see a brick extension. That
was the tailor’s shop just after 1900. Originally, he had a wooden hut
where two tailors and an apprentice worked, cross-legged with their wooden
board. Ironing was done with 12 lb. irons that had to be heated in the
fire, then taken out and placed in their case. When a wedding drew near,
the tailors were extra busy making new suits for the bridegroom and his
friends.
On
one such occasion, the men worked into the early hours in the hut with the
stove burning. At last, they finished and retired, but not for long.
In an
hour, the hut was up in flames. It was after that fire, that the brick
workshop was built.
Mrs.
Ramsay, formerly of Wellbank Post Office, is John Phillip’s daughter.
She
remembers as a girl trudging round the farms in an evening with her father
on his visits to customers to show them a cloth and to measure
them.
The
Phillips left Monikie about 1910 for Wellbank where there was another
family of tailors, the Ramsays. John Phillip had been apprentice to David
Ramsay and they were to be related in marriage.
Going
back a little, it was in 1865 that David Ramsay left Wellbank to settle in
Baldovie Inn (Baldovie Toll Crossroads)
where, in the grounds of its descendant, Miss Cook, his
sturdy stone-built tailor’s shop in traditional Angus style can be
admired.
Earlier
still, in the 18th Century, Monikie tailors were prosperous men. In the
Churchyard, have a look at the large ornate stone of “Robert Wat, who
departed this life, 14th January 1733”. On it are the symbols of the
Honourable Trade of Tailors: the bodkin, the rule, the scissors and the
iron, called by reason of its shape, the ‘Goose’. Read his epitaph: it
is so quaint but true:
“My
glas is run, and yours runneth.
Fear
to sin, for judgment cometh.”
WDC
- 1979
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
WOODHILL
(Photograph of Woodhill Inn)
Woodhill is an old estate on the borders of the
Monikie Parish, down (south) from the
Half-Way Garage on the main Arbroath Road A92
and is a good example of how a
farm was run in the late 18th Century.
In
November 1765, an appraisement of valuation was carried out.
The cappels and lath of the cart-house .............. £1.12s
North end of the roof thatched with straw sewed on... 6s
The Fire-house ...................................... £4. 5s
Four windows ....…….................................. £1. 1s
Stable and three byres .............................. £5. 8s
Three doors for byres and stable .................... 10s
Roof of East barn ................................... 15s
Nails for Lath ...................................... 11s
Two doors ........................................... 7s
Five cupples in West barn and timber ................ £2. 5s
Doors of barn ....................................... 15s
To rope yarn for sewing on roof ..................... 17s
The fire-house, stable, byres all newly built and thatched:
East barn thatched four years ago: £3.10s
West barn wants thatch: ............................. 12s
The North house possessed by Robert Watt: ........... 9s
The house of George Watt and timber: ................ 11s
Thus, the total valuation of the buildings owned by
James Milne, Esq. of Woodhill and
tenanted by Thomas Dick was ....................... £23.14s
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The
Dicks farmed Woodhill for a long time. There is a tack or contract dated
1783 between James Milne Esq. and Thomas Dick. It mentions the toun and
Mains of Woodhill and the North
Toun. The yearly rent was £130 sterling plus 12s. only to the
proprietor but to the Minister at Barry: 10 bolls, 1 firlot, 1 peck and 1
lippie oatmeal and 3 firlots, 3½ lippies wheat. Dick had to preserve the
fruit-trees, and maintain the dykes. The rotation of crops was fixed:
turnip, potato, pease, lint for flax, oats, barley and grass, all are
mentioned. Dick had to send all his girnable corn to the Mill at
Barry. Thus, a discharge of 1790 certifies that all his grain had been duly sent
to the Mill. Witness to it bear common local names: John Ogilvie,
Balhungie, John Patullo and Alexander Greig.
Times
though were financially difficult in Dundee. In 1798, a Thomas Dick
appealed by a Precept to the Magistrates of the Town for payment of sums
due to him by Dundee merchants. Patrick Crichton owed him £105 plus interest: Thomas Wemyss owed him £420. Legal fees were
£1.-5s.-0½d.
As
late as 1818 a Thomas Dick was still at Woodhill. He paid cash for items
which reveal the high standard of living on the farm, perhaps in contrast
to that of the cot-houses:
2 pints Jamaica rum ...…................. 16s 1d
1 pint gin .............................. 9s 6d
1 lb black tea .......................... 7s 6d
8 oz raw sugar .......................... 7s 4d
8 oz loaf sugar ......................... 10s.
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The
Dick family of Woodhill must have been a notable family. Just as modern
farming families are connected one with another through marriage, so they
had relations at both Ardownie and at Whitehouse, Tealing. It must have
been good to know them.
WDC
- 1982
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
A
MARRIAGE IS ARRANGED - 1779
In 1779, Isabel Dick, daughter of John Dick, Whitehouse of Brighty,
Tealing, agreed to marry John Jamieson, Craigmill, Panbride. Before she
could marry him, a contract had to be drawn up. Her father bound himself
to pay 1000 marks as tocher or dowry to her bridegroom. Jamieson agreed to
leave (bequeath) his wife-to-be and her children 2000 marks Scots and the land of
Craigmill, should he die before her. If Isabel died before him and without
children, her estate could claim up to 300 merks from him for debts and
her nearest “inkin” could have “her whole body clothes”. If one or
other died, the child or children were to have 2000 merks Scots.
Isobel,
her father and her intended all signed. Her father got his kinsman, Thomas
Dick of Woodhill to sign as witness, as well as Peter Sturrock, farmer at
the Laws. Perhaps, he rode up from Ardownie where another relative of the
Dicks stayed, to get it. John Aymer, Inchskichen also signed: his kinsman
David Aymer had farmed Lochwyllie, Old Downie and Robert Aymer farmed
Stotfaulds about this time. This document was found at Ardownie.
The
dowry given to Isobel seems a large sum of money, and many a laird, it was
said, in order to get a respectable tocher, had to mortgage his property
and “lived with a wadset-debt upon his mind and house” all his days.
There is no indication however, that Mr. Dick found it too much.
Imagine
then, the happy wedding in Tealing Kirk with the farmers from all around
present - there was a fine of 20 shillings Scots if the wedding was not held in
Church. Let’s hope that John and Isabel Jamieson had many happy years
at Craigmill - so far, nothing more has been found about them.
WDC - 1982
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
FALLAWS
When the sun is shining, it is the bees coming from their nearby hives
that are happiest around the old farmstead of the Fallaws up the Skichen
Road. Yes, rabbits are there and pheasants and plenty of other wildlife,
but only a very few people. It wasn’t always so. The bees once were busy
in what was reckoned to be the loveliest garden in the Parish, and people
came from far and near to the cottage to admire it. Last year, a Doctor
came all the way from London to this tree - surrounded spot to see where his
forebears had been brought up. Today, Fallaws is hidden far up the winding
road where every corner has a surprise in store.
There
must be something about Fallaws, because there you are treading on what
is probably the oldest human habitation in the Parish. On Fallaws was
found a prehistoric Beaker of the type that experts call: CA, seven of
which have been discovered in Scotland. You can see it in the Museum of
Antiquities in Edinburgh, numbered CA 76. A charming piece of workmanship,
it is quite small, about 6 inches high, reddish, brownish pottery with
extraordinary markings of decoration, five sets of horizontal lines of
varying Sizes and in between them, little notches. Many centuries ago,
these primitive people lived and worked there, eking out a bare existence
by hunting, fishing, growing a little grain and maybe keeping a few
animals. Other relics have also been found nearby.
Today,
the old farmhouse, a good example of Angus building with its fine stone
and heavy slates, has over its lintel, the date 1827. Another building has
the initials JW. ED. with the date 1884, and has modern slates.
It
is a strange experience to stand on the ground floor of what was the
Victorian farmhouse and to look round its bare and towering interior for
the floors have been taken away to make of the grand house a large and
commodious barn. High up, you can see the charred place where the fire
used to warm the bedroom and the boarded-up windows from which the
farmer’s family would look over their well-laid out garden through the
trees - to watch the Dundee East (Station) to
Forfar train chugging its way up the
line.
Sometimes,
it would stop and lift them, for although the main exit was by Skichen,
there was no proper road to the Kirkton of Monikie until after the First
World War, when it was built by a squad of unemployed men as “job
creation” work. Another similar scheme was to remove the stones from the
steading and take them by horse and cart to Downiebank for a building
there. That is why today, you can see an odd depression in the midden
behind the buildings.
So
we leave Fallaws to its
memories - and the bees.
WDC
- 1978
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
VOYAGERS and TRAVELLERS
In 1841, David Rae lived at Guildy, one of a group of Army Pensioners who
came to the Parish to end their days. Our country has always had men who
went to the wars, either by force of circumstances or by choice. In the
same year, another ex-soldier lived at the Newton of Affleck. David
McRobbie, a Pensioner of the Duke of Argyll, died of a heart attack at the
Craigton in 1844. Thomas Robertson, 70 years old, died at Guildymuir in
1847. What tales these old soldiers might have told of their hard and
dangerous life. Did William Mitchell, a Navy Pensioner at the Shank of
Omachie fight at the Battle of Trafalgar? He died aged 72 in 1846.
In
February 1806, there was a Collection at the Kirk (£6.-2s.-6d) taken for
the “relief of those who fell in the recent engagement”. No name is
given; perhaps it was Trafalgar, perhaps Austerlitz, shades of the
Napoleonic Wars.
James
Yeaman of the mansion-house of Affleck served with His Majesty’s 63rd
Regiment, dying, aged 47, in 1834. From Affleck House, too, there left
young W.E. Mitchell, proud to join the Royal Navy as an Officer. He rose
quickly and by 1864 was in command of H.M.S. Gunboat Avon on the Maira
River in New Zealand where, at the early age of 27, he was killed in
action. Tragedy followed his brother too, for he died in New South Wales
in 1866, but there is no mention of Army or Navy service.
At
that time, very few people lived in the Parish from outwith Angus, but a
seafaring romance must surely surround the couple that lived about 1851 in
Downiemill Cottage. Thomas Dennison came from Kirkwall, his wife, Elisa, a
Frenchwoman, from the Isle de France.
Far-off
places saw Monikie men, too, who went abroad for business and to lay the
foundations of the British Empire.
Such
a one was James Andrew Ramsey, Earl of Dalhousie who was Governor-General
of India 1847-56 and who received the Punjab into India and whose name
appears in several places and buildings. What lies behind the tale of
George Craig who, in his 26th year, died in 1831 in London on his arrival
from Valparaiso, South America after an absence of 6 years? Spare a thought
too for the Hay family, merchants at the Craigton since at least as early
as 1739. In 1845, they renewed the family stone in the Churchyard and
pathetically inscribed the name of their brother William who went abroad
and “has not been heard of since”.
Around
1825, William Moonlight was Overseer or grieve at Newbigging (Farm), Cunmont
now. The name is said to have originated in Arbroath where a couple one night
found an abandoned infant on their window-sill. They adopted him and not
knowing his real name, gave him the surname of Moonlight, because he was
found at night. Alas, young William Moonlight, his son, aged 22, was
drowned at sea in 1831 (stone). At a later date, in 1876, another Monikie man died at sea:
James Sanderson, Chief Engineer who died on the Red Sea (stone).
Many Monikie people emigrated to Canada, Australia and so on - like
Patrick James MacWattie of Harecairn whose family obelisk states that he
died in Victoria, Australia aged 78.
Sometimes, their descendants come
back to pay homage in the Kirk and
kirkyard and to visit the ancestral
home, often now totally gone, unfortunately. What a mass of unrecorded
stories there must be of nineteenth century voyagers and travellers.
WDC - 1980
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
(33)
PITAIRLIE
QUARRY
Angus stone is famous. Today, trees tastefully hide from the road what
last Century was the centre of a busy thriving industry. Much of Pitairlie
Quarry is overgrown and changed, but there are large tracts of bare stone
and plenty of evidence of past working still to be seen. Work ceased in
1915, the quarry having been in existence for nearly 100 years.
Half-way
down on the eastern side of Pitairlie Brae, stands the handsome house named
'Lismore', built of local stone by
the last owners, the Nairns.
Entering
by the present quarry road, you can see on the left the square office
with its chimney. Next, on the same side, but hidden in trees, the
workshop stood. The ground today is dangerous. The huge base, oil-covered,
for it supported the engine that drove the machinery is, along with the
covered aqueducts for the water, the odd bolts and chains, amongst some of
the relics.
There
was a large boiler and a big wheel for the machinery. Stones were brought
up on a kind of railway and lifted by crane into the long workshop where a
giant saw cut them and the masons dressed them. You can still see stones
with the saw marks on them. Horses then carried the finished article away.
The doorway of Cunmont House has good examples.
Going
further in, you can see on the right, the result of 50 years of quarrying.
Keeping to the left, the Pitairlie Burn is crossed. Formerly it was all
covered in with stonework. Further on are three cottages and stables, all
in ruins. The Sharps were the last family to live there. In
living memory, Bob Gibson, a Dundee architect used to come out with his apprentices for weekends.
In
that delightful setting, sometimes used for rolling Easter eggs, he got a
neat putting green laid out.
The
Quarry was a busy one. In 1868, David Barry employed 50 men. Some of them
lived or lodged in Newbigging. Thus, in 1841, three
quarriers and two masons, George Weir and David Lowson lived there.
Others lived in the Cotton of Pitairlie which
in 1861 had 11 houses. Others lived at Denfind Brae where the Mills and
Findlays are today. One cottage housed a quarry worker and his wife, Fell
by name. They lost a child in
1837. One of their sons emigrated to New Zealand and became a Minister in
Wellington. He never forgot “the rock from whence he was hewn”.
He
renewed the stone in the Churchyard in memory of his father who died aged
81 in 1887, and he left to Monikie Kirk, the bookcase which you can see in
the Vestry, dated 1905.
Have
a look for the 'march stone' on the road from the Quarry to Denhead. On one
side it has a 'D' for Denhead which was on Affleck land: on the other side,
'P'
for Pitairlie which was on Panmure land.
Instead
of becoming a rubbish dump, this unknown spot could be laid out
as a Nature Trail. It would make a lovely one.
WDC - 1982
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
DANGER POINT
For some time now (at the
time of writing), there have been temporary traffic lights on the B961 road near
the Monikie School. The trouble, it appears, is that the banks of the
Monikie Burn are in
danger. Meanwhile for safety’s sake, we have signals at what we call
today ‘The Point’, where the Clarks live. Long ago, it was called
Danger Point. I wonder why. In 1841, the name occurs when Alex Sturrock, a
labourer, Clementine, his wife and their two children lived there. I
suggest that it was called so because of the danger of flooding.
The
construction of the Waterworks around 1850 completely altered the road and
drainage systems. Previous to that date, the area now covered by the
reservoirs was rough, badly drained ground. The old maps, Edward’s of
1678, General Roy’s of 1747 and Ainslie’s of 1794 indicate that the
Monikie Burn flowed on a different course from that of today. The road we
use today from the present Monikie village to the
Monikie School at
Craigton was only built in 1853,
when the North Reservoir Act was passed by Parliament, giving authority to
alter the “road from
Affleck to Craigton Muir”. The turnpike road, built about 1790 came up
from Pitairlie old bridge in a much more direct line than today to the
Kirkton. This catchment area for the Reservoir had plenty of water.
This
is proved too, by the Kirk Session records. In October 1718, l0 shillings was spent
on repairing “the bridge at the Craigton”. Then, a few months later, there is mention of “building two stone
bridges on the Kirk Road”. In other words, in a wet season, the area
could be a marsh and the burn could rise dangerously high. Mr. Neish of
Affleck led the opposition to the waterworks, for his supply would be
affected. That is why the first Bill in 1836 was rejected by Parliament,
but in 1845, the Dundee Water Act was passed, the Company being given
powers “to direct or alter the course or to take the water” of several
streams, including the Monikie Burn.
Thus, after 1850 or so, with the construction
of the Reservoirs, there was no more flooding. As people forgot the
troubles of the past, Danger Point became just The Point. Should it now
get back its former name?
WDC - 1980
(Readers
may wish to refer to the Ordnance Survey website at www.old-maps.co.uk
for maps from the Victorian era. One should look for 'Scotland;
Forfarshire; Monikie' and use the facilities on the webpage to view the
area. The part of Monikie Burn as described above can be seen in its
original position as the North Pond is not shown on the map. The
road referred to in the sentence following can also be seen.)
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
CONSECRATED
HILLTOP
The most unusual burial place in the Parish lies high up on the windswept
moor above the farmhouse of the Shank of Omachie. There are four large
boulders like a pre-historic stone circle. They may well mark the four
points of the compass. They are set in
a colourful mass of many kinds of attractive heaths. A fence on a stone
dyke surrounds the stones, then a ditch, 2-3 feet deep, like a vallum in a
Roman camp. Inscribed on one stone are the words “To the memory of
Frederick D. Sandeman, The Laws, who passed on, the 26th April 1938 and of
his wife Christine Stewart Sandeman who passed on, 27th October 1931, and
of his grandson Frederick Michael Stewart Sandeman, infant son of Colin
and Moyra, who passed on, 3rd December 1959”.
The
Sandemans lived in the beautiful stately mansion of The Laws with its
well-kept grounds and garden, noted for its primulae. Later, the house was
used for wartime purposes, and was then, alas, blown up. Nothing of it now
remains. (In fact, the foundations and a small part
remain
in a derelict condition. Nearby still stands important estate
buildings - 2000.) Mr. Sandeman and his first wife, Christine used to go over to the
Shank in their Bentley or their Rolls cars-
they had both - and walk up on to
the moor. Every day, they enjoyed that and revelled in it.
“Angus
tenants lose beloved laird”. So the 'Courier' described Mr. Sandeman when
he died. Among his business interests was Jute Industries, his father
being the founder of the Manhattan Works and the Stanley Cotton Mill (is
that Stanley, Perthshire? - webmaster.) He
was a Director of the Dundee Royal Infirmary. Caring for his tenants, he was so distressed
when a boy in Drumsturdy road contracted pneumonia and almost died because
there was no nurse nearby, that he donated £500 to start the Newbigging
Nursing Association which still exists (alas, no
longer - 2000). He also built the Nurses Cottage
where (formerly) Nurse Beattie lives. His funeral was in St. Mary’s Episcopal
Church, Broughty Ferry with the Bishop of Brechin officiating. A Memorial
Service was held later at the (former) Hillock Church, farther
east along Drumsturdy Road.
Mrs.
Sandeman was a lady of good works. When Admiral Beatty visited Dundee to
accept the Freedom of the City, he publicly acknowledged her work for
the War when she organised the collection of food and vegetables for the
men of the Fleet. From the Omachie hilltop,
she would see her ships in the Tay Estuary. From there too, she would see her
beloved Laws and so she expressed a desire to be laid to rest in this, her
favourite place. And so it was arranged and a few like Mrs. McGregor of Wellbank will never
forget the dedication by the Bishop of that unique memorial and burial
ground.
It
is one of the vantage points of the Parish. Fife lies before you: the vast
panorama of Dundee to
the East, and
Westwards opens up in front of you and the rolling farm-lands of Monikie
Parish dance with colour and joy and life below you.
WDC
- 1979
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JOURNEY
DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE MONIKIE PARISH
NEWBIGGING SCHOOL (Photographs
and more Information)
The Parish is saying farewell to Mrs. Moira Todd on her retirement from
Newbigging School through ill-health. Entering into Parish life with
vivacity, she has brought to her task a humanity and a Christian
understanding, true to the motto of her old school, Dundee High,
“Praestante Domino”.
Newbigging
School was founded by the United Associate Congregation. It finds
mention in the 1842 Statistical Account as having 50 pupils. Under the
1872 Education Act, Monikie Parish School Board was formed to have oversight of
the four schools - Monikie,
Bankhead, Craigton Free and Newbigging -
but, believing that there should be no connection between Church and
State, Newbigging Seceders hesitated to accept State rule in education.
It
was not until 1888 that Rev. Alex Miller of Newbigging handed over the
feu charter to the School Board, along with the Endowment Trust of
£1029.-9s.-0d.
He and Robert Fyfe joined the Board. The first thing that happened was
that the school had to be closed for measles. Judgment! Perhaps, the
change was made easier by the death of Robert
Craig, Master for 26
years.
After
an inspection in May, the classroom was improved during the 'tattie
holidays'. This explains the gable still visible –
MSB 1888 - Monikie School Board. Later, the accounts had to go to London for
approval. No devolution then! Forty-four applications for
attendance of pupils were received. Mr.
Lowson was appointed with Jemima Lowson, pupil teacher. The Board
granted 22 shillings. for prizes that session. Fees were abolished.
In
the 1890’s, there was a lot of trouble over the water supply. Analysis
of the well, at the side of the present gate, showed it unfit for use.
The children were so mischievous that the handle of the pump had to be
removed lest they be poisoned. Later, for the 100 pupils, five dozen
(writing) slates, a set of counting sheets and twelve double sheets of Nelson’s
cards were provided. Two rail-wagons of ashes were laid on the
playground.
In
1896, Samuel Low, master at Bankhead School
since 1883, came to be dominie for
many years. In 1898, an extension was proposed, the work being done by
David Gray, joiner, Templehall - who gives his name to the Brae from the Village to the - Toll -
and Alex Robertson, Ashbank, builder - who built a number of houses in Monikie.
The
Board purchased a piano for £22-10s.-0d., plus, a modulator and a set of
musical instruments. Some still remember Mr. Low’s “Wheepie”.
The
tenure of Mr. Patterson as Master, then the long distinguished service of
John McIntosh from 1926 to 1960, led on to the school years of Alex Taylor and
so on to Ron Grassie, Ron Elder and then to Mrs. Todd. We record our gratitude
to Mrs. Todd and offer our best wishes for her happiness.
Once
in 1975 in what used to be the classrooms, the Missies and Masters, the
pupils of that time gleefully roared out at a School Concert, to the tune
‘Ball of Kirriemuir’, this song:
Chorus: We come f’ae Newbigging, the best skale o’
them a’
For fitba’ and fir swimmin’ we’ll rise abin them a’
-------------------------------------------------------------
There’s Mrs. Johnston at the shop a’ servin’ ane an a’,
Wi’ a doag the size of an ellyphant tae keep the thieves awa’...
We’ll niver stick fir music, fir Gracie an’ her Mum
Are experts on the subject - we only need a drum.... There’ s Cochran-Dyet’s boxer doag, an ugly brute an’ a’ .
Ye dinna blame them keepin’ it - tae scare the ‘fuzz’ awa .
...
We aince hid a Councillor - a Sandy McKay,
Like a’ the rest, he’s lost his job - enough to mak’ us cry.
Ther’s Daidle’s goose across the road, It gaggles an’ it bites.
You ladies a’ had better watch or it’ll nip your tights.
The Rev’rent Chisholm says his piece each Sunday in the Kirk.
He merries here and christens there - nae duty does he shirk.
There’s Mrs. R an’ Mrs. D - oor kitchen’s their domain.
Each week they scan the menu an’ say ‘No, custard again’.
There’s Rennie the joiner an’ a’ his sisters, tae.
He could ha’e made a better job o’ the brig across the Tay.
He’s keepin’ his e’en on a’ the lads that joiners guid would mak’;
He’ll sort yir fences or build a stage that disna’ even shak’.
It’s no a baldie-heeded Master that we ha’e at skale,
But a Duchess o’ the finest kind that we like affa’ weel.
Now all you folks who frown upon the dialect we’ve used,
We have tossed oor English books into the stream an’
May we BE EXCUSED? |
WDC
- 1980
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
THE
OBSERVER POST
This summer, you may have seen the floral emblem in Albert Square, Dundee
marking the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Observer Corps.
The Elizabethan watchman stands on the shore, his left hand over his eyes,
peering into the distance for the enemy, the Spanish
Armada, his right hand
holding high the flame to warn the watchman at the next post. It is a
lovely scene. Round our (British) island shores, that scene has been repeated over
and over again. With its telling motto “Forewarned is forearmed”, the
R.O.C. officially carries on this role in 1975.
On
the whole East Coast, one could hardly find a better placed look-out post
than the Monikie one, just below the Panmure Testimonial and above Denfind.
From it, the panorama takes your breath away.
It
is fitting that in 1975 we should pay tribute to that small group of men
who manned the post for the duration of the war, 1939-45, day and night,
summer and winter, scanning the skies, peering out to sea, the “eyes and
ears” of the Royal Air Force, in constant touch with H.Q. enabling R.A.F.
fighters and anti-aircraft gunners speedily to come to grips with the
attackers. Some of these men have gone now, but amongst them, older
Parishioners will remember W. Boath, R. Cant, P. Crowe, D. Dorward, T.
Drummond, J. Gray, J. Lyell, J. McIntosh, W. McKendrick, W. McMurtrie, D.
Milne, F. Mitchell, A. Moonie, W. Reid, J. Rennie, W. Stott, J. Wilson and
G. Wilson.
Some of the incidents deserve recording: for
instance that German plane in 1940 which in dense fog narrowly missed
Newbigging Church roof, tore through the dyke at the top of Cunmont field
and then ploughed 150 yards through the plantation before disintegrating -
an awful mess it was when found: or that other German plane, spotted by
the men at the post as it came in from the sea by night: it turned and
dropped a bomb on Ardownie and then was caught by the searchlight at
Monikie Manse (now a private house, east of the Kirk
- 2000) before being shot down at Faldiehall. As the official
History of the R.O.C. puts it: “Let no man who served in the Observer
Corps feel his work was wasted for each was a vital link in that chain of
defence which saved Great Britain in those years of war.
Did
you know that our Parish is still a vital link in the national network of
defence as it was in those years of war? At a certain place in the Parish,
there is an up-to-date underground station all set for immediate action in
an emergency. It is equipped with the sensitive instruments and apparatus
needed to detect the fall-out and direction of a deadly nuclear
radio-active explosion. (Information from JD. - This
construction is situated about 300 metres to west of the Panmure
Testimonial and can still be seen. Also, although hard to trace
nowadays, to be found to the south of the drive from the Panmure Testimonial
eastwards to the main gate, quite near the Camus
Cross, there was an 1939-45 wartime underground shelter which,
reputedly, might have been used by the Home Guard acting as a 'resistance'
organisation if Britain had ever been invaded by the Germans. Read more HERE.)
“A
worthwhile part-time job for any young man in the Parish,” says Douglas Mitchell of Guildy, the Chief Observer who
has the R.O.C. medal and clasp.
The
role of the R.O.C. has changed over the years, but still, visual aircraft
recognition is regarded as of prime importance. The old wartime post may
stand empty and gaunt and forlorn against the skyline, almost forgotten
like the broken cement bases immediately below it, all that is left now of
the Army billets, yet the age-long question first posed by the Old
Testament prophet Isaiah, is still being asked: “Watchman, what of the
night?”.
For
our nation, what lies ahead? “Forewarned is forearmed.”
WDC
- 1975
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
MEMORIES
OF YESTERYEAR - The COUNTRY BEADLE at MONIKIE
|
The
country Beadle rings the bell,
He sounds it loud and clear,
Echoing o’er the morning air
Calling the faithful souls to prayer.
On Sabbath morn, with solemn look
Upwards he bears the Holy Book
Next he descends the pulpit stair
To usher in with courteous air,
Reverend gent who takes his place,
Yes, in our midst a weel-kent face.
Beadle steeks
the pulpit door
Ere stepping slowly o‘er the floor.
At back of Kirk he takes his seat,
Duties meantime are complete,
Looks round Kirk from pew to pew,
Examining members old and new;
At length breathes a silent prayer
To bless all brethren gathered there.
Memories crowd
in of yesteryears,
Of joys and sorrows, laughter, tears.
Now in the autumn of his days
In thankful voice he renders praise.
Kirk of Monikie very dear
In love he serves it year by year,
Ever in appointed place,
That dear old country Kirk to grace. |
by Miss Mary Knox WDC
- 1979
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JOURNEY DOWN THE AGES THROUGH THE PARISH
CROWN
and PARISH
Although I have not found any reference to a Royal visit to our Parish,
that is not to say the Sovereign has not had any links with it. It seems
that at least five Sovereigns have exercised the Right of Patronage in
Monikie. Today, a Minister is elected by all members of the charge under
Presbytery approval, but until 1874, private patrons held the right of
appointment and the congregation had little say. This was called
Patronage. The Patron of Monikie was the Crown.
The
learned James VI signed the Latin document on 1st July 1612, appointing
John Durham, Minister at Monikie. He had been at Flisk and died in 1639,
“an auld agit man”, the Father of the Kirk. Charles I found time in
1642 in the Civil War to elect Patrick Makgill M.A. after he had been 10
years in Barry. Poor man, his son was drowned in the Witch Hole, St.
Andrews one January day in 1660.
George
II, whose English was not very good and who lived in an age of religious
apathy soon to be broken by the Wesley Revival, on 27th April 1734, elected George Johnston, but the
Church Courts objected, maybe because of the Jacobite trouble, and he did
not become Minister until four years later.
George
III, who was the effective Head of State, and active in politics, placed
the Minister of Kirkden, James Hunter, in Monikie. He died in 1782.
George
III then chose William Maule
M.A., who with his wife Margaret Bisset was to play an important part in
Parish life for the next 44 years. He wrote the 1798 Statistical Account
of the Parish and received his D.D. from St. Andrews University in 1812.
Patronage
was disliked by many, particularly the Evangelicals. It is not surprising
then, that with the worthless George IV on the throne, there is no record
of the next Minister, James Millar, being placed by the Crown. He came in
1827, but in 1843 joined the Free Church which did not approve of
Patronage. He became first Minister of the Craigton Church.
Young,
Queen Victoria restored the image of the Crown though, and in 1843 as
Patron, placed Thomas McKie, who was to be involved in the building of the
Monikie Waterworks. It fell to her, also to appoint the last Minister
under the old Patronage system. John Reid, M.A., who was assistant in
Dundee, St. Mary’s, came to Monikie in 1852 and for 48 years served the
Parish faithfully and well. Like most of his predecessors, he (John
Reid) is buried in
Monikie Kirkyard. The east window in the Kirk is to his memory.
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, has close ties
with the Church of Scotland, worshipping there when in Scotland. In her
Accession Oath, she promised to uphold the Presbyterian form of Church
Government and the rights and privileges of the Kirk. At her
Coronation (in 1953)
it was the Moderator of the General Assembly (of The
Church of Scotland) who presented her with the
Bible. When, this May (1977), she enters the Royal Gallery in the Assembly Hall,
(presently the temporary accommodation of the
Scottish Parliament,) she will bow first to the Moderator and the fathers and brethren, and then,
and only then, will they bow to her. Before she is acknowledged, the
earthly Monarch does homage to the King of Kings.
At
our forthcoming Parish Celebration of her Silver Jubilee in May, there
will be on display, a ram’s horn, the Hebrew word Jubilee meaning
‘horn’, and so rejoicing. 'Jubilate Deo', the Latin opening of the Old
Hundredth Psalm, ‘Rejoice in the Lord’, is to be the Theme of the
Service. We will have read to us, too, by the Session Clerk, the Loyal
Address from the Church of Scotland to Her Majesty. It should remind us
all of the happy relationship that exists in our day between Crown and
Parish.
God
Save the Queen!
WDC
- 1977
(RETURN
TO ARTICLE LIST)
|
