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HISTORY
THE COUNTY OF FIFE,
FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME,
BY
JOHN M. LEIGHTON, ESQ., - j^PLn^
AUTHOR OF ILLUSTRATIONS OF VIEWS IN GLASGOW, VIEWS ON THE CLYDE, LAKES OF SCOTLAND,
SCENES IN SCOTLAND, &c.
:-;j Kmirn.M Sftngr&bfitgg to %i %im JMmmu m Bawl,
BY
JOSEPH SWAN;
FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS TAKEN EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK,
BY
JAMES STEWART, ESQ.
VOL. III.
GLASGOW:— JOSEPH SWAN.
MDCCCXL.
GLASGOW:
GEORGE BROOKMAN AND CO., PRINTERS, MITCHELL-STREET.
HISTORY
OF
THE COUNTY OF FIFE
the
HISTOR Y O F F I F E
DISTRICT OF ST ANDREWS.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS.
I. The parish of St Andrews, occupies the central portion of the east coast of the county, lying south-east of the estuary of the Eden, and between it and the parish of Kingsbarns. It is about S\ miles in length, from its south-east to its north-west extremity. The south-eastern part of the parish is only 2 miles in breadth from east to west; but towards the north-west, its breadth is increased to 4 miles. It is said altogether to contain an area of about 17 or IS square miles. On the south it is bounded by the parishes of Ceres, Cameron, Denino, St Leonards, and Kingsbarns ; on the east by the bay of St Andrews — a portion of the German ocean ; on the north by the estuary of the Eden, which divides it from the parish of Leuchars ; and on the west by the parishes of Leuchars and Kemback. The parish contains 21 miles 736 yards of turnpike roads, and six miles 472 yards of statute labour roads. Besides the city of St Andrews and its suburbs, there are three villages in the parish, Boarhills near tin- south-eastern boundary, Strathkinnes about 2 miles north-west of the city, and Kin- caple north of Strathkinnes, and near the Eden. Of these Strathkinnes is the largest, containing a population of about 500.
Along the estuary of the Eden, on the north-western division of the parish, the land is low and flat, a part of which is in tillage, though the larger portion forms links or downs, which afford pasture for sheep, and are also useful as a place of pleasant recreation for the inhabitants of the city. From the point at the mouth of the Eden to Kenly-burn, which divides the parish from Kingsbarns, there are about six miles of sea coast. Of this there are about two miles to the north and east of the city which are low, consisting of Sandhills, which form the eastern boundaries of the links. The remaining portion of the coast is bold and rocky, in some places where the sandstone rock crops out, rising in perpendicular precipices, to a height of from 50 to 10) feet, and in others being of less elevation, where layers of clay and other softer substances alternate with the rock. In this line of coast there are several insulated rocks, which have been
HISTORY OF FIFE.
already noticed ;* such as the Maiden rock, which rises to a height of 40 feet, and is from 6 to 12 feet in thickness, the rock and spindle at Kinkell, and the Buddo rock near Boarhills. Among the rocks which overhang the sea near the castle, there were some years ago several caves, which bore marks of being partly artificial, but they are now almost entirely washed away. In the rocks between the castle and the harbour, is a cave called Lady Buchan's, apparently chiefly artificial, which is said to have been elegantly fitted up with shell-work bv a lady of that name, when residing at St Andrews about 80 years ago. About a mile to the east of the city, in the face of the cliffs which bound the shore, is Kinkell cave, a natural opening of considerable dimensions. It is about 70 or 80 feet in length, and about 25 broad in the middle. At the west side, it is about 10 or 11 feet in height, but the roof dips so much towards the east, that it ter- minates with the floor, with which it forms an acute angle.
Inland the surface of the parish is finely diversified, rising in some places to hills of moderate height, and again receding into open valleys. In general it is highly cultivated, and in many places ornamented with wood, surrounding the different gen- tlemen's seats, or planted on ground which would be otherwise waste. The principal eminences in the parish are the hill of Clatto in the western division, which is 54^ feet; east Balrymonth 360 feet ; and west Balrymonth 375 feet above the level of the sea.
II. The ancient name of the district which now constitutes the parish of St Andrews, and also of a considerable portion of the surrounding parishes was Mukross, which has been supposed to mean, in the Celtic, the promontory of the swine. f The name of " cursus apri" or boar chase, afterwards given to the district ; and the village and lands in the parish still called Boarhills, gives probability to the derivation. At an after period, in consequence of the erection of a religious house, where the city of St An- drews now stands, that portion of the boar chase was designated Kilrymond, from Cil-rhi-monadh, the cell or church on the king's muir. It was also named Kilrule, the cell or church dedicated to St Regulus. The earliest monkish tradition which has been handed down, with regard to the origin of this religious house, is that Regulus a Greek monk of Patra?, a city in Achaia, who had in keeping the reliques of St Andrew the apostle, warned by a dream, went to sea, about the year 370, in company with some other religious persons, and taking along with them the apostle's remains, proceeded in search of a region towards the west, " in the utmost parts of the world," to which he had been desired to convey them. Passing through the Mediterranean sea, and coasting along France and Spain, they came at length to the German ocean, where in a severe tempest, they were driven ashore near where St Andrews now stands, and their ship dashed to pieces on the rocks. Regulus and his companions got all safe ashore, but * Vol. I.
1 Mucross means in the Celtic the promontory of Swine, but Mugross in the same language is the holy promontory.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 5
they lost every thing except the reliques of the Saint, which they were most careful in preserving. The fame of their arrival, and of the sacred remains they had brought with them, soon spread abroad among the Pictish people, who began in numbers to resort to them. Amongst others came Hergustus the king, who was so pleased with the strangers, that he became a convert to the christian faith, many of his subjects fol- lowing his example ; and as a mark of his gratitude for their holy labours, he put them in possession of a proper residence, gave them a grant of the extensive " cursus apri," or boar chase, and erected for them a chapel, which has been asserted to be the chapel and tower of St Rule, still remaining near the ruins of the cathedral. It is needless to point out the absurdity of this legend, which is obviously an invention of the cloisters ; nor need we enquire as to Hergustus the king of Picts in 370, while the Romans were yet in Britain : he is unknown to history. Drust the son of Erp, he of the hundred battles, is the first of the Pictish monarchs of whom we have any account. He was a principal leader of the natives in their vast struggles with the Romans and the Roman- ised Britains, previous to the Roman army leaving Scotland in 446, and died in 151. Properly speaking he was the founder of the Pictish monarchy-
A second legend, as to the origin of the religious house here, is related by Fordun, and is probably a compound of truth and fable. In the beginning of the ninth century, Hungus, king of the Picts, the 35th king from Drust the son of Erp, was engaged in war with Athelstone, a Saxon prince, whose dominions he had ravaged with his army. Returning home laden with spoil, he was unexpectedly overtaken by the Saxons with superior force near Haddington. Seeing his danger, he prayed earnestly to God and the saints, especially to St Andrew, vowing he would bestow on them the tenth of his dominions if he were delivered from his enemies. The apostle appeared to him in a dream, promising him the victory, and desiring him to be mindful of his vow. He was successful in the ensuing fight, and Ccethius adds that he more than fulfilled the vow he had made; for, besides the tenth of his lands, he bestowed on the church at St Andrews, the images of Christ and his apostles in gold and silver, with a case of beaten gold, in which to enclose the reliques of St Andrew.* A third tradition related by Bu- chanan^ is that the episcopal see, which the Picts had seated at Abernethy, was trans- ferred by Kenneth the Scottish king, after his succession to the Pictish throne, to the church of St Rule ; and a fourth that the diocess of St Andrews was founded by Grig, the fourth king in succession from Kenneth. Whichever of the last three traditions may be the true one, or supposing that they are all partly founded in truth, it is obvi- ous that the name Kilrymont is derived from the fact of a church having been founded here either by one of the later Pictish or one of the earlier Scottish kings ; and that the name of Kilrule was derived from the dedication of a church or chapel to St Rule or St Regulus, who was alleged in fabulous tradition to have had a cell or chapel here many
* Lyons History of St Andrews, pp. 11, 12. t History of Scotland, Introd. to B. VI.
(i HISTORY OF FIFE.
hundred years before. The modern name of St Andrews was obviously adopted at a later period, certainly after the reign of Malcolm III., when the Saxon language began to be introduced, from the tale of their possessing the bones of St Andrew, a tale which had been invented to give greater dignity, in the eyes of the people, to the church of St Rule, at the period when the church of Dunkeld boasted of possessing the bones of St Columba.
III. Leaving these legends as to the founder of the first religious house here, and the origin of the names which it bore, it seems perfectly unquestionable that there was a house belonging to the Culdees here, of such celebrity in the 10th century, that Constan- tine III., after resigning the throne, became a member of their body, and died their abbot in 943. It is also believed that an Irish king became a member of their society, for it is said in the Ulster Annals that, A.n. 1033, Hugh MacFlavertai O'Nell, king of Ailech, and heir of Ireland, " post penitentiam mort, in St Andrewes eccl." : The college of Culdees consisted of an abbot and twelve secular priests ; who, at least for a portion of the time during which the order existed, were generally married men, whose sons often succeeded them in office. They appear to have originally had large possessions granted them, though it would now be difficult to point these out. Until the year 1144, when the priory was founded, they formed the chapter of the see of St Andrews, and elected the bishops. After that period, however, the canons regular of the priory were joined with them in subsequent elections, till 1272, when the canons took the right entirely into their own hands. In 1297, they attempted to regain their right, but failed; and again in 1317, they made a vigorous effort against what they considered the en- croachment of the canons. They appealed to the Pope on the subject, but ineffectually, and we scarcely ever hear of them after this period. The canons also appear to have become possessed of a considerable portion of the lands and tithes which had formerly belonged to the Culdees.
They had a chapel, mentioned by Martine, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was styled " Ecclesia Sunctce Maries de Rape,'' or St Mary's church on the Rock. This chapel was built on a rock, called the Lady's Craig, situated near the extremity of the present pier. The rock has been encroached upon by the sea, but was still visible at low water when Martine wrote his " Reliquiae Divi Andrea." This chapel was no doubt the earliest church or chapel, and the one from which the name of Kiirymont originated. They had also a chapel on the hill above the harbour, erected no doubt after the earlier one had been abandoned in consequence of the encroachments of the sea. This was also dedicated to the Virgin, and was called " Ecclesia Sunctce Maria-," with the addition of" Capella domini l(r^i.< Scotorum," "the chapel of our Lord the Kin"' of Scots."
-
* Pinkcrton's Enquiry, vol. II. A pp. p. 319.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. /
Early in the 14th century, the Culdees seem either to have been suppressed, or to have died out ; and the establishment erected into a collegiate church, called the Provostry of Kirkheugh, having a provost and at least nine prebendaries. The names of the prebendaries which have been preserved are — the parson of Feteresso, the parson of Dvsart, the prebendary of Dura and Rumgay, the prebendary of Cameron and Cairns, the parson of Bervie, the parson of Strabroke, the prebendary of Kinkell, and the parson of Arbuthnot. Its rental in 1561, at the general assumption of the rents of church benefices, was derived from the feued lands of Kinal- die and Gilmerton, and the tiends of Craighall, Inglis-Tarvit, and the lands of the pa- rish of Ceres ; it consisted of, money, £176 : 14 : 8 ; beer, 3 chalders, 9 bolls ; meal, 9 chalders, 11 bolls ; cain oats, 1 chalder, 6 bolls ; and cain fowls, 5 dozen. In 15S7, it was, like other benefices, annexed to the crown ; but in 1606, on the restoration of episcopacy, it was, with the archdeaconry and vicarage of St Andrews, assigned to Archbishop Gladstanes and his successors. At the revolution, the tiends and other rents again reverted to the crown.
IV. The origin of the bishopric of St Andrews is, like that of the college of Culdees, involved in great obscurity. It has been attributed to Kenneth MacAlpine, who, it is alleged, after the junction of the Scottish and Pictish monarchies in 843, transferred the bishopric which had been seated at Abernethy to St Andrews ; it has also been attributed to Grig, the fourth king from Kenneth, who died in 897. The first bishop of whom we have any account is Adrian, who nourished in 870 ; and if we give any faith to the tradition regarding him, we cannot consider Grig, although he may have been a benefactor, as the founder of the see. The earlier bishops, although they had episcopal ordination, do not appear to have had any determinate diocess ; but they resided within the college of the Culdees, by whom they were elected, and exercised their functions when and where necessarv in the surrounding district. Malcolm III., who ascended the throne in 1057, is said to have been the first of our Scottish monarchs who affixed diocesses to the several bishops, limiting the power and jurisdiction of each to the district apportioned to him. He divided his kingdom into four bishoprics, of which St Andrews formed one. The bishop of that diocess he styled Maximus Episcopus, or chief bishop ; and assigned to him jurisdiction over Fife, the Lothians, Stirlingshire, the Merse, Angus and Mearns.
I. — List of Bis/tops before the appointment of a diocess.
1. Adman. — About A.D. 870. He flourished during the reign of Constantine II., I he second Monarch from Kenneth, under whom the Scots and Piets were united. It was during his reign that the Danes appear to have made their first depredations on the east coast of Scotland, committing the most ferocious outrages, particularly on the clergy, many of whom, and among others Adrian, took refuge in the isle of -May. Here they were followed by their Pagan persecutors, and numbers of them,
8 HISTORY OF FIFE.
with Adrian, murdered. He was subsequently included in the Calendar of Scottish Saints, his festival day being the 4th of March.
2. Kelach I. About A.D. 892. He was bishop at the death of Grig, who, for a time, usurped
the throne, and afterwards during (he reigns of Donald IV. and Constantine III. In 909, he held a provincial council of the clergy, on the mote hill of Scone, where the latter King swore to maintain the faith and discipline of the Scottican church.
3. FoniAi) I. — About AD. 9-0. He was banished, by King Indulf, in 952, and died in 962. Winton says, that he enclosed a copy of the Gospels in a silver case, which at the time he wrote, (about lo80,) was lying at the north end of the high altar of the Cathedral church.
4. Malisius, or Maelbriget. — A.]). 962 — 970. Lived under Kings, Duff and Cullen.
5. Ki i.ac ii II. — A.D. 971 — 996. He is called by Fordun the son of Ferdlag ; and is said to have been the first Scottish bishop who went to Rome for confirmation.
6. Malisius II. — *VD. 996 — 1010. This bishop possessed the see during the short reign of Kenneth IV., and during a portion of that of his successor, Malcolm II.
7. Malmore. — A.D. 1010 — 1031. He was bishop during the vigorous reign of Malcolm II.
8. Alivinus, or Ai.ivix, — A.D. 1031 — 1034. He enjoyed the episcopate for three years of the short reign of Duncan, the father of Malcolm Casnmore.
9. Mai.iayin-, or Maldouy. — A.D. 1034 — 1061. He is styled by Fordun, the son of Gillandris ; and by Winton, Makdowny, Makgillanderis. He conferred upon " Gnd, and St Servanus, and the Culdees of Lochleven, the church and lands of the parish of Markinch." He occupied the see dur- ing the troublesome times which followed the murder of Duncan; and witnessed the accession of Malcolm Cammore to the throne, after the death of Macbeth. The probability is, that he crowned that Monarch.
10. Tuthaldus, or Twalda, or Tuchald. — A.D. 1061 — 1065. He conferred the church and teinds of " Sconyn," (Scoonie) upon the Culdees of Lochleven.
It appears to have been during the incumbency of the successor of Tuthaldus, that Malcolm III. adopted the ecclesiastical policy of dividing the kingdom into four diocesses, over which a bishop had the rule. He married Margaret, the sister of Edgar Etheling, soon after her flight into Scotland in 106S ; and very shortly afterwards, she began to take an interest in the affairs of the .Scottish church. She saw and lamented abuses which had crept in, or wished the adoption of a policy which had not hitherto prevail- ed ; and accordingly a council of the clergy was convened at St Andrews, in 1074, for the correction of abuses, and the adoption of new arrangements. At this council, the ex- cellent Queen, attended by her confessor,Turgot,who had been prior at Durham, presided, and from it, in all probability, originated the arrangement as to diocesses in Scotland. Other sovereigns who succeeded Malcolm, are celebrated as being benefactors of the see of St Andrews. Alexander I. bestowed upon it the tract of land called Cursus apri,or the boar chase, which the fictions of the cloister afterwards invented, and alleged had been conferred by Hungus, the Pictish King, or the unknown Hergustus. David I. Malcolm IV., and William the Lyon, all likewise conferred benefactions or privileges on the prelates of this see. During the period which intervened between the assign- ment of a diocess, and its erection into an archiepiscopate, the dispute arose as to
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. »
the independence of the Scottish church, and the claim of supremacy over it by the Archbishop of York. This dispute was taken strongly up by the Scottish King, and ultimately ended in establishing the independence of the Scottish clergy from all fo- reign controul, except that of the Pope.
II. — List of the Bishops, from the time the diocess was fixed, till the sec was erected
into an Archbishoprich.
11. Fothad II. — A.D. 1065 — 1077. In the register of the priory of St Andrews, he is named " Modath, the son of Malmykal," and is styled a most pious man, " cujus vita, et doctrina tota regio Scotorum feliciter est illustrata." He conferred the church and teinds of Ilurkeudorath, (Auchterder- run?) upon the Culdees of Lochleven. We learn from Winton, that this prelate solemnized the mar- riage between Malcolm and the Saxon Princess Margaret, afterwards St Margaret.
12. Ctreoorius Cathre. — A.D. 1077 — 1080 — 111"). This prelate is said, in several of the lists of these early bishops, to have been only elect, and not consecrated. This may have been true at his first election in 1077, and he may have remained three years elect, and another been appointed in consequence of some dispute ; but he appears to have been re-elected after the death of Turgot in 1115, and then to have been consecrated, as Mr Ruddiman says his name is in a charter of that year. by Alexander I. to the Abbey of Scone, where he is styled Episcopus, and not Electus.
13. Edmarus. — A.D. 10M) — 1091. He is also said never to have been consecrated, probably in consequence of a continuance of the same dispute.
14. Godricus. — A.D. 1091 — 1107. Like his two immediate predecessors, he is said not to have !>een consecrated; but this could not have been the case as he crowned Edgar, the son of Malcolm III. In this alleged want of consecration we may probably trace the commencement of the claim of supremacy of the Archbishop of York over the Scottish clergy
1". Tdrgot. — A.D. 1107 — lllr>. He was the first Scottish prelate of Saxon origin, of whom we have any certain account. He had been prior of the monastery of Durham, and appears to have come to Scotland as confessor to Queen Margaret; and in consequence of this had exercised considerable influence over the Scottish clergy. He was consecrated by the Archbishop of York. He founded the parish church of St Andrews, which lie dedicated to the Holy Trinity. In the discharge of his episcopal duties, he met with many obstacles from Alexander I., surnamed the Fierce; who, though lie favoured the church, was jealous of interference with his authority, and such he probably consi- dered the consecration by the Archbishop of York to be. Turgot perceiving that he had lost the influence he possessed, while ecclesiastical affairs were managed by Queen Margaret, fell into a de- sponding mood, and asked and obtained liberty to retire to his cell at Durham, where he died. He wrote, besides several other works in history and theology, a life of his patroness, St Margaret.
The see, it is said, was now vacant till 1 1 10, but we have seen that Gregorius appears, in his old age, to have held it after the death of Turgot. A vacancy, however, certainly did take place, which was no doubt occasioned by the difficulties in which Alexander was placed, by his refusal to acknow- ledge the supremacy of the Archbishop of York over the Scottish church.
lb\ Eadmerus. — A.D. 1 120 — 1122. Alexander I. being anxious to have the see supplied, invited this churchman, who was a monk of Canterbury, to Scotland, and he was in consequence elected Bishop ; but as the King refused to allow his being consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, he returned to England within two years after his election. He has left an account of the dispute, written by himself, in his Historia Novarum, which was published by Mr Selden.
VOL III. IS
10 HISTORY OF FIFE.
17. Robert.— A.D. 1122 — 1159. He was an Englishman, and had been prior of Scone, but though elected in 1122, was not consecrated for some years afterwards. This ceremony was at length performed by the Archbishop of York, under protest that no claim should be founded thereon for supremacy over the Scottisli church. He obtained the grant of the boar chase from Alexander I.; and is said to have attached the tusks of an enormous boar killed in it, to the altar of the church. It was during his episcopate that the authority of the Pope was first formally recognised in Scotland.
IS. Arnold. — A.D., 1159 — 1102. He had been abbot of Kelso, and was consecrated within the church of St Andrews by the bishop of Moray, the Pope's legate, in presence of Malcolm IV., and of the bishops, abbots, and princes of the land. He was himself afterwards legate for the Pope. He founded the Cathedral church, but died shortly after its commencement, being interred in the church or chapel of St Regulus.
19. Richard.— A. D. 1162— 1177. He had been chaplain to Malcolm VI. When William the Lyon was taken prisoner in 1174, (his bishop, with several of the Scottish nobility and clergy, was deputed to treat with Henry II., as to his ransom. The English monarch taking advantage of the situation of the King, was desirous of establishing his superiority over Scotland, and the supremacy of his clergy over their northern brethren. William obtained his liberty, at the expense of his coun- try's independence ; but the clergy, by their address and fortitude, saved the rights of their national church. Richard died in 1177, and was, like his predecessor, buried in the church of St Regulus.
20. Hugh and John-. — A.D. 11 78 — 1 188. After the death of Richard, a double election and conse- cration occurred. The chapter elected John Scott, an Englishman, though of Scottish parentage, who was Archdeacon of St Andrews; but the King, displeased with the appointment, seized the revenues of the bishoprick, and nominated his chaplain Hugh, and obtained him to be consecrated. John went to Rome, and returned with a nuncio from the Pope, who caused him to be also consecrated. The King, however, was inflexible, and banished John, who again retired to Rome, where he remained seven years. In consequence of the contumacy of William, sentence of excommunication was pro- nounced against him, and the kingdom laid under interdict. The death of the Pope, however, gave the King an opportunity of using influence with his successor, in consequence of which the excom- munication and interdict were removed ; and an arrangement entered into, by which Hugh was con- tinued in the see of St Andrews, and John was appointed to the inferior see of Dunkeld. Hugh died near Rome, where he had gone for the purpose of being confirmed by the Pope.
21. Roger. — A.U. 1188 — 1202. He was son of the Earl of Leicester, and a cousin of William the Lyon, by whom he was made Lord Chancellor of the kingdom, bishop of Dunkeld, and afterwards bishop of St Andrews. For some reason which cannot be explained, he remained elect for ten years, not having been consecrated till 1198, when the ceremony was performed by the bishop of Moray, the Pope's legate. He died at Cambuskenneth, his remains being conveyed with great solemnity to St Andrews, and interred in the church of St Regulus.
22. William Malvoisixe. — A.D. 1202 — 1233. This prelate was of French extraction, and if not born in France, spent a considerable portion of his youth in that country. On his return to Scotland he was made Archdeacon of St Andrews, and one of the clerici regis. He was appointed Lord Chancellor in 1199 ; the same year he was elected bishop of Glasgow, and consecrated in 1200. In 1202, he was translated to St Andrews. He both baptised and crowned Alexander II. In 1215 he, with other Scottisli clergy, attended a general council held at Rome ; and on his retnrn with the bishop of Glasgow, held a council at Perth, for the purpose of promoting an expedition to the holy land, but few of the nobility present showed much inclination for the undertaking. He wrote the lives of St Ninian, and St Kentigern ; and died at his palace of Inchmurtach, and was buried in
PARISH OF ST ANDREW?. 11
(he Cathedral church. Crawford, in his Officers of State says, lie was particularly distinguished for good qualities; but according to Spottiswoode, he is said to have delighted in the pleasures of the table. Fordun states, that lie deprived the monks of Dunfermline of the tithes of two parishes, be- cause they had neglected to supply him with wine after supper.
2". David Bernham, or De Benham. — A.D. 1233 — 1253. He was great chamberlain of Scot- land, and crowned Alexander III. at Scone. He set out with the bishop of Glasgow, to attend a general council at Rome, but they were way-laid and taken prisoners by the Emperor of Germany, who only released them, on their agreeing to return home. On a subsequent occasion, he went to York, to attend t lie marriage of Alexander, with the daughter of Henry III., where he died.
24. Abel. — A.D. 1253 — 12o4. Again the King and court, with the concurrence of the Pope, however, opposed the chapter who had previously chosen the Dean of Dunkeld, and forced upon (hem Abel, formerly a canon of the church of Glasgow, and afterwards Archdeacon of St Andrews. To he revenged upon the chapter, Abel behaved himself very insolently to them, calling them in question on every light occasion, and censuring them with great rigour. He lived only ten months after his election, and was buried before the high altar in the Cathedral church.
25. Gamkum:. — A.D. 12-14 — 1271. One of the clerici regis of Alexander IF., Archdeacon of St Andrews, and Lord Chancellor. He was elected to the see by the canons, the Culdees being now entirely excluded from forming part of the chapter. He was a man of good repute, but became ob- noxious to the King, in consequence of having excommunicated some of the courtiers who had at- tempted to molest certain churchmen. Refusing to withdraw the excommunication, he was banished by the King, and retired for a time to France. At length the King relenting, recalled the sentence of ba- nishment, and sought pardon for what lie had done. The bishop returned to Scotland, and died at Inchmurtach, and was buried on the north side of the high altar of the Cathedral.
26. William Wishart. — A.D. 1 272 — 1 279. He was Archdeacon of St Andrews, and Lord Chan- cellor. In 1268, he was elected bishop of Glasgow, but was translated to the see of St An- drews, and was consecrated at Scone in 1272. He attended a general council at Lyons, at which were present 2 patriarchs, 15 cardinals, 500 bishops, 1000 other mitred prelates, besides the King of France, the Emperor of Greece, and other princes. He died in Teviotdale, and was buried in his own Cathedral, near the high altar.
27. William Fraseh. — A.D. 1279—1297. He was Dean of Glasgow, rector of Cadzow, and Lord Chancellor. He was consecrated at Rome, 1280. Upon the King's death in 1 2N,s, he was chosen one of the Regents, and after the death of Margaret, the fair maid of Norway, he, with others, yielded a forced submission to Edward of England. In 12!)."), lie was sent to France by John Baliol, then King, to negotiate a marriage for his son, Edward, where he died in 12!)7.
28. William Lamberton. — A.D. 1298 — 1328. He lived in difficult times, and has been accused of vaoilating between the two parties of Bruce and Baliol : but in the end, he did his utmost to place Bruce upon the throne In 1298, he and Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and John dimming, the younger, were chosen guardians of the kingdom for Baliol; and in 1303, when Edward I. held a parliament at St Andrews, the bishop, like the rest of his countrymen, was forced to yield submission. Soon after, however, he entered into a secret treaty with Bruce, by which the latter secured the favour ot the Scottish church, and was, in consequence, enabled to set the excommunication of the Pope at de- fiance. In 1306, he, with the bishop of Glasgow, crowned Bruce at Scone, and afterwards supported him with his wealth, his armed vassals, and his ecclesiastical influence. Among other acts, bishop Lamberton supplied Sir James Douglas, afterwards so famous in the struggles of Bruce with England,
12 HISTORY OF FIFE.
with horses and money, and sent him to join the standard of the patriot King. Edward, irritated by this conduct of the bishop, had him seized, and confined in the castle of Nottingham. On the death of Edward in 1307, Lamberton was allowed to return to St Andrews ; and after the battle of Bannock- burn had given peace to the country, he devoted himself to promoting the prosperity of the church, of which he was the head. He was buried at the north side of the great altar.
29. James Bexnet. — A.D. 1328 — 1332. At his election, a division arose in the chapter, one half voting for him, and the other for Sir Alexander Kinninmonth, Archdeacon of Lothian; but being at Rome, lie obtained the Pope's sanction to the appointment. He crowned David II. at Scone in 1332 ; and when Edward Baliol and his party got the ascendency, he was forced to fly to Flanders, where he died. After his death, the see remained vacant 9 years.
30. William de Landel, A. D. 1341 — 138-5. After the vacancy, this prelate was appointed by the Pope. It is said by Fordun, that he was generous, mild, ingenious, and modest, and that he loved his canons as much as if they had been his own children. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Durham with David II., and ransomed for the sum of 100,000 merks sterling. In 1363, David held a parliament in his palace of Inchmurtach ; and in 1371, he crowned king Robert II. He was buried before the vestibule of the church, " under an artificial stone curiously wrought."
31. Stephen de Pay, A.D. 1385. He had been prior of the monastery of St Andrews for twenty- one years. After his election, he went to Rome for confirmation, but being taken prisoner by the English, he was carried to Alnwick where lie died.
32. Walter Trail, A.D. 1385. — 1401. He was a son of the laird of Bleboin Fife, had studied abroad, was a doctor of the civil and canon law, and a canon of St Andrews. He received his appointment from the Pope without election, who declared that Walter was an honour to the office and not it to him. Even Buchanan the historian speaks highly in his praise. In 1:390, he and the bishop of Glasgow, as- sisted at the funeral of Robert II., and the next day he placed the crown on the head of Robert III. In 1391, he went ambassador to France where he renrained a year. He was buried near the high altar of the cathedral, with this inscription on his monument :
Hie fuit Ecclesias directa columna, fenestra Lncida, thuribulum redolens, campana sonora.
33. Thomas Stewart, A.D. 1-101 — 1404. He was son of Robert II., and archdeacon of St Andrews. He was elected by the chapter, but from his extreme modesty, declined accepting the office, and was therefore never consecrated. Of him Fordun says, that ho was of a most modest disposition, and ol dove-like simplicity. At the request of the king, lie resigned the revenues of the see, to Walter of Danyelston, in return for his ceding the castle of Dumbarton. The period of his death is uncertain, and it has been supposed, that he resigned the office of bishop, and continued in that of archdeacon.
34. Henry Wardlaw, A.D. 1401 — 1440. This prelate was a son of Wardlaw of Tone, a nephew of the cardinal of that name, rector of Kilbride, and precentor of Glasgow. After the resignation or death of bishop Stewart, he being at Avignon, was preferred to the office by the Pope, and was consecrated there in 1404. He had the direction of the education of James I. in his youth, and after the return of that monarch from his captivity in England, had the honour of crowning him at Scone. He died in 1440, and was buried in the church, "in the wall between the choir and our lady's chapel."'
35. James Kennedy, A.D. 1440 — 146G. This distinguished churchman, was the younger son of James Kennedy of Dunure, by Mary Stewart, countess of Angus, daughter of Robert III. " He was," says Crawford, "a prelate who rendered himself no less illustrious by his virtues, than he was
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 13
by his noble birth." In 1438, he was elected ami consecrated bishop of Dunkeld. He had observed with regret, the many abuses which had crept into the church, and was desirous, as far as in his power, to put an end to them. With this view, he went to Florence, where the Pope then resided, but with little good to the purpose he had in view, as the schism at the time existing in the papacy, prevenle.l any thing being done. The Pope, however, as a mark of his esteem, bestowed upon him in commen- dam, the abbacy of Scone. During his absence in Italy, he was elected to the see of St Andrews in 1440, and confirmed in the ollice by the Pope. After his return home, and his translation had been effected, he again directed his attention to rectifying the abuses of the church, and acting botli by precept and example, he so far succeeded, "as that,1 says Spottiswoode, "no man living did then remember to have seen the church in such anestute.', By his temperate and healing counsels, lie did all in his power to soften and suppress the broils and animosities which existed between the governors of the kingdom during the minority of James II. ; and with the view of being still more useful in this way, he, in 1444, accepted the office of lord chancellor, but finding his efforts vain, he resigned that high office in a very few weeks. Wearied with the civil dissensions existing at home, he again visited Italy in the hope of being useful in settling the papal schism, which had now long disturbed the peace of the church; but his efforts being equally fruitless, he again returned home, devoting his time in future to the exercise of his episcopal function, to the general interests of reli- gion, and to the advancement of learning and education in the kingdom. The assistance which he afforded to James II. in curbing the power of the Douglases, has been already described, Vol. I. p. isl ; as has also his wise government of the kingdom under the minority of James III. Bishop Kennedy was moderate and frugal in his private expenses, but he was munificent and generous where he con- sidered the interests of religion or learning were concerned. Nor did he neglect the benefits to be derived from commercial enterprise ; having caused to be built a large vessel or barge, called the St Salvator, of which an account has been given, vol. I. p. 77. This excellent prelate died in 1466, and was interred in his own chapel of St Salvator, under a monument which he had caused to be erected previous to his death. A view of this monument which still remains, though in a dilapidated state, forms the vignette in the engraved title to the second volume of this work. It is a mural mo- nument, and in a most enriched variety of the pointed style of architecture.
The episcopate of Saint Andrews from its great wealth, from the splendid talent and high birth of many who had filled its throne, and from its having long been considered to hold the primacy over the other bishopricks of Scotland, had now attained a dignity which seemed to entitle its prelates to be raised to the archiepiscopal rank. This was accordingly done by the Pope in 1472, and the whole of the other bishopricks were placed under its jurisdiction. About 35 years afterwards, the see of Glasgow was also elevated into an archbishoprick, having the diocesses of Galloway, Argyle, and the Isles under its jurisdiction ; while those of Dunkeld, Dumblane, Brechin, Aberdeen, Moray, Ross, Caithness, and Orkney, remained under that of St Andrews. The archbishops of St Andrews also retained the primacy, notwithstanding some endeavours on the part of the prelates, who filled the see of Glasgow to obtain it. The diocess of St Andrews, when at its greatest extent, included the greater part of the county of Fife, part of Clackmannan, Kinross, and Perth, the counties of Forfar, Mearns, and Kincardine, the three Lothians, Selkirk, and Berwick. It was divided into two archdeaconries, St Andrews and Lothian ; and nine deaconries, St Andrews, Fothrick, Gowrie, Angus,
! i HISTORY OF FIFE.
Mearns, Linlithgow, Haddington, Dunbar, and Merse. There were altogether 131 benefices under the jurisdiction of the see, of which 26 were abbeys, priories, or other religious houses ; and the smallest of the benefices is said by Martine, to have exceeded the annual value of £40. From the time of bishop Arnold, he and many of his suc- cessors were invested with the dignity of legate from the Pope ; and after the see was erected into an archbishoprick, this office became a perpetual dignity, the archbishops be- ing all considered as legati nati, though many of them were also legati a latere, or legati de latere, and thus were representatives of the Pope in Scotland. They also exercised an extensive jurisdiction in all causes considered ecclesiastical, viz. confirmations or pro- bates of wills, marriage, divorce, alimony, and adultery, scandal and defamation, perjury, &c. The bishop of St Andrews was also lord admiral within his own regality, compre- hending almost the whole sea coast betwixt the Forth and the Tay. He had the pri- vilege of exacting custom upon all goods exported from the harbours within his admiralty ; and he had also the power of coining money, subject to royal examination as to its weight and fineness. Besides the offices which these extensive powers re- quired, there were several others which are mentioned by Martine. These were — 1. the marshal! of the household, held by the family of Schevez of Kemback, and after- wards by Makgill of Kemback; 2. the constable of the castle, held by Wemyss of Latho- car ; 3. the chamberlain, who collected the revenues of the see ; 4. the ostarius, who is supposed to have been principal usher; 5. the steward; 6. the chaplain ; 7. the but- ler ; and 8. the doomster, an office long hereditary in a family of the name of Wan, whose descendants are still in possession of a few acres of ground near the guard bridge, which they held under the archbishops in virtue of their office of doomsters, and as warders of the bridge.
The temporal power and dignity of the prelates of this see, were no less extensive than its ecclesiastical ; as according to Martine, he was both a count palatine and a lord of regality. In consequence of the first, he had the power of conferring honours like a sovereign, having a chancellor under him ; and by the latter, he had a civil and cri- minal jurisdiction equal to the sheriff. The bishop of St Andrews was lord of three regalities — Monymusk, Kirkliston, and St Andrews ; and of the whole lands within these, he was either superior or proprietor. The smallest of these, the regality of Monymusk, was conferred upon the see in 1057, of which the marquis of Huntly was chief vassal and hereditary baillie, paying a feu duty of £300 scots. The second, Kirkliston, or as it was also called St Andrews, south of the Forth, included the counties of Linlithgow, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Haddington; and of it the Earls of Winton were hereditary baillies. The third regality, St Andrews, included the counties of Fife, Perth, Forfar, and Kincardine ; of which the Learmonths of Dairsie, and afterwards the Earls of Crawford were hereditary baillies. The bishop of St Andrews held the superiority of more lands than any other subject in Scotland; and by a tax-roll of 1665, it appears that 1 mar- quis, 15 earls, 3 viscounts, and 5 barons, besides many inferior persons, held lands of
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 15
the see. Indignity, these prelates ranked next to the royal family, and above all other peers, spiritual or temporal. They had palaces or castles, at St Andrews, Stow, Lin- lithgow, Kinghorn, Monymail, Torrie, Dairsie, Inchmurtach, Muckart, Kiltons, Linton, and Monymusk. They were perpetual moderators of national synods, and chancellors of the University of St Andrews. The revenues of the see arose from so many and such varied sources, that it is impossible now to form an estimate of their amount; par- ticularly, as various portions were alienated at different times for founding and endowing the monasteries, the university of St Andrews, and the colleges of St Mary, and St Sal- vator. In Bagamont's roll, 1275, the annual amount of the tithes alone is rated at £945: 13: 4. In 1561, archbishop Hamilton stated his income to be: in money £2904 : 7: 2 : wheat, 30 chalders, 9 bolls ; beer, 41 chalders, 10 bolls ; and oats, 67 chalders.
III. — List of Archbishops to the Reformation.
•'36. Patrick Graham. — A.D. 1466 — 1478. This prelate was uterine brother of bishop Ken- nedy. He was consecrated bishop of Brechin, and in 1 406 translated to St Andrews. In consequence of the old controversy regarding the superiority of the archbishop of York over the Scottish clergy, lie proceeded to Rome, where he not only obtained sentence against that see ; but had his erected into an archbishoprick. The persecutions which this excellent man sustained after his return, and his mis- erable death, have been already detailed, volume I., page 83.
37. William Schevez. — A.D. 147S — 141)6. He was archdeacon of St Andrews, was one of the favourites of James III., and had been the chief persecutor of the late bishop, whom he succeeded.
38. James Stewart. — A.D. 1497 — 1503. This primate was the second son of James III., by his royal consort Margaret of Denmark. He was created Duke of Ross, and Marquis of Ormond. Entering into holy orders, he succeeded bishop Schevez in his 21st year, and went to Rome, where he was confirmed by the Pope. On his return, he received the abbacies of Holyrood and Dunfermline, in commendam, from his brother James IV. ; and also held, in the same way, the monastery of Ar- broath. He was appointed Lord High Chancellor in 1502, which he scarcely held two years, as he died in 1503-4, and was interred in the chancel of the Cathedral. He is celebrated by Ariosto, in his Orlando Furioso, canto X., in the following lines, which have been feebly translated by Hoole.
Non e un si bello in tante altre persone, No form so graceful can our eyes behold,
Xatura il fece, e poi ruppe la stampa. For nature made him, and destroyed the mould,
Xon c in cui tal virtu tal grazia luca, The title of the Duke of Ross he bears,
O tal possanza, ed e Rosia Duca. No chief like him in dauntless mind compares.
39. Alexander Stewart. — A.D. 1509 — 1513. He was the natural son of James IV., and his father designing him for the church, all care was taken of his education. The learned I)r Patrick Panter, the secretary, having been his tutor. To complete his education, he visited the Continent, under the care of Sir Thomas Halkerston, and having made the tour of France, and part of Italy, he settled at Padua, where he prosecuted his studies under Erasmus, the great restorer of learning. In his 18th year, he was made archbishop of St Andrews, and afterwards Lord Chancellor of the king- dom. The Pope made him his legate a latere, and conferred upon him, in commendam, the abbey of Dunfermline, and the priory of Coldingham. These high offices, however, he only held for the short space of three years, having been killed with his father at the battle of Flodden in 1513. Erasmus,
16 HISTORY OF FIFE.
-
in lamenting the early death of his pupil, speaks highly of his rare learning and talent, and his great sweetness of temper, which endeared him to all.
40. Andrew Form ax. — A.D. 1-314 — 1.522. We have already given an account, vol. I., pp. 97 and 98, of the dispute which arose as to this see on the death of archbishop Stewart, and of the means by which the artful and avaricious Forman obtained it. He had previously been bishop of Mora}', and was perpetual commendator of Dunfermline. He died, and was buried in that monastery in 1522.
41 James Betiiuxe. — -A.D. 1522—1539. He was a son of Bethune of Balfour in Fife, and was provost of Bothwell in 1503. In 1504, he was prior of Whithorn, abbot of Dunfermline, and Lord High Treasurer. In 1508, he was elect of Galloway; but was translated to Glasgow. In 151 5, he was made Lord Chancellor, and obtained, in commendam, the abbacies of Arbroath and Kilwinning. He was translated to St Andrews, on the death of bishop Forman. Archbishop Bethune was deeply engaged in the political intrigues of the period in which he lived, some account of which has been already given, volume I , page 99.
42. David Betiiuxe. — A.D. 1539 — 154G. This prelate was likewise a son of the house of Balfour, and was nephew of his predecessor. He was originally rector of Campsie, and in 1523, commendator of Arbroath. In 1528, he was made Lord Privy Seal, and became a great favourite with James V. In 1533, he was sent with others, to negotiate a marriage between James and Magdalene, daughter of the King of France, on which occasion he so ingratiated himself with that monarch, that he obtained the bishoprick of Mirepoix, in the province of Languedoc ; and through his influence, .'was after- wards made a cardinal, by the title of " Sti Stephani, in Monte Ccelio." On the death of his uncle, he was promoted to the primacy of St Andrews, and shortly afterwards was made Lord High Chan- cellor, when he resigned the Privy Seal. He, like his uncle, was much engaged in the political in- liigues of the period in which he lived ; and was a strong and determined opposer of the doctrines of the reformation, which had now begun to spread extensively among the people. For a more par- ticular account of the transactions in which this proud prelate was engaged, we refer our readers to what lias been already stated in volume I., from p. 105 to 122 ; and for an account of his murder, to the same volume, page 124.
43. Johx Hamilton. — A.D. 1546 — 1571. He was natural son of James I., Earl of Arran, and was made abbot of Paisley in 1525. In 1543, after his brother, the Earl of Arran, was made Regent he was made Keeper of the Privy Seal, and soon afterwards Lord Treasurer. In the same year, lie was presented to the see of Dunkeld, where he remained till some time after the murder of Cardinal Be- thune, when he was translated to the archiepiscopal see of St Andrews. He, like his immediate pre- decessors, attempted to stay the progress of the reformation, by persecuting its professors ; and he also endeavoured to remove many of the clerical abuses which had been allowed to creep into the church. He was, like the rest of the family of Hamilton, a keen parti zan for Queen Mary, and consequently on political as well as religious grounds, became obnoxious to the reformers. After the defeat of Queen Mary at Langside, he fled for security to Dumbarton castle, and on its being taken, fell into the hands of his enemies, and was publicly hanged upon a common gibbet in the town of Stirling. He was the last of the Catholic prelates of St Andrews. IJ,or an account of the transactions in which he was engaged, and of his execution, we refer to volume I. from page 133 to page 1 70.
The reformation, which had now made great progress, although it did not at first cause the entire abolition of the office of Bishop, reduced effectually and for ever the great wealth, power, and influence of prelacy. On the death of archbishop Hamilton,
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PARISH OF ST ANDREW-. 17
the rents of his diocess were conferred by the Regent on the Earl of Morton, and after the death of bishop Adamson, on the earl of Lennox, a small portion only of the reve- nues being set apart for the support of the bishops while they existed. In 1606, on the restoration of episcopacy, the revenues were restored to the see, but the act which conferred this contained so many reservations, that the bishops never attained to any thing like their former wealth. The erection of the bishoprick of Edinburgh by Charles I., still further reduced the income, as well as the power of the diocess ; but the King having purchased the revenues of the priory of St Andrews, which had been erected into a temporal lordship in favour of the duke of Lennox, mortified them to the see of St Andrews, and thus so far increased its dilapidated income. Many of the powers and privileges which had pertained to the see were also taken away; and, in particular, the extensive ecclesiastical jurisdiction, which was transferred to a court erected for the purpose — the Commissary court. That court continued to exist, till lately that it was abolished, and its powers transferred to the Sheriffs, who now act as Commissaries in each shire. The offices of hereditary baillies over the regalities belonging to the bishop, continued to exist long after the abolition of episcopacy, and were only abolished by the heritable jurisdiction act in 1748.
The Cathedral church, which was founded by bishop Arnold, after his consecration in 11:39, was completed by bishop Lamberton, and consecrated in 1318, on which a large portion of the wealth of the diocess had been expended under eleven successive bishops, and which from the time of its completion had stood 240 years, was destroyed by a mob in June 1559, during the early progress of the reformation, in consequence of a ser- mon preached by Knox against idolatry. This magnificent structure, of which so little now remains, was a cross church, apparently partly in the Norman, and partly in the early English style of the pointed order of architecture ; and consisted of a nave and choir with lateral aisles, a lady's chapel, and north and south transepts. Its extreme length within the walls is 356 feet. The length of the nave is 200 feet, and its breadth, deluding the aisles, 62 feet ; the choir is 98 feet in length, and the lady's chapel at the extreme end, 33 feet in length. The transepts, which had a lateral on the east side, are 160 feet in length from north to south. All that now remains of this building is part of the west front, the eastern gable, the wall of the south aisle of the nave, and of the west side of the south transept, and the basements of a few of the pillars which divided the nave and choir from the aisles, and supported the wall which contained the upper row of windows, and on which rested the roof of the nave and choir. The ori- ginal design of this church was in the Norman style, having windows with round arches, but as the building proceeded, the plan had been changed, and the more recent portions towards the west front are in the early English style. The west front must have had a grand and imposing appearance. It was flanked by two well-proportioned octagon turrets, which rose high above the roof, and were finely ornamented at top ; but only- one of these now remain, with the basement of the other. Between these towers
VOL. III. c
IS HISTORY OF FIFE.
was the great western entrance to the nave, having a pointed arch, ornamented with rich mouldings. Above it were two large pointed windows, one of which remains, also en- riched with fine mouldings, divided by mullions into four lights. The east gable is also flanked by octagonal turrets, terminating in handsome pinnacles, and between them are three lofty narrow windows, with semicircular arches, above which is a large win- dow, said to have been inserted by James Haldenstoun, prior of St Andrews during the time of bishop AVardlaw. The transepts seem also to have been flanked by similar turrets, though all traces of them, except at the south-west corner, are now removed. From the centre of the building, where the nave, choir, and transepts met, arose the great tower, which was supported on four massive pillars, the foundations of which can still be traced. It was no doubt also terminated at its corners by turrets and pinnacles of a similar description to those already mentioned. In the south wall of the nave, and west wall of the south transept, are still to be seen the remains of thirteen windows, of which six nearest the west are pointed, and the other seven round arched ; altoge- ther, the church must have been lighted by considerably more than 100 windows of various sizes. The tower was likewise furnished, according to Martine, " with many fair, great, and excellent bells, which, at the razing of the church, were taken down, and put aboard of a ship to be transported and sold. But it is reported, and certainly be- lieved in this place, that the ship which carried off the bells sunk in a fair day, within sight of the place where the bells form erlie hung." Untill 1826, the area of the cathe- dral was filled up with stones and rubbish, but it was then cleared out by order of the exchequer, and the floor and bases of the pillars were laid open. At this time three stone coffins were discovered projecting beyond the pavement where the high altar stood, where they still remain. This must have been the burying place of three pre- lates, though it would be difficult to say now who they were. Near these was found a skeleton, with a deep sword cut in the skull, which has been conjectured to be the re- mains of archbishop Alexander Stewart, who was killed at Flodden. On the floor of the east transept, are four flat tomb stones, on two of which only are there any inscrip- tion. They are of the respective dates of 1380, and 1513 ; and there is another in the garden of St Leonards, of date 1502. Little as we can trace of the external grandeur of this ancient cathedral, we know still less of its internal appearance ; but when we consider the number and wealth of the various prelates who suc- cessively filled the see, and who all in one way or other attended to its de- coration, until the period of its final destruction, we may probably be able to form some faint idea of its magnificence, and its. splendid decorations. Two views of the ruins have been given : one taken from the north-west shows in the fore-ground what remains of the west front ; the south wall occupies the middle distance, over which rises the tower of the ancient chapel of St Regulus ; and in the distance, is the east gable, with its turrets and windows, and part of the wall which surrounded the pre- cinct : the other view taken from the sea, shows the exterior of the eastern gable, the
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PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 19
wall of the precinct, and a more complete view of the tower and chapel of St Regulus. In this picture, is also seen to the right, a part of the steeple of the College of St Salva- tors church.
IV. — List of Archbishops from the Reformation till the Abolition of Episcopacy.
44. John Douglas. — A.D. 1">7- — 157G. He was Provost of St Mary's College at the time he was elected to the see, and was admitted to the office by the General Assembly of the Kirk convened at Perth ; John Knox having been present, and YVinram, formerly sub-prior, now superintendent of Fife, presiding at his inauguration. As the see had been shorn of its wealth, so was this prelate and his two immediate successors deprived of all but the mere shadow of episcopal jurisdiction. They were subject to the authority of the general assemblies and synods of the kirk, who looked upon them with jealousy, and did not fail to keep them in remembrance of their dependent situation.
45. Patrick Adamso.w — A.D. 1576 — 1591. He was minister of Paisley at the time lie was made Archbishop of St Andrews. He was an eloquent preacher, a man of great learning, and an elegant Latin poet. As chancellor of the university, he introduced the exclusive study of theology into St Mary's college ; and brought the well-known Andrew Melville from Glasgow, conferring upon him the rectorship of the university. He was afterwards engaged in continual disputes with Melville and his party ; and towards the close of his life, fell into a state of poverty and sickness, which his enemies endeavoured to convince him was a judgment of heaven for his acceptance of the episcopal office.
46. George Gladstones. — A.D. 1606 — 1615. After the death of Adamson, the see remained va- cant for several years, and the revenues were granted to the Duke of Lennox. He had been minister of Ardbirlot in Angus, and afterwards was brought to St Andrews by James VI., in order to balance Mr Melville, and guard the students from imbibing his principles. He was made bishop of Caithness in 1600, and was translated thence to the see of St Andrews in 1606. He consented to the alienation of the castle of St Andrews from the archbishoprick, in favour of the Earl of Dunbar, and received in lieu of it from the king and parliament a pension of 300 merks, and certain rights which had originally belonged to the see, but had been vested in the crown at the reformation. He also alienated part of the ecclesiastical estates, or let them on long leases for private considerations.
47. Joux Spottiswood. — A.D. 161 5 — 1639. Of this eminent and excellent prelate we have already taken notice, in our account of the parish of Dairsie, vol. II. p. 261.
48. James Sharp. — Ad). 1661 — 1679. He was professor of philosophy in St Andrews, and shortly after became minister of Crail. In the division which arose among the Presbyterian party, of Resolutioners and Remonstraters, he adopted the side of the former, which was the moderate party ; after which he was appointed professor of divinity at St Andrews. He is said to have been instru- mental in the restoration of Charles II. ; and on the re-establishment of episcopacy by (hat monarch, was, as a reward, appointed archbishop of St Andrews. He and Leighton, bishop of Dumblane, were consecrated in Westminster Abbey in 1661, and two years afterwards, he and the archbishop of Glasgow were made member of the privy council. In 1661, he had precedency given him over all the officers of state. In consequence of the proceedings adopted by the government against the cove- nanters, with which he was too much connected, he became extremely obnoxious to that party, and in 1668 was shot at by one James Mitchell, but missed, the ball striking the bishop of Orkney, who was with him. In 1679, he was murdered on Magus Muir, about two miles from St Andrews, by a party of covenanters, while he was on his way in his carriage with his daughter to that city. The. persons engaged in this murder were David Hackstone of Rathillet, John Balfour of Kiuloch, James
20
HISTORY OK FIFE.
Russel in Kettle, George Fleman in Balbathie, Andrew Henderson, Alexander Henderson in Kil- braehnionl, William Danzeil in Caddam, .lames Alexander, and George Balfour in Grilston, Thomas Ness, and Andrew Guillan, weaver in Balmerino. These persons had met for the purpose of being revenged on one Cunninghame, who had been employed in levying fines on the nonconformists of Fife, but meeting the carriage of the archbishop, they formed the conclusion that God had delivered him into their hands, they dragged him from his carriage, and, in presence of his daughter, effected their purpose. The whole escaped at the time, but Hackston and Guillan were afterwards taken pri- soners and executed. It is rather remarkable that the only two persons who suffered for this murder, are alleged not to have been directly engaged in it. Hackston having stood at a distance and refused to interfere, and Guillan having been engaged in holding the horses of the actual perpetrators.
49. Alexander Burnet. — A.D. 1 071) — KW-k This prelate was translated from Glasgow after the murder of archbishop Sharp. He died in lO^t, and was buried in St Sal va tors church, near the tomb of bishop Kennedy.
50. Arthur Ross. — A.D. 1081 — lliSS. He was likewise translated from Glasgow, and sate here till the revolution in 1GS8, when he and his brethren in Scotland were deprived of their offices by (lie abolition of episcopacy, and (lie complete establishment of the presbyterian form of church govern- ment.
V. The priory of St Andrews was founded by bishop Robert, during the reign of David I. Robert bad been prior of the canons regular of the order of St Augustine at Scone, and he determined to found a monastery of the same order at St Andrews. As soon, therefore, as the cloister, and part of the houses were built, he brought some of the monks of Scone to his new foundation ; and he appointed Robert, a canon of the church of St Oswald in England, the first prior. Bishop Robert liberally endowed the monastery ; and he obtained from the king a grant to it of the Culdean monastery of Loch Leven. From its institution till the reformation, there were in all twenty-five priors, many of whom added to its buildings, or procured additions to its revenues. One of these, William de Loudon, " covered," says Fordun, " the whole dormitor) with a magnificent roof; beneath with polished planks, and above with lead. He also roofed the old church of St Regulus, the eastern chamber, the four sides of the cloister, and the south part of the refectory." .lames Bisset, prior during the time of bishop Thomas Stewart, furnished, according to the same authority, the monastery " with new granaries, mills, calefactories, pigeries, barns, and stables, and provided the two apart- ments of the guest-hall with pillars and glass windows. He paved the exterior and in- terior court of the monastery ; and supplied its church, as well as all the churches de- pendent upon it with vestries, robes for the priests, and other useful ornaments.-' James Haldenstoun, another prior, furnished the vestry with fresh reliqucs, repaired the old ones, and erected presses for containing them. He also paved the floor of the chapter house, arid repaired the farm houses belonging to the monastery. Prior Hepburn built the extensive wall, still mostly remaining, round the monastery and the college of St Leonards, which he founded. It altogether inclosed a space of about twent\ acres, which formed the precinct of the monastery. It is 20 feet in height, and
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 21
about 870 feet in length ; and is defended by thirteen round or square towers at different intervals, on each of which there is one or two richly carved canopied niches. It has three gateways; and in several parts may be seen the arms and initials of the prior, with his motto, "Ad vitam." One of these has the date L520. On one of the turrets there is an inscription, now scarcely legible, but which seems to imph that the prior had carried on some improvements in the harbour, which his predecessor had commenced.
The wealth of the priory of St Andrews, when at its height was very great, being nearly equal to that of the bishoprick. There were four priories dependent upon it ; viz. 1. The priory of the Isle of May ; 2. the priory of Pittenween ; 3. the priory of Lochleven ; and 4. the priory of Monymusk; besides which, it had the bends often parish churches in Fife, and of fifteen in other counties. It had a considerable extent of land belonging to it, particularly the prior acres in the immediate neighbour- hood of St Andrews ; and also the superiority o( large estates, six noblemen holding their lands from it. The revenue in 1561, was, money £2237 : Is : 1 ; wheat, 38 chalders, 1 boll; bear, 132 chalders, 7 bolls; Meal, 114 chalders, 3 bolls; oats, 151 chalders, 10 bolls; beans and pease, 3 chalders, 7 bolls. At the time of the reformation, the priory was held in eommendam bv dames Stewart, natural son of James V., afterwards earl of Murray and regent of the kingdom. In 1j37, the benefice was annexed to the crown ; and in 1603, was erected into a temporal lordship in favour of the Duke of Lennox. In 1635, it came again to the crown bv purchase, and was mortified to the protestant archbishops as an increase to their income. On the abolition of episcopacy it again reverted to the crown. The lands were mostly sold by the regent Murray, but he retained the bomb, which are still drawn bv the crown, or by those holding leases of them.
The prior of St Andrews was a lord of parliament, and also a lord of regality, hold- ing three head courts yearly at St Andrews, lie hail the precedence in parliament of all other priors and abbots ; and wore, on festival days and at public meetings, the pon- tifical ornaments, viz. a mitre, gloves, ring, cross, crosier, and sandals or slippers like the bishops. According to Martine, there wen', besides the prior and sub-prior, thirty- four canons and numerous servants and dependants. The prior, sub-prior, and canons formed the chapter of the see, which the Culdecs had formerly constituted ; and they performed the regular worship in the cathedral church. At the reformation, fourteen of them turned preachers in different churches which had belonged to the prion ; and the remainder continued to live in poverty and neglect about the monastery till their death.
The buildings of the monasterv were situated on the south side of the- cathedral, and were, with the precinct enclosed by the wall, erected by prior Hepburn. Scarcely any vestage of these however now remains. The cloister occupied the ground immediately south of the nave of the cathedral, and formed a large quadrangle, in which the great fair, called the Senzie market was held, and from which there
•22
HISTORY OF FIFE.
entrance by two doors to the cathedral, the steps of the one at the west, being still to be seen. It is now converted into a garden. On the west side of the cloister, was the Senzie house, Senzie hall, or Senzie chamber, called also the house of the sub-prior. It was quite entire in Martine's time, and contained several rooms. The refectory or fratery stood on the south side of the cloister, and was a fine large room about 108 feet long, by 28 feet broad, which formed the dining-hall of the canons. Its west gable, says Martine, contained a fine large gothic window, which, with other parts of the building have long disappeared, its site being now a garden. The vestiary formed the eastern side of the cloister, and east of it, and in a line with the south transept was the dormitory, where the monks had their sleeping apartments. East of the dormitory, was the chapter house, in which the meetings of the chapter were held ; and adjoining it on the south-east, the Hospitium vetus, or Old Inn, the residence of the prior, and probably at an earlier period of the archbishop. The guestdiall, or Magna aula Hos- pitium, the strangers large hall, stood within what was afterwards the precinct of St Leonard's college, on the south-west side of the road which leads from the principal gate of the monasterv to the shore. Here pilgrims and other strangers who visited St Andrews from devotion or other purposes, were entertained at the expense of the monks. The New Inn or Novum Hospitium was the last erected of the buildings within the monastery. It is said to have been erected as a residence for the queen of James V., and was erected in the space of one month. It formed the residence of the archbishops after the annexation of the priory to the see. The tiend barn still in use, stands a few- yards south of the site of the new Inn ; and the abbey miln a short way south of it. The granary which was a large building three stories high, stood about 20 or 30 yards north-east of the new Inn.
Besides these buildings, the ancient chapel of St Regulus stands within what was the precinct of the monastery. The period at which this building was erected, is quite unknown, but an antiquity has been given to it, from the circumstance of its being dedicated to St Regulus, which is quite absurd. That it is of great antiquity is quite indisputable ; and it is probable that it was erected about the close of the eleventh or beginning of the twelfth century. It seems to have been the ancient cathedral of the monastery, where the Culdees, when they formed chapter of the see, performed the stated worship. After the institution of the Priory, the canons appeared to have ob- tained possession of it, as they ultimately did of other rights and properties of their predecessors ; and in it they no doubt, small as it now appears, performed the cathedral worship, until a sufficient portion of the cathedral, founded by bishop Arnald, was completed to accommodate them. If we may judge from the fact of bishop Roger, who died in 1202, and was a cousin of the king, being buried within it, we would be inclined to think, that it still formed the cathedral church in the commencement of the thirteenth century. It was no doubt then, to the high altar in the church of St Regu- lus, that Alexander I. brought " his comely steed of Araby, saddled and bridled cost-
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 23
lykly," and caused with great pomp to be led round it, on the occasion of his granting extensive lands and privileges to the church; and here, in all probability, Elhelred earl of Fife, son of Malcolm III., was buried near the close of the eleventh century. In this ancient structure, we may trace the rude origin of the form of cathedral churches, viz. a nave and choir with a central tower. All that now remains is the tower, and the chapel or choir to the east ; but from the marks on the west side of the tower, there is sufficient evidence of the fact of there having existed an anti-chapel or chancel, serving the purpose of a nave. In corroboration of this, several old impressions of seals, attached to the city and college charters, represent this anti-chapel with a smaller tower at its west end, both towers being surmounted with short spires. There was a large arched door which communicatedbetween the chancel and eastern chapel or choir, but which has now been built up. The chapel which remains, is about 31.!> feet in length, by 25 feet in breadth ; and has four windows, two on the north, and two on the south. The largest arched door at the eastern end, by which it is now entered, was no doubt formerly a window, which gave light to the altar placed before it. The tower is a square of 20 feet at its base, and is 10S feet in height. In 17S9, it was repaired at the expense of the exchequer, the top covered with lead, and a winding stair built in the inside, by which any one can ascend to the top, from which there is a delightful and extensive view. The whole of this venerable structure, which cannot be less than 700 years old;* is built of a very durable grey sandstone, and notwithstanding the length of time it has been exposed to the weather, the stones still remain entire and unimpaired. The window's and doors of this building, with their round arches, are in what is called the Norman style of architecture. Within the monastery, there wras also a chapel dedi- cated to St Mary Magdelane, no vestage of which now remains.
Near the end of the thirteenth century, bishop Wishart founded and endowed a mo- nastery of Dominican or Black Friars, in South street. After the reformation, the ground on which it stood, came to lord Seaton, and from him to Spens of Lathallau. It afterwards became the property of Dr Patrick Young, archdeacon of St Andrews, who granted it to the town as a site for a grammar school. The late Dr Bell obtained it from the town, and upon it, with some other ground he had purchased, the Madras college has been erected. In front of that institution, are the remains of the north transept of the chapel of this convent, and which has been railed in for its preservation. Judging by what is left, it has been an elegant building, in the early English style of pointed architecture. About the middle of the 15th century, bishop Kennedy founded and endowed a monastery of Franciscan, or Grey Friars, near the market gate of the market street, which was finished by his successor, archbishop Graham. John Wad- lock, born in Dundee, provincial of the order, and who generally resided here, was a famous mathematician in the reign of James V. It was destroyed by the reformers,
* The ideal antiquity which has been ascribed to this cliapeJ, would make it about 1 t00 years old.
■I
1 1 1 i i > i; v hi FIFE.
and no trace of its buildings now remain. The name of the " Grey Friars Garden" is still given to the spol where it stood ; and here a new street called Bell street, has re ceiitly been opened ii|>. An old well, within its precinct, was lately cleared of the rubbish which ii contained, and several stones were found, on which some texts of scripture were carved.
\ I. 'The University of St Andrews was originally founded by bishop Wardlaw in I 110, and was the lirsl institution of the kind in Scotland. For an account of the foun- dation of this institution, its first professors, and their objects of Study, and the ceremo- nies and rejoicings which took place when it had received the sanction of a papal bull, we refer the reader to volume 1. pp. 7o and 74. The site of the original buildings of the institution, which for a long period received no higher title than the Pedagogium, Was on the ground now occupied b) St Man's college; but it had apartments in other parts of the iily. Bishop Kennedy, llu- successor of Wardlaw, imitating his noble ex- ample, founded and endowed the college of St Salvator, conferring upon it tin- tiends of the parishes of Culls, Kcmback, Dunino, Fortiviot, and Kihnanv, ami some chapel- ries, which all belonged to the see. B) the first foundation charter, it was to consist of n principal, si\ fellows, and si\ poor scholars. ISy the second, which is dated 1458, it was to consist of a doctor, a licentiate, and a bachelor in theology ; four masters of arts, and six poor scholars, who were to be taught the speculative sciences. They were, by several royal grants, freed from all taxes and tributes ; and the founder, by a contract with the cit) , obtained to his college many privileges.
St Leonard's college was founded in 1512, by prior John Hepburn, under the sanc- tion and with the assistance of archbishop Alexander Stewart. From the foundation charter, it appears that there had been an hospital attached to the priory, which, with its chapel, was dedicated to St Leonard, for the reception and entertainment of pil- grims and strangers w ho \ isited the shrine oi St Andrew, where his arm, which wrought man) mnaclc-., was the object of then- devotion. At length, from whatever cause, the resort of strangers diminished, or altogether ceased, and the prior and canons, who
were the patrons, filled it with old women, converting it into a kind of nunnery. Soon
alter, however, the old women were turned out, and the chapel and hospital being repaired, they were coin cited into a college, to consist o( a master or principal,
four chaplains, two of whom were to be regents, and twenty scholars, who were to l>e taught the languages, and then the liberal arts and sciences ; after which, six o\ them thought most qualified, were to stud) theology. Such of the scholars also as were tit were to be taught music. The foundation charter was executed in August, 1512 ; and b) another charter, the college was endowed with the houses, lauds, and revenues, which had belonged to St Leonard's hospital.
About the time that St Leonard's college was founded, the buildings appropriated to the original institution, or Pedagogy, having fallen into disrepair, and the funds set apart for the support o( its teachers being found inadequate, the design was formed
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 25
of repairing the buildings, ami erecting them into a college, with a suitable endow- ment. The design, for some reason, was not immediately adopted ; but in 15:57, arch- bishop .lames Beaton obtained the sanction of the Pope, and began the new buildings of the college, to be designated St Mary's College. After his death, cardinal Beaton, his nephew, proceeded with the undertaking, but it being still incomplete at the time of his murder, it was completed by his successor, archbishop Hamilton. He intended that it should consist of a principal, S professors, and 24 bursars in theology and philosophy, besides attendants ; and, for their maintenance, he appropriated the tithes of the parishes of Tannadice, Tynningham, Laurencekirk, Pert, Tarvet, and Craig.
Soon after the reformation, the University and the colleges were remodelled, to suit the change which had taken place in the country ; and by this enactment which took place in 1579, the colleges of St Salvator, and St Leonard, were to be restricted to the teaching of Philosophy ; and St Mary's to the teaching of Theology. It was subse- quentlj found, how ever, that this arrangement led to uncertainty on the part of the pro- fessors, as to the sciences they were required to teach ; and a new enactment of the legislature was obtained. This ratified, the first foundations of the three colleges, in all heads and articles, so far as was consistent with the reformed religion, and ordained the members to conform to the regulations therein contained ; with the exception that the professors of St Mary's College should confine themselves entirely to the teaching of Divinity. Under this enactment, the three colleges continued to subsist, until the year 17 17, when in consequence of the utter inadequacy of the provision for the prin- cipals and professors of the two philosophy colleges, they were united by an act of the British Parliament, under the denomination of the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard. By this act, the endowments were reduced from two principals, and ten professors, of which the establishments formerly consisted, to one principal and eight professors. On this occasion, the buildings and the chapel of St Leonard were sold, and are now partly the property of Colonel IMayfair, son of the late principal, and partly of Sir David Brewster, the principal of the united college. The chapel, now roof- fiess, was an elegant building, with square topped windows, divided by mullions, 90 feet long, and 21 wide, within the walls, including the chancel. Within the chancel, and on the north wall, are three handsome mural monuments ; one of which is that of Robert Stewart, bishop of Caithness, and successively earl of Lennox, and earl of March, and [commendator of the priory, who died in 1586; another, in a state of complete decay, ascertained to be that of John Hepburn, prior of the monastery, and founder of the college of St Leonard, near which is a flat stone, bear- ing to be inscribed to the memory of Mr James Wilkie, principal of the college, who died in 1590; and the third, to Mr Robert Wilkic,son and successor to Mr James, who died in 1611. About 40 feet to the south, is a house which was occupied by George Buchanan, when principal of St Leonard's College, the room being
VOL. 111. JO
26 HISTORY OF FIFE.
still shown in which he studied. It is now the residence and the property of Sir David Brewster.
Since the arrangement in 1 747, no change has been made in the constitution of the United College, which has been accommodated in the buildings originally belonging to St Salvator's College. These form an extensive square, enclosing a quadrangular court. The entrance gate is at the west end of the south side, the remaining portion of that side being occupied with the chapel erected by bishop Kennedy, an elegant structure, in the pointed style, having a handsome tower and spire at its western termination. In this chapel is the monument of its founder, already described, in which were disco- vered in 16S3, six silver maces, all of fine workmanship, which, in all probability, had been concealed there at the reformation. Three of these maces were presented to the three Scottish Universities, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh ; the remaining three being retained in the college. One of them is peculiarly valuable for elegance of design, and beauty of workmanship ; and is in the same style with the ornaments of bishop Kennedy's tomb. From an inscription appended to it, it appears that that prelate had caused it to be made at Paris in 1461 ; and from another, that Dr Skene, provost of the college, had caused it to be repaired in 10S5. The other sides of the quadrangle were occupied by the class rooms, the public hall, and the rooms in which the persons holding bursaries resided. These buildings having become mean and ruinous, the royal commission in 1827, ordered plans to be prepared for restoring the United College, and repairing St Mary's, and the University Library. These plans were approved of by the lords of the treasury, and the barons of exchequer were authorized to proceed in their execution. The repairs on St Mary's College and the Library were completed according to the plan, and one half of the buildings proposed for the United College was erected, when, unfortunately for the University, the Grey administration came into power, and the remaining portion of the sum intended to have finished the United College was assigned, through the interest of Mr Bannerman, member for Aberdeen, to the Marischal College of that city. The buildings of the United College which have been erected, are in the Elizabethan style, and very elegant ; and it is much to be regretted that they have not been completed, so as to afford the full accommodation required. In the old hall of this College is still shown the pulpit in which Knox preached when in St Andrews. The buildings of St Mary's College are situated on the south side of South Street, and occupy two sides of a quadrangle. On the west side is the Divinity Hall and the principal's house ; and on the north, the University Library. The facade of the library, which fronts the street, is very hand- some, and has carved upon it the arms of all the bishops and archbishops, who were Chancellors of the University, from Bishop Wardlaw to Archbishop Ross, and of several eminent individuals who have held the office subsequent to the revolution. The library which belongs in common to both Colleges, contains 35,000 volumes ; among which there are some worthy of being mentioned, viz : a copy of the
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 27
Khoran, taken from the library of Tippoo Saib ; a finely illuminated Roman missal ; an old MS copy of Winton's Chronicle ; a copy of Juvenal, printed at Venice in 1475 ; Archbishop Hamilton's Catechism, in black letter, printed at St Andrews in 1552; and a copy of a large work on the ruins of Herculaneam, with numerous engravings, pre- sents d by the king of Naples.
The rector, principals, and professors of the two Colleges form the Senates Aca- demicus of the University, which confers degrees, and elects the chancellor and a medical professor. The rector presides in the Senatus, and is chosen annually by the professors and students of the University. Their choice, however, is limited to the three professors of Divinity, and the principal of the United College. The regular curriculum for students at the University is four sessions at the United College ; and if intending for the church, four more at St Mary's. The principal of the United College has no particular branch of knowledge assigned to him, and is not obliged to deliver any course of lectures. The professorships are, Humanity, Greek, Logic and Rhetoric, Moral Philosophy and Political Economy, Natural Philosophy, Mathematics, Civil Historv, and Medicine. The average number of students is 130, who wear scarlet frieze <zo wns. The Greek and Latin classes commence their session about the20th October, the others early in November, and the whole close on the 4th Friday in April. The students pay a fee of £3 3s. each, to those professors whose classes they attend. At the termination of the curriculum of four years in this College, a degree in Arts can be taken by those who are prepared to undergo the necessary examination, which is very strict. There are bursaries, varying in value from £5 to £25 ; the greater number of which are held for four years, though seven of them are held for nine years ; four for only one year, and one is not fixed. The value of many of them fluctuate according to the fiar price of grain ; but altogether they may amount to about £900 per annum. This College holds the patronage of the parishes of Denino, Kera- back, Kilmanv, Cults, and Forteviot. St Mary's College is wholly devoted to the studv of theology. The principal is primarius professor of Divinity ; and besides him, there are three other professorships : a professor of Church History ; one of Biblical Criticism ; and the third of Oriental Languages. The resident students are 35 ; the non- resident about 12. They wear no distinguishing dress, and pay no fees to the pro- fessors. Previous to admission, however, they must have attended the usual curricu- lum, either at the United College, or at some other Scotch University. The session begins upon 1st December, and ends the 31st of March. The number of bursaries be- longing to this College is 17, varying in value from £9 to £18 Sterling. The annual value of these bursaries amounts altogether to about £200 Sterling. This College holds the patronage of the parishes of Tanadice, Craig, Logie-Pert, Laurencekirk and Tweeds- muir. Besides the degrees in art granted to the students of the United College, the Senatus Academicus grants degrees in Medicine and Surgery twice each year to candidates who have attended a specified number of courses of lectures in the various branches of medical
28 HISTORY OF FIFE.
science, and attended a fixed length of time in some well known public hospital, after a strict examination by the medical professors of the United College, in conjunction with certain eminent members of the profession, being resident Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians, or Surgeons in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin. Degrees are also conferred in Divinity and in Law, as an honorary distinction, on persons who have rendered themselves eminent in the church, or in literature or science.
VII. The city and royal burgh of St Andrews stands upon a rocky height, rising about 50 feet above the level of the large bay of the German Ocean to which it gives name. Its site is above two miles distant from the point which terminates the sea-coast of the parish at the north, and about four miles from where it terminates on the south-east. It is about ten miles east of the county town of Cupar, and about the same distance south-east of Newport, where there is a ferry to Dundee. In whatever way it is approached, whether from the sea or by land, St Andrews, with its lofty though ruined towers, has a grand and commanding appearance ; and in many points of view, taken in connection with the surrounding scenery, forms a beautiful and interesting object in the landscape. The city is about a mile in circumference, and contains three principal streets ; South Street, Market Street, and North Street, which diverge from the cathedral in a westerly direction, like the spokes from the centre of a wheel, and are intersected at right angles in various places, by a number of lanes or streets of smaller dimensions. The three principal streets, especiallv South Street, which is the broadest, and best built, have a noble though antiquated appearance, and are each ornamented by public buildings of one description or another. In South Street are St Mary's College, the Madras College, and the town church ; in Market Street, the town-hall ; and in North Street, the United College, with the chapel of St Salvator, the Episcopal chapel, and the Secession chapel. Amid some mean and many old houses, these streets present numerous well built and handsome ones ; and are enlivened by a variety of respectable shops in different branches of trade. At the west end of Market Street, and between it and North Street, a fine street of well built houses has been recently opened up, and named after Dr Bell, the founder of the Madras College; and at the west end of North Street, on a portion of the Links, a row of elegant houses has been erected, called Pilmour Place. West of the termination of South Street is a large suburb called Argyle, from what cause is not known. The principal streets are well paved, cleanly kept, and, during winter, are lighted with gas.
Blessed with pure air, a comparatively mild and equal climate, easy access to the sea, and secure and sheltered bathing places, St Andrews has deservedly become a place of great resort for persons desirous of, or requiring, sea bathing ; and from the necessary literary nature of its society, the excellent opportunities of a superior education which it affords, the attraction of the game of golf, and the cheap- ness of its markets, it has been selected as a desirable place of residence by numer- ous persons of moderate fortune, and military gentlemen who have retired from active
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 29
life. But desirable on all these grounds as it may be as a place of residence, or of occasional resort to the invalid, it has another, and, to the intelligent tourist, highly pleasing class of attractions. To the artist, its numerous ruins and ancient buildings afford picturesque objects for his pencil ; to the antiquary, of research and investiga- tion ; and all who love their country, or have read its annals, must feel they are on hallowed ground, every spot of which calls up some reverend history, some inspiring recollection.
The burgh of St Andrews owes its origin to the college of Culdees settled here, and the residence of a bishop. During these early times, and among a Celtic people, to whom burghs, as afterwards constituted, were unknown, it remained merely a hamlet or village, gradually increasing as the importance of the Culdees, and of the bishop increased. After the reign of Malcolm Caenmore, and the introduction of Saxon cus- toms among the Celtic people of Scotland, St Andrews became in all probability a burgh holding of the bishop ; and according to Martin it had so increased in rank as to be erected into a royal burgh by David I. The earliest charter now existing, how- ever, is by Malcolm IV., the grandson of David, which is still preserved among the records of the burgh.* In progress of time the increased wealth conferred upon the
* This very carious document, a lithographed fac simile of which has been published by Dr Buist, in his account of the parish of St Andrews in the new Statistical account of Scotland, is written upon a piece of parchment 3 inches long, by H inches broad; and is equally remarkable for its brevity as for its antiquity. It is without date, but Malcolm succeeded his grandfather in US'!, and died in 1165, so that it is at least 674 years since it was granted. We have seen the document since it was in the hands of the lithographer, and it appears to have been recently traced over with ink, probably, (for we do not know the fact,) witli lithographic ink, for the purpose of taking an impression on the stone. This is to be regretted, as it may hereafter excite doubts as to its authenticity. When its brevity, the style of its writing, the appearance of the parchment, but above all, (he names of the witnesses, and the seal, which is still appended to it, are taken into consideration, there seems not the slightest reason to question the fact, that it really is one of the few charters of Alalcolm IV. still preserved. The following is a copy of this very ancient document ; " Malcolmus Rex Scotorum, omnibus suis probis hominibus salutem. Sciatis me concessisse, et liac carta confirmasse, burgensibus Episcopi Sancti Andrew omnes liberfates et consuetudines, quas mei burgensis communes habent per totam terram meam et quibuscunque portibus applicuerint. Qua de re vnlo, et super meum plenarium prohibeo forisfactum, ne quisab illis aliquid injuste exigat. Testibus, Wtdtc.ro Can- cellario, Hugone de Moriville, Waltero filio Alani, WaUero de Idndysay, Roberto Avenel. Apud Sanctum Andream." Of the witnesses it may be stated, (hat Waller was chancellor of the kingdom, under David I. and was a witness to his charter to the Culdees of Lochleven. Hugh de Moriville came from Cumberland, during the reign of David I., from whom he received large grants of land in Lauderdale, in (lie Lolhians and in Cunninghame. He was constable of Scotland under David, and the original founder of the abbey of Dryburgh. lie died in 1162, about three years previous to the death of Malcolm IV. Walter, the son of Alan, came from Shropshire, in England, also, during the reign of David I., from whom and from Malcolm, he received grants of extensive possessions. He was steward of Scotland under both these kings, and founder of the abbey of Paisley. He was
30 HISTORY OF FIFE.
bishops, the founding and endowing of the priory and other religious houses, in- creased the population and the importance of the town ; and as commerce began to visit our shores, St Andrews became one of its early emporiums. The industrious Flemings, encouraged by several of our kings, settled in many of the Scottish burghs ; and among others in this ecclesiastical capital and sea-port town. Indeed the first provost of the town is said to have been Maynard, a Fleming, who was appointed by David I. The greater part of the bishops gave much encouragement to com- merce, and aided by their wealth and influence the efforts made for its extension. At length in the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries, the city attained its highest point of wealth and commercial importance. During this period a yearly fair or great market, called the Senzie market, was held within the cjuadrangle of the priory, commencing in the second week of Easter, and continuing for fifteen days ; to which resorted merchants from most of the trading kingdoms of Europe, and, when on some occasions, from 200 to 30J vessels have come to the harbour with goods of various kinds, and to carry away in return the produce of the countrv. Besides which, the citizens with their ships visited foreign countries, and brought home the manufactures of other nations, for the productions of their own. As affording some idea of the extent and importance of the city in these times, it may be mentioned, that there were then from 60 to 70 bakers, and as many brewers ; whereas now there are only 12 bakers and 2 brewers.
The destruction of the religious houses, and the assigning of their wealth, and that of the archbishoprick into the hands of the crown and of lay improprietors, and the want of security to property arising from civil commotion, soon reduced St Andrews from its high estate, and banished foreign fleets in a great measure from its harbour. As evidence of this we find that in 1G55, the provost and magistrates petitioned General Monk for an abatement of a part of the monthly assessment laid upon the town, which they stated it was unable to pay " by reason of the total decay of shipping and sea trade, and the removal of the most eminent inhabitants thereof to live in the countrv." And in 1697, when it was proposed to remove the university to Perth, among the various reasons given by one of the professors for the removal, are the following : that " victuals are dearer here than any where else, viz., fleshes, drinks of all sorts ; that this place is ill provided of all commodities and trades, which obliges us to send to Edin- burgh and provide ourselves with shoes, clothes, hats, &c, and what are here are double rate; and that this place being now only a milage where most part fanners dwell, the whole streets are filled with dunghills, which are exceedingly noxious and
the real ancestor of the Stewart family, who succeeded to the crown at the deatli of David II. He died in 1177. Walter de Lindsay, received lands from David I., and was the brother of William de Lindsay, ancestor of the earls of Lindsay and Crawford. Robert Avenel, settled under David in upper Ejkdale, and flourished during the reigns of Malcolm and William Lyon. He was Justiciary of the Lotliians.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 31
ready to infect the air." Such was the state to which the metropolitan city was reduced at the end of the 17th century. Nearly eighty years afterwards Dr Johnson visited the city, when he states in his tour, " one of its streets is now lost ; and in those that remain there is the silence and solitude of inactive indigence and gloomy depopulation." Ahout the commencement of this present century, the energy of a few individuals, led to the improvement of the city, and its various educational and other advantages, bringing wealthy persons to reside in it, has tended to keep this spirit alive; but com- merce once banished was never again to revisit its harbour, or shed the influence of its wealth upon its streets. It had during a long interval found other and more con- venient sites, where wealth had accumulated, and industry, activity and enterprise had become habitual.
The city is governed by a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer, twenty- two town councillors, with a town clerk. The magistrates have the usual jurisdiction within the burgh, and hold courts civil and criminal from time to time, as may be required. The town house stands in the middle of the street, at the west end of Market street, and contains two excellent halls for public meetings, and assemblies, and in one of which the courts of justice are held. The prison forms a part of this building, and consists of only three small apartments, which are tolerably secure, pretty well ventilated, and cleanly kept. The annual revenue of the burgh is £1300 sterling ; but there is a debt owing by it amounting to about £5000 sterling. Besides its regular income the magistrates have the disbursement of the interest of £9798 : 13 : 4 sterling, 3 per cent government annuities, left by the late Dr Bell, for promoting the moral and religious improvement of the community, and for such other useful and permanent works connected with the city, as may be judged most elegible ; subject, however, to the approbation of the lord lieutenant of the county and the trustees of the Madras College. In the election of a member of parliament, St Andrews used formerly to be classed with Cupar, Perth, Forfar, and Dundee. But since the Reform Bill, it is now associated with Cupar, Grail, Kilrenny, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, and Pittenweem, and is the returning burgh. There is a guildry of merchants, of which the dean of guild is the head ; and seven incorporated trades, viz., Wrights, Shoe- makers, Bakers, Fleshers, Weavers, Taylors and Smiths. The whole of these public bodies are possessed of funds of greater or less extent. There is one masonic lodge, " the St Andrew," No. 25, with which a benefit society was at one time connected, but is now dissolved, and two lodges of Free Gardeners. There is also a societv of Malt- men, now few in number; and a sailors' benefit society. The female charitable societv, consists of a number of ladies, who have associated themselves together for the relief of indigent poor and sick. It is supported entirely by voluntary subscription, and its charity is distributed by a committee, who visit personally the objects of their charity.
Three fairs are held in the city annually. The first of these on the second Thursday of April, is all that remains of the great Senzie Meixat, at which now very little busi-
32 HISTORY OF FIFE.
ness is done ; the second on the 1 st of August, is attended by the farm servants of the eastern district of the county for the purpose of forming new engagements with the agriculturists ; and the third is held on St Andrew's day, old style, the 30th of Novem- ber, and is but thinly attended. Besides these annual fairs, there are three weekly markets held in the city, one on Monday for the sale of grain, which is well attended by Farmers and corn dealers, and one on Wednesday, and another on Saturday for the supply of the town with batter, poultry, eggs, and vegetables. St Andrews is also a post town, there being daily arrivals and departures of the mail, from and to the south and north of the kingdom. There is a coach from St Andrews to Cupar, twice every week, Thursday and Saturday, which leaves in the morning and returns in the evening; and a coach to Dundee also twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, leaves in the morning and returns in the evening. A coach to Largo, whence there is a steam boat to Edinburgh, leaves St Andrews every lawful morning during Spring, Summer, and Autumn, returning after the arrival of the steam boat from Edinburgh, and passing through all the towns on the coast. There are carriers weekly to Cupar, Edinburgh, and Dundee by which goods may be brought from, or forwarded to, any part of the kingdom ; and a packet sails regularly once a fortnight to and from Leith. There are also carriers who go regularly to the neighbouring towns on the south coast of the county. There are two excellent Inns in the town, and about 37 other taverns and ale-houses, and 9 in the country district of the burgh.
A branch of the Bank of Scotland was opened here about 50 years ago, and as it has been found sufficient for all the commercial or agricultural arrangements of the city and neighbourhood, no rival branch of any other bank has been attempted. A Savings' Bank was established in 1816, and with the exception of the three years immediately after 1825, the amount of deposits, and of depositors have gone on steadily increasing. In March, 1837, the sum deposited was £1100 sterling; the number of depositors about 200. For the last 18 years it has been entirely under the charge of the Rev. Dr Buist, one of the ministers of the parish, who sets apart an hour every Monday for receiving or giving out money. The funds are lodged in the Bank of Scotland, which always allows one per cent, more, than on the other deposits made with it. The har- bour which is very defective and dry at low water, only admits vessels of small burden. There are 14 vessels belonging to it, all however, of small burden, the tonnage of the whole not exceeding 680 tons register of the old measure. A few foreign vessels visit the harbour from Norway or the Baltic with timber, but if these exceed 100 tons burden they are obliged to discharge part of their cargo before they can enter it.
Besides the University Library, which is accessible through the professors to families in the city and neighbourhood, a subscription library was instituted about 1 6 years ago, which now contains about 1200 volumes in various branches of literature, and is yearly increasing. A mechanics' library was established some years ago, which at first met with considerable encouragement, but has not since been so prosperous. A parochial
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PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 33
library was also established some years ago, the books in which are almost exclusively of a religious character ; the number of volumes it contains is nearly 300, and only one shilling per annum is charged from persons desirous of availing themselves of its use. A literary, scientific and antiquarian society, has lately been instituted, which meets at stated intervals throughout the year, when essays on literary, scientific or antiquarian subjects, are read by some of the members. In connection with it a museum of natural history, antiquities, &c, has been formed, which is daily increasing in extent and importance, by the donations of the members and their friends. A floral and horticultural society has also been in existence since 1833, which holds four meetings during the summer, when exhibitions of flowers, fruits and vegetables take place, and prizes are awarded to successful competitors.
The general view of the city given in the engraving, is taken from the south-west, where it is considered one of the best general views is to be obtained. On the right side of the middle distance is the harbour. Further to the left are seen the ancient tower and chapel of S t Regulus, the eastern gable of the ruined Cathedral, and a por- tion of the ruins of the Castle ; and still farther to the left are the ruins of the western gable, and part of the south wall of the Cathedral. Near the centre of the picture is the tower and spire of St Salvator's Chapel, now the College Church ; and in the ex- treme left is the tower and spire of the town Church, near which, marked by a small belfry, is seen the roof of the town-house. Stretching from the eastern part of the ruins of the Cathedral, to near the left hand side of the picture, and enclosing a con- siderable piece of ground, is the old wall with its numerous towers, which surrounded the precinct of the Monastery. In the distance is the estuary of the Eden, and part of the county of Fife ; and in the extreme distance, the summits of* the Sidlaw-hills in Forfarshire.
VIII. The castle of St Andrews is situated on an eminence over-hanging the sea, a short distance north-west of the cathedral. The bishops had originally resided within the college of Culdees, and afterwards within the priory ; but about the beginning of the 13th century, the castle was built by Roger then bishop, as a residence for himself and his successors. This fortress from its strength, and from its being the residence of a powerful ecclesiastic, was often besieged and taken ; and particularly during the wars which succeeded the death of Alexander III., it was repeatedly in the hands of the English. In 1303, it was in their possession, during which year Edward I. held a parliament in the city.* In 1305, it was again in their possession, as also in 1306. During the war which followed the death of Robert Bruce, the castle was again in the hands of the English, and was besieged by the regent Sir Andrew Murray, while it was stoutly defended for Edward Baliol the vassal king. It was at length captured in 1335, and destroyed by the Scots, who had not a
* See vol. I. pp. 31—33. VOL. III. E
34 HISTORY OF FIFE.
force sufficient to garrison it. Towards the close of the 14th century, it was rebuilt by bishop Trail, and again became the residence of him and his successors. Here James I. resided in his youth, receiving his education under archbishop Wardlaw, and after his return from England, he often visited bishop Kennedy, at his castle. Within its walls it appears James III. was born, as in a charter of James II. it is designated "the happy birth place of his first born son." In 1514, it formed an object of contention between two rival claimants to the bishopric, * and in 1526, it was pillaged by the Douglasses.! In 1546, it was the scene of the murder of cardinal Bethune, and was kept possession of by the assassins till next year, when it was besieged by the French, taken under terms of capitulation by them, and afterwards dismantled to a great extent. | It was rebuilt a few years afterwards, by archbishop Hamilton, and became again for a time, the residence of the archbishops. In 15S3, James VI. took refuge within it, after his escape from the nobles who committed the raid of Ruthven, and was there joined by the well affected part of the nobility. About the year 1610, archbishop Gladstone consented to its alienation in favour of the Earl of Dunbar ; and it is now the property of the crown. It appears to have fallen into delapidation, and to have become unin- habitable about the period of the civil wars.
St Andrews appears to have been often visited by our Scottish sovereigns, who either resided in the castle, or in the priory. Even after his accession to the English throne, James VI., on revisiting Scotland, paid a visit here ; and Charles II., on his return from Holland, in July 1650, spent two days here ; on which occasion, the silver keys of the city, which are still preserved, were presented to him. This was the last royal visit with which St Andrews was honoured.
The castle encloses a large court at the north-west corner of which, next the sea, there is a tower, in the bottom of which is a circular pit, dug into the solid rock, fifteen feet deep, and seventeen feet in diameter at the bottom, which tradi- tion says, was used as a place of imprisonment in former times.
IX. Printing, that noblest of arts, and which preserves the knowledge of all others, was carried on at St Andrews at an early period. The art seems to have been first introduced into Scotland by Walter Chapman, a citizen of Edinburgh, who printed there various pamphlets in 1508, and the breviary of Aberdeen in 1509; after which, there is no evidence of any other works being printed in Scotland till 1541. Shortly after the latter period, John Scott, a printer, appears to have settled in St Andrews, and to have carried on the art there to some extent. Among the works still preserved, executed by this printer, are the following: — in 1548, The Complaynt of Scotland ; in 1552, Arch- bishop Hamilton's Catechism ; in 1554, Ane dialog of the miserabell estait of this world, by Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, with the fictitious imprint and date of Copenhagen,
* See vol. I. p. 97. f See vol. I. p. 99. J See vol. I pp. 124— 128.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 35
1552; but which Chalmers has shown to have been really printed at St Andrews by John Scott two years afterwards ; in 1555 Cockburn's Meditatio ; in 1559, as separate pamphlets, the following works of Sir David Lindsay, copies of which are preserved in the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth— the Drone, the Complaynt, the Complaynt of the King' s Papingo, and the Tragedie of ('nrdimtl Beaton <, ; and in 1568, an edition of the poems of Sir David Lindsay. In 1573, Robert Lepreuik, who was King's Printer, and the imprints on whose works are usually Edinburgh, printed Ane brief commendatioun of uprichtnes, at St Andrews. After the decay of the city, consequent upon the reformation, the art of printing appears to have been discontinued here. In 17 96 an unsuccessful attempt was made to reviye it within the precincts of the University. The late Mr James Morrison of Perth, an enterprising and patriotic printer and publisher, having been appointed printer to the University, transferred to it a branch of his establishment, and commenced printing, under the editorship of the late Dr Hunter, the elegant and accurate edition of the Classics of which we have given a list in our account of the parish of Cupar. Having printed two of these, with some other works, Mr Morrison found that the expense more than exceeded the profit, and he was therefore obliged to resign his appointment, and withdraw his establish- ment. There is still a printer in St Andrews, but we believe he attempts nothing but ordinary job printing, such as hand bills, circulars, &c. The office of Printer to the University is held by Mr Tullis of Cupar, whose father succeeded Mr Morrison.
But not only is Scotland indebted to St Andrews for the early introduction of the art of printing, but the whole of Great Britain is indebted to it for the great improve- ments which have taken place in the shape and beauty of letter types, and in the art of founding them. The celebrated Mr Alexander Wilson, professor of astronomy in the University of Glasgow, was born at St Andrews in 1714. He studied medicine and went to London, where he engaged as assistant to a surgeon. While thus em- ployed, Mr Wilson accidentally visited a type foundery, and was much struck with the contrivances used in the various operations he saw performed. His active mind seems to have been excited with what he had seen, and he imagined he could effect a great improvement in the art. He communicated his scheme to another individual, also a native of St Andrews, and they entered into copartnership together, with a view to effect his improvement, and afterwards carry on the art. From their want of practical knowledge, they found great difficulties which they had not contemplated, in their endeavours to establish a foundery. Still, however, they persevered, but the expense of living in London suggested to them the propriety of returning to Scotland, and there continuing their efforts. They accordingly removed to St Andrews, where, in 1742, they opened a type foundery, and began casting types. In this city therefore the first letter types cast in Scotland were executed. The partners continued their work in St Andrews until 1744, when in consequence of their wish to increase the business, and extend their sales to Ireland, it was removed to Glasgow, where it continued to flourish
36 HISTORY OF FIFE.
under Mr Wilson and his descendents until lately, that it was removed to Edinburgh. The great beauty of the types executed by Mr Wilson and his successors, have been universally acknowledged ; and by him were executed the types with which the Messrs Foulis of Glasgow printed their various beautiful works, and in particular may be men- tioned those for the splendid edition of the Greek Classics which issued from their press.
It has been already mentioned that the bishops of St Andrews had the power of coining money, and from what Martin states there seems reason to believe that this privilege had been exercised, and consequently that this art had also been carried on in the city. Martin says, " I have seen copper coines, bearing the same mond, chaplet- ted about, and adorned with a croce on the top, just in all things like the mond set by bishop Kennedy in sundrie places of St Salvator's colledge, both in stone and timber, and the same way adorned ; with a common St George's croce on the reverse. The circumscriptions are not legible. And some think that the magistrates of St Andrews, keeping in their charter kist some of those pennies, have done it in honor of their over-lord." One royal coinage only, so far as is known, was struck at St Andrews. It was in silver, and was the second coinage of John Baliol. A copy of it is given by Cardonnel in his " Numismata Sotia;." On the obverse, it has his head crowned, regarding the right, and the sceptre surmounted with a lily in front, with the motto " IOHANNES. DEI GRA : : " on the reverse is a cross extending to the edge of the piece, with two spur-rowels of five, and two of six points in opposite quarters, the motto "CIVITAS S'ANDRE."
X. Archery has long been practised in St Andrews, originally no doubt for purposes of war, but subsequently as an amusement. Lindsay of Pitscottie gives an account of a trial of skill which took place here in 1530, in presence of James V. The dowager queen Margaret having been boasting of her countrymen in this art, "The King," says Lindsay in his homely style, " gart her pawn a hundred crowns, and a tun of wine upon the Englishmen's heads ; and he incontinent laid down as much for the Scottish men." " Three landed men, and three yeomen were chosen to shoot against the Englishmen, to wit, David Wemyss of that ilk, David Arnot of that ilk, and Mr John Wedderburn, vicar of Dundee ; the yeomen, John Thomson in Leith, Steven Tabur- ner, with a piper called Alexander Baillie. They shot very near, and warred the Englishmen of the enterprise, and wan the hundred crowns and the tun of wine ; which made the King very merry that his men won the victory." That it was practised among the students at an early period, is proved by a passage in Mr J. Melville's Diary, where he mentions a riot created in 1592, among the town's people, which was with difficulty quelled, in consequence of Mr John Caldcleuch, a master in theology, having missed the butts, while engaged in this amusement, and accidentally hurt an old man who was passing down one of the wynds. In 1618 a club appears to have been formed, and a silver arrow procured as a prize to be held by the successful com- petitor, who was to affix a medal to it containing his name and the year of competi-
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. '.\~
tion. The first medal is dated 1618, and the competition seems to have been regularly carried on till 1628, when it was discontinued for some years, probably in consequence of the civil commotions with which the kingdom was disturbed. In Ki75, however, it appears to have been resumed, when it was regularly continued till 1 707, by which time a s ries of 39 medals had been appended to the arrow. In 17 10 a new arrow was pro- cured, and continued to be competed for till 1751, when the series of medals stops. To this second arrow 30 medals are appended. The first arrow, together with its medals, weighs 166 ounces of silver: the second, with its medals, 55 ounces, 4 drachms. They are both preserved in the United College. In 1833 a new club was instituted, and a new arrow provided, which is competed for on the first Wednesday of August, the successful candidate having the privilege of appending a medal with his name, and of retaining it till it is taken from him by a more successful rival. They also meet an- nually on St Andrew's day. The club consists of about 70 members.
The i^ame of Golf has also been practised here from an early period. The Royal Golf Club was instituted in 1754, and consists of 400 noblemen and gentlemen, chiefly belonging to Fife. The President is designated the Captain, who is nominated by his pre- decessor, but goes through the ceremony of playing for a silver club, which he is allowed to win, and to which he appends a silver ball, having his name and arms, and the date of his captaincy inscribed upon it. The grand competition is for a gold medal, usually held in the beginning of October. The winner inscribes his name upon it, and holds it till won from him by another. On this occasion, as there is always a ball in the evening, St Andrews is full of company, and presents an animated scene. The medal was first played for in 1806, and won by Walter Cook, Esq., W. S., at 100 strokes. In 1835, Colonel Belshes presented the Club with a silver St Andrew's Cross to be played for annually in the month of May. This was first won by James Condie, Esq., writer, Perth, in May, 1836, at 110 strokes. In 1837 a gold medal was presented to the club, by William IV., who had consented to become its patron, which it was agreed should be contested for at the autumnal meeting of the club : the old medal being played for on the Wednesday, and the royal medal on the Friday following. It was first plaved for in September, 1837, and won by J. S. Oliphant, Esq., at 104 strokes. Besides this club, the Thistle Golfing Club was instituted in 1817; its members meet regularly on the first Wednesday of January, April, July, and October. For the pro- secution of this game, the links, to the north-west of the town, afford the best ground in Scotland ; and here at almost all seasons, parties of gentlemen belonging to the town are to be seen engaged in it.
XI. The parish church of St Andrews, which is situated in South Street, was founded by bishop Turgot about 1112, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. There were 30 chapels or altarages founded within it, each served by a separate chaplain, besides the great altar. These were dedicated to various saints, according to the superstitious views of the founder: among them were the altars of the blessed Virgin
38 HISTORY OF FIFE.
Mary, of St Katherine, of Holy Cross, of St Lawrence, of St John Baptist, of St Bartholomew, of St James, of All Saints, of St Phillan the abbot, of St Duchatt, of St Mary Magdalene, of St Barbara the Martyr, of the blessed Mary of piety, of St Michael the archangel, of St Ferguson, of St Ninian, of Holy Blood, of St Nicholas, of St Anne and of St Peter. There were also 15 choristers belonging to the church, who appear to have been an incorporated body, having a seal, impressions of which are still preserved. All the property belonging to these chaplainries and the choristers was conveyed to the crown by an act of queen Mary, shortly after the Reformation. The church having become decayed was repaired, or rather entirely rebuilt in 1798, though on the old foundation, and is at present in good condition. It is seated for about 2200. There are no free sittings, the whole being divided between the city and the proprietors of land in the parish. Several of the incorporate bodies obtained 'from the city a part of its allotment of seats ; and some of these have been since sold and become the property of private individuals. The seats not occupied by the city functionaries, or by the trades, are let to private persons residing in the city ; but there are about 500 sittings, so situated, that the occupants cannot hear distinctly, and many from which the preacher cannot even be seen.
The charge is collegiate, a second charge having been established in 1589. The incumbent of the first charge is the Rev. Robert Haldane, D.D., principal of St Mary's college; and of the second, the Rev. George Buist, D.D., professor of church history in the same college. The patronage of the first is in the crown ; of the second, in the magistrates and town council. The stipend of the first charge is, wheat, 29 bolls, 3 firlots ; meal, 16S bolls, 3 firlots, 1 peck; barley, 197 bolls, 1 firlot, 2 pecks, 1 lippie ; oats, 63 bolls, 2 firlots; and money for communion elements, £20: 10 sterling. There is a glebe of 4 acres which is let for £23 per annum, and a garden ; but no manse or offices, though there can hardly be a doubt of the right to it were it insisted for. The stipend of the second charge is, wheat, 14 bolls, 3 firlots, 3 pecks; barley, 28 bolls, 2 firlots ; oats, 63 bolls, 2 firlots ; £72 : 4 : 5i sterling, from the funds of the city ; and £33 : 10 : 5 sterling, from the parliamentary grant in favour of small endowments ; with £8:6:8 for communion elements. There is neither manse nor glebe attached to the second charge, and it has been found after a long and expensive litigation, that the second minister has no claim on the teinds of the parish, the teinds he receives being one-half of the archdeaconry, the other half of which forms part of the stipend of the minister of the first charge. The incumbent of the second charge is also entitled to a vicarage tithe on the fish caught by the fishermen of the city ; but such is the poverty of this class, that for the last 23 years, it has never been demanded. Divine service is generally well attended in the church, and the average number of communicants for the last 10 or 12 years is 2030. From an investigation made, how- ever, in 1836, it was ascertained that there were 2490 persons in communion with the established church, although from various causes, not more than 2030 have upon an
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 39
average attended at the sacrament of the Lord's supper at one time. As there is a want of church accommodation for the town, a very handsome chapel, in the Norman style of architecture, is in course of erection at the west end of Market Street, in which the ministers of the parish will alternately perform divine service ; and another chapel has already heen erected in the village of Strathkinness, where public worship is conducted by a licentiate of the church, appointed for the purpose, whose salarv is paid partly by the minister of the first charge, and partly by the heritors and inhabi- tants of the parish.
There is an episcopal chapel in the town, the Rev. C. J. Lyon, A.M., minister, the average attendance at which is about 100, and the persons in communion about 50. There is also a chapel in connection with the united Associate Synod, the Rev. James Taylor, minister, the average attendance at which is 350, the number of communicants 182, and the number of families connected with it, 61 ; and a chapel in connection with the congregational union, the Rev. William Lothian, minister, where the attendance is 250, the communicants 63, and the number of families about 50. Besides these there is a chapel at the village of Strathkinness in connection with the original burghers of which the Rev. Ralph Robb is the minister.
For manv years a Bible Society and a Missionary Society have existed in the city. The annual amount of their contributions is about £30 sterling ; and the average annual collections at the church door for religious purposes is about the same amount.
There does not appear ever to have been a parochial school in the parish, but as in the parish of Cupar, its place was supplied by a burgh school, which was supported in part by the funds of the city; and there were besides previous to 1834, sixteen other schools, two of which were in part endowed. This system has, however, since been in a great measure superseded by the institution of the Madras College, founded on the munificent donation of the late Dr Bell, a native of St Andrews, and a dignitary of the church of England. Dr Bell was the inventor of the Madras, or monitorial system of tuition ; and anxious for the introduction of that system into his native country, he, in May 1831, transferred into the joint names of the provost of the city of St Andrews, the two ministers of the parish, and the professor of Greek in the uni- versity as trustees, two several sums of £60,000, three per cent reduced annuities, and £60,000 three per cent consols, for purposes connected with education to be afterwards explained. A short time subsequently, Dr Bell and his trustees executed a declaration of trust for promoting the object he had in view, in which it was declared that after setting apart a specified sum to defray all expenses, one-twelfth share of his munificent donation should be conveyed by the trustees to the provost, magistrates, and town-council of each of the five cities or towns of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leith, Aberdeen, and Inverness, to be held by them and their successors, and the annual proceeds to be employed in founding and maintaining schools in each of these towns upon the Madias system, for teaching the ordinary branches of education ; that one-twelfth share should be transferred to the ro) al
40 HISTORY OF FIFE.
naval school for the same purpose ; and that another twelfth share should be transferred to the provost, magistrates, and town-council, of St Andrews, to become a permanent fund for the moral and religious improvement of the city ; and for such other useful works within the city as might be judged most eligible. The remaining five-twelfth shares it was declared should continue vested in the four trustees named, and their successors in office, substituting the sheriff-depute of Fife for the professor of Greek, at the death of the present incumbent, for the purpose of erecting a college to be called the Madras College of St Andrews. It was provided by the deed, however, that not more than half the sum remaining in the trustees' hands should be expended on the erection of the buildings ; and that the annual income of the remainder should be applied to the maintenance of the college, and the establishment of eight bursaries in the United College to be held by such only as had previously been educated for three years at the Madras College. The lord lieutenant of the county, the lord justice clerk of Scotland, and the Rev. the episcopal bishop of Edinburgh were appointed patrons and visitors of the college ; and for their own exoneration, the trustees appointed Sir Ralph A. Anstruther of Balcaskie, baronet, David Monypenny, Esq. of Pitmillie, and David Wemyss, Esq., of Denbrae, to be auditors of their accounts. With this new institution the burgh school has been incorporated, and the salaries formerly paid to the classical and English teachers of that school, are now paid to the teachers of these branches in the Madras College.
The buildings for the purposes of the institution were commenced in April, 1832, and have been some years completed. They are situated in South Street, on ground which had been purchased by Dr Bell, and which anciently formed part of the monas- tery of Black Friars. The designs were furnished by William Burn, Esq., architect, Edinburgh ; and the buildings erected by Mr Kennedy, builder, St Andrews, in a substantial and excellent manner. They cost, including the teachers' houses, from £15,000 to £16,000. The style which has been adopted by the architect is the mano- rial or Elizabethan, of which they form a very fine example. The building occupied by the class rooms is in the form of a quadrangle, having a court within, surrounded by a handsome corridor, from which the class rooms are entered. The facade fronting the north is exceedingly fine, and is terminated at either end by wings of corresponding design, though of lesser elevation. Between this front and South Street, there is an extensive area railed in and covered with gravel in which the pupils enjoy air and exercise ; and on the west and east sides of this area are the houses of the classical and English teachers, which are in the same style of architecture with the principal build- ing. In the centre of the north side of the area, and next the street, are the ruins of what remains of the chapel of the Black Friars, which the trustees are obliged to pre- serve, and have surrounded with an iron railing.
The institution comprehends the following branches of education : — 1. English, and English grammar, for which there is a principal teacher and an assistant ;— 2. Greek
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 41
and Latin, for which there is also a principal teacher and an assistant ;— 3. Arithmetic; — 4. Mathematics and Geography; — 5. Writing ; — 6. Drawing; — 7. French, German, and Italian languages; — and, S. Church Music; —lor all which branches of education sepa- teachers have been provided. Persons sending their children to the institution for instruction in the ordinary branches, have the selection of two classes, for which the rates of fees are different, the one being double the amount of the other, although the same teachers superintend the whole. The higher rate of fees is 2s. per quarter, for English reading; 2s. Cd. for reading and writing; and 3s. for reading, writing, arith- metic, and English grammar. The teachers of the higher and ornamental branches, with the exception of the music master, receive 7s. (id. per quarter; and the music master, Is. per quarter. In terms of the will of the founder, about 150 children of indigent parents, are taught tin- ordinary branches of education gratuitously. In addition to the fees, some of the teachers have salaries: the teacher of English receiving E25 annually from the funds of the city ; the classical teacher, £50, from the same source; the teachers of arithmetic, writing, and modern languages, £50 each, from the funds of the college; and the teacher of music, £25 sterling. The number of pupils attending the classes in May, 1836, were — English, 629; writing, 447; drawing, 30; arithmetic, 360; math. 'malic-, 40; geography, 43; Latin, '.'5 ; Greek, 50; church music, SO. The total number of pupils usually attending the different classes in the institution is little less than 800.
Besides this valuable institution, there are other two schools in the city, at which about 50 scholars attend; and there are two in the country district ; — one at Strath- kinness, which is partly endowed, the teacher having a small house, garden, and a salary, with the rent of six acres of land ; and another at Boarhills, where the teacher has also a house, garden, and salary. The pupils usually attending these schools may amount in all to 220. Two boarding-schools for young ladies, and to which day pupils are admitted, have long been established in St Andrews. In these all the usual branches of education requisite for females of the higher rank are taught. There are also two other schools in the city which are taught by females.
The average number of persons receiving parochial assistance for the last 7 years, has been 103 ; and their allowances varied from (id. to 2s. (id. per week, according to their necessity. The funds for their support are derived from collections at the church doors, averaging annually £218 : 4 : 2 ; rent and feu duties of land, £73 : 16 : 7 ; interest of a debt due by the city, £10 ; collections by Saturday's box, £44 :4; interest of a , £5 ; total average annual income, £381 :4:9; total average annual expenditure £117:0: I'.. In order to meet the deficiency, and the heavy expense which the ses- sion has to incur in maintaining pauper lunatics, it has been under the necessity from time to time of applying to the heritors, citizens, and tenantry, lor voluntary con- tributions, who have hitherto contributed liberally.
XII. Xo enumeration of the inhabitants of the parish has been preserved previous
VOL. III. F
42 HrSTORY OF FIFE.
to that of Dr Webster ; nor is there any proper data by which it can be ascertained. When we consider, however, the wealth of the see, and the various religious houses which the town contained, its seminaries of learning, and its extensive commerce, we are entitled to conclude that previous to the reformation the population must have been much greater than it now is. Indeed that of the town alone has been estimated at from 12,000 to 15,000 persons. The utter destruction, however, which came upon the religious houses, and the annihilation of the commerce of which the town had once been the mart, must have rapidly lessened the population ; and accordingly in 1755, it had so decreased, that the return to Dr Webster for the whole parish, was only 4590. In 1793, it had decreased to 3951, since which time it has been gradually, though slowly, increasing. In 1801, the population was 4,203; in 1811,4311; in 1821,4899; in 1831, 5621 ; and in 1836, it was 5725. Of the population in 1831, there resided in the city 3767 ; in the villages 819 ; and in the country 1035. The following is the government analysis of the census in 1831 : —
Males, 20 years of age, 1213; total males, 2520; females, 3101 ; total population, 5621.
Families chiefly employed in agriculture, 1L>1 ; ditto in trade, manufactures, and handicraft, 323; all other families not comprised in these two, 782; total families, 1296.
Persons occupying land employing labourers, 40" ; ditto not employing labourers, 39 ; labourers employed in agriculture, 179.
Persons employed in manufactures, 110 ; ditto in retail trade or handicraft, as master or workman, 380 ; labourers employed in labour not agricultural, 232.
Capitalists, bankers, professional, and other educated men, 110 ; other males 20 years of age ex- cept servants, 103.
Male servants, 20 years of age, 11 ; ditto under 20, 1; female servants, 290.
Inhabited houses, 8G3; building 7; uninhabited, 7.
XIII. Previous to the reformation the Priory of St Andrews held a considerable por- tion of the lands in the vicinity of the city, called the Prior Acres, which are now divided among about 100 different heritors; in the rest of the parish there are about 60 heritors. In giving an account of the rural part of the parish therefore, it is impossible we can do more than notice the larger landholders, omitting necessarily the greater part of the smaller heritors, particularly those in the Prior Acres. Proceeding from the city in a north westerly direction, at the distance of about a mile, is Strathtyrum, the seat of the late James Cheape, Esq., and now the property of his heirs ; a fine house situated on a rising bank, amid extensive grounds beautifully wooded. These lands were originally held of the Archbishop, and, subsequent to the reformation, belonged to a family of the name of Inglis, from whom they were purchased in 1669, by Archbishop Sharp. They " stood him" says Lamont, " abowt 27 thowsand merkes," and were estimated at " abowt 12 chalder of victwall and money rent." These lands were purchased in 1782 by James Cheape, Esq., eldest son of James Cheape, Esq., the first laird of Wellfield
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 43
of that name, and second son of James Cheape, Esq. of Rossie. It was near Strath- i\ nun that the unfortunate Duke of Rothsay was seized and made prisoner by Sir John Ramorney and his accomplices, when journeying to St Andrews. Adjoining to Strath- tyrum is Balgove, also the property of the heirs of Mr Cheape ; and west of Balgove is Coldside, the property of the heirs of the late Dr Alexander Turnbull.
West of Strathtyrum are the lands of Kincaple, part of which belong to Alexander Meldrum, Esq., part to James Home Rigg, Esq. of Downfield, and another part to the Bank of Scotland. The portions of these lands belonging to MrMeldrum, and which are still called Lentrons Kincaple, belonged in the 17th century to a family of that name, of whom one Robert Lentron was provost of St Andrews. Mr Rigg's portion appears at one time to have belonged to a family of the name of Goldman. North of Kinca- ple, and on the banks of the Eden, are East and West Edenside, the property of Mr Rigg. West of Kincaple, and on the borders of the parish of Kemback, are the lands of Nydie, belonging to Mrs Bethune Morrison of Nauchton, and adjoining them the lands of Newton of Nydie, the property of Mr Rigg. At a very early period these lands belonged to a family of the name of Nydie or Nydin of that ilk. Between 1203 and 1230, Alexander de Blair, ancestor of the Blairs of Balthyock in Perthshire, mar- ried Ela, daughter of Hugh de Nydin of that ilk, and obtained with her, besides other lands in Fife, part of the lands of Nydie, which remained long in his family. Their son, Sir William de Blair, was steward of Fife under Alexander II. Hugh de Nydin also granted a quarry at Nydie to the monks of Balmerino. At the commencement of the eighteenth century, Nydie belonged to a family of the name of Corstorphine. In the seventeenth century, Newton of Nydie became the property of a family of the name of Lindsay, descended from Norman Lindsay of Kilwhiss, third son of John, fifth lord Lind- say of the Byres, and with them it remained till the middle of the eighteenth century. South of Nydie, and in a corner of the parish, where it is bounded by Kemback and Ceres, are the lands of Clatto, partly belonging, with the mansion house, to Robert Low, Esq., and partly to John Whyte Melville, Esq., of Bennochy. In the seventeenth century, Clatto belonged to a family of the name of Hamilton, one of whom in 1666, sold the lands to Mr James Lundin; after which they became the property of a younger son of Bethune of Blebo.
In the centre of this north-western portion of the parish, and about three miles west of St Andrews, is the village and lands of Strathkinness, the property of Mr Whvte Melville. In 1569, Sir Michael Balfour, afterwards first lord Balfour of Burleigh, had a charter of the lands of Strathkinness, with whose descendants they sometime remained. Afterwards they came to the family of Melville of Rittachope, and were during the last century disponed by will by dame Janet Melville, relict of Dr Andrew Melville, to Robert Melville, son of Thomas Melville, lineal male repre- sentative of the ancient family of Melville of Carnbee, and Helen Whyte, daughter of Robert Whyte, Esq. of Bennochy. This Robert Melville entered young into the
44 HISTORY OF FIFE.
military service of his country, and rose to the rank of General, having been engaged in the greater part of the French war; he also held the office of governor-in-chief of the West India Islands, which had been taken from the French. He was not more eminent in his military capacity, than as an antiquary and a critic ; and he exhibited great zeal and ingenuity in tracing the march of Hannibal and the Carthagenians over the Alps. He died without issue, and was succeeded by Whyte of Bennochy, who takes the name and arms of Melville of Strathkinness. South of Strathkinness, and about two miles west of St Andrews, is Denbrae, a handsome seat, the property of the heirs oi the late David Wemyss, Esq., and near it Dewar's mill, also the property of his heirs. Between the last mentioned place and St Andrews is Carron cottage, the residence ot Dr James Hunter, professor of logic in the United College ; and near it Law Park, the residence of Dr George Buist, professor of church history in St Mary's.
West of Denbrae is Claremont, the property of James Nairne, Esq., W. S. Sir William Murray, fourth son of Sir Andrew Murray of Blackbarony, acquired the lands of Clermont during the rei^n of James VI. His son, Sir William Murray, was created a baronet of Nova Scotia by patent of Charles I., in which he is styled " domino Willielmo Murray, baronetto de Clermont." The lands were afterwards acquired by Mr George Martin, secretary to archbishop Sharp, and the learned author of " Reliquiae Divi Andreae." Andrew Guillan, who was executed at Edinburgh for the murder of Archbishop Sharp, was hung in chains on Magus muir, near Claremont, and was buried there, not far from the farm house; a small stone with an inscription, which may be seen in the " Cloud of Witnesses," and a clump of trees mark the spot where he was buried by his friends. The fact of his being buried here has led to the supposition by some that this was the spot where archbishop Sharp was murdered ;# but tradition points out the place to have been on the lands of Mr Whyte Melville, where there is another stone, erected to the memory of some of the covenanters who were taken at Bothwell-bridge, and executed on the site of the murder. A copy o. the inscription on their grave-stone is also given in the " Cloud of Witnesses." In May, 1823, a flint celt or battle-axe, remarkable for its size and workmanship, was found at Claremont. It was found near the bottom of a steep bank, about two feet below the natural surface of the ground, embedded between the soil and the clay. It was in fine preservation, and of a gray or dove colour, with a few veins of a darker or lighter tint. Its large end is brought to a sharp edge in a very beautiful manner ; and the small end, though rounded with equal skill, is considerably more blunt. Its
* Robert Taylor, Esq., Writer, Cupar, is in possession of the original charter, under the great seal of Scotland, by Charles II., conferring the office of Archbishop of St Andrews and Primate of Scotland on this prelate. It is beautifully written, and in excellent preservation, with the exception of the seal, which is considerably mutilated. It appears to have passed the great seal on the 1st of February, 1662, and to have been given to the bishop without the payment of any fees.
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS.
45
extrem length is one foot ; its greatest breadth is 3 inches; its breadth in the mid- dle, 2v inches; and its least breadth, lus inches. Its greatest thickness is lto inches ;
and its weight about 1 lb. 14 ounce. From its size ami beauty it seems to have be- longed to some chief or person of importance. South ofClaremont is Denhead, i belonging to Mr Nairne, to Thomas E. M'Ritchie, Esq. of Denork, and to Mr Whyte Melville.
Returning towards St Andrews, within two miles of the town, and south of Carron, is Ballone, partly the property of Mr Whyte Melville, and partly of St Mary's College. South of Ballone is Lumbo, belonging to Mr Whyte Melville; east of which on Kin- nessburn, is Cairns-mill, belonging to William Arnot, Esq. Between Ballone and St Andrews is Bogward, the property of Mr Whyte Melville. Southeast of Lumbo, and about two miles south of St Andrews, is Wester Balrymonth, the property of J. A. Thomson, Esq of Charleton ; east of which is Scooniehill, the property of the United College ; and between Wester Balrymonth and the city is Pipeland, divided among different proprietors. East of the city, and in its immediate neighbourhood, is St Nicholas, the property of David Monypenny, Esq. of Pitmillie. Rather more than a mile farther to the east is Brownhills, the property of Norman Hill, Esq., near which is Easter Balmungo, also his property; and Wester Balmungo, the seat of Alex- ander Kidd Lindsay, Esq. Near this arc the lands of Grange, partly belonging to the United College, partly to Sir John Malcolm, and partly to other proprietors. South of Easter Balmungo is Allanhill, the property of Thomas Watt, Esq. ; and east of it, Easter Balrymonth, the property of the United College.
On the coast, about two miles east of the cityr, is Kinkell, the property of General Ramsay, which of old belonged to a family of the name of Moubray, and afterwards by marriage, to another family of the name of Hepburn. Kinkell subsequently became the property of Monypenny of Pitmillie; and afterwards of a family of the name of Hamilton, who possessed it during a part of the last century. Sibbald says it is so called from a chapel built here in the ninth century, dedicated to St Anna, by Kellach, bishop of St Andrews ; hence Kilkell (Cella Kellach,) corrupted into Kinkell. Farther east, still upon the coast, is Kingask, the property of Alexander Anderson, Esq. ; and near it though inland, Spinkston, the property of General Ramsay, and Newbigging, the property of Mr Anderson Farther east, at the distance of about three miles from the city, is Kinglassie, the property of Norman Hill, Esq.; and adjoining to it the lands of Polduff, partly belonging to Mr Hill, to David Glass, Esq. of Smiddygreen, and others. South of Kinglassie is Bonnytown, the property of William Gregg, Esq. ; and east of Kinglassie, at the distance of four miles from the city, is Smiddygreen, beauti- fully situated on the water of Kenly, the seat of David ( i hiss, Esq. Here the bishops of St Andrews had anciently a palace called Inchmurtach ; in which, il is said, David II. once held a parliament. Near this is Boarhills, the property of James Eadie, Esq. ; Stonnywind, the property of Alexander Hill, Esq. ; and Chesterhill, the pro-
46 HISTORY OF FIFE.
perty of David Monypenny, Esq. ; the two last named places forming originally part of the lands of Boarhills. Immediately east of Boarhills, on the banks of the Kenly, and the border of the parish, is Burnside, formerly Cassindonald, the property of the heirs of the late Dr Alexander Turnbull.
XIV. The number of imperial acres in the parish, either constantly cultivated, or occasionally in tillage, is about 9844 ; the number under wood, winch is all planted, and apparently judiciously managed, is about 345 ; and the number which has never been cultivated, and is waste or in pasture, 544. The system of agriculture pursued is the best fitted for the soil, according to the spirited and enlightened views of the farmers. It is believed that there is little, if any land in the parish to which the application of skill and capital could be profitably applied, but has been brought into a state of cul- tivation. About 55 acres of ground contiguous to the estuary of the Eden, and which overflowed part of it every tide, and the remainder at spring-tides, have at two different periods, been secured by embankments, and are now under culti- vation. The first embankment was on the lands of Strathtyrum, and was executed about 30 years ago. The embankment was 300 yards in length, and was executed at great expense. The second was on the shore of that part of Kincaple which belongs to Mr Meldrum, and was executed about 20 years ago, and at much less expense than that of Strathtyrum. This dike is 1,100 yards in length, {) feet in height, 30 feet broad at the base, and 2; broad at the top, with a slope of 21 feet on each side. It was constructed of pure sea sand brought from the sea beach, which is entirely covered with a coating of thick turf; and the side next the sea is faced with stone- work about 12 feet up the slope. For the exit of water from within, there are two iron pipes, each 14 inches in diameter, which form sluice drains, having brass valves fitted into them, which shut or open as the tide advances or recedes. The whole ex- pense of this structure was £1,250 sterling. The quantity of land secured by this dike was 30 acres. A plan was at one time under consideration for securing a much larger portion of the estuary of the Eden ; but it was given up in consequence of its being doubtful whether the value of the land secured would remunerate the expense which must have been incurred.
On many parts of the coast the sea ware which is thrown on shore is collected and used as manure. This is particularly the case in the estuary of the Eden, where, from the outhead to the guard- bridge, at certain times a bright green sea-weed, known by the name of sea-sleek, accumulates in large quantities. This is very care- fully collected by Mr Meldrum of Kincaple, who not only collects on his own shores, but rents that of his neighbours. Ten cart loads per acre he finds to be good, and fifteen to be heavy manuring. Ploughed into fallow ground in winter, it is found to be completely pulverised and incorporated with the soil in spring. With this manure alone, 12 bolls of wheat have been raised per acre, and a good crop of beans the succeeding year without farther manure. It also makes a good top dressing for
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 47
grass ; as many as 400 cart loads have been collected on this shore in a single
year.
The average yearly amount of agricultural, including the thinnings of wood, £100, and the produce of gardens and orchards, £600, has been estimated at £46,437 ster- ling. Tlie average yearly rent per acre is £1 : 17 : 6 sterling. The leases are in gen- eral for the usual period of 19 years. The farm steadings are commodious and suita- ble to the size of the farms ; but there is a deficiency of inclosures in a great proportion of the parish. There are about 50 threshing machines in the parish all moved by horse power. It is worthy of remark that although no steam is now used in the parish for this purpose, St Andrews was the first parish in Scotland in which steam power was so applied. About 40 years ago, Mr Stein, whose relative at Kilbeggie was the first to erect a few years before a threshing machine on Meikle's principle, applied steam power to a threshing machine on his farm of Wester Kincaple. The engine was 12 horse power, and was used besides for grinding malt and other purposes. It lias been removed to Seggie distillery, and is still occasionally at work there. There are 5 meal mills, 3 flour mills, and 2 barley mills within the parish. The valued rent of the par- ish is £26,037 : 6 : 8 Scots. The annual value of the real property for which the burgh and parish was assessed for the property tax in 1815, was £21,723 sterling.
The manufactures of this parish are very trifling. There is a small spinning mill in the town, the machinery of which is moved by steam power. A number of weavers too are engaged in the weaving of linen, but they are employed solely by the manufac- turers of Dundee, and from the establishment at Kirkland near Leven. A manufac- ture of golf balls has long existed here, but was at one time much more extensive than it now is. About 10,000 are still made annually, the one half of which is used in St Andrews, and the remaining portion sent to other markets, some having been sent as far as Calcutta and Madras. An extensive distillery was erected about 70 years ago at Kincaple, by Mr Stein, which existed for nearly 40 years ; about 30 years ago, how- ever, it was transferred to Seggie, in Leuchars parish, where it is still carried on. The large malt barns however are still in use, and extensively employed in making malt for the distilleries at Seggie, and at Cameron bridge. A manufactory of sail cloth also at one time existed, but has been given up for some years. A salmon fishery has long been established in the Eden, but its produce is of little value. The town council have for some years let at a rent of £7 per annum, their right to take salmon on the east and west sands, and stake nets have been erected, but the produce is very incon- siderable. A number of families in the city gain their livelihood by the open sea fish- ing. They have several fishing boats, with which they are employed in supplying the home market for 10 months of the year, a portion of the produce not consumed in the city and neighbourhood, being regularly sent to Cupar. The fish chiefly caught are haddock, cod, ling, skate, halibut, and flounders. During the remaining two months the fishermen are employed at the herring fishing on the coast of Caithness. Quarries
48 HISTORY OF FIFE.
of excellent freestone are wrought at Nydiehill, and at Strathkinness, from whence the greater part of the stones for the building of St Andrews have been supplied. They are also carried to various places at a distance, and sometimes even beyond the county. Quarries of whin- stone have also been opened in different places, from which good materials for the roads are obtained. No coal mines are at present wrought within the parish, but it is understood that coals, though of inferior quality, could be obtained at Denhead.
XV. In the year 1833, whilst digging a verv deep grave in the burying around ad- joining the Cathedral, a litlle west of St Regulus' tower, a large sculptured stone slab was found, and a variety of other fragments of stone, which were thrown aside, and for some lime tumbled about, broken, and partly carried away. George Buist, Esq., who has paid much attention to that class of antiquities which are usually, though impro- perly called Runic crosses, so often met with in the eastern and midland parts of Scot- land, north of the Forth, on seeing these stones, from the character of the sculpture upon them, ascertained them to be parts of a magnificent stone coffin, or sarcophagus, belonging to that mysterious class of monuments. The Rev. Mr Lyon, a zealous anti- quary, afterwards caused search to be made for other fragments apparently awanting ; and some of these were found in 1S3G. It was then observed, that these fragments were part of what, had been an elaborately carved sarcophagus, the sides and ends of which had been formed of eight stones, — three on each side, and one at each end. A portion of one of the sides and the cover are however awanting. The centre stone of the side which is entire is sculptured with a hunting scene ; in which is seen a man on horseback, with a hawk on his arm, and attacked by a lion ; a man tearing open the jaws of a lion, and a third armed with a spear and shield ; a greyhound in the act of seizing a fox ; a non-descript winged animal on the back of an ass, and two mon- keys and other animals. The sculpture is well executed in high relief, though out of proportion, ami without any regard to perspective. One of the smaller stones form- ing this side exhibits numerous serpents intertwined, terminating sometimes in heads, and sometimes in animals resembling lizards, as is usually found on the class of monu- ments alluded to. The other stone of this side is richly carved with a sort of reticu- lated work. The stone which seems to have formed the head of the coffin is divided into five square compartments, containing figures of monkeys, and globes encircled with serpents. Although found so far below the surface, it is very obvious that this sarcophagus was intended for, and originally stood on, a pedestal, as the stones are all furnished with strong elongated tenons, to be inserted in the stones in which it was placed. The origin of this remarkable class of monuments which are found nowhere except in Scotland, and probably in Ireland, or the period in which they were erected, is equally unknown. Mr Buist, in an article in the new edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, on Runic monuments, with which they have hitherto been classed, after pointing out the distinguishing marks between them, and the real Runic remains, gives
PARISH OF ST ANDREWS. 49
his reasons for conceiving that they could not have been erected after the sixth cen- tury ; that in all probability they are earlier, and contemporary with the first introduc- tion of Christianity into this country. They are at any rate very ancient, and long prior to the period of any recorded history in this country. A representation of this sarcophagus, which must have been that of some eminent individual, is given in the engraving of Celtic antiquities, fig. 2. The stones are now lying in the stair-case of the tower of St Regulus ; but it is much to be regretted, that they have not been re- moved, either to the University library, or to the museum of the Antiquarian Society.*
* Since the above was printed, we have been told, that Mr Buist's essay dees not appear in the Encyclopedia ; but that it is his intention, as soon as his researches on this interesting class of antiquities are completed, to publish a work upon the subject.
50
HISTORY OF FIFE.
PARISH OF ST LEONARDS.
I. This small parish consists of several detached portions either within or in the vicinity of the city of St Andrews, surrounded by that parish; and a rural district consisting of three farms, Upper and Nether Kenly, and Pikie. The latter portion measures about a mile and a quarter from north to south, and scarcely a mile and a half from east to west. It is bounded on the north by St Andrews, on the west by Denino and Crail, and on the south and east by Kingsbarns. It contains neither any turnpike nor statute labour roads, though there are some country roads through it leading to the different farm houses. The population in 1831 amounted to 482; of which 210 were males, and 272 females. Of this population, 266 reside in that part of the parish which is within the city; 161 in the suburbs; and only 62 in the rural district. The farms of Upper and Nether Kenly formed originally part of the endowment of the hospital dedicated to St Leonard, which was within the precinct and under the patronage of the priory of St Andrews ; and on the suppression of that institution, and the founding of the college of St Leonard, they formed part of its endowment. When the colleges of St Leonard and St Sah'ator were united, they became the property of the United College. The lands of Pikie belonged, in the 17th century, to the famous Sir John Scot of Scots- tarvet, director of chancery in the reign of Charles, I., who, " from a regard to the city of Glasgow, the chief trading town in the west, from which country he reckoned himself to have derived his original, as being descended from the Scotts of Murdieston, he mortified these lands to it, for breeding four apprentices there. The presentation of three of these he reserved to himself and his heirs male; in default of which, as a mark of regard to his chief, to vest in the family of Buccleuch ; the other he vested in the magistrates and town council." The lands thus mortified still remain the pro- perty of the city of Glasgow.
II. There are 654 imperial acres in the parish in a state of cultivation ; and 327 waste or in pasture. The average rent of arable land in the distant part of the parish is £1: 10 per imperial acre; but in the vicinity of the town there are fields which yield an average rent of £4 per acre. The average annual gross amount of agricultural produce, including gardens and orchards, £lb0, is £2560 sterling. Different freestone quarries have b^en opened in the parish, the stones from which, though soft, have been found durable and well adapted for building.
PARISH OF LEUCHARS. 51
PARISH OF LEUCHARS.
I. The name of this parish is of Celtic derivation, and descriptive of what the appear- ance of that portion of it in the neighbourhood of the castie and village at one time was. Llwhur in the ancient British, and Lvchur in the Irish, n-.eans a stream that forms pools and marshes; and, until they were drained, the low and level grounds, for miles to the east and west of the village, were under water for the greater part of the year.
Leuchars lies on the north bank of the Eden and its estuary, which divide it from the parish of St Andrews. It is bounded on the south by the parishes of Kemback and St Andrews ; on the east by the German ocean ; on the north by the parishes of Ferry-port-on-Craig and Forgund ; and on the west by those of Logie and Darsie. The breadth of the parish from south to north is very varied : for a considerable por- tion of its extent tow aids the east it is scarcely 4 miles ; towards the west it is 4| miles ; and at the extreme west, where a part of it separates the parishes of Logie and Darsie, it measures onlv from one to two miles in this direction. Its length from east to west is equally varied : for about a mile in breadth, near the south, it is 6| miles; farther north it is 5| miles; the rest of the parish to the north, is only 4} miles in length. From south-west to northeast it measures about S miles. The general appearance of the surface of the parish is that of an extensive plain, seldom more than 15 feet above the level of the sea; but towards the west and north- west, it gradually rises, till it reaches the summit of that portion of the Oehil hills which separates it from the parish of Logie. From various situations on these heights, an extensive view of the level part of the parish of St Andrews, and of the German ocean is obtained. The parish generally is bare of wood ; but in some places this ornament of the land is not deficient.
There are two villages in the parish, Leuchars and Balmullo. Leuchars contains about 014 inhabitants, and is situated about a mile from the south boundary of the pari-h, and about halfway between the east and west boundaries. There is a penny post office in the village, dependent upon the post-office at Cupar, the mail bag arriving and departing daily. The other village, which contains 250 inhabitants, is situated on the line of road from Cupar to Dundee As the coaches from Edinburgh b) Cupar to Dundee and Aberdeen, and those from St Andrews to Dundee, pass through the parish, there is ampl ■ means of conveyance both to the south and north. '1 he Dundee and Cupar carriers also pass through the parish, and there is a carrier from the village to Cupar every week. There are 13 miles 17 hi yards of turnpike, and 9 miles 765 yards of statute labour roads in the parish, besides numerous country roads.
52 HrSTORY OF FIFE.
There is no weekly market for the sale of agricultural produce in the parish ; but as Dundee and St Andrews are only six miles distant from th _• village, and Cupar only about seven miles, the public markets in these towns are regularly attended by the farmers. Two fairs are held annually at the village of Leuchars, for the sale of cattle and small wares ; but, like those in many other small towns and villages, they are now but little attended. There are six alehouses in the village of Leuchars, and other six in different parts of the parish.
The population of the parish in 1755 was 1691 ; and in 1795, 1620. In 1S01 it was 16S7 ; in 1811, 1672 ; in 1821, 1731 ; and in 1831, I860 ; of which there were 923 males and 946 females. The number of families in 1831 was 412; of which 128 were emplo\ed chiefly in agriculture, and 132 in trade, manufactures, and handicraft.
II. The lordship of Leuchars, which at an early period included a large portion of the parish, besides lands in other parishes, belonged to Ness, the son of William, during the reign of Malcolm IV., and part of that of William the Lion. After the death of Ness, his daughter Arabella married Robert de Quinci, a Northamptonshire baron, who had settled in Scotland, and received lands in East Lothian from William, and with his wife acquired the lordship of Leuchars and other lands in Fife. Robert de Quinci died 1190, and was succeeded by his son Sever de Quinci, who made grants from his manor of Leuchars to the canons of the priory of St Andrews, in which he mentions his father Robert, and his mother Arabella, the daughter of Ness. He was made Earl of Winchester, in England, about 1210, and took an active lead among the English barons who opposed King John at Runeymede, and procured the granting of Magna Charta.* His son, Roger de Quinci succeeded him in his title and estates in 1219 ; and obtained a large addition to his Scottish estates by marrying Elena, eldest daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, with the office of great constable of Scotland. He made many grants to different monasteries, and among others to those of B.dmerino and Lindores. H died in 1264, leaving three daughters, the eldest of whom, Mar- garet, married William, Earl of Derby ; the second, Elizabeth, Alexander Cumyn, Earl of Buchan ; and the third, Elena, Alan la Zouche. They shared their father's large estates among them, and the effice of constable was conferred on the Earl of Buchan, who had succeeded to a .great part of the estates in Scotland, and among the re^t to that of Leuchars. John, third Earl of Buchan, constable of Scotland, his son, married Isabel, daughter of Duncan, said to be tenth Earl of Fife. This Earl of Buchan adopted the English interest in the great contest between Bruce and Baliol, and was defeated ai Inverury by Bruce, with great slaughter; soon after which he retired to England, and subsequently his estates and office were forfeited by that king. His high- spirited lady, however, did not follow the politics of her husband, and was not only present at the coronation of Bruce in 1306, but, in consequence of the absence of her
* Dugdale's Baronage, Vol I. p. 6S6.
PARISH OF LEUCHAItS. 53
brother, claimed the right, and placed the crown on the head of the patriot King; as a punishment for which, she was the following year confined in a cage fixed upon a turret of the castle of Berwick, w here she remained till 1313, when she was delivered, bv orders of Edward II., into the custody of Henry de Beaumont, to be confined by him.
The Lordship of Leuchars remained for some time in the possession of the crown, but the principal part of it was at length gifted away to different individuals. One- third of it, that to which the castle was attached, was conferred by Robert II. on Sir Alexander Ramsay ; another third upon Sir John Wemyss of Reres and Kincaldrum, ancestor of the Earl of Wemyss; and the remaining third to Thomas Monypenny of Pitmilly. These portions of the lordship were afterwards designated, respectively, Leuc'iars-Ramsay, Leuchars-Wemyss, and Leucha: s-Monypenny. Sir Alexander Ramsay dying without male issue, his only daughter married Eustachius de Mony- penny, who thus acquired the lands of Leuchars- Ramsay ; and their successor leaving only a daughter, who married Ramsay of Colluthie, this portion of the lands, with the castle, came to that family. About 1574, David Carnegy of Fanbride married Eliza- beth, only daughter of William Ramsay of Colluthie, and received with her the lands of Colluthie, Leuchars, and others. They had two daughters, who were served heirs to their mother, and afterwards assigned the lands to their father. '1 he eldest son of their father, by a second marriage, succeeded to these lands, and was in 1633 created Earl of Southesk, Lord Carnegy of Kinnaird and Ivuchars. James, fifth Karl of Southesk, was forfeited for his connection with the rebellion in 1715; and ultimately the lands of Leuchars were sold by Sir David Carnegy of Kinnaird, the representative of the family, to the honourable Robert Lindsay of Balcarres, second son of James, fifth Earl of Balcarres. Leuchars is now the property of James Lindsay, Esq. of Bal- carres, his son.
Nothing now remains of the ancient castle of Leuchars, although its site is still pointed out, a short way north of the village. It stood upon a hank of earth, on the edge of a swamp, and was surrounded by a deep broad ditch, which inclosed about three acres of ground, and must have been a place of great strength in former times. It was no doubt the residence of the Celtic chief, Ness, the son of William, whose daughter was married to Robert de Quinci ; and it appears to have been the principal residence of their son, Seyer de Quinci, Earl of Winchester, and where he held his baronial court, as many of his charters are dated thence; and in a dispute with Duncan, the son of Ilamelin, about the lands of Duglyn, in the Ochils, he brought Duncan to acknowledge a release of his claims, in his court, " in plena curia mea apud Locres." In 1327, it was taken and demolished by the English, under the Earl of Pembroke, but was no doubt subsequently rebuilt.
South-east of the village of Leuchars is Earlshall, said by Sibbald to have been anciently a portion of the estates of the Earls of Fife, who had a residence here, whence
PARISH OF LEUCHARS. ,",,")
is unfurnished except one room, in which an old man, the gardener who has charge of it, resides. The object of greatest interest in this house is the great hall, which is fifty feet in length, by eighteen in breadth, with a fine arched root on which are painted and emblazoned the arms of the family, and of a number of noble families with whom they claimed affinity. Among these are those of the Duke of Lennox, the Earls of Errol Buchquhane, Athol, Arran, Argyle, Angus, Crawford, Cassillis, Marr, Perth, and March, and the Lords Boyd, Borthwick, Carliesle, Crichton, and Cathcart. Besides these, there are a number of other coats of arms, some real, some ideal, of royal and great personages, which have been painted either from vanity or to fill up the roof; among these are those of the emperors of Russia and of India, the kings of England, Bohemia, Cyprus, Castile, Arragon, Naples, Hungary, Navarre, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Selicia, Boulogne, Friesland, Jerusalem, Portugal, and Poland ; the prince of Orange; the dukes of Savoy, Guise, Lora, and Prussia; and those of David, king of Israel, Julius Caesar, Arthur of Brittany, Hector, prince of Troy, Alexander the Con- queror, Geoffrey, duke of Boulogne, Judeus Maccabeus, Josua, duke of Isreal, and the empemr Charlemagne. There are also a variety of delineations of animals, and a num- ber of inscrip ions on the roof and walls.
North of Earlshall, and northeast of the village of Leuchars, is Pitlethie, the pro- perty of William Lawson, Esq. Here there is said to have anciently been a roval hunting seat. In digging in the garden adjoining the mansion house about forty years ago, the foundation of a building of great depth and thickness was discovered, which is supposed to have been the remains of the royal seat; and this was confirmed by the discovery of a stone on which the royal arms were carved The stones of the building having been removed, furnished the greater part of those with which the present house and offices were erected. In a field near the house there stood till lately a venerable spreading thorn tree, on which tradition says the king's hawks were accustomed to roost. In the first, statistical account it is said that it was James VI. who used this place as a hunting lodge, but whichever of the Scottish kings it was, it is very obvious that this neighbourhood, from its vicinity to the sea shore, to the estuary of the Eden, and being surrounded witli marshes, must have been well calculated for enjoying the sport of hawking. We should rather be inclined to think, however, that it must have been James III. or James IV. who had a residence here, as Sir William Bruce of Earlshall had a charter of the lands of Pitlethie from the latter monarch, which he afterwards conferred upon his second son, Robert Bruce. The lands subsequently came to a family of the name of Reid, from whom they passed to the ancestor of the present proprietor. East and north-east of this part of the parish to the German ocean, is an extensive flat sandy tract of ground called Tents-Muirs, which appears to have heen atone time submerged, and has either been laid dry by the retreal of (he sea, or by a slight upheave of this part of the coast. Formerly this tract w as inhabited b) a number of small crofters, who were rude in their manners, and at one time much given to smug-
56 HISTORY OF FIFE.
gling. They were alleged to have been descended from some Danes shipwrecked upon this part of the coast ; but the Rev. Mr Kettle, in his first statistical account of the parish, says he had been able to find no authority for this statement. These crofters have now been all for many years removed, and the muir formed into some extensive farms. A great portion of it, however, is incapable of cultivation, and is employed in rearing -sheep ; the rabbits which at one time occupied a considerable part of it having been nearly all extirpated.
North-west of the village is Brackmont, which anciently formed part of the lordship of Leuchars, and was granted by Robert III. to Sir John Wemyss of Reres and Kin- cauldrum, ancestor of the Earls of Wemyss. In the fif:eenth century it belonged to a family of the name of Ramsay ; and afterwards became the property of Macgill of Kemback. South of which, and west of the village, is Pusk, anciently also part of the lordship of Leuchars, and granted by Robert III. to Sir John Wemyss, who founded a chapel at Reres and endowed it with six merks of money furth of his lands of Pusk. These lands now belong to George Cheape, Esq. of Wellfield. South-west of Pusk, are the lands and mill of Monzie, anciently called Leuchars Monzie, which was conveyed by Robert the Third to the ancestor of Lord Monypenny. It is now the property of James Lindsay, Esq. of Balcarres. Directly south of Pu>k, and where the water of Motry joins the Eden, are the lands of Seggie, for many generations the property of a family of the name of Meldrum, descended from Thomas Meldrum second son of Sir Philip Meldrum of Meldrum, who flourished in the thirteenth century. James Meldrum, younger of Seggie, was appointed a lord of Session in 157ti; and was afterwards ap- pointed a Commissioner " to treat upon the lawes," and also a Commissioner for satis- faction of the Clergy of their life-rents, in 1587. This property was purchased about the beginning of this century by William Haig, Esq., and now belongs to the Bank of Scotland. South-west of Seggie is Brocklay, the property of George Russel, Esq. of Hayston ; west of which is Clayton, the property of William Forsyth, Esq. ; and farther west, Dron, the property of Henrietta Eliza Erskine, wife of the Right Hon. Thomas Erskine, one of the Judges of the Common Pleas.
North-west of Monzie Mill is Hayston, the property of George Russel, Esq. ; and north of it, upon the hill-side which here bounds the parish, Lucklaw, the property of George Macgill, Esq. of Kemback. South-west of Lucklaw, and on the same range of hills, is Ardit, which anciently formed part of the extensive estates of the Earls of Fife. During the reign of Alexander II., Malcolm, earl of Fife, granted th-se lands to Johanni de Ardit and his heirs male, pro homagio et servitis, but this family failing in the third generation, the lands returned to the earls of Fife, and remained with them till their forfeiture in the reign of James I., when they came to the crown. Ardit was afterwards acquired by the Rev. G orge Douglas, D.D., rector of Stepney, London, second son of Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, who was second son of William, ninth earl of Angus. His grandson, Robert Douglas of Ardit, succeeded, in
PARISH OF LEUCHARS. 57
1692, to the title of baronet of Glenbervie on the death of his cousin Sir Robert Dou- glas of Glenbervie ; and as he did not succeed to the estate of Glenbervie, which went to the sister of Sir Robert, he obtained a charter of Novodamus of the lands of Ardit, to be called in all time coming Glenbervie. His son Sir William Douglas, fifth baronet of Glenbervie, was one of the general inspectors of the customs' on tobacco ; and in 1726, was chosen provost of the city of St x\ndrews, to which office he was yearly re- elected for nineteen successive years. He dying without issue, was succeeded in the title in 1764 by his brother Robert, afterwards Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Bart., and author of the Peerage and Baronage of Scotland, to which we have had occasion so often to refer. The lands of Ardit having been sold, their ancient name was re- stored, and they became the property of John Anstruther, Esq. Advocate, sheriff-de- pute of the county of Fife. It is now the property of Henry Stewart, Esq. of St Fort. The mansion house, which was extensive, and was inhabited till the death of Mr Anstruther, is now fast going to ruin.
South-west of Ardit, and on the same hills, is Pitcullo, which in the reign of Robert I., was the property of a family of the same name. Subsequently it became the pro- perty of a branch of the ancient family of Sibbald, afterwards of a family of the name of Balfour, and at the time that Sibbald wrote his history of the county, it had passed to a family of the name of Trent. At the end of last century and beginning of the present, it was the property of Neil Ferguson, Esq. Advocate, who was sheriff-depute of the county previous to Mr Anstruther. It is now the property of John Pitcairn, Esq. The old mansion-house is also now uninhabited, and though not so dilapidated as Ardit, is also going to decay. On the roof of a small room, which lias been ornamented with shell work, are emblazoned a coat of arms, which appear to be those of Trent quartered with those of the name of Hay, and are no doubt the arms of a proprietor of that name and his wife. The first and fourth quarters are charged with two swords crossed saltire ways, with a star of five points in base for Trent ; the second and third contains three escutcheons, two in chief and one in base, for Hay. Above the entrance are the initials D.B., the initials of one of the proprietors of the name of Balfour, who had probably erected or at least enlarged the house. South-east of Pitcullo is Muirhcad, formerly a part of that e state, now the pro- perty of Peter Walker, Esq. of Kingask. West of Pitcullo, on the borders of the pa- rish, is Craig-Sanquhar, the scat of Colonel James Spens. Craig-Sanquhar belonged at an early period to the family of Spens of Lathalan, William de Spens of Lathalan being infeft in these lands in May 13S5; besides which he held other extensive estates in Fife, Perthshire, and Dumbartonshire. His eldest son, John de Spens, was a free baron, and was chosen one of the lords of the articles in a parliament held by James I. at Perth in the year 1434 ; and his second son, William, was the first of the family of Spens of Kilspindy, who flourished for several generations in Perthshire,
58 HISTORY OF FIFE.
Thomas, the third son of John de Spens of Lathalan and Craig- Sanquhar, who is styled in ancient writings lord of Glendowglas, was bred to the church, and became successively bishop of Galloway and of Aberdeen, was appointed lord privy seal of Scotland, and was repeatedly employed as an ambassador during the reign of James III. Patrick, his younger brother, was an officer in the Scots Guards sent from Scotland by James II. to Charles VII., and settling in the country was the ancestor of two great families in that country, that of de Spens de Destignots, lords of Des- tignots and St Germain ; and that of de Spens Destignots de Lancre, lords of Lancre, &c. Alexander de Spens, the eldest son of John, succeeded to the large estati s of his father, and married the sister of the renowned Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, during the reign of James III. The present proprietor is the lineal representative of this ancient family ; but the estate of Lathalan, from which they originally took their title, is now in other hands.
HI. The church formerly belonged to the priory of St Andrews, the monks of which drew the tithes and supplied the cure. It is situated in the village of Leuchars, and is rather inconveniently situated for the north and extreme west of the parish. It is an old building which appears to have been erected at four different periods ; but it is comfortable and well-lighted, and is seated for 850 sitters. There are only about a dozen free sittings ; but the average yearly rent of a seat is only Is. 3d. The average attendance is about 600 ; and the number of communicants about 700. The stipend is, wheat, 8 bolls ; meal, 120 bolls; barley, 120 bolls; oats, 8 bolls; and in money £8:6:8 sterling. The manse was built in 1806, and is a comfortable house, pleas- antly situated. The glebe contains 9 Scots acres, which would rent at £4 per acre. The present incumbent is the Rev. David Watson ; the patronage is in the crown. There is only one dissenting chapel in the parish, which is situated at the village of Balmullo. It is connected with the Associate Synod of Original Seceders. The minister is the Rev. James Beattie. The number of members is about 70; and the attendance in proportion. Besides his salary the incumbent has a manse and garden. The other dissenters attend different chapels in the neighbouring parishes.
The parish school is in the village of Leuchars, and is well attended. Besides his fees the teacher has a dwelling-house and school-room, the maximum salary, and the interest of 2000 merks Scots, with a glebe of 2 acres of land bequeathed by the Rev. Alexander Henderson. English, Latin, Greek, Arithmetic, Practical Mathematics, Writing, Grammar, and Geography, are all taught ; but there are now seldom any pupils for Greek or Latin. Besides the parish school there are three other schools in the parish. One of these is supported by Mr Lindsay of Balcarres, and in it sewing and English reading is taught at a cheap rate. The other two are supported by the fees alone, and are well attended. There is also a well attended Sabbath evening school. A parish library has been instituted by private subscription, which contains a
PARISH OF LEUCHARS. 59
considerable number of volumes on general literature. A society has existed several years for promoting religious purposes at home and abroad ; but it has much fallen off of late years.
The number of persons receiving aid regularly from the kirk session is 30 ; those receiving occasional assistance, 3G. The average aliment given is Is. 3d. weekly. Besides the annual collections at the church door, and other contributions, the session possesses lands which yield of yearly rent £24, and church seats let at £12, yearly.
IV. We have already mentioned that the church appears to have been erected at four different periods. The eastern portion of the building, which had formed the original church is obviously of great antiquity, and is exceedingly interesting as exhib- iting a beautiful example of ancient architecture. It is in the Norman style ; and is worthy of particular notice as being the only parish church in Scotland now remaining in that early style. It consists of two parts, a rectangular portion which had formed the chancel, and a semicircular apsis at the east end, of less breadth and height, in which the altar had been placed. Its extreme length within the walls, from what had formed the western entrance to the east end of the apsis is 33 feet ; the breadth of the chancel about 1 8 feet, and of the apsis 12 feet. The height of the walls of the chancel is 22 feet, and of those of the apsis about IS feet. The thickness of the walls is about 3 feet. The walls of the chancel on the outside, both on the south and north, present two stages or stories. The lower stage is ornamented with four double columns, and two single columns at each end, with ornamented capitals, from which spring semicircular arches, which interlace each other, forming pointed arches at their intersection. Above these arches there is a band or fillet forming the base of the second story, and supporting four double and two single columns as on the lower stage. From these spring five semicircu- lar arches, ornamented with a double moulding, the inner being a zig-zag or chevron moulding, such as is generally found on buildings of this style, and the outer a billet moulding. Above these arches is a range of corbels carved into grotesque heads, sup- porting the upper part of the wall which slightly projects, and from which springs the roof. The wall of the chancel is pierced in the second story with two windows on the south side and one on the north ; they are narrow and semicircular at top, and are ornamented on the inside with pillars, and rich mouldings from the soffets of the arches. The apsis also presents two stories. They are both decorated with pillars and arches with chevron and billet mouldings, and surmounted by a range of grotesque corbel heads, as on the chancel; but the arches of the lower stage do not interlace each other as in the lower stage of the chancel. The upper stage of the apsis is also pierced with three windows similar to the chancel, and similarly ornamented in the inside ; one of these fronts the east, one the south-east, and the other north-east. A lolly arch opened from the apsis into the chancel, and another appears to have formed the western entrance, both of which are ornamented with three slender pillars.
The portion of the church immediately west of this seems to have been erected at a
60 HISTORY OF FIFE.
subsequent period, and to have formed a nave, whilst the chancel then formed the choir of the church. A third portion appears to have been added about the period of the reformation, to encrease the accommodation, and a fourth portion, forming an aisle on the north, some time in the last century for the same purpose. The three last erected portions form the present place of worship, the communication with the older portion except a small door being now closed up. The Moor of the old chancel is formed of grave- stones, and it is now little else than a tomb. One of the grave-stones has the figure of a lady carved upon it, and from the inscription, had been placed there in memory of Dame Agnes Lindsay, the wife of William Bruce of Earlshall, who appears to have erected a considerable portion of that ancient mansion. The appearance of this unique piece of Norman architecture has been considerably injured by modern alteration. The windows on the south side of the chancel, and one in the apsis, have been built up, and square windows inserted, divided by a single stone mullion. The roof of the apsis too has been destroyed by the erection of an ugly belfry over it, and the other two win- dows are partially blocked up by a rude arch thrown across the building to support it. It is highly to be wished that these modern barbarisms were removed, and that this beautiful little chapel were restored as far as possible to its original appearance ; which might be done at no great expense.
Nothing is known as to the exact period when this portion of the church was built ; but from the style of the architecture, it must have been in the 12th or early in the 13th century. Robert de Quinci obtained the lordship of Leuchars by marriage with the daughter of Ness during the reign of William the Lyon ; and his son Seyer de Quinci, Earl of Winchester, succeeded him in 1190, and died in 1219. As he resided at Leuchars castle, and had his principal court there, it seems extremely probable, that it was erected by him, some time between these two periods, as a place of worship for himself and his family.
Where the schoolhouse now stands, there was once a chapel dedicated to St Bennet, of which Sir Thomas Wemyss was chaplain at the Reformation. No remains of it now exist, but stone coffins enclosing human bones have been found near its site. It is said that a chapel also stood near the house of Ardit, where a small field was called the glebe ; and at easter Dron there was another chapel and burying-ground, where a field also retained the name of the glebe. On Craigie hill an earthen vase was found in 1808, which contained 100 silver coins in excellent preservation. The vase was broken in pieces by the plough which turned it up ; but most of the coins were secured by the proprietor, the late Hon. R. Lindsay of Balcarres. They were Roman, and mostly of the emperors Severus, Antoninus, Faustina, &c.
V. In the western division of the parish the soils are clay, soft loam and gravel ; but in the east and north-east, it is light and sandy, and for a considerable extent in Tents Muir entirely sand. There are 6310 Scots acres under regular cultivation; 3060 acres of poor clay, and light land often in pasture ; and 360 acres underwood. The
PARISH OF LEUCHARS. 61
average rent of good land is £2 : 10 per acre ; though many acres rent as high as £4 sterling. The poor soils rent from £1 : 10 to 7s. 6d. per acre. The average annual value of agricultural produce raised within the parish is £37,000 sterling. The allowed rental of the parish at the last valuation of stipend was £13,660 sterling; but as acon- siderable portion of the lands are in the real possession of the proprietors, it is difficult to ascertain exactly the real rental. The annual value of real property for which the parish was assessed for the property tax in 1815, was £14,957 sterling. The valued rent of the parish is £10,541 Scots. There are 33 threshing machines, 2 of which are impelled by steam power, and three by water.
An extensive distillery was erected at Seggie about thirty years ago, by William Haig, Esq., which is still in active operation. It contains three stills, two of which of 5000 gallons each have been long in operation, the third which is recently erected, con- tains 8017 gallons. The mash tun is 30 feet in diameter, and 8 feet deep. The mashing process is performed entirely by machinery ; for which, and for other pur- poses, there is a Watt and Bolton steam engine of 25 horse power, erected upwards of 20 years ago ; and the old engine formerly used at Kincaple, which was removed here, when the distillery there was given up. The principal store spirit cask contains 7244 gallons, and is consequently considerably larger than the great tun at Heidelberg ; and the second cask contains 5000 gallons. The amount of excise duties paid in 1833, which was previous to the erection of the large still, was £30,444 : 13: 11 sterling.
There are a number of weavers employed in the weaving of Osnaburghs, and Sele- sias for the manufacturers of Cupar and Dundee ; besides some who are employed in weaving towelling and sheeting for home consumption. There are three meal mills, one barley mill, one lint mill, and a saw mill, all moved by water power.
62 HISTORY OF FIFE.
PARISH OF FORGAN.
I. This parish was also anciently called St Phillans, from the church having been dedicated to that saint. It lies on the south side of the river Tay, between that river and the parishes of Leuchars and Logie. It is of an oblong figure of rather irregular shape, about five miles in length from east to west, at its southern boundary ; but only :;', miles on its northern boundary next the Tay. Its breadth from north to south, is from one to two miles. On the south, the parish is bounded by the parishes of Kil- many, Logic, and Leuchars ; on the east, by Ferry-port-on-Craig ; on the north, by the estuary of the Tay ; and on the west, by the parish of Balmerino. The surface of the parish presents a succession of heights and intervening hollows, which give it a pleasing aspect ; and in several places, such as at St Fort and Tayfield, where it is ornamented with a great deal of fine wood, it is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque. At St Fort, and at Newton, are the highest hills in the parish, which rise about 300 feet above the Tay. In general, the coast along the Tay is bold and rocky, rising from 30 to 50 feel above the beach ; and along the brow of these rocks, for some way both east and west from Newport, a number of elegant marine villas have been erected, which, with their gardens and shrubberies, add greatly to the interest of this portion of the landscape. The villas have chiefly been erected by merchants and others be- longing to Dundee, for the benefit of sea-bathing during the summer. From this rocky coast, and from the summit of the ridge of hills which descend from the south towards the Tay, fine views of Dundee, and of the opposite shire of Forfar, are obtained ; and, indeed, from no where else does that enterprising town, with its docks and shipping, appear to such advantage as from this portion of the coast of Fife.
The parish has 8 miles 945 yards of turnpike roads, and 5 miles 1651 yards of statute-labour roads. The principal roads terminate at the harbour of Newport, where the principal ferry from the county of Fife to that of Forfar is situated. Previous to 1822, there were two ferries across the Tay, one at Newport, and one at Woodhaven, about a mile to the west; and from 1790, when a new turnpike road was made to the latter place, till ISOS, it was the ferry chiefly resorted to. Another turnpike having been constructed in that year to Newport, which rendered it the most convenient point for passengers from the south, that place became in time the principal resort, and the ferry at Woodhaven became much less frequented. Up to this time, the boats used were small and inconvenient, and the ferry was not always accomplished without con- siderable danger. In 1819, an act of parliament was obtained, by which trustees were appointed connected with the two counties of Fife and Forfar, authorising them to
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PARISH OF FORGAN. 63
erect new piers, and to procure boats better fitted for the passage, and otherwise to improve and regulate the ferry. In 1822, a steam boat was placed upon the ferry, which at first plied alternately between Woodhaven and Newport; but, in 1S22, the passage to Woodhaven was discontinued ; after which the intercourse at the ferry began rapidly to increase. A new act of parliament was rendered necessary to entitle the trustees to substitute one landing place, which was accordingly obtained, with increased powers for erecting the necessary piers at Newport and at Dundee. Ferry harbours were accordingly erected at these places, and new and improved steam boats have since been placed upon the station. From being, therefore, one of the worst and most dangerous ferries, this lias now become one of the most safe and convenient in the kingdom. The steam boat, however, only plies through the day ; but for the con- venience of the public, the trustees maintain a large sail boat, a pinnace, and a yawl, with proper crews, which may be freighted at hours when the steam boat does not ply. Since the improvements have been introduced, the number of passengers have been increased by 20,000, and the revenue has been doubled. The revenue for the year ending 31st December, 1834, was £4,844 : 5 : 5, and it has since considerably increased. Besides the ferry harbour, there are other two harbours in the parish — one at New- port, the property of Mr Berry of Tayfield, and the other at Woodhaven, the property of Mr Stewart of St Fort. They admit vessels of from 100 to 150 tons, and are both used for exporting the produce of the surrounding country, and for importing coals, lime, wood, and other necessary articles.
The nearest market town is Dundee, which is only separated by the river Tav; and the market town of Cupar and St Andrews are about 11 miles distant from the most distant part of the parish. All these towns are frequented by the farmers for the sale of their produce. The coaches between Edinburgh and the north, and the coaches from Cupar to Dundee, as well as that from St Andrews to Dundee, pass through the parish. There is a penny post-office at Newport, which is dependent on Dundee, and from which there are daily arrivals and departures from and to the north and south. There are two inns and four alehouses in the parish.
The population in 1755 was 751; in 1793, 875. In 1801 it was 916; in 1811, 898; in 1821, 937 ; and in 1831, 1090. In 1831, the number of families was 238 ; of which, 61 are chiefly employed in agriculture; 51 in trade, manufacture, or handicraft; and 10 in seafaring occupations.
II. In the south-east extremity of the parish is Morton, the property of John Hay, Esq., in whose family these lands have been for several centuries ; and west of it, near the church, is the lands of Kirkton, the property of David Gillespie, Esq. of Kirkton and Montquhanie, which were, at the time Sibbald wrote, the property of a family of the name of Young. In the garden at this place there are three yew trees of great age, and now probably hardly equalled in Scotland. West of Kirkton arc the lands of Easter, AVester, and Little Friartons, the property of Henry Stewart, Esq. of St Fort.
li I HISTORY OV FIFE.
West of Wester Friarton is the house and grounds of St Fort, the seat of Henry Stewart, Esq. This magnificent mansion, a view of which, and of a portion of its richly wooded grounds, is given in ilie engraving, is in the Elizabethan style, and was creeled ordy a lew years ago. St Fort appears to have belonged, at an early period, to a family ofthe name of Nairn. About 1457, Alexander Nairn of Sandford, was comp- troller of the household to James II., and either he or his successor subsequently held the office of Lord Lyon, king-at-arms. This family continued in possession of the lands until the middle of last century, when they were purchased by the ancestor of the present proprietor. From the family of Nairn of St Ford was descended Thomas Nairn of Mukersy, whose grandson, Robert Nairn of Strathord, was raised to the dig- nity ofthe peerage by Charles II., with the title of Lord Nairn. A small portion of the lands of St Fort, called St Fort-llay, and on which the house was situated, belonged anciently to a family of the name of Hay. In 1535, Andrew, fourth Earl of Rothes, had a charter of these lands. About 1563, Si Fort-llay was purchased by Alexander Walker, and from him was afterwards designated St Fort- Walker. The descendants of (his gentleman continued in possession of these till the middle of last century, when they were purchased by M r Stewart's ancestor.
In the south west part of the parish are the lands of Newton, the property of (lie right honourable the Earl of Zetland. In 1535, these lands were contained in the before mentioned charter to the Fail of Rothes, and were; by him conferred upon his fourth son, the honourable George Leslie, who, upon his death in Kill, was succeeded in these lands, as well as in the lands of St Fort-llay, by his brother, the honourable Sir John Leslie, who, in Will, was appointed a lord of session, and in 1645, one of the commissioners of Exchequer. lie was, with one of his sons, killed at the storming of Dundee by General Monk in 1651 ; and through his second son, Andrew Leslie, was the ancestor of the sixth and subsequent Lords Lindores. Previous to 1650, Alexan- der Walker, the purchaser of St, Fort-llay, acquired the lands of Newton, in virtue of a bond of wadset or mortgage for a considerable sum lent by him to Sir John Newton, the proprietor, and they continued with his descendents till about the middle of last century. Immediately north of Newton, and between it and the Tav, are the lands of Wormit, tin- property of Henry Scrimgeour Wedderburn, ofBirkhill and Wedderburn, the representative of the flails of Dundee, and as such hereditary standard-bearer for
Scotland.
North-east of the house of St Ford are the house and grounds olTa\ field, the seat of William Berry, Esq. A view of this line mansion, with the ferry harbour, and pari ofthe village of Newport, taken from the water, will be found in the engraving. The house of Ta\ field has recently been greatly enlarged, and its whole appearance im- proved, and now presents a good example of tin- Elizabethan style of architecture. The name of Tayfield is modern; the lands now so called, with tin- adjoining lands of InnerdoN at, having formed originally the barony of [nnerdovat, part of which at an early
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PARISH OF FORGAN. 65
period belonged to a family of the name of Leighton, descended from the ancient family of Leighton of Ulieshaven in Forfarshire, long extinct, and the other portion to a family of the name of Leslie. In 1590, John Lindsay, second son of Sir David Lindsay of Edzell, and the first of the family of Balcarres, acquired the lands of Inner- dovat- Leighton. At the time Sibbald wrote, Innerdovat was the property of Mr Gavin Hamilton, one of the clerks of the court of session ; and it was afterwards acquired by Doctor James Walker, second son of Alexander Walker of St Fort-Walker. Inner- dovat was subsequently purchased by the late John Berry, Esq., the father of the present proprietor.
III. The church of Forgan, which anciently belonged to the priory of St Andrews, is beautifully but inconveniently situated for the greater part of the population, at the south-east extremity of the parish. It is an old building, seated for about 350 ; but it is in contemplation to erect a new building more in accordance with the extent of the population, and in a more central site than the present one. The present incumbent is the Rev. Charles Nairne ; the patronage is in the crown. The stipend is — wheat, 8 bolls; meal, 118 bolls, 2 firlots, 1 peck, and 1 lippie ; barley, 118 bolls, 2 firlots, 1 peck, and 1 lippie ; and money, £8:6:8 sterling. The manse, erected in 1803, is in good condition, and the glebe contains about nine acres. There is a small Independent meeting-house near Newport, the Rev. James Jack, minister, with which about 10 families are connected. The other dissenters attend chapels in neighbouring parishes.
The parish school is situated in a central situation on the farm of Nether Friarton, and is attended by about 120 pupils. The ordinary branches of education, with Latin, French, and practical mathematics, are taught at it. Besides his fees, the teacher has the maximum salary, and an excellent house and garden. There is also a small school taught by two females, near Woodhaven, at which about 30 young children are taught the elementary branches of education, and the female children sewing.
From 4 to 6 poor persons receive a regular weekly allowance from the session, vary- ing from Is. to 2s., and from 12 to 15 others receive occasional assistance in money, meal, or coals. For this expenditure, the collections at the church door, upon an average about £12 per annum, has hitherto proved sufficient. A heavy charge has for some years been incurred for the support of two lunatics, in the Dundee asylum, and a yearly allowance made for the board of a fatuous person.
IV. The soil is generally of an excellent and fertile nature. The greater part is black loam and clayey earth ; but other portions are light and gravelly. The parish altogether contains about 5000 acres; of which nearly 4000 are under regular cultiva- tion, 370 acres in grass, 360 in wood, and 250 unarable. The rent of ground is from £1 to £3 per acre ; but some parks near the Tay rent as high as £4 per acre. The valued rent of the parish is £5145:6:8 Scots. The real rent in 1794 was £2S7:i sterling; and in 1815, the annual value of real property for which the parish was assessed for the property tax, was £6064 sterling. The average annual value of agri-
66 HISTORY OF FIFE.
cultural produce, after deducting for seed, &c, including £200 for thinnings and felling of wood, is £16,340 sterling. There are 14 threshing machines in the parish, of which one is impelled by steam power ; and a meal mill and barley mill near Newport, worked by water. There are several salmon fishings in the parish, carried on by the net and coble, which altogether, however, do not rent far above £150 per annum. The salmon caught here are either sold in the neighbourhood or in Dundee, or are packed in ice and sent by the Dundee ships to London. Stake nets were at one time used here, when the fisheries were very productive ; but as elsewhere, in estuaries, this mode was found to be illegal. The same observations made, when speaking of the fishings in the parish of Balmerino, with regard to the impolicy of preventing stake- net fishing in estuaries of rivers, where the net and coble are so inefficient, are equally applicable to the fishings in this parish. There is a brewery at Woodhaven, at which excellent strong ale and table beer are made ; and about 20 individuals are employed in weaving linen for the manufacturers of Dundee.
V. There are several tumuli or cairns of small stones in different parts of the parish ; but none of them have ever been examined. Some years ago, in cutting the public road at Newport, a few urns rudely made of clay were found ; but they were broken and destroyed by the workmen, and their contents, if they had any, were never ascertained.
PARISH OF FERRY-PORT-ON-CKAIG. 67
PARISH OF FERRY-PORT-ON-CRAIG.
I. In 1606, the lands which form this parish were disjoined from that of Leuchars, and erected into a separate parish. The name is obviously derived from that of the village, which received its name from its situation, there having been from a very early period, a ferry here to Broughty castle in Forfarshire, the port or harbour of which was at one time at a point of the Craigs or rocks which bound the shore. This parish occupies the north-east portion of the county : and is bounded on the south by the parishes of Forgan and Leuchars ; on the east by the German Ocean ; on the north by the estuary of the Tay ; and on the west by the parish of Forgan. It is 4 miles in length from east to west, and varies from II to \ mile in breadth from north to south. It contains 2 miles 1456 yards of turnpike roads, and 1 mile 202 yards of statute labour roads. The population in 1755, was 621 ; and in 1792, was 875. In 1801, it was 920; in 1811, 1164; in 1821, 1461; and in 1831, it was 1680; having thus nearly doubled its amount within the last 40 years. In 1 S3 1, the number of families was 417 ; of which 36 families are employed chiefly in agriculture ; and 151 chiefly in trade, manufactures, and handicraft. There is a large village at the Ferry, in which the greater portion of the inhabitants reside: its population in 1831 being 1638, while the country part of the parish contained only 142.
There is still a ferry here to the opposite coast of Forfarshire, but from the great improvements which have taken place in the ferry of Newport, it is much less fre- quented than it formerly was. Two piers have been erected as a harbour, one of which is used by the passage boats, and the other by vessels which here discharge coal, lime, and other cargoes, and load with grain, potatoes, and the other produce of the district. A fair is held in the village annually, which was at one time well attended as a market, but is now only attended by a few itinerant hucksters with their stalls. The nearest market towns in the county are Cupar and St Andrews ; but the chief in- tercourse is with Dundee, to which there is easy access either by the steam boat at Newport, or by a packet which leaves the Ferry for that place in the morning, return- ing in the evening of every lawful day. There is a penny post office at the village, depending on the post office of Dundee, at which there is a daily arrival and departure of the mail. West of the village there are two lighthouses on the shore, which, with those on the coast of Forfarshire, serve as guides to vessels entering the Tay during the night.
II. The mansion-house and inclosures of Scotscraig, long the residence of the pro- prietor of that estate, which seems to have included all the lands in the parish, is
68 HISTORY OF FIFE.
situated near the west end of the parish. These lands at an early period belonged to the bishops of St Andrews, by one of whom it was feued during the reign of Alexander II. to Sir Michael Scott of Balweary, the father of the famed Sir Michael Scott, with whose descendants the lands for some time continued. It was in consequence of this that they came to be denominated Scotscraig. From the family of Scots, Scotscraig came by purchase to Dury of that ilk, from whom it passed to the Ramsays, ancestors of the Earls of Dalhousie. It afterwards became the property of a family of the name