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BI GG AR 



THE HOUSE OP FLEMING, 



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^■:g|^^^^/- 



f-^'ftWit.^-- 



■SI SUA R. 

I) AVID LOCK HAR T. 
MUrm.xii. 



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BIGGAR 



THE HOUSE. OF FLEMING. 



AU ACCOUNT OF THB 



BIGGA£ DISiaiOT, ABCHAOlOeiVAL, HI8I0BICAL, 
AND BIOSEAPHICAL. 



BY WILLIAM HnNTBE. 



' Nfloolo, noA HUtia Bolom duJddine onnotoa 
Docit, et ImmsmoTW Don sinlt eae saL 

Ov. Et^ Lib. I. 



BIGGAB: 
DAVID LOCKHAET, BOOKSELLER. 

HDCCCLXn. 



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■tlKKAT ARD UIBB, FBDdBKft, EDIHBDII 



2I-'.M007 



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ADAM SIM, ESQ., 

or OOnLTEB, 

* QESTLSaUJt DISTIKGUIBHBD FOR HIS ZEALOUS AND UNWEABIED EXEBTIONS 

TO COLLECT THE AKTiqunTES, DEVELOP THE BlffTOBT, 

AMD PROMOTE TBK GENERAL IKPBOTEHEKT 07 

THE DPFEB WARD OF CLTDESDALE, 

S^is Volnnc 

WITH THE DmOSr ORATITDDE AND RESPECT, 

IS DEDICATED, 

BT HIS OBUQED AND BDIIBLE SERTAMT, 

THE AUTHOa 



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PBEFACE. 



' London, says the Clydesdale peasant, is a big town, but there 
is one in ScoUand that is Biggar. This is all, however, that 
can he said in aggrandisement of Bi^ar.' Sach is the state- 
ment of Mr Robert Chambers, a veiy high' authori^ at the 
present day in all matters reUting to Scottish history and 
antiquities. In topographical works, Biggar is either ignored 
altogether, or, if alluded to, is discussed within the compass of a 
few lines. It may, therefore, appear presumptnoos to write and 
publish a volume of considerable size in illustration of a locality, 
evidently regarded by the literary worid as altogether unin- 
teresting and obscure. In justification of the step that has been 
taken, it may be stated, that an idea was entertained by several 
persons, and among others, by the author of this work, that a 
few particulars regarding Biggar and Biggar men could be 
collected, which, althongfi of no moment and consideration in 
the eyes of men of learning and research, might yet possess 
some degree of interest to the inhabitants of the district It 
has accordingly been.for their instruction and gratification that 
the volume has been drawn up. If it fails to satisfy them, 
or to draw forth the history of Biggar trom the obscurity in 
which it is involved, the fanlt roust lie with the author, and not 



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ID the want of materialB for the purpose. These in the end 
became so abundant, that it was found necessary to abridge som e 
portions of them, and to leave others out altogether, in order 
^t the work might be kept within a moderate space. The 
attempt of the author to avoid one evil, has caused him to fall 
into another, as he now finds that the rigorous curtailment, to 
which he has subjected the contents of the volume, has given 
serious offence to some parties, because information has been 
excluded which, in their opinion, was of great importance, and 
which thej are confident would have enhanced the value of the 
hook, and the fame of Biggar. 

The book, snch as it is, owes its origin to a Lecture, which the 
author was invited to deliver before the Athenaeum of Biggar 
in Jnne 1859. He chose for the subject of discussion on that 
occasion, ' Historical Incidents connected with Biggar and its 
Neighbourhood.' Some time afterwards a su^estion was made 
to the author by Mr William Ovens, merchant, Biggar, — a 
leading member of the learned Institution referred to, and a 
most able and intelligent correspondent, — that the information 
contained in the Lecture might he extended and published, 
either in a separate form, or in the columns of a periodical. 
After much besitatioD and delay, arising from the want of time 
and facilities for executing snch a work, it was at length resolved 
to collect snch additional particulu^ regarding Biggar as could 
be readily got, and to publish the whole in a small volume. 

In drawing up the work, the author has not thought it 
necessary to quote his authorities, when the information was to 
be found in the shelves of every public library ; but in cases 
where the facts were not so readily accessible, he has veiy fre- 
quentiy given not merely the name of the antbor, but also his 



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very words. He is well aware, from the predilections now 
prevalent, that these will be repulsive to some readers, and he 
anticipates that a considerable amount of censure will be bestowed 
upon him for their use. He can only say, that it would have 
been very easy to set them forth in a modem dress, and that his 
sole reason for retaining them in their original state is a veiy 
decided, though it may be an undue partiality, in favour of the 
peculiar orthography, the quunt e]q)ressions, and sage remarks 
of our old Scottish writers. The charm of these quotations 
would, at least to him, be lost, were th^ altered in the least 
degree from the way in which they were originally written. 

The author has made a free use of various articles regarding 
Biggar, which at different periods he has written, and given 
forth in periodicals, etc. In a work drawn up principally from 
notes taken at various times, and from many different sources, 
ani for the most part without any view to publication, it is far 
from imlikely, notwithstanding a careful revision, that some 
errors may have escaped notice. Since the work went through 
the press, the attention of the author has been directed to an 
Itinerary compiled by the Rev. Charles Heniy Hartshome, 
MA., and published a few months ago in the First Part of 
the ' Collectanea Archseolo^ca ' of the British Archfeological 
Association. This Itiueraiy clears up a point which the author, 
from want of ppoper information, has incorrectly stated at page 
253, viz;, the length of time that Edward H. remidned at Biggar. 
According to this Itinerary, the King marched by Werk, Rox- 
burgh, St Boswells, Selkirk, and Traquair to Bi^ar, at which 
town he arrived on the 29th of September, where he remained 
till the 3d of October, and then went back to Roxburgh. He 
returned to Biggar on the 5th, and remained there till the 10th, 
when he went to 'Oarmil' (perhaps Carmlchael), Lanark, Lin- 



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lithgow, and Renfrew, and came back to Biggar on the 18tli. 
He finally loft it on the 21st, and proceeded to ' Caremor' and 
Linlithgow, having been at Biggar altogether ten or eleven days. 

The author would embrace this opportunity to tender his 
most grateful acknowledgments to those gentlemen who have 
given him assistance, cither in supplying him with information 
<ir enabling him to obtain access to depositories of books and 
manuscripts not readily accessible to the general public. He 
would specially refer to Adam Sim, Esq. of Coulter. This 
gentleman not only allowed him ready access to his valuable 
library, but supplied him with important facts, pointed out 
sources of information, and afforded him the benefit of his ex- 
tensive knowledge and critical acumen as tlie work went through 
the press. Above all, lie handsomely offered, so soon as the 
work was projected, to furnish at hia own expense the engravings 
by which it was to be embellished and illustrated. He has more 
than redeemed his original promise. A greater number of en- 
gravings has been given, and a higher style of art adopted, than 
waa at first proposed. The consequence of this is, that the book 
is not only rendered much more attractive, but it is offered to 
subscribers at about one-half of its actual cost. 

The author would merely mention the names of several other 
gentlemen, who have more or loss lent a helping hand to the 
production of the book: viz., James W. Biullie, Esq., W.S., 
jT. of Coultorallers ; the late Captain John Dickson, yr. of 
Hartree ; David Laing, Esq. ; James Dnunmond, Esq., K.S.A. ; 
George Wilson, Esq. (of Messrs G. and G. Dunlop's, Edin- 
burgh) ; Rev. John Christison, A.M., Biggar ; Rev. Dr David 
Smith, Biggar ; Rev. James Dunlop, A.M., Biggar ; Rev. 
Henry Scott Riddell, Teviothead ; Eev. Dr John B. Johnston, 



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Qlasgow ; Rev. David Crawford, Edinburgh ; Dr Bobert 
Purmaii, Biggar ; Mr Allan Whitfield, Biggsr ; Mr William 
Ovens, Biggar; Rev. William Whitfield, Biggar; Mr David 
Lockhart, Biggar ; Mr James Watt, Biggar ; Mr John Archi- 
bald, Biggar ; Mr Q«orge Wilson, Edinburgh, etc., etc. 

In concloaion, the author offers the volume as a small tribute 
of respect to his native district, and as an humble contribution 
to a work long projected and much desired — a complete History 
of the Upper Ward of Clydesdale. 

PORTOBELLO, 12th May 1862. 



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CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PbBHISTOBIC BeMAIKS in the BtOQAB DlSfRICTT, ... 1 



CHAFTEB n. 
Invasiok op the Uppzr Wabd of Cltsbsdale b7 thb Boiuns, 

AMD SOPFOSED TlUCBS 0? THE IhVADEBS AT BlOOAfi, 11 

CHAFTEB m. 
The Town of Biogae, . 15 

CHAFTEB IV. 

BlOQAB BURK, ........ 82 

CHAPTER V. 

SUHNTBIDB AND CaSST, 46 

CHAPTEB VI. 
The Caotle of Boohall, M 

CHAPTER VU. 
Biooab Chueohtabd, M 



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ht contents. 

Paob 
CHAPTEE Tin. 

BlOOAB KiBK, 78 

CHAPTER IX. 
BiQOAR EiBK — Continued, 98 

CHAPTEE X. 
The Prbsbttbrt of Bichiab, 106 

CHAPTEB XI. 

TBB COVENASTERS OF THE BlOOAB DiOTBlCT, .113 

CHAPTEB Xn. 
The North akd South United Psesbiterian Chubches, 133 

CHAPTEE XIU. 
BiGOAR Schools and LibbarieS) 152 

CHAPTEE xrv. ; 

pBTSIOUnS CONNECIED WTTB BlOOAR, 175 

CHAPTEE XV. 

BtOOAR A BUBQH OF BaBOMT, 182 

CHAPTEE XVI 
The Cokmerce and Tbade op Biooab, .... 191 

CHAPTER XVn. 
The Benefit SociEnEfl of Biooab, 208 

CHAPTEE XVin. 
TbB WnCHEB OF THE BlQOAB DisiRicr, .... 210 



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CHAPTER XIX. 
The Vagrants op the Biqoab District, 



CHAPTER XX. 
Crime in the Biooab District, 



CHAPTER XXI. 
Ths Battle of Biooar, .... 



CHAPTER XXn. 

MlLITARy MOVEKEKTS AKD RoTAL FrOORESSES AT BlOGAR, 258 

CHAPTER XXm. 
HrsTORicAL Sketches op the FLEUon) Familt, . 267 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Historical Sketches of tee Flehdh} Fakilt — Continued, 291 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Historical Sketches of the Flehiho Familt — Contaiutd, 318 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Historical Sketches of the Flehiho Familt — CojUmagd, S29 

CHAPTER XXVn. 
HisroBiCAi. Sketches of the Fleming P/JOLr-^Continwd, 341 

CHAPTER XXVHI. 
Early Coktebhimous Profritiors, 351 



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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Vignette — South Door of Biooar Kirk. 

Stone Implehents, viz., Hammer, Flail Stone, 

Flint Arrow Head, 

Quern, 

Stone and Bronze Balls, 

Bron'ze Implements, viz., Daqoek, Celt, Axe Head, Spear 

Head, and Paalstab, 
Gold Circlet, . 
Bronze Pot, 
Biooar in 1861, 
Biooar Cross-Knowe, 
Cadoeb's Brio, . 
Boohall Cactle previous to 1779, 
BoGHALL Sword, 
BioQAR Kirk from tbe North, 
Cutty Stool of Biooar Kirs, 
Holt Water Jug, 
Head of Buroh Officer's Halbert, 
Wool Comb, 

Distaff, Spindle, and Whohlk 
Hand Reel, 
Amoits Dish, 

Portrait of Jame3 Aberkethy, the Cltdesdale Beooar, 
Remains of Boohall Castle, 18()2, 
Mo.»t-Knowe, 



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BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 



CHAPTER I. 

^pR^timt ^rmimu in % $ijgpi Siitriri 

fIGOAR, a parish in the Upper Ward of Cljdeadale, ia bounded 
on the west hj Libberton and the river Clyde, on the north by 
Dolphinton and Walston, on the east by Sldrling, and on the 
south by Coulter and Kilbucho. The form of the parish ia 
nearly triangular, and comprises 5852 Scots acres, or 11^ square 
miles. It is chiefly of a hilly and undulating character, wi^ excep- 
tion of a lerel tract on the south, which is watered by Biggar Bum, 
and which forms part of what may be denominated the Strath of 
Biggar. This strath or valley is 628 feet above the level of the sea, 
and sends its waters, on the west, into the Clyde, and on the east, into 
the Tweed. The parish lies about 23 miles south-west from Edin- 
burgh, and 32 miles south-«ast from Glasgow, and has ready com- 
miuiicatioa by good roads, and now by railway, with all ports of the 
kingdom. The name of the parish in old documents is variously 
written, such as Bygare, Bygur, Bigre, Biger, Begor, and Bigar, and 
it is only of late years that its present orthography has been estab- 
lished. Its etymology, acoording to the learned George Chalmers, is 
to be traced to the Scoto-Irish words * big,' sofl, and ' thir,' land. It 
is far from unlikely that the title '«o[t' was applicable to the lands of 
the parish at a remote period ; for, even at the commencement of the 
present century, a large portion of the lowest parts of it conasted of 
marshes and peat-mosses. Others, again, think that ' b^ ' may refer 
to a coarse kind of barley called bigg or bear, and, therefore, diat the 
meaning of the word Biggar is the bigg or bear land. This is a sub- 



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2 BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE Of FLEUIKG. 

ject, however, cm wtucb entire ceHuinty will not be etaalj attained, 
ADd OD which etTtaologiata, in all probability, will eontinae to hold 
conflicting opinions. 

The pariah was, no doubt, peopled manj agei preriooi to the 
exiitence of historical records, or the lime at which the Roman in- 
radera planted their eagles on our soil. The early inhabitants, like 
those of other parts of Scotland, would be Terj indifferently lodged, 
clothed, and fed. Their houses would be composed of turf, rough 
stones, and the branches of trees ; their raiment would consist of the 
skins of wild or domesticated animals ; and their food would be drawn 
from the spontajieous fruits of the soil, or the fish and venison which 
their skill and dexterity in fishing and hundng enabled them to 
procure. The parish, in these remote times, was evidently covered 
with forests of hazel, oak, alder, birch, et«., fragments of which have 
been dog np at considerable depths in its different peat-mosses. 
With the wild beasts with which these were tenanted, as well as with 
marauding neighbours, the inhabitants would wage a constant warfare. 
Traces of the early inhabitants are to be found in the stone weapons 
and utensils that are, from time to time, dug up in the neighbourhood. 
They belong to what is called the Stone Period ; that is, a period when 
the metals were sull tmknown, and the implements used by man were 
composed of stone and wood. It has often been remarked, that where 
geology leaves the worid'a history, archeology takes it up. The one 
deals with the different processes that have taken place to form the 
earth's emst, and render it fit for the habitation <^ man ; the other 
takes up the industrial developments of man from the rude and simple 
fabrication* of aboriginal times, to the complicated and scientific pro- 
ducUons of our own day. As the excavator and the miner have con- 
tributed much to geological science by laying open the wonders of 
the earl's crust, so the ploughman and the drainer hare enriched 
Krtsbadiog^ by the stores of relics which they have brought to light. 
Few districU have yielded a more plentiful crop of those remains of 
the pest than the one around Bi^ar. A large portion of those dug 
np in recent times have fortunately found their way into the hands 
of Adam %m, Esq. of Coulter. The collection of ijnarkshire anti- 
quities in the possession of that gentleman is now exceeding rich, 
and, we may say, perfectly unique. With bis kind permission, a few 
of those, more immediately connected with Biggar and its neighbour- 
hood, faftve been selected for brief description and pictorial representa- 
tion. 

The stone hammer is a primitive implement that is very com- 
monly to be met with. It is often found in the older cists, or bury- 
ing-placea ; and hence by the vulgar it has been called a purgatory 
hammer, from the suppontion that it was placed in graves in order 
to be used by the dead when they came to the gates of purgatory. It 
is on this account that in some districts it has been regarded as au 



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PREHIffrORIC BEHAINB IS THE BIGCAB DISTRICT. S 

abject of religiona Teneration. The one here represented wu fbond 
M Aikbne on Crosseryne, about three miles from Biggar. It mea- 
sures S^ inches in length, and 2g inches acron the cnttiDg edge. 

The circiilar perforated etone here represented was found at Coul- 
ter, and ie » specimen of what b very generally denominated &_fiaii- 
stone. It has received this name from a suppoiition that it was a 
military weapon, which was made efiectiTe by suspending it by a 
cord or thong of leather fVom a short staff, and nsed in Hie same 
manner as the 'morning star' of the middle ages. As stones of this 
kind are often found in the graves of the aboriginal inhabitants, it 
has been conjectured by some person that they were personal orna- 
ments, and worn as beads. The ornamentation on some of them 
would also favour this conjecture ; but the fact is, that the real nse of 
them cannot now be known. 



Another primitive stone weapon was an aze, or, as it it commonly 
called, a celt. It is a weapon that has been extensiTely dug up in 
almost every country in the world. It has been a matter of consider' 
able speculation, to what use the celt was applied, and by what mode 
it was fixed to a handle. The likelihood is, that it was used both for 
warlike and domestic purposes, and that it was inserted in a wooden 
shaft or handle, and secured in such a way that it could be employed 
either in striking a foe, cutting down a tree, or constructing an article 
of domestic use. The one here represented was found at Biggar. 

The practice of archery appears to be of a very remote antiquity in 
the Britannic Isles, and the number of flint arraw-heads, beautifully 
formed, that have been picked up on Bii^berry, the Borrow Mnir, 
and Biggar Shields, is a convincing proof that the Caledonian of Big- 
gar 'put hb reliance on his bow,' To shoot well with the bow, 
both in the battie-field and the more peaceful pursuit of the chase, 
would be regarded as a neoessBry acoompUihment by the men of 



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4 BiaOAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

Biggar ; and at such places as Bowfiat, now called Bamphflat, and 
Batto, or Butts, now called Springfield, it is more than probable that 
gatherings for practice were wont to take place. The annexed wood- 
cut represents a fine speumen of a flint arrow- 
head found on the hill of Bizzyberry, that over- 
looks the town of Biggar. 

The manner in which these arrow-heads were 
fabricated, and the places from which they were 
brought, are involved in obscurity. They ap- 
pear to have been very extensively used, as they 
have been found in many different parts of the 
world, including the South Sea Islands and the 
immense continent of America. As some of 
these regions are far remote from the spots 
where flint is a natural deposit, it ie plain tLat, 
in the primitive times in which they were used, 
they must have formed an article of extensive 
traffic. The rude material must have been dug up, and most likely 
fashioned, in places, such as the south of England, where flint for- 
mations abound, and then conveyed to distant parts of the countr}-, 
to be bartered for other commodities which the natives could supply. 

The flint arrow-heads, as is well known, were long associated with 
the superstitions of this and other countries. They were termed elf 
or elfin bolts, and were supposed to be shot by the fairies, or other 
malignant spirits, and to produce the most fatal effects. Hence, in 
some parts of the country, whenever they were found, they were 
carefully buried, in case some of these evil beings might find them, 
and nse them in the accomplishment of their destructive designs. 
They seem also to have been worn in some districts as an amulet or 
charm. They were in that case sewed in a part of the dress, and 
regarded as an efiectual antidote against the spells of witches, and the 
injurious tricks of elfs and fairies. In the Bi^ar district, till a very 
recent period, many of the diseases of cattle were attributed to 
the elf-shot One of the most remarkable statements regarding 
the fabrication of these elf-bolts, and the deadly effects which they 
produced, was made by Isobel Goudie, the famous witch of Auldem, 
on her trial before a commission in 1662. In her second confession 
she said, 'As for elf arrow-heidia, the Divel shapis thame with his 
awin hand, and syne deliveris thame to elf-boyis, wha whyttis and 
dyghtis thame with a sharp thing lyke a paHng neidle, bot quhan 
I was in Elfland, I saw thame whytting and dlghtdng thame. 
Hes that dightis thum ar litle ones, hollow and bossbaked. They 
speak gowstie lyk. Quhan the Divel giues tludm to ws he sayes, 

Shoot thee in my name. 

And they sail not goe heall hame. 



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PREHISTORIC REMAINS IM THE BIGGAR DISTBICT. 5 

And quhao we shoot thes arrowea we say, 

I shoot fon nuui in the Divel's oame, 

He ntU aott win heall h&me ; 

And this aal be alawa tni, 

Tbair sail not be an bit of him on lieiw. 

We haa no bow to shoot with, but spang thaim from the naillis of 
our thowmbea. Som tymea we misse, hot, if they twitch, be he beast, 
or man, or woman, it will kill tho' they had a jack upon thalm. 
This, of conrse, is the declaration of ft poor creature made mad by 
prolonged insults and torture, and deseryes no consideration, further 
than it shows the strange hallucinations into which persons charged 
with witobcraft could be driven, and the gross absurdities which men, 
even of the highest rank and intelligence of the age, could be led to 
enterttun and believe. 

The annexed cut represents part of an ancient stone quern, or 
hand-mill for grinding com, which was found at Coulter. The quern 
is an article of very great antiquity. The use of it would, no doubt, 
be almost coeval with the exist- 
ence of the human race. Some 
rude conirivancQ of the kind 
was evidently requisite ere the 
grain furnished by the bountiful 
Creator could, U> any extent, be 
converted into food. One of 
them would therefore be found 

in every household. The people were attached to their use, and, 
after the introduction of water-mills, were decidedly averse to give 
them up. The Government, who wished to encourage the water- 
mills, therefore, in 1284, during the reign of Alexander IH, passed 
the following enactment : — ' That na man sail presume to grind qoheit, 
maislhock, or rye, with hand mylnes, except he be compeUed be 
storm, or be lack of mylnes, quhilk sould grind the samen. And in 
this case, gif a man grinds at hand mykies, he sail gif the threttuin 
measure as multer ; and ^ anie man contraveins this our prohibition, 
be sail tine his hand mylnes perpetuallie.' This law failed to some 
extent to effect the end contemplated, and in some remote districts of 
Scotland the querns continued in use ohnost to our own times. At 
almost all the old farm towns in the Biggar district, these primitive 
and once useful utensils were lately to be found very generaUy built 
into the wall of some of the office-houses. Those of most recent date 
were hollowed out like ft trough, and the com, or rather the barley, 
was placed inside and bruised by a stone, or sometimes by a piece of 
wood called a knocker, and hence these utensils were usually denomi- 
nated ' knocking stones.' 

Another article that must be ascribed to a very remote antiquity 



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m 



9 BIGQAB AND TBE BOUSE OF FLEHDia. 

is the ornamented stone ball It is found in Taiious parts of Scotland. 
Four or five veiy fine specimens are to be seen in the Musetun of the 
Antiquaries of Scotland at Edinburgh. Tbey are nearly alike in size, 
but they differ very much in their oinamentation. The one here re- 
presented (Fig. 1) was found at 
Biggar Shields. It has sis regu- 
larly arranged circles in relief, with 
intervening spaces, which give it a 
fine symmetrical appearance- The 
use to which these balls were pnt ^ 
is not certainly known. It may 
be that they were used for warlike purposes, as balls of a similar 
kind have been so employed by some tribes of American Indians, 
who enclosed them in leather, and attached to them a thong a yard 
and a half in length. By some parties, on the contrary, it has been 
conjectured that they were used in the process of grindiiig com, and 
hence they have been called ' com-crushers.' They are frequently 
dug up in usts; and this may be taken as a proof that, in remote 
ages, they were held in respect As might be expected, they hare 
been identified with tha superstitions of subsequent ages, and have 
been supposed to possess the same virtues, and to have the same chum 
to awe and veneration, as elf-bolts, stone-hammers, adder-stones, eto. 
In course of time several of the metals were discovered, particularly 
copper and tin, as these, in some places, were found lying near the 
surfaw. By smelting these two metals together, a substance was pro- 
duced of much greater hardness than either of them possessed, taken 
singly. This substance, which was called bronze, was, for a period, 
most extensively vised, and superseded stone as a material for the 
construction of warlike and domestic implements. The introduction 
of this metal marks an important stage in the history of human im- 
provement; and it is interesting to note that articles, formerly com- 
posed of stone, were now produced in almost the same form in bronze. 
The ancient Caledonians who inhabited Bt^ar, so soon as a knowledge 
of the newly-discovered metals reached them, would no doubt throw 
aaide their stone implements as comparatiTely of little value, and adopt 
those composed of the more durable and effective material Several 
remarkably fine examples of brume ax^-heads or celts, spear-heads, 
and the weapons called paalstaves, have been found in ihe vicinity of 
Biggar. Fig. 1 is a curioua bronae implement, the real use of which 
it is not very easy to divin& It may have been employed as a dag- 
ger, as in some specimens the blade oontuns two or three holes, for 
the evident purpose of riveting it to a handle. It measures 7f inches 
in length, and, at the smaller end, 2 inches in breadth; but it b 
evident that a portion of it has been broken off. It was found at 
Coulter. In Fig. 2 we have a fine specimen of the bronze socket or 
pol-celt Its ude« are ornamented with the groovmgs or tridental 



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PREHISTORIC BKMAWS IN THE BIGGAB DISTEICT. 7 

marks oommoa in this tjpe, which have reiy frequently been met 
with in the north of England. It has a loop, intended either to fatten 



it more firmly to the handle, or to suspend it from the girdle of the 
wearer. It is 4^ inches long, and was found at Hapgingshaw in the 
pariah of Coulter. The bronze axe-head here eDgraved (Fig. 8) was 
found in a curn, within the camp on the summit of Wlntermuir HilL 
It is 6^ inches in length, and nearly three inches across the cutting 
edge. 

The speor-head engraved (Fig. 4) was found in the neighbourhood, 
and baa been selected tu a good speoimen of this early but beautiful 
weapon, and as in all likelihood the product of some of the ancient forges 
in the district. Another bronze implement here engraved (Fig. 5) is 
what is called a psalstave or paalstab. This weapon has, seemisgly, 
been attached to a cleft handle, and might be used either as a spear 
or an axe. It was found at Aikbrae, on Crosscryne. Another very 
fine one in Mr Sim's possession was found at Kersewell, and several 
oUtera have lately been discovered in this district Paalstaves are 
met with in conriderable variety, some of them being finely orna- 
mented and engraved; but antiquaries are by no means agreed as to 
the purposes for which they were employed. It is very likely that 
they were used both as a warlike and a domestio implement, and 
perhaps, also, in the rites of some of the old religious systems that 
prevailed in the country. 

The bronze bail (Fig. 2) represented in the woodout, along with 
the one in stone, is the only specimen of the kind known to exist, 
being of the same type as those of stone formerly referred to. It is 
somewhat smaller, being only 1^ inches in diameter, and was found 



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8 BIGQAB AKD TBE BOUSK OF FLEHINO. 

Kt Walfiton, three or fotu miles from Biggar. George Vere Irving, 
Eaq. of Newton, in describing it in an Arclueological Journal, bb^s, 
'It is beautifoUy incised with volutes, so as to produce six disc- 
shaped figures. It has been cast in two portions, each half being 
composed of a different metal, and of a different density. The work- 
manship of it would assign its production to a period subsequent to 
the occupation of this countiy hj the Romans.' 

The religion of the ancient iababilAnts of the Biggar district b 
supposed to have been Druidism. It has, no doubt, been stoutly as- 
serted by several authors that the practice of this system of religion 
in Great Britain was confined to the southern parts of the island, 
and they demand a proof to the contrary. Now, it must be admitted 
that no direct proof of the kind can be given. No ancient author has 
made any statement on the subject; and the Druids themselves left no 
writings, as it was one of their tenets that no reoord of their opinions 
and transactions should be kept Cssar, indeed, states that the 
Dmidical system was in operation in South Britain, a region which 
he had himself viuted;- but this does not prove that it did not prevul 
in other parts of the country, which he never saw. However this 
may be, it becomes us to notice several remuns of antiquity in the 
parish of Biggar and its neighbourhood, which have been generally 
set down as Druidical. 

On the Shields Hilt, in the parish of Biggar, several upright stones 
are still standing, which have been considered to be part of a Druidi- 
cal temple. Here the Druids, with their flowing robes, their white 
surplices, thdr long beards, and their rods of office, may have ex- 
pounded their religious opinions, and offered up human victims in 
sacrifice. At the west end of the town of Biggar is the Moat, or 
Moathill, which in Saxon signifies the meeting-hill. It is of a ur- 
cular farm, and measures 100 feet in height on the -west side, 177 feet 
in circumference at the base, and 225 feet at the top. From the top 
of it, which is quite flat, three other moats of a similar form, though 
of less dimensions, are in sight, — one at Eoberton, one at Wolf-Clyde, 
and another at Bamphflat. In the opinion of some, these were places 
on which the Druids held their courts of justice, as they are km>wn 
to have acted in a judicial as well as in a religious capacity, and to 
have transacted th^ business and performed their rites in the open 
air. Here, then, the priests of the Dmidical superstition may have 
tried many trembling culprits, pronounced on them the terrible sen- 
tence of excommunication, or sent them to expiate their crimes on 
the blaring pile. At a few miles distant, conspicuously in view, and 
forming a termination to the vista from the mun street of the town 
of Biggar, is Tinto, the hill of fire, with its huge cairn, on which, on 
May eve, and on the Ist of November, yearly, the Druids are said 
to have Ughted fires in honour of Beal or Belenus, the sim. Fires 
at the same time would blaze on the mountains of Lothian, Tweeddale, 



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PREHISTOBIC BEMAIMS IN THE BIGGAB DISTRICT. 9 

and others still more distant, till the whole island was lighted up with 
a ruddy glow. Then the fires on every hearth would be estinguiihed, 
and the people would hasten to the nearest mountain-top to obtain 
a portion of the consecrated fire to rekindle the fires in their huts 
or weems. No fire was, however, given unless the customary dues 
were paid to the Ctumeach, or officiating priest; and no person dared 
to supply the defaulter, under the pain of ezcommunicatioD, which 
is siud to have been worse than death itself. 

Two very fine specimens of an ornament, supposed to be Druidical, 
were found, in 1858, on a piece of newly broken up ground on the 
farm of Southside, in the parish 
of Kilbucho, about three miles 
from Biggar. They were at first 
thought to be merely pieces of 
tin, debris from the anvil of Moses 
Marshall, the tinker, and were 
taken to the farm-house, and 
thrown behind the kitchen fire. 
A relative of the farmer, Mr Core, 
who had visited America, hap- 
pened to have his attention at- 
tracted by their singular appear- 
ance, and, on examination, found 
that they were composed of the 
finest gold. They were token to Biggar and wdghed, and ultimately 
found their nay into the hands of Adam Sim, Esq. That gentleman, 
ou the 10th of June 1861, presented one of them to the Antiqnarian 
Society of Scotland, and it is now to be seen in the Museum ot that 
body at Edinburgh. The other still remiuns in Us possession at 
Coidtermains. Each of them weighs 1 oz. 8 dwt. 13 grs. They are 
in the form of a crescent or half-moon, measure at the broadest part 
1^ inches, terminate at each estremity with a button or small disc, 
and have a slight ornamentation, conusting of faint lines and small 
depressions, ^ey aie both exactly alike; and it is remarkable that 
two of them were found at the same spot, — a spot at which other 
remains of a rem<ne antiquity, in the sluipe of paalstabs and bronze 
celts, have been dug up. A representation of one of them is to be 
seen in the atmexed woodcut. 

The writers who consider that these ornaments were worn by the 
Druids, state that they were carried in the hand of the priest when he 
went to cut the sacred mistletoe on the sixth day of the moon, and that, 
as the Bmids paid great attention to astronomy, this crescent-shaped 
ornament was intended to symbolize the moon at that stage of her 
course, and to indicate that ^e time of the festival had arrived. Such 
of them as had a button or disc at the extremities, are said also to 
have been worn on the head of the priest during sacrifices and other 




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10 BIGGAB AND THE HOUSK OF FLEMING. 

ceremooies, and were then placed behind the ean, and fturteoed with 
a string looped to the buttons. In this pontion they very much 
resemble the nimbus or rays of glory which ore usually made, in 
pictorial representations, to surround the head of Christ and His 
i^Ktstles. Auother ornament of the same shape is said to have been 
worn on the breast of the Droidical priest. Thb was called the lod- 
hun Morain, or breastplate of judgment; and, according to the fables 
of Ireland, was believed to possess the power of squeezing the neck 
on the utterance of a fslse judgment. Representations of these orna- 
ments, and the monaer in which they are said to have been worn, are 
to be seen in the 'Collectanea de Rebus Hibemids,' and in 'Meyricks 
and Smith's Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British 
Islands.' 

Though some authots have very strongly and positively asserted 
that these were the uses to which these ornaments were put, yet it 
must be admitted that their statements rest very much on conjecture. 
It is beyond question, however, that ornaments of the same kind 
were worn at a very remote era. They have been shown by Auberi, 
Montfaucon, and others, to have been represented on bas-reliefs and 
statues of great antiquity. Specimens of these ornaments have been 
occasionally dug up in Uie bogs of Ireland; but in Scotland they are 
more rarely to be met with, and hence the value of the two found at 
Southside. 



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CHAPTER II. 

^Inbauim of % "^fftx Wsxb of Clji&fstiali bg Itrt^ommis, stA 
an^iosd) Siatts of t^ ^fitklns at '^i^S"- 

^^HE Upper Ward of Clydesdale, during the fint century of the 
ml . Christian era, was inhabited by a tribe to which the Romans 
^-*»'^ gaTe the name of the Damnii. They are described by Dion 
Gassins, Herodian, and others, as sunk in deep barbarism ; 
and yet it b asserted that they fought in chariots, and made use of 
swords, lances, and bucklers, which, if correct, shows that they had by 
that time made very considerable progress in the useful arts. The 
whole history of the Boman invasion of the northern part of the island, 
abondantly shows that they were an athletic, warlike, and indomitable 
race. They never conld be thoroughly subdued. It was, no doubt, in 
vain for them to contend, in a regular pitched battle, with the Roman 
invaders, who had attained the highest state of discipline, and had long 
been inured to war on the plains of Grermany, Parthia, Gaul, and Pales ' 
tine ; but they lost no opportunity of Burprising isolated detachments, 
cutting ofi* stragglers, intercepting supplies, and attacking encampments. 
The consequence was, that the Romans were never able to keep a cod- 
tinnouB hold of the Upper Ward. The first inroad made by them on 
this district was in the year 80, during the reign of Titns. At that time 
Caiua JuUus Agricola, at the head of a Roman army, overran the 
countiy, and built a chain of forts between the Forth and Clyde, to 
mark what he considered the boonds of his conquest. While Agricola 
was subduing the natives and strengthening his position, he was recalled 
by the Emperor Domitian, who had succeeded to the imperial throne 
on the death of his brother Htus. It is evident that on his departure 
the inhabitants of Clydesdale^ with that invincible love of Ireedom which 
has ever distinguished them, gave abundant disquiet to the Roman 
legions left in the country, and rendered their position exceedingly 
disagreeable and hazardous. When the Emperor Hadrian, therefore, 
vifflted Britun in 117, he considered it impolitic to "■>'in1wi" the 
supremacy of Rome over the Lowlands of Scotland ; and accordingly 
he erected a vallum or rampart between the l^ne and Solway, which 
he fixed as the boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. His suc- 
cessor, Antoninus Tme, appointed LoUius Urbicus governor of Britain, 
and this commftnder again attempted the subjugation of Clydesdale. 
He marched an army into Scotland, and having cleared the way before 
him, he erected a ramparton the line of forts constructed by Agricola. 
Afler a few years tranquillity, the tract of country lying between the 
two ramparts became a scene of almost constant hostilities. The in- 



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13 BIQGAR AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

hsbitanto, tuded hj the hardy imd intrepid clans of the nonh, rose 
from time to time i^ainst their invadera, and, though often overcome, 
thej strove with unflinching determination to expel them from their 
territories. In the reign of Commodus they defeated a Boman armj, 
and slew the general. This obstinate resistance greatlj incensed the 
Emperor Severus. No sooner did he find himself firmly seated on the 
throne, than he hastened to Britain, and in 208 entered Scotland at 
the head of & most formidable army, determined to spar« neither sex 
nor age, and to lay the country in utter desolation. The natives were 
filled with terror, and proposed a peace ; bnt he repelled all such 
overtures with disdain. Finding that the inaccessible state of the 
country gave shelter and protection to the inhabitants, he employed 
his legions in cutting down forests, in filling up marshes, in making 
roads, etc ; so the likelihood is, that it was his soldiers who hewed down 
the woods in the n^ghbourhood of Biggar, and left, prostrate on the 
ground those numerous trees that from time to time have been dug up 
in the peat-mosses near the town. He penetrated a considerable 
distance to the north; but having lost 50,000 men, he was, in the end, 
glad to retire ftom Scotland, and take shelter behind the rampart of 
Hadrian. Mortified with the unaucceasftil results of his expedition, 
he died shortly afterwards at York; and his son and successor, Cara- 
calla, made peace on favourable terms with the northern tribes. For 
more than seventy years, almost nothing is related by the Soman 
historians regarding the proceedings of their conntrymen in ScoUand; 
but, in 367, Theodonus was sent into Britain, who, in several cam- 
paigns, contended successfully with the natives dwelling between the 
walls, muntained for a brief space the ascendancy of the Somui arms, 
and gave the territory the name of Valentia, after the Emperor Valen- 
tinian, then occupying the imperial throne. This success did not subdue 
the men of Clydesdale ; they stiU continued their inroads and aggre»- 
mons, till 422, when a Roman le^on appeared against them for the 
last time. The barbarians of the north of Europe had now descended 
on the Roman Eiupire, and were threatening its existence. Its troops 
in the distant provinces had to be recalled to preserve it from impend- 
ing destruction, and, in 446, the tribes of Britain were freed for ever 
from the thraldom and aggresuons of the Romans. 

No record is extant that enables us to fix on the parish of Biggar 
MS the place at which any important movement was made by the 
Romans ; but it is the concurrent opinion of all the writers, who have 
attempted to describe the operatioos of these invaders in Scotland, 
that the grounds in the neighbourhood of the town of Biggar were a 
Roman station, and lay on an angle of the great Iter,, or road, com- 
monly called Watling Street, that proceeded from Carlisle, by Annan- 
dale and the Vale of Clyde, to the Wall of Antoninus. It is evident 
that these grounds, from their local position, and the character of the 
country around, were well fitted to be a military post, especially at the 



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SOMAN INVASION, AND SUPPOSED TRACES AT BIGGAR. 1.1 

time when the Romans attempted to hold eway over Scotland. They 
lie on the oatskirts of what are called the Southern Highlands, and are 
situated about midway between two important Roman camps, the one 
at Corbiehall near Cu^tairs, and the other at Lyne near Peebles, both 
being distant about a moderate day's march. The gentle slopes of 
Bizzyberry and the Knock have space autScient to accommodate sixty 
or even a hundred thousand men, while their summits present ad- 
vautageous positions for exploratory posts. Here is a deep ravine 
weU fitted to form one side of a strong rampart, or vallum, and along 
the bottom of it meanders a stream of excellent water, so necessary 
to a lai^e encampment. The antiquaries, Gordon, Roy, Chalmers, 
Stewart, etc., all concur in thinking that the Moat Enowe was used 
as part of a Roman work. It may have been an outpost, while the 
camp itself extended along the grounds now composing the crofts of 
Westraw, or the minister's glebe and the bui^h lands, on the north 
side of the town. Various Roman coins have been dug up here, the 
last of which was one of the Emperor Vespasian, and is now in the 
possession of a townsman, the Rev. Dr William Johnstian, Limekilns. 
Bronze vessels, commonly called Roman camp-kettlea, have been 
repeatedly found in the upper part of the Vale of Clyde, and in the 
district round Biggar, particularly at Garwood, Biggar Moss, Pyet- 
knowe, Coulter, and Libberlon. In the collection of antiquities at 
Coultermoins, about a dozen of these kettles are to be seen, all of 
them found in the neighbourhood, and all, though of various sizes, of 
the same form and type. These vessels are generally broken or frac- 
tured, as if they had been thrown aside as useless. Moses Marshall, 
the celebrated Upper Ward tinker, was wont to say that, in the early 
part of his wandering life, he frequently bought them as old metal, at 
a mere trifle, and sold them at high prices, on account of the superior 
quality of the bronze of which they were composed. It has been 
asserted by some antiquaries that the quality of the metal is inferior 
to that used by the Romans, and that is one of the reasons why they 
consider -that they are not of 
Roman manufacture. However 
this may be, they are unques- 
tionably articles of very great 
antiquity, and may have been 
used by the native inhabitants 
at a period even anterior lo the j 
possession of onr country by I 
the Romans. The woodcut ' 
represents one of the kettles 
found at Carwood Moss; and it 
is alleged that it was filled with 
gold and silver coins, but the 
finder, of course, would not allow this supposition to be entertained. 



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I* BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

The Roman road that ie suppospd to have passed through thr 
parish of IJiggar has entirely disappeared. Gordon, in his 'Itiner- 
ariuin Seplentrionale,' published in 1727, states that traces of it were 
at that time distinctly to be seen in Weatraw Moss, west of the lown. 
This road or causeway is referred to so lat« as 17Go, in the Kecords 
of the Baron Bailie's Court of Bipgaj, when a complaint of Robert 
Wilson, ' tacksman of ye grass of Westraw Moss, above ye cassaw 
leading through ye said mosi^,' was lodged against certain feuars in 
Westraw for cutting ' Rougbheads,' and pasturing their cattle on 
parts of the moss, to which, it was alleged, they had no right. This 
' cassaw' gave the name of 'Causeyend' to a small hamlet built at its 
western extremity, and some of the houses of which still exist. This 
causeway was, however, in all likelihood, of comparatively modern 
formation. The workmen, while engaged two years ago in making 
excavations in this moss for the line of the Symington, Biggar, and 
Broughton Railway, came upon a causeway of stones, about three 
feet below the surface, which had evidently been formed at an early 
period, and which, in all probability, was part of the Watling 
Street of the Romans. It was minutely examined by several gentle- 
men in the neighbourhood, and, from the systematic and skilful 
arrangement of the stones, no doubt was left on their minds that 
they had been placed there for the purpose of -forming a road. By 
this Iter, then, most of the Roman troops would pass and repass on 
their marches to subdue, or, as Claudian says, 'to bridle the fierce 
Scots.' The probability, therefore, is, that Agricola, Hadrian, Urbj- 
CU9, Calphumius Agricola, Marcellus, Severua, Theodosius, and other 
commanders of the successive invading armies, halted at Biggar, and 
marshalled their legions on the adjoining plains. 

Along the great Roman Iter, on each side of the valley of the 
river Clyde, circular earthen works are to be seen on the summits of 
the more isolated hills, and are supposed to be the strongholds of the 
early inhabitants. No less than eight or nine of these primitive forti- 
fications arc to be found in the parish of Coulter, and traces of them 
are to be seen on several of the Biggar hills, particularly one dis- 
tinctly marked on Bizzyberry, immediately above the town. For a 
most learned and elaborate account of the ancient camps and Roman 
roads in the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire, we refer to the recently 
published papers in the 'British Archaeological Journal,' by George 
Vere Irving, Esq. of Newton, — a gentleman who is gradually develop- 
ing, by laborious researches, the ancient condition of his native district. 

The Romans, aa already stated, finally withdrew from Scotland during 
the fifth century. Their retirement led to the formation of what has 
been called the Regntun Ciunbrense, or Kingdom of Strathcluyd. It 
existed till the close of the tenth century, and of course included the 
Biggar district; but we are unable to identify this district with any of 
the notable transactions that occurred during that lengthened period. 



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z =•• 



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CHAPTER III. 
C|rt 3)aiDn of ^iggat. 

fIGGAS, in all livelihood, was an ancient Britisb village. It may 
posNblj b« the Gadanica of the Komaos, a town which was 
Bituated near the Clyde in this locality, but the exact site of 
which has much perplexed our modem antiqaories. However 
this may be, it can certainly boast of considerable antiquity, as it is 
mentioned in some of the earliest Scottish records extant. We have 
no means of knowing what sort of town it was in primitive times, but 
in all probability it was a piere accumulation of mud and turf cabins, 
possesrang the miserable accommodadon of the wigwams of the Indian 
or the hnifl of our own Highland population. Doting the early part 
of last century, the houses were still of small dimensions, and for the 
most part covered with thatch. The appearance of the town at that 
time was remarkable on account of the number of malt-kilns with 
which it was studded, several of the inhabitants being maltmen by 
profession, and the whole of them being evidently great drinkers of 
ale. Like most old towns, it was, down to a recent period, kept in a 
very dirty and unhealthy condition. Dunghills, peatstacks, noxious 
gutters, and fiilzie of difierent sorts, were to be seen in all directions. 
This state of things has been now very much changed for the better. 
A number of good houses have been built, ornamental trees planted, 
gas-lamps to light the street put up, shops enlarged and embellished, 
old houses that incommoded the street pulled down, the common 
sewers covered, and all unseemly accumulations removed; so that the 
High Street, as may be observed from the engraving, has now a very 
spacious and respectable appearance. 

The town of Biggar at present connsts of a main street, two back 
streets, and a suburb called the Westraw. The houses in general are 
small, consisting of one and two stories. They are built of whin- 
stone, from quanies in the neighbourhood, with comers, rybats, and 
lintels of freestone, brought from Deepsykehead, Libberton, and other 
places at a distance, as there is no sandstone in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the town. The covering of the houses are thatch and 
slates, roofing tiles being nearly unknown. In entering the town from 
the east, we have first a few isolated houses called the Townhead, and 
then the toll-bar, — 'a merry place in days of yore,' when tiie toll- 
house was tenanted by Nicol Porteous. On the right or north side 



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Ifl BIGGAB AHD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

of the street is Bow's Well, and a little bebw it the house occnpieii 
for some Ume by John, eleventh Lord Elphinstone, in consequence 
of Boghall Castle, the ancient seat of the family, having fallen iato 
disrepair. This same house was also long occupied by that bui^h 
worthy, Bailie Thomas CarmichaeL He was appointed deput« bailie 
by Robert LecHe, head bailie and factor, in the year 1744, and 
took a leading part in the management of the afifairs of the town and 
barony till his death, in 1795, when he had reached the patriarchal 
age of eighty-two years. On the other Ade of the street is a large 
house, once the re^dence of Dr Baillie, a distingiiigbed Biggar physi- 
cian of last century. The street here widens to a very considerable 
extent, and is far more spacious than the streets usually found in old 
towns. The reason of this, no doubt, was to afford apace for the 
large furs annually held here. On the south side of the street is the 
LangTout, so called from the houses, which once stood here, having 
arched roofs. The Langvout of old was occupied by a family of 
the name of Boe, most likely the progenitors of Drs Boe, father and 
son, well-known physicians at one time in Bi^ar. "Hie keystone of 
the jambs of one of these vaulted hotises waa finely ornamented with 
the Lockhart arms. When the house was demolished, this sculptured 
stone came into the possessian of Adam Sim, Esq. of Coulter, and 
WAS presented by that gentleman to the late William Lockhart, Esq. 
of Milton Lockhart In the hall of Milton Lockhart House it is still 
to be seen, placed on a bracket, and preserved with great care. Here 
a wretehed hovel was employed, for a number of years, as the town 
prison; and here drank beggars, the hmatic that fired Nannie Muir's 
house, the tinker who feUed his companion at the Ba' Green, and 
other disturbers of the peace, were placed in durance vile. The 
Langvout gate was, in olden ^es, the principal passage to Biggar 

A little farther down are Silver-knowes, long the property of a 
family of the name of Brown. Andrew Brown, and his spouse Mar- 
garet Tod, flourished here during the first half of the last century, 
'fhey were succeeded by Richard Brown, weaver, whose spouse was 
Isabella, or, as she was genertdly called, Tibbie Forrest This worthy 
couple had several children, of whom may be mentioned Andrew, 
John, an officer of excise, and Janet, who long lived in the inherit- 
ance at Silver-knowes, and died there within the last thirty years, 

Andrew, who was bom in the year 1763, was the most distin- 
guished. He early showed an aptitude for learning, and attended 
different schools, but was chiefly indebted for instmction, in some of 
the higher branches of education, to Mr Thorbum of Quothquan, 
atlerwards Dr Thorbnm of Shields. One of his teachers, struck 
with his aptitude and ability, sud publicly, in the bearing of the other 
scholars, 'You are a clever boy ; you will one day be a minister of 
Edinburgh;' a prediction which was afterwards verified. After going 



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THE TOWN OF BIOQAB. 17 

through the usual cttrriculum of literary, philosophical, and theologi- 
cal study at the University, he was licensed to preach the Gospel by 
the Presbytery of Biggar. He was then employed for a short time as 
a tutor in a family, one of the female members of which became his 
first wife. In 1787 he was ord^ed to the pastoral charge of the 
Scottish Church, Halifax, Nora Scotia; and continued in this situation 
till 1795, when he was presented to the living of Lochmaben, in 
Dumfriesshire. On tlie passage home trom HaUfax, he had the good 
fortune to be on board the same vessel with Prince William Henry, 
afterwards William IT., who waa delighted with his fine taste and 
literary acquirements, and took much pleasure in his conversation. In 
1799 the Town Council of Edinburgh appointed him to the charge 
of the New Greyfiiars Church, and during the year following trans- 
lated him to the Old Church, as colleague to Dr Grieve. On the 
death of Dr Blair, in 1801, he was appointed by the Crown Professor 
of Rhetoric and Belles Lettrea in the University of Edinburgh, being 
chiefly indebted, it is said, for this appointment to the efforts of his 
old acquaintance Prince William. In 1813 he had the honour of 
filling the dignified office of Moderator of the General Assembly of 
the Church of Scotland. He died at Primrose Bank, near Edin- 
burgh, on the 19th of February 1831, in the seventy-first year of his 
age, and was interred in the Greyfriars churchyard. 

Dr Brown's style was elegant and ornate, though somewhat diffiise, 
and his manner of delivery insinuating rather than commanding. He 
manifested much gravity and earnestness in his prelections from the 
pulpit, and indulged in an ample range of illustration, clothed in 
beautiful language that rendered them very effective. He excelled 
especially in prayer. His devotional sentiments were delivered with 
a fervour and an aptness of expression that led captive the thoughts 
«td feelings of his fellow-worshippers. His lectures in the Rhetoric 
class were elegant and instructive, and from time to time wer« sub- 
jected to carei\d reviaon, in order to render them still more correct 
and complete. He spent a conmderable portion of time In composing 
a history of America, and for the porpose of procuring information 
for this work, he paid several visits to London, and also to Paris. 
Persons to whom he read portions of it, spoke of it as highly elaborate 
and interesting, constructed on the model of the beat historical speci- 
mens of the ancient classics, particularly in the curious conferences 
and harangues of the Indian chiefs. Be delayed the publication of 
it in order to obtain fuller information, and thus to make it more 
complete; but be died before he had put it in such a state as he 
conffldered fit to lay before the public. 

It is worthy of notice, that when the grave of Dr Brown's fore- 
fathers in Biggar churchyard was opened for the interment either of 
his brother or bis uster, a box was found in it, tliree feet long, one 
foot broad, and upwards of one foot deep. On the outude of it was a 



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IS BIGOAB AND THB BOUSE OF FLEHIKQ. 

plate, omanieiited with elegant figures, and bearing the following 
inscription : — ' The remains of Jane, daughter of Sir T. A. S. of B., 
and wife of Sir T. A. S., Ent., who died abroad 14th of May 1799 ; 
together with those of her infant daughter and onljr child, who sur- 
vived her but six weeks. Ckillected and brought home by the kind 
offices of a particular friend of her surviving husband, the Sev. A. B., 
and privately deposited at Biggar, N. B., 1805.' The box, on being 
opened, was found to contain the bones and skulls of the lady and her 
infant, embedded in a quantity of fine yellow and red sand. No 
person at Biggar was aware that this box had been deposited in the 
churchyard ; and many conjectoies were hazarded, how it could have 
been placed there without being noticed, and who the parties were to 
whom the inscription referred. It was, no doubt, buried there by the 
directions of Dr Brown ; but everything else connected with it stiU 
remans an entire mystery. 

■ The part of the street in front of Silver-knowes was appointed by 
the Baron's Court as the place for the show and sale of slaUions on 
fur and market days. Farther down was the Tron-knowe, where the 
public weighing beam stood, and where all weighaUe ware, such ai 
butter, cheese, lint, etc, were exposed for sale. From this spot the 
engraved view of the town was token. A little below was the Cron- 
knowe, a small eminence twenty or thirty feet in height, crowned with 
the Cross. The Cross had an octagonal bams of sohd masonry, about 
four feet in height', and from the centre of the platform above rose 
the idiaft, which was without ornament of any kind. The Cross stone 
had a hole in its centre, and the date 1632 ; and the apex, which was 
square, had vertical dials on its four sides, and the initials 'J. E. W.,' 
John Earl of Wigton, with the date 1694. These two stones were, in 
the autumn of 1860, built into the south gable of the new Com 
Exchange for preservation, with an inscription below them, intimating 
that they were 'part of the Old Cross of Biggar.' The oldest of these 
dates, viz., 1632, is not understood to be the period at which the Cross 
was erected. It can hardly be doubted that the Cross was at least as 
old as the lime at which Biggar was created a bnrgb of barony, viz., 
in 1451. The dates, no doubt, referred to the time at which the 
stones on which they were inscribed were erected on the shaft, in 
place of others that had fallen into decay, or had been accidentally 
overturned and broken. At the Cross, state documents, acts of the 
Bailies' Court, and the difierent fairs, were proclaimed by tuck of dram ; 
and here the juveniles met for amusement, and the townsmen to 
discuss the topics of the day. Here, on market and ftur days, assem- 
bled a motley crowd of people iVom the country round, to transact 
business ; while the sacred symbol above their heads reminded them 
of a lading point in their rehgious belief, and warned them to be 
candid and honest in their dealings, and to cultivate peace and good- 
will with their fellow-men. The shaft of the Cross, vrith the two 



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THE TOWN OF BIGOAS. It 

■tones referred to, were taken dovn about ittj yean ago ; and the 
pedestal, and the fcnowe on which it stood, were removed in 1823, (o ■ 
make room for a hotel, which at that time was projected on tha 
Tontine system, but was never proceeded with. The remoTal of the 
Cross-knowe, so prominent a feature in the Main Street of the town, 
and so much identified with the recreations of the young and the 
toungings of the old, furnished a theme of great lamentation to the 
Biggar poets. James Affieck composed a dirge, in which he made 
the knowe bewail its fate in very doleful terms, and preach a sermon 
on the changeable character of all sublunary things. Remembering 
with melancholy satisfaction the scenes which it had witnessed, it 
exclaims : — 

' I've been the haunt on market days, 

The haunt o' monie a fair, — 
The lads and lasses, men and wives, 

To me wad a' repair; ■ 

* And Uythesome baimiea on my sides 

Wi' pleasure they wad row, 
While worn-out age wad station keep 
On Biggar auld Cross-knowe.' 
It ended with this bit of serioos moraliiang : — ■ 

' IVe served my time, and must away ; 

Then why should eartii repine? 
Vain mortals 1 view your coming fate, 
It may be- seen in mine. 
' Before old age shall press you scm, 

Still wiser may ye grow, 
I^y this to heart, — Tou must depart. 
Like Bi^ar auld Cnw-knowe.' 
The most effective poem on the removal of the Cross-knowe was, 
however, composed by Mr Bobert Rae, a native of Biggar, and son of 
Thomas Kae, a mason in that town. Mr Rae was bom in 1805, and 
at an early age removed, with his father and the other members of his 
family, to the west of Scotland. While still a boy, he returned to 
Biggar, and lived some time with his uncle, Robert Pairman, merchant. 
In his fourteenth year he went to Glasgow, and filled various situa- 
tions. While reudent in that city, he published a volume of poems, 
which met with a ready sale, particularly in Biggar, as some of his 
pieces had a reference to that locality. Among others we may men- 
tion 'HiUrigs Jean,' and 'Wallace's Address to his Army afi«r the 
Battle of Biggar.' About ten years ago he went to London, and 
obtained a situation in an extensive mercantile house. It was from 
London that he addressed the verses on Biggar anld Cross-knowe to 
his cousin, Dr Pairman, of Biggar. Mr Rae died at Glasgow in the 



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BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMDIQ. , 

Tof 1861. Ai Us poem ou iLe auld Croas-knowe is tihe produc- 
' tion of B Biggar man, as it conttdns many local allusioiii rery happily 
expressed, and is pervaded by a fine genial spirit of afiedionatc 
attachment to scenes dear to erery native of Biggar, we cannot for- 
bear giviog a considerable portion of it, more especially as it has 
never before been published. It is entitled — 

' A rAMMERnr AULb MAN'S LAMENT FOB BIGQAB ADLD 
CORSE-KNOWE. 

* waes me for the auld Cotse-knowe; 

Twice forty yean hae come and gane 
Sin' first I sprauchilt up its browe, 

A wee bit thochtlesa, happy wean. 
Noo a' day lang I sit and grane, 

And Mart wi' grief my lyart powe. 
To thmk there's neither yird nor stane 

what was ance the auld Corse-knowe. 

' We gnie to read hoo Vandals bar'd 

Their thirsty swurds owre auncient Borne ; 
And yet the heathen blackgnards spar'd 

Aneugh to mark ite dreadfu' doom. 
But waur than Vandals hae been here 

(Deil rax their thrapplee in a tow), 
Wha left nae wee l»t object near 

To tell whaur stood the auld Cone-knowe. 

' Hoo strangft that scenes we lo'ed when young 

Should sere auld age wi' pkasnre fill I 
He wud wi' hips and bawb hong, 

The wee horn dandn' down the hill. 
The clatt«r o' the auld grey mill 

That peeis owre Biggar'g gra»y howe. 
Were dear to me ; but dearec still, 

My heart's delicht, — Ihe auld Corae-knowe. 
' I've wander'd mony a far aff track. 

In mony a sweet wild spot I've been ; 
But aye my heart gaed yemin' back 

To baimtime'e ever-ba]low'd scene. 
WhauT Hartree Hills, wi' wmmer green, 

Dear Bizzyberry'a nigged browe. 
And Tintock, frae his azure screen, 

A' smiled upon the anld Corse-knowe. 

* For 1 a thousand ifiemoriee kin' 

Bonn' that dear hillock ever clung ; 
And aye its sounds o' auld langgyne 
(Sweet sounds I) owre a' my wandnu's hung. 



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THE TOWH OF BIGQAB. 

The lowin' Btama, that nichtly flung 

Their glorf owre the glofunin'i browe, 
Aje Beem'd tae me as if tbej iung, 

" There's nae apot like the anld Corae-knowe." 
' In jron kirkjaid, Thaur, glimmerin' grey, 

Ueidstonee rise thick 'numg hillocka green, 
LieB ae kin' ehiel,* wha shar'd the wae 

That brings the drape to my ftuld een. 
Hie limner's han' and fancy keen 

Did mak the ready canvas glowe 
Wi' weel-kent groups, ilk face a frien', 

A' closterin' roan' the auld CotBe-knowe. 
' For mony « himdred yean it stood, 

And micht hae seen sax thousand fair, 
Defyin' time, and Btoim, and flood. 

To lay its anld foondsliona bare. 
Oore fatherH b'ed to linger there, 

And see their wee anes roun' tliem rowe ; 
But a' are gane, and never mair 

Wi' joy shall ring the anld CoiM-knowe. 
' Hech ! Sirs I tbo cronies o* my jonth, — 

Affleck, that kept us in a roar; 
The Fiddler, wi' his nnoo drouth. 

Can't has anither tortnicht's splore ; 
The Elder cocks his thooms no more, 

Nor Pinkies heckles at his tow I 
Man ! Biggar's no like days o' yore. 

It WOntB mair than the aold CoTse-knowe. 
* Yet aye I hear thro' memory's spell. 

At dead o' nicht come doun the Inm, 
The tinkle o' Saunt Mary's bell, 

Or tuck o' auld John Hilaoa's drtmi ; 
Syne fancy leads me back to some 

Tremendous hurlybacket rowe, 
Whan 'Roarin' Dillie,' lang since dumb, 

Gaed thund'rin' dountiie auld Coise-knowe. 
' Hat mlin' power, auld Bulie Cree, 

Aye cried the fairs wi' loud hnua ; 
An', faith I nae blateness ehow'd, whui he 

To prick -the-garteiB gaed the law. 
Nae mace had he, but baton braw. 

Hie guid to fend, the bad to cowe ; 
Nae chair o' state in gilded ha', 

His rostrum was the aold Corse-knowe. 



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19 BIGGAB AHD TBR HOUSE OF FLEXniQ. 

' Ooie tanaeanoo, Sk tnoAet 6aj, 

Like donert nowte gang up and down. 
And Bif^Er Fair and Wliapouui PIi^ 

Are but a'vun and emplf wnin'. 
A bonfire atiU maj licht Hie toon. 

But ah I nae mair its sacred lowe 
Oan bom the aold jear out, or croon' 

The young ane, on Uie aold Cone-knowe. 
* Noo atoiterin' donn life's laneeome brae, 

Nae langer aught can pleaame gie ; 
For a' I lo'«d hae passed awaj. 

Like ripplea onre the changefn' sea. 
But Bone I'll laj me donn tae dee. 

The yird will hap mj weary powe< 
And iiane sail erer mnm (or mo 

Aa I've done ior the auld Craae-knowe. 
' Bnt far abone yon mnrky lift, 

A warld o' dnlesa beauty lies, 
Wbanr frien'shipe, Bcattered here like drift, 

Shall bloom beneath unclouded gkieB, 
There "niang the hills o' Pa»diae, 

Or where ita gladsome rivers rowe, 
Rejoicing in inuoortal ties, 

m weep nae mair the auld Oorae-knowe.' 

It is fortunate that a sketch of the Cross and the Cross-knowe, aa 
they appeared when standing entire in 1807, was painted by llr 
John Pairmon, artist His sketch, which was long in tLe possession 
of his brother Bobert, merchant, Biggar, was presented by that 
gentleman to Mr Sim of Coulter. The engraving of it which adoma 
this volume will, no doubt, be duly appreciated by the inhabi- 
tants of Bi(^;ar, aa to the old it will recall a spot associated with 
many youthful recollections, and to the young it will present a fea- 
ture in the town which has for many years disappeared, bnt which 
must often, in their hearing, have been referred to and described. 
The figures with which the artist has peopled the Cross-knowe, 
were intended to represant various worthies, who were wont to fre- 
quent it on market days at the time the sketch was made. Among 
these may be mentioned. Colonel Dickson of Hartree; James Glad- 
stone of Wester Toitcombs; John Paterson, farmer, East Toftcombs; 
William Lindsay, meal-dealer, Perryflats ; John Minto, carrier, Biggar; 
David Loch, horse-dealer, Biggar ; Mr Dickson of Baddinsgal, com- 
monly called 'Old Barrinsgal;' Sobert Tait, Spittal Muir, commonly 
knownby the title of 'Sir Robert; James Stodart, Covington Hillhead.' 

Immediately at the back of the Cross-knowe, as shown in the 
engraving, stood the Market House, or the ' Meal House,' aa it was 



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THE TOWN OP BIGQAB. es 

generally called. Wliat sort of building it was in former Umea, it is 
not eaaj to say ; but Utterly it waa a house of one storey, and lutd a 
most melancholy look. It was opened every Thursday, the market 
day, for the transaction of business, and occasionBlly on other days 
for the sale of various commodities. Internally it was most uninvit- 
ing, and was greatly infest«d with rats and mice, whioh rendered it 
quite unsafe to deposit meal or grain within its walla. The rats and 
mice were old colonists. Some fifty years ago, Afi^k, the town poet, 
penned a jeu tfetprit, which he termed an ' Address of the Rats and 
Mice to two disputants (Nicol Forteous, toE-keeper, and William 
Brechan, b^er), who had disagreed about a ^>&rgain of oatmeal, 
which waa depoeited by an order of tha Sheriff in the Meal House, 
Biggar, nndl the plea then pending should be settled.' This was 
a glorious arrangement for the rats and mice, as- th^ "were dras 
enabled to live for a time in the midst of abundance. This btulding 
had long been felt to be nearly useless ; and it was in so dismal and 
dilapidated a condition as to be a discredit to the place. A number 
of the leading men of the town and neighbourhood, therefore, resolved 
to nuse funds by shares, to erect a Com Exchange of a more elegant 
and commodious description, llie site of the old Meal House, with 
some adjoining ground, and also the right to levy the market customs^ 
were readily obtained, at a moderate price, from the late Colonel 
John Fleming, the proprietor. Plans were procured from David 
M'Gibbon, Esq., architect, Edinburgh ; and the execution of the work 
was intrusted to Messrs Jack and White, bnilders, E^dinborgh. Hie 
foundation-stone was laid with masonic honours on the 24di of 
August 1860, by W. £. Hope Vere, Esq. of Graigie HaU and 
. Blackwood, Provincial Grand Master Mason of the Upper Ward of 
Clydesdale, assisted by deputations of masonic brethren from twelve 
different lodges. The completion of the building was celebrated by a 
public dinner, which took place on Thursday, the 14th of November 
1861, and which waa presided over by Sir Edward Colebrooke, Ban., 
M.P., while A. Boillie Cochrane, Esq., M.P., acted as croupier. At 
a meeting of the shareholders held a week afterwards — viz., on the 
2lBt November — a code of regolationa for condncting the business of 
the market, along with a table of admission rates, and nutrket and 
storage dues, waa agreed to, and the general bunnesa of the Exchange 
was opened in a formal manner. The attendance of buyers and 
sellers was numerous. The following is die atattment of the day's 
transactioDt Os it appeared in the newspapers ; — 

' BIGOAB COBN MARKET, November 11. 
' The snppl; of fcrain i" this d>f 's markel amonnted to 9S3 qn.— vis., SOO oats ; 
SSbarlej; and IS load* of oatroeai. 

. Price p«rQr. Lbs. per Bosh. Av. Price- 
Oats, 19b. Od. to £fti. 8d. SS to 431 £1 1 II 

B«ri«;, 86*. 6d. to SU. Od. SSI to M* 17 8 

Of the grain 173 qrg. were sold.' 



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» BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKQ. 

The Exchange b a chaste and tasteful erection, in the Elizabethan 
Style of archit«ctuTe, and forms a great ornament to the street, as will 
be observed from the engraving of the High Street given in this work. 
A tower springing from the north-west comer, is intended to contain 
a clock, which will be a great benefit to the town. The basement 
storey is devoted to storage purposes ; and above it are the large hall, 
sixty-two feet by thirty-five, for the disposal of grain and seeds ; and 
in the higher part of the front of the building are a spacious reading- 
room and a consultrng-room. Tlie large hall, which is principally 
lighted from the roof, is so constructed that it will answer not only 
for oommercial purposes, but also for public meetings, concerts, balls, 
etc In tie same quarter Is John's Loan, the entrance to which is 
observable in the engraving of the Cross-knowe, the new Subscription 
School, and the Police Station, erected in 1860. A little farther 
down ft«m the Com Exchange are the spacious premises of the Royal 
Bank, conspicuous in the engraving of the High Street ; and at some 
distance onwards are Malcolm's Well, the South United Presbyterian 
Meeting-house and Manse, and then the large building of the Com- 
mercial Bank, erected in 1833. 

On the other side of the street, nearly opposite Silver-knowes, is the 
tenement once occupied by James Affleck, tailor and poet. James 
Affleck was bom at Dnimmelzier on the 8th of September 177fi. 
Owing to the poverty of his parents, he was kept but a short time at 
school, and went early to employment with the neighbouring farmers. 
He was then bound as an apprentice to Gilbert Tut, a taUor in his 
native vill^i;e. He served with him three and a half years, and was 
chiefly employed, as was then the almost universal custom of country 
tailors, in sewii^ in the houses of his master's customers, having, as he 
said, 'not unfrequently to travel six or eight miles in a winixy morn- 
ing, and work by candle-light for an hour or two before I received a 
morsel of breakfast, often wetted to the ankles in the morasses and 
rivulets which intersected our almost trackless way.* AfW the expiry 
of his apprenticeship, he resided a short time, first, at Netherton of 
Cmwfordjohn, and then at the town of Ayr, and last of all set up his 
staff as a master tailor at Biggar, in the year 1793. In 1802 he pub- 
lished a volume of poetry, which sold readily, and brought him some 
pecuniary reward. He issued a second volume of poems in 1617, with 
a portrait from a painting by Mr John Pairman ; and in 1818 he 
published a poem in two parts, entitled 'The Waes of Whisky.' A 
posthumous volume of his poems, with a biogn^hical sketdi, was 
published in 1886 by his son John, who, at the same time, inserted 
some poetical productions of hb own. 

Affleck's merits as a poet do not rank high. The divine afflatus 
was wholly awanling. His poems are very indifferent prose turned 
into rhyme. It would be difficult to select a aingle verse from his 
published works, and hold it up as a specimen of vigorous expression, 



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THE TOWK OF BIGGAB. IS 

oripnal thought, or poetic inapintion. His poema, nevertheless, are 
intaresting, as during a period of forty ye&rg his muse was ever busy 
with nil sorts of local incidenta, and, in fact, no event of aoy conse- 
quence transpired in the town or neighbourhood which did not evoke 
from him some poetic eSlinon. He was of an eminently social tem- 
perament Shortly after his settlement at Biggar, he was inidated 
into the mysteries of freemasonry in the lodge of Bi^ar Free 
Operadves, and took a great interest and pleasure in the meetings 
and festivities of the brethren, always contributing not a little to their 
harmony and conviviality by the unging or recitation of his own pro- 
ductions, and, as chaplam, invoking a blessing on refreshments with 
such felicity of expression, and such manifestations of devotional feel- 
ing, M never failed to call forth the admintion of all present. He 
excelled in conversation, and was full of anecdotes and shrewd obser- 
vations on life and manners. He was a great favoniile in idl the 
houses in which he was in the habit of being employed in the way of 
his profession. He made the winter evenings seem short, with his 
stories, his recitations, and remarks, and was commonly to be seen 
with a group of anxious listeners, to whom the words of Goldsnuth 
were applicable : — 

'And still they gazed, add still the wonder grew. 
That one snuill bead could eurr all he knew.' 

He was an excellent tradesman, and never allowed his conversational 
and poetical displays, nor the cnltivatioa of the muse, to prevent him 
from producing a good day's work. It is to be lamented that in his 
latter days he became somewhat irregular in his habits. Intoxicating 
drink, which has mastered many a strong man, acquired, at times, too 
great ascendancy over him, and perhaps had some effect m laying him 
prematurely in the grave. He died on the 8th of September ISSfi, 
in the 59th year of his age, and was interred in the churchyard of 
Biggar. 

A little farther down, and very near the spot at which the engraved 
view of the town begins, is an old house, once occupied by Kohard 
Johnston and his spouse Nannie Muir, and subsequently by Mr Ma- 
thew Robertson, grocer. This house, or rather, perhaps, one which 
in former times stood on the same spot, was called the Tower or 
Fortalice. How it acquired this name, it is imposnble now to say; 
but the probability is, that, as it stood in a commanding position, it 
was a fortified building for the defence of the town, or it may have 
been a stronghold of the Lords of the Manor at an earlier period 
than the castle of Boghall itself. The Tower House, and a half bor- 
row laud connected with it, belonged at one time to a Luke Terrat, 
in Tofteombs. On the 11th of July 1659, it was bequeathed by 
James Brown, merchant, Biggar, to die Rev. Alexander livingston, 
minister of Biggar, and Alexander Hay, in Stane, and others, then 



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36 BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

elders in the parisli of Biggar, and their successor! in office. The 
annual rent drown from this property was, for a number of years, 
L.12 Scots, which was expended in aid of the funds for support of 
the poor. In 1774 it was sold by the kirk session, and ultimately 
fell into the hands of Bichatd Johnatone and bis spouse Agnes Muir. 
After this period the Tower House witnessed more strange scenes 
than any other house in Bi^ar. It was for many years used as a 
lodginf-house by its landlady Nannie Muir, and was, during thdt 
time, patronized by all the 'randy gangrel bodies' that frequented 
the Uj^r Ward. A score of teapots round Nannie's kitchen-Gre on 
A morning was no uncomnioa spectacle. Drinking, dandng, and 
fighting at times, prevailed, though, in general, Nannie ruled her 
hostelry with a commanding hand. Had a Bums been admitted to 
its apartments duiiog a winter's evening, he would have witnessed 
many a scene umilar to those which he has so graphically described 
in his 'Jolly Beggars.' 

On the same side of the street are the Elphinstone Amw Inn, 
where the omnibus is stationed in the engraving ; the Freemasons' 
Hall and Commercial Inn; the Crown Inn, which, before the days of 
rulways, was largely patronized by carriers; the North United Pres- 
byterian Church ; the old Burner manse ; the National Bank ; the 
Established Church manse, rebuilt in 1805, and to which an addition 
was made in 1827; the parish school; the schoolmaster's house; the 
school green, and the kirkstyle, with its noble array of beech and ash 
trees skirting the road on the west. A little farther down the street 
is a large house, adjoining the one last seen in the engraving, but is 
not itself visible, wldch was once the property of a family of ^e name 
of Vallance, and now of the successors of the late James and William 
Faterson. This was one of the chief inns of Biggar during last cen- 
toty. It is remarkable as tfae house in which some of the officers of 
the Highland army, in December 1745, made their quarters, during 
their stay in Biggar. The exact day of the arrival of the Highland 
army at Bi@^ has been preserved in the Session Records. The 
statement occurs in connection with the birth and b^tism of Jsmes 
Carmichael, son of Bailie Thomas Carmichael, and his spouse Violet 
Craig. It is recorded that he was 'bom 22d December 1745, and 
bapdzed 24th thereof being the day Biggar was alarmed vrith the 
coming of the Highland army thereto, after their retreat &om Prince 
William, second son to George II., King of Great Britain, etc., with 
whom they would not engage.' Unfortunately, no account has been 
preserved of the numbers of the Highland army that visited Biggar, 
the length of time which they remained, or the manner in which they 
conducted themselves. William Valluice, commonly called 'Laird 
WUl,' with whom we ourselves, in our early years, have conversed, 
and whose father was proprietor and occupier of the inn to which we 
now refer, was in the habit of saying that he was some six or seven 



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THE TOWS OP BIGOAR. tT 

y«an of ^e when the ICghlanders came to Biggar. Intinuttioii of 
their approach hsviiig been obtained, he monnted his father's horses, 
and fled to ^e solitudes of the Tireeddale mountuns, to preserre them 
from the fangs of the Hietandmen, who carried off or pressed into 
their serrice all the horses on irhich they could lay their hands. A 
little farther west ore the Bridgend, the Wynd, and the Westraw. 
In the landward part of the parith, in this direction, are Louglees, for 
some time the property of the late Lord Murray ; the Batts, now 
called Springfield; the Lindsay Lands, Biggor Park (Alexander 
Gillespie, Esq.), and Mosaide. 

Views of the town of Biggar have several times been sketched and 
engraved. A view of the npper part of the town, and the Church, with 
Bixzyberry in the background, was inserted in the ' Edinburgh Mf^- 
rine' for May 1790. Another view of it, with an ocoompanyiog letter- 
press deacripdon, appeared in the ' Scots Magazine' for October 1815. 
This is taken from Hartree, and embraces Hartree House, Boghall 
Castle, the town of Biggar, and the adjacent heights to the north-west. 
No artist, so far as we are aware, in more recent times, has considered 
B^gar and its adjacent scenery picturesque and attractive enough to 
induce him to expend time and labour in transferring a representatloi) 
of them to canvas. The people of Biggar, however, are thoroughly 
convinced that their town presents some picturesque features, and 
that the scenery around, if not striking, is pleasing and diversified. 
At a meeting held at Bi^ar in 1848, under the auspices of the 
Edinburgh Biggar Club, the Rev, John Christison, minister of the 
parish, drew the following very playful contrast between Edinbur^ 
and Bi^ar : — ' Any one standing between the old and new towns of 
Edinburgh, and looking along the valley of the Nor' Loch, commanded 
a veiy splendid view ; but Biggar had an old and new town as well 
as Edinburgh, and a beautiful valley lying between them, and as 
pretty a stream winding through It as the eye could light on, on a 
summer's day. (Cheers.) The whole, as many travellers had remarked, 
fonned no bod representatiou in miniature of the famous Links <^ 
Forth. The view of the Edinburgh spectator would no doubt com- 
prehend a greater variety of grand and picturesque objects ; but would 
it rival in sweetness the view of their own bum braes, on the one ude, 
beautiful in their pastoral simplicity, — "when unadorned, adorned 
the most" — (cheers) — and on the other, crowned with lofty trees, the 
growth of centuries, risiug like towers, their leafy battlements scathed 
with ages of elemental war? (Great i^plause.) The Edinbur^ 
view had many an architectural boast. Tlieirs had but one, but it 
was a gem — the Church — (oheers^-old, venerable, grey, calling np 
hosts of visions of the olden time, when it had its full establishment 
of provost, prebends, singing boys, singing girls, tributary kirks, such 
as Dunrod in far Galloway, etc, etc. Edinburgh had a splendid 
viaduct stretching from town to town ; but it must yield in historical 



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n BIOOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMKO. 

intereit to their own Cadger Brig — (applaiue)— on which the foot of 
the immortal Wallace was planted in one of the most heroic standg he 
ever made. (Prolonged applause.) Edinburgh had its castle, itaelf 
a magnificent object, and rich in associations of the past. He con- 
fessed it was difficult to find a parallel here, and, away from home, be 
would scarcely have ventured on ona But in Bi^ar, which he kn«w 
to be strong in local attachment, he thought he might refer to that 
respectable eminence, the .tfoalfwwe— (laughter and applause) — from 
which many a beacon had blazed in the days of yore, and which had 
witnessed many a Taliact fight — as, foi instance, that memorable one, 
the battle of Biggar, in which, if ancient chroniclers may be in aught 
believed, not tess than 60,000 men were routed in one day. Let the 
people of Edinburgh, with all thdr scnffles about the castle, show 
anything like that.' (Enthusiastic cheers.) The view from Biggar, 
thoi^h embradng the now fertile vale that stretches from Ilnto to 
Bronghton, b decidedly of an Alpine character. HiUs appear on 
every hand. The Common, 1260 feet above the level of the sea, 
lies on the north-west, and was till recently covered with heather ; but 
has now been subdivided by belts of plantations, and subjected to the 
inroads of the plough. Bizzyberry, 1150 feet above the level of the 
sea, is on the north, commanding a fine view from its summit — 
retuning not a few traces of ancient military operations, and having, 
an the north side, a rock called Wallace's Seat, and Wallace's Well, 
at which that hero is said to have quenched his thirst after the battle 
of Biggar. On the east and south are the Bronghton, Kilbucho, and 
Hartree hills ; the tops of some of them are encircled with deep 
trenches, most likely dog in limes of invanon in order to afford 
security to the cattle of the district. Cardon and Coolter Fell are two 
of the most conspicuous mountains in this diredjon, the latter of 
which is said to be 2830 feet above the level of the sea, thus coming 
within a few feet of the height of Tinto, and nearly verifying the old 

' The het^t atween Tintock-tap and Coolter Fell 
Is just three qnarteie of an ell.' 
The most striking mountwi near Biggar is cert^nly T^to, which 
rises majestically from the plain to the height of 2336 feet above the 
level of the sea. It is crowned with a huge caim of stones, on which 
Dmidical and beacon fires are stud to have blazed in remote times, 
and on which hi^ piles of combustibles have illumined the country 
round in our own day, to mark seasons of rejoicing, such as the pro- 
clamation of peace tn 1814, and the fint visit of Queen Victoria to 
the 'land of the mountain and the flood,' in 1842. Regarding Tin- 
tock-tap there is the following rhyme: — 



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TEE TOWN OF DIGGAB. i» 

And in the lost ttiera ia a coup. 

And in tbe caap there ia a drap; 

Take up the caop, drink aS the dnp. 

And Ret the caap on Tintock-tap.' 
In 1803 the late Sir Alexander Boewell published a ballad, entitled 
'The Spirit of llntoc or Johnnie Bell and the Kelpie,' in which there 
is a speoal reference to the famed caup. Johnnie Bell, a droughty 
tailor, entert^ned as hia guest auld Bobin Scott, as great a lover of 
strong drink as himself. Robin was invited to 'pree' the contents of 
a gray beard, and, finding the liquor good, drank the whole at a single 
draught, mod) to tbe moitdfication of the tailor, who thus exclaimed : 

' Ihe grajbeaid's totnn, I mann hae drink ; 

IVe no a plack to buy a drap. 
Uy heart is up, and away ni link, 
There's drink for nought on Tintoc-tap.' 
He instantly donned his bine bonnet, armed himself with a rowan- 
tree staff, and set out on his journey. During his progress he fell 
into a bum, and was seized by a water-kelpie, when a brownie 
whistled in his ear, — 

' And muttered tlirice the magic spell. 

Thrice Cockatrice and Qallowlee, 

Then Kelpie shrieked, Johnnie Bell ! 

Mf charm is Imikeii, ya\i are free '. ' 

Gaining at length the stimmit of the bill, after much toilsome clam- 
bering, and having fortified himself with ' a quid o' the right Virginia,' 
Stilla, 'Qneen of the Spirits of Fire,' appears to him, and bids him 
begone; but bold Johnnie Bell, not so easily to be daunted, defies the 
Qneen and all the race of weird sisters, whom he overcomes by re- 
peating the mystical words, * Giallowlee and Cockatrice.' Thus com- 
pelled, and Stilla having 

' stamped cm the giaBslees yeard, 

A fire and cauldron quick arose ; 
Tie tailor rabb'd his head and beard, 
Aitd lick'd his lips, and oook'd his noae. 

' The fire low'd, and the cauldron hiss'd, 

And the hell-steam rcae baith red and blue, 
Whta thegoaidian-spirit of the kist 
Sw^'d to the wood'riQg toiliir'B view. 

' The fid o' the kist wi' a clap flew up — 

And fon to the brim out flew tbe cap ; 
Tbe thirsty tukir at ae sup 
Drank it a', baith Ang and drap. 



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It BIGCAB AND THE BOUSE OF FLEHINO. 

' The kwt and cap, hj cantrip tpdl, 

Wi' whlmng birr, in flmden flew ; 
But vbat became o' Johniiie B^ 
Code kens 1 I ken use msir than joo I' 

The following reference is made to T^utock-tap in the well-known 
wng of 'Tibbie Fowler':— 



Set her up on Tintock-tap, 
The wind wad blaw a man till her.' 

With regard to the view from the summit of T^to, Dr Mac- 
knight, in an excellent paper read before the '.Wemerian Natural 
History Society ' on the 11th April 1812, sayi, 'The expanse of conn- 
try which it embraces appears nnbonnded on the west ude, bnt 
towards the north it ia terminated by the majestic Benlomond, and 
the lofty ranges of the Highlands, crowding irregularly into view in 
a manner extremely picturesque. In the opporite direction of south- 
east, the prominent features of the view are the bold, undulating 
mountain lines, the finely grouped masses, and the ultimate swells 
and deep hollows of the Tweeddale hilk. Amongst the most remark- 
able ia Coulter Fell, distinguished as the rival of Tinto itself, in size 
and height. These magnificent objects, presenting themselves on the 
one hand, form an admirable and striking contrast to the delightful 
view, on the other hand, of the lerel country that stretches along the 
banks of the Clyde. This noble stream, wUch shows in its course so 
many charms of natural scenery, and whose fine sweeps through the 
mounttun valley and lower districts of Lanarkshire are so great an 
embellishment of the whole prospect, may, in trath, be sud to carry 
along with it beauty and fertiUty from its very source. It is equally 
pleasing and unexpected to find, at the height of 600 feet above the 
level of the sea, a tract of land so rich in soil, so well cultivated, and 
so extensively clothed with plantations, as the district spreading 
around the foot of the mountain, from Hyndford House to Syming- 
ton and Coulter, and ap the river to a considerable distance. The 
effect of the landscape is completed by the number of villas, and other 
marks of population and comfort, which everywhere appear in the 
vicinity of the Clyde. There are few elevations in the United King- 
dom, where a finer assemblage of the grand and the beauUftd in 
nature may be contemplated, than irom Unto.' 
• The number of the inhabitants of the town and parish of Biggar in 
early times cannot now be ascertained. The probability is, that in 
remote times the inhabitants of the landward part of the parish were 
much more numeions than what they are at present. On most of the 
farms there were several cottars' houses, which have nearly all dis^>- 



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THE TOWN OF BIQGAR. SI 

peared. Edmonatone or Cand; had evidently a coosidemble popola- 
tion; and many dweUing-places, such as Batyhall, Hillbead, Johns- 
holm, lattle Boghall, Foreknowes, Between the Uilla, etc., men- 
tioned in ancient recorda, do not now exist. The amount of the 
population in 1755 was 1096. In 1791 it had sank down to 962 ; 
bat after this period it continued for tome Ume steadily, though 
slowly, to increase. In 1801 it was 1216 ; in 1811, 1376; in 1821, 
1727; and in 18S1, 1915. In 1841 it was 1865; in 1851, 2049; 
and in 1861, 2000. 

The expense of erecting a house at Biggar, from die want of ready 
access to good and cheap building materials, has hitherto been oon- 
siderable; and tlus has acted as a deeded barrier to the inorease'of 
the town, as such a return in the shape of rent could not be obtained 
as to induce capitalists to expend their money in this direction. By 
the opening of a Branch Railway to Biggar, this disodTontage has, to 
some extent, beea obriated; and therefore we may calculate that 
the town will, ere long, be largely increased. 



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CHAPTER IV. 

fIGGAB BURN rises in the north of th« parish, snd flow* «t 
first in a sOD^erly and then in an easterly direction. After 
ronning a coarse of about nine miles, it falls into the Tveed 
nearly opporate Merlin's Grave, in the parish of Drummelzier. 
On its right bank, near its source, are the lands of Garwood, consisting 
of 917 Scots acres. At one period they formed a separate fen, and 
were for many years, as we team from documents in the Wigton 
charter chest, held by a family of the name of Garwood. The male 
line becoming extinct, the h^reu, Janet Garwood, was married to a 
younger son of one of the Lords Fleming, and the lands continued 
in this branch of the Flemings for a number of years. Richard Ban- 
natyse aays, that in 1572 they belonged to John Fleming, a brother 
of iha then Lord Fleming, lliey were, at length, greatly encumbered 
with debt ; and this being cleared off by Lord Fleming, they came 
back to the pootestion of the miun branch of the Fletnings. They 
consequently formed part of Admiral Fleming's Biggar estate, when 
the entail of it was set aside in 16S0, and almost the whole of it was 
sold. Garwood, at that time, was purchased by Mr Robert Gray, 
son of the Bev. Thomas Gray, Broughton, and for many years a well- 
known grocer in Argyle Square, Edinburgh. Hiat gentleman imme- 
diately set to the work of improvement with most laudable yigonr. 
In a few years he redumed 400 acres of muiriand, formed 50 en- 
closures of thorn, turf, and stone, and planted 200 acres with trees. 
In 1832 he erected an el^;ant mansion-house, and surrounded it with 
shrubberies and plimtations. Garwood is now the property of W, G. 
Mitchell, Esq. 

On the left ride of Biggar Bum are the lands of Biggar Shields and 
' Ballwaistie,' and a place called in former times ' Betwixt the Hills.' 
They comprise 1182 Scots acres. This extenrive possesrion belonged 
at one period to the Fleming family. They appear to have sold it, or 
granted a wadset over it, previous to 1 677 ; for, in November of that 
year, John Cheiiley of Keiswell, near Gamwath, was retoured heir of 
his father John, 'in the lands and meadow of Scbeills and Betwixt 
the Hills, a part of the lands called Balweistie, and lands of Heaviesyde, 
in the pcuish of Biggar.' In a roit-roll of the Earl of Wigton's Biggar 
property, in 1671, it is stated that the heritor of Biggar Shields and 



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BlGGAJl BURN. 33 

Betwixt the Hills paid to his Lordship yearly ' fiftie punds of tiend 
duty, and eight bolls of tiend meal' It was purchased in 1806 by 
Mr Joseph Stainton, manager of the Carron Company. At that time 
it was almost wholly a sheep-walk, and was let at a rent of Ij.150 per 
annum. In 1817 and the three following years, Mr Stainton carried 
on a series of very extensive improvements on this estate. ' He re - 
claimed 600 acres, drained extensively, erected 18 miles of stone 
dykes, and planted 15 miles of thorn hedges, and 265 acrea with 
forest trees.' The yearly rental, we suppose, now exceeds L.1000. 

Farther down the stream are the lands of Persilands, and of what 
were anciently called the Over and the Nether Wells, which most 
likely, by the time of Queen Maty, were disjoined from the Biggar 
estate, and held as a separate posaestdon. Some years afterwards, 
viz., in 1614, the proprietor of diese lands was William Fleming, no 
doubt a cadet of the family of the lord superior. In a document 
entitled ' The Bentall of the mealies, fermes, and other deuties payable 
to the Earl of Wigtoun furth of the Barrony of Biggar in 1 671,' it is 
stated that John Muirhead was heritor of these lands, and paid five 
merks yearly as feu-duty. He was succeeded by his son James, who 
left the lands to George Muirhead, most likely his son, who died in 
1751, and' bequeathed them to his wife, Mary Dickson, a sister of the 
Rev. David Dickson, minister of Newlands. This lady afterwards 
married the Rev. John Noble of Libberton, and at her death left the 
estate of Persilands to her nephew, the Rev. David Dickson. This 
divine, after being licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of 
Biggar, was for some time assistant to his aunt's husband, Mr Noble. 
He was afterwards settled at Bothkeonar, and oltimatdy translated to 
Edinburgh, He was a very popular preacher, and a strenuoiu partisan 
of the evangelical party in the Church. He died in 1820. and the 
estate of Fersilani^ became the patrimony of his son, Dr David 
Dickson, a distinguished scholar, philanthropist, and divine, and for 
nearly forty years one of the ministers of the West Kirk, Edinburgh. 
He had thus an intimate connection with the parish of Biggar; but the 
pastoral dudes and benevolent schemes with which he was always 
deeply engrossed, prevented him from visiting it often, or taking any 
great interest in its affairs. He died on the 28th July 1842, and the 
estate, after continuing a few years in hia family, was sold to Mr 
Mitchell of Garwood. The farm-house and offices were recently re- 
built, and a carved stone, containing several initials, the date 1658, and 
two Latin inscriptions, one of them ' Nisi Dominus frustra,' and very 
likely belonging to one of the old mansion-houses of the Persilands, 
was placed for preservation in the end of a stable. 

To the west of the Persilands is a spot where formerly stood a 
small farm-steading called Hillriggs. Towards the end of last century 
it was occupied by a shepherd of the name of Kemp. This was the 
father of George Mickle Kemp, who acquired so great celebrity as the 



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34 BIGGAH AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

architect of the Scott Monumeot at Edinburgh. The architect was in 
the habit of stating that he was bom here ; and we have not os yet 
obtained any information io wake ua doubt that this statement is in- 
correct. At all events, he lived here when a cliild under his father')! 
roof. Id his tenth year, after his father had gone to reside in another 
locality, he paid a visit to the famed chapel of Uoslin ; and being of an 
impressible and poetical temperament, he contemplated the pillars, 
arches, and emblematical devices of this edilice with wonder and 
admiration. He was bred to the trade of a joiner; and on the expiry 
of his apprenticeship, he set out on a tour for the purpose of improving 
himself in his profession, and gratifying his taste for architectural 
drawing. He wrought at his trade in many towns of Scotland, Eng- 
land, and France, and prolonged his stay especially in those which 
contained remarkable specimens of Gothic architecture. He was in 
the habit of studying all their details, and making a sketch of their 
chief peculiarities. He spent also a portion of his time in acquiring 
a knowledge of drawing and perspective, in which he made consider' 
able progress, 

Kemp at length returned home, entered into the marriage state, and 
conunenced business on his own account as a joiner. Not meeting 
with the success which he e.\pected, he threw aside the saw and 
hammer, and devoted himself to the work of architectural drawing, 
from which he derived a very small and precarious income. He still 
practised his old habits of sketching the remains of ancient castles, 
abbeys, etc.; and, in fact, at this time Bums' account of Captain 
ttrose was strictly applicable lo him; — 

' By some auld boulet-haunted biggin, 
Or kirk deserted by its riggin. 
It's ten to ane ye'll fin' Urn snug in 
Some eldrich part,' 

He was engaged in taking sketches of the Abbey of Kilwinning, 
when a professional friend, whom he chanced to meet, advised him 
to try his hand at a design for the monument to Sir Walter Scott at 
Edinbui^h. Acting on this advice, he hastened home to his residence 
in Edinburgh, and in five days produced the design of a splendid 
Gothic cross, drawn in its principal details from Melrose Abbey, In 
due time he lodged the drawing of his plan, to which he attached the 
name of 'John Morvo.' The Committee appointed to forward the 
monument had offered prizes for the three best designs; and when 
they came to decide on the merits of those submitted for competition, 
they fi.xed on John Morvo's cross as one of the three lo which a prize 
should be awarded. They were at a loss to know who John Morvo 
was, not being aware that the name was assumed, and that, in fact, it 
was the designation of a famous mason of farmer daya, who, in an 
inscription on Melrose Abbey, is said to have 



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BIGGAB BURH. Si 

' Had in kepjng al maaon wei^ 

Of SautaDdroyB, ye Hie Kii^ 

Of Glasgow, HelroB, and Pular, 

Of NiddisdaiU, and of Galway.' 
Oa the morning of the day on vhich the prizes were to be decided, 
Mr Kemp had gone to Linlithgow to take drawings of some portions 
of its ruined palace ; and on returning in the evening, he waa delighted 
to find that some person had told his wife that a prize had been 
awarded to the design of John Moiro. When it became known that 
the beaatifol and most appropriate Gothic cross was the production 
of so humble and unassuming a man as George Kemp, a strong pre- 
judice was manifested in some quarters against it, and the Committee 
at first refused to adopt it They advertised a second time for new 
designs, and a few were obtained. Kemp stuck to his cross, and gave 
in an improved drawing of his original plan. The Committee still 
heratated and objected. It was alleged to be a mere copy of some 
Gothic building, and to be of so inaccurate and unsubstantial a con- 
struction, that it even could not be erected. Mr Kemp himself 
satisfactorily showed that the first charge was entirely without founda- 
tion ; and in regard to the second, Mr Bum, a professional architect 
of high reputation, who was consulted by the Committee, declared 
* his adniiration of Mr Kemp's design, its purity as a Gothic compon- 
tion, and more particularly the constructive skill exhibited throughout, 
in the combination of the grocefiil features of that style of architec- 
ture, in such a manner as to satisfy any professional man of the 
correctness of its principle, and the perfect solidity which it would 
possess when built.' The Committee were, therefore, induced, in 
March 1838, to recommend the adoption of Mr Kemp's plan, as ' an 
imponng structure, 135 feet in he^ht, of beautiful proportions, in 
strict conformity with the purity in taste and style of Melrose Abbey, 
from which it is in all its details derived.' It was afterwards resolved, 
in order to give a still more impressive efiect to the structure, to en- 
large it to the height of 200 feet above the surface of the ground. 

Ibe building of the monument was entrusted to Itir David IJnd, 
and Mr Kemp himself was appointed superintendent of works. Mr 
Kemp was now placed in circumstances of comparative comfort ; he 
had acquired a celebrity which he had hardly dared at one time to 
contemplate, and he had the prospect of being largely employed, and 
raised to a state of affluence. Unfortunately, one dark night when 
on his way home, he fell into the Union Canal, and was drowned. 
Mr Kemp was a remarkably modest and unassuming individual. He 
was averse to anything like forwardness and obtrusion. His merits 
were thus not readily observed, and of\en failed to secure him that 
attention to which he was entitled. He was of a social disposition. 
He loved to spend an honr with a friend to discuss the progress of 
art, or the topics of the day. He hod cultivated his mind wiUi some 



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SB BKifiAB AND THE HOCSE OF FLEMISG. 

iiSMi'iiiily, and wrolp tolcralily flood versos, some of which apj)earpd 
iij iicwsjiapers and periodicals. His architectural geDiiis was of a 
hi^ih (irdnr. His Scott Moiiuini'iit van a, nohle conception, and will 
]iiTjji:tii,il(' liis iiiimi: to di.ilam afii-f^. It holds, and is likely long to 
hold, !L cliief place amid ihe H]>lendid structures that adorn the eapital 
oC our native land. 

A little fartlicT down is the farm of Forektiowea and Rawhcad. 
which some years aRO bcloiitred to the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinsione. 
a brother of Admiral Flcminfl, and well known as a Governor of 
IJoniliay, and afterwards of Madras, and as the autlior of an inleri'sl- 
itifr work on the Kingdom of Cabul. He retired from the offices 
wliich he }icld in India in 1827, and died at Ilookwood Park, Surrey, 
o'ri the 20th November IHi)9. This property was purchased from .Mr 
Elphinstotic by Mr Gillespie of Biggar Park, and sold by hira to the 
Fre<; Cliurcli (.'■i)llege, Ediiiburflh, having been purchased with fund? 
beijiieathed for the benefit of that inetitution. 

Wo next oome to the mill which has ground the ntcal and mall of 
the parishioners for a long period, as it is mentioned in some very old 
documents connected with the parish. It is also referred to in one of 
Dr Pirnnicuick's Poems, published upwards of one hundred and fifty 
years aflo, entillcd 'Tlie Traj^edy of the Duke of Alva, alias Graybeard; 
being the comjjlaint of the brandy bottle loai by a poor carrier, having 
fallen from the handle, and ftmnd again by a company of the Presby- 
tery of Peebles, near Kinkaidylaw, as they returned from Glasgow 
immediately after they had taken the test.' The graybeard, address- 
ing their reverences, said, 

* O sons of Ijcvi ! meBBengera of grace ! 
Have some regard to my old reverend face. 
My broken Bhoulder and my wrinkled brow 
Plead fast for pity, and supply from you. 
Help, godly airs ; and, if it be your will, 
Convey me safely home to Itiggar Mill, 
Where, waiid'riug t« the widow, I was last. 
Alas! I fear the Carrier pays the cost.' 
hi spite of tlu'se and other sympathetic appeals, the holy brethren 
resolved that ihey would regale themselves with the inspiring con- 
tents of the graylienrd, let the consequences be what they might. 
' Kiglit biythe they were, and dmnk to ane another, 
Anil ay the wonl went round. Here's to you, brother,' 
Till! [Kior widow of liipgnr Mill was thus deprived of her jar of brandy, 
and in all likelihood the ciirricr had to pay the expense of the carouse, 
liiggar Bum, a little aliovc the mill, enters a deep ravine called 
the BiuTi Braes, and, after passing the mill, flows along in serpentine 
meanders, like the Links of Forth m miniatiu^. On the right bank 
are the ruins of the wauk mill and dyeing establishment of Tliomas 



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BIGGAB BURN. 37 

Cosh, and his son-in-law An^ua CEunpbell, and the picturesque 
suburb of Westraw, with its finely sloping gaxdens. The indwellere 
in Westraw were wont to reckon themselves a sort of separate com- 
munity from the inhabitants of the town of Biggar. They bad dis- 
tinct societies and coteries of their own. They had their own peat- 
moss, their own birlemen, and their own amusements. Between the 
boys of the two places there was a standing feud of old date. This 
was constantly manifesting itself in pugilistic encounters ; but at a 
certain season of the year it broke out in a general bicker or melee on 
the Bum Braes. "The weapons employed were slings, stones, and 
sticks. The tact and heroism at times displayed in attacking and 
defending these braes, would have done no discredit to a regular 
army. The wounds inflicted were often severe, and sometimes left 
soars and injuries that the suflerers carried with them to the grave. 
The baron bailie, Mathew Cree, and his henchmen the chief constables 
of the town, sometimes made a sally on the belligerents ; and it was a 
rare sight to see these worthy powers put to flight by repeated volleys 
of stones, or at other times forcing the youthful warriors to shift their 
ground, and take refuge behind the mill-planting, or to scatter them- 
selves over Cuttimuir or Kennedy's Oxgate. A lad having lost an 
eye in one of these encounters, the better disposed portion of the in- 
habitants at length rose against them, and happily succeeded in 
putting a stop to them, it is to be hoped, for ever. 

The lands behind the Westraw swell into a gentle upland, now 
crowned with trees, called the Knock. These lands belonged at one 
time to the Knights Templars. So late as the 20th of March 1620, 
we find a precept of Sarane granted to John Smith, of two oxgates of 
Templelands, with the annuals or teinds thereof, in the Westraw of 
Biggar. In former times, it was a common thing to hold and com- 
pute land by oxgates. In the old writs of Biggar, of which there are 
a large number in the Wigton ohaner chest, we notice references to 
the foUowing oxgates : — Chamberl^'s, Fleming's, Goldie's, Hillhead, 
Mosside, Smith's, Spittle, Staine, Stainehead, and Telfer's. The lands 
of Westraw, or ' Waaterraw,' as it is often called in the old writs, con- 
sisted of eight oxgates. These oxgates were, in 1671, possessed by 
Archibald Watson, Thomas, James, William, and Alexander Robb, 
and William Valange, who ' payd for ilk oxgang twentie pimds ; ' 
' ane boll of meaU, ane boll of beer, and ane boU and half of hill 
oats,' and for the whole twenty-foor kain fowls. 

On the left bank are the Kirkhill, the Kirk and the Kirkyard, 
the Moat-knowe, and the Preaching Brae. The Preaching Brae is 
the spot at which open-air discourses were delivered on sacramental 
and other extraordinary occasions. The tent was pitched near the 
edge of the Bum, and ^e crowd rose rank above rank on the rising 
ground in front. Many of the chief Dissenting divines of Scotland, 
especially those of former generations, preached here, and attracted 



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BIGGAR AUD THE HODSE OF FLEM1KG. 

i multitndea from th« country round. The clergy, at these 
assemblies, generally put forth their best abilities. Many percong 
were wont to date &om them their first serioua concern for their 
eternal interests. The spectade was reverential and picturesque, re- 
minding one of the conventicles of old, to see a large throng of people 
worshipping their Creator under the blue canopy of heaven ; and the 
heart was touched to hear 'the sweet acclaim of praise' arise &om 
thousands of pious lips, and swell on the fit^ breexe. The practice 
of preaching here has been discontinued for well nigh forty years, so 
th^ few of the present genemtion of fiiggar inhabitants have seen a 
Bum Brae conventicle at all approximating in magnitude and rapt 
devotion to those of former times. 

On these braes the inhabitante have long carried on the practice of 
washing and bleaching their clothes. Attempts have several timea 
been made to deprive them of this privilege. A keen war has henoe 
arisen between them and the tacksmen of the grounds; but the result 
has hitherto been, that the wives and maidens have remained in 
possession of the field. 

A little farther down is a level spot called Angus's Green, on which 
the Biggar gymnastic sports are annuaUy held in the middle of June. 
These sports have hitherto been popular, and have been largely 
patronized; but, like similar amusements in other parts of the coun- 
try, they are understood to be now on the wane, and, unless their 
patrons make vigorous efforts to uphold them, the probability is that 
ere long they will be abandoned. The curious excavations here, in 
connection with the Moat-knowe, have, unfortunately, in the desire 
for improvement, been filled up and defaced. 

A little farther down, some thirty years ago, stood the hut of Janet 
Watson, commonly known by the name of 'Daft Jenny.' She was 
the daughter of John Watson and Isabella YaUance. In her early 
days she was employed in hawking small wares about tlie country, in 
a basket; but at length, manifesting decided symptoms of insanity, she 
was placed in confinement, became dependent on the parochial funds, 
and lived here in her solitary apartment for many years. Her 
appearance was most singular. She had a wild and excited ex- 
pression of countenance. She was commonly dressed in a blue cotton 
gown, or in a blue flannel petticoat and jupe, or short-gown. She 
woro on her bead a pl^n mutch, or 'toy,' as it was here called, while 
on one shoulder hung a plaid; and in her left hand she invariably 
held an old tobacco pipe and a tattered Bible, which she frequently 
kiiised or held to her breast. She was fastened by the leg with a 
strong iron chain, to prevent her from making her escape, and com- 
mittiug injury on the persons and property of the inhabitants. Her 
language was rambling and incoherent, and lai^ely interlarded with 
snatches of songs, texts of Scripture, and the names of persons with 
whom she had been acquainted. At times it was uttered in a low 



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BIOGAR BURN. 89 

and Bubdued tone, and oU of a sudden it was poured forth with a 
vehemence and excitement that made all the neighbourhood re-echo. 
She WHS somewhat ontr^^ous. She would heave the parritch cog, 
the flying pan, and other utensils in which she received her food, 
over the top of the adjacent houses, and assail persona who came 
near her with sticks and stones. When she broke her chain, or con- 
trived to slip it off her leg, she commonly ran to the Relief Manse, 
erected on the ate of her father's cottage ; and there she broke the 
windows, or pulled up the bushes and plants in the garden. She 
was thus a great terror to the juvenile population ; and when the cry 
arose, 'Jenny's loose,' every b(^ and girl made speedily to a place of 
protection. 

Her father, sumamed the ' Whbtling Laird,' was a singular sort of a 
man. In his early days he had spent some time in North America, 
and bad there acquired a habit of making varioos articles of domestic 
use. In the side of a brae, near the place at which hie daughter's hut 
stood, he erected a cnrious and primitive-looking building of stones, 
torf, and wood, and covered it with a roof composed partly of paper 
and [4tch, and hence it was commonly known by the name of the 
* Castle o' Clouts.' He made the whole of his own clothes, including 
his shoes and leathern cap; and he produced some rare pieces of 
joiner's work, in the Atupe of carts, wheelbarrows, etc His first wife, 
Isabella Vallonce, died early; and, during the war in Spain, be 
married a woman commonly called 'Jock's Jenny,' who had been pre- 
viously married to a labourer in Biggar, at one time well known in that 
town by the soubriquet of ' Whistling Jock,' from a bumming sort of 
whistle in which he indulged as he went from one place to another. 
During the exciting times of the Continental War, 'Whbtling Jock' 
was fired with the ambition of being a soldier; so he deserted his wife, 
and went to fight the battles of his country in the Spanish Peniasola. 
He very likely carried on little epistolary correspondence ynth his wife, 
even when he first went abroad, but at length it ceased altogether; 
and as his regiment hod frequently been engaged with the enemy, 
Jenny suspected that he had lost his life in some of the sanguinary 
contests then so common in Spain. She wrote a letter inquiring after 
him to the War Office, and, by some mistake or other, he was re- 
ported to have been kilted. When the Whistling Laird, therefore, 
made proposab of marriage to her, she conadered she was at liberty 
to accept them, as she said, in her stuttering manner, 'The War 
Office bad told her that Dock was killed at Pain, far ayont Gasco.' 
They therefore were joined in wedlock, and lived contentedly tUl 
Uie conclusion of the war, when 'Dock' suddenly made his appear- 
ance in bb tattered regimentab, and confronted the astounded pair. 
Jenny would rather have preferred to live with 'Don,' as she called 
her hnsband number two, as, in her estimation, 'he was a good reli- 
gious man;' but Whistling Jock maintained, that, by priority of en- 



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to BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

gagement, he had a preferable claim. With threats and pleadings, 
Jenny was prevailed on to go with Dock, and the Whistling Laird 
was left in solitary blessedness for the remainder of his life. 

John Watson was a person of sagacity and information. He allowed 
himself, however, on one occasion, to be made the victim of a rather 
lai^hable, though to him a very morUfying hoax. One day he re-- 
ceived by post a large letter with a huge seal, purporting to be from 
the FroTOst and Ma^tratca of Edinburgh, and inviting hun to accept 
of the ofEce of hangman, then vacant by the death of John High. He 
was not only thoroughly convinced that the letter was genuine, but 
he was vastly elated at the idea of receiving so great a mark of atten- . 
tion and honour from the municipal authorities of the Scottish metro~ 
polls. He Bald the post which they had conferred on him might not 
in general estimation be held to be very respectable, yet it was most 
necessary, and therefore laudable ; because, if the laws were not duly 
carried out, society would soon be thrown into a state of anarchy. 
In spite of the remonstrances of his friends, he set out to Edinburgh, 
and presented himself at the Goundl Chambers. He boldly announced 
that he had come from Biggar to accept of the office of hangman. 
The clerks in the office informed him that it had already been filled 
up. This sad announcement at once Imd all his bright hopes in the 
dust. He declared that he had been very unfairly treated, and pro- 
duced the document putting the office in question at his acceptance. 
The communication was declared to be an arrant forgery, and John 
had no other alternative than to trudge back to Biggar, it may be a 
wiser, bat certainly a most angry and disappointed man. 

A little farther on are the Gas Works, erected in 1839 by a joint- 
stock company. Gas is suppUed to the community at 7s. per 1000 
cubic feet. The undertaking, while it has been a great advant^e to 
the inhabitants, has also been a profitable speculation for the share- 
holders. We have next on the side of the Bum a range of premises 
used as & breweiy by James Steel, and afterwards by Mr James 
Bell. No brewing has been carried on here for several years. Ad- 
joining is the Wynd, dear to the recollection of Westraw callants, 
when it was tenanted by such worthies as John Davidson, tailor; 
David Loch, and Andrew Steel, carters, etc. Here b the Cadger's 
Brig, supposed to be a Koman work. It is far from unlikely that the 
Komans threw a bridge across this stream, which often in winter is 
conriderably swollen, and is then not easily fordable ; but the present 
erection b perhaps more modem. By whatever party it was built, it 
was, no doubt, largely taken advantage of by the numerous cadgers 
that at one time passed through Biggar to the great mart for their 
merchandise, the Scottish capital ; and hence, in all likelihood, its 
name. The popular tradition, however, is, that it first received its 
name from the circumstance of its having been used by Sir William 
Wallace, when he visited the English camp at Biggar in the gube of a 



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a ^ 



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BIQQAS BURN, 41 

ca^er. It is very narrow, and being without paiapet-wallB, it was 
crossed with great difficulty in dark nightt. About fortj yesn ago, 
a mbsCitnte for tbeae walls was found in an iiou nuling, which was 
erected under the anspicea of Mr James Bell, brewer. A Utile below 
is a bridge in conneotion with the turnpike road to Dumfries, built 
in 1823, and embanked at each ^id with the earth that formed tlie 
Cro88-knowe. 

Below these bridges is the Ba' Green, supposed ar one time to have 
been the public park of the town, where, among other pastimes, football 
was played. Football was long a favourite amusement in this as well 
as in other districts of Scotland. It was cried down by the edicts of 
James I., and other sovereigns, who wished to substdlute archery in its 
place ; but it still prevailed. It was a rough and savage pastime. Severe 
wounds were often inflicted from falls and kicks, and fighu were not 
uncommon from alleged instances of unfair play. The sport was also 
carried on in the Uain or High Street of Biggar, particnlarly on 
public occasions, when a number of the coouHy people were in town. 
It was then most irregular and tumultuous. Every one took what 
side he pleased. The fury and violence were terrible. A dozen or 
two of the combatants would be lying sprawling on the ground at one 
time, and an unhappy wight would be knocked through a window, or 
overturned in a filthy open sewer. This pasdmo has been discontinued. 
Draughts, quoits, carting, and bowling, are now the favourite amuse- 
ments. The Bowling-green lies contigaoua to the Moat-knowe. It is 
neatly constructed, is kept in excellent order, and conduces much to 
the recreation and health of a portion of the inhabitants. 

On the side opposite to the Ba' Green is the small holding of tlie 
Blawhill ; and here, by the side of the stream, is Jenny's Well, to 
which the inhabitants established a right alsout thiity-five years ago, 
when an attempt was made to shut up the road to it bj the proprietor 
of the adjoining grounds. The meeting of Westraw wives, with Mr 
James Bell, brewer, at their head, to defend their ancient right, was , 
a fine display of indignant and independent Biggar feeling. The 
proprietor entered the case before the Sbeiiff at Lanark ; but in the 
end had sense enough to withdraw It, and pay aH expenses. So this 
remarkably cool and copious spring will remain in all time coming to 
supply reA^hing drau^ts to the Biggar people, and to remind them 
that in this free country might cannot always triumph over right. 

On the right are the lands of Bogball Mains, now finely subdivided 
and improved. The farm-steading, built about thirty yean ago, is 
one of the most elegant and substantial in the county. It cost the 
proprietor L.1500, and the tenant L.800 in cartages. 

Biggar Bum, afler receiving a small stream from Hartree, takes 
the name of Biggar Water. The first reference to Biggar Water in 
any of our public muniments, so far as we have observed, is in a docu- 
ment giving a detail of the perambulation of the Marches of Stobo, 



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n DIGGAR AND TBE HOUSE O? FLEMING. 

wMch ia supposed to have taken place between 1202 and 1207. This 
document, afler referring to various bcmndaries of that parish, goes on 
to say, ' And so by the hill top between Glenubswirles to (he Bum of 
Glenkeht (the Muirbum), and so downwards S3 that Bum falls into 
the Bigre.' The other tributaries of Biggar Water are Skirling Bum, 
Kilbucho Burn, Broughton Bum, and Holmes Water. In a ditch or 
small bum running from the Westraw Hoss, the strange phenomenon 
is sometimes seeif of a portion of the waters of the Clyde flowing into 
Biggar Water. This, of course, only takes place when the Clyde is 
greatly flooded ; but it shows how small an effort wonld be requisite 
to tum the waters of Clyde into those of the Tweed. At the place 
where the level is moat favourable for such a project, the Clyde has 
actually formed a channel of some length in this direction. The 
tradition regarding it is, that the wizard, Michael Scott, entered into 
a paction with the devil, by which he obtained liberty to take the 
Clyde across the Westraw Moss and the lands of Boghall as fast as a 
horse could trot, on condition, however, that he would not look behind 
him during the operation. He commenced the work ; hut the angry 
waters made such a terrific noise, that he could not rerist the tempta- 
tion to look back to see the cause of the uproar. The spell was thus 
broken, and the waters fled hack to their old channel, but left a very 
deuded trace of the devious course which they had been forced to take. 

The Symington, Biggar, and Broughton I{Ai]wB.y passes along the 
valley of Biggar Water. The first sod of this line was cut on the 
30lh of September 1858, by Mrs Baillie Cochrane of Lamington, 
amid the applauding demonstrations of a great concourse of spectators, 
who had inarched to the spot from Biggar with banners and bands of 
music. It was opened on the 5th of November 1860. The length 
of it is little more than eight miles ; and the tract over which it passes, 
being extremely level, presented little engineering difficulty. It 
crosses the Clyde, near ihe Moat of Wolf-Clyde, by a viaduct, the 
piers and abutments of which are of stone, and the arches, seven in 
number, of malleable iron. Three of the arches are each 62^ feet 
wide, and are what are caUed ' lattice ' girders ; and the other four are 
each 27 feet wide, and are called 'plate* girders. The whole weight 
of iron employed is 44 tons, and the cost vras L.41S0. At this point 
is the first station, the second is at Boghall, the third is at Braidford 
Bridge, and the present terminus is at Broughton, but steps are in the 
course of being taken to carry the line down the Tweed to Peebles. 
Thb railway can hardly fail to confer a great benefit on the district, in 
conveying agricultural products to the marts in the east and west, and 
in bringing coals, lime, and other articles which the district requires. 

The tract through which Biggar water flovra, especially on its 
north bank, vas till recently a dreary, unprofitable, and deleterious 
KHSt£, relieved only here and there with a stunted birch trea It 
was composed of peat-moss, and vast quantities of peat for fuel had 



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BIGGAR BUBN. 46 

been dng here. The surface was coiisequeiitl]r studded vitli deep 
ezcaTBtionB, filled with nater, a&d almost impassable. When a stnijr 
stot or stirk ventured to intrude into thia boggy and treacherous 
track, the probability was, that it plunged into a deep hole, or stuck 
fast in the mud ; and then great was the labour of men and boys to 
drag it from its dangerous position, and preserve it from destruction. 
This waste appears to have been in early times called the Nether Hoas, 
and latterly it was known by the name of Biggar Bogs. In 1832, a 
poem appeared in a periodical called the ' Edinburgh Spectator,' which 
contained a sort of ironical eulogium on the Bogs of Biggar. One of 
the stanzas ran thus : — 

' the B<^ of Biggar 

Both clean and trig are. 

With the fro^ a chirping 
Uncommon Bweet ; 

And some huh-ushis, 

And stunted bushes, 

To meet your wishes, 
So smsll and neat.' 
The growing crops in the neighbourhood of this dismal swamp, 
except in early years, were very liable to be damaged by frost, and 
were thus often rendered unfit for seed, and sometimes even for food. 
The feuars of Biggar, who rented nearly all the B<^ parks, were 
occasionally subjected to heavy losses from this cause. The late Rev. 
William Watson, incumbent of the parish, had one of the Bog parks ; 
but in consequence of the soil being drier, and lying at a greater dis- 
tance from the swampy ground, his crops generally suffered less 
damage from the frosts than some of his neighbours, and thus e;tcited 
their envy. One very frosty autumnal morning, Mr Watson met 
the late William Clerk, merohaut, Biggar, and accosting him, said, 
< William, this is a snell morning ; I am afraid the oats in the Bog 
parks must have sustained damage.' * Aye, Mr Watson,' was the reply, 
' there's nae respect o' persons this morning.' 

Various efforts were, from time to time, made to bring some por- 
tions of this tract under cultivation. The great difficulty to contend 
with was the want of a sufficient descent, to carry off the superfluous 
moisture with which the lands were saturated. The whole valley 
was nearly a dead level, and the channel of Biggar Water was only a 
few inches below the surface. Drains, cut to any depth, were worse 
than useless. They only had the effect of bringing water in greater 
abundance on the adjoining grounds. To obviate these obstructiona 
to dndnage, the late Mr Murray of Heavyside cut a large ditch 
parallel to the stream, but at some distance from it, and at the termi- 
nation of the ditch erected a water-wheel, with buckets, by which be 
lifted the water to a higher elevation, and thus was enabled to dry a 
considerable portion of bis bog lands. This wheel, which wrought 



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« BIOGAR AND THE HOl'SE OF FLEMING. 

very efTectually, was the workmanship of the ingenious millvrright of 
Biggar, Mr James Watt. The adjuijiing proprietors at length re- 
solved 10 deepen Biggar Water to such an extent aa to eiieure a pro- 
per declivity, and prevent it from being tilled up with mud and 
wecJs, lis had hitherto been tlic case. This important work was, 
accordingly, carried out under the superintendence of >Ir George 
Kerguaon, and completed in 1858. Some hundred acres of land along 
the banks of the alrcam have, conse<(uently, been driiined and culti- 
vated, and are now annually covered with most luxuriant crops, while 
the atmosphere around has been rendered vastly more salubrious and 
agreeable. 

In this dreary flat stood & hamlet called John's Holm, John 
(ioims and Archibald Brown were two of the tenants of this place, a 
hundred and thirty years ago. The buildings have now entirely dis- 
appeared, so that it is difficult to ascertain the exact spot on which 
they stood. 

Tliis level tract was, no doubt, at a very remote period, covered with 
the sea. The stones, to a great depth, appear to have travelled from a 
distance, nod have the smooth rounded shape thai is produced hy the 
action of water. Mr Robert Chambers, in his curious and interesting 
work on ' Ancient Sea Margine,' states, that the central mountain range 
of southern Scotland, from which the Tweed and Clyde take their 
almost contiguous origin, bears marks of ancient sen levels at coinci- 
dent heights on both sides. He enumerates various places at the 
height of 628 feet on the Ettrick, Gala, and Tweed, which present 
Hat projections, supposed to be formed by the action of the sea, and 
then says, ' It is remarkable, however, that the broad passage or col 
between the Tweed and Clyde at Biggar, much of the basis of which 
is occupied by a moss, is given at 626 feet above the sea. When the 
sea stood at this height, the two estuaries of Clyde and Tweed joined 
in a shallow sound at Biggar, and the southern province of Scotland 
formed two islandii, or rather group of islands.' 

It is a matter of some regret that the Fleming family, so long con- 
nected with this parish, have, from time to time, disposed of nearly 
all the extensive lands that ihey once possessed here and in the 
neighbourhood. With Glcnholm, Kilbucho, and Thankerton they 
have long ceased to have any connection, and the whole of their in- 
heritance in the parish of Biggar has now dwindled down to a few 
acres. This regret is qualified by the circumstance, that they had 
long allowed their lands in this parish to remain in a very neglected 
State. They held out no inducement to improvement. Being non- 
resident, and possessed of little superfluous wealth, they neither 
showed any example of activity, nor expended the necessary capital 
to promote the due cultivation of the soil; and thus it continued, 
from year to year, in the same dismal and unprofitable state. When 
the entail was broken, fully thirty years ago, and the portion of Big- 



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BIGGAB BURN. 4« 

gar parish which they still held was sold, it fortunately fell into the 
hands of men who lost no time in commencing the work of improve- 
ment. New farm-Bteadings were built, drains were cut, dykes were 
erected, and trees and hedgerows were planted. Two thousand acres 
of land, by the enterprise and resources of the new proprietors, Lord 
Murray of Langlees, George Gillespie, Estj. of Biggar Park, Robert 
Gray, Esq. of Garwood, Thomas Murray, Esq. of Heavyside, and 
Willifun Murray, Esq. of Spittal, Tery soon assumed a new appear- 
ance, and became vastly more raluable. 

The whole lands in the parish of Biggar comprise, as we have sud, 
5852 Scots acres. The soil consista principally of clay, sand, graTcl, 
loam, and peat-moss. It teart good crops of oats, barley, pease, 
, tumipa, and potatoes, but is not adapted for beans and wheat. The 
dairy is here an object of great attention. Most of the farmers keep 
a stock of milk cows; and the butter and cheese, both full mi TV and 
skim milk, which they produce, are held in high repute in the marts 
of the eastern and western metropolis, and very often receive premiums 
at the shows of the Highland and Agricoltural Society of Scotland. In 
the north part of the parish, near the source of Biggar Bum, the soil is 
of a poor description, and appears to be too scantily supplied with the 
phosphates that are necessary for strengthening and fertilizing the 
soil. It is supposed that it is from this cause that the cattle are of^en 
attacked with a disease called the 'stiShess,' or 'cripple.' Those 
persona who wish to obtain information regarding this disease, which 
has hitherto been little investigated in this country, are referred to 
an article 'On Arthritic or Bone Disease,' by Mr William Tborbum, 
Heaohilend, in the January number of the 'Veterinary Review' for 
1861, and to various observations on the subject by Mr John Gamgee, 
both in that periodical and in his work on 'The Domestic Animals 
in Health and Disease.' 



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CHAPTER V. 

f LITTLE to the north-eMt of the town ia the elegant nunnon 
of Walter 8. Lorrain, Esq. It waa formerly called Sunnygjde, 
bnt its name has recently been changed to Loaningdale. 
Here James Scott, one of the Biggar poete, woa bom, about 
the year 17S4. His father, who bore the same name, was by profesdon 
a mason. The name of Robert Scott, wright in Snnnyside, appears 
in the Session Records, onder date 11th July 1731, in connection with 
negotiatdong for the oonatruction of a new t«nt, ' for the benefit of die 
work of the Sacrament without doors;' but this, perhaps, was the 
poet's uncle. The parents of Scott contrived to give him a good 
education. On amTing at manhood, he devoted himself to the 
medical profession. He entered the army as an aasisiant-snrgeon in 
1755, and was stationed with his regiment at Fort George, Fort 
William, and several other places. In 1762, the Spaniards and the 
French having sustained a number of severe reverses from the En^ish, 
thought fit, OS B means of retaliation, to invade Portugal, which then 
was under the special protection of England. A large body of troops 
was therefore despatched from this country to the aid of the Portu- 
guese, and, among others, the regiment in which yoimg Scott served, 
little or no fighting took place, as peace was shortly afterwards pro- 
clumed, and the British troops were ordered home. Scott wrote a 
poetjcsl epistle regarding this war and the subsequent peace, in which 

' Qrim war, amid his hoirid train. 

Now leaves the desolated plain ; 

And now, by George's high command, 

Agsin we aeA oor native strand, 

Where, as I can no longer serve, 

I have his gradous leave to starve.' 
In a note on the last of these couplets be says: 'This is almost 
Uterally the case. After seven years spent in his country's service in 
a useAil station for which no provision is mode, the author was carried 
ashore at Fortsmonth with a fever upon him, neither quite dead nor 
alive, where he had the pleaanre of lying several hours on the beach, 
dll, with much difficulty, somebody was found that had humanity 
enough to give him a lodg^g for three or four times its worth. 



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SUKNYSIDE AND CANDY. 47 

There hia paj waa struck off, and he was left to the care of Providence, 
who reserved him for — God knows what' It is understood that Mr 
Scott settled ulttinat«ly as a medical practitioner in a town in Eng- 
land, but found leisure to pay an occasional visit to his relatives and 
his old scenes at Biggar. 

Hr Scott, from lus earlj yean, had been a wtiter of verses. His 
object, he sajs, was the amusement of an idle hotir, tlie diversion of a 
friend, or the gratification of an original propensity. In 1765 a 
collected edition of his poems was published at London by G. Bumet, 
in the Strand.* In itie preface he states that some of his poetical 
productions had been previously printed in periodical p^>ers and 
miscellaneous collections, and that he bad had the misfortune to be 
complimented by his country neighbours with the praise of genius. 
TUb, be considers, had made a very erroneous and injurious impres' 
sion on his roind, for he says that ' since he Lad cultivat«d a more 
intiniate acquaintance with the writings of the poets, he has a thousand 
times heartily wished tbelaboursof hismuseat the devil,' He declares 
that, were all his productions in bis power, he would without reluctance 
commit them to the flames; but as this was beyond his reach, he 
hopes he has sent them forth in their co11ect«d form in a state more 
worthy the acceptance of the intelligent reader. With a true portion 
of Upper Ward independence, but with a roughness of language 
scarcely pardonable in a sentimental poet, he adds, ' If, by ill luck, a 
critical reader should lay his hands on them, and find his delicacy 
shocked in the perusal, he is very welcome to throw the book in the 
fire, and damn l^e author for a blockhead.' 

The author, to judge from his poetical efiiisions, was certainly not 
entitled to be characterized as a blockhead. Throughout bJs whole 
book he manifests much refined and correct sentiment, a warm appre- 
ciation of rural scenery, a high admiration of beauty and virtue, a 
devoted attachment to friendship and love, and a lively interest in the 
welfare and Ireedom of his fellow-men. At the time he wrote, the - 
cultivation of poetry had mmk to a low ebb. The poetic race had 
become infected with a strained and sickly aentimentalism. They had 
forsaken the paths of nature, and took delight in nothing but weaving 
a succession of tawdry garlands for the brows of some feigned goddess, 
under the name of Melinda, Narcissa, Delia, etc. Our author did not 
escape the mannerism and defects of his times; but be frequency 
rises above them, and sings with a true, if not a very exalt«d note. 
His descriptive powers were considerable. Take as a spemmen an 
extract from a poem ' On Solitude,' written in a beautiful wild glen 
near Fort Augustus : — 

' See, the river winds along 
The wild and tnfted hiUi among; 

* A cojiy wu prasBnIad b; the author to Ui nepbev, Robert Soott, nddler, Biggar, 
■ad i» still pnasTTad bj one ol the mraiben of llr Scott's tunilj 



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4S BIQOAR AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

Placid DOW it Sows, uid deep, 
Now it tlimidMB down the steep ; 
With violence dsflhed, it fovne and rcwn, 
And falling s fthftVfft thfi lofty Bhora \ 
And rocks imd billows nve around. 
And woods ind hills repeat the soond.' 

His appreciation of the varied aspects of the year b manifested in 
mimy of im productions. For instance, he thus refers to spring, and 
the feelings which it excites, in an Elegy to Narcissa : — 
' In pride of fouth exolta the jovial year. 
Again the groves pat on thmr robes of green, 
Again the plaaaant woodland song we h«ar. 
And Nature in her fainet form is seen. 
' Along the banks of the wild warbling strwiji, 
With roanj an herb adorned, and fragnnt flower, 
Cheer'd bj the setting snn'i iuspiruig b«Ain, 
Oft wandering, I enjoj the peaceful honr. 
' The aolenm acenea dispoee the tranquil breast 
To (erions maang, and to thought refined ; 
And contemplation comes, a hesvenlf gnett, 
And poura out all her blffaings on the mind.* 

His patrioUsm and loyalty found vent in a noble ode to the King on 
his Urthday, 1756. We give one or two stanzas : — 
* Industrious Oommerce swells her train 
With all the treosuree which the main 

And distant lands can boast; 
While glittering gems, and golden ore. 
The wealth of every foreign shore. 

She pours on Albion's coast. 
' Here gentle love, with roses crowned, 
And peace, with olive garlands bound. 

Their mingling chanDs unite ; 
Wlule art and science, hand in haud, 
ConspiTe to bless the happy land 
With honour and delight 
' Pair Liberty, hig^ o'v the rest, 
Exalted dwells in every bnut. 

By Britons still adored ; 
For her the angry god of war. 
Impatient, mounts bis iron car. 
And waves his flinnifg sword. 
' See there her potent navy lide, 
Exulting o'er the foaming tide, 
'Rie tyrant's constant dread. 



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SUHNTSIDE AND CANDY. 19 

Soon may her awfol thunder roar 
O'er faithlem GallU's hoetile ahora, 
Ruin and terror spread. 

* FsTOOied ot Heaven, aaeert the caoae 
Of Britain, liberty, and lam ; 

And when with glory croToed, 
Bid the fell rage of battle cease, 
And, with the bands of lore and peace> 
Elmbrace the nations round.' 

The Scottish language, hia native Temacular, was then considered 
rude and Tulgar. It had not yet been raised to classic dignity by the 
genius of Burns and Scott. Uenoe he sedulously avoids the use of it 
in any of his productions. Neither his admiration of Scottish damsels, 
his musings by the nuna of Scotiand's ancient royal halls, his wander- 
ings among the Highland hills, nor hia minute disquisitions on the 
equipments of a Scottish tea-table, could extort from him a word to 
indicate that he had spent his boyish daya amid the hilln and plains of 
Biggar, or was familiar with the streams of the Clyde and Tweed. 
His book was dengned for English readers ; and he would, no doubt, 
consider that Scotch phraseology would be nninteUigible, and allusions 
to the obscure localities of Biggv little attractire to the Southrons. 
But notwithstanding any little drawback of this kind, Scott is certainly 
one of Biggor'a chief literary men, 

l^e grounds in this neighbourhood go under the names of Guildie, 
the Colliehill, the Cuttings, the Scabbed Bigs, and the Borrow Muir. 
They belonged, and still nearly all belong, to the feuars of Biggar. 
They are of excellent quality, and produce fine crops of oats, barley, 
turnips, and potatoes. A little to the east of Loaningdale is Cambns 
Wallace, formerly ^^hinbush, the pleasant residence of John Paul, 
Esq. We have then, in saccession, West«r Toflcombs, Mid Toftcombs, 
Easter Tofloombs, Wintermuir, and Candy or Edmonstone. 

The estate of Edmonstone was possessed for upwards of four cen- 
turies by the Douglases, Earls of Morton and Lords of Dalkeith. 
The Flemings of Biggar, however, held the superiority of it during 
that period, which may be taken to indicate that they were the pos- 
sessors of it prior to the existence of any record in which it is men- 
tioned. 

In 1322, William, son and heir of the deceased Haldwine of 
Bdmonstoue, rengned the whole lands of Edmonstone, with their 
pertinents, in the barony of Biggar, to his superior, Gilbert Fleming 
of Biggar, in order that William, the son and heir of the deceased 
Sir James Douglas of Laudonia, might be infeft in the same. In 
1382, Robert IL granted and confirmed to James Douglas, Lord of 
Dalkeith, and James, his son, the lands of Edmonstone in the barony 
of Biggar. On the 15th of July 1476, James Eari of Morton re- 



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H BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUtNG. 

signed the lands of Edmonatone and WintermuiT into the hands of 
Robert Lord Fleming, the superior of these lands; and on the 16tb of 
the same month received a new charter of them irom Lord Fleming, 
to be holden for the service of ward and lelief, and one suit in the 
head court at Biggar. A precept of Sasine of these lands was granted, 
on the 4tb of January 1496, by John Lord Fleming to James Doug- 
las, son and apparent heir of John Earl of Morton. In 1543, James 
Earl of Morton and Lord of Dalkeith granted them ta his daughter 
Elizabeth, and to her husband, James Douglas, nephew of the Earl of 
Angus. The Earl of Morton dying without male issue, James Doug- 
las, just mentioned, succeeded to his titles and estates. He received 
a new charter of these estates, and, of course, of ' the lands and barony 
of Edmeston, with the mauer, fortilace, mills, fishings, and orchards, 
parts, pendides, advowsoa and endowment of churches and chapels 
and their pertinents lying within the barony of Biggar and sheriff- 
dom of Lanark.' This nobleman for some years played a very dis- 
tinguished part in the public tranaactions of Scotland. Being bold, 
crafty, and avaridous, he attached himself to the side of the Re- 
formers, and took part with the Earl of Murray m hia oppodiion to 
Queen Mary. Attuning at length to be Regent of the Kingdom, with 
a portion of the wealth which he then acquired, he commenced to 
bidld the stately castle of Drochil on the Lyne, but did not live to 
see it completed. He was beheaded at the Cross of Edinburgh, on 
the 2d of June 1581, for alleged complidty in the murder of Damley, 
by an instrument called 'The Maiden,' which he himsdf had been the 
means of introducing into Scotland. The estat« of Edmonstone con- 
tinued in the same family to the middle of the seventeenth century, 
when it and the farm of Wintennuir were purchased by Christopher 
Baillie of Walston. These possessions then fell into the hands of a 
family of the name of Brown, about the b^inning of last century ; and 
in the hands of this family they still r^nain, the present proprietor 
bdng Laurence Brown, Esq. Some years ago, a very elegant man- 
sion-house, in a castellated form of architecture, after a design by 
James Gillespie Graham, was erected in a seduded valley on thu 
property. It contained, and perhaps still contuns, a collection of the 
antiquities of the district; but no account of them, so far as we know, 
has hitherto been published- 

On the estate of Edmonstone there was at one time evidently a 
considerable village, which was generally called Candy. It had its 
own school, its own mill, its own alehouse, its own tailors, shoe- 
makers, smiths, agricultural labourers, etc. One of its inhabitants, 
during last century, was Mr John Bob, tailor. He was a good 
specimen of the shrewd, intelligent, and pious men, who have long 
abounded in this district. He was a member of Mr Hair's congrega- 
tion at Linton, and, afterwards, of Mr Low's at Bi{^;ar. When the 
controversy regarding the Burgess oath, which split the Seceders into 



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SUNHTSIDE AND CAMDY. 61 

two separate divinons, waa still T&pag, he entered the lists ^jsinst the 
ffunous Antiburgher leader, the Bev. Adam Gib of Edinburgh ; and, 
in 1755, published a pamphlet, in which, in the opinion of some 
judges, he completely demolished the positions of his dooghty and 
energetic opponent It was entitled, 'The Bod Retorted, or the Cor- 
rector Corrected; contuning some remarka upon a pamphlet entitled, 
"A Eod of Correction, etc, by Mr Adam Gib." By John Hob, Tailor, 
Candy.' Copies of this brochure are now extremely rare. The only one 
that we have seen is in the library of Adam Sim, Esq., at Coultermuns. 
We cannot forbear quoting one of the first paragraphs of this work, 
as a spe<umen of Mr Rob's style, and the manner in which the con- 
troversy was conducted. 'The first thing that I shall take notice of,' 
sa3^ Mr Rob, 'is, that he (Adam Gib) charges me with impertinence 
and onbecoming behaviour, like an enraged kaibo^e, as he calls it. 
I know that my speech is for ordinary high, bat I challenge him, or 
any of the company, to condescend upon any one expression uttered 
by me onbecomii^ his character, although even from himself there 
was not wanting provocation ; for I remember, when I met him at 
Biggar, how he prefaced his discourse. When the man told him I 
was coming for light in the present case, he proudly answered, "I 
have no manner of cancem with Bach; let them take the length of the 
halter; perhaps they may worry in the band." Now, let any impartial 
reader judge how cross this spirit is to the very letter of the law, 
Exodus xxiiL 4, 5.' 

John Kob had a son named Richard, who was a person of jome 
humour, and a member of the same church. Being of a social torn 
of mind, he sometimes rather exceeded in his potations at fairs and 
on market days, and thus subjected himself to the animadversions 
of the ' unco guid.* The members of the Burgher session, who were 
veiy circumspect in regard to religious opinions, and sharp in their 
practice, summoned him before them to answer for his irregularities. 
When Richard appeared, he owned his fault ; but he entreated his 
reverend judges, before pronouncing sentence, to answer the question, 
'Is gluttony a sin 7' This was at once admitted. 'Then,' said lUch- 
ard, ' whan I was at the Little Wall the ither day, I saw John Young, 
a member of ihe ses^on noo present, supping kail oot o' a calTs 
luggy. It was evident tliat on tiiat occaaon he was guilty of an act 
of gluttony ; sae, if ye rebuke me, ye ought to rebuke him also.' The 
session were scarcely disposed to acquiesce in Mr Bob's analogy, or 
to comply with his demand ; so they considered that it would be the 
best policy to dismiss him at that time with an admonitioiL 

Mr Rob, on one occasion, accompanied Mr Low In his round of 
visitations to the houses of the members of his congregation in the 
ndghbourhood of Candy. They entered thirteen different dwellings, 
and in each of them they were presented with spirituous Uquors, of 
which the minister always partook. On parting in the evening, Mr 



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bi BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OP FUSUIKG. 

Rob verj gravely accosted Mr Lov, and said, 'I noo see wherein the 
Mn o' drinking oonsista.' 'What is that, Richard?' sidd Mr Low. 'It 
maun consist, I think, in the pa^g,' replied Mr Rob ; * for I hae 
seen y% to-day tak a pairt o' thirteen drams, and a single word o' 
reproof or objection hasna fann frae your lips.' 

Mr Rob one day played a sad trick on old Robert Forsyth, the 
bellman and grave-digger of Biggar. It has ever ance been a stand- 
ing story in the district, and used to be related with admirable drollery 
by tiie late James Sinclair, punter, Biggar. The minister of B^gar 
happening to have some very fine pigs, he promised to make a pre- 
sent of one to hia friend the minister of Dolphinton. He there- 
fore ordered Robert Forsyth to put one of them into a pock, and 
proceed with it to Dolphinton Manse. The obedient sexton did as he 
was ordered. While trudging on his way, and just as he approached 
Candy, where at that time a dram was sold, he met Mr Rob. ' Weel, 
Robert,' says the farmer, ' as the day is warm, and as you are doubt- 
less fatigued wi' your load, ye had better step into Jenny's and I'll 
gie ye a dram.' To this proposal he readily assented. So the pock wae 
thrown down by the side of the door, and in he went to quench his 
thirst and rest his limbs. While he was tbns refreshing himself, the 
farmer went to the door, and succeeded, without being noticed, in 
making a young whelp occupy the place of the pig. At length our 
worthy resumed his journey to Dolphinton, and, on his arrival at the 
manse, announced his business with characteristic pomposity and im- 
portance, llie minister and his domestics came out to view and 
examine the animal which had been so kindly sent by the reverend 
incumbent of Biggar ; when, on being tamed out of tlie sack, to the 
utter astonishment of all, it was not a sow, but a young dog. Old 
Robert ' declared, whatever it might be noo, he was sure it was a pig 
whan he pat it into the pock.' There was no help for it, but that the 
unfortunate sexton should again shoulder his load, and, much mortified 
and vexed, return as heavy as he went Mr R., who was still purposely 
loitering about Candy, at length espied Robert coming down the brae 
very gloomy and disconsolate. What's the matter wi' ye noo ? ' said 
Mr R. 'Will the minister no tak the soo, that ye're trudging hame 
wi't on yer back, as melancholy like as ye had seen the deil ? ' ' Lord 
sauf US,' quoth Robert, ' it's nae lauger a soo, it has turned into a 
doug ; and as I'm a leeving man, I declare, whan I shook it out o' the 
pock afore the manse, my very heart played dunt, and I really 
thoi^ht that the dnl had entered intill't as he ance did into the herd 
o' swine.' ' But Robie, my man,' said Mr R., ' this is a subject too 
kittle to be expounded here ; we maun gae in again to Jenny's and 
hae anither gilL' While they were in the inn, the pig and the whelp, 
unknown to the unsuspicious sexton, agun exchanged places. Having 
had a lengthened crack and a taste of the barley bree, they parted, and 
the sexton with his load made the best of his way to Biggar. He re- 



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SUNHYSIDE AMD CAMUY. h3 

paired at once to the manse, and told his reverence that by witchcraft 
or other diabolical means the sow had, during his journey to Dol- 
phinton, become a whelp. 'A vhelpl' ex^claimed the minister, 
' impossible ; but let us see — turn him out ; ' and there now appeared 
before the dumfoundered beadle the veritable animal, in shape, bxc, 
and kind, which had been entrusted to his care when he started from 
Biggar. ' Why, Robert,' said the minister, ' that is surely the very 
animal which you put into your bag this morning.' ' Od,' says Robert, 
■ it may be ony thing it likes noo, but I'll minteen it was a whelp at 
Dolphiiton.' 'Did you meet with anybody by the way?' inquired 
the minister, 'or were ye in any house?' 'To tell the truth,' said 
Kobert, ' I gaed in a few minutes at Candybun to hae a refreshment wi' 
Ritchie Rob.' ' Ah, Robert, Robert,* said the minister, ' I see through 
the whole afiair ; you hare allowed that witty gentleman to play a 
sad trick upon you, as well as to offer an afiront to me. You must 
never, when employed on important buuness, l>e allored into an ale- 
house ^ain, lest a worse miachief befall you.' 

A similar trick is ascribed, In the 'Lurdof Logan,' to lAird Robert- 
son of Elamock ; but persons intimately acquainted with the Biggar 
worthies to whom I have referred, were in the habit of telling the 
story in a similar manner thirty or forty years previous to the appear- 
ance of that publication. 

On the top of the hill above Candybauk is a circular entrenchment, 
generally called a camp. No information regarding it exists, and the 
probability is, that it wae constructed for the purpose of preserving 
the cattle and sheep during the times of invasion. It was in the 
course of removing a cairn of stones in this earthen work that the 
bronze implement, Fig. 3, page 7, was discoverecL 



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CHAPTER VI. 
C^i (Eastit of ^og|nlL 

iBe or Cutle of Boghall wu one of the largest and moat 
imponng edifices in the south of Scotland. It stood, a» its 
name imports, in the midst of a bog, vhich in fonner limes 
y/BB impassable, eren on foot, and which contributed greatly 
to its security. The habitable part of it was on the south ; and, as the 
bog stretched behind it fur several hundred yards, it had been deemed 
mmecessary to surround the back of it with a separate wall for ^e 
purposes of defence. An area in front, extending about two hundred 
yards both in length and breadth, and capable of holding all the 
grain and cattle in the barony, was enclosed by a square wall, three 
feet thick and tUrty feet high, on the top of which ran a bartizan, 
and at each comer was flanked by a drcolar tower, with embrasures 
and loop-holes for small arms and cannon. The court was entered 
on the north by a spacious gateway, with two posterns, and above the 
gateway was a tower for the warder. The whole was surrounded by 
a broad and deep fosse filled with water, and spanned by a stone 
bridge opposite the gate. The ground, between the walls and the 
fosse, was planted with trees, and some very aged ones were standing 
within the last forty years. 

The front of the habitable part of the Castle was two storeys in 
height, with attics, and presented a considerable degree of eleguice, 
the lintels of the doors and the rybots of the windows being formed 
of carved freestone. In the centre of the st^rcase, which projected 
a little from the line of the building, the arms of Uie Flemings were 
carved in relief on a large square stone ; and at the top of the wall 
was another stone, with the date 1670, which must have been placed 
there at the time some repairs were made on the Castle, during the 
time it was occupied as a residence by Anna Dowager Countess of 
'Wigton. The lower part of the flanking tower on the south-east was 
used as a dungeon for the confinement of prisoners, and the upper 
part, it is understood, served the purposes of a ^mel, in which the 
muls ana duties of the vassals and tenants, payable in grun, malt, 
and me were stored. This building wiU be observed in the en- 
graving to be a little detached from the habitable part of the Castle 
on the east side, or the left, facing the spectator. The gimel was 



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THE CASTLE OF BOaUALL. U 

under the charge of a keeper, whose duty it was to receive the 
victual, to distribute it among the baron's rettuners, and t« sell or 
barter such portions of it as were required by the cottaxa and ciafla- 
men located in the barony. Beferences are often made to the 'gar- 
nar,' or 'gimel,' in the family documeats and the Secords of the 
Baron Bidlie's Court For instance, in the transactions of Anthony 
Murray, factor to John, Earl of Wigton, for the half year endii^ 
Martinmas 1667, we notice that he paid six bolls and three firlots of 
meal to William Thriplaud, my lord's 'gamar man' in Biggar, brang 
half a boll for every chalder of thirteen chalders and nine boUs, 
which he did measure into the gamar, and measure out the same 
agun, and did uphold the measure. James Carmichael, who was 
factor to William, Earl of Wigton, paid to the same William Thrip- 
Und 'ye soume of twentie pund Scots for his service in his Lordship's 
gimal, ira Mardnmas 1G75 to Martinmas 1676.' The gimel at Bog- 
hall seems at that time to have undergone a repair, as there is an 
entry in the factor's books of L.51, 8s. 8d., paid 'for wmghtwork and 
selves to the gimall, and lyme to the house of Boghall, and leid to 
dress the windows.' 

In the Records of the Baron's Court, we find that Bulie Alexander 
Wardlaw, on the 29th of July 1720, 'decerns the hwli tennents, feu- 
ars, and others, lyable to the Earl of Wigtoon, to pay moulter and 
temd meall into the gimall, and any that hes gotten out ineall upon 
trust, to pay to John Gledstanes, gimall man, one pund aad fyve 
shillings Scots, for each boll, betwixt and teusday nixt, under the 
pain of poynding.' On the 28th of March 1747, Thomas Carmichael, 
keeper of the gimel of Biggar, made compliunt before Bulie Robert 
Leckie, 'That sundrie of the Tennants, after grinding of their farm 
meaU, doe allow the same to ly in ye miln, or in their own houses, a 
considerable time, without delivering the same into the gamell, by 
which means the meill is lyable of being spoiled and damnified. 
Therefore, the Bailliff enacts and orduna, that, for the tuture, the 
haill fewars and tennants of the borroneys of Boaghall and Bi^ar 
shall, immediately after their meall is grand att the miln, at least, 
within fourty-eight hours thereafter, deliver their farms into the gar- 
nell, and that under the penaltie of ten shillings Scots for each unde- 
livered boll, to be payed by the iulziere to the said Thomas Carmi- 
chael, as gamell keeper, and his successors in office.' 

An opinion has long prevuled at Biggar, and is referred to by 
Forsyth in his ' Beauties of ScoUand,' that the habitable part of the 
Castle was originally of greater extent than it was in later times, and 
that it stood in the centre of the enclosed area. In trenching the 
ground, to a considerable depth, some years ago, no distinct trace of 
former buildings vras, however, discovered ; but this is certainly not 
decisive evidence on the point, as the buildings may have all been 
thoroughly removed. The deep morass on the south serving as a 



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£e BIGOAB ASD THE HOUSE OF FLEUING. 

efficient defence, was evidently the came why the inaii»on-house, at 
least LD the end, came to be placed in that quarter, and left unpro- 
tected. 

The Castle of Boghall was, no doubt, built at a remote period. The 
exact time, however, caimot now be ascertained. David Fleming, 
second son of Sir David Fleming of Biggar, who waa killed at Long- 
hermonston in the spring of 1405, settled on some lands in Renfrew- 
shire, which he called Boghall, a name which he most likely assumed 
out of respect to his pat«mal habitation. In an old book in the pos- 
session of Mr James Watt, Biggar, there is the following entry: — 
'Note.— The Boghall Castle was built in the year of Christ 1492, by 
Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld.' Little dependence can be placed 
on this assertion, aa it is unknown who made it, and is unsupported 
by any collateral evidence. It b very far from unlikely, however, 
that it was rebuilt at that period. It had certainly very much the 
appearance of having been built abont the time of James IV. or 
James V. It had a degree of spaciousness and elegance that re- 
moved it considerably fi^im the style of strongholds usually occupied 
by the Scottish barons, and led to the opinion that it had been con- 
structed after the fashion of some of the large chateaux in France. 
Although not of extraordinary strength, it seemed able, if properly 
garrisoned, to withstand any attack, provided it was not made with 
heavy artillery. It must, for a long period, have been a principal 
residence of the Fleming family; but in the latter part of their his- 
teiy they seem to have given a preference to the House of Cumber- 
nauld, which, at one time, was also a fortified stronghold. 

After the death of the last Earl of Wigton, and Uie transference of 
the Biggar estates to the Elphinstone family, in 1747, tht Castle of 
Boghall was more and more deserted. No rep^ was made on the 
buildings, and the consequence of course was, that they began gra- 
dually to fall into ruin. Between 1773 and 1779, when the sketch of 
the castle was taken, by John Clerk of Eldin, from which the accom- 
panying view of it has been engraved, it was then almost entire. 
Captain Grose, whose name has been immortalized by Bums, visited 
Biggar in 1769, and also took a sketeh of the Castle, which he after- 
wards pnbUshed in his work on the 'Antiquities of Scotland.' By that 
time it had evidently undergone considerable dilapidation. The tower 
above the gateway had been partially demolished, and some of the 
stones had been removed from the top of the outer wall. In a view 
of it given in the 'Scots Magazine' for October 1815, it appears by 
that time to have been entirely dismantled, and many parts of the 
walls laid in ruins. The writer of a letterpress description of the 
town of Biggar and its neighbourhood, in the same number of the 
Magaziiie, says, in reference to the Castle, 'It is in a state of rapid 
decay, which, we are ashamed to understand, was accelerated some 
years ago by the appropriation of a part of its materials to the erec- 



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THE CASTLE OF BOGHALL S7 

tion of a dog-kenoeL It b sdll a ruin of considerable interest, and 
we woidd entreat the proprietor to save it, and adorn the spot bj sur- 
rounding it with plantii^.' No attention was paid to this remon- 
strance; but, in 1821, Admiral Charles Elphinston Fleming, the pro- 
prietor, on Borne account or other, caused workmen to repair the walls 
of the projecting staircase, in the centre of the habitable part of the 
Castle, and to cover it with a roof of slate. 

When the entail of the Biggar estate was broken in 1830, the farm 
of Boghall Mains, and the other lands still belonging to the hor of 
the Fleming family in the parish, were brought to the hammer. By 
some misnnderstaodiiig or misnuuiageineat, the renuuns of the Caslie, 
a short dme afterwards, were nearly all carried away to fill drains and 
build dykes. The only parts left were the recently repaired staircase, 
and a portion of two of die flanking towers. These fragments, with 
a few trees, now stand — sad relics of a glory that has passed for ever 
away. How desolate and soUtary is the scene around ; bow different 
£rom the days of feudal splendour I Now the ample court, the fosse, 
and the very site of the buildings, hare been torn ap by the plough, 
and are covered with the successive crops of &e husbandman. 
Happily in our day a feeling of veneration for our ancient buildings 
has sprung up; the writings of Sir Walter Scott, and others, and 
the increased attention which has been paid to archeological studies, 
have deepened and extended this feeling, and caused it to find prac- 
tical manifestation in preserving our ancient and dilapidated castles, 
abbeys, and cathedrals from further demolition, and sending thousands 
and tens of thousands from all quarters to gaze on their time-worn 
remtuns. The person who presumes to lay a violent hand upon them 
is liable to receive very severe censure. We therefore cordially con- 
cur in the following remarks, in a recent address on Archteology, by 
Professor Simpson of Bdinbui^h. 'I solemnly protest,' says he, 
' against the needless destruction and removal of our Scotch anti- 
quarian remains. The hearts of all leal Scotsmen, overflowing as 
diey do with a love of their native land, must ever deplore the un- 
necessary demolition of all such early relics and monuments, as can 
in any degree contribute to the recovery and restoration of the past 
history of our country and of our ancestors. These ancient relics and 
monuments are truly, in one strong sense, national property; for 
historically they belong to Scotland, and to Scotsmen in-general, more 
than they belong to the individual proprietors upon whose ground 
«they accidentally happen to be placed.' 'Let us fondly hope and 
trust,' he further adds, ' that a proper spirit of patriotism, that every 
feeling of good, generoos, and gentlemanly taste, will ensure and 
hallow the future consecration of all such Scottish antiquities as still 
remain — small fragments only though they be of the antiquarian 
treasures that once existed in the land.' Many local poets have sung 
in dolefiil strains the demolition of Boghall Castle. We have b 



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58 



BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 



number of their productions lying beaide us, and would gladly give 
Ewmc of them » place, did our limited space permit. The engraved 
view of it whicli we have been enabled to give, will, no doubt, make 
many other persons than poets deplore that it has been so thoroughly 
swept away. 

The blame of the destruction of the Castle of Boghall is mainly to 
be attributed to the Elphinstone family. It was they who h-ft it to 
entire neglect, who failed to expend a few pounds to 
keep it in a state of repair, who carried off a portion 
of its materials to build a dog-kennei, and who sold it, 
without making the least reserve as to its preservation. 
When these men, whose forefathers had built it, had 
lived within its walls, and made it memorable by iheir 
presence and transactions, not only felt no veneration 
for it, hut actually hastened its destruction, we could 
scarcely expect that other parties, into wlio&e hands it 
might fall, would view it with feeUngs of warmer attach- 
ment, or would expend their efforts and their means to 
preserve it from further demolition. Its removal, how 
ever, is to be regretted, as it was a noble feature in 
the landscape, and as tlic district has Uttlc to «how m 
the shape of antiquities, arid little ta invest it with in 
tercst and attraction to strangers. We can only now 
indulge the hope, that efforts will be made lo preserve 
such fragments of it as still remain. 

A few relics of the Castle have been preserved. Tlie 
gimel-door is in the possession of Mr Allan Whitfield, 
agent, Biggar. An antique clock, which formed part 
of the furniture of the Castle, and which was pre- 
sented by a member of the Boghall family, most likely 
by Lady Clementina Fleming herself, to Dr Baillic, 
who flourished as a physician in Biggar about tlie 
middle of last century, is now in the museum of Mr 
Sim at Coulturmains. A huge key, which was found 
near the ruins, and which is supposed t« be the key of 
the great out«r gate, was, and perhaps still is, in the 
possession of Laurence Brown, Esq. of Edmonstoue. 
Several cannon bullets, which appear to liave been at 
one time part of the munitions of the Castle, or to have 
been shot against it during some of the assaults which 
it sustained, are in Mr Sim's museum. A curious 
sword-blade, with a waved edged, is shown in the 
Museum of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, as 
having been found at the Castle of Boghall. It was 
presented to the Society, by John Loch, Esq, of Rachan, 
in 1829. In the letter which accompanied it, Mr Loch says that the 






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THE'CASTLE OP BOGHALL. SO 

Eword woe Jlresented to him by an old man, who assured him that it 
was found in the ruins of BoghalL How far this man's testimony 
may be relied on, it b impossible now to Bay; but it seems to have 
been credited by Mr Loch. Swords with wared edges were used in 
medieval times for the purpose of making a greater impression on 
defensive armour than could be done by those which had their edges 
straight. They acted, in fact, as a kind of saw, being drawn widi 
great force across a helmet or a coat of maiL The Boghall sword, 
a cut of which is here given, is 32\ inches long, and has engraved on 
it the word Mini, r^eated four times on each side of the blade, and 
some slight ornaments which very likely were trade marks. 

Bc^hall Castle, in a historical point c^ view, is not so remarkable 
as some other strongholds that could be named. We really know 
nothing of its early history. We cannot say what scenes of joy and 
sorrow, of peaceful entertainment or tumultuous oatrage, it may have 
witnessed in remote times. We only begin t« get some notices of it 
after it had been comparatively deserted by the Fleming family for 
Cumbernauld House. Still it is not altogether destitute of interest 
We have good reason for beHeving that it was often tenanted by the 
Scottish Icings, in their frequent progresses through this part of the 
kingdom. It was, along with the town and burgh of Biggar, and the 
acres lying thereabout, erected into a barony, called the Barony of 
Boghall, by a charter from James V. in 1538. Malcolm Lord 
Fleming, in his testament executed in 1547, assigned it as the jointure 
house of his wife, Joan Stewart, in case of her surviving him ; and she 
was to receive the whole 'insight,' or furniture, except the artillery, 
which was to be the property of his son and heir. It was besieged 
and taken by the Regent Murray, and maaj years afterwards by 
Oliver CromwelL It was, during the persecuting times, the jointure 
house of Anna Ker, Countess of Wigton, and was made memorable 
by the conventicles held, under her auspices, within its walls. The 
last garrison that it ever contained was placed in it by the Govern- 
ment, ta overawe the adherenta of the Covenant in Tweeddale and the 
Upper Ward. 

A large number of documents in the (diarter chest of the Wigton 
family refer ta BoghalL We select one or two specimens of the 
accounts of the domestic expenses of William, Earl of Wigton, during 
his residence at the Castle, from a large mass of papers of a similar 
kind. The first is a statement entitled — 

' Ane Accompt furnished to the hous of Boghall for his LoP'* use, beginning 

the 15*i> March 1675, to the 23^ thereof. 
Imprimis, Sis pound and a haU of butter at 0/ the lb. 01 IS 06 

It. Ane hondron veil . . . 04 00 00 



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BIOQAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHIHO. 



Brought forward. 


£06 12 06 


Aneebeep .... 


06 14 00 


Six peices of salt bedf * muttone . 


01 10 00 


(oreellt 


00 06 00 


fortroute . . . . ■ 


00 06 08 


for candle 3 pound 


00 15 00 


ten doaen and a balf of eeg^ at 1/8 the doien 


00 14 02 


for seven ksda d coalls 


03 13 06 


for girding hia LoPi brewing loonea 


00 08 00 


for a cboppine of brandie 


01 00 00 


for Clowes meant & peper 


00 04 00 


for wild fonlifl .... 


01 18 08 


for Bait 


00 01 01 


Given to mj brd to give to the poor 


00 06 00 


for A down of pjpeii .... 


00 02 00 


for corks peala & barme .... 


00 06 06 


for two capounea .... 


00 18 00 


for ane 07T chopen cd bnmdie 


01 00 00 


mor f JVC pynts rf wyn out of Bigar 


03 12 00 


mor je S2d of March 1676 too jAtca of aalt mutton 


and half ■ pmid of bater 


00 12 6 


mor too piece d mnton to jr Lordship's super and 


tno doeen of egee to yr br»k&st 


00 13 04 




£30 14 2' 



From other documents we observe tliat, during the same brief 
period, two pecks and two forpits of bear, at the cost of 29. 2d., were 
consumed at Bogholl; and that two bolls of malt, which cost L.2 
Scots, were ' browen' in the s&me place. 

' Acompt of my Lord'* expencea at Bigur fai 8"" of OcP to 12* yr of 1675. 
tem giveic to my Lord of Small mony ye 9>'> OctT 00 06 00 

tern payed at Jamea Carmichell'a on Saterday at night for four 

pynta of aill and 6 mnchkinee of seek . 03 02 00 

mor for 8 pynts of ail to ye servants . . 00 09 00 



chopin of seek and a duble gi 
ye morning 
Item half a doeen of pypea 



, and a pynt of aill 



item mor at yr Lo** coming fm Jamw Carmichdl on Sat«rdsy 

at night ane duble gill . . . 

[t«m yoDi Lo loat or payed on Sunday a dnble gill 

for yr LoP** footxoan qn you cam on Saturday morning at 

Js. Carmichell . 00 06 00 

Item On Monday morning yr wes a pynt of Seek, when yr Lo 

waa wt my lord Cumichell and ye reetof yegentaltmen, 

and two duble gills and 3 pynta d aill— Inde 02 19 00 



Carry forward. 



£09 00 UO 



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THE CASTLE OF BOGEALL 81 

Brought forward, . . £09 00 00 

ItoQ given to ye belkaan at yr Lo'' derectdon . 00 12 00 

Item to jre man jt went to Simderlaiid ball . 01 04 00 

Item to je man yt neat for Whetflled and Glenkerk 00 04 00 

It«m to ye woman jt brought ye gerae fro broughton . 01 04 00 

Item to ye lase ya mud ye becb, and swyped ye house . 00 16 00 

Item gven to Joa Chrictoone fiiBt 3 dolora q" yr LoP went to 
bronghton and when yr Lop came away thertae pood 
and to yr LoF'* self in amall money fyre pond . 41 14 00 

Aoompt of qt cam to ye bona of bt^hall ye Raid tym. 
Imp! for too pnnd of Bait bnter and too pnnd of freili bnter 
Item t(x ane aixpeuy loaf and 6 small bread 
Item tuo doeen and a half of egee and a pynt of milk 
Item tor a quarter of pnnd of ruainee and a qoarter of pond of 

fdomdaimeB .... 
Item for half peck of bv and a for pairt of Bah 
Item for ane ahep and a syd of mutton 
Item for tno pynte of Seek and a pynt of Brandy 
Iton for dz galanta and a haU of aill 
Item for a doaen of tuboco pypeB 
item for tno pund of oandell 
Item CKven to Hew Anderson for making ready my Lord's met 



Snma totaha 



£73 12 10' 



A number of tacks, agreements, and deeds, still preaerred, are dated 
' att BoghalL' The following letter, preserved in the archives of the 
family, ^though contmning no statement of any importance, may be 
interestmg to some inhabitants of the Biggai district, from having 
been written by William Earl of Wigton within the walls of the Castte. 
It is addressed — 'fibr Harie Drumond, Clarke to the Garisone off 
Dumbritoune Castell,' — Ids lordship being governor of that fortress, 
and head sbenff of Dumbartonshire : — 



'Habie 



'BooEAix, Sept. 30tli, 1< 



I received yours with the Hon^, and the Oonasell's Lettv and 
proclamalaone, I am not fnlly resolved as yett whither I keep the Hdttiug of 
the Shyre at Dnmbortone, or the Connsell, thej being both to hold, one the 
first tWMday of October ; bnt if I (x»ne not, I shall send tymous advertis- 
ment to the Shirff depot. Any letters you have to send to me from Dmn- 
bartone, send tbem with a sojer to John Carmichall, and he will send tliem 
to me. And send me a trwe account how tlie Hajtn^ is. Bo this bdng all 
at present from 

your asmrred freind, 

WiaTOUI4E. 

* Remember me to yr. wyfe. Be mindfoU in getting my tarriers from 
Hfarland. Remember me to Catiweillie and all aqwantancca.' 



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(3 BIGGAR AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

On the death of William Earl of Wigton in 1681, the greater part 
of tlie old furniture of Bogliall Castle was sold. An inventory of the 
sale has been preserved in the charter chest of the family; and us 
every scrap of information regarding this old fortress is interesting, 
we give a copy of this document. It is entitled an ' Acompt of the 
plenishing of the house of Boghall sold Julii 13, 1681.' 

' Itnpri'. the mustfatt and yuilie fatt sold to the Lady of Clo- 

bume . . . . . 10 00 

Itom more to hir aoe stand, ane say, ane kerne, and two four 

gallon trees . . . . . 03 04 

Item more to hir ane stooll and ane chamber pot . . 02 10 

Item to John Carmlchaell, in Cannichaell Hyln, two st&nds, 

two punsionea, and two four gallon trees, and a 

washing tub . . . 04 04 

Item to Andrew TeUer two stands, three four gallon trees, 

two tubes . . . . , 03 10 

Item to him two old coverings . . . . 03 06 8 

Item to Hr Anthony Hurray, ane say, a handy, and a seek 

ruidle . . . . 00 18 

Item to Mr Robert Scot ane fether bed, and three buffet stolles, 

aod two barrelled ..... 
Item, ane fether bed and bolster, and two coads to the Lodie 

Globume ...... 

Item, two kapee U> my lord Carmicliael 

Item, for a wheel to Mr Anthonic Murray 

Item to him ane baixell ..... 

Item to William Tait two very old coverings 

Item to Mr Richard Broune ane fether bed and bolster £12 

and ane suit of old strip hangings, £12, inde 
Item to bailzie Vallence tor two suit of old reed Courtaings 
Item to bailzie Kello ane fedder bed .... 
Item to the forsd John Cormichaell two calfe bolsteta 
Item Jenet Threipland in the Mylne, ane old grein table cloath 
Item to the Ladie Westahiell ane fether bed, ane bolster, and 

Cheiris resting that John Carmlchaell is to Compt for 
with my tadie ..... 

Item two milk bowes to the Lady Cultermainee 
Item to Hardingtoune's Woman halfe ane dozen of chaires, at 
2/ sterling, the peice, two candleatikee, six shillings 
sterling, ane bolster and two coads £4. 6. 8 inde . 
Item to hir ane chamber stooll and a chamber pot 
Item to hir ane chimney ..... 
Item to bailzie Carmichaell's wife three pair of tongee, a pair- 
Carry forward, 



12 06 





20 00 
04 12 
01 00 

00 08 

01 10 









24 00 

08 00 

09 00 
01 00 
00 14 









20 00 





100 17 
00 13 






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THE CASTLE OP fiOGHALL. 

Brought forward, 
ing iron, ane pair of clipea 30/ ane dieese fork and 
a chamber pot £l 14/ ane calfe bed £1 16/ ane milk 
tub 14/. inde .... 

Item for ane large fedder bed and bolster to the ladie hard- 
Item to Alexr. Bailzie, baiMe of Lammiugtoune, ane fedder 
bed and bolster .... 

Item halfe ane dozen of baawns to hir 

It«3u to baikie Vallance halfe ane dozen of old reed chairea 

Item to baiMe Broune fyve chairea 

Item t« bailzie Eello ane pot .... 

Item ane wheel to him 

Item to the ladie Lamingtoune two chamber stoles 

lt«m to the ladie Clobume ane etoll . 

Item to Kichard Broiine 3 chairea 

Item to the ladie Lamingtoune the chimney, in the drawing 

Item to Mr Richard Broune for a chimney 

Item to bailcie Vallence two beds 

Item to James Aikman ane reed bed and a fether bed 

Item to Robert Fftffsyth ane chair 

Item to Culterallere ane Caldrone 



16 00 

05 00 

03 06 

06 00 

04 13 4 

01 00 

02 00 
01 00 



12 10 

01 07 6 

20 10 

24 00 

01 04 

66 13 4 



'nies( 



le of the whull chai^ is 



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CHAPTER VII. 

I^^HB ChuTchjard of Biggar is of amall extent. It is hy no 
^1 , meana ia keeping ■with the populousnese of the parish, and 
^-*='' the Bpacioumesa of the church erected in its ceab'e. An 
addition was made to it, some years ago, by taking in a part 
of the glebe connected with the Established Church ; but it is still 
narrow and confined, and afibrda no space for the walks, shrubs, and 
flowers with which the tombs, in more modem cemeteries, are now 
generally adorned. The graves are too much crowded, and the tomb- 
stones, especially on the south, stand too closely together. None of 
the tomb-atones are remarkable for their design, ornamentation, or 
antiquity. They almost entirely consist of the plain upright head- 
stone, or the horizontal slab, generally called a ' through stane.' The 
oldest stones, so far as the inscriptions on them can be deciphered, do 
not go further back than the seventeenth century. The greater por- 
tion of them have been erected during the last fifty years, and few of 
them are without some lettering executed by the late James Wateon, 
mason, Westraw, who might justly have been styled the 'Old 
Mortality ' of the district, as he was oi^en to be seen plying hie moUet 
and chisel, not only in this churchyatd, but in those of the country 
round. 

Near the gateway is an obelisk, erected by the Lodge of Biggar 
Free Operatives, to the memory of Gavin Nicol, mason, on exceedingly 
bright and active member of the masonic fraternity, who died in 1819. 
Many persons yet alive will recollect the consequential stmt and air 
which he assumed when taking part in, the public masonic displays on 
8t John's Day. In his latter years he was chiefly employed in con- 
ve3ring the mail-bags to and from Mountbog, mounted on an ass. 
During the Peninsular War, Gavin heralded to the inhabitants of 
Biggar the intelligence of all the famous victeries achieved by the 
British arms. On these occadons his pocket-handkerchief was placed 
on the end of his staff in form of a fiag, and his progress through the 
town was quite an ovation. No sooner did he appear at the tovm- 
head'with his ass and his flag, and proclaim that some great battle 
had been fought and won, such as Salamanca, Vitteria, the Pyrenees, 
Waterloo, etc., than he was surrounded'by an excited crowd; and the 
shop of Eben Yoimg, tinsmith, was besieged, and his whole stock of 



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BIQQAIt CHDBCRTASD. W 

tm-homs carried off. Then, amid the nratiDg of horns and the (shee^- 
ing of the people, he iras conducted to the dwelling of the pott- 
mftster, Mr Alexander Mnltrie, where the bag waa opened, and the 
details of the battltt irere read Co the crowd amid loud huzzas. 

At no great distance from this monument is the burying-place of 
the Gladstones family. This family, it ii understood, have bad a long 
oonnection with Biggar. We Inow that in the early part of' last 
century three of the chief men of the town bore that name, and had 
all families. These were William, a merchant, whose spouse was 
Janet How ; James, who was by profession a maltman, and whose 
wife was Jean Telfer ; and John, who was also a maltman, a burgess 
of the town, and proprietor of Mid Toftcomba. John was born in 
1694, aad took in marriage Janet Aitken, by whom he had a large 
bmily. Hb eldest son, Thomas, left his native place, and settled as 
a victual-dealer in the Coal Hill, Leith, where he prosecuted his 
business with success, and realized a considerable fcwttme. He married 
Helen, a daughter of Walter Neilson of Springfield, by whom he had 
a son, John, who commenced business in Leith ; but being liasuccess- 
ful, he proceeded to iJTerpool; where he embarked in the West Indiji 
trade, and acquired so great wealth that Le was able to ^nrchase the 
estate of Fasque, and to give each of his sons, during his lifetime, 
L.100,000. He waa created a baronet on the »7th of June 1846. 
By his second wife, Ann, daughter of Andrew RobeniAon, Prorost of 
Dingwall, he had fonr sons — Thomas, Robertson, John Neilson, and 
William Ewart The last named Is well known as an eminent scholar, 
orator, and statesman. He is the author of various works, and at 
present, 1862, holds the high and very important offices of Chancellor 
of the Exchequer, and Rector of the Univerrity of Edinborgfa. 

Here we note the resting-place of the Kelloes, a very old BiggAr 
family. In a list of the parishioners of Biggar, in 1640, in the 
archives of the Wlgton family, John Kello is g^vea as one of thenL 
About the same period, Greorge Kello and his son received a dispori- 
tion of two oxengates of land In Biggar, and, in 1681, John Kello 
was one of tlie bailies of Bi^;ar. On the family tomb-Stone we notice 
the name of Agnes Kello, a lady who acquired some celebrity in her 
time, and therefore deserves to be specially mentioned. She was 
the daughter of Andrew KeUo, t«nant in Skirling Mill, and portioner 
in Biggar, who died in 1763, when she was a child. Her mother, 
whose name was Janet Wataon, outlived her husband fifly-tlhree years, 
and died in 1616, in the eighty-fifUi year of her age. 

Miss Kello was a lady of considerable peraonal attractions, gteat 
amiability of disposition, and of fortune somewhat beyond persons in 
her station of life. The charms of her person were set off to advan- 
tage by the neatness and elegance of het- dress, partictJaVly on Sun- 
days, when she attended divine service in the Burgher meeting-house 
at Biggar. No young woman entered the old town on whom all per- 



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« BIOGAB AND THE HUUSE OF FLEHIKQ. 

sons smiled so cuinplacentlj, and none enjoyed a larger share of ad- 
miration aad respect. It is a proof of the impression vhich she made, 
and the estimation in which she was held, that, Qiougb it is upwards 
of sixty years unce she was laid in her grave, her name is a household 
word in Biggar to this day. 

As might be expected, Miss Kello had many suitors for her hand. 
They were, in tact, as nomerous as those who came to woo ' Tibbie 
Fowler of the Glen.' Farmers, lairds, students, and tradesmen were 
all ambitious to secure her favourable regard. One of her most per- 
severing suitors was William Sim, then schoolmaster at Qnothquan, a 
rare compound of bitter envy, spiritual pride, lofty aspirations, and 
learned preten^ons. There is no proof that he erer received from her 
the smallest encouragement; and so, wearied with sending her tetters, 
he took leave of her in an indignant epistle, which he addressed to her 
on the 2d of June 1 769, and a copy of which he has preserved in one 
of the volumes of hia manuscript memoirs. A suitor of a far higher 
stamp made advances to her at one time, and was accepted. This 
was the famed Professor Lawson of Selkirk, The day for the nuptials 
was fixed, and the intended bride and her relatives had made all the 
necessary arrangements. The Professor had a most extraordinary 
memory for all kinds of sacred and human learning, but it appears 
that he had a most unaccountable obhviousness regarding some of 
the most important concerns of this world. At all events, he forgot 
the time that he had stipulated for the marriage. The banns were 
unproclaimed, and the lovely and amiable maid of Skirhng Mill was 
left to neglect. She was, however, possessed of firmness and spirit ; 
and when the oblivious Professor returned to consciousness, she re- 
jected his advances, and resolutely refused to reinstate him in the 
place which he had forfdted. 

The admirer with whom she gained the greatest notoriety was 
Patrick Taylor of Birkenshaw, in the pariah of Toiphi<dien, near Bath- 
gate. He first saw her at a Skirling F^. Her personal graces, and 
the fact that she posseased a fortune of L.2000, made her very attrac- 
tive in his eyes. He subsequently paid his addresses to her, and being 
a showy, specious feUow, succeeded in making some impression on her 
heart. By pursuing a course of reckless dissipation, he had reduced 
himself to bankruptcy, and this rendered him altogether unacceptable 
to Miss Eello's relations. After an intimacy of eighteen months, he 
gave her a document declaring her to be his just and lawful wife, and 
received one from her of a siinilar import in return. The following 
is a transcript of the document presented by her to Taylor : — 

' SxiBLiNO Mill, 16th Feb. 1779. 

' I hereby solemnly declare you, Patrick Taylor, in Birkenshaw, tny jnst 
and lawful husband, and remun your affectionate wife, 

' AaHxs Eello.' 

These documents were kept secret by both parties; but the copy in 



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BIGQAB CHURCHTABD. 67 

Misa Kello'i hands Having been discovered by her mother, she caused 
her to destroy it, and to write to Taylor, requeatiag him to give up 
his copy. liiiB he refused to do, iinieas he recdved L.500, He con- 
tinned, occasionally, aiVer this period, to pay visits to Skirling Mill, 
and employed Jriends to intercede with Miss Kello'a relatsves in his 
behalf. He so far succeeded, that, in the spring of 1780, their banns 
were twice proclaimed; but some of the lady's friends, who were 
obstinately opposed to the union, prevented them from being pro- 
claimed a third time. For two years afterwards thdr meetiugi were 
very unfrequent; and from 178S to 1784 they ceased altogether. 

Another candidate now appeared for the baud of Miss Kello. 'Hiis 
was a gentleman of wealth and respectability from the neighbotirhood 
of Whitburn. His suit was successful, and preparations were made 
for the marriage. Taylor, getting notice of this arrangement, imme- 
diately took steps to prevent its being carried into effect, by declaring 
that Miss Kello was already his wife. The case having been brought 
before the Commissuy Court, was argued at great length ; and the 
decision given was, that, according to the law of Scotland, they were 
married partiea. Every effort was made, first by a bill of advocation, 
and afterwards by a reclaming petition, to reduce this sentence in 
the Court of Sesuon, but without effect; and therefore the case was 
carried, by appeal, to the House of Lords. Their lordships, on the 
16th of February 1787, reversed the decisions of the Scottish Courts, 
declaring, 'that the two letters insisted upon in this process by the 
parties respectively, and mutually exchanged, were not intended by 
either, or understood by the other, as a final agreement; nor was it 
mtended or understood that they had thereby contracted the state of 
matrimony, or the relation of husband and wife from the date thereof. 
On the contrary, it was expressly agreed, that the same should be 
delivered up, if the purpoee they were intended to serve should prove 
unattainable, and if such delivery should be demanded ; which last- 
mentioned agreement is further proved by the whole and uniform 
subsequent conduct of both parties.' 

These harassing proceedings, although so far successful, had an 
injurious effect on Miss Kello's health and spirits. She never re- 
gained her former sprightliness and gaiety. She retired, in a great 
measure, from general society; and, along with her mother, took up 
her abode In the town of Bi^ar, where she died in 1796, in the thirty- 
second year of her age, and was interred in Bi^ar Churchyard. 

Not &r from the waU of the church is the resting-place of John Cree, 
Procurator-fiscal of Biggar, who died on the 17th December 1796, in 
the eighty-ninth year of fais age; and also o( his son Mathew, who 
held the office of Baron Bailie twenty-spven years, and died on the 
7th of July 1832. He was one of the most mild and conciliatory 
magistrates that ever exercised authority in Biggar, or anywhere else. 
His common advice to disputants was, 'Tak a gill and 'gree;' and thus 



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« BIOOAB AND TBE HOUSE OF FLEUIMO. 

■eenu to have been an impIioU believer in BonU' opinion, that 'it's 
aye the ohespeflt lawyer'a fee to taste the barrel' He long officiated 
as an elder in the parish church. His only acting colleague in this 
office, for many years, was John Punnan, who was generally denomi- 
nated The Elder. These two worthies were great cronies, and had 
nutnj a pleasant confabulation over a single glass of whisky pnnch ; 
far they were remarkably circumspect in their conduot, and never 
exceeded in their potations. The Elder was in the habit of pro- 
nouncing any untoward circumstance, 'A fair smook;' and this 
phrase became quite proverbial in fiiggar. On one occasion, a per- 
son called on the Elder in regard to a case of acandal, and invited 
him to a public-house to talk over the steps he would re<iuire to 
take, to bft restored to his position in the Cbun^. When the Elder 
was thawed a little with the toddy, the offender ventured to hint that 
there were two cases of scandal ' Futh, then, Davie lad,' said the 
Elder, ' we maun hae another half mutchkln.' On another occasion, 
he complained bitterly to the parish minister of the annoyance re- 
ceived from the paupers of the parish, and the heavy demands made 
for their support. The minister exhorted lii'" to courage, and said, 
' But, John, think of the reward promised in another world.' John's 
answer was, 'Faith, a bird in the band is worth twa in the buss.' 

In the tomb of his forefathers also sleeps Gavin Cree, son of Mathew 
Cre^ just referred to. Gavin followed the same profesuon, viz., 
diat of a nurseryman. In 1812 he was appointed paymaster to the 
French prisoners who were located at Biggar, and ever afterwards 
was extremely loquacious on the characters and proceedings of these 
unfortunate sons of Mars. He long took a deep interest in the pros- 
perity of his native town. Ue was an active manager of some of its 
benefit societies. At the yearly display of the Whipmen's Society, in 
the middle of June, he was always iu high spirits, arranged the races 
and sports that took place on the occasion, and catered largely for the 
gratification of the juvenile portion of the population. He held the 
rank of sergeant in the corps of the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cavalry, 
and regularly, for many years, attended the musters on Lanark Muir. 
Mr Cree, however, gained his chief distinction by his laborious study 
and exertions to improve the methods of pruning forest trees. His 
attention was drawn at an early period to this subject, and one of 
the first trees on which be experimented was the most notable in 
Biggar. It was usually styled, the 'Deil's Tree;' and every youth 
lirmly believed that on very dark nights evil spirits were wont to hold 
their rendezvous under its shade; and therefore a great amount of 
courage was requisite to pass it after nightfall. Mr Cree procured a 
ladder and a saw, and, greatly to the amazement of young and old, 
cut off bough after bough, regardless either of fiend or fairy, and left 
it one of the most stunted and uncouth objects that cotdd well be 
conceived. He continued his experiments wherever an opportunity 



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BIOQAB CHUROUYASD. 93 

conld he obtained, and he wrote several papers illustrative of his sys- 
tem, for the 'Quarterly Journal of Agric^ture.' The Highland and 
Agricultural Sodety of Scotland having had their attention caUed to 
the subject, offered, in 18S6, several prizes for essays on ihe best 
method of pmning forest trees. Mr Oree acoordingly enterod the 
arena as a competitor, and succeeded in carrying off one of the 
Society's silver medals. The dlstinguishiDg pecidiairily of Mr Cree's 
system^— the shortening the branches, instrad of cutting them off by 
the trunk — attracted the attention of several distinguished botanists, 
among whom may be mentioned Mr Louden, and Professors Balfour 
and Loir. Some of the systems propounded by others, particularly by 
Mr Bellington, one of the Keepers of the Koyal Forest, were nearly 
similar to that of Mr Cree, but they failed to give to precisdy the 
rule of practioe; aid therefore Professor Low, in his 'Elements of 
Agriculture,' states, that the coimtry is highly indebted to Mr Cree 
for bringing *his system to a point of improvement never before 
known. In May 1648, the London Society of Arts awarded Mr Cree 
a gold medal for the best essay, < On the treatment of Forest l^ees, 
where early pruning has been neglected; on the practioe of Foreshort- 
ening, and how far advisable; and the physiologiciil prindplea of its 
adoption.' This honour' afforded Mr Cree the highest grotifioation. 
On all public occasionB the medal appeared on his breast; and he 
spoke with rapture of the distinction of receiving an invitation to 
attend a meeting in London, to receive the medal from the bands of 
Prince Albert,— ^n invitation, however, with which he had been unable 
to comply. His system having thus been brought favourably under 
the notice of his countrymen, he was to 'be oftrai seen in a solituy 
plantation, with bis ladder and his saw, disencumbering the trees of 
their suprainous branches. On one or two occasions, be appeared in 
working order in the metropolis of Scotland, and, greatly to the hor- 
ror of the uninitiated, committed sad havoc among the goodly bought 
of the trees in the Meadows, and the Gardens of Princes Street, and 
the Royal 'Terrace; but these trees have long since borne ample testi- 
mony to the advantageous results of hb operations. Some years ago, 
Mr Cree published his 'Essays on Pruning,' in a collected form, 
which, we understand, met with a ready sale. He died, after a short 
illness, on the 17t)i of June 1860. 

Here is the resting-place of John Paiiman, artist, who deserves to 
be noticed, not leas on account of his merits as a painter, than on 
acoonnt of his amiable character, his cultivated understanding, and 
public useAUness. He was the second son of Robert^airman, former, 
Staine, in the parish of Biggar, and was bom in 1786. He received 
his education at the schools of his native plaoe, and then went to 
Glasgow as an apprentice to a draper. At the expiry of hia appren- 
ticeship, he returned to Biggar; and there, in the shop now occupied 
by Mr G^rge Johnstone, commenced bunness on his own ooootmt. 



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70 , BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHDIO. 

Bj this time he had begun to devote hia thoughts and hia leuure 
hoora to drawing sketches from the objects around him. One of the 
first portraits that he attempt«d, was that of his brother Bobert, mer- 
chant, Biggnr. He wrought at this quite stealthily. One day he 
▼entoied to show it to his minister, the Bev. John Brown, who bad 
acddentally called at Mb shop. He made no disclosnre or the person 
whom he intended to represent, but Mr Brown at once said, 'That is 
your brother.' This gratified him exceedingly, as it showed that he 
could sow sketcJi a countenance that could be redemised. After 
paindng a number of portraits and local scenes, he abandoned his shop 
at Bi^sr, and repaired to Glasgow, where he took lodgings, and, 
though entirely self-taught, and without patronage of any sort, he 
commenced business as a portrait painter. A^er spending some years 
in Glasgow, he left it, and proceeded to the Scottish capital, as likely 
to afford a better field for his exertionB, and there he fixed his head- 
quarters till his death. During the summer months, he was in the 
habit of visiting some of the principal towns of Scotland, and there 
painting portraits of clergymen and other noted personages. The 
first full-length portrait that he punted, was one of the Uev. John 
Brown, Biggar; and though it is more than forty years ago, the 
colours are still fresh,, and the picture is conswlercd a good likeness by 
those who knew Mr Brown in his younger days. At a later period, 
he painted another portrait of Mr Brown, which was considered so 
striking a resemblance that an engraving was taken from it. Among 
the portraits of other celebrities, painted by Mr Pairman, was one of 
Professor Lawson of Selkirk, which was afterwards engraved. Mr 
Pairman, however, did not confine his attention to portraits; he also 
painted landscapes, groups, and. fancy pictures, somewhat in the style 
of Wilkie. These were sent to the different exhibitions in Edin- 
burgh, obtained very favourable notices, and sold readily. The last 
landscape that he painted, was a bridge over the Almond, a small 
stream not far from Edinburgh. It is in the possession of his brother 
Robert, along with a number of other memorials, particularly a view 
of Tinto, taken fVom the High Street of Bi^^ar. 

Mr Paiiman was a member of the session of the congregation, 
Broughton Place, Edinburgh, under the pastoral care of Uie Rev. Dr 
Brown. Be took a deep interest in all mattera connected with that 
congregation, and was at the head of every scheme of usefulness. He 
piud great attention to the wants of the poor, and had an evid^it 
delight in attending fellowship and district prayer-meetings. He was 
greatly esteemed for his mild, conciliatory manners, his ardent piety, 
his unwearied diligence in doing good, and his enlightened and in- 
structive converaation. He died suddenly, at his house in Edinburgh, 
on the 14th December 1818, in the fifly-fiAh year of his age. 

We mark the tomb of Thomas Johnston, merchant, Biggar, and his 
spouse, Janet Brown. Beade them repose the remains of their eldest 



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BIGOAB CBUBCHYABD. 71 

■on, Robert, who was bom at Biggar on the 6tli of December 1764, 
and vai baptized on tbe 12tii of the same month by the Kev. John 
Low. He received hia education at Biggar pariah school, and there 
made some progress in the ordinary branches of learaing — reading, 
writing, and arithmetic, including the rudiments of Latin. Afl«r 
leaving school, he learned the art of weaving ; and on the expiry of 
his apprentioeship, wrought some time as a journeyman weaver in the 
titj of Glasgow. Returning to his native town, he settled down as a 
merchant, and carried on a fair business for a niunber of years. In 
1808 he married Violet, daughter of the Rev. John Brown of Whit- 
bom, and sister of the Rev. John Brown, then minister of the Secession 



Mr Johnston's vocation as a merchant not only brought him into 
contact with most of the worthies who, during his time, flourished in 
the Biggar district, but allowed him sufficient leisure to cultivate an 
acqnuntance with literature, both ancient and modem. He was in 
daily converse with shrewd, practical farmers, learned and eccentric 
schoolmasters, grave and gifted divines, and intelligent and sagacious 
weavers, shoemakers, and other craftsmen. He would discuss a 
mathematical problem or an algebraical equation with Robert Wbit- - 
law, the Symington weaver ; canvass the merits of a favourite poet, or 
the contradictions of human nature, with James Brown, the Symington 
poet, or James Affleck, the Bi(^ar tailor ; dive into the perplexing 
intricodes of politics, or the abstruse subtleties of theology, with John 
M'Ghie, the Big^iar shoemaker, or Daniel Litbgow, the Biggar weaver; 
enjoy the devotiontd gravities and amusing pedantries of Adam Thom- 
son, schoolmaster, Quothquan, or William Sim, the peripatetic dominie 
and philosopher, Bi^or ; and then, as his nephew, Dr Brown of Edin- 
burgh, has told us, he would every Friday evening repair to the 
Burgher manse, and with his pAei brother-in-law, the Rev. John 
Brown, range over all topics, from the elegancies and niceties of 
clasuc lore, to the humours and pleasantries of village gosap. Besides, 
he was very often chosen a referee in disputed cases, especially among 
the weavers ; and thus his mental acumen was sharpened by coming 
into collision with such acute intellects as Andrew Brown, John BaiUie, 
Allan Whitfield, etc He thus acquired a very intimate knowledge 
of the inhabitants of the Biggar district, and to the last retained a very 
lively remembrance of their habits, peculiarities, and proceedings. 

Mi Johnston cultivated a close and extensive acqumntance with the 
English classic authors. He never could be brought to devote any 
attention to the works of many modem writers, particularly of fiction, 
of whose productions the present age has been very much enamoured. 
He seemed to regard them as altogether unworthy of notice. But the 
works of Shakspeare, Milton, Pope, Swift,' Hume, Addison, Burke, 
Johnson, he read over repeatedly, and knew all their sentiments and 
peculiarities of style intimately. He had a high appreciation of 



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n BIOGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUING. 

Mveral of the Edinburgh Re'riewen, partictiUr I7 of Je&ey, Mlntoih, 
Brougliam, and Maoaulay; aad no literary produotiooi ever ofibrded 
him greater delight than the poeti^ and novels of Sir Walter Soott 
Down to the very close of his life, he erery now and then peruaed one 
of Sir Walter's novels ; and he seemed to enjoj its g«iiiai ItiUQonri its 
vivid portraitures of character, snd its happy ezpositioss of oatioual 
feelings and peculiarities, vith as muoh relish as ever. One of th« 
mos& remarkable traits in Mr Johnston's oharaoter wu the assiduous 
manner in which he devoted himself to actjuire a knowledge of 
languages, both anoieiit and modem. lie was, in his latt«r years, 
when we knew him beat, well versaut in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, B'rench, 
Spanish, Italian, and German. He hod read repeatedly the works of 
the best Greek and Roman authors, and partiaularly diose of Tirgil, 
Horace, Livy, Ccesar, Suetonius, Xenop^txi, Theocritus, and, above 
all, of Homer, as he made it a matter of coDsaenceto read the Hiad 
and Odyssey from beginning to end every two or three yean. He 
had perused the Greek New Testament so frequently, that he knew 
almost every passage in it by heart. He had read all the Hebrew of 
the Old Testament, but he did not oultirato so olose an acquaintanoe 
with the Chiddee. With the works of Schiller, Tasso, and Cervantes, 
he was very familiar in the languages in which tiiey were originally 
written ; and he bad a special pleasure in monng over the iiroducti<His 
of Toltaire, Rousseau, Le Sage, Montesquieu, and other great French 
writers. He had, perhaps, a more minute acquaintance with the 
French language than any other, except bid owa; at least, it was 
the only foreign language in which he occasionally attempted to hold 
conversation. 

Another department of learning to which Mr Johnston specially 
devoted himself, was geometry and algebra. Ijke inost men of 
Uteraiy habits, he was rather of an indolent disposition, so far as 
manual labour was concerned ; but in studying a daasio author, or 
working out a mathematical demonstration, he would toil for days 
and weeks with the most unwearied application. He often gave him- 
self a great deal of unnecessary labour. He disregarded all adventi- 
tious helps. He had no patience with pessaries and commentaries. 
An old text-book and a oommoD dictionary were the only tools with 
which he would work. In algebra he had great enjoyinent in evolving 
a general formula for himself, though it should cost him wettb of 
close study ; and many of his processes were original deducdons to 
himself. They had long been previously known to regularly educated 
men; and he might have been acquainted with them too, had he been 
disposed to take a little trouble ta ascertain what discoveries had been 
made by other inquirers. 

Mr Johnston's contributions to literature were not numerous, oon- 
sidehug that he devoted a great part of a long life to the pursuit of 
knowledge. We know that he contributed to ' TTie Christian Repoai- 



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BIQQAS CHURCHTABD. TS 

tory,' edited at Biggar by his brotlier-ia-law, the Rev, Jolm Brown, 
a series of articles on the ' Histoiy of the Secesuon Church,' a paper 
on ' A Com of Wheat Falling into the Ground,' and ' A Eeriew of 
Sir Hony Moncreif s Life of Dr John Erskine.' For a periodical 
called ' The Christian Gleaner,' he wrote ' A Memoir of Betty Gibson,' 
and, for the ' Eclectic Review,' a cridqne oa Dr John Brown's ' Ex- 
position of First Peter.' A sermon on the text, 'There remaineth 
much land to be possessed,' which wae preached by the Rev. John 
Brown before the Secession Synod, and afterwards published, gave 
great offence to some of the iiiends of the Established Church, and 
called forth a number of very severe strictures. The Bev. Alexander 
Ctaik of Libberton, in particular, entered the lists, and published a 
censorious pamphlet against the assertions mode in the sermon. Mr 
Johnston followed with a pamphlet, entitled, ' Letter by a Friend of 
the Church,' which his nephew, Dr Brown, characterizes as ' a capital 
bit of literary banter.' llie following pamphlets were also from Mr 
Johnston's pen : — ' On the Abolition of Slavery ;' ' Calm Answers to 
certain Angry Questions proposed to Voluntary Churchmen;' and 
' A Digest of the Evidence on the Connection of Bible Societies witb 
the Circulatioii of the Apocrypha.' He furnished many articles to the 
' Scottish Herald,' the ' Scottish Press,' and the ' Kirkcaldy Observer.' 
Two of the largest works with which he was connected were a trans- 
lation of Calvin and Stones work on Philippians, and a translation of 
tiie Mesmanic Psalms of RosenmUUer. To both of these works he 
furnished lengthened prefaces. 

Mr Johnston was a person of very diffident and retiring habits. 
He had an extreme repugnance to pat himself forward in any way 
before the public, or even before strangers with whom he accidentally 
came in contact. Every one who met him knew that he was a 
thoughtful, intelligent man ; but it was only his intimate friends who 
were aware of the extent of his eritdition, or the learned inquiries in 
which he was diuly engaged. He had talents and acquirements fitting 
him to occupy a high position in life ; but from an unconquerable 
< aversion to push himself forward, and make his merits and his claims 
known, he passed through life in comparative obscurity. Witii one, 
or at most two intimate friends, he could descant whole evenings on 
themes of high import, delight them with anecdotes of Biggar men, or 
dissect the merits of a favoiuite author ; but before a mixed company 
he was generally silent, or, if forced to speak, he generally made a 
very poor appearuice. He, in fact, hated all public display, both on 
his own part and that of others. If left to his own judgment, he 
would not go a yard to see an exhibition, or attend a festive meeting. 

Mr Johnston, in the latter part of his life, left Biggar with his 
family, resided for some years in Edinburgh, and then removed to 
Portobello. He died at this latter place, after a short illness, on 
Tuesday, the 17tb April 1860, having reached the seventy-fiflh year 



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74 BIOGAR AND THE HOUBE OF PLEMIHG. 

of his age. His wife, Violet Brown, was, in her w&y, a remarliable 
woman. Her intellectaal powen were atrong and discriminating, and 
her memoiy was wonderfoJly tenacious and accurate. It was always 
a pleasing treat to us to sit and hear her discant on the incidents of 
her early days, spent at Longridge and Bigg^. She died at Porto^ 
bello on the 22d of February 1861, and was interred also in the 
Churchyard of Biggar. 

Ht and Mrs Johnston left; behind them three sons and two 
daughters. The oldeet Bon, Thomas, is settled in Glasgow as a medical 
practitioner. Like his father, he is fond of all sorts of books, and has 
a tirst-rate knowledge of bia profession, and a great hatred of humbugs, 
especially of medical humbugs. He occationally lecttires on sinentific 
subjects before some of tbe literary societies of Glasgow. Theit 
second son, John, is miniater of the United Presbyterian congregation, 
Duke Street, Glasgow. He was for some time editor of the ' Scottish 
Press,' and is the author of a work entitled, ' The life and Remains of 
the Rev. Robert Shirra of Kirkcaldy.' He is a very popular preacher ; 
and, a short time ago, one of the American colleges confeired on him 
the degree of Doctor in Divinity. The youngest son, Robert, is a 
United Presbyterian minister at Arbroath. He was edncated at the 
High School of Edinburgh, and carried off the chief prizes at all the 
classes which he atl«Qded, inclading that of the Rector's. He also 
received the gold medal for being the best scholar of the senior 
Humanity class at the UniTeruty of Edinburgh. He took the degree 
of LL.B. at the Univereity of London, and at one time was employed 
in superintending some of the Latin educational works published by 
the Messrs Chambers of Edinburgh. 

Mr Thomas Johnston, merchant, Biggar, had several sons beddes 
Robert, to whom we have just referred. Iliey all devoted themselves 
to the learned professions. James, a very amiable man, and a most 
respectable medical practitioner, is settled at Limekilns. Ebeneier, 
formerly connected with the Established Church, and now Free Church 
minister at Bannockbum, is a man of capital scholarship and great 
humour ; and William, who is minister of the United Presbyterian 
congregation at Limekilns, is a person whose abili^, learning, and 
great moral worth, have not only given him a high place in the 
United Presbyterian Church, bat throughout a mnch wider section of 
the community. 

In tiie north part of the Oiurchyard is a vault without grace or 
ornament, and, in fad, of so rude a construction as to be even an 
eyesore among the humble stones by i^ch it is surrounded. Beneath 
it repose the ashes of Thomas Ord, the famous equestrian, and his 
first wife. Mr Ord's early history is obscure. It has been stated 
that he was the son of the Rev. Selby Ord, minister of Longformacns ; 
that he was for some time a medical student ; and that, being of a 
roving disposition, he threw aside the lancet and dissecting-knife, and 



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BIQQAB CHUHCHTABD. 76 

enlisted into a cavalry F^;iment, in which he aerted till a friend of 
hia father purchased his discharge. On the other band, it baa been 
asserted that he engaged himself, when a boy, to a distinguished 
equestrian of the name of M'Dondd, with whom he served five yean. 
In hU siKteenth year, it is said, he started as an equestrian on his own 
account, and in this charact«r made his dtAut at Kelso. However 
this may be, it is certain that, at an early part of his career as a master 
aqaeBtrian, he drew a company around him, and performed with 
eclat in many of the smaller towns of Scotland Having great con- 
fidence in bis own abilities, and encouraged by the sncceas which had 
attended his previous efforts, he set up regular establishments in 
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dondee, Perth, Inverness, Dumfries, 
et<!., and everywhere received substanlial marks of public favour. He 
then made a descent into England, and perfoimed in a number of the 
large towns in the sist«r kingdom ; but here his good fortune forsook 
him. His heavy expenditure in attempting to cater for the amuse- 
ment of the Southrons was not always covered by the rec^pts, and, 
in the end, he was forced to dispose of the greater part of hb stud, to 
break up his troupe of artistes, and return to Scotland in compaiadve 
poverty. AAer Uiis period he carried on his business in a more 
humble manner, keeping a small establishment, performing in the 
open air, and looking for remuneration to the disposal of lottery 
tickets. By prudence and economy, he amassed a sum of upwards of 
L.200Q, wl^di he invested in the Berwick Bank. This establishment, 
unfortunately, failed, and our equestrian again lost all his hard-won 
earnings. Nothing daunted, he still pursued his career, and ere long 
acquired such a sunt as enabled him to purchase a small proper^ at 
Biggar, which he afterwards regarded as his head-quarters. He had 
a higher appreciation of Biggoi than any other town of Scotland, and 
here he erected hia last circus, or amphitheatre, as it was called, in the 
spring of 1844. It was a substantial erection of wood, and had the 
sixigularity of standii^ on a part of hia own grounds, and within a few 
yards of his own house. The interior contained the usual accommo- 
dation of boxes, pit, and gallery, and was fitted up with a considerable 
degree of elegance. The entertainments consisted both of equestxiap 
and theatrical performances. On the 4th of April he presented a 
grand dramatic spectacle, written by a townsman, entitled 'The Battle 
of Biggar,' with appropriate scenery, such as the English Camp on the 
Burgh Muir, the Cadger's Brig, the Cave of Threpland, etc. This 
undertaking, notwithstanding his vigorous efibrts to present attractive 
amusements, failed to command an adequate measure of support. In 
the bill announdng his benefit for the evening of the 11th of April, 
he consequently thought fit to publish the following card ; 

'Mr Otd rtqiectfully takes leave to state to the gentry and public in 
genoal of Biggar and its populous viduity, that, in consequence of the 



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76 BIGGAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEUIMG. 

my liboal enconragemeiit he receiTed on his fonner visito, he wM deter' 
mined to Bpare no ezpenae in putting up ki MnphitiieAtra for th^ amDM- 
meat, vrbere equestrian exerdaeB in Hie circle, &nd drvurtic entertaimnente 
on the stage, aided by appropriate Kenery and wai^lrobe, might be alter- 
nately diiplay ed, in the hope (d a contiunaldon of that patronage, which had 
hitlierto crowned big efforts to pleaae. In the attempt he haa entirely failed, 
being a conmderable later from the opening of the eetabliahment to the pre- 
■ent time ; and as the leason is nor at a cloae, he tnute he wiU not be 
deemed impertinent in reepectfuUy and eameaUy soliciting the countenanoe 
of hia friend* in particular, and the pnbUc at large, on tioK occasion, tnuting 
the numerous amusementa selected will merit the approbation of tlie visitoiB 
to his amphitheatre. 

^ *Ti8 not in mortis to command sncceas : 
I hare done more, I've stodied to deoerre it.' 
Hia last appearance on horseback was at Thornhill, on the 29th 
September 1859. He proceeded with hia company to Ayrshire, and 
intended to take part in the performances at Galaton and other towns ; 
but he became indisposed, and at his own request was conveyed to 
bis home at Biggar. Here he grew gradually worse, and at last 
closed his earthly career on the 27tb December following, aged up- 
wards of eighty years, and his remuns were interred in the Tanlt to 
which we have referred. A proposal was made, at the time of his 
death, to raise ^ subscription to erect a monument to his memory ; but 
it appears never to have been actively pro8ecut«d, and may now be 
>ud to be abandoned. Mr Ord was temperate in his habits, charitable 
in his dispontion, and opposed to anything' like fraud or gambling. 
He was an equesti'iaa of the first order. In the heyday of his strength 
and success, he challenged the renowned Andrew Ducrow to a tcial of 
skill for L.500; but the latter refused to peril his reputation by enter- 
ing the lists against so fearless and agile a competitor. 

Several of the- stones mark the resting-place of the baron bailies of 
Biggar, some of whom presided over the destinies of the little com- 
munity for many yean. We specially notice that of Bailie Alexander 
Wardlaw, to whose memory a marble slab was erected in tbe eastern 
wall of the church, with an epitaph from the pen of the famous 
Scottish poet, Allan Ramsay. The whole inscription on tLe tablet 
is as follows : — 
' Alexander Wardlaw, Chamberlain to the Right Honorable the Earl of 
Wigtoun, dyed 16th Usrch 1721, aged 67 yean. 
' Here lyea a man whose upright heart 

With virtue was profusely stor'd, 
Who acted well the honest part 

Between the tennants and their lord, 
' Betwixt the sands and flinty rock, 

Thus steer'd he in the golden m«n j 



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BIOGAR CHUKCHYABD. 77 

While hifi bl^e conntenAnce bespoke 

A mind mumllied Emd Berene. 
' As to the Bruce tie Flemtng proT'd 
Faithinle, bo to the Flemiiig'a her 
WudlAw behav'd, and was bdov'd, 

For JDBticfl, candour, faitli, and care. 
* Hie merit ahall praerre hia name 

To lat«6t ages free from nut, 
'nU the Archangel laiae his frame, 
To joyn his aoul amongst the juat. 
' Hoc monimientnm ponit Joannee Wardlaw Alexandri filins.' 
It ia rather a noticeable feature in the tomb-stonee of Biggar 
Churchyard, that few of them contain poetical intcriptionB. The only 
other inscription of this kind which we have noticed or heard of, is 
on a stone erected to the memory of Janet Jenkisoo. The whole 
inscription on the stone is as follows : — 

' Here Ilea the body of Janet Jenkison, daughter of Jamea Jenkiaon, 
borgew, fiiggai, and aponae of Hogh Somerral, wright in Dolphinton, 
who died the 20th day of Febnuuy 1734, aged 9S yean. 
' At this cold pillow liea her head, 
And hopee to riae with Jaoob's seed ; 
Prodent ahe was in virtue's walk, 
And to do good in moderate talk.' 
This is, no donbt, the composition of a local poet ; but it does not im- 
press us with very exalted notions of the manner in which poeti; and 
grammar were cultivated in the district at the period to which it refers. 
In this churchyard lie the ashes of many other men who, in their 
day, enjoyed considerable local celebrity ; but it would swell this 
work to an undue size to descant on th^ history and characteristics. 



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CHAPTER VIII. 

fUKING the 350 years occi^ied by the Romans in attempting to 
conquer Scotland, a revolutioa took place in the religious 
opinions of the people. The Dniidical system, although em- 
bracing such truths as that there is only one God, that the 
soul is immortal, that men nill be punished or reworded in a future 
state according to the actions which they have performed on earth, 
etc., yet, consisting as it principally did of frivolous and debasing rites, 
particularly that of offering human sacrifices, it could not stand before 
tho power and progress of divine knowledge. The individual or in- 
dividuals who first introduced the light of Christianity into the Brilish 
Isles, are not certainly known. The likelihood is, that during some of 
the rigorous persecutions carried on by the Roman emperors against 
the early Christians, which was the means of dispersing them over 
aU parts of the known world, some of the converW found their way 
to Britain, and there promulgated the fidth which the^ had embraced, 
and on account of which they bad been called to suffer. The new 
faith, by whatever person it was introduced, appears to have made 
r^id progress in the minds of the people ; and it is generally asserted 
that, in the year 203, Donald, King of the Scots, with his queen and 
many of his nobles, publicly embraced it, and were baptized. Then, 
fram time to time, arose certun iUustrions divines, whom our ecclesi- 
astical historians have delighted to present in bright colours to the 
notice of their readers — such as St Ninian, St Columba, St Kentigern, 
etc. St Kentigern, or St Mungo, who flourished in the sixth century, 
after labouring with great zeal and success in Wales, settled at last in 
the Vale of Clyde, founded a stately church at Glasgow, and exercised 
a fatherly charge over the clergy in the adjacent districts. We may 
conclude that a fabric for the exercise of the Chrisliaa system had, 
by this time, been erected at Biggar, and that it was honoured with 
occasional visits from the Clydesdale saint. It is not, however, for 
fully 500 years after the time of St Mungo, that we have any authentic 
reference to the Church of Bi^ar. The earliest allusions to it, or 
rather to its clergymen, are to be found in the chartularies of the 
religious houses. 

The Church was a rectory in the deanery of Lanark, and was dedi- 
cated t« St Nicholas. Bobert, the parson of Biggar, is mentioned as 
a witness of a grant by Walter Fitzalku to the monks of Paisley, 



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BIGGAR KIRK. T> 

between 1164 and 1177. The name of Master Symon, the physidan 
of Biggar, and also, as has been conjectured, the parson of the <^nrch, 
is given as a witness to a charter by Walter, Bishop of Glasgow, 
between the years 1208 and 1282. About the year 1290, Philip de 
Keith, son of William de Keith, Knight Marischall, was B«ctor of 
fiig^ar. In 1329 Sir Henry, Rector of Biggar, was one of the royal 
chaplains, and clerk of livery to the household of the king. Walter, 
Bector of Biggar, is mentioned in a charter of Malcolm Fleming, Eart 
of Wigton, during the re^ of David II. After this, very little is 
known regarding Biggar Church and its incnmbents for a period of 
two centuries. 

In Baiamund's or Bagimont's Roll, which, in the state in which it 
now exists, may be held to represent the value of ecclesiastical 
livings in the reign of James V., the recWry of Biggar is valued at 
L.66, 13s. 4d., and in the Taxatio Ecclesise Scotian^ at L.58. By an 
indeoture of assythment, and afterwards by a decreet arbitral in the 
reign of James V., it received an additional endowment of L.10 yearly 
from Tweedie of Drummelzier, ' to infeft ane chaplaine peipetoalie to 
say mass in ye kirk of biggair, at ye bye altar of ye sayme,' for the 
soul of John Lord Fleming, whom Tweedie had murdered. 

It is supposed that it was this endowment or mortification that first 
suggested to Malcolm Lord Fleming the propriety of founding a col- 
legiate church at Biggar, and conferring on it a number of new en- 
dowments. He appears to have been a devoted Roman Catholic. 
He had identified hhnself with the party who, at the time, were striv- 
ing, by every means in their power, to uphold the tottering fabric of 
the Bomish Church, and he was, no doubt, anxious to give a notable 
manifestation of his zeal in the cause which they had so much at 
heart The principles of the Reformation, first enunciated in Ger- 
many by Martin Luther in 1S17, had now spread over all Europe, 
and were even making r^id progress in the comparatively obscure 
realm of Scotland, and alarming the fears of the devotees of the 
Romish superstition. Patrick Hamilton and George Wishort had 
proclaimed these principles with impressive effect, and had testified 
their sincerity by laying down their lives ; and Sir David lindaay of 
the Mount, and George Buchanan, had written and published most 
pungent satires on the pernicious doctrinee and ungodly lives of the 
Romish priesthood. A corresponding desire was consequently mani- 
fested by the party, with whom Fleming was connected, to prop up 
the superstmctore of Rootaaism, which hod been so vigorously and 
successfully assailed. 

The first intimation that we have of Lord Flemingfs intention to 
build a collegiate church at Biggar, is contained in a writ still pre- 
served in the archives of the Fleming family. It is from Gavin, 
Commendotor of the Benedictine Monastery of Kelso, and bears date 
the 26th November 1540. It states that be bad heard ot Lord 



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aO BIGOAB ABD THE HOUSE OF FLEHDia 

Fleming'B deaign to found and endov a college church at B^^jar ; 
that the right of patronage of the Church of Thankerton had been 
obtained b; the Abbots of Kelao from his lordship's predecessors ; 
that in these evil times, by the increase of Lutheranism, all true 
Catholics irere bound to contribute to so good a work ; and that he 
was most aiudoQS that his lordship should not be divuled from his 
resolution, or suffer prejudice by the Abbots of Kelso continuing 
to hold the patronage of the Church of Thankerton. On these 
grounds, with consent of David Hamilton, then rector of the sud 
church, he transferred to Lord Fleming, in name of the college to be 
founded and built, the right of patronage of that church, with its 
whole rents and emoluments, to be bestowed on one or more pre- 
bendaries of the foresaid college, llie only reservatjon which he 
made, was that the Church of Thankerton should always be provided 
with a vicar pensioner, who should discharge the clerical duties of 
the cha^e, and have for his snstentation twenty merks Scots out of 
the first and readiest of the teiuds of the pari^, with a house, garden, 
and four acres of land. This writ was confirmed by the Archbishop 
of Glasgow, at Edinburgh, 1st May 1542. 

The new church was founded in 1645, and erected on the rate of 
the old building dedicated to St Nicholas. The parson of the old 
church at the ^e was Thomas Chappell, who, on the presentation of 
Malcolm Lord Fleming, was collated to his office by the Archbishop 
of Glasgow, on the 17th April 1542. It has been supposed by some 
persons, and amoug others by Grose, who took a sketdi of the Church 
from a window of the manse in 1789, and published an engraving of 
it in his work on the ' Antiquities of Scotland,' that the present edifice 
is much older than the date above mentioned. This, to some extent 
at least, is certainly a mistake. From statements in the founder's 
testament, executed in 1547, and also in a charter of the Abbot and 
Chapter of Holyrood connected with this Church, and dated a few 
years afterwards, it is evident that the erection had been commenced 
and carried on, to some extent, by the founder, Malcolm Lord 
Fleming, but was evidently left unfinished at his death, in 1547. His 
son and successor, James Lord Fleming, belonged to the same religions 
and political party as his father, and was, no doubt, infiuenced by the 
same views and feelings in respect to the new collegiate Church. He 
is understood to have carried on the building, and to have left it in 
nearly the same state in which it exists at present. 

The style of the architecture of the Church is Gothic, and the form 
of it is that of a cross. It was, no doubt, intended to he all composed 
of ashlar work. The choir, transepts, and tower have accor^gly 
been built of dressed sandstone, brought evidenUy from a quarry in 
the parish of libberton, near Camwath ; but the uave is constructed 
of rubble work, the stones employed bong the rough whin which 
abounds in the neighbourhood. 'This may be a portion of the old 



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BIOOAB KIBE. 81 

Pftrish Chiircli made to honnoiiize with the original plan, or it may be 
a part of the building executed in this manner by Jamea Lord Fleming, 
with the view of lessening the expense. It is said that the original 
plan embraced a spire, which would have been a great ornament to 
the town, and a fine feature in the landscape ; but it was not bnilt, 
and hence the unfinished state of the Church is very commonly cited 
in the locality as an illustration of the aphorism, < Many a thing ia 
begun that is never ended,' like Btggar Kirk. The walla of the tower 
from which the spire was to bare spmng, have be^i formed into a 
parapet with embrasnres and loopholes, as if it was intended to be a 
place of defence, — a use to which the towers and spires of churcbea 
in Scotland were, in former times, not unfrequently put After all, 
howeyer, it may be questioned if it was ever intended to carry the 
tower tiigher than it is at present It is certainly the fact, that centnil 
towers in Gothio buildings very frequently terminate, not with a spire, 
but with a parapet containing loopholes and embrasures sinular to 
thoee of Biggar Eirk. 

The building on the outside u plain, presenting little more than 
the buttresses and mouldings peculiar to Gothic architecture. It had 
two principal entrances, one in the south transept, and the other is 
the western gable. The doorway in the west is extremely plain, and 
is now built up ; and the one on the south is composed d* an arch 
finely moulded. The corbels from iriueh the mouldings spring, are 
much defaced ; but enough of them remains to show that they have 
been ornamented with fine tracery work, and that the pattern of the 
one is different from the other. On the handle or latch of the strong 
wooden door, studded with nuls, is the dat« 1697, referring most 
likely to the time at which the door was made, and placed in its pre- 
sent position. On the left mde of this door are the remains of the 
ancient jougs, by which adult offenders were fastened to the wall, and 
forced to remain a space of time proportioned to their misdemeanors. 
On the right, at a lower elevation, are sb^les, batted into the wall 
with lead, which were evidently intended to suspend a pair of jougs 
for the confinement and punishment of juvenile ofienders. An ex- 
cellent representation of this door and the chun of the Jongs is to be 
seen in the vignette to this volume. The buttresses on each side of the 
gable of the south transept have been surmounted by carved pinnacles ; 
but these have long since disappeared, as well as tjie apex or finial of 
the gable, which most likely was an emblem of the cross. The re- 
mains of the cross on the apex of the north transept can still be very 
distinctly observed. On the lowest corbie, or, as they are here 
generally denominated, crowsteps, of the western gable, ia a carved 
shield of the Fleming arms, with this peculiarily, that the cinquefoils, 
adopted from the arms of the Erasers, are in the first and fourth 
quarters, instead of the second and third, as they are usualfy found 
in the escutcheon of the Earls of Wigton. 



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Sa BIGOAR AND TBE HOUSE OF PLBUIHG. 

A large portjon or the bevra stones \ised in the buildmg has the 
mark of the masons by whom they were prepared. The practice of 
mariring stones is known to have been observed by masons for several 
tbonsaiid years. The design of it vas to disdnguish the stones 
wrought by each workman, so that the merit or demerit of the work- 
manship could at once be attributed to the proper individuaL It is 
not uncommon to find two marks on one atone, — &e cme being the 
mark of the hewer, ajid the other of the overseer, who, after inspect- 
ing the stone, and finding it correctly wrought, pot upon it the official 
stamp of his approval The apprentices had generally what is called 
a blind mark, that is, one with an even number of points or comers ; 
while the journeymen or fellow-crafts had one with an odd number, 
which might range from three points to eleven. In the ancient lodges 
of Freemasons, a ceremony was observed at the time of conferring a 
mark on a newly entered brother ; and when this was over, his name 
and mark were inserted in a book. We accordingly find that this 
was one of the regulations adopted at a meeting of the masters of 
lodges, convened at Edinbui^h, 28th December 1598, by William 
Schaw, ' Uaister of Wark' to his Majesty James TI., and General 
Warden of the Mason Craft in Scotland. All the old operative 
lodges, therefore, practised mark-masonry, and some of them — and 
among others, the Lodge of Biggar Free Operatives — retain an in- 
teresting roU of the marks which their members adopted and used. 
The individuals who built Biggar Kirk were evidently mark-masons, 
and hence the frequent marks to be found on the stones of which a 
portion of it is constructed. 

Two small buildings were at one time attached to the Church, the 
one on the north nde of the choir or ohimcel, and the other on the 
south Mde of the nave. The one on the north ^e, the traces of 
which are sUll to be seen on the wall of the Church, as shown in the 
engraving of the Kirk, was the chapter-bouse, which in such build- 
ings was rarely to be found west of the transept. It was used for the 
meetings of the provost and prebendaries, and most likely also as a 
mortuary cbapeL The building on the south was originally, in all 
likelihood, the vestry, in which the sacred utensils and vestments were 
kept ; and perhaps it also served the purposes of an eleemosynary, or 
almonry, in which alms were distributed to the needy poor. It was 
in the end — and, indeed, in the memory at some persons still living — 
used as a porch, and had seats all round the walls. These buildings 
were removed about sixty years ago ; but for what reason, it is im- 
possible, perhaps, now to say. Two buttresses on the iforth side of 
the nave, and an arched gateway that stood at the entrance to the 
churchyard, have also, in the course of time, been demoUshed. 

The interior of the Church was fitted up with considerable elegance. 
It had four altars. The high altar and the altar of the crucifix stood 
in the choir or chancel, and the altars of the two aisles were placed 



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BIGOAB EIRE. SB 

one in the Bonth transept and the other in the north transept, the two 
transepts being, in former dmes, very commonly called ' The Cross 
Aisles.' A screen divided the choir ftom the nave, and at the eastern 
extremity of the choir, which was finely lighted with three large 
windows, was the preabytery, into which no person was allowed to 
enter except the priests. A stone on the north side of the choir had 
a carved representation of a serpent, — an emblem which has a strange 
but emphatic significance in the rites both of Paganism and Christianity. 
In the nare were placed the pulpit, and the font for holding the holy 
water. The corbds from which the groinlngs and arches of the root 
sprung, were highly ornamented with representations of doves, foliage, 
human heads, etc l^ese are now much mutilated; but the beads on 
each side of ihe eastern termination of tlie nave are nearly entire, and 
are most likely intended to represent the founder and hb wife In the 
north d-ansept was the organ-loft, the door to which still exists in the 
staircase which admits to the tower. The ceiling, at least of the chancel, 
was originally of oak, richly carved and gilt ; but was removed a num- 
ber of years ago, and one of lath and plaster substituted in its place. 
In the tower is an apartment which appears never to have been com- 
pleted. It is of square form, and has a small window on each side ; 
but OS these are filled with stone slabs, it is quite dark, and can only 
be examined by the aid of a candle. The walls ore unplastered, and 
the floor and ceiling, if they ever existed, have disappeared. IHie 
oak joista, both above and below, are in a state of good preservation. 
A very singular-looking shaft rests on a joist below, turns on a pivot, 
and communicates with one of the joists above ; while a second shaft, 
with a bde in it near its lower termination, is suspended irom one of 
the upper joists. It would perhaps not be easy to discover the ptirpose 
to which this curious apparatus was appUed. The apartment has a 
spacious fire-place, whidi seems to indicate that it was intended to be 
occasionally occupied; but no reliable account can now be got of the 
use which it was designed to serve. Hie tradidon regarding it is, 
that it was the place to which the Fleming fanuly retired, or intended 
to retire, before and after attending reli^ons service in the Church, to 
assume and lay aside what was called their ' chapel graith.' It is 
oerttun that ihB family had articles of this kind, as is shown by the 
following bequests. The founder of the Church, in his testament, 
Bays, 'I leif to James, my eldest son and sir,' 'the chapell graith of 
siluer ; that is to say, ane cross with the crucifix, twa siluer span- 
dellers, twa siluer croadds, ane haly water fatt, with the haly water 
stick, one siluer bell, ane chalice with the patine of siluer, with all 
the haill stand of vestments pertaining to the somen.' James Lord 
Fleming, in the testament which he executed at Dieppe in 1558, be- 
queathed his ' chapel graith' to his brother John. It conasted of the 
following items: — 'Ane silvere challice w* ane pox, ane ciyceof ralvere, 
ane eucharest of silvere, ane haly waiter fate, w' ane styk of silvere, 



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84 BIGGAR AMD TEE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

and ij crouata of silvere.' From these extracts it is evident that the 
Flemings had not oulj a set of sacred vessels, but a peculiar suit of 
garments, which they used while attending or performing the rites of 
the Romish Church. 

The circular staircase already referred to was entered from the 
inside by a door in the north-west angle of the chancel, and, besides 
admitting to the organ-lofl and the stjuaiv apartment in the tower, 
communicated also with the floor of the parapet or bartisan ; and as this 
is covered with lead, being open to the weather, it is usually called the 
Lead Loft. The door in the inside of the Church was some years ago 
built up, and one in place of it cut out of the staircase, as vhown in 
the engraving. On the north-west side of the interior of the stiurcase 
are the initials W.M., and on the south-east side the initials I.U., and the 
date 1542. With regard to the initials nothing can be said ; and the 
date b certainly puezling, as it is three years prior to the time at which 
the present Church was founded. The stone on which it is cut may 
have belonged to the old Parish Church, or some person, at a period 
subsequent to the erection of the present Church, may have cut it in a 
mere spirit of wantonness, or with a design to mislead. We put no 
confidence in it as calculated to establish the supposition of Grose and 
others, that the whole of the Church is older than the year 1545, the 
date of its foundation as a collegiate charge. The belfry was fumbhed 
with a bell of a remarkably clear tone, which was heard for many 
miles round, and was rung by a rope in the inside of the Church. 
Thb fine bell, which was supposed to be as old as the Church itself, 
was unfortunately cracked by a sexton, when tolling it at the funeral 
of one of the proprietors of the parish, about forty years ago. The 
present bell b one of much inferior quality, and a rung from the 
outside of the Church. 

In the inside of the Church a reUc, now very rarely to be met witii, 
is still preserved. Thb is the cutty stool, on which the violators of 



ecclesiastical discipline were wont, in the face of the congregation, I 



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BlOGAlt KIRK. M 

make expiation for thdr offences. The ptiniflhment of the ctttty itool 
a referred to by Ferguson the poet as forming part of the gossip 
arotmd the farmer's ingle ; — 

' And there how Marion for a bastart son 
Upo' the cnttj stool was forced to ride, 
The waefu' scald o' our Uees John to Hde.' 

The cutty stool of Biggar Eii^ has the date 1694, with the initials 
. 6. K., and is represented in the accompanying engraving. 

Another relic preserved in the Kirk is a jug. It is ^iparently 
composed of pewter, and rery much resembles a 
small cUret-jug. It is usually denominated a holy 
water fatt or jug, as, according to tradition, it was 
used by the Boman Catholic priests in holding holy 
water. ASter the eatabliahment of the rites of 
Piesbyterianism, the jug was used in conveying 
to the Church the water used in baptism. As an 
<dA relic connected with the Kirk, we ^ve the 
annexed engraving of it. 

The Kirk, although it has undergone many barbarous mutUationi 
from the violence of man, and suffered many injuries from the cor- 
roding hand of time, is still in a state of good preservation, and holds 
out the promise of serving as the Parish Church for ages to come. 

A proposal has lately been made to lenovate the interior of the 
building, and thus place it in a state similar, in some re^>ects, to that 
in which it wa* in former ages, and more in keeping with the altered 
spirit of the times. This is to consist principally in filling the windows 
with stained glass ; in taking down the present ceiling of lath and 
plaster, and substituting one of wood, with the groinings, pendants, 
and carvings, as near to the original as can now be ascertained ; and in 
cutting away the oak joists in the centre tower, and forming the lead 
loft into a glass cupcda, in order to shed a flood of light on the area 
of the Church. IW proposal, with exception of the last alteration, 
appears to be highly worthy of commendation ; and it is to be hoped 
that the present pastor of the parish, the Ser. J. Christison, who 
sddom iaUs in any uud^laking in which he embarks, will take it up, 
and prosecuto it to a socoessful termination. 

Having given a description of the building, we may now refer to 
the Charter of Foundation. It is still preserved in the archives of the 
Fleming family, and, with its ancient style of penmanship, and its 
large seals, has a most venerable appearance. It is written in lAtin, 
and is of great length. As a fall translation of it would occupy too 
much space, we will give the (ubstance of its most important poinla. 

It is addressed by Malcolm Lord Fleming to Cardinal Beaton of 
St Andrews. After enumerating all that reverend father's high- 
sounding titles, it goes on to say that his Lordship, influenced by 



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S6 B1G6AB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEUINa 

examplea of piety and derotion, and constantly denrons to increase 
the means of religious worship, and to press forward more warmly 
and earnestly in the practice of piotu deeds, so far as justice and 
reason might warrant him, had been induced to found, endow, and 
effectually erect a College or Collegiate Church at Biggar, with the 
collegiate honour, dignity, and pre-eminence. The funds for this pur- 
pose were to be drawn from the parish churches, benefices, chaplain- 
ries, clerical rerenues, and charities belonging to him by hereditary 
right, and from other property bestowed on him by the faTour of 
Almighty God. He had erected and endowed this Church to the 
pruse, glory, and honour of the most high and ondivided Trinity ; of 
the most blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, under the title and 
iuTocation of her assumption ; of the blessed St Nicholas, patron of 
the Parish Church of Biggar ; of St Ninian the Confessor, and all the 
sunts of the heavenly cboii. The object of the founder was the safe^ 
of the soul of James Y., late King of Scotlmid, of most woishipfiil 
memory; the safety of bis own soul; of the soul of his wife, Joan 
Stewart, sister of the late renowned King; of the souls of his parents, 
benefactors, friends, and relatives, predecessors and successors; and 
of all the faithful dead, especnally those from whom he had taken 
goods unjustly, or to whom he had occasioned loss or injury, and.had 
not compensated by prayers or benefits. He had done all this with 
consent of the most reverend father in Christ, Gavin, by the grace of 
God Archbishop of Glasgow, and of the wise and venerable men, the 
deacons and canons of the Metropolitan Church of Glasgow, in chapter 
assembled. The foundation was to support a provost, eight canons or 
prebendaries, four boys, and six poor men. The firm oonviotion of 
the founder was, that in the scJemnities of the mass the Son offered 
himself to the Father Omnipotent, a rich sacrifice for a sweet-smelling 
savour; and that to Him nothing more acceptable, gracious, and 
worthy oould be presented. His sincere belief in the Catholic faith 
also convinced him that the mass had power to restore frail human 
nature, oflen falling into sin, to the Father's favour, to rescue the souls 
of the faithful from the pains of purgatory, and brii^ them to the 
full enjoyment of happiness and glory. He wished to have an assur- 
ance that he would not be found among the number of those of whom 
it was said in the beginning, 'They are a nation void of counsel, 
neither is there any understanding in them, O that they were wise, 
that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end I ' 
And he had pondered in his mind what is written in the Apocalypse, 
'And I heard a voice from heaven saying. Write, Blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, 
that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.' 
llie founder's charity, piety, and desire for extending the means of 
religious worship, having been thus evoked, he had, out of his here- 
ditary patronages and acquired property, endowed the Collegiate 



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BIOOAB KIBE. 87 

Cborcli of Biggar, for the provost, canons, boys, and poor men, a« 
already stated, and reserved only to lumself, his wife, and his hran, 
the disposition, presentatioD, and endowment of these officials, as often 
as the office of any one of them became vacant The ooUation of the 
provost was to belong to the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the admis- 
sion or installalion of the prebendaries and boys was to be the dn^ of 
the provost, or, in his absence, the President of the College for the 
time being. 

The provost was to be called the Provost of the Collegiate Chnroh 
of the Most Blessed and Immaculate Vii^ Mary, of Biggar. He was 
to celebrate the Assumption of the Yirgin, in the Chtirch of Big^jar, 
as the principal festival ; and he was to have for his sast«ntation^ all 
and whole the produce, rents, revenues, tithes, and emoluments of 
the rectory and vicarage of the parish of Thankerton, in the diocese 
of Glasgow, along with its tributes and offerings, and its manse and 
(^ebe. He waa, however, to pay L.10 Soots to a curate, who was to 
undertake the cure of souls in the parish of Thankerton, and to 
bestow on him two acres of land, near the Church, for a manse and 
garden. The said curate was constantly to reside in the pariah, and 
discharge all the duties of bis office in person. The provost was also to 
bear all burdens, and meet all liabilities, ordinary and extraordinary, 
that, in times past, attached to the Church of Thankerton. 

ThB first prebendary was to be called Canon of the Hospital of St 
Leonards, and was to be master and teacher of the School of Song. 
He was to instruct the boys of the College, and others, who mi^t 
attend, in plain song, invocation or pricksoog, and discant. He was 
also to be well skilled in playing the organ for the performance (d 
divine service. He was to receive for his support, throughout the year, 
the produce of the church lands of Sptttal. The second prebendary, 
who was to be instructor of the Grammar School, was to be sufficiently 
acquainted with letters and grammar, and was to have, for his yearly 
snstentation, the lands of Auchynreoch. The third prebendary, who 
was to be sacristan of the College, was to have for his annual support 
the ohapel fonnded on the lands of Gamegabir and Anchyndavy, and 
dedicated to the Virgin Maiy, with its pertinents; and six meiks of 
annual rent in SJrkiutulloch, along with two acres of land, for a 
manse and garden, belonging to the chapel, and at that time in pos- 
session of Andrew Fleming of KirHntulloch. The duty of this pre- 
bend was to ring the bells, to light the wax tapers and tallow candles 
on the Ugh altar, the altars of the two aisles, and the altar of the 
crudfix. For the maintenance of the tapers ajid candles daring win- 
ter, he was annually to receive L.5 Soots, drawn from the produce 
and emoluments of the priest's office in the Church of Biggar. This 
prebend was also to prepare the vestments and ornaments of the four - 
altars ; he was to wash, dean, and repair, as often as necessary, the 
cups, vestments, and ornaments ; and when this was done, he was to 



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8B BIGOAB AND THE BOUm OP FLEUING. 

covet them op in thdi respectire places on the altars. For this let- 
nce, he was to recdTe the aimiial sum of L.fi 3cote, levied from the 
prieat's o£Gce of the Church of BJggar. The same prebend was to 
provide bread and wine for the celebration of masa is the College; 
and for the expense of these elements, he was aontially to receive L.4 
Soots out of the produce, rents, and revennes of the rector; and 
vicarage of Biggar. The fourth prebendary was to have charge of the 
poor men, while they were engaged in their devotions in the College, 
and also the administration and distribation of the victuals and other 
emoluments belonging to them; and was to render an accoont of the 
discharge of his duties, in this respect, to the patron, or, in his absence, 
to the provost and prebends. This canon was to receive for his bus- 
tentation L.10 Scots, &om the yearly rent of the lands of Drummel- 
der, and L.7, 68. 8d. Scots, every year, drawn from the produce, rents, 
and revenues of the rectory and vicarage of the Church of Biggar. 
Each of the other prebendaries was to have for his support the yearly 
sum of L. 1 7, 6a 8d. Scots, levied from the revenues of the vicarage and 
rectory of Biggar, but the special duties which they were to perform 
are not detailed. One of them was to be vicar stipendiary of the Parish 
Church of Biggar, now erected into a college, and was constantly to 
take his place in ^e choir, to mng, and to ezerdse his divine office, 
unless when he was engaged with the special duties of his charge and 
the administration of the sacraments. The presentation of this vicar 
stipendiary was to belong to the founder and his heirs, but his collation 
was to devolve on the Archbbhop of Glasgow for the time being. 

The founder also ordained that there should be attached to the 
CoIl^|;e, in all time to come, four boys with children's voices, who 
were to be sufficientiy instructed and skilled in plain song, invocation, 
and discont, who were to have the crowns of their heads shaven, 
and to wear gowns of a crimson* colour, oiler the Esshion of the 
singing boys in the Metropolitan Church of Glasgow. They were 
to have, divided amongst them, all and whole the produce of the 
prieat's office of the Parish Church of Lenzie, in the diocese of Glas- 
gow, except so mtich as might be necessary for the sustentation of a 
priest to dischai^ the duties of the cure of that parish. The pre- 
sentation of these boys was to beloi^ to the founder and his heirs, and 
their examination and admission to the provost and prebendaries. 
When they lost thdr boyish voices, by advanciDg age, or when they 
behaved in a disorderiy and incorrigible manner, the provost and 
prebendaries were to have the power of dismissing them from their 
situations in the College. The produce and emoluments of the office 
from which they were to derive their hving were, with the exception 
already stated, to be under the control of the boys, along with their 
■ The word 'blodia,' tn 1^ original, is nndcsed b; ColviU Kud other English 
gtoHulBts, * eiiiDKiD,' ■■ darived Irom the 8«zon ' bind,' blood ; but Dnoeoge vm- 
•IdNS Ibat the {oopai ""^"'"e of it Is blii& 



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BIGOAB EIBE. »t 

parents and relatiTes, and were to be devoted exolufliTely to the pay- 
ment of their alimeot and other necessary expenses. 

The founder ordained that the College should have fax poor men, 
commonly called 'beid men.' The qualifications for their admiadon 
were to be poverty, frailty, and old age. They were to be natives of 
the baronies of Biggar or Lenzie, if a sufficient number could be got 
in these places, and they were to remde in the house of the Ho^itol, 
with its garden grounds, which the founder had set aade for their 
accommodation. They were to be presented, admitted, and installed 
by the founder, so long as he lived, and after his death, by his bein 
and successors. They were to be annually furnished with a whit« 
linen gown, having a white cloth hood ; and every day, in all time to 
oome, they were to attend in the College at high mass and vespen ; 
and when the founder departed this life, tbey were to sit at his grave 
and the grave of his parents, and pray devoutly to the Most High 
God for the weliare of his soul, the soul of his wife, and the souls of 
his progenitors and successors. For their aliment and support, they 
were to have distributed amongst them, on the first day of each 
month, two bolls of oatmeal, the whole amounting annually to twenty- 
seven bolls; so that each bedesman, during the year, was to obtMn 
four bolls and two firlots of the said oatme^ This sustenance was to 
be levied from the first-fruits and tidies of the rectory and vicarage 
of the Church of Biggar ; and from the same source twenty shillings 
annually was to be drawn for each bedesman, for purchasing his 
gown and repairing his house. The bedesmen were also to have full 
power, liberty, and access to cast; win, and lead peats and divots from 
two dargs of the Nether Moss, in order to stq>ply their hearths with 
fuel. 

The provost and prebends were to have suitable dwelling-houses 
and gardens near the Church. The provost was to have one acre of 
land for this purpose, and each canon half an acre; and they were, 
besides, to have the privilege of casting, winning, and leading peats 
in the barony of Biggar, and especially within the bounds of the lands 
belonging to the Hospital of St Leonards. The patron, provost, and 
prebendsries were, yearly, on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost, to 
meet and select two of the prebendaries, whose duty should be to 
collect all the produce, Uthes, revenues, offerings, and emoluments of 
the rectory, vicarage, and church lands of Biggar, and distribute them 
in proper older and proportion. Wbatever sum remained, after this 
was done, was annu^y to be disposed of in such a way as the patron, 
provost, and prebends might thbik expedient, for the use and advan- 
tage of the College. Each of these prebends, for their services in tliis 
respect, was to receive annually the sum of 268. 8d. Scots, derived 
from the revenues of the rectory and vicarage of the Church of Bi^ar. 

The founder ordained that the following masses should be cele- 
brated in the Collegiate Church, and that a register of them should 



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N BIOOAB AND tB£ HOUSE OP FLEHDIO. 

be ioaotibed on • bowrd, and ntpeudeA in the GoUegei A auus in 
honour of the blemed Vi^in Muy wu to be wid in ihe morning, 
batveen nx and sevsn o'dock, before the commwiGement of matins, 
in munmer as well sa in wintw. The priest celebrating it wb* not to 
be exempted ttara attending and singing at matins; and if he waa not 
present at the end of 'Gloria Patri,' or the eoncluaion of the flist 
psabn, he was to lose that hour, and be subjected to a fine. High 
man was to l>e cdebrated immediately afW ten o'dodt witli singing 
the solemn Gregorian chant,* or diBcant, and plajdng auoh tunes on 
die organ as the time m^ht require. A mass was to be nid daily to 
any saint, according to the option of the celebrator, immediately after 
the consecmtion and elevation of the body of Christ in high mass, 
and not sooner; and no priest, present at obant and high mast, was 
to absent himself, under the penalty of losing the hour during which 
(he mass was celebrated. 

The following masses wen to be eelebrated on we^-days, imme- 
diately after matins, riz. i — on the second day, or Monday, and on the 
great^ double feasts, a mass de nqvit, for the founder's soul, his 
wife's soul, th« souls of his parents, and all fiuthful dead ; on the 
third, Tuesday, a mass in hotkour of St Ann, the mother of tl>e Virgin 
Maiy ; on tite fourth, Wednesday, a mass in honour of St Nicholas 
and St Ninian,f bishops »id confessors ; on the £fth, Thursday, a 
mass in honour of the body of Christ ; and on the sixth, Saturday, 
a mass for the five wounds of Christ; while on Sabbath a mass was 
to be performed for the Feast of the Compassioa of the Blessed Virgin 
Maiy.} The officiatiiig priest, olothed in his white gown and surplice, 
was, immediately after the celebration of high mass, to approach the 
grave of the founder, and sing the psalm, 'de profiindis,' with the 
UB«^ coUeots and prayers, and the sprinkling of holy water. Extra- 
ordinary mass, as well as the mass de reqtut, was also to be said duly 
in the two aides. 

A chapter was to be h^d every week in the Collegiat« Church. It 
was to have the same constitution, and to be subjeot to the same roles, 
as the Metropolitan (%urch of Glasgow. Whoever absented himself 
from tbis meeting was to pny a fine of twopence. On the fonrth day, 
or Wednesday, immediately after the solemnities for all the saints, for 
the purifiostion v( the blessed Virgin Mary, and for the Aposties 
Philip and James, and St Paul ad vmcmta, a Mass was to be sung for 
Ae founder's soul, his wife's soul, and the souk of all those pi«viotisly 
mentioQed,-^the vespers and matins of the dead being performed on 

* Tha *Cvito Fenno' wu totaodnced (nto tli« wrrioe of tin Bomlfb Cha>«h bj 
F^e Ongotj the Oraat, mko flavrished darii^ (lu «ix(k oenltU7. It hu eonUniMd 
la on to tlie pnsMit dsTi u>d is gancnll; tawwn by t^ *■■» •( lk« QngoriAB 
Chaot 

f A reUtiTa of the toundei- was Prior of the Honutery of 8l Ninku, U WbilboTD 
in aallam;. 

i OompSMiMi «f Uia TliglB, or Mr Lad; of Ptty,— tke Friday Is Pudott WtA. 



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filQOAB CBE. 91 

At erenii^ proeedittg ^css soUmnlttM^ along with nine coUacu, ind 
nine pnlms, vith tbmr FMponsei. Baoli pi<ebend was, nith the Gre- 
gorian chant, mTOeation, and diicant, to oelebmte matiiis, high nuM, 
vopen, and complia, at the hours and seasons uauallj obaerTed by 
prabendanet in other collegurra churches. 

All the prebends and their BUcceasors were bound to make a per- 
sonal residence at the College, and on all feast, Sabbath, and week 
days, and oontinned commemorations, ware to celebrate and sing, 
withont note, matdns, high moss, vaspers, and complin at the great 
altar in the choir of the Churoh; and, clothed in their clenoal habil»— 
Tiz., clean linen snrplices and red hoods trimmed -with fur,— were, 
every night after complin, except on the greater double feasla, to 
rehearse the responses in honour of the Virgw Hary, to sing the 
psalm, 'de proAmdis,' and to read the usual collects and prayers for 
the souls of die founder and all faithful dead. 

The prebendaries, at the ringing of the bell, whioh was to com- 
mence ereiy morning throughout the year at six o'clock, were U> 
meet, clothed in their clerical vestmenta, and sing niatins at aeren. 
At Wa o'clock they were to perfbrm high mass ; and at five, Veapert 
and complin, except in Lent, when Tespers was to be perfonned im- 
mediat«ly after high mass, and complin at the usual hour. When 
met fbr these piirpoiea, they wera not to more up and down the 
Church, nor indulge in whispering and lat^hter, but to the close of 
the serrice wen to remain in solemn nlence, and to manifest all be- 
coming gravity. They were exhorted, in the name of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, to perform their duties fully, honestly, and attenliTely; and, 
avoiding all light and fiivolous proceedings, were to commence, con- 
tinue, and pause in the tinging all at once. Those who riolated this 
rule were to be severely punished ; for, by mnging improperly and 
carelessly, die doe hoDonr of Ood wai not manifested, Uie intention of 
the founder was irnstrated, the well-oidered conscience was hurt, and 
the edifleatdon of others was not promoted. 

The prebend who abimted himself ftom the usual services of the 
Church on week-^ays or simple feaste, waa, for eaoh hour, to -pay two- 
pence ; on Lord's days and the great f^«ts, threepence ; and on the 
higher feasU, fonrpence. The fines thus exacted were to be oolleot«d 
weekly by the piovoat or a sobstitate, and were to be expended in 
the pttTchase of books or omamenta for the Church. "Hk provost, or 
his subsdtBte, was alto to have power of sospending ofitoders from 
the chob, and devoting the irtiole of their incomes to the uses already 
stated, OP other nbjeota of piety. On those who persisted in their 
disobedienee, the general officer of die Churoh of Glasgow was to in- 
ffiet still heavier panaltie* and higher accleaaatical censures, from 
which they were not to be absolved (ill they had ^ven the utmost 
satisfaction. 

All the prebendaries were to be priests, or at least in deacon's 



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M BIOOAB JlHD the H0D8B OF FLBUIKa 

brdeiB, and were to be well skilled in literatore, plain song, invocalaon, 
and discant ; and, each day, were to take tbeii places at tlie altaiB, and 
in a private manner celebrate mass for the souls of those by whom 
these altars were founded. They were to possess all the advantages 
common to tJie Romi^ Chnrcb, provided they made petsonal and 
continued residence at the College ; but, in the event of any one of 
them absenting himself for five days without liberty, the provost, or, 
in his absence, the president and members of the Chapter, vere, 
uotess a necessary cause of absence was shown, to declare his o£Gce 
dt facto vacant. At their admission, they were \a take a solemn oath 
of obedience to the provost and the founder, so long as he lived, to 
' observe the statutes and rules laid down in the constitution and ordi- 
nances of the College, and drawn up and ordained by the founder 
and others to whom he gave authority. 

In IJie event of any prebendaiy being prevented by infirmity or 
indisposition from celebrating mass when it was his turn, another of 
the brethren was to occupy his place ; bnt should he refuse to per- 
form this service when required by the provost or president, he was 
to be fined twelve pence Scots. Should any prebend be of a quarrel- 
some disposition, and provoke his brethren to fight, or engage in 
other improper contentions, he was, on his offence being proved, to 
be removed without further process from his office. A prebendsbip 
becoming vacant in this or any other way, was not to be filled up till 
after the lapse of thirty days, so that sufficient time mi^t be afforded 
for obtaining a suitable and well-qualified successor, who, previotts to 
his adimssion, was to undergo an examination by the provost and 
prebendaries. 

The charter ends by calling upon Cardinal Beaton, with concorrence 
of the Lord Archbishop of Glasgow, to approve, ratify, and confirm, 
to add, correct, or otherwise amend, the statutes, rules, and constitu- 
tion laid down for the College, its endowments, and officials. Mal- 
colm Lord Fleming, in faith and testimony of all and every one of the 
articles stated in connection with his religious foundation, subscribed 
the charter with his own hand, and appended to it his armorial seal ; 
and the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the Chapter of the Church of 
Glasgow, in token of their full concurrence and assent, attached to it 
their respective seals, on the 10th of January 1545, in presence of 
the following witnesses : — William, Bishop of Dunblane ; Robert, 
Bishop of Orkney ; John, Abbot of Paisley ; Thomas, Commendator 
of Dryburgh ; Malcolm, Prior of Whithorn ; William, Earl of Mon- 
trose ; John Lord Erskine ; Alexander Lord Livingstone ; John Lindsay 
of Covington ; William Fleming of Boghall ; Thomas Kincaid of that 
Ilk ; Andrew Brown of Hartree, and many others. This charter was 
confirmed by the Pope's Legate on the 14th of March 1545. The 
charter of confirmation is a very lengthy document, written on parch- 
ment, and is still preserved. 



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CHAPTER IX. 

^tgjpr ^iA — Contimud. 

VALCOLM Lord Fleming, in his tcatoment, executed in the 
spring of 1547, sdll turther manifested his care for the 
erection of the CkiUegiate Church of Biggar. In that docu- 
ment he nays, ' I leif my vestments that were indued to the 
Kirk of Biggsr and Colledge of die samin, and all other profits, whilk 
belangs to themselves aa the erection of the Colledge bears, to the 
utility and profile of the samen, ay and while the Eirk, Colledge, 

Alemodnereas, and mansion-hoose be biggit; and putt in 

their own places as the erecdon of the said Colledge bears, and ordines 
v*= merks of my own propir gudi^ to be tane to buy vestment*, and 
bigging of the sud Colledge, and manMons, chalic^ or ony other 
neceuar things that is needfiil for the said Colledge.' He further 
orders, * All my claytha to be dealt betwixt my twa sonis gotten with 
my wife, and pairt of thaim to be given to the Colledge of Biggai, as 
my executors and oversman thinks expedient, and 1^ to the Gray- 
fiiera of Glasgow xx Ub to pray for me, xx lib I leif to the flour 
cht^lains of the Lenzie and Biggar to pray for me, and to be divided 
as my executors find expedient.' 

It is not unlikely that the old Parish Church of St Nicholas at 
Biggar was used as the burial-place of the Fleming family. In 
Catholic times a strong desire prevuled to deporit the remains of the 
dead in consecrated ground, particularly in a place to sacred and 
hallowed as the area of a church. Kings, nobles, priests, and indeed 
all ranks, were annous that their ashes shoold lie in a spot where the 
exercises of religion were daily performed, where the constant pre- 
sence of holy men shed a solemnizing influence, where no rude hand 
dared to commit violence, and where they would remain in calm and 
undisturbed repose till the time when tbe sound of the archangel's 
trumpet would animate them anew, and summon them into the pre- 
sence of their Creator and Judge. It is certain, at least, that Malcolm 
Lord Fleming intended that his new church at Biggar should be the 
burying-place of his family. In his testament, after leaving his soul 
to Almighty God, the Vir^ Mary, and all holy saints, he says, ' Gif 
it happynis me to decess in wrars or ony uther deid, as God pless, 
gifien my body be gottin quharever I decess, to be erdit in my 
Colledge Eirk of Biggar.' He also in the same document left orders 



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H BIGOAR AND THE HOtiSE OP FLEKINO. 

that, immediately afler the completion of the College, hia father'i 
' (r[Tnmeter ' was to be carried from the Castle of Boghall to that 
■acred edifice, ' whilk sail be bom the xii day of October in the 
solemneat gate that can be demit baith to the hoaoar of God.' In 
the chancel of the new Church, at the spot where the high altar in 
former times stood, nearly all the members of the Fleming family 
have been interred from the days of the foonder to the end of last 
oentory. The last person buried in it was I^y Clementina Fleming, 
who carried the Biggar estates into the family of Elphinstone, and 
who died in 1790. The banners and escutcheons of this noble family 
were wont to hang in ample fold oveF the graves of the deceased 
barons, bat these have all disappeared for nearly a centnry. llie 
only memorial of the dead interred below is a marble slab, inserted 
into die wall, to the memory of Jane Mercer, wife of the Honourable 
G«orge Kath Elphinstone, who died in 17S9. It is understood that 
a large number of other persons besides the Flemingi were- interred 
within the walls of the Chnrch.- It is certain that ^en exoavatitHM 
were made in the floor, some years i^, to introduoe a heating appa- 
ratus, large quantities of the remains of mortality were dug up. 

The practice of Urk burial was in popish times quite common 
throughout the whole country, and, therefore, the Presbyterian dorgy, 
at the Beformation, set themselves with vigour to repress it, as it 
savoured, in their opinion, of 'Popery and superstition. In the 
General Assembly which met at Bdinbui^h in 1688, t^ey paued an 
act against it ; and in the General Assembly of 1648, thay deoliu«d 
that oil foimer acts and constitutions made agunst burial in kirks 
were again ratified, and that all persons, of whatsoever tank, ware in- 
hibited and dischai^ed to bury within the body of the kirk, where 
the people meet for the bearing of the word and the administration of 
the sacraments, or to hang penslles or boards, to offer himours or 
arms, or to make any suoh like monuments, to the honour or remem- 
brance of any deceased person, up<»i walls or other places within tiie 
kirk. These acts set the landed proprietors and the Established clergy 
completely by the ears. The lairds, whose Hnoestors from lime imme- 
morial had interred their dead within the walls of the parish Urka, 
insisted on continuing the practice, maintainii^ diat tibey had a right 
so to do, both by prescriptive usage and feudal superiori^. The 
clergy took their stand on the acts of the General Ass^bly, and re- 
sisted with their usual warmth uid obstkiacy. 

Some of the lairds in the neighbouring parishes had sad bickerings 
with the clergy in regard to this practice. They took forcible possea- 
sion of the churohes, and there interred their dead, in B{»t6 of all the 
acts and anathemas of their spiritual insb^ctors, though, as miglit be 
expected; they had v^ generally in the end to Bubtnit to die fines 
and penances that were consequendy imposed. We will give t»e or two 
instances firom the records of the Presbyteries of Lttoarit aBdKggar. 



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HU M Alt KIBE. M 

Oa thB 32d of Jnmary 162i, John Chancellor of ,8hieldhill wu 
Munmaned to ^pev before the Fresbyterj of Lanark at iM next 
nw^ng, andtuuwar the oharge of buryiag within the Kirk of Qnoth- 
qOKL On the 17th of Jane following, U is reported that the Laird 
' hes proKised to gif aatiAfiictiouDe to ye Seuion of Quodqtum, and to 
fittd oawtioneto abstain from kirk burial in ail tyme ooming.' The 
Uurd, howcrer, after all, was icsolved to take his own waj; and when 
hia wife died, in 1639, he interred har forcibly in tiie Kirk of Quolh- 
quan. The clergy, led on no doubt by his own pastor, George fiennet, 
pounced upon him again, and atunmotied him to appear before them 
at Lanark, on the S8th c^ March of that year. The reccail saya, ' Ye 
I^ird of ShielhiU oompeiris and ackmn^edgu bis iault in burying 
his wife in ye KiA of Qtiodquan, and ia ordered to find cdwtione to 
renounce his kiik burieU ia tyme coming, under ye pain of si lib, 
and is'OrdeiQcd to be censund by ye Kirk Sesuone of Quodquan, for 
breking Tip ye door a£ ye Kirk.' John Muir, the Laird of Anniston, 
was arsugned for eoaimitting a aimilar offence. The minatea of Pres- 
bytery rword as follows: 'Qlk day, compeirit ye Lotrd of Anaston, 
and confessit his fault, both in taking ye key of ye IdA doore of 
SyuingtoiiD fhiai ye minister thairof, and also burying his faither 
within ye aamen, for qlk faults he oblinis himself under ye pain of 
xl 1U> to sadsfy the Injnnotianea of Presbytery to abstain from kirk 
buriell ia all tyme ooasing muter the foresaid penahae totia gtiotia be 
this act subscribed with hia hand at Lanark 26th of Junii 1626.' 
Twanty years after this date, via., on the 25th of February 1 616, the 
next LiJrd of 'Anieston' was saBunoned before the Pi«ebytery of 
Biggar, and accused of burying hia father in the Kirk of Symington. 
He oonfesied the fault as charged, bat pretended that he was not 
awar» gf the acts of the Churdi on the subject; that he was sorry for 
what had taken place, and promised fortMaiance in time to come. 
The Presbytery cMidemned him to make a pubhc ccrafesaion of his 
fcult in the Kkk of Symingtoa the next Lord's day, and to bind him- 
nU^ under a pen^^ of a hundred pounds^ not to ofiend in like 
manner again. We will only oUe another instance. Onthe 10th 
December 1629, the Ser, James BaiUie, minister of Lamington, was 
eojomed by the I^«sbytery to take Beomity &om Thomas BaiUie, the 
lAird of LamingtoD, that he would be present at next meeting of 
I^ert>yt^ry, to receiTa his injimctions for his offence in bret^ang up 
the door of Lamington Kirk, and burying his ohild within the walls 
thereof; aad if ha refosed, his pasttH- was to proceed against him by 
paUic admcnilion. I^ I^ird, however, speared before the Pres- 
bytery on the 31st of the month referred to, and 'was ord^ned to 
raak hie pubhskL repentance in aaok olaith aae S«U>ath day, and pay 
iiij lib ia penalty.' 

In May 1666, Joha, Earl of Wigtou, was interred in Biggar Kirk 
with ^ due adaniuty, just about tiie time that the Urk sessions were 



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M BIOOAB AHD THE HOOBE OP FLEHIVa. 

battling vith all their Tigoiir against the practice of lark burial. 
Anthonj Murisj, factor at Biggar to his Lordship, enters in his 
books that he had ' allowed to ye compter,' that is, himself, ' ye somne 
of ane hunder and two punds eighteen shillings and tuo pennies Scots 
disboiwd be him at Biggar at my Lord's funeralL' He also mentdons 
that he had given himself credit for the price of three bolls of meal, 
at four pounds and half a merk per boll, which were consumed in 
my Lord's house at the burial in May; and that six firlots of the 
meal was at that time given to the poor. 

The Flemings, most likely from being patrons of the parish, were 
not disturbed in their kirk burial No account has been left of the 
ceremonials observed at the funeral of any member of the family. 
These were, no doubt, very imposing, especially ao long as the family 
continued its adherence to the popish futh. A statement of the 
funeral expenses of I^dy Mai^aiet Fleming, whose remains were 
interred in Biggar Kirk in December 1675, is still preserved. It 
details the expenses incurred before the body was brought to Biggar, 
and after it arrived at that town. As this statement may be interesting 
to some readers, we give a few of the items i — 'To Georg Stark going 
through ye Monkland wt letters to ye buiiall, L.1, 48. ;' 'for a dosen 
of great prinies to prin ye mortcloath and horsdoath, 2s.;' 'to ye 
footman Anderson to go to Carluik to advertise ye peopell to have 
provision for man and horse, Ss. ;' ' for breid and drink at ye drybura 
qn ye corps halted, h.^, 6s.' The cortege remained during the night 
at Carluke, and the bill of the inn in which the men and horses were 
chiefly accommodated has also been preserved. It is dated at ' Carluik, 
Dec. 22^ 1675,' and shows that the disbursements were for 6 gallons 
of ale, L.6, 8s.; for bread, L.2; for beef and mutton, L.3; for brandy, 
L.4, 10& ; for pipes and tobacco, 6b. ; for coab and candles, 10s. ; for 
eight pecks and three capful, most likely of com, L.5, 5s.; for straw 
for seven horses, L.1, 8s. ; for breakfast to the coachman and footmen, 
L.1, 7s.; for additional breakfast, L.1, 4b. 6d. The amount of the 
whole expenses in the inn was L.2S, 18s. 6d. Some other disburse- 
ments took place at Carluke, such as L4, 10s. 'for sex horse and sex 
men that vea not in yt house,' and 18s. ' given to ye bellman.' A 
halt was next made at Camwath, and the bill for refreshments at that 
town was L.4, 128. 8d. 

Among the items of expense at ' Bigair' were ' 4 pund of candell, 
L.1 ; 4 pund of buter, L.1 ; ane pund and a half of plumdames, Ss.; 
ane quarter a pund of ginger, 8s. 4d. ; half a peck of salt, 2b. 8d. ; 
4 hens, L.1, 10s.; two sbeip, ane of ym L.5, and ane oyr L.6; 4 dosen 
of pypes, 10s.; fyve loads of coall, L.1, 7s.; 2 csriog horse to bring 
ye wyn and oyr neccsBaries out of Edinr., L.5 ; ane man for his hyr 
and quarter yt was hyrd be Wm. bows to bring out ye links and 
torches, L.3, I63. ; James Bob for coming to Carlnik w* ye torches, 
L.1 ; ye man that broi^it ye mortcloath to Cumbemald, L.2; ye 



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BIGGAB EIRK. 91 

cotchman and his man at bigtur for horse stall and diat, L.4; a pjnt 
of wyn and two plls of brandy and glase to James Carmicliael's weif, 
L.2 ; Hew Anderson and his daughter besyd ane firlot of meal, 
L.1, 6b.' 

At the death of the founder of the College Chnrch, in 1547, the 
building, as we have already observed, was unfinished. Uis son and 
successor, James Lord Fleming, carried on the work ; but, from some 
cause or other, he also failed to complete it, as well as the hospital for 
the bedesmen, and the manses for the priests. On the 5tb of May 
1555, he obtained a charter from the abbot and convent of Holyrood, 
conferring on the College of Biggar the patronage and emoluments of 
the Church of Dunrod, in the diocese of Whithorn, avowedly on the 
ground of the scanty provisioD made for the provost and prebendaries 
of the College. This charter has been preserved in the chartulaiy of' 
the Uonastery of Holyrood, and is of considerable length. As every- 
diing of this kind possesses not merely a local, but a general interest, 
we will give an abridged translation of its principal points. It ii 
addressed by Robert Stewart, commendator of the Monastery of the 
Holycross, to the reverend father in Christ, Andrew, by the grace of 
God Bishop of Candida Casa, and Dean of the Chapel Koyal at Stirling. 
It sets out by saying that all sincere endeavours to promote the worship 
and honour of Almighty God, made' by the faithful, ought to be 
extolled, approved of, and asdsted by every person to the utmost 
extent of his power. The abbot and monks of Holyrood had, there- 
fore, fully appreciated the angular afiection, piety, and beneficence 
displayed towards God and the holy Catholic Church by the late 
noble and potent Malcolm Lord Flemii^ who in these miserable and 
heretical (Lutheranis) times, and at his own expense, had erected a 
magnificent church at the town of Biggar, in honour of Almighty God 
and the Virgin Mary, and commonly called the College of ' The 
Blessed Mary of Biggar,' in which a provost and a certain number of 
other religious men had been appointed, established, and set apart to 
the service of God and the blessed 'Virgin. James Lord Fleming, son 
and heir of the late Malcolm Lord Fleming, had lately presented to 
the said abbot and monks a petition, which showed that his Lordship, 
moved by pious zeal and devotion, was striving to follow in the foot- 
steps of his excellent father, and was endeavouring not merely to 
uphold the College, but to improve it with most watchful care. The 
petition also reminded them that they had in their hands the right of 
patronage of the Church of Dunrod ;* and they felt that in these evil 
times it was incnmbent on them, so far as their ability extended, to 
increase the means of religious worship, and render assistance to Lord 
Fleming, Ki that he might not be deterred from pursuing his excellent 

' Dunrod formed tlie loutli part of the parish of Eirkcudbiight It -Prta fruited, 
with III chnreh, to the Uoouter; of Holfrood bo early u 1160. The remiliu of it* 
ehuToh an jeX lo be aeen, and its eaaMtry is still in lus. 



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MS BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

purpose and dcsigo, and fed too great inconvenience from the slender 
endowment and scanty revenue of the numerous religious men officiat- 
ing in the College at Biggar. They had therefore resolved, in chapter 
assembled, after mature consideration, and with the consent of the 
venerable John Stevenson, prothonotary apostolic and precentor of the 
Metropolitan Church of GLisgow, first provost of the College of Biggar, 
and present vicar of the Parish Church of Dunrod, to give up all and 
whole the produce, rents, rights, and emoluments belonging to the 
vicarage of Dunrod, so far as their power extended, in order that they 
might be united, annexed, and incorporated with the provostship of 
the said College. They provided, however, that a vicar stipendiary 
should be appointed to discharge the duties of the Parish Church of 
Dunrod, and should receive for stipend twenty merks Scots aimually, 
together with a house and garden, and an acre of arable land. They 
conclude by calling on the bishop of the diocese to approve and con- 
firm the nomination of the paid vicar, and the annexation and incor- 
poration of the produce and rents of the vicarage and other things, aa 
Already stated ; to supply any omissions that they had made ; and to 
accept the signatures of their agents, acting in their name. To the 
charter is appended the seal of the monastery, and the subscription of 
the abbot and monks, and of John Stevenson, provost of the College 
of Biggar. 

John Stevenson, or Steinstoune, as he spelled his name, was the 
last Roman Catholic precentor of the Metropolitan Church of Glasgow. 
He was the first provost of the Collegiate Church of St Mary's of 
Bi^ar, and held, besides, the office of a Lord of Session. An inte- 
resting relic of this ecclesiastic, long preserved by the lale Principal 
Lee, is now in the possession of Adam Sim, Esq. This is a copy of 
the historical fragments of the Babylonian priest Berosus, which be- 
longed to hira, and which has his autograph both on the title-page and 
on the last leaf. The following ie the inscription on the last leaf: — 

' Spe eipecto, 
Sum ei lifaris magistri Johannia Steinstoune, Hetropolitane Glaaguenua 
prtecentoria, de Collegiat. Ecclea. Be Marie de Bigger pnepoeiti— et Ami- 
corum, IMS.' 

The glory of Biggar Kirk, as a collegiate establishment, was short- 
lived. The provost, canons, singing boys, and poor men, scarcely felt 
themselves warm and at ease in their new possessions, when they were 
roused and perturbed by the thunders of Knox and other leaders of 
the Scottish Kefonnation. The crusade against popish idolatry bural 
forth with destructive fury in 1659. The monasteries and other 
religious houses were attacked and demolished by the ' rascal multi- 
tude,' and their revenues reverted to the Crown, or were seized by 
the rapacious and turbulent nobles. How far the principles of the 
Reformation had at that time made progress among the burgesses of 



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BIOQAR KIRK. M 

Biggar, it is perh^n imposaible now Ui say. The powerfal mfluence 
exerted orer them bj Lord Fleming, in virtue of his feudal righta and 
prerogatiTes, would no doubt prereat them from laying violent hands 
OQ the new ecclesiastical edifice of Biggor Kirk, had they been so 
disposed. The monuments of idolatry connected with its walls were, 
at any rate, few. The heads of two or three aunts, the emblems of a 
dove, or even of a serpent, were not calculated greatly to rouse th« 
deatmotive propensities of the Reformers, who may have sprung up 
within the bounds of the burgh and barony. Some of the most offen- 
sive may have been defaced in the manner in which they are now to 
be seen. The altars would be overturned, the sacred furniture and 
utensils would be carried off, the priests would cease to perform their 
masses, the organ and the singing boys would become silent, and the 
poor bedesmen would no longer ut at the graves of the founder and 
his relatives, and pray for the safety of their souls. 

A great difficulty was felt in supplying the places ctf the Romish 
priests. A sufficient number of regularly ordained Proteatant clergy- 
men was not to be found. It was, therefore, laid down in the 'First 
Book of Discipline,' that 'To the churches where no ministers can be 
had presentlie, must be appointed the most apt men, that distinotUe 
can read the common prayers and the Scripttuee, to exercise both 
themselves and the Church till they grow to greater perfection, and in 
process of time he that is but a reader may attain to a further degree, 
and by the consent of the Church and discreet ministers, may be 
permitted to minister the sacraments,' etc. The names of bishop and 
archbishop were distasteful to the Presbyterian Reformers, and Uiere- 
fore they appointed persons whom they called superintendents, who 
were employed in visiting the churches in a district asngned tliem, 
and preaching the word from pariah to parish. Under this arroDge- 
ment, William Millar was reader at Biggar in 1567, and WUliam 
Hamilton in 1571, with a salary each of L.20. It is not unlikely that 
diese two officials had been prebendaries in the collegiate establish- 
ment of Biggar, as it is known that tiaa class was largely employed at 
the period as readers and exhorters. In 1574 a new eccleedastical 
arrangement, carried into effect by the Earl of Morton, then Regent 
of the kingdom, provided that several parishes should be placed under 
the pastoral superintendence of one minister, while the readers were 
stall to continue to discharge their duties in each parish. 

Dnring the existence of this plan, Ninian Hall was appointed mini- 
ster of Biggar, Lamtngtwii, Hartside, Coulter, Kilbucho, and Syming- 
ton, with a salary of L.114, 13s. 4d. The readers in these parishes, 
and their salaries, were as foUows, viz.: at Biggar, David Makkie, L.20; 
at Lamington and Hartside, John Lindsay, L.22, 48. 5^; at Coulter, 
William UiUar, L.16; at Kilbucho, Andrew Jardine, L.16; and at 
Symington, John lindsay, L.16. In 1576 Walter Haldane was mini- 
ster of Biggar, with a stipend of L.112, and the kirk land of Biggar ; 



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lot BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHINa. 

and the reader was John Pettilloch, with the former salary of L.20. 
Walter Haldnne had also the orersight of the parishes of Coulter, Ijun- 
ington, and Symington. He appears in the end to have committed 
some misdemeanor; for in May 1588 he wa« depoaed, as unworthy to 
fill hia sacred office. The readera and exhortera were debarred fiom 
celebratiiig marriages or administering the sacraments, but it appears 
that in many instances they overstepped the bounds prescribed to 
them. We fiud, for instance, in the records of the Presbytery of 
Glasgow, that James Waugh, reader at Quothquan, was accnied of 
celebradng irregular marriages; and was, bemdes, a drunkard, a 
fighter, a wanton, and inconstant. It was therefore declared by the 
General Assembly, in 1580, that 'thur office is no ordinar office 
within ye Kirk of God;' and in the year following it was enacted that 
this office should be finally abolished, that the churches should be . 
arranged bto a number of presbyteries, and that none but a regularly 
ordained clergyman should be permitted to discharge the duties con- 
nected with public worship. 

Although the ecclesiastical system of Scotland was changed at the 
Reformation, it yet seems that, for a considerable period afterwards, 
some of the clerical staff of Biggar College was kept up, at least in 
name. William Flaming, a son of John Fleming of Garwood, was 
presented to the office of provost, and the parsonage and vicarage of 
the Collegiate Church of Biggar, by John Lord Fleming, on . the 1st 
of January 1573. This person, or perhaps another of the same name 
as he, is styled a servant of Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, obtained a 
tack of the teinds of the parsonage and vicarage, in 1590, from com- 
misnoners appointed by John Lord Fleming to sell or wadset such of 
his teinds and benefices as they should see fit, during his absence 
from this country. William Fleming, who obtained this tack, pro~ 
cured a decreet from the Lords of Session, on the 26th November 
159S, against the feuars, farmers, parishioners, tenant^, tacksmen, 
rentallers, and others indebted in payment of the teinds, fruits, rents, 
and emoluments of the provostrie of the College of Bi^^ar, and the 
parsonage and vicarage of Thankerton, united and annexed to die s(ud 
provostrie, commandmg them to make payment, under the penalty of 
having diligence executed agunst them, and being committed to ward 
in Dumbarton Castle. A gift of the provoatship, with its fruits, rents, 
emoluments, and casualties, was conferred by John, Earl of Wigton, 
on Patrick Fleming of Ballach, on the Slst of March 1661. John, 
E^l of Wigton, patron of the College Kirk and prebendaries thereof, 
with consent of William Fleming, the provost, on the 14th of May 
1616, granted a disposition in favour of James Duncan of the pre- 
bendahip that was endowed with the teinds of Auchynreoch, and the 
two acres of land lying in the town and territory of Kirkintidloch. 
Whether these petvons officiated aa the parish ministers of Biggar, we 
have not been able ti 



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BIGGAB KIBK. tOl 

As we formerly stated, the parish of Thaukerton vu joiiied to tlie 
Collegiate Kirk of Biggar previous to the Reformatjoo. It was this 
drcumBtance that led tLe Commiaaioiiers for the Plantation of 
ChnrcheB, on the 5tb of Decemher 1617, to unite and annex the 
Cbnrch and Pariah of Thonkerton to the Church and Parish of Big- 
gar, and to decern that the Earl of Wigion, patron of these churches, 
and tacksman of their teinds, should provide and maintain a pass^e- 
boat oa tlie Clyde, for the accommodation of the parishicmers of 
ThankertoD, when ikey attended divine service at the Kirk of Biggar. 
The people of Thankerton hy and hy became averse to repair to the 
Kirk of Biggar, and they rebelled in the same way as the people of 
Libberton afterwards rebelled in regard to the Kirk of Quothquan. 
On the 13th of May 1630, the minister of Biggar lodged a complaint 
with the Presbytery of I^uuurk, that the parishioners of Thankerton 
refused to attend the Kirk of Biggar, on the ground that it was in- 
convenient to travel so far to the examinations, by which they were 
prepared for partidpadon in tlie sacrament of the Sapper. 'Hie par- 
ishioners were therefore summoned before the Presbytery, to show 
the grounds of their refusal On the 27th of the same month they 
appeared by commissioners before the Presbytery, and positively 
asserted that they would not attend divine service at Biggar ; 'quhair- 
fore ye breether ordaine ye censures of ye kirk to proceed ogunst 
thame for contumacie.' On the 10th of June fc^owing, diey agiun 
appeared, and informed the Presbytery that they had held an inter- 
view with the Earl of Wigton, and that he had promised with all pos- 
sible diligence to meet with liie Presbytery in order to concert some 
method, 'how ye Kirk of Thankerton may be served.' The Presby- 
tery therefore thought it advisable to proceed no further with the 
infliction of spiritual oensores on the people <^ Thankerton. The 
dispute, however, was not so soon settled. We find that in the spring 
of 1635, the Archbishop of Glasgow wrote a letter to the Presbytery 
of Lanark, ordering George Ogstonn, minister of Covington, to sig- 
nify to the parishioners of Thankerton that they ^ould repair to the 
Kirk of Biggar, in accordance with thB dednou of the Conunissiouers' 
for the Plantation of Churches. The Presbytery, however, brought 
the subject before the Synod ; and the result in the end was, that 
Thankerton was joined to the parish of Covington. 

Thomas Campbell was minister, or what was called parson and 
vicar of Biggar, about the beginning of the seventeenth century. On 
the 13th February 1607, he granted a tack of the teinds of Biggar, 
during his lifetiine, to John, Eoil of Wigton, for the payment of four 
cholders of oatmeal, betvreen ' Toul and Candlemas,' and relieving his 
Lordship of the communion elements and all stents and taxation. In 
1644, when the Presbytery of Biggar was formed, a lliomas Camp- 
bell was stiU minister of Biggar; hut whether this was the same indi- 
vidual who grouted the tack to the £arl, it is very difficult to say. At 



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ins BIGGAK AND THE BODSG OF FLEUDIG. 

that time Mr Campbell was an old man, incapable of dischai^g the 
duties of his office. The pulpit of Bi^ar was therefore, for Beveral 
years, avipplied by members of the Presbytery. Many applications 
were made to the Earl of Wigton to issue a presentation in favour of 
some acceptable minister, but nothing was done till Optober 1646, 
when a letter was laid before the Presbytery of Biggar fi-om his 
Lordship, 'whurin he did uoninat Mr Alexander laviagetoa, now 
minister at Caimichael, for ye Kirk of Biggar;' and a 'snpplicatione* 
from the parishioners was at the same time presented, calling on the 
Presbytery to take all necessary steps to forward so desirable a set- 
tlement. The Presbytery therefore lost no time in prosecntiiig the 
matter before the Presbytery of Lanark; and this Presbytery having 
obtained a decbion favourable to the translation from the Commission 
of the General Assembly, and being satisfied that Mr Livingatone was 
inclined to accept the presentation, they agreed to transport the said 
Alexander Livingstone to the Kirk and Parish of Biggar. Mr Living- 
stone was most acceptable both to the Presbytery and the people of 
Biggar. He was an eloquent and effective preacher. On tbe 27th of 
January 1647, he preached a popular sermon, from Eph. iv. 11, 12, 
b^ore the Presbytery, preparatory to his settlement, which gave the 
members so great satisfaction, that they put on record that they praised 
God for the gifts and graces which He had bestowed on their intended 
colleague^ The following extract from the report of his induction, on 
the 8d of February 1647, can hardly fail to be read at the present day 
with interest by the parishioners of Biggar : — 'And haveing seiiouslie 
exhorted ye whole people of that congregatione, espedallie ye present 
etderis of ye same, that in regmrd they had been so long destitute of a 
pastor, and now that they had received one soe hopeliill to doe good 
among theme, and one whome they had so eamestlie socht for, that 
they wold testifie yr thankfullnea to (jod for him, and that they wold 
reverence and obeye him as yr pastor in all things in the Lord. 
Thairafter the taii ministeris, elderis, deacones, and parochiners re- 
spective, iu signe of yr consent, did t&k the said Mr Alexander Liv- 
ingstone be ye hand, and gave to him most heartilie ye richt hand of 
fellowschip.' Mr Livingstone, as is well known, demitted his charge 
in 1663, rather than comply with the new ecclenastical arrangements 
then established by law. His future hiEtory is shrouded in obscurity. 

No record exists, so far as we know, that describes the ecclesiastical 
condition of the parish of Biggar during the persecution, from 1662 
to 1688. It appears to have been favoured with the ministrations of 
one or two successive curates; and there is evidence to show that 
some hot contentions took place in conseqn^ice of the withdrawal of 
the parishioners irom the Parish Kirk, and their attendance on con- 
venticles. 

The first curate at Biggar, of whom we know anything, is lUchard 
Brown. His name appears repeatedly in the books of the Earl of 



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BIGQAR EIRE. 103 

Wigton, as having Tecared his adpend, which appears to have been 
paid partly in money and partly in victuaL For instance, it is re- 
corded that there was allowed 'Richard Brown, minister at Bigyar, the 
sonme of fourscore pund qlk completes his aUver stippand cropt 1674.' 
The following order regan^g the payment of liis victual stipend, 
from William, Earl of Wigton, to Bailie James Law of Biggar, is still 
preserved: — 'Jamea Law, at sight heirof, pay to Mr Bichard Broune, 
oar minister at Bi^er, twelve bolls victuall, tow pairt meal and third 
palrt beir, faill not heirin, as ye will be answerable to ns; and this, 
with his receipt, ghall be your sufficient warrand. Given under our 
hand at Bi^er Januar sixten, jaj vi seventie-fyre (1675) years. 

'WiGTOUKE.' 

Mr Biown's receipt is written on the same sheet ; and whatever may 
have been his merits in other respects, we can say at least that he was 
a good penman. At what time Mr Brown was settled we have not 
discovered, but we have found references to a kirk session at Biggar 
in 1666. He was most likdy settled by that time, and, though an 
Episcopalian, appears to have had a kirk session. At that time, and 
for many years subsequently, the Earls of Wigton paid L.60 Scots, as 
interest, or, aa it is caQed, annual rent, on a sum of L.1000 to the 
kirk session of Biggar. The next Big$;ar corate whose name has 
been preserved is John Reid, who was translated from Walston to 
Biggar in the end of the year 1685. 

After the Revolution, William Jacque appears to have been for 
soma time minister of Biggar. He was succeeded in 1697 by Robert 
Idvingstone, who was translated from Libberton. Mr Livingstone 
died in 1733. A Mr Jack was appointed his assistant and successor 
in 1732; and he continued to officiate here till the 27th April 1749, 
when he was translated to Camwath. 

The curators of the heirs of John, Earl of Wigton, viz., WiUiam, 
Earl of Panmure, and William Fleming of Barrochan, in 1751, issued 
a presentation to the Kirk of Biggar in favour of Mr William Haig. 
The call to this gentleman was supported by I^y Clementina Flem- 
ing, and her husband, Mr Elphinston, by Mr Chancellor of Shield- 
hill, Sussana Lockhart, widow of Mr Dickson of Hartree, by Robert 
Forsyth, Robert Hamilton, and his sister Margaret Cooper. Bat, on 
the other hand, it was opposed by Lady Persilands, Mr Brown of 
Edmonstone, — James Telfer, Laurence Boe, James Bertram, John 
Gladstanes, James Smith, and James Melrose, all remdent heritors 
except James Melrose; by four of the elders, twenty-five feuars of the 
town of Biggar, and one hundred and twenty-five householders. The 
Presbytery, in these circumstances, decided that they could not pro- 
ceed to the settlement of the presentee, and resolved to apply to the 
patrons to be relieved from any further trouble in the matter; but 
Gideon Lockhart, writer, Lanark, as agent for the present«e, protested 
and appealed to the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. The case, 



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104 BIOOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIKG. 

aocordingly, came before the Synod, and afterwards before the Gene 
ral Aasembly. The deliTerance of the Assembly was, that 'in present 
drcumstances it is not eiqiedient to ^point the settlement of l^e pre- 
sentee, and do remit to the Presbytery of Biggar, to deal with sU 
concerned, in order to bring about a comfortable settlement of the 

A9 the parishioners, almost unanimously, still perserered in their 
opposi^on to the settlement, the Presbytery found that they could 
proceed no further in the case; and therefore another appeal was 
made to the higher ecclesiastical courts. The Conmiission of the 
General Assembly q)pointed a committee to deal with objections. 
The following objections were laid by the elders before the com- 
mittee: — '1st He began on a high enough key, but he was not able 
to hold out the whole length of the service. 2d. That he was wo un- 
wieldy and infirm, that they had no prospect of his being able to 
perform the duties of his office by Tisiting his parishioners, particu- 
larly the sick.' The whole people intimated that they adhered to 
these objections. The committee thereupon exhorted them to be 
cautious what they said, as every statement made would go to proof; 
and reminded them that further opposition on their part would have 
the effect of keeping the Church longer vacant. The answer of the 
parishioners was, that they were determined to persevere in the course 
on which they had entered, as in their opinion the settlement of Mr 
Haig would be no better than a vacancy. The consequence of this 
dedded opposition was, that Mr Hmg was induced to write a letter 
to the Presbytery from Edinburgh, on the 8th of June 1751, resign- 
ing any r^t which he might have acquired to the incumbency of 
Biggar. 

On the 27tii of June, Bailie Carmichael appeared before the 
Presbytery, and laid on the table a presentatioii to the Kirk of Biggar 
in favour of Mr John Johnston, minister of the Gospel in the Castle of 
Edinburgh. John Gladstanes, one of the elders, at the same time 
presented a petition, signed by all the elders, the resident heritors, 
and a large number of the heads of families, craving that the Presby- 
tery would proceed to the settlement of Mr Johnston with all con- 
venient speed. Mr Johnston was consequentiy inducted to the charge 
of Biggar on the 26th September 1754. Mr Johnston died on the 
. 15th of October 1778. The next incumbent of the parish of Biggar 
was Mr Robert Pearson, who, as elsewhere relat^, was violentiy 
obtruded in 1780. Mr Pearson dying in 1787, Mr William Watson 
was admitted to the chai^ on the 23d October 1787. This divine 
died in 1822, and was succeeded in 18^3 by the present incumbent, 
the Rev. John Christison, A.M. 

The Flemings, from an early period, were patrons of the Parish 
Church, and also of an hospital dedicated to St Leonard. No account 
of this latter institution can now be obtained, and iiie very spot on 



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BIGGAR KIRE. IDS 

which it stood is not known. It is supposed that the lands belonging 
to it were those of Spittsl on Candy Bum, and that it was from thia 
circumBtance that they acquired their name ; Spittal being a corrup- 
tion of the Latin word hoapitinm — a house of entertainment. We 
know that Malcolm Lord Fleming, vho founded the College Kirk of 
Biggar, bestowed the church lands of Spittal on this establishment 
for the endowment of one of the prebendaries, who was to be called 
Canon of the Hospital of St Leonards. The charter chest of the 
Wigton family contains many documents which refer to the patronage 
bo^ of the Church and the Hospital There is, for instance, a precept 
of Sosine, granted by James JX, for infefting Bobert Lord Fleming in 
the lands of Biggar, and the patronage of the Church and Hospital, 
which bears date dlst May 1446. This was relative to a charter 
proceeding upon the personal resignatiDn cf David Lord Hay of Yester. 
A claim, it would seem, was made by Lord Hay to these patronages, 
and a lawsuit was the consequence. Oommisdoners appointed to 
settle the dispnte held a meeting at Glasgow on the 31st of Jnly 
1469, and gave forth a decreet, by which they declared that the 
patronage belonged to Bobert Lord Fleming, as the tme, loyal, and 
only lawAil and undoubted pab^n of the Churoh of Bi^ar. Eefer- 
ence is also made to Lord Fleming's right of patronage to the Church 
and Hospital of Biggar in documents dated 1470 and 1472. The 
patronage of Bi^ar Kirk has remained with the Fleming family and 
their descendants ever since, and at present (1862) is the proper^ of 
Lady Hawarden, the daughter of the late Admiral^ Fleming. 

The stipend of the Parish Church of Biggar, which, in 1821, was 
fixed at seventeen chaldere, half oatmeal and half barley, was two 
years ago atigmented to nineteen. The sum derivable from this 
source is stated to be L.S07, 3s. OAd. per annndo. An allowance of 
L.6, 6s. 6d. is also given for communion elements; and the glebe, 
extending to ten acres, is sud to let at L.4, 4s. per aore. The &ee 
teind in the parish is still upwards of L.200. 



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CHAPTER X. 

%t f nsbstnu of ^igjar. 

^^HE Presbytery of I^Durk waa originally composed of twenty- 
(v L *"^ parislics. About the year 1640 an agitation was set on 
'•~^&y foot to constitute a new Presbytery, the seat of which shouJd 
be at Biggar, and which should consist of eight parishes in 
the Upper Ward connected with tlie Presbytery of Lanark, and four in 
Tweeddale connected witb the Presbytery of Peebles. At the General 
Assembly in 1641, John Lord Fleming, who was the representative 
elder for Biggar parish, presented a petition in favour of this scheme, 
which was referred to the visitation of the bounds. The agitation 
was still kept up ; and at the General Assembly which met at Edin- 
burgh in August 1C43 the subject waa amply discussed; and after 
due trial, and the hearing of aU parties, it waa resolved to erect the 
new Presbytery, and to grant to it full power of jurisdiction, the 
exercise of discipline, and all the liberties and privileges belonging lu 
any other Presbytery. At the same time, it was agreed that the 
formal establishment, or, as it was called, the entry and possession, of 
the new Preabytery, should be suspended during the pleasure of the 
General Assembly, Principal Baillie says that this was done ' because 
of my Lord Fleming's small affection to the common cause.' The 
meaning of this moat likely is that by thia time his Lordship had 
deserted the cause of Presbytery and gone over to the aide of the 
King and Episcopacy. The mmisten and elders of the parishes em- 
braced in the new Presbytery presented i petition to the General 
Aasembly which met at Edinburgh m June 1644, craving that the 
reverend court should without further deliy constitute the Presby- 
tery. This ' auppUcatioun bung reid in audience of the General 
Assembly, and thereafter the Commissioners from the Presbyteries 
of Lanark and Peebles personally present being at length heard, in 
what they could say or aUege therein ; And the said supplicatioun and 
desire thereof with the alledgiances and objections made against the 
samine being taken into consideration by the Assembly, and they 
therewith being fully and ripely advised, the Assembly, after removing 
of the parties, and after consideration of the premisses and voycing of 
the fores^d desire, Ordaines the entrie and possessione of the foresaid 
Presbyterie of Biggar, consisting of the particular kirks above men- 
tioned, to begin now presently ; And appoints and ordaines all the 
ministers and ruling elders of the forsaid kirks above specified, 
whereof the said Presbytery consists, lo meet and convene with all 



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THE PBESBYTEKT OF BIOGAR. 107 

conTeniencie at the said Kirk of Biggar, which ia the place and seat 
of the samine Preabyterie ; And the Assembly refers to the Conums- 
aiosers, to be appointed by them for the public affsira of the Kirk, to 
determine to what Synod this the said new erected Presbyterie shall 
be subordinate, as also to prescribe the order and solemnities that 
shall be necessar for entering and possessing the ministers and eldos 
in the said Presbyterie.' 

The following are the names of the clergymen who, along with a 
ruling elder from each parish, formed the Presbytery of Biggar at iU 
institution in 1644: — Thomas Campbell, Biggar; Robert Brown, 
Brongbton ; Alexander Somervail, Dolphinton ; Kenneth Logie, Skir- 
ling ; George Bennet, Quothquan ; Andro Gudlatt^ Symington ; John 
Currie, Coulter ; Robert Elliot, Kilbucho ; Wiiliam Dickson, Glen- 
holm; Thomas Londsay, Walston; and George Ogstoun, Covington. 
The Kirk of Wandel and Lamington was at the time Tacant, and one 
of the earliest caaee that came before the new Presbytery was a dis- 
pute regarding the settlement of this parish. The previous incum- 
bent, Mr James Baillie, died in 1642 ; and a violent controTersy arose 
between Douglas, Earl of Angus, proprietor of Wandel, and Sir 
William Baillie, proprietor of lamington, as to which of them had the 
right to appoint a successor. As they could come to no agreement, 
both of them exercised the right of patronage. Baillie presented 
John Currie, and Douglas, Andrew M'Ghie. The case came before 
the Presbytery of Lanark, and afterwards before the hi^er eccleaas- 
tical courts. A decision was given in favour of Douglas, and conse- 
-quently of M'Ghie. The Presbytery of Lanark having, accordingly, 
^pointed M'Ghie to preach before the people of Lamington in March 
1644, the Lady of Lamington, aided by several other women, took 
possession of the pulpit in a tumultuous manner, and prevented the 
presentee from obtaining an entrance, and, of course, a hearing, — her 
Ladyship stoutly declaring, < that no dog of the house of Douglas 
should ever bark there.' 

This was too heinous an ofience to be lightly passed over by the 
divines of the Lanark Presbytery, They lodged a complaint against 
the lady and her abettors with the Privy Council^ and the consequence 
was, that a decree was issued, commanding the accused to enter their 
persons in ward in the Tolbocth of Edinburgh. This was accordingly 
done ; and they remained in confinement till a fine imposed on them 
of 1000 merks was paid to the Lanark Presbytery. Ilie members of 
this court were not yet satisfied. They wished her Ladyship to appear 
before them, and make a public expression of her deep contrition for 
an offence ' bo scandalous for the present, and so dangerous for the 
tame to come.' Before this part of the case could be finally disposed 
of, the Presbytery of Biggar was formed, and the Lady of Lamington 
was now within its jurisdicdon. The Presbytery of Lanark desired 
that her Ladyship and the other delinquents should be sent by the 



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lOr BIOOAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHO. 

Presbjrtery of Biggar to LanaA to make atonement before the court, 
the authority of which she had violated, AAei mDch altercation, the 
answer of the Biggar Presbytery was, ' That they would do nothing 
of that kind till they should receive a pairt of the soume lately de- 
termined by the ConncU to the Presbytery of Lanark.' The ground 
OQ which this clum was made, was ^at several members of the 
Biggar Presbytery had, while members of the Lanark Presbytery, 
expended money in prosecut^g the case. 

The Presbytery of Biggar itself resolved to deal with the I^mington 
ladies ; and, accordingly, they were cited to appear before it on the 
25th December 1644. The minute of that date states, 'This day 
compeired the Ladle loomiingtoune ; and being accused of ane scau- 
dell committed be her in ye Kirk of lammingtoun by her resisting 
and stopping of Andxo M'Ghie (expectant sent yr be ye Presbyteiie 
of Lanark), who came yr upon ye Lord's day to preach, schoe did 
confesse the samyn resistance, hot withal did solemnlie protest that 
she had no ill intention, neither any thocht either to profane God's 
Sabbath or house, or to hinder preaching, bot oulie schoe satt and 
stayed Mr Andro to enter ye pulpitt, and went into the samyn, onUe 
for fear of losing her husband's richt (he being absent for the tyme 
in England in the publick service), or for fear of some ill or greater 
inconvenience which might have {alien forth. And nothwithstanding 
whairof, yett was content to refer herself to ye Presbyterie to mak 
satisfacdone as they pleased. Whairupon the Presbyterie, after dewe 
advyse, did ordaine her, the next Lord's day, in her awin kirk, and 
in her ordinary saitt, to confess her fault, and in most humble manner ' 
to crave pardon, when schoe suld be called upon be the preacher 
efter his sermon. And being also desyred to ddaite these who were 
her helpers and attendants in the said resistance, schoe did declare 
ii^nuqusly upon her conscience that none of all her folkes did 
stirre, or move out of yr places, except two, who went to the pulpitt 
doore with her, to witt, Catherine and Jennet Bailyie. Whairenent 
the Presbytery having called in ye wholl summoned persones, -did 
absolve them except these two, whom they enjoined to mak yr public 
repentance, the same day and place, and in manner foresaid. And 
to that effect did ordaine Mr Thomas Lyndaay to preach yr ye said 
day, and receive the confesriones and testificationes of the repentance 
of ye said offenders, and to report ye next day.' The report given in 
at next meeting of Presbytery was, that the Lamington ladies had in 
every respect complied with the sentence of the Presbytery. 

Andro M'Ghie, after all, was not settled at Lamington. He seems 
to have withdrawn ; and John Crawford, another nominee of the Earl 
of Angus, was settled in that parish on the 11th of August 1645. 
On that day, it is recorded that possession and collation were given 
to this gentleman, by the Presbyt^iy handing him the key of the kirk- 
door, going to the manse and putting out the fire of the former occu- 



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THE PRESBYTERY OF BIOGAS. 1U9 

pants, and 'biggmg on a f^re for the smd Mr John,' and by deliver- 
ing ' card and sUne ' in the manse, yard, and glebe land, lying within 
the baronj of WandeL 

One of the most notable proceedings of the Presbyteiy was the 
viutation of the churches within its bonnds. This was conducted in 
a most searching and inquisitorial manner. After the minister of the 
parish to which the visit was piud had preached a sermon, he was 
removed, and the elders were called in one by one, and strictly in- 
terrogated if their pastor preached sonnd doctrine; if he was painful 
in preaching twice on Sabbath and once on a week-day; if he regu- 
loriy vinted his parishioners, and particularly the sick; if he kept up 
fanuly worship in his own household, and enjoined it on others, etc 
The elders were then removed, and the pastor himself was called in, 
and questioned if he had any complaint to make regarding His elders, 
or the state of the kirk and parish. The answers elicited on these 
occasions involved not merely the Presbytery, but the inhabitants of a 
parish, in a great amount of vexation and trouble. When the mem- 
bers of Presbytery once entered on a case, they were most indefati- 
gable in searching out every particular regarding it, and most in- 
exorable in exacdi^ due homage to their audiority and Ishb. During 
these visitations, we find that John Currie of Coulter had complaints 
to make regarding the ruinous condition of his kirk and kirkyard 
dykes. Geoi^ Bennet of Quothquan was annoyed at the enmity that 
prevuled between his parishioners in Libberton and Quothquan, the 
Libbertonians refiiang point blank to attend religions ordinances in 
the Eirk of Quothquan. Robert Brown of Bronghton had accusations 
brought agtunst him for having ad^sed Sir David Murray of Stan 
hope to join Montrose. William Dickson of Glenholm 'regraitted' 
that his kirk was in bad condition, and that the kirkyard was likely 
to be carried away with the water. George Ogatonn of Covington 
was offended because Sir Francis Douglas had buried a child in his 
kirk. Andro Gudlatt of Symington was blamed that he preached 
doctrine noways edifying; that he delivered only one disconrse on 
Sabbath; that he did not introduce the 'Directorie' in proper time; 
that he had baptized a child at Biggar without knowing whether it 
was dead or alive; that he had failed to repair his manse, which is 
described as being 'as base as a cottar's house;' and that he was puffed 
np with self-pride. And Kenneth Lt^e of Skirling comphuned that 
he did not rec^ve the amotmt of stipend t« which he was entitled. 

Another p<nnt on which the members of Presbytery were most 
exacting, was the visitation and catechizing of families. They drew 
up a set of regulations and questions, which were first to be ex- 
pounded from the pulpit, and then used when the pastor went from 
house to bouse, llie principal points into which he was to make 
inquiry were, if the family made prayers morning and evening; if the 
Lord's day was properly observed, by prayer, reading the Scripturi^, 



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no BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

attending religious ordinances, and abstaining from frequenting com- 
mon inns, from lascivious, worldly, and idle conversation, from feeing 
- servants, or making any kind of merchandise ; if every household had 
a Bible and a psalm-book, and every member of it could read ; if any 
scandalous persons were in the family, and, if there were, to report 
them to the kirk session; and, lastly, if all the social duties of husband 
and wife, parent and child, master and servant, were duly observed. 

Another subject which engaged the attention of the Presbytery, in 
1645, was the introduction of the 'Directory for Public Worship.' 
This was readily adopted by the Presbytery, and all the members 
began to introduce it in the month of August of that year, having 
first read and expounded it to the peojile of .the several parishes 
from the pulpit. Tlie only exception was Andro Gudlatl of Syming- 
ton, who thus justified himself when called on by his brethren to 
explain his conduct: 'lie thocht it best,' he said, 'to delay and not to 
be over sudden, until he did see a farther settling, for he feared 
changes; and if the King should prevail and bring in Bishops, they 
wold call us false knaves, and say we wold turn to any thing, and not 
spair to embrace ye masse.' This reply gave the brethren great ofi'ence, 
and led, with other delinquencies, to tlie suspension of the 'holy brother.' 
The whole of Britain, at the time at which the Presbytery of Big- 
gar was formed, was in a very disturbed slate, in consequence of the 
war between Charles L and a portion of his subjects, and in Scotland 
particularly by the campaigns of Montrose. The members of Pres- 
bytery were alterriately swayed by hopes and fears. They held 
solemn days of thanksgiving for the victory of Fairfax in Northamp- 
tonshire, the capture of the town of Newcastle by the Scots army, 
and the defeat of Montrose at Philiphaugh by General LesUe. On 
the other hand, they had to fast and mourn for the triumphs of Mon- 
trose, and the invasion and victories of Cromwell. After the battle 
of Kilsyth, five of them fled from their manses and their flocks alto- 
gether, and the meetings of Presbytery were suspended for two months, 
which is termed a 'long vacancie occasioned be the insolencie of ye 
barbarious enemie approaching to this parte of ye countrie,' No 
sooner was Montrose defeated at Philiphaugh, and all apprehensions 
of immediate danger were removed, than the fugitives came out of 
their hiding-places, and returned to their charges. They now asstuned 
a vast amount of courage ; and in order to cover the disgrace of their 
retreat, they had the audacity to take to task those who kept their 
posts and boldly faced the danger. The minute on this subject is bo 
interesting and amusing, that it must be quoted entire. The day on 
which this trial took place was the 15th October 1 S46. 'This day ye 
Presbyterie took tryell of the breether's carriage, who had stayed at 
home, and not fled ye tyme of the enemie's abode in thir quarteris, 
after this manner, — first, ye SMd breether (being saxe in number, to 
witt, Hobert Brown, William Dickson, Andro Gudlatt, George Og- 



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THE PRESBYTEBy OF BIGGAR. Ill 

stoun, George Bcnnet, and Thomas Lmdsay) being desjred to answer 
certain queries, did give satisfactoric answers yrunto, as I. if they did 
aie James Graham in his Leaguer — the answer negative, II. if they 
had socht or received protection from the enemie — the answer nega- 
tive; m. if they did preach and pray against the enemies of God's 
Kirk and these wicked men — the answer was affirmative, every one of 
them remembering his text of Scripture and sundry of the doctrines, 
whilk the Fresbyterie did consider was to the purpose and a clear 
evidence of yr hoaestie and good affectione ; IIIL if they had bochi 
any plundered gear — yr answer was negative; V. if they did blame 
thair breether for flieing — yr answer negative; VL if both in privat 
and publick they had dissuaded yr people from compliance with ye 
enemy — yr answer wes that they did so; VIL if they had read or 
caused read James Grahame's orders — the answer was negative : 
Next, because they willingly did ofier themselves to any tryeU : And 
lastly, in respect the Toyce of the countrie was, that they carried 
themselves both honestly and court^eously, therefore the Presbyterie 
were satisfied with tliem, and evety one giving praise to God, did 
rejoice one with another.' 

From repeated expressions in the rect^ds of the Presbytery, we 
might infer that the army of Montrose visited the Biggar district. "Die 
members talk of ' ye approach of ye barbarous enemie to this part of 
ye countrie,' and inquire what the carriage of each other was during 
'ye tyme of ye enemies' abode in ye countrie,' — if ' they bocht any 
plundered gelr' from the soldierB, and if they saw Montrose, or James 
Graham, as they invariably call him, in his leaguer. These statements, 
« diongh not entirely explicit, would yet seem to indicate that Mon- 
trose's army had come nearer the Upper Ward than the camp or 
leaguer established at Bothwell, which was about thirty miles distant. 
We can, however, find no account in any history that Montrose's army, 
or even a detachment of it, visited the Biggar district, either during 
the dme the chief leaguer was maintiuned at Bothwell, or during the 
march to the sonth of Scotland previous to the battle of Philiphaugh. 

It was one of the lamentable results of the unhappy contentions 
which at that time prevailed, that the Presbyterian clergy resolved to 
regard certun political opinions and actions as ecclesiastical offences. 
Malignancy, or an adherence to the cause of Royalty, was held by 
them to be one of the most grievous delinquencies, and they set them- 
selves with uncommon zeal to ferret out every person in their respec- 
tive parishes that, by word or deed, could in the least degree be 
regarded as leaning to the side of their Sovereign. The Presbytery 
was divided into sections, each consisting of two or three parishes, 
and in these a most thorough search was made for malignants. Thb 
brought the members of Presbytery into collision with the local 
gentry, most of whom were attached to Montrose and the cause of 
Royalty, The most notable offenders on whom they pounced were — 



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Ill BIGQAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

Sir David Murray, Gideon Murray, John Weir, and John louder, of 
Broi^hton ; Sir Francis Douglas of Covington; Christopher Baillie of 
Walston ; John Baillie of St John's Kirk ; Thomas SomroerriUe and 
Alexander Rodger of Quothquan ; John Brown of Coultermains ; and 
WiUiatn Lindsay of Birthwood, and his son Andrew. All of these 
persons were in the end forced to appear before ^e Presbytery, to 
acknowledge their offence, and to crave pardon. 

It is interesting to note that the members of Presbytery, on the 
morning of the 5th of September 1650, hastened to Biggar, without 
any previous concert, but every one of hia own accord. They found 
the town in a sad state of uproar. This was occasioned by the anival 
of news of the defeat of the Scots army at Dunbar. After calling on 
the name of the Lord, the Presbytery appointed next day to be ob- 
served as a day of soleum fasting and humiliation for the sins of tlte 
land, and the manifestations of divine displeasure which had afflicted 
the people. Nearly a hundred years afterwards, the Presbytery 
appointed Tuesday, the 10th of September 1745, as a day of fasting, 
prayer, and humiliation for the abuse of the long-continued peace, 
and the gross immorality and wickedness of all ranks; ' recommending 
it withall to the several mimsters to warn their people of their present 
danger from a Jacobite par^ at home and a popish power abroad, 
to mainbun their loyalty to our present Sovereign King George and 
his royal family, and to adhere to our present happy constitution, 
both in Church and State.' The whole members of Presbytery, as 
elsewhere stated, left their livings in 1662, rather than comply with 
'a tyrant's and a bigot's bloody laws.' 

For some time after the Revolution, the Presbyteries of Biggar , 
and Peebles held their meetings conjointly. The members were few, 
and they had no fixed place of meeting. We find that tiiey assembled 
at Biggar, Peebles, Kilbucho, Eirkurd, Linton, but most frequently 
at the Hills of Dunsyre, a place previously occupied by the famous 
preacher, Mr William Veitch, who, after the Kevolution, was settled 
for some time at Peebles. James Donaldson of Dolphinton, and 
Anthony Murray of Coulter, are the only members of the Biggar Pres- 
bytery that appear to have survived the storms of twenty-eight years' 
persecution, and to have been restored to their pulpits ^er they had 
been vacated by the bated curates. In a few years these aged divines 
were also removed, so that shortly after the close of the seventeenth 
century we find the Presbytery composed of entirely new incumbents. 

Hie records of the Presbytery are contained in fourteen volumes. 
In the early part they are very imperfect, whole years' transactions 
being altogether awan ting. The period from 1650 to 1660 is a blank, 
and so is also the period between 1662 and 1688. For a number of 
yeatB after the Kevolution, they are of a very abbreviated character ; 
but ft«m the commencement of last century they are of ample extent, 
and complete. 



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CHAPTEK XI. 

S^ CofaniaittaB nf i]it ^vj^ ^isincL 

fAMBS VI. yias at first, by profesaipn at least, a zealous Presby- 
terian. Aft«r be was availed by a mob while attending a 
meeting in the Tolbootb of Edinburgh, and espemlly after he 
had a certain prospect of ascending the 'throne of England, 
he began to look coldly on Preebyterianism, as being, in his opinion, 
incompatible with the prerogatives of monarchy- He therefore 
laboured till be succeeded in introdudng the o£ae of bishop into the 
Church, aad also several religious ceremonies, snch as the confirma- 
tion of youths, the observance of holidays, private baptism, private 
communion, and kneeling at the Eucharist, which were commonly 
called the Five Articles of Perth, from having been adopted at a 
General Assembly held at that town. He was contemplating stall 
further innovations, when he died, in 1 625, leaving it as an in}unction 
on his son and successor Charles, to prosecute with all vigour the 
scheme on which he had himself so foolishly entered. In this way 
he hud the foundation of an unhappy contest, that raged in Scotland 
for more than half a century, that caused an incalculable amount of 
^ disorder, cruelty, and bloodshed, and in the end was the means of 
driving the Stewart dynasty &om the throne of these realms. 

Charles I., true to the doctrines in which be had been educated, 
and madly bent on executing the scheme projected by his father, at 
length ordered that a liturgy and book of canons should be introduced 
into the service of the Scottish Kirk. The great body of the Presby- 
terian clergy met this order with the most strenuous opposition, as they 
regarded it as an unwarrantable innovation on the proper mode of 
conducting public worship, and as wholly invalid, inasmuch as it had 
not received the sanction of the General Assembly. The bishops, 
finding the order disregarded, caused the Privy Conndl to pass an 
Act to enforce its observance, under the pun of homii^. Hie mini- 
' ster of Biggar, and most of the other ministers of the Presbytery of 
Lanark, reAised to iiltroduce the service-book and book of canons into 
their ministratioos. The Bishop of Glasgow, in whose diocese they 
were, therefore, sent a messenger of arms to the Presbytery with a 
letter, commanding every member to bny the obnoxious books, and 
on his refusal to put him to the horn. The Presbytery were nothing 
daunted. They met, and resolved to petition the Privy Council 
against the introduction of the two books ; and as their moderator, Mr 



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IM BIGGAB AND THE BOITSE OF FLEHIKG. 

John IJadsay of C&rsturs, who was a subservient tool of the Bishop 
of G-Iasgow, would not join in the petition, they requested him to re- 
ugn his office. landsay, therefore, closed the diet, and, with two or 
three others, left the meeting. Those who remained, constituted 
themselves into a new meeting of PreeliTlery, and chose AleKander 
Somerrail of Dolphinton as moderator pro ten^ore, when the petition 
was uminimoualy adopted. The Privy Council, instead of lending an 
ear to this petition, and others of a similar kind, passed an Act making 
it treason for any body of men to meet for the purpose of adopting 
such memorials. 

This arbitrary step, and the oommotions which took place in Edin- 
burgh on the first introduction of the service-book in the Church of 
St Giles, on Sabbath, the 23d of July 1637, led to an ot^;snization of 
all ranks, and ultimately to the adoption of a Solemn League and 
Covenant. This document was signed on the 38th February 1638, 
in the Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh ; and copies of it were imme- 
diately transmitted to every parish, to receive the names of those who 
stood well affected to the Presbyterian cause. Before the end of 
March it had been read in aeaxly all the churches of the Upper Ward, 
and ngned, amid demonstrations of weeping and enthunasm, by nearly 
the whole people. The only notable exceptions to this unanimity 
were the parishes of Donglas, Carmichael, and Carstairs, in which 
clerical or baronial influence prev^ed in favour of the innovations. 

The General Assembly that met at Glasgow in 1638, set the autho- 
ri^ of the King's Commissioner at defiance. It declared the pro- 
ceedings carried on aad scuactioned by the six previous Asseipblies to 
be null and void, and denounced and abolished the canons, the liturgy, 
the High Commission Court, the Artioles of Perth, the forma of conse- 
cration, and the whole Episcopal system, root and branch. The 
gauntlet was thus thrown down to the King. He look it up, and 
both sides prepared for war. The Earl of Wigtco, and his son John 
Lord Fleming, had agncd the Covenant, and publicly declared that 
they would ^ways maintun the doctrine and discipline now estab- 
lished by the General Assembly and the voice of the nation. Lord 
Fleming immediately took the field at the head of his father's retainers. 
Hia Lordship, and Lords Montgomray, Loudon, Boyd, Lindsay, and 
others, seized the Castle of Strathaven, and compelled all the geniJe- 
men in Clydesdale suspected of favouring the royal cause to give 
secnrity that they would not rise in arms. They tlwn marched to 
Douglas, where they expected a hot reception from the Marquis of 
Dongas, lliey had no cannon, and entertained little hope of being 
able to nmke a successful assault on the strong Castle of Douglas ; 
bat the Marquis did not remain to ofier any resistance ; so they readily 
obtained possession of the Castle, and letl it garrisoned with a detach- 
ment of their troops. 

Lord Fleming, in all likelihood, come to Biggar from Douglas, and 



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THF, COVENANTERS OF THE BIGGAR DISTBICT. US 

completed hia levies. He aoon marched down the Tweed and joined 
the other Covenanters, who had now assembled in considerable num- 
bers uni^er the command of General Leglie, sn old veteran, trained to 
war under the reoowoed Gustavus Adoiphus, King of Sweden. The 
King had also raised a considerable army, and the blazing balefires 
soon gave tolcen that he had crossed the border, and was penetratiDg 
into the country. He published a proclamation at Dunse, requiting 
the rebels to submit within ten days, fixing a price on the heads of 
1^ leaders, and confiscating their estates. He intended also to make 
this proclamation at Kelso, and a strong detachment wa& despatched 
thither under the command of the Earl of Holland. The Scots getting 
iufonnatioQ of this intended movement, Lords Fleming, Monro, and 
Erskine, with their followers, to the number of a thousand horse and 
foot, met them before they could accomplish their purpose, tmd 
offered them battle. The English, however, did not relish the en- 
counter, and fled, losing two hundred men in the pursuit. Principal 
Baillie says that it was thought that HoUand's commission was to cut 
off all opposition ; but his soldiers that day were a great deal more 
nimble in their legs than their arma, except the cavaliers, whose ri^t 
arms were no less weaiy in whipping than their heels in jading their 
horses. 

The Scottish army afterwards encamped on Dunse Law, and pre- 
sented a strange spectacle of military and religions enthusiasm,— the 
din of warlike evolutions intermingling with the voice of psalms, and 
the prayers and sermons of the preachers. ' Every company,' says 
Baillie, 'bad fleeing at the captain's tent-door a brave new colour 
stamped with the Scottish arms, and the motto, " For Christ's Crown 
and Covenant," in golden letters. Our soldiers were all lusty and 
full of courage, the most of them stout young ploughmen; great 
cheerfulness in the face of alL Tliey wtxe clothed in olive or grey 
plaiden, with bomieU having knots of bine ribands. The capt^ns, 
who were barons or country gentlemen, were distinguished by blue 
ribands worn scarf-wise across die body. None of our gentlemen 
were anything the worse of lying some weeks toge^er in tbeir cloaks 
and boots on the ground. Every one encouraged another. The 
sight of the nobles and their beloved pastors daily raised tbeir hearts. 
The good sermons and prayers morning and evening, under the roof 
of heaven, to which the drums did call them instead of bells, also 
Leslie's skill, pcudenoe, and fortune, made them as resolute for battle 
as cotJd be wished.' Th« King, seeii^ the reeolutjon and warlike 
^irit of the Scots, considered it hazardous to risk an engagement, 
and therefore an agreement was entered into, to settle the differences 
by n^otiation. A conference was accordingly held at Berwick by 
commis&ouers on each nde ; but thai proceedings were in the end 
rendered abortive by the obstinacy and duplicity of Charles, who 
would not recede from his design to establish Episcopacy in the' 



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116 BIQGAB AND THE EOtJSE OF FLEUDIti, 

noitbem part of Us dominions. No alternntiTe wm left but a fresh 
^peal to armg. 

The Scots had disbanded their annj, but the tocgin of alarm was 
aguD Bounded. The baroni summoned forth their retuners, and the 
tiergy beat the ' drum eccleBiastic ' with fury and effect. Lord John 
Fleming once more set up his standard at Biggar, and caUed on the 
retuners of his house, and others in the district well affected to the 
cmise, to assemble aioond it At a meeting of the Presbytery of 
Lanark, on the 25th Jane 1640, a conununication was read from his 
Lordship, desiring every minister in the Presbytery to inUQst« from 
his pnlpit, that Uie muster of men, according to the stipulated num- 
ber, would take place at Biggar on Thursday first. The Presbytery 
at the same time chose Alexander Livingstone, minister of Carmichael, 
and afterwards of Biggar, to be chaplain to his Lordship's Upper 
Ward Segiment He was to continue a month at thb post, and at 
the end of that time was to be relieved by George Bennet, minister 
of Qnothquan, who was assnred thal^ in the event of his not receiving 
payment from the general fund for support of the army, he would 
be paid by the Presbytery at the rate of 80s. per day. 

The Scottish army, amounting in all to 23,000 infantry and 8000 
cavalry, stmok their tents in the month of August 1640, and marched 
into England. On arriving at the Tybe, they found that General 
Conway, the commander of the English army, had erected batteries 
on its banks near Newbum, to oppose th^ passage. The Scots were 
nothing discouraged, lliey (^»ened so severe a fire from their artilleiy 
that the English were fon^ to .abandon thdr guns ; and a detach- 
ment of the Scots having crossed the river, enoonntered the English 
cavalry, and put them to flight. Conway's army was thus thrown 
into a state of rout and confnuon, and the cavalry retreated to Dur- 
ham, and the infantry to Newcastle. The Scottish troops were in- 
duced, by the solicitations and subsidies of the Puritan party in 
England, to prolong their stay till their grievances were redressed. 
After some negotiation with the Royalists, it was ultimately agreed 
that all oppressive courts should be abolished, that no money should 
be levied wiUiout consent of Parliament, and that Parliaments should 
be summoned every three years. The Scottish army, on the comple- 
tion of these transactions, received L.300,000, in name of brotherly 
aaBiatance, and returned to their native country. 

At the very time at which Lord Fleming and his retainers from 
Bi^ar were in England upholding the cause of the National Covenant, 
and contending against the arbitrary designs of the King, a meeting c^ 
nineteen Scottish noblemen was held at Cumbernauld House to m^port 
the royal cause. .They subscribed a bond, in which they declared 
that, from a sense of the duty which they owed to their religion, thdr 
king, and country, they were forced to join themselves in a covenant 
for the maintenance and protection of each other. llieiT conntiy. 



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THE COVEHANTERS OP THE BIOGAB DISTBICT. 117 

they stud, had suffered hj the special and indirect practiaing of a few 
indiriduaU, and therefore their object was to study all public cads 
irtiich might lead to the safety of the religion, laws, and hbertiea of 
the poor kingdom of Scotland. This meeting was convened piind- 
pally by the efforts of James, Marquis of Montrose, who, at first, took 
part with the Coveoanters, and was at Dnnse Law and Newbum ; bat, 
oonceiving that his merits had been overlooked, and feeling special 
offence that Argyle was made his superior in the Senate, and Leslie 
in the field, he luul obtained a secret interview with Charles when in 
England, and pledged himself to support his cause. The document, 
mgned by the Eorl of Wigton and the other noblemen, — ' Montrose's 
damnable Baud,' as Baillie terms it, — was ordered by the Committee of 
Estates to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, and Mon~ 
trose was seized and thrown into prison. 

The Earl of Wigton, having thus embraced the side of the Royalists, 
was honoured by receiving several letters &om the King's own hand. 
They are still preserved, and present a very creditable specimen of 
oaligraphy. In one of them, dated Oxford, 2lBt April 1643, the King, 
after expresmng his desire to preserve the affections of the people of 
his native kingdom, and to do ' everything to contribute to th^ 
fat^piness, goes on to say : ' but knowing what industry is used (by 
scattering seditious pamphletts, and employing privat agents and in- 
struments to ^ve badd impressions of tis and our proc^dings, under 
a pretence of a danger to religion and government) to corrupt tbeb 
fidehtiea and affections, and to engadge them in one unjust quarrell 
against us their King, wee cannot, therefore, but remove those jealousies, 
and secure their feares from all possibilitie of any hazard to either of 
these from us. Wee have, therefore, thought fitt to require you to 
oall together your fVeinds, rassalls, tenents, and such others as have 
any dependence upon yon, and, in our name, to show them our 
wiilingnes to give all the assurance they can desire, or wee possibly 
graunt Qt more can be given than already is), of preserving in- 
violably all those graces and favours, which we have of late graunted 
to that our kingdome, and that wea doe faithfuUie promise never to 
goe to the contrarie of any thing there established, either- in the eode- 
■iasticall or civil government, but that wee will inviolably keip the 
same according to the lawes of that our kingdome.' 

The Earl himself does not seem, after all, to have token a very' 
aotive part in the support and advancement of the cause of Charles. 
It was otherwise with his son John, who had been suspect«d of leaning 
towards the King when he was with the Scottish army in £ngUnd, 
and who now fairly turned his back on his old iriends the Covenanters. 
After his relative Montrose had gained the brilliant victories of Tibber- 
muir, Inverloohy, Auldeme, Alford, and Kilsyth, he threw off all 
disguise, and at the head of a body of his vauols, joined the army 
^t had fought so gallantly and successfully in behalf of the King. 



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118 BIGGAB ABD THE SOUSE OF FLEUDIG. 

He marched wiUi Montnwe to PhUiphaugfa, neu Selldrk ; Uie object 
of that geoeral being, now that all opposition wu beat down in Soot- 
land, to make a diversion iit favour of the Boyalists on the soil of 
England. Montrose posted his infantry on an elevated piece of ground 
on the left bank of the Ettrick, while he himself and his cavaby oconjoed 
the adjaoeot town of Selkirk, and thus allowed the river to divide his 
forces into two portions. General Leslie, who had been despatched 
from England with a detachment of 500Q or 6000 men to oppose 
Montrose, taking advantage of a thick mist, on the morning of the 
18th September 1645, fell on both flanks of his opponent's infantry 
at one time. The left flank was immediately thrown into confusion, 
and driven from the field ; but the right occupying a more advuitageous 
position, with a wood in the reitr, fought for some time with great 
obstinacy, but in the end had to yield to the furious onsets of the 
Covenanters. Montrose, with Lords Fleming, Nt^ier, and EreWne, 
Sir John Daiziel, and other officers, so soon as the din of the batUe 
was heard, rallied the cavalry, and hastened to the scene of action.' 
They did everything that skiU.ond bravery could suggest to retrieve 
the disasters of the day ; but all their efibrts were unavailing. They 
were forced to retire, and seek safety by speedy flight. They hastened 
up the Yarrow, struck along the bridle-road over Mindimuir, and 
came to Traquair House. Keceiving little countenance here, although 
the Earl of Traquair was also a partisan of the King, they proceeded 
up the Tweed to Peebles, where they halted a short time during the 
night, and early next morning pursued their journey. They came to 
the Upper Ward and crossed the Clyde, and bei« they met with the 
Earis of Crawford and Airley, who had escaped by a diiferent route. 
Montrose and a number of bis friends fled to the Highlands, while 
Ixtrd Fleming and others concealed themselves in the Lowlands. 

The Convention of Estates were not disposed to pass over the 
delinquencies of those who had taken up arms against them, and 
subjected them to so much terror, inconvenience, and expense. They 
appointed a section of their number, called the Committee of Processes 
and Money, to institute actions against those persons who had token 
part in what they termed the Bebellion of Montrose. 

Lord Fleming remained concealed for some tame, but the Committee 
of Processes permitted him, on the 9th of February 1646, * to repair 
home to his owne dwelling house on his giving James, Earl of Gal- 
lender, as a cautioner, that he would appear before the Committee on 
the 8th of March foliowing, at Linlithgow, or where they shonld 
happen to be sitting at the time, and that he would conduct himself 
with all due propriety, under a penalty of fiftie thousand punds.' 
The Committee, on taking his case into consideration, decided that he 
should pay a fine of L.6400; but agreed to remit a portion of it, 
should the allegation of his Lordship, that he had expended lai^e 
sums in the support of troop horses, foot soldiers, dragoons, and others 



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THE COVENANTERS OF THE BIGGAE DISTRICT. 119 

in the public aernce, be satisfactorily established. In a documeDt 
iriiich hia Lordship hiid before the Committee, he stated that he had 
pofliession of no lands or teinds belonging to hia father's estate, * ex- 
cept onely twentie chalders victual! payed to him of the estate and 
lands lyand about Biggar, within the shyre of Cliddisdaill, quhilk is 
allowed upon him be his father for keiping his purse and buying hia 
doathes.' He declared that he had no casual rent, no money owing 
him by ' band' or otherwise, and no moveable goods or geir that could 
be escheated. He had borrowed, he said, L.20,000, which he hod 
expended in the public service, viz., 'be out reicking himself ane 
colonel at the first two expeditions, be buying of armes and other 
necessre fumitour for his regiment, and by paying his officers and 
men,' and supporting himself, as he had never received any of the 
public money at all. Besides, there were the charges, expenses, and 
pay of a garrison of forty soldiers, with a captain and lieutenant, who 
had occupied the Castle of Boghall of Biggar since the 14th of 
September last, and had been maintained solely out of his own portion, 
and the revenues of his father's estates ; large sums were also due for 
the soldiers that had been quartered, and the depredations that had 
been committed on his father's lands in and about B^gar and Cum- 
bernauld ; and further, aU public orders had been obeyed, the monthly 
contribution paid, and ' twenty horsemen of tronperis and dragounners 
with forty-aucht foot sojouris had been out reicked and put furth be 
my Lord's rent and estaite sufficientlie armed and mounted since the 
aaii fourteine day of September last bypast.' The whole expense 
incurred in the equipment and maintenance of twenty dragoons and 
ninety-eight foot soldiers, including those lying in the Castle of 
Boghall, amounted to 8090 merks. The Committee, having duly 
weighed all the pleas advanced, decided that the account rendered by 
John Lord Fleming was sufficient to ' exhaust the wholl fine above- 
written imposed upon him for his delinquency, doe therfor discharge 
the said John Lord Fleming of the stud fyne.' His Lordship thus 
spears to have got rid of the heavy exaction imposed on hipn for the 
crime of taking part in what was then called the Rebellion of Uontrose. 
Charles II. had scarcely been restored to the throne, when he utterly 
repudiated the engagements into which he had eutered in the days of 
his adversity, to uphold and maintain the Presbyterian form of 
ciiarch government, and the covenanted work of Befonnation. He 
resolved to overturn the whole fabric of Presbyterianism, and to set 
up Prelaoy in its stead, which the great majority of the Scottiah people 
hated nearly as much as Popery itself. The Covenants were repealed ; 
the opposition to Episcopal diurch government was denounced as 
sedilion ; the clei^ who had been admitted to livings subsequent to 
the abolition of patronage were declared to have no title to them, and 
were required within four months to obtain presentation from the 
patrons and coUa^on from the bishops, with assurance, if they did not 



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1» BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OP TUmiSQ. 

comply, that they would be ejected by military force. The conae- 
quence of this edict was, that about the end of 1662, no fewer than 
three himdred and fifty clergymen threw up their livings rather than 
do violence to their conscientious conTictiona. The valedictory ser- 
mons which they delivered, the high esteem in which they were held, 
and the destitute circumstances to which they were reduced, made 
their flocks rally round them, and listen to thdr instniclions with a 
keener relish than ever. Hence arose the practice of holding meet- 
ings for public worship in the fields, which became so obnoxious to 
Grovernment, that an Act was passed prohibiting the ejected ministers 
from approaching within twenty miles of their foiTuer parishes, and 
declaring it sedition for any person to contribute to their support. 
The people disregaided the edicts of the drunken and infuriated man 
who at that tjme swayed the destinies of Scotland, and doggedly 
refused to abandon their old pasters and wut on the tmnistrations of 
the ignorant and subserrient curates who now occupied their pulpits. 
Hence fines, imprisonments, tortures, and death, were resorted to ; and 
the people on several occasions were goaded on to repel aggresnou, 
and assert their Uberties and their rights, with arms in their hands. 

Prom a list published by Wodrow, it would seem that in 1662 
the whole of the ministers of the Presbyteries of Lanark and Biggar 
left their pulpits. This is rather surpriMng, as some of them are 
nnderstood to have had a strong leaiung towards Episcopacy, and, in 
&ct, to have been the creatures of the bishops. It may be that even 
these parlies were indignant at the violent and tyrannical conduct of 
Middleton and his drunken associates, and were thus induced to throw 
in their lot with their brethren. Wodrow's list of the members of 
the Biggar Presbytery b as follows : — Alexander Livingstone, Biggar; 
Anthony Murray, Coulter; James Donaldson, Dolphinton; Patrick 
Anderson, Walston; James Bruce, Archibald Portions, Alexander 
Barton, John Rae, Sjnaington ; John Crawford, Lamington ; William 
I Dickson, Glenbolm ; John Greg, Skirling ; and Kobert Brown, 
BroQghton. These men chose rather to throw themselves on tbe wide 
world, and to subject themselves to all the hardships of an unsettled 
life, and all the contumely and persecution of an infuriated Govern- 
ment, than do violence to their convictions of duty, and succumb to 
the dictates of tyranny. It miist ever be a matter of regret, that 
almost nothing of their subsequent history is known. John Bae, 
minister of Symington, as mentioned by Wodrow, was apprehended 
in 1670 for preaching and baptizing in his own house, and sent to 
Edinburgh, where he was confined in the Canongate Tolbooth. AAer 
an examination he was sent to Stirling, bat his fate is not stated. 
Anthony Murray of Coulter was held in high esteem by the Noncon- 
formists, though we are not aware that he got into fur^er trouble on 
account of his adherence to the covenanted work of Beformation, than 
being forced to abandon his manse and stipend. Wodrow states thut 



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TBE COVEHAOTEfiS OP THE BIGGAB DISTBICT. IvI 

he WM a relative of the Duchess of Lauderdale, and that in coiue- 
quence of this oonnection, he was selected by a nnmber of influential 
ministers to present an address to the Duke in favour of the Cove- 
nanters. It is a tradition, we are told, that al^r leaving his clerical - 
charge, he continued to redde in the parish of CoulteT, and emplojed 
himself in practising the healing art, facetiously remarking, that he 
would now make the doctor keep the minister. At this period, an 
Anthony Murray acted aa factor for the Biggar estate of the Earl of 
Wigton. We have examined several of the books of his accounts, 
which are still preserved in the Fleming archives ; and as he appears 
to have resided in Biggar or its neighbourhood, and to have enjoyed 
much of the confidence and respect of his employer, we have been 
nther disposed to think that this is the same person as the outed 
minister of Coulter. It will be observed, that his name appears twice 
in the inventory of old effects sold at Boghall Castle in 1681. 

The work of imposing fines for nonconformity was early commenced 
in the Upper Ward. Middleton's Parhament, which met at Glasgow 
in 1662, fined the parish of Biggar L.1071, Ss., Quolhquan L.181, 
8s. 6d., WaUton L.808, 8s., Dunsyre L.177, 128., Camwath L.6739, 
19s. 8d., Lanark LdOOO, etc Heavy fines were imposed on many indi- 
vidual gentlemen in the same district. Among others may be men- 
tioned, Christopher Baillie of Walston, L9600; William Brown of 
Dolphinton, L1200; Andrew Biown ot the same parish, L.600; 
William Bertram of Nisbet, L.480; James Baillie, St John's Kirk, 
L.240; Thomas Gibson, Quothquan, L860; John Kello, there, L.260; 
and John Braid, Hillhatd, Covington, L.600. 

The Covenanters who rose in arms, in 1666, in the south-west of 
Scotland, after capturing Sir James Turner at Dumfries, proceeded to 
the Upper Ward. They halted a short time at Douglas, and then 
marched to Lanark, where they listened to sermons preached by some 
of the clergymen who accompanied them, and with great solenmity 
and uplifted hands renewed the Covenants. 

From the strong leaning of the people of B^;gaI and its neighbonr- 
hood in favour of the principles of the Covenant, and the intense in- 
dignation which they felt at the tyrannical measures of the Govern- 
ment, it is likely that some of them took part in this innurectionaiy, 
or, as it may rather be colled, defenrave movement We know that 
Major Learmont, proprietor of Newholm, in the parish of Dolphinton, 
and the Rev. Wm. Veitch, tenant in the Westhills of Dun^re, and 
son of the Bev. John Veitch, for forty-five years minister of Koberton, 
joined the Covenanters at a hill above Galston, and took a leading 
part in their proceedings. Major Learmont was appointed to the 
oommand of one of the divisions of cavalry, and escorted Sir James 
Turner out of the town of Lanark, to protect him from the assaults of 
the inhabitants. The Covenanting army marched from I^nark to 
Bathgate in the midst of extremely atormy weather, and ascertaining 



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l-ii B1G6AR AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

that they were to receive no assistance from the inhabitants of the 
Lothiana and the city of Edinburgh, they resolved to make a detoiv 
by the end of the Pentland Hills and march to Biggar. Mr Veitch 
was sent in di^uise to Edinburgh, to hold an interview with theil 
friends in the city; but he was apprehended and detuned as a pri- 
soner. On his expressing his readioess to march against the Whigs, 
he was less strictly guarded, and effected his escape, and thus wit- 
nessed the conflict at Bullion Green, and arrived that sanie night at 
the herd's house in Dunsyre Common. Major Learmont fought 
bravely on the field of RuUitin Green, He commanded the party 
that defeated tJie second charge of the enemy. General Dalziel, si'e- 
ing his men give way, hasted forward a detachment to their rescue, 
when Major Learmont was attacked by four horsemen, and his horse 
was shot under him. He started to the back of a fold dyke, shot th« 
first trooper that approached, mounted his horse, and escaped. 

It was near the close of day when Dalziel advanced his whole 
army to the last charge ; and as his numbers were 3000 against 900, 
the poor Covenanters had no altenuttive but to scatter themselves 
among the deep defiles of the Pentland HiE.s, where they were safe 
from the pursuit of the cavalrj-, and where they were soon hid by tie 
darkness of the night. Large numbers on the day following hasted 
to their homea by Camwath and Biggar. 

Jamos Kirton, who from 1655 to 1657 was one of the ministers of 
Lanark, in his 'History of the Church of Scotland,' has brought a 
severe charge against the inhaUtants of these towns, for their crudty 
to the poor distressed fugitives. His information, he »aya, was ob- 
tained at the spot, and therefore wa.s entitled, as he insinuates, to the 
most implicit credit. His statements, which are deeply tinctured with 
the superstitious notions that prevailed at the period, can, however, 
at the most, only apply to a few individuals, and not to the mass of 
the inhabitants. He refers to the subject more than once, but we will 
quote only one of his passages. He enumerates various reasons why 
the people listened more readily to the ministrations of the outed 
clergymen than of the curates, and among others gives the following, 
vii.: 'Another reason was the strange judgments seen upon those who 
were or bad been persecutors. It is well known and observed what 
happened those who injured the poor Whigs who fled from P^itlaud. 
Id the Upper Ward of Clydesdale, when some of them fled through 
Camwath, one of the townsmen carried some of them into the moss 
and murdered them. It was told by the people of the village to my- 
self within a little time thereafter, that frequently a fire was seen to 
arise from that plaoe in the moss where the mntileT was oommittei^ 
and thereafter creeping overland, it covered tlie murderer's house. 
Himself, as I was told, perished, and his (Mdren ar« beggars to this 
day. What curses befell the people of Biggwr who were equally 
guihy of this feet, and bow poor Laurence Boe died in high despair. 



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THE COVENANTERS OF TBE BIGGAS MSTRICT, li3 

Mcusng himsetf of the secret murder of two^ waa well known, and as 
well remembered hj the neighbonrs.' It would be most interesting 
to us at the present day to know what the curses were to whiob Kir- 
ton refers. They were, he saya, well known at the time he wrote bis 
tdstory; but whatever they were, they are now ntterly foi^tten. 

T1i« curates who were thrust into the pulpits of the Upper Ward 
were, from all acconnts, weak and despicttble individuab; and some 
nf them, partionlarly the curate of Camwath, were known to lead 
profligate and licentious lires. The descriptidn given by Bishop Bnr- 
net of the curates generally, was, no doubt, appUcable to those of the 
Upper Ward. 'They were,' he says, 'the worst praadiers ever I 
heard ; they yiere ignorant to a reproach, and many <^ them openly 
tidous. liiey were a diagrace to their order and to the sacred fuAC- 
tion, and were indeed the dregs and reAise of the northern parts.' 
Sudi preachers were not likely to recommend the cause of PKlacy, 
and induce the people to wtut upon their ministrationa. Some of the 
Upper Ward churches appear to have been entirely deserted. We 
^Bay refer in this respect to the Churoh of Symington. He manse 
and church, in consequenoe of standing some time unoccnpied, fell into 
a state almost of ruin. On the Slat of June 1676, Gavin Steven and 
Hugh Telfer, masons and wrights, Biggar, at the instance of the 
curate, Robert Lawsoa, who, at that time, had most likely been newly 
appointed, underwent a lengthened examination, on oath, before some 
clerical brethren, regarding the state of the manse and church. T^ey 
declared that it would tt^e 400 mrala Scots to pit the manse in 
habitable order, making it, as they said, 'water tight and wind ti^t, 
Mitb new theiking, glass windows, boards and cases, locks, sneckes, 
and slots, and casting the house without and within.' la regard to 
the kirk, they reported that the' west gable bad slidden, and had a rift 
to it, and that if it were not helped it was likely to &11, and that very 
shortly; and that, as there were no glass in the windows, no pulpit, 
and no reader's desk, it would be necessary to supply them. The whole 
expenses &fT the repair of the kirk, it was estimated, woold be L.48 
Scots. On the 5th of July following, Robert Laws««, the curate, re- 
ported, at a meeting of his clerical oolle^oes, that after a search he 
had succeeded in finding the kirk box, the session book, the iron 
sBranchtir, and tJie iron holder, in which iJie sand-glass stood; ao^ 
that tbe caAy thing now awanting 'was the key of the kirk box. 

The practice of attending fietd-meetiugs, or aonrentioles as they 
were called, was still obstfaiate^ maintained in the Upper Word, as 
weB as in luany other districts in Scotiand. Tlie Parliament, in 1670, 
passed a scrrete enactment against these meetings. Every imantho- 
rixed pfflson, who should preach, expound 6<Kipture, or pniy in any 
place, except in his own house and with his own family, was to be 
Imprisoned tiD he found caution, to the amount <rf 5000 merks, not to 
be guilty of a Btntilar offence i^ain, or otltenrise agree to remoTG out 



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m BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHINO. 

of the kingdom altogether ; but if he ito officiated at & meetdng in the 
Geldg, he was to suffer death and the confiscation of his goods. It 
was also enacted, that all persons Trho should attend such ministn- 
tions should be fined totia qtuitia in certain specified sums, according 
to llieiT stations in life; and that these sums shonld be doubled if the 
ministrations were conducted in the open air. The fine of a landed 
proprietor was the fourth part of his annual rent ; of a rarmer or mas- 
ter tradesman, L.25 Scots; of a cottar, L. 12 Scots; and of a serrant, 
the fourth part of his yearly fee. Notwithstanding the severity of 
the Government, a number of conventicles were held in the neighbonr- 
hood of Biggar. The Rev. John Kid, who was taken prisoner at the 
battle of Botbwell Bridge, and executed at the Cross of Edinburgh on 
the 14th of August 1679, preached one day on the hill of Tinto, to a 
large assemblage of the inhabitants of this district. Patrick Walker, 
the packman of Bristo Port, Edinburgh, who wrote the lives of seve- 
ral Covenanting worthies, and who most likely was present on this 
oocaaon, tells us that Mr Kid, in the course of die service, gave oat a 
part of the second psalm to be sung, and accompanied the reading of 
it with a commentary. When he came to the sixth verse, viz., 

' Yet, notwithstanding, I have Him 

To be my King appointed ; 
And over Sion, my holy liill, 
I have H'""' King anointed,' — 

he exclaimed, with many tears, 'Treason, treason, treason, against 
King Christ in Scotland. They would have him a King without a 
kingdom, and a King without subjects. There is not a clean pulpit in 
all Scotland this day, curate not indulged. Wherefore, come out 
from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not 
these unclean things ; and I will be a Father unto yon, and ye shall be 
My sons and daughters, saith the Almighty.' 

The hill of Tinto, stuated in the midst of a populous district, and 
affording concealment and security in its deep declivities, was a fia- 
vourite preaching place with several of the other heroes of the Cove- 
nant. Donald Cargill, who was in the habit of saying that he felt more 
liberty and delight in preaching and praying is the glens and wUds of 
t^e Upper Ward of Clydesdale than in any other place of Scotland, 
came to this district in the beginning of June 1681, after a tonr 
through Ayrshire and Galloway, and intended on the Sabbath follow- 
ing to preach on T^to. Mrs Baillie, the I^y of St John's Kirk, 
who professed a warm attachment to the Covenant and its champions, 
but who vna looked on with suspicion by some of its more zealous 
and rigid partisans, as a person whose fidelity was likely to give way 
in the hour of trial, had begun to feel uneauness at the frequent con- 
venticles held in her ndghbourhood. When she learned Corgill's 
deagn to preach on Tinto, she held a correspondence with some of 



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THE C0VENANTEB8 OF TBE SIQOAB DISTBICT. 1!6 

the leading CoTenanters in the conntiy roimd ; and it appears thnt they 
entered so for into her views aa to pennit her to issae im annouiioe- 
ment, that the meeting on Sabb&th vould take place on a common in 
the parish of Gleoholm, at the back of Coolter Heights. Mr Car^ll 
bad taken up hia abode in the house of John liddell, at Heidmire, in 
the neighbourhood of St John's Kirk ; but tbough communication 
could tbu3 Have been very readily held with him, he received no 
notice that the place of meeting had been changed. He rose early on 
the Sabbath morning, and going out to meditate in the fields, he ob- 
served numbers of people travelling to the soutk On learning from 
some of them to what place they were going, he said, ' This is the 
Lady's policy to get ua at some distance from her house, but she 
will be discovered.' He did not return to Mr LiddeU's house to get 
breakfast ; but being anxious that the great multitudes from Biggar 
and the smroanding coontry, whom he understood were flocking to 
the place of rendezvous, should not be disappointed, he immediately 
set out on his journey. The day was very warm, and the road was 
long and difScult; the consequence was, that by the time he reached 
the sequestered spot where his friends were assembled, he was very 
much exhausted. Before he commenced his labotm, a man went to 
a rivulet and brought him a drink of water in hia steel bonnet, and 
supplied him with another draught in the same way between sermons; 
and these were all the refreshments which be tasted during the day. 
He discoursed on the 6th chapter of lauah in the forenoon, and in the 
afternoon delivered a sermon on the words in the lltli chapter of 
Romans, 'Be not high-minded, but fear.' We can easily conceive the 
thrilling flfifects that would be produced by religions dlsconnes 
preached in a region so solitary and mountainous, and by the lips of a 
man so full of ardour and faith as Donald CargilL Holmes' Common 
can never be surveyed without identi^dng it with that great meeting. 

A short time afterwards, Cargill preached his last sermon on Dun- 
syre Common, on the text, in the 20th verse of the 26th chapter of 
Isaiah, ' Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,' etc. 
Walker the packman, who was present, says, ' He innsted what kind 
of chambers these were of protection and safety, and exhorted us all 
earnestly to dwell in the deiliB of tLe rock, to hide ourselves in the 
wounds of Christ, and to wrap ourselres in the believing application 
of the promises flowing therefrom, and to take our reAige under the 
shadow of His wings, until these sad calamities pass over, and the 
dove come back with the olive leaf in her month.' 

After sermon, he did not leave the mnir till it was dark, as he was 
afraid of falling into the hands of his enemies, who, he knew, were 
e^ei to apprehend him, and obt^ the reward of 5000 merks offered 
by the Government for his person. The I^dy of St John's Kirk was 
present, and desired him to accept accommodation at her house ; but 
he felt a great reluctance to comply, as he could not bring himself to 



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1S6 BIGOAB AKD TBE HOUSE OF FLEUIKG. 

regard her with entire confidenoe, and was in the halnt of nying, 
' WhaWver end she might nuke, tbere woold be fool wide slc^ in ber 
life.' Mr Walter Smith and Hi Boig, two lay gentlemen who had devoted 
thenBelves to the work of nphoU^g the persecated faith in Scotland, 
insiated that he wotild aooept the invitatioii, and he bo far yielded 
that he aocompanied the lady to Covington ; bnt reftismg to go 
farther, he and Mewrs &nilL and Boig found aceommodalion in the 
hooK of Andrew Fiah^, Covington Mill. 

Jamea Irvine of Bonshaw, a brutal individool, and a dealer in 
horsea, having got a oommiasion irom the Privy Cooneil to hnnt dows 
and apprehend all persons who attended £eld coaventioiea and were 
obnozioua to Govemment, and hearing tliat a great Covenanting meet- 
ing waa to be held in the Upper Ward, left Kilbride on Sabbath 
evvning with a l>arty of dragoons, and arrived about ionriae at 
8t John'* £iik. He searched the houae very olosely; bat finding 
none ot the individnali of whom he was spetnatly in qneat, he pro- 
eeeded to the Mtnrays, or Muirhonse of Thankerton, the residence «[ 
a well-known Covenanter, Mr J^ames Thomson. A fine opportmdty 
waa thua p^sented to the Lady of St John's Kirk to apprise her ftien^ 
at Covington Hill of their danger ; but tke good lady was too mnoh 
paralysed with her own fears to cause anything of this kind to be dose. 
Brauhaw, disappointed in not finding any of the leading Covenanters 
at the Mnrrays, set off with his troop to tiie house of Andrew Fisher, 
and his spouae, Elisabeth Lindsay, at Covington Mill, and there he 
^tprehended Messn Cargill, Smith, and Boig. He iraa Vastly elated 
with hia success, and blessed the day that he had been bom to find 
so rioh K prise. He carried the prisoners to I^inaik, and lodged thun 
in the Tolbooth till he obtained refreshments; and then mounting 
thsm on the bare badks of hMves, he tied Mr Cargill'a feet below the 
bone's belly, with ciromnRancea of great oruelty. In this posture he 
conveyed (Ihdi hastily to Glasgow; and after halting a short time 
in that city, transferred them to die prison of Edinburgh. They 
were anajgiied before the Cotirt of Justiiaary aa the 36th of July 
I6K1, found guilty of high treastm on their own oonfesraons, and 
condemned to be hanged next day at the Cross of Edinburgh, and 
their heads to be placed on the Nether Bow. This was accordingly 
done ; and thus their namea were added to the roll d martyrs who 
have Ibid down their lives for opposition to tynumy and in ddenoe of 
religious Uberty. Irvine of Bonshaw, as u well known, a short time 
afterwards, was killed in a sqnabbls widi one of hu drUdKu assocnatee 
at the town (rf Lanark ; and it haa ever ainoe been wnstdered by some 
pvBons as » specsal mai^ <rf divine vengeance, that he suJIered 
tnunihm6nt in the ;plaoe whore he had exerrased bis oradtiei on 
Donald Car^ 

Aitar ibis peiiod MM BaiUie, or, as she was usually tsnoed, the 
Lady of St Jobn'sKirk, ftll'into oonsiderable odium widk the ■fnore 



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THE COVENANTERS OF THE BIOOAI DISTRICT. 1S7 

rigid of th« Coveaaaten. It was nunoiued Hm she had beep »ce«»- 
aoiy lo tha o^ttiue of her tate friendi at CoTi9g;toii MilL The nunoWt 
it ^peu^ had even reached those men in their ooofinement in the 
Tolbooth of B^burgh, short ag the time wa« « hioh the; were allowed 
to IiT& Oact of them, Walter Smith, in Ms iy\»g testimo^jr, M 
inserted in the ' Claud of Wibwases,' however, ezoneratea her fTom 
that charge. In reference to this he says, ' As to my apprchendUtgt 
we were nugnlarly deliTeied by Prondenc« into (he adTersawa' 
haxda, and, for what I eoiild know, betrayed by no qse, nor were u^ 
aooeascury ta eur taking more than we were otueelvee. And particu- 
tarly, let none blaaw the I^y of St John's Kirk.' Thia lady, is 
the killing years that foUowed, actually, it is said, became a peise^ 
outor, and flowed no person ta dwell on her lands unless they took 
tha oath of abjuration, and attended the ministrations of the curates. 
When Mr John Johnston in Grangehill <if Pettinain, and Fraaoif 
LOTemtoe of Covington, two of her old CoTenanting friendE^ waited on 
her to remind her of her solemn declarations in favour of the cove- 
luUBted work of Beformatioo, and to remonstrate with her on her 
incouuteat and injurioua conduct, ahe refused to hold, oonvettation 
with then, and ordeivd the door to be shut in their Ueea. The dread 
of knpraonment and the forfeiture of the fhndly estate, h»d, no doubt, 
produced this change st her profesaiona and deportment; and this 
incident furnishes another iUustratioB of the tmlw^py effects produced 
by perseoulion fbr religku's soke. 

But two of the most lenarkable religious meetinga that took place 
in the Biggar district were held in the Caatle of Bogball, under the 
pez«onal auspices of the Dowager Countess of Wigton, a daughter ot 
Henry Lord Ker, and widow of John: Fleming, Karl of Wigton. These 
meetinga were addressed by various out«d ministers, and were largely 
attended by the inhabilnnts <tf Biggar and the coontrjr round. So 
daring a oonttavcntion of the Act to which we have refeired, of course 
attracted the attention of the tyrants who conducted public affairs in 
Soo^laad, and, therefore, the foUowing persons were, at the instaace 
of John Niabet of Dirletos, his Uajesty's advocate, summoned to 
appear before the Lords Commisaioners and Lords of the Privy Council 
at Edinbiugh, on the 2&th of July H72, tis., Anna, Countest of Wig- 
loo, ibmea Criohton, John Kello, James Brovn, John Daliael, John 
Henderaon, John and Laurence Tait, James Brown, wr^t, John 
Tod, mason, Alexander GanUner, tailor, John Niebet, and Alex- 
ander Suiith, all residing in Biggari-'^ames Paterson, Garwood; 
James Criohton, Wedraw; William Cleghom, Bdmonston; Alex- 
ander Btory, there; William Thomson, BoghoU; Malcolm BrowQ, 
Eihnoaston; James Cuthbertson, there; Peter GilUes, Skirling Wauk- 
Bull J John Robertson, procurator, Lanark ; John Watson, nptac, 
Camwatii; Thoraos Criohton, Wolfdyde; James Glasgow, Whilcastle; 
John Tweedie, Edmouston ; Robert Lohean, Skirling ; WiUiam Forres^ 



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ISe BIOOAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKG. 

there; John Newbiggmg, Gantun; John Hutchuon, HueUw; John 
Lochie, Ranstruther; Malcolm Gibson, Wester Pettinain; Ronald 
Spenoe, Thankerton ; James Thomson, Uuirhoow of Thonkerton ; and 

- Junes Adam in NetherwiimhilL All of these persons obeyed the 
snmmons, and speared in Edinbnrgh on the day appointed. Tlie 
fint person brought before the Privy Council was John BobeitBon of 
I^nark. He admitted that he had been at the conveaticles kept at 
Boghall; and being commanded to declare upon oath all that he knew 
regarding the persons who were present at these meelai^B, and the 
bosiness that was transacted, he reftued to do so, and therefore was 
ordered to be carried to prison, and there to remun until he should 
receive further sentence. The Privy Council reiy likely saw that it 
would be a difficult and tedioua matter to deal with so many offenders, 
and it was on this account, perhaps, that they appointed the Earls of 
linlithgow, Murray, and Dumfries^ a sab-commissioii, to examine the 
others, and to imprison such of them as would not become infonn^v 
and give satisfactory answers, and to impose fines on those who were 
less resolute, and promised to attend no more conventicles in future. 
Fourteen of them, whose names deserve to be held in remembrance, — 
viz., James Crichton and John BaMel, Biggar ; James Faterson,< Car- 
wood ; William Cleghom, Malcolm Brown, and James Forrest, Ed- 
monston; Peter Gillies, Skirling Waokmill; Thomas Crichton, Wolf- 
clyde ; James Glasgow, Whitoastle ; James Lindsay, Netherwamhill ; 
James Thomson, Mutrhonse; John Newbig^g, Carsturs; John 
Hutchison, Harelaw; and Malcolm Gibson, — were then examined 

- before the Committee, and as they resolutely refused to give the 
satisfaction required, they were condemned to suffer imprisonment. 
What the ultimate fate of these individuals was, and of the others 
who were arraigned on the some indictment, we have not been able to 
ascertun. Some of them were, no doubt, subjected to as heavy fines 
as they could bear, and others may have endured a long captivity on 
the Boss, or in the dungeons of Dunottar, or even may have been 
banished to the plantations of America. The Countess of Wigton 
was fined in the sum of 4000 merks, which she was ordered to pay to 
Sir William Sharp, his Majesty's Treasurer. 

One of those who attended the conventicles at Boghall was Peter 
Gillies, of the waukmill of Skirling. His subsequent fate is well 
known to those who are conversant with the history of the Covenanting 
struggles. He had given refuge to some of the hard-hunted and 
oppressed preachers of the Covenant, sheltered them for a night under 
his roof, and supplied them with such victuals as his humble cottage 
offiirded. This act of humanity had been reported to James Buchan, 
the curate of Skirling, and this professed servant of Christ was never 
at rest till he got Sir James Murray, the proprietor of Gillies's 
little tenement, to throw him and his family a^ift on the world. 
After wandering about for some time, he settled at length in the 



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THE COVENANTEaS OF THE BIOQAR DISTRICT. ]!9 

paruh of Muirayon/nd^ in the county of Stirling. GiUies was none of 
those fiuthlesa and faint-hearted individuals that could be daunted hy 
peraeoodon, and led to change their opinions and their practices to 
please the minions of power. He was still a Btannch iS^bTterian, 
and readily attended a conventicle, or befriended an oated niinist«T, aa 
often as an opportunity^ occurred. He thus incurred the resentment 
of Andrew Ure, the curate of the parish in which he had settled; and 
in 1682 this worthy obtained a troop of dragoons to apprehend him, 
but at this time he happily escaped their fangs. He at length returned 
to his family, and continned to pursue his humble vocation till April 
1685, when the curate caused another party of eoldiers to apprehend 
him, and John Bryce, a weaver from West Galder. The soldiers treat«d 
him most brutally, and threatened to kill him before his wife, who a 
day or two previouBly had been delivered of a child. They searched 
his house, carried off everything that they could readily transport, 
and then hurried him away with them to the west of Scotland. On 
the 5th of May he was served with an indictment at Mauchline, 
charging him with having cast offthefear of God, and hb allegiance and 
duty to the King ; with having approved of the principles of rebellious 
traitors and blasphemers against God, and of the practice of taking np 
arms against the King and those commissioned by him ; with adhering 
to the Covenant, and refUaiog to pray for his most gradoua majesty the 
King. He was tried on tbese charges before Lieutenant -General Drum- 
mond and a jury of fifteen soldiers, found guilty, and condemned to be 
hanged next day at the Town-end of Mauchline. This sentence was ac- 
cordingly carried into execution. No coffin was prepared for his remains ; 
some of the soldiers and two countrymen dug a hole in the earth, and 
there deposited his body in the same state as it had been cut down from 
the gibbet Tlins died the once humble tenant of Skirling Waukmill, 
the friend of suffering humanity, tlie victim of relentless persecution, 
and the nnflinclung adherent of the covenuited work of Reformation. 
Biggar and its neighbourhood furnished a contingent to the master 
of Covenanters that took place, in Jtine 1679, st Bothwell Bridge. 
The nnmber of countrymen who assembled on this occauon was con- 
siderable, and they might have produced veiy important effects on the 
Govenunent of Scotland, had tliey been commanded by proper officers, 
and not allowed themselves to be torn asunder by contentions regard- 
ing topics which, however important they might be in themselves, 
were completely oat of place at such a jnnctuxe. On the 22d of June 
they were attacked by the royal troops under the command of the 
Duke of Monmouth, and completely routed. Many of the men of the 
Bi^Car district escaped. In the fugitive rolls of the period, we find 
the names of the following, among other pei^ona, who either had been 
at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, oi had sheltered some of those who 
fled from that unhappy conflict, viz.: James Crichlon; Gideon Craw- 
ford, merchant ; John Gilkeis, heritor ; Bobert Aitken, merchant ; and 



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IJU BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

Alexander Smith, weaver, all belonging to Biggar; — John Fisher, 
Covinpiun Mill ; Robert Brown, smith, Coviogton Uillhi'tuj ; James 
Thomson, Miiirhouse, Thankerton ; James Weir, Lamington ; Andrew 
Gilroy, Walslon ; and Hugh Somnierville, Qnothquan, 

The names of all the persons coimected with the Bi^ar distiict, 
who were taken prisoners at Bothwell, cannot now be ascertained. 
The foUowing have been presented on account of" the fate that ulti- 
mately befell them, viz.: John Rankin, Biggar; and James Penman, 
James Thomson, and Thomas Wilson, Quothquan. The prisoners 
owed their lives to the clemency of the Duke of Monmouth. Some 
of the Royalists, and particularly Claverhouse, who was smarting from 
the defeat which he had, a short time before, sustained at Drumclog, 
urged that they should all be shot on the field; but Monmouth, who had 
a leaning towards the Covenanters, would not listen to such a barbarous 
proposal. Numbering in all about 1400 men, they were marched in 
a most (leplontble state to Edinburgh, and confined like so many 
cattle in an enclosure called the Inner Greyfriars Churchyard. They 
were pent up in this place without any covering from the blasts and 
dews of heaven, and were forced to he all night on the cold ground ; 
and any one that stirred or made a noise was liable to be fired at by 
the sentinels. Their allowance of food was four ounces of bread and 
a small quantity of water daily. Many persons in Edinburgh pitied 
their condition, and were wiUing to contribute to tlieir comfort; but 
the food, clothing, and money whicli they sent, were, in many instances, 
not admitted, or appropriated by the sentiaels to their own use. 

After they had continued in this wretched state for some time, a 
proposal v&s made that they should sign a bond not again to take up 
arms against the King or his authority. Nearly a thousand signed 
this bond, and were set at liberty; but the remaining four hundred 
obstinately refused to sign it, and no entreaty, nor even the report 
that they would all be put to death, could induce them to comply. 
Day after d;iy they submitted to the most severe privations, and en- 
dured the moat acute sufferings. As the rigours of whiter drew on, 
the hearts of the authorities began a Uttle to relent, and they were 
treated with more indulgence and humanity. A few huts were 
erected to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather, and a 
more ready access was given to their friends. The consequence was, 
that about a hundred of them effected their escape, either by chmb~ 
ing over the walls, or being disguised in women's clothes; and a few 
more, at the earnest soUcitation of some Presbyterian ministers, were 
induced to sign the bond. Their numbers were now reduced to 257 
individuals. From the want of sufficient nutriment and exposure to 
the weather by day and night, their bodies were fearfully emaciated, 
and many of them were affiicted with acute diseases. It was under- 
stood that some of them were now rather disposed to submit to the 
requirements of Government; but the Privy Council, irritated perhaps 



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THE COVENAHTERS OF THE BIGGAE DISTRICT. 131 

by their obstinacy, passed, on the whole of them, a sentence of banish- 
ment to Barbodoes. Early on the morniag of the 15th November, 
after they had been confined in the churchyard nearly five montiu, 
tbey were marched to Leith, and pat on board a vessel belonging to 
William Faterson, merchant, Edinburgh, where their sufieringa, from 
want of water, food, and fresh air, and from being jammed together 
in a narrow hold, were worse than ever. Tbey sailed from Leith 
Roads on the 27th November, and on the idth of the following 
month, when passing the Orkney Islands, were overtaken by a 
storm, and the ship was ultimately dashed on the rocks. The 
captain had ordered the hatches to be locked and chained down; and 
when the vessel struck he refused to open them, but provided for • 
the safety of himself and his men. He consequence was, that some 
time elapsed before the prisoners could get on deck. About forty of 
them, by means of boards, reached a place of safe^, and the remain- 
der found a watery grave amid the tempestuous surges of the Pentland 
Firth. Among those saved was James Penman, Quothquan; and 
among the drowned were James Rankin, Biggar, and Thomas Wilson 
and James Thomson, Quothquan. Bi^ar thus furnished at least one 
unflinching martyr in the cause of the Covenant, whose name is en- 
titled to be held in remembrance in the annals of the town. 

The Bev. Dr Robert Simpson of Sanquhar, in his work entitled 
'Gleanings among the Mountains,' relates an incident of the Cove- 
nanting times, whiob, he says, occorred at Biggar. It is to the effect 
that two brothers, of the names of Thomas and James Harkness, were 
apprehended in the wilds of Nithsdale by a party of dragoons, and 
conveyed to Edinburgh, where thegi were placed in confinement By 
some means or other they contrived to escape, and, in returning to 
their native place, had occasion to past Biggar. The good town, it 
seems, erill possessed some of the persecutors spoken of by Kirton, 
and, among others, the leader of the veiy party who had captured the 
two brothers. Resolving to give him a taste of the terrors which he 
was in the habit of occasioning to others, they obtained fireanns, went 
to his house, and demanded to see him. His wife denied that he was 
at home, but a little boy betrayed the place of his concealment. He 
was instantly seized, dra^^ to the fields, and ordered to prepare for 
death. Hie brothers having blindfolded him with a napkin, caused 
him to kneel and offer up a prayer ; and this being done, they pre- 
sented their muskets and fired. Their intention, however, was not to 
kill him ; so after the voUey they plucked off the napkin from his eyes, 
and raised him in a state of almost entire insensibility to his feet. 
This event made a powerful impression on his mind. He began to 
reflect on his previous course of life, and was strnck with its injustice, 
cruelty, and sinfulness. He ceased to be a persecutor, and entering 
on a new coarse of conduct, became an entirely altered nun. How 
far this story may be founded on fact, we have no means of dedding. 



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182 BIGGA£ AND THE HOUSE Of FLEUQIQ. 

Graham of Glsverhouse, in course of his murderoiu raida throngh 
the weatem Bhires of Scotland, paid occanonal visits to the Dpper 
Ward, and there exercised the cmelties for which, in ali succeeding 
times, he has been so infamously distinguished. He was ranging up 
and down this district in 1685, when he met with James Brown of 
Coulter, fishing in the Clyde. He caused him to be searched ; and a 
powder-bom having been found on his person, he denounced bim ai 
a knave and ordered him t« be shot He commanded six of his 
troopers to dismount and carry his sentence into execution; bat the 
Lurd of Cnlterallera, who happened to be present, interceded in his 
behalf, and so his life was spared till nest day. He was bound with 
cords and carried off to the south by the soldi^ He was ultimately 
confined in the Tolbooth of Selkirk, &om which he contrived to 
escape, and thos eluded the fangs of that stem persecutor, who seldom 
felt much scruple in imbruing bis bands in the blood of bis fellow-men. 

In order more thoroughly to overawe the people of Bi^ar and the 
country adjacent, a detachment of soldiers was stationed in the Castle 
of BoghalL These soldiers no doubt embraced every opportunity of 
exerdsing thdr cniel and tyrannical propensities on tiie poor and 
oppressed inhabitants, and carrying out the behests of a blind and in- 
furiated Government. We find that the Committee on Public Affairs, 
un the 16th July 1664, wrote a letter to Sir William Murray of Stan- 
hope, Sir Archibald Murray of Blackbarony, and John Veitch of 
Dawick, statmg that they had been informed that conventicles had 
been held at Camhill and Colston's Lonp, in the county of Peebles, 
and complaining that these gentlemen had ftimished no information 
legarding the persons who had been present, in violation of the terms 
of the proclamation of Council, in 1682. l^ey were therefore ordered 
to make diligent search for, and to apprehend, both the preachers and 
hearers on these occasions; and to avul themselves in tlus work of the 
assistance of the garrison of Boghall. 

The Covenanters in the Upper Ward, in spite of all the efforts of 
Government, kept up their meetings. By means of the Societies 
which were first formed in December 1681, they maintained a complete 
organization, and were, no doubt, regularly trained to the art of war, 
in order to be ready to l«ke advantage of any favounble juncture 
that m^ht arise, to assert their claims. They carried on a continued 
correspondence with the Prince of Orange, mainly throngh Sir Robert 
Hamilton; and when that Prince arrived in England, they lost no time 
in holding a great meeting, in the Church of Douglas, on the 2dth 
April 1687, at which it was resolved in fourteen days to r^e two 
battalions, each to consist of ten companies of sixty men each. The 
result of this Bt«p was the formation of a regiment, which still exists, 
under the name of the 26th, or Cameronian Regiment, and which, on 
various occanons, has greatly distii^imshed itself by achievements on 
the battle-field. 



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CHAPTER XII. 
9^ ^^Jitt^ anil JSont^ Sliutd ^pnsb]]ttitmi i%trt^ 

rwaa the remark of a shrewd BiggEir worthy, that Biggar haa 
long been famed for the snpport which it gives to 'divinity and 
diversion.' It is certainly the case, that from the time of the 
Covenant downwards, the people of the Biggar district have 
been noted for the extent of their theological acquirements, their 
critical acumen in discussing abstruse points of faith, and the strictness 
of their religious opinions and practice, and their strong dislike to the 
undue interference of the State with the Established Church. It waa 
natorally to be expected, then, that the immediate descendants of the 
men who had contended and suffered in thia district for the cove- 
nanted work of Befonnation, would look with approving countenuice 
on the stand made by the founders of the Secession Church agunst 
the defections of the times. They could not submit to what seemed 
to tbem such serious errors as patronage restored, the Covenants 
despised, heretical opinions openly pttimulgated, vice and profligacy 
passing unrebuked, and a slavish subserviency to the ruling powers 
pervaiiUng the leaders of the Church, vrithout feeling extreme sorrow 
and indignation, and applauding the men who stood boldly forward 
to oppose and rebuke them. This feeling was greatly deepened by 
the conduct of their own pastors, in reading from the pulpit a docu- 
ment regarding the apprehension of the persons concerned in the 
execution of Captain Port«ous, on the 7th September 17S6, in the 
Grassmarket of Edinburgh, and hence commonly called the Porteous 
Paper. This document was ordered by the Government to be read 
publicly by the Established clergy before their congregations, on the 
first Sabbath of each month, for a whole year, under the penalty, in 
case of refusal, of being deolared incapable, for the first offence, of 
sitting and voting in any Church Court, and for the second, of 'taking, 
holding, or enjoying any ecclesiastical benefice in Scotland.' This 
enactment was held by many of the clergy, and a large majority of 
the people, to be a manifest and daring usurpation, by the civil magi- 
strate, of powers which belonged exclusively to the Church itself, — in 
short, to be downright Erastdanism. Many of the inhabitants of the 
Biggar district, at this period, therefore left th^ Established Church, 
and attached themselves to the Associate Presbytery, formed in 1733, 



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1S4 BtGGAB AKD TBE HOUSE OF PLEMIKQ. 

and conssting at first of four miniBters, viz., Ebenezer Enkme, Stir- 
ling; James Fiaber, Perth; Alexander Monorieff, Abemetby; and 
William Wilson, Kinclaven. It was augmented, in 1737, by the 
accession of the Rev. Thomaa Miur of Orwell, and the Rer. Ralph 
Erskine of Dunfermline. 

The Dissenters of Biggar and its neighbourhood, being far distant 
from the towns in which the fathers of the Secession were settled, could 
only listen to their mjnistiations by making long journeys and at rare 
intervals ; and therefore they petitioned that some of their ntunber 
would favour them with occasional visits, till such time as they were 
sufficiently organized, and could obtain the services of a settled pastor. 
In compliance with this petition, these worthy divines, in the midst of 
numerous engagements, found time to come at intervals to this dis- 
trict, and di^KOue the ordinances of reUgion to a congregatioD col- 
lected from many suirounding parishes. It was at length decided 
that an eligible place for the erection of a church was West Linton, — 
a village eleven miles east from Biggar. Accorc^gly, Ralph Erskine 
and Thomaa Mair, by order of the Presbytery, proceeded to West 
Linton, on Friday, the 24th of March 1738; and there, after sermon 
by Ralph Erskine, an election of elders took place, 'by the lifting up 
of the hand.' The elders thus chosen were then subjected to an 
exajninadon; and on the Sabbath following were formally installed 
in thor office. On that occasion both of the reverend gentlemen 
preached discourses to 'a great and grave auditory,' and they were 
afterwards gratified by learning that many persons present were much 
refreshed. In August 17S8, Ralph Erskine, and James Fisher, then 
removed to Gla^pw, were sent on a missiooBry tour to the south of 
Scotland, and on the 30th of that month preached at West Linton, and 
baptized several children. In the autumn of 1789, Ralph Erskine, 
and the Rev. James lliomsoii of Bumtislaiid, who had also joined 
the Secession, were engaged in another of these tours. On Wednes- 
day, the 12th of September, Mr Thomson preached at West Linton, 
and dispensed the ordinance of baptism ; and in the afternoon they 
rode to Symington, three miles to the west of Biggar, where the fami- 
lies who had left the Established Church had fixed the day following 
as a season of fasting and hiunilialjon. Both the reverend gentlemen 
here preached impressive discourses to an audience whose descendants, 
in most cases, continue Dissenters to the present day. At length Mr 
James Mair was ordained the permanent pastor of the West Linton con- 
gregation, on the 29th of &fay 1740; and on this occasion the sermon 
was preached by the Rev. James Fisher, and was afterwards published. 

For twelve or fifteen years the Seceders of Biggar and its neigh- 
bourhood wait«d on the ministrations of the Rev. James Mair, and 
Sabbath after Sabbath travelled to West Linton, tliough many of 
them rended twelve and fifteen miles distant. One of the most 
zealous Dissenters and constant attenders at West Linton, was Robert 



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THE KOBTH AND SOUTH UNITED PSESBTTERIAS CHURCHES. lSa\ 

Fonytli, aAerwards bellman and gntvedigger, Biggar, and father of 
Robert Forsyth, the distduguished author and advocate. Hobert went 
to liatOQ in all kinds of weather. Neither 'summer's heat nor winter's 
snow' stopped his journey. One tempestuous Sabbath morning be 
rose early, as usual, and, in spite of the remonstrances of his mother, 
took the road. In passing up the town, be saw James Brown, joiner, 
another teaious Dissenter, and grandfather of the late Robert John-' 
■ton, merchant, Biggar, standing at his door and gazing on the sky, to 
discover any symptom of the speedy clearing up of the weadier. 
'Weel, Jeemes,' said Robert, 'are ye no gaun east the day?' 'As 
there's nae appearance of the wather rackin' up, I wss thinlcin' about 
stayin' at hame,' said James. 'Hoot, man,' replied Robert, 'Mr Mair 
wull think mair o' us if we gang on sic a day as this, than if we gaed 
on twa or even three gude days.' So saying, he took his way in the 
midst of the storm, by Candy, Sandyhill Nick, Slipperfield Muir, and 
West Water, to Linton. 

A movement was at length set on foot to form a Secesmon congrega- 
tion at Biggar. The members of Mr Mair's congregation at Biggar, 
SkirUng, Walston, Libberton, and Glenhobn, were joined in this 
movement by the persons in Symington, Covington, and Camwath, 
who attended the ministrations of the Rev. David Horn at Davies- 
dykes, in the parish of Cambusnethan. The exact year in which the 
congregation was formed is not now known. It seems to have been a 
abort time previous to tbe year 1754, becauae during that year a 
petition, craving a supply of sermon, was presented to tbe Edinburgh 
Secession Presbytery from tbe congregation of Biggar. The main 
cause which led to tbe formation of the Biggar congregation was, no 
doubt, tbe inconvenience of travelling so far to attend reUgious ordi- 
nances OS West Linton and Cambusnethan ; but minor causes seem 
also to have been at woHi, sucb as tbe erection of tbe Antiburgber 
meeting-bouse at Elsrickle, and tbe attempted violent settlement of 
Mr Haig in tbe Parish Church of Biggar. A meeting-house having 
been biult un a piece of groimd immediately behind the north side of 
tbe High Street, the congregatioa proceeded, on the 1 6tb of October 
1760, to give a call to Mr Samuel Einlocb to be thdr pastor. Thu 
call Mr Kinloch tbottght fit ta decline ; and, therefore, tbe congrega- 
tion, on tbe 7tfa of May 1761, gave a call to Hr John Low, who bad 
studied divinity under Professor Fisb^ at Glasgow, and who had a 
short time previously been licensed to preach the Goq>el. Mr Low 
accepted thu call, and was ordained on the SOth of September, O.S. 
Tbe members of the Edinburgh Presbytery present on that occasion 
were — ^tbe Rev. William Hutton of Da^eitb, the Rev. Archibald Hall 
of Torphichen, the Rev. James Mair of West Linton, the Rev. Mr 
PattisoQ of Edinburgh, and the Bev. Mr Eidston of Stow. Tbe lead- 
ing men in the congregation, and all of them holding the ofSce of 
elder at the settlement of Mr Low, were — James Telfer, Whinbnsh ; 



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IK BIOGAR AKD THE HOUSE OF FLF.MIKG. 

^Uiam Watson, Eirklawhill ; James Brown, joiner, Biggar; James 
Steel, Elsrickle; James SoninieiTille,'Carawat]i; John Bertram, and 
Robert Wilson. Very little regarding these wortby men is now 
known: so quickly does the memoiy of even good and once prominent 
men fade away without the assistance of written records. 

Mr Low was a faithAil, laborious, and much-respected miiiister. 
In the pulpit his appearance was commanding, his voice rich and 
powerfol, and his d^very impresnve. His discourses were pervaded 
by a strain of ardent piety. His theology was that of the severest Cal- 
vinism ; and, of course, be was well veraed in all the subtleties of that 
abstruse creed. It is worthy of nodce, that at the lame of his settle- 
ment he had a valuable collection of theological works. They con- 
sisted of 56 foUo volumes, 44 qoarto volumes, and 70 volumes of 
inferior mea, all of a solid and standard character. The only relic 
of his library that we have seen, is the well-known controvernal 
work on the origin and authority of episcopal church government, 
entitled 'Altare Damascennm,' etc, by the historian, David Calder- 
wood. It has Mr Low's autograph on the margin, and is now in 
the library of Mr Sim, at Coultermuns. 

Mr Low had a somewhat irritable temper, that brought tiim into 
occasional troubles, both with the members of his own flock, and the 
adherents of other churches. The most minute record of some of the 
squabbles in which he was embroiled, is to be found in the manuscript 
memoirs of William Sim, schoolmaster, who had his headquarters at 
Biggar, and was a member of Mr Low's congregation. Mr Low, 
shortly afler his settlement at Biggar, entered into the marriage 
relation with a lady whose name was Janet Henderson. By this 
lady he had the following children : — Margaret, Helen, Sobert, John, 
Janet, James, and Ebenexer. Mr Low continued to discharge his 
ministerial duties at Biggar for a period of forty-three yeaia, and 
died on the 1st of Novemlier 1804. 

The successor of Mr Low was the Rev. John Brown. He was the 
son of the Eev. John Brown, Whitburn, and Isabella Cranaton, a native 
of Kelso, and was bom on the 12th of July 1784. He studied 
general literature and philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, and 
theology at the Divinity HJl, Selkirk, under the direction of Dr 
Lawson. He was licensed to preach the Gospel, by the Presbytery of 
Stirling and Falkirk, on the 12th Feb. 1 805, and, after a short proba- 
tion, received calls from Bi^ar and Starling. The Synod, which at 
that time held the power of deciding in the case of competing calls, 
assigned him the charge of Biggar. He was ordained on the 6th 
Feb. 1806. The weather at the time was remarkably stormy ; and the 
consequence was, that only three members of the Presbytery of Lanark 
attended on the occasion. Dr Harper of Leith, a son of the Rev. 
Alexander Harper of Lanark, at tie jubilee services of Dr Brown, in 
Broughton Place Church, Edinburgh, on the 8th April 1856, said, ' I 



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THE NOKTH AND SOUTH UNITED PRESBYTEBIAN CHURCHES. 187 

have a boyish recoUection of the event which you are met to com- 
memorate, and of being almost, I cannot say altogether, a spectator 
of Dr Brown's ordinatioa. On the morning of that day I sat at the 
fireoide wrapped up, and ready to be placed by my father in a nook 
of the conveyance in which he and a friend were going to the ordi~ 
BOtioD at Big$;ar. There had been a heavy fall of snow through the 
night ; and the fiiend I speak of used to remind me that there was a 
little face in the comer that had its own share of gloominess as well 
as the weather, when a messenger, who had been sent out to ascer- 
tain the state of the roade, reported that it was doubtful whether a 
horse and gig could pass. T^ere was no help but to leave me behind.* 
Hr Brown's own father preached the ordinatioD sermon ; and on the 
Sabbath following he was introduced by the Rev. James Ellis of Salt- 
coats. The congregation at Biggar, to which Mr Brown ministered, 
was characterized by great spiritual devotion and general intelligence. 
Some of the members were his equals, if not his superiors, in dasmcal 
knowledge and literary attunments; while many of them were as deeply 
verunt as himself in the abstruse tenets of (^vinistic theology, and 
in the history and principles of the religious body to which they 
belonged. He was dius stimulated, in the highest degree, to diligence 
in his preparations for the pulpit, and the diets of examination which 
he held in the houses of h^ members. He studied carefully every- 
thing that he delivered in public He wrote out at full length, and 
mandated his discourses, prayers, and casual addresses. Besides the 
ministrations in his own pulpit, he was in the habit of preaching in 
bams and school-rooms in the adjoining villages, and not unfrequently 
in the open air. His son John, in his supplementary chapter to 
Dr Cairns' life of his father, gives an anecdote illustrative of his 
achievements on his good grey mare in iulfiUii:^ an engagement of 
outdoor preaching. 'He had,' he says, 'an engagement to*preach 
somewhere beyond the Clyde on a Sabbath evening, and his e^ellent 
and attached friend and eider, Mr Kello, lindsaylanda, accompanied 
him on his big plough horse. It was to be in the open air on the 
river side. When they got to the Clyde, they found it in full flood, 
heavy and sadden rains at the head of the water having brought it 
down in a wild spate. On the opposite side were the gathered people 
and the tent. Before Mr Kello knew where he was, there was his 
minister on the mare swimming across, and carried down in a long 
diagonal, the people looking on in terror. He landed, shook himself, 
and preached with his usual fervour.' 

He delivered a monthly lecture in his own church, the collection at 
which was expended in the education of poor children ; and he was 
among the first who established a minister's library of costly and not 
readily accessible theological works — on institution of great importance 
to dei^ymen of limited means in country districts. In the United 
Presbyterian body there are now not fewer than 160 libraries of this 



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138 BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMNG. 

kind; andthenmnberisfrom jeortoyearincreaaiiig. His little church 
was, every Sabbfttb, filled with an auditory that Usteiied with profound 
attention and admiratioii to the clear, fordble, and impresaive expoid* 
tion of Scripture truth that proceeded from his hps. The old church 
was pulled down tind a new one built ; and a new manse was also 
erect«d in a more retired situatdoii, on the south side of the town, finely 
overlooking the strath of Biggar and the Hartree Hills. 

In August 1807, he married Miss Jane Ninuno, a daughter of 
Mr WiUitun Nimmo, surgeon, Glasgow. As her son, Di John Brown, 
ha« justly sud, she was modest, calm, thrifty, reasonable, tender, 
happy-hearted. She was his student-love, and is even now remem- 
bered in that pastoral region for ' her sweet gentleness, and wife-like 
government.' Their union was blessed with four children — two sons 
imd two daughters. They enjoyed the greatest earthly felici^ in 
each other's society ; but cruel and envious fate matched her £rom 
him in 1816. He mustered up courage to preach her funeral sermon, 
and descanted on her virtues and his own loss, amid the sobs aad 
tean of an attached and sorrowing congregation. She was interred 
in Symington Churchyard, according to her own wishes; and her 
hiisl»nd there erected a tablet to her memory. 

Down to the year 1815, Mr Brown confined himself, in a great 
measure, to the discbarge of his pastoral duties at Biggar. It was the 
careful preparation of his discourses for the devout and intelligent 
people of the Biggar district that laid the foundation of that skill, 
that eminence in the exegctical and critical examination of Scripture, 
to which he afterwards attained. It was in Biggar, too, that he com- 
menced that wonderful career of authorship, which is so marked a 
feature of lus life. He vnis in the habit, at an earlj period of his 
ministry, of contributing occasional papers to the ' Christian Instructor,' 
then ulder the editorial care of the Ber. Andrew Thomson. In 1816, 
he started a periodical styled ' The Christian Sepository and Keligions 
Begister,' which, besidee his own articles, received contributions from 
Dr Lawson, Dr Peddie, Dr Marshall of Kirkintilloch, Dr Balmer, 
Berwick, Bobert Johnston, Biggar, etc Five volumes of this maga- 
rine had been published at the union of the Burghers and Anti- 
burghers in 1820, when it was merged into a conjoint periodicfJ, 
called ' The Christian Monitor.' The 'Repository' was ably conducted. 
Its papers were of a highly intellectual rather than a popular cast. 
To men of education and reflection they were most acceptable; and 
they can still be read with pleasure and profit. It is interesting to 
con them over, and think that every one of them was carefully revised 
in the calm solitude of that retired manse, with its tripi garden, standing 
behind the Silver-knowes of Biggar, and looking forth on the green 
mountains of Tweeddale. 

Mr Brown's first separate publication at Bi^ar was 'Strictures 
on Mr Yates's Vindication of Unitarianism.' This was followed in 



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THE NORTH AND SOUTH UNITED PRESBTTEBIAK CUUBCHES. IBS 

suocesdon by a Tolnme of 'Sacramental Disconrses;' by a sennon 
preadted before the Edinburgh Misaionaiy Society, enticed 'The 
Danger ofOppoBingChrutiamty,aQd the Certainty of its final Trinmph;' 
by ' Bemurks on the Plans and Publications of Bobert Owen, Eiq., 
New Lanark;' by 'Three Diaooursea on the Character, Duty, and 
Danger of those who Forget God ; ' by a Tolume ' On Religion, and 
the Means of its Attainment;' by 'Notes of on Ezcnrnon into the 
Highlands of Scotland;* and 'A Sermon on the State of Scotland in 
reference to the Means of Religious Instruction.' The statements 
contained in this lait-menduaed discourse, which was preached before 
the Associate Synod on the retirement of Mr Brown trota the office of 
Moderator in April 1819, were strictly accurate, and all parties have 
long since admitted their truth ; but at the time of its delivery and 
publication, a considerable party in the Established Church were un- 
willing to acknowledge that their ecclesiastical institution was charge- 
able with any defects, and were indignant at any one that attempted 
to point them out Hence the Rev. Alexander Graik of libberton, 
near Camwath, and others, opened a heavy battery on Mr Brown for 
his strictures; but he bore the assault with wonderful equanimity, and 
lived to see very extraordinary efforts made within the pale of the Estab- 
lishment itself, to remedy the very evils of which he had complained. 
Mr Brown, in the latter part of his ministry at Biggar, was very 
much occupied with labours of a more public and extensive kind than 
the sphere of that town afforded. He preached the anniversary ser- 
mons o{ several public institutions, and he was sent out on various 
missionary tours. On one occasion he vinted England, along with the 
Rev. A. O. Beatlie, then Burgher minist«r at Kincardine, and the Rev. 
David Dickson and the Rev. Henry Gnj, both of the Established 
Church, Edinburgh. They returned with a subsidy of L.3000. bi 
1820, on the death of Professor Lawson, Mr Brown was nominated as 
one of the candidates for the vacant Divini^ Chair ; but the chrace 
ultimately fell on Dr Dick, Glasgow. In 1817, he refused a call to the 
congregation of North Leith ; but in 1822, receiving a call from the 
congregation of Rose Street, Edinburgh, the Synod decided that he 
should accept it ; and he took farewell of his Biggar flock in a sermon 
whioh he preached from 1 Cor. xv. 1-4 On the occasion of his jubilee, 
in 1856, he thus referrsd to the congregation of Biggar: — 'A more 
cordial pastoral relation, I beheve, never existed. I respected them for 
their Christian intelligence and worth, and loved them for their uu- 
a&oted kindness. They made abundant allowance for my youth, and 
^owed that peculiar kind of afi^ction which is cherished by the 
mature Christian for the young disdple ; for a large proportion of the 
congregation, when I went to them, were beyond the midst of life, 
experienced in religion as well as stricken in years. I had great 
advantages for study ; and, I hope, did not entirely neglect them. 
The acquisitiona made in my fint charge lay at the foundation of any 



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140 BIGOAB AHD THE HOUSE OF FLEHDia 

measure of usefoliiess to which I may have attained in other situKtions. 
Biggai vaa much endeared to me as the scene of very sweet enjoj- 
meots and very deep sorrows. "The dewe of youth" lay heavy 
on these scenes, and their recollection retreshes the heart. It cer- 
tainly was in my heart to live and die with my people there ; bat the 
Head of the Church ordained it otherwise. My connection with 
that congregation was not dissolved with my own hand. We parted 
in sorrow, but in peace. Long before I became their minister, thcdr 
ftamer pastor, the Bev. John Low, a man of a warm temper but 
kind heart, said to his friend, my father, qteaking of his own mini- 
sterial life, " We have had our bnmgles ; but they are a sonsy, kindly 
folk." This is a true saying. I found them " a aonsy, kindly folk ; " 
but we never had any brangles.' 

Mr Brown, after leaving Biggar, pursued a succesafdl career of 
public usefulness. In 18S9 he was translated to the congregation of 
Broughton Place; in 1830 received the degree of D.D. from Jefferson 
College, United States; and in 1834 was appointed Professor of Eze- 
getical Theology to the religious body with which he was connected. In 
1 835 he entered into the relation of marriage with Miss Margaret Fisher 
Crum, only surviving daughter of Alexander Crum, Esq. of Thomlie- 
bank, near Glasgow | and by this lady he had one son and two daughters. 
thiring the latter part of his life he published, in rapid succession, a 
number of those valuable expositions of Scripture which he had 
sketched at Biggar, and which be had perfected during his succeeding 
pastorates and his professorship' in Edinburgh. His separate publi- 
cations are nnmerons, amounting to upwards of fifty. They will long 
be held in esteem by those who value correct sentiment, clear and 
vigorous expression, and extraordinary critical acumen. He died 
at his house, Arthur Lodge, Newington, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, 
17th October 1858, and was interred in the New Calton Burying- 
ground, bende his second wife, who had predeceased him several years. 
Dr Brown's successor in the Associate Congregation, Biggar, was 
the Bev. David Smith, who was borp In the year 1792, in the village 
of Battray, near Blairgowrie, Perthshire, ta 1607 he went to Lon- 
don, and remained there till 1815. He had now resolved to devote 
himself to the work of the holy ministry, and with this view he re- 
turned to Scotland, and attended two sesdons at the Univernty of 
Glasgow, and one — that of 1817-18 — at the University of Edinburgh. 
In August 1817 he entered the Divinity Hall of the Associate Synod, 
then under the charge of Professor Lawson of Selkirk. The Professor 
died before Mr Smith had finished his theological course, and he com- 
pleted it in September 1821, under Dr Dick, Glasgow. He was 
licensed to preach the Gospel in December of that year, and received 
a call {rom the congregation of Biggar in -the spring of 1823. This 
he thought fit to accept, and was ordained on the 19th of August 
following. He manied Janet Brown, a daughter of the Eev. John 



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THE HOBTH AND SOUTH DKTTED PBESBYTEBIAK CHUBCHES. HI 

Brown of WUtborn ; and by her he has hod edx children — three sons 
Bod three dsughtera. 

In the discharge of bis duties as a pastor, Dr Smith haa been 
most futhfUl and iaboricras. He has taught the word of hfe from 
the pulpit with earnestness and power; he has been no stranger in 
the domiciles of his flock, praying in the Jamily circle, (^ by the 
bedside of the sick and dying, and raising their thoughts to Him 
who has the issues of life and death in His hand, and vho makes 
every erent contribute to His gloiy; and he has taken no liikewarm 
interest in the condition and instruction of the young, but has laboured 
ascdduously to furnish them with the knowledge that is profitable for 
the life that now is, and that which is t« come. In the quiet seclnaon 
and retirement of die Secession manse he has found time to compose 
and give to the world the following works: — 'Devotional Psalter;' 
'Sacramental Manual;' 'Chamber of Affliction;' 'Token of Remem- 
brance for ChUdren ; ' ' Golden Sayings ; ' ' Memoirs of the Rev. 
John Brown, Whitburn;' 'Memoirs of the Rev. William Fleming, 
West Colder ; ' ' Memoirs of the Rev. Charles C. Leiteh, India ; ' 
Tracts on Baptism and the Lord's Supper; and Sermons on 'How Old 
art Thou?' and on 'Prosperity and Peace, or the Church and the 
World of the Last Days.' These varioas works not only testify to the 
diligence of Dr Smith, but to his zeal and ability in promoting ^e 
cause of his Divine Mast«r, and in contributing to the gratification 
and improvement of his friends and the world at large. In I860 the 
College of Dartmouth, United States, conferred on him the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity. He has received calls to other congregations, but 
his resolution appears to be to live and die with his attached flock at 
Etiggar. At the meeting of the Synctd of the United Presbyterian 
Church in May 1661, Dr Smith was proposed as Moderator by Dr 
William Johnston of T.TTnpkilnii, himself also a Biggar man. Dr John- 
ston assigned four reasons in favour of Dr Smith's election. He said 
he proposed him, ' first, because Dr Smith was a senior minister; 
secondly, because he had always taken a deep interest in the afiairs of 
the Church, and had been a dose att«nder of the Synod's meetings; 
and thirdly, because the Church was under obligation to him for his 
writings. Last year he preached a sermon which he (Dr Johnston) 
considered to be one of the best he had ever heard, and which he 
would not be afraid to put in competition with any sermon preached 
in Scotland within the last twelve months. T^e sermon was published, 
and each might judge for himself. Fourthly, he proposed Dr Smith 
because he had in a remarkable degree uded the miasionaiT' opera- 
tions of the United Presbyterian Church,' These, as Dr Johnston 
said, were good reasons why Dr Smith should be honoured with the 
Moderator's Chair. Dr Robsou of Glasgow had, however, been 
brought forward as a candidate for this honour; and on the vote being 
taken, ninety-one voted for him, and ^hty-seven for Dr Smith, 



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Itt BIOOAB AHD THE HOOSE OF FLEHINO. 

Though Dr South was thus uosuocessful, yet the large nnmber of 
votes teadered in his favour show the high estinuttjoQ in which he is 
held by the religious body to which he belongs. 

On the 15th October 1861, a very interesting and gratifying meet- 
ing took place in Dr Smith's church. This waa the celebration of 
the centenary of the settlement of its first pastor, the Bev. Mr Low. 
On this occasion, the Rev, Dr Cairns of Berwick preached a, sermon in 
the forenoon; and in the afternoon a soiree was held, at which Dr 
Smith predded, and gave a sketch of the rise, progress, and present 
state of the congregation under his charge. He was then presented 
by Mr John Archibald, president of the congregation, with a pune 
oontaining 185 B0vereig;ns, as a testimony of respect for his long and 
fiuthfnl services. Addresses were afterwards d^vered by a nombw 
of gentlemen, among whom were the following natives of Biggar;— 
John Brown, M.D., Edinburgh; Dr William Johnston, Limekilns; 
Dr John Brown Johnston, Glasgow; the Bev. William Scott, Balemo; 
and the Rev. Robert Johnston, Arbroath. 

Shortly aft«r the union of the two kingdoms, the State began to 
impose fetters on the Church of Scotland, with tiie view of checking 
its free repubhcan spirit and constitution. These, in course of time, 
introdaced a state of laxity, subBerviency, and degradation, that made 
a departure from the doctrinal standards of the Church appear an 
o&ncfl less heinous than the violation of an eccUnastical or legislative 
act, however unjust and onwarruitable it might be. This State in- 
terference, and the cormptioD it engendered, have loin at the foun- 
dation of all the seoesraons which have taken place in Scotland for 
mote than a century past. 

Hie body of Christians that at one time exiated, called the 'Relief,' 
had their origin in the exerme of the law of patronage, which had 
been thrust on the Church in the reign of Queen Anne. Captain 
Philip Anstruther, in 1749, issned a presentation to the parish of In- 
verk^thing, in favour of the Rev. Andrew Richardson, minister of 
Broughton, in the Presbytery of Biggar. The parishioners of Inver- 
keithing, abnott unanimously, opposed the settiement of MLr Richard- 
■on, and on this account the Fnsbytery of Dunfermline refused to 
take the usual steps to instal him in that charge. This led to a course 
of rigorous and summary proceedings in the superior Church Conrta, 
which ended in the deposition of the Rev. Thomas Gillespie, minister 
of Camock, in 1752. Mr Gillespie, the Rev. Thomas Boston, Jed- 
bur^ and the Rev. Thonuts Colier, Colinsburgh, Fife, on the SSd 
October 1761, constituted themselves into a Presbytery of Belief. 

The Relief congregation, Biggar, had its origin in the violent set- 
tlement of a minister in the Parish Church. The Bev. John Johnston 
having died on the 15th of October 177S, a presentation to the va- 
cant charge was issued in favour of Mr Robert Pearson, probationer. 
At a meeting of the Biggar Presbytery, on the Sfith of March 1779, 



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THE NOBTH AND SOUTH UHTTED PRESBTTEBUN CHURCHES. Itf 

the presentatioD was laid befor« the membera hj Bailie C&nnichael, 
and siutaiued; and the presentee was instructed to preach onoe be- 
fore the Presbjteiy, and twice before the people. 3(r Peanon obeyed; 
but bis discourses gave so little satisfaction, that, vithoat anj fonnal 
meeting or concert«d resolutdon, the people came to a unanimous de- 
tarmination to abstun from any concurrence in his calL The Pres- 
bytery delayed taking any iiirUier steps till the 6th of July, to see if 
any one would move for the moderation of a call ; but, as no person 
came forward, the Court fixed the 30th of July for that purpose. On 
this occasion the Moderator asked several times, if any parishioner 
present was disposed to subscribe the calL But no one would either 
put pen to paper, or give an oral assent; and, therefore, it was de- 
cided that the call should lie in the clerk's hands for scane time, to 
obtain snbecriplions, eren in a private way. On the 19tfa of Octo- 
ber, not a sin^ name had been appended; and, therefore, the Pres- 
bytery finding themselves in a dilemma, resolved to apply for advice 
to the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale. The Synod did not advise 
the Presbytery to proceed to a settlemmt in the drcmnstances, but 
requested the Presbytery to deal with the people, in order to induce 
them to accept of the preaent«e. The people of Biggar were indig- 
nant at this recommendation, as they hdd Uiat the Pxeabytery should 
have received inatmclions to deal with the presentee as well as with 
themselves, so that he might not persist in thruating himself on a 
fiock who, to a man, were opposed to his settlement Six months 
elapsed before any farther steps were taken, publicly; bnt, in the in- 
terim, great efibrts were made to obtain concurrents to the call, either 
by fear or fovour. At a meeting of the Presbytery, on the 9th of 
Hay 1780, Ur James Saunders, writer, Edinburgh, appeared as agent 
for the patroness and the presentee, and laid on the table the result 
of these efibrts, in the shape of letters of adherence to Mr Pearson 
from four non-resident heritors — viz., the Hon. John ElphiostCHie, 
General James Lockharl of Lee, Geo. Brown of Heiston, and Charles 
Brown of Coulston, — <mB non-resident feuar, and four or five indivi- 
duals, dependants on the patroness. The despicable amount of sup- 
port thus obtained, and the resolute opposition of the people, sta^ered 
the members of Presbytery, and made them refuse to proceed far- 
ther with the setUement The agent of the presentee therefore pro- 
tested, and intimated his intention to carry the case by appeal to the 
ensuing General Assembly. It accordingly came before the Supreme 
Court on Monday, the 29th May. It was felt to possess a somewhat 
singular character, aa, properly speaking, th^ was only one party — 
the present«e — with bis four or five resident supporters; while almost 
the entire body of parishioners made iio t^p«arance, bnt stood dc^- 
gedly aloof, and did not offer even any tan^ble objections. Il, never- 
theless, gave rise to a long and keen discussion, and at length the 
following motion was submitted, viz. : 'To remit the case to the Pre*- 



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lU BI6QAB AND TBE BOUSE OF FLEMING. 

bytery, and enjoin them to moderate ia a c&U to the presentee, dt novo, 
betwixt that tjme and the 1st of October next, and to proceed towards 
the settlement according to the rules of the Church.' A counter motion 
was tJien prop<Med: "That the Assembly do sustain the concurrence to 
the presentee ; appoint the Presbytery to proceed towards a settlement 
of the presentee, with all convenient speed, according to the rules of 
tbe Church; and empower the Commission, in November, to judge in 
any question that may be regularly brought before them concerning 
the settlement of the parish, by complaint, reference, or appeaL' 
These motions were put to the vote, when 77 members supported the 
first, and 85 the second, and judgment was given accordingly. 
Agfunst this decimon twenty-e^ht members entered a protest; and 
the chief reasons which they assigned for taking this step were as fol- 
lows, viz. : — 'Though it bath been often a matter of dispute what 
niunber of subscriptions were necessary to constitute that call upon 
which the Church can proceed to the settlement of a minister, yet 
there is not any one instance in which this Court hath ordered a set- 
tlement to proceed without sometHng which had at least the form 
and the name, however little it might have of the nature, of a call ; 
but in the present case, the Assembly hath ordered a settlement 
to proceed according to At rules of tiu ChurtA, although to this 
moment the call is a sheet of blank paper, without a mngle name. 
The concurrence came eleven months after the moderation of a call ; 
and was, therefore, strictly inadmissible in any form. If the unau- 
thenticated extrajudicial subscriptions of, or a promise to subscribe, a 
oall, were to be regarded, why not turn them into a legal shape, and 
remit for that purpose to the Presbytery to moderate a call de now t 
The regular course was pltun; nor was there the smallest reason for 
deviating from it by an extraordinary stretch of power. By ordina- 
tion a mutual relation is constituted; and for this purpose the consent 
of both parties is equally essential. In what manner the consent of 
the people is to be expressed, hath been clearly laid down in the law 
and practice of the Church; and when it b not thus expressed in what 
is generally named a call, or something equivalent to a call, an ordi- 
nation is an absurdity, if not worse. "That no person shall be in- 
truded into any office of the Church, contrary to Uie will of the con- 
gregation to which he is appointed," nay, "that it is not lawAil for 
any person to meddle with an ecclesiastical function without the con- 
sent of the congregation," are express and repeated enactments of our 
ecclesiastical law ; they are ratified and approved by numberless Acts 
of ParUament; the strict observance of them is soWmly sworn to by 
every office-bearer in the Church of Scotland ; and every member of 
Assembly, in particular, holds his commission with an express injunc- 
tion as he shfOl be answerable, to decide accordingly. All this not- 
withstanding, the Assembly huh, in the present case, appointed a set- 
tlement, not only without Uie consent of the congregadon, but directly 



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THE KOitTH AND SOUTH UNITED PEE SBYTE BIAS CHURCHES Hi 

in the face of express opposition by every heritor, elder, and head of 
family in the parish. For, with respect to the seven persona vho, 
out of 1200 parishionera, have been prevuled on to promise a con- 
currence, they are of such singular characters, and in such singular 
circumstances, that the Hon. Counsel (Mr Henry Erskine) who 
supported the presentation candidly gave them up ; and with respect 
to ibe letters &om the non'residing heritors (who, by the by, are 
most of them not of our communion, and all together do not much 
exceed a third part of the heritors that pay the stipend), they cannot 
in the present view be of any consideration whatsoever, they can have 
DO weight in a caU which b the foundation of a pastoral connection 
between a minister and his people. However much some people may 
think proper to despise, and even wantonly to provoke and insult the 
people, yet this is certain, that all the laws respecting our ecclesiasti- 
cal constitution are expressly founded on the inclinations, and enacted 
with a view to promote the happiness and tranquility of the whole 
Christian pe<^. We cannot, without the utmost regret, imagine the 
idea of a church without a people, ministers without congregations; 
we cannot, in duty to God and our constituents, but protest in the 
strongest terms against measures which have such a tendency ; and 
though we must hang our harps upon the willows, yet we shall always 
pray, that He who stills the raging of the sea, and the tumults of the 
people, may preserve peace within our Jerusalem's walls, and pour 
down prosperity upon the Church of Scotland.' 

On the 30th of June the Presbytery of Biggar met, when Bailie 
Carmichael appeared, and presented a mandate, craving that the 
Presbytery should proceed with the settlement of the presentee. Mr 
Pearson, accordingly, was subjected to trials for ordination; and these 
having been sustained at a meeting of the Presbytery in September, 
his ordination was fixed to take place on the 28th of November. 

The Rev, Thomas Gray of Broughton was appointed to serve the 
edict on the people, and the Bev. David Dickson of Libberton, to 
preach and preside on the occasion of the ordination. Against this 
step John Gladstone, one of the elders, tabled a protest, signed by 
himself, John Black, and John Wilson, elders; and by Richard lith- 
gow and William Aitken, parishioners. The protesters stated, that as 
the right of soinety, both dvil and sacred, to choose their rulers and 
representatives had always been held sacred and inviolable, they could 
not sit entirely silent, and see themselves deprived of all choice, voice, 
or hearing, by having a minister intruded upon them, in the most 
arbitrary manner, by the lordly exertion of Church power, and in 
opposition to all the Acts of the Church of Scotland since the Refor- 
mation. They then referred to the Acts of the Cbnrcb against 
the intrusion of ministers, and declared that the proceedings in this 
case left the parishioners nothing but implicit obedience and subjec- 
tion, and thus made them mere nullities ; that they subverted the 



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Mt BIGQAS AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHG 

constitntional principles of the Chtircb and good order; tiiat they wei« 
th« fruitful c&use of debater, schisms, and diTiaions, and plainly tended 
to mar the succera of the GospeL On these grounds, thej, in their own 
name, and ia the name of all who should adhere to them, entered their 
protest against the steps proposed to be taken to settle Mr Pearson. 

The people were now greatly incensed. Threats were freely used 
that the proceedings at the ordination would be presented by Tiolence. 
Several females had declared their intention of providing themselTes 
irith 'lapfuls' of stones, and pelting the Presbytery so soon as they 
made their appearance in the Kirkstyle. On the other hand, a ru- 
motir prevailed that a troop of dragoons would be brought trom Edin- 
burgh, to protect the members of Presbytery in the discharge of theii 
duties. Everything betokened that the 26Ui of November would be 
a day of great commotion in the little town. The excitement was stiU 
further increased by the conduct of the Sev. Mr Diokson of Libber- 
ton. He caused a pro re nata meeting of the Presbytery to be held 
<m the 25th of September; and there poutively and solemnly declared 
that he woidd not preach and pTe»de at Mr Pearson's ordination. He 
ended his statement by saying, that in the event of the Presbytery still 
insisting on his performance of the duty which they had assigned him, 
'I will be reduced to tJie punfnl necessity of inunediatdy ^ving in a 
resignation of my charge and office aa minister of Libberton, which 
appeara to me the most respectful maimer of preventing may further 
trouble to the Presbytery.' The membeiv of Presbytery were placed 
in a complete dilemma. None of them were prepared to incur the 
odiimi and brave the fury of the Biggar people, by taking an active 
part in the obnoxious settlement. It was in the end agreed, that a 
hint should be given to the presentee, that it would be necessary for 
him to bring some of his clerical friends from a distance to peifcwm 
the chief part in his ordination. He accordingly arrived at Bi^ar on 
the evening of the 27th of November, along with the Rev. Mr Steel 
of Cockpen, and the Bev. Mr Whyte of liberton, near Edinburgh. 

Next day a meeting of Presbytery was constituted in a small apart- 
ment of one of the inns of the towiL The place was immediately 
crowded to suffocation, fmd numbers were unable to gun admittance. 
The moderator called on die parishioners, if they had any objections 
to the presentee, to state them at once. John Gladstone, in name of 
the parishioners, stepped forward and presented a ntmiber of objec- 
tions ; btit the I^vsbytery decided that they could not be sustained, as 
none of them inferred immorally of life, or heterodoxy of doctrine. 
A protest and appeal to the Synod irf Lothian and Tweeddale was 
next tabled; but the Presbytery, considering that these were now 
irrelevanc, resolved to proceed (o the settlement. The parishioners, 
in a body, therefore, left the ^nrtment, and at the same time the 
Church of their forefathers. They formed themselves into a congre- 
gstioa, and obtained a supply of sennon from the Synod of Belief. 



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THE NORTH AND SOUTH UHTTED rRESBTTEBUN CHURCHES. 147 

The proceedings in tliis case led to the pubUcation of k poem of 
considerable length, but of little literary merit. Copies of it are 
now extremely rare. It details the proceedings under the nmilitnde 
of a marriage; — the bride being the flock, the bridegroom the pre- 
sentee, and the attendants or witnesses the Presbytery. The pre- 
sentee or bridegroom, and the two strange priests thai; were to 
officiate at the nuptial ceremony, are described as starting on th^ 
journey from the east, and hailing by the way at the idehonse of 
Harestanes, to fortify themselves with potations of strong drink to 
enable them to brave the dangers to which it was apprehended they 
would be exposed at Biggar; and to spend time, so that they might 
enter the town after nightfall, and thus elude the assaults of the old 
women, who bad threatened to salute them on their entrance with a 
shower of missiles. Addressing the landlord, 

'Uake haste, ther cry, bring ne a gill, 

Till PhtBbns get behind the hiU ; 

For we'll sUy hera till ni^t is gone. 

Because we liiye to walk unknown.' 
The marriage then takes place, amid the protests, appeals, and lamen- 
tations of the bride. Her language is strong and furious. Address- 
ing the officiating priests, she says, 

' Your works proclaim, and loudly teU, 
That you're but sotis of Belial, 
To wicath BO hard upon my neck 
A yoke from hell made 1^ Old Nick.' 
In looking round and seeing the desolation which they had made in 
her tabernacle, 

' Where once so many lov'd to dwell,' 
And 

' Which once did shine wiUi Gospel grace,* 
Her bosom was filled with convulsive pangs, and she despairingly 
exclaimed, 

' when shall wicked rolers cease 
To hurt the Church and mar her peacel' 

Her outraged spirit, in form of a ghost, then visits all the members 
of Presbytery in succession, commencing with 'Cauldrife John of 
Symington;* and not neglecting Mr Pearson aad his two friends, 
Whjte and Steel She e^ioses with unsparing hand all their foibles, 
heresies, and shortcomings, and upbraids them for the part they 
had acted in robbing her of her rights and reducing her to a state of 
slavery. The ghost then returns to Biggar, bemoaning her sad fate, 
and praying that the reign of the 'wild wolT that had inbiided into 
the Go(^-fold would be short. 



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M8 BIGOAB AND THE HOtJSR OF FLEMING. 

One of Mr Pearson's clerical friends, who had assiBted at the ordi- 
nation, by and bj comes back to B^gar, to see what Bort of congre- 
gation he had collected. He finds it composed of the 'mongrel 
gentrjr,' of 'rustic John that mettle knare,* of tJie 'scandalons tribe,' 
of 'th« poor and needy,' and 'the thoughtless and the ignorant;' in 
short, of those who had no fear of God, or who expected to r&tp some 
worldly advantage by their attendance. Tlie devil himself at last 
appears on the stage, and expresses his entire satisfaction mih the 
conduct of Mr Pearson. Addressing Pearson, he says, 

'■ Fearaon I thoa'rt a oham[Hon bold. 
Thy use to me here can't be UM, 
My kingdom heie you do defend 
Against all aach as faeav'uward bend. 
You have now banished from the Eiik 
AH such as did me hurt and wreck ; 
My flock all gather unto thee, 
Because their ills ye wiU not see ; 
And while ye keep this eaej way, 
No lake from you I'm sure will stray.' 

The devil then gives him many advices. He was to hold no diets of 
examination, nor put troublesome questions about Bible truths, as 
these things disturbed the minds of those who loved to dwell at ease. 
In his sermons he was to say nothing of Christ or righteousness, and 
he was not to fright bis hearers with statements of coming wrath. He 
was to choose as his intimate associates the licentious and untruthful, 
the careless and indifferent. Tf he did all these things, he would con- 
tinue to be very dear to his Satanic M^esty, and would receive from 
him no harm or molestation. 

The most active individuals in opposing the settlement of Mr Pear- 
' son, and in forming the Relief Congregation at Biggar, were John 
Gladstone, Richard Tweedie, and Andrew Ritchie. These persons 
and their associates lost no time in purcharing half a burgh land, 
lying on the south side of the town, and belonging by inheritance to 
Isabella Vallance, wife of John Watson, the 'Whistling Laird,' to 
whom we have already referred. The Burgh land, of which this 
formed a part, eonnsted, as usual, of grotmd fronting the High Street, 
Croft land running to the south, and part of the Moss, the Borrow 
Muir, and CoUiehUl of Biggar; and prior to 1712 was the property 
of Sir William Menzies of Gladstane. It was purchased from that 
gentleman by William Baillie, merchant, Biggar, who sold it to that 
distinguished burgh worthy. Bailie Luke Vallance. On the death of 
Luke, it went by inheritance to his brother Alexander, who left it to 
his two daughters, — Isabella, married to John Watson as already 
stated, and Janet, married to Thomas Bryden, baker, Bi^^ar. On the 
portion of this Burgh land which the founders of the Relief congre- 



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' THE NORTH AND SOCTH UNITED PSE8BITEBIAN CHURCHES. 149 

gation thus acquired, they erected a meetitig-bouse, and subeeqnently 
a manse and officC'IiouseB. The congregation having been rcgolaily 
constituted hj the Synod of Belief, the following are the members 
who attended the first meeting of session, viz. : John Gladstone, John 
Wilson, John SmaU, John Thomson, John Wai^h, John Reid, Richard 
Tweedie, Andrew Ritchie, William Gilbert, and James Johnstone. 

The first minister of this new congregation was the Ker. Jamea 
Cross. He was ordained towards the close of the year 1780. His 
connexion with the congregation was of short duration, as he accepted 
a call to Newcastle in 1782. Their next minister was the Rev. John 
Reston. He was ordained in 1783. He received a call to the Belief 
Church, Kilsyth, in November 1792; and the case having been 
brought before the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh, he said that he 
saw no sufficient reason for leaving his present charge, but submitted 
the matter for decision to the Presbytery. The Presbytery, by a 
unanimous vote, decided that the call should not be sustained. Mr 
Beston, in the year following, demitted his chaise, and went to Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. He was afterwards the pastor of a BeUef congre- 
gation that met in Cturubber's Close, Edinburgh, and was ultimately 
translated to Bridgeton, Glasgow. Their third minister was the Rev. 
Bobert Paterson, who had been for a number of years pastor of the 
Belief congregation at Largo, in Fife. He came to Biggar in Decem- 
ber 1794; but in consequence of a great storm of snow, the-Presbytery 
were tmable to come up to induct him for eight weeks afterwards. 
Mr Paterson died on the 10th of August 1802, in the sixty-fi^^t year 
of his age and the thir^-second of his ministry, and was interred in 
Biggar Churchyard, where the congregation erected a monumental 
stone to his memory. The fourth pastor was the Bev. Hugh Macfar- 
hme. On the 2Sd of March 1803, the Relief Presbytery of Edin- 
burgh met at Biggar. The edict having been served, and no objec- 
tions to the settlement of Mr Macfarlane offered, the Bev. Mr Kalston 
preached a sermon from 2 Cor. ii. 16; the eloquent Mr Struthers of 
College Street, Edinburgh, pnt the usual questions, and offered up the 
ordination prayer; after which Mr Macfarlane was solemnly set apart, 
by the imposition of hands, to the office of the holy ministry and the 
pastoral charge of the congregation of Biggar. The Bev. Mr Tboro- 
son of James Place, Edinburgh, then gave the charge to the con- 
gregation; and Mr Macfarlane's name was added to the roll of the 
Presbytery. On the 4th of March 1806, commissioners from the 
congregation of Biggar lud a libel agunst their pastor on the table of 
the Presbytery of Edinburgh. In consequence of some irregularity, it 
was not entert^ed till the 2d of July. The names attached to the 
libel were— John Patenon, farmer, Toftcombs; John Waugh, tenant in 
Tbankerton ; Andrew Ritchie, currier, Biggar ; and John SmaU, miller, 
Skirling Mill A number of witnesses were examined in support 
of the libel, and Mr Madailane himself appeared in his own defence. 



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IAD BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHG. 

The Fnahytery found three counts in the libel proven: 1st, that the 
rev. gentlenuin had been gnilty of disrespectful behaviouT to the am- 
gregation of Biggar; 2d, of the mean habit of dnmkenness; and Sd, of 
taking the name of God in vain. The decision of the Court was, tiiat 
the Bev. Hugh Macfarlane Bhoold be solemnly rebuked, and his con- 
nection vrilh the congregation of Biggar dissolved. The congWgation 
afterwards ' paid L.200 for behoof of Mr Macfarlane, which was en- 
trusted to the Presbyterj, to be advanced as they saw proper. On the 
3d of Mardi following, the Presbytery agreed to restore Mr Macfar- 
lane to the office of the sacred ministry; but it soon became more 
plainly apparent that his reason was impaired, and that he was inca- 
pable to discharge the duties of this office. He then became unset- 
tled in hb habits, and travelled over the country from place to place. 
In the conise of his wanderings, he came occasionally to Bi^ar, visited 
some of his old hearers, particularly the lat« George CuLbbertson, 
Westraw, and received such small grstuitiefl of food, money, and 
clothes as he would accept 

The fifth pastor of thia congregation was the Bev, Andrew JVe. 
He was ord^ed on the 28d of July 1607, and translated to I>an)- 
Mea in Miy 1808, in opposition to a protest and appeal to the Synod 
on the part of the congregation of Biggar. The rev. gentleman, after 
ministering for nearly thirty years in Dumfries, attempted to cany 
his congregation and the place of worship over to the Established 
Church, bat he met with oidy partial success ; and the consequence 
was, that the congregation was rent asunder and nearly annihilated. 
The sijcth pastor was the Rev. Daniel M'Naught, who had been pre~ 
vioualy settled at Biccarton, near Kilmarnock. He was inducted to 
the charge at Biggar on the 4th December 1808, and after labouring 
with consideiable acceptance for upwards of ten years, he died on the 
5tb of May 1619, and was interred in the area of the Church, infrcmt 
of the pulpit 

The seventh pastor of this congregation was the Bev. Hugh Giboon, 
who was ordained on the 16th of May 1820. He was a man of quiet 
and uncbtmsive habits ; but his manner sod style of preaching were 
dry and unattractive, especially to strangers. On the 29th of Decem- 
ber 1635, Mr Gibson petitioned the Presbytery to dissolve the 
pastoral relation between him and the Bi^ar congregation, in con- 
sequence of Ms belief that he could no longer be nsefoL A congre- 
gational meeting was held a few days afterwards, which was prended 
over by the Bev. Francis Moir of Leith, when it was unanimously re- 
solved to agree to a disrolation of the pastoral relation between them 
and Mr Gibson. The Presbytery gave effect to the petition and reso- 
luti(ai on the 5th of January following; and Mr Gibson shortly after- 
wards left this countiy and proceeded to America. The eighth 
minister of this congregation was the Bev. James CaldwelL His 
ordination took place on the 27th January 1837. Mr Caldwell was 



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THE NOBTH AND SOUTH UKIT£D FBESBYTEBUa CHUKCHE3. 131 

a popular preacher, and was much esteemed by hk flock; but, having 
received a coll from the Relief congregation, Greenock, in 1846, he 
resolved to accept of it, and leave his charge at Biggar. He had not 
been long settled at Greeoock, when the congregation charged him 
with some improprieties of conduct, and he found it necessary to give 
up his cotmexioti vrith them. He was afWwards pastor of a church 
in England, and ultimately departed to the United States of America. 

The ninth and present pastor is the Rev. James Dunlop, A.M. He 
was ordained on tiie 14th of April 1847. He b an earnest and faith- 
fill expounder of divine truth. He has distinguished himself by his 
untiring eSoita to awaken a spirit of vital godliness in the district. 
His labours to erect a Subscription School for the burgh, and thus to 
supply a want which was long felt, and which did much injury, can- 
not fail to evoke the grateful feelings of many generations of Biggar 
inhabitants. 

The Relief congregatioo, called, nnce the union of the Associate 
and Belief Synods, the South United Presbyterian Church, has been 
subjected to considerable disadvantages, in consequence of the fre- 
quent change of pastorv. The subsequent establishment of the neigh- 
bouring congregations of Newlands, Boberton, lAnaik, and Peebles, 
has also had the effect of withdrawing many of its adherents and nar- 
rowing the sphere of its operations. Death and change of residence 
hare further had the effect of removing not a few of its most zealous 
and substantial luembers. In spite, however, of all these adverse cir- 
cumstanoes, it is still a numerous and influential body, the communi- 
cants on the roll being at present upwards of five hundred. 



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CHAPTER XIII. 
^tggiar Sc^ooIb anti ^tbiann. 

(^j^HE instructioQ of the people of Biggar in the scciiIat branches 
ml . of educatdon, in the times preceding the Beformation, when 
^^siJt' Bome even of the dignified dergy were scaxcely.able to read, 
was, no doubt, very limited and imperfect. It would per- 
haps be too much to assert that the means of education were then 
altogether awanting in Biggar. We know that Malcolm Lord Flem- 
ing, who founded the Collegiate Church of Biggar, ordained that one 
of its prebendaries should be teacher of the Grammar School This 
School, in all probability, existed previous to that period, and was, no 
donbt, continued at the Reformation, as it was an enactment both of 
Parliament and the Church tbat a school should be planted in every 
parish. The readers who were appointed to many of the parishes of 
Scotland on account of the pau(uty of properly qnali£ed and regularly 
ordained pastors, in many instances acted also as schoolmasters for 
some years after the introduction of ^e new ecclenaatical system. 
It is, no doubt, on this account that the parish schoolmasters in many 
parishes, continued to act as readera down to a very recent period. 

It is worthy of notice, that at one lime a law existed in Biggar, 
that no seminary of learning shoiold exist in the town and parish, ex- 
cept the Public or Parish School. In 1722 the various Acts on the 
subject were renewed by the Baron's Couft, in the following terms, 
viz.: 'The whilk day, the Bailie renews the former Acts of Court in 
favour of the PubUc School in Biggar, and discharges all private 
schools within the same to be kept, under the pain of five punds 
Scots, totiet quotia.' These enactments evidently did not carry with 
them the sympathy of the whole inhabitants, as parties appeared, from 
time to time, who violated them, and received a portion of public 
support. We, therefore, find that on the 28th of March 1747, Mr 
James Philips, the parochial schoolmaster, laid a complaint before Mr 
Robert LecHe, the Bailie, that 'diverse and sundrie private schools 
were kept in the town and neighbourhood, to the great hurt and pre' 
judice of the said Mr Philips, the legal schoolmaster.' ' The Bailie, 
therefore, 'inhibited and discharged all and sundry the private school- 
masters, within the said town and poroch, from holding and keeping 
schools, for the future, excepting in as far as in such parts of learning 
the said Mr James Philips was not capable to teach, and that under 
the penalty of Ij.12 Scots, for each transgresdon, totiet qwtits.' 

These enactments appear to us at the present day to be somewhat 



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BIOOAH SCHOOLS AKD LIBBABIES. US 

arldtrary and mjnrioiu. They iafiiiiged the libeiiy of tLe Bubjeot; 
they prerented well qualified men from commouicating useful know- 
ledge, snd thereby e&nung an honest subBiatence, and benefiting 
•ociety; while they deterred the inhabitants from couq^nandog and 
supporting useful and meritorious instructors, put a 'check on the 
diligence and attention which are generally evoked by wholesome 
opposition, and restricted the education of youth to a person who 
might be objectionable from the want of talent, activity, impartiality, 
or good temper. 

These local enactments were most likely based on an Act passed by 
the Scottish Parliament in 1567. The object of this Act was to pro- 
vide 'that the yontli be brocht up and instructit in the feir of God 
and gudemaneris;' and, therefore, it was statutedand ordained, 'that 
«U scolis to bui^h and land, and all universities and collegis, be re- 
formit, and that nane be pennittit nor admitlit to have charge and 
cure thereof, in tyme custing, nor to instruct the youth privately or 
openUe, but rac as salbe tryit be the superintendents, or visitouria.' 
The patrons and clergy having ihua got a control over the inatruotors 
p[ youth, exercised it rigorously in many places down to the middle 
of last century. The parish schoolmasters of Biggar being invested 
with an almost entire monopoly in the article of education, were evi- 
dently diqtoaed not to allow the laws in their favour to remain 
a dead letter. Ihey caused edict after edict to be sent forth, backed 
with all the terrors of the Baron's Court, to dislodge or scare away 
any poor wight that might be disposed to communicate hb store 
of information to the youths of the town. This state of things haa 
passed away, and any person is now at Uberty to open a school in the 
parish for imparting instruction la such branches of learning aa he 
may be proficient, or the inhabitants may require. The consequence 
of this has been, that Biggar, for well nigh a century, has always had 
one or two adventure schools, taught by men who, if they did not 
possess great learning, were, at least, distinguished for industry, 
fidelity, and success. 

Notwithstanding the denre of the parish schoolmasters of Biggar to 
enjoy a monopoly in the supply of instruction to the young, an addi- 
tional school was for many yean maintained, even under the auspices 
of the Eirk Sesmon, at Edmonston. The schoolmaster there appears 
to have had a small salary, for in the Session records, under date fld 
July 1780, we find the following entry: — 'The Laird of Edminstone 
(James Brown) produced a discharge for t^e sum of L.6 Scots, being 
one half year siJarie, from Martinmas 1729 to Whitsunday 1730, for 
a schoolmaster in Edmiatone, due by contract between the Sesnon of 
Biggar and the I^ird of Edmistone.' 

Few of the early Biggar schoolmasters are remembered by the in- 
h^ttants. Schoolmasters are a quiet unambitious race, who pass 
through life doing a vast amount of good, but, in general, leave few 



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lU BIOGAE AND THE HOOSE OF FLEUIKG. 

tsi^ble memoriids beUnd them. We will, therefore, ver^r briefly 
aotice a few of those men who, in their day and generation, contri- 
bntednot a little, during the last two ceotniies, to form the minds of 
die Biggar youths, and to uphold the character of the tonn aad pariiib 
for int«lligeaCe and Sagacity. 

After Ae Reformation, die readers of Biggar — to whom we have 
referred in a fonAer part of this work — most likely actod also as 
schoolmasters. It is not, however, till after the formation of the 
Presbytery of Biggar, in 1644, that we obtain any direct references 
to the schoolmasters of Biggar. 

In 1646, Mr Andrew Threpland was schoolmaster of this parish.' 
He was, perhaps, an a^»irant to the work of the ministry; tOt on the 
14ih of January of that year, he appeared before the Presbyteiy and 
delivered a' discourse in Latin, and underwent an examination in 
Chronology, in the Hebrew and Greek langui^es, Md in the interpi«- 
tation of difficult passages of Scripture. He acquitted himself so 
much to the satisfaction of the Presbytery, that a very favourable 
certificate was ordered to be given to him by the clerk. TTie next 
schoolmaster with whose name we are Acquainted, was James Reid. 
We know that he held th« offices both of schoolmaster and reader; 
and that he had resigned his Bituation, and retired on a stnaU aUow- 
anee, previous to the year 1675. He was succeeded by Thomas Car' 
michaeL The Earl of Wigton's proportion of his sala^ was 'ye soume 
of thretie-three pund six shillings and eight pennies.' The next 
schoolmaster appears to have been John Watson. He is mentioned 
as presenting himself at a conjoined meeting of the PreBbyt«ries of 
Biggar and Peebles, held at the Hills of Dunsyre, on the 27th of June 
1689, and stating that he wanted aC door to the kirk; but the Presby- 
tery dedddd that they could not interfere in the matter. It is more 
tiian likely that he kept his school in a part of the Pai^h Kirk, sind it 
was, no doubt, on this account that he was so anxious to procure a 
proper door for that edifice. The drcumstance of the kirk standing 
without a door may be taken as a proof of the disrepair into which 
it had fallen during the times of persecution, and ^e incumbency 
of the curates. From the date 1697, on the latch of the present 
strong door, studded with large-headed nails, as shown in the 
vignette to the present volum'e, it would seem, to have been put up a 
few years after the period referlred to. Shortly after this period, 
Alexander Forsaith,'or Forsyth, is mentioned in the records of Pres- 
b;^ry as the parish schoolmaster. In 1695, the Earl of Wigton pre- 
sented Mr Thomas Fleming to the office. The Presbyteiy was ra^er 
stirprised at this step, as Forsyth was still in the dist^iarge of bis 
dttties, and consequentiy the office was not Vacant The members of 
Court, therefore, refused to take Mr Fleming on triab; but a short 
time i^rwards Mr Forsyth was induced to resign, and Mr Fleming 
was immediately installed. The next sohooltnaster appears to h&ve 



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BIGGAR SCHOOLS AND UBRABIES. 165 

been Mr George Graot After his settlement, in 1720, Mr Alexander 
WardUw, me of the Bailies of Biggar, at a meeting of the Head Court 
of the Barony, held on the 4tb of February of that year, gave the fol- 
lowing deliverance regarding the emoluments of the School, viz, : — 
'And coDsideriiig that the dues of the said scoall is too small incur- 
adgentent for fitt, and quallified persons in the said office ; and it being 
agreed to by the heritors present att this Head Court, that the dues of 
the aajd scoall should be augmented to the said Mr Geoi^e Grant and 
his niooesgors in office; therefore, it is statut and ordained that the 
dues of the said scoall ahaJt be quarterly in tyme coming, viz., for the 
tea«bing of each boy in the Ladne tongue, tuenty shillings Scota, per 
quarter; and for the teaching of each lad or lass in IngUsh, ten shillings 
Scots, per quarter; and for the teaching of each lad or lass in arith- 
matick, iyfteeu shillings Scots, per quarter; and it is declared, that the 
yearly sellarie due to the acoallmaster is ane hundred punds Scots, by 
and attour the dues of said sooaU. — And this Act is ordained to stand 
in all tyme coming.' The next schoolmaster of the Parish School of 
Biggar was Mr John Girdwood, a son of Mr Daniel Girdwood, school- 
master, Camwath. He was presented to the office by the Earl of 
Wigton in I7S0. It was the practice of these times that the school- 
master should be precentor .in the Parish Church. Mr Girdwood, 
considering himself unqu^ified to lead the psalmody, reAised to accept 
the appointment, unless be was allowed to find a substitute in hk 
office as precent<^. This liberty appears to have been granted. 

Mr James Philips, to whom we have already referred as complain- 
ing, in 1747, against the existence of private schools, was most likely 
the next parish schoolmaster. One of the parties who appean to 
have roused his discontent, was Mr John Scott. . This person was an 
exciseman, and greatly excelled as an arithmetidan. He published a 
work on this subject, but copies of it are now extremely rare. He 
opened a school ia Biggar, and his fame as a man of figures attracted 
a lai^ attendance. Many of the Biggar worthies that flourished 
daring the close of last century were wont to ascribe their skill in 
arithmetic to the zeal and abilities of thdr instructor Mr ScotL He 
was the instructor of Mr James Smith, who was origin^y a weaver, 
but who afterwards was factor for Smollet's estate at Symington, and 
a diotinguished land-measurer at Biggar for half a century. 

For many years during the latter half of last century, Biggar rejoiced 
in the instrudions of a parish dominie called Mr John Porteous. He 
waq a mian of eccentric habits and some talent. He had a turn for 
poetical composition, and pubUshed a poem, entitled ' The Christian 
Life,' but we cannot speak of its merits, as, after repeated inquiries, 
we have been unable to find a oopy. He took an active part in 
the general a^tadon against Popery in the year 1779. At that 
time tbe whole of Scotland was put into a flame by a proposal 
made to repeal the penal statutes against the Roman (ktholics. 



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lit BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

Societies, or Committees of Correapondence, for defence of the Pro- 
testant interest, were formed in Edinburgh and other towns, and under 
their auspices resolutions and petitions were got up and published 
by tniuiy towns, parishes, public bodies, etc The town and parish of 
Bi^BT, of course, sent forth a short declaration on the subject. It is 
dated Biggor, February 6th, 1779, and is signed by John Forteons, 
preses, and John Telfer, clerk. It may be noticed that John Dicksoo, 
Esq., advocate, Coulter, took a leading part in this movement. He drew 
up a pamphlet, entitled ' A Short View of the Statutes at present in 
Force is Scotland against Popery ; the Nature of the Bill proposed to 
be brought into Parliament for Repealing these Statutes ; and some 
Bemarks showing the Proprie^ and Necesdty of Opposing such 
Bepeol, with a few Hints on the Consi^tutioiud and Prudent Mode of 
Opposition.' This pamphlet went through two editions, and was 
widely circulated. 

^ce the days of Porteous, the ferula of the Parish School has been 
succesnvely wielded by Messrs Johnstone, Scott, Gray, Wilkie, and 
Morrison; while the adventure schools hav^ beeu conducted by 
Messrs Spence, Kobertson, Slimon, Alton, Campbell, Ingram, Bogle, 
Brown, Scott, Blair, Ram^e, and Crichtou. It is worthy of notice, that 
on a vacancy taking place in the Parish School in the early part of the 
present century, Dr A B. Carson, who afterwards held the office of 
Bector of the High School of Edinburgh, and became distinguished 
for his eminent scholarship, and his success as a public instructor, 
appeared as a candidate ; but the Presbytery of Biggar conadered 
that at that time he did not possess sufficient quaUfications to fit him 
to hold such a sltoatdon. 

Biggar, besides male teachers, has long had a succession of laborious 
and painstaking female instructors, who have taught sewing and other 
branches of a female education. One of these, some forty years ago, 
was a Mrs Logan, a retired, prudent, gentle matron, with two children. 
She had a passage of romance in her history, in the desertion, restora- 
tion, and death of her fansband. This passage being related to a fmr 
authoress, was woven by her into an interesting story, which was 
inserted in two successive numbers of ' Chambers's Journal' for No- 
vember 1858, under the title of 'The Second Widowhood.' The 
vrriter has brought in a few fictitious incidents for the sake of effect ; 
but many of her statements are in the main correct. Mrs Lemon's 
settlement at Biggar — 'a moorland village,' the writer is pleased to 
call it — her opening a school, and the branches of education ^e taught, 
the return of her husband on a Sabbath forenoon, her hasty summons 
from the church, and the illness and death of her husband, are all stated 
very nearly as they ooourred. The following reference in these articles 
to the progress ofeducation in Biggar since the time at which Mrs Logxn 
opened her school, though a little exaggerated, is understood to be 
based on fact: — 'At that time there were only two pianos in the 



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BIOGAB SCHOOLS AHD LIBRABIES. 167 

district; now they are as common as tables. Then, neither in Urs 
Armonr's school, nor in that of her masculine competitor, did tKe 
pupils quote MUton, or read memoirs of Shelley, — they do hoih now; 
and it is not unoommon to find Macaula/s ballads done into crochet- 
work covers, repomng on tables under the shadow of bead-baskets.' 

Elducation, of late years, has unquestionably made progress at 
Bi^ar. The branches of learning tangbt are more numerous, and 
the mode of tuition is more efficient. It is a rare thing for the child 
of any of the settled inhabitants to grow up without receiving, at least, 
the rudiments of education. From time to time, Biggar schools have 
sent forth not a few pupils who have, in after years, become clergy- 
men, surgeons, lawyers, authors, editors, etc ; while many others yiim 
have betaken themselves to industrial and commerdal pursuits, have 
risen in their professions, and realized considGrable fortunes. We 
will very briefly sketch the career of one or two of the scholars ot 
Big^^ School 

The late Robert Forsyth, advocate, and author of works on various 
subjects, was a native of Biggar, and a scholar at the Parish School. 
His father was Robert Forsyth, bellman and gravedigger, to whom we 
have already referred ; and hie mother's name was Marion Pairman. 
This worthy couple were united in marriage in 1764, and their only 
child, Robert, was bom on the 18th January 1766. Their condition 
in life was very humble, and they had to struggle with all the disad- 
vantages and sorrows of extreme poverty ; but they resolved to give 
their son, who early showed an aptitude for learning, a good educa- 
tion, in order to qualify him for ihe work of the ministry. He vae 
sent early to the Parish School ; but being the son of a poor man, be 
was treated with marked neglect, and made small progress. He soon, 
however, became extremely fond of reading. He borrowed such books 
aa his neighbours could supply, and read tbem in ihe winter nights to 
his parents, to Robert Rennie, shoemaker, and others, who commended 
him h^hly for his industry and ability, and thus encouraged him to 
renewed exertions. In thia way he became acquainted with such 
works as ' The History of the Devil,' ' Satan's Invisible World Dis- 
covered,' the histories of Knox, Cruikshanks, and Josephua, Ross's 
* Tiew of all Religions,' the poems of Butler, Young, Milton, Ramsay, 
Pennicuik, and Sir David Lindsay. It is remembered at Biggar, that 
one evening he was busily engaged in reading aloud the poems of 
Sir David Lindsay, by the blaze of a piece of Auchenheath coal, after 
his mother had gone to bed, when that worthy matron said, ' Robie, 
man, steek the boords o' Davie Lindsay, and gies a blad o' the chapter 
bnik (the Bible^ or Til no fa' asleep the nicht.' 

As he made slow progress in his classical studies at the Parish 
School of Bi^or, he was sent in liis twelfth or thirteenth year to the 
Burgh School of Lanark, then taught by Mr Robert Thomson, a 
brother-in-law of the author of the ' Seasons.' Here he made more 



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ISB BIQOAB AMD THE BOUSE OF FLEUIHG. 

advancement in a few months llisn he had done for yean prerioiuly. 
When attending this seminary, he returned to B^gar' every Saturday, 
and remEuned tiD Monday. His aged grandmother vas wont to 
'hirple' out the Lindsaylands road to meet him on his way home; 
but young Forsyth sometimes spent a few hours in climbing trees at 
Carmichoel, or looking for birds' nests at Thankerton ; and this sorely 
tried the patience of the old dame, as she sat by the wayside chafing 
at his delay, and longing for his return. 

Forsyth then studied four years at the University of GlaegoWj and 
manfully struggled with all the obstructionB arising from the 'nt 
atiffiuta domi' During one of these years, a severe and protracted 
storm of frost and snow occurred, and prevented all communication 
from place to place by means of carta. The Biggar carrier was 
consequently unable to pay his usual viuts to Glasgow for several 
weeks. Old Forsyth was thrown into great distress regarding the 
state in which he knew his son would be placed ieom want of his 
ordinary supply of provisions. He therefore procured a quantity of 
oatmeal, and banied it on his back, along the rough tracks on the top 
of the snow, all the way to Glasgow, a distance of thirty- five miles, and 
just Birlved when yoimg Forsyth had been reduced to his last meal. 

' After the usual attendance at the Divinity Hall, Edinburgh, Forsyth 
was licensed to pre&ch the Gospel when he had attained his twentieth 
year. He was an eloquent, enei^dc, and popular preacher. He 
officiated several times in the chnrch of liis native parish, and he did so 
on one occasion when a severe disease had made sad ravages among the 
population, and had carried oS some of his friends and acquaintance. 
He therefore commenced the morning prayer with the words, 'Our 
fathers, where are they ? We stand where our fathers have stood, 
add we worship where our fathers have worshipped- We look around 
us, ahd behold but the green mounds that cover them.* 'He had 
scarcely uttered these expressions,' we are told, ' when all around jrere 
overwhelmed by a burst 'of grief.* 

He preached in a number of die pulpits of the Established Church 
in Edinburgh, and thus had an opportunity of bringing himself under 
the notice of men of power and infiuence ; but year a^er year passed 
by, and no patron had discrimination and generosity enough to present 
him to a Eving. After long and tuudous cogitation, be resolved to 
change hb profession, and to seek for admission into the Faculty of 
Advocates. At that tiihe the men of the Parliament House were more 
exclusive than they are at present. They cared little for a new 
adherent to their ranks, unless he come recommended by his connec* 
tion with some aristo<iratic family. The idea of a ttickel minister, 
and the son of a gravedigger, obtaining admisraon into their dignified 
order, was intolerable to the Dundases, the Forbeses, the Wedder- 
bums, the Erskines, and others, who in those days' ruled the roost in 
the Parliament House. One of their number, connected with the 



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BiaOAB SCHOOI^ AND LIBKABIBB. 15) 

Big^ar district, biit never disdngoished for obtaicing any great 
unoant of practice, was specially opposed to Fonyth, and one day had 
the audauty to say, ' Who are you, sir, that would thrust yourself 
into thaPacul^? Are ye not the poor bellman's sonof Biggar?' '| 
am 90,' said Forsyth, coolly but sarcastically; * and I have a strong bust 
picion that had you been a bellman's son, you would have been your 
father's successor.' Forsyth was not discoursed bj the rebuffs and 
opposition which he had to encounter. He stJU persbted in his appli- 
cation. He renounced his profession of a preacher, and thus r^n^ved 
one of the objecdons which had been urged against him ; and Lord 
President Islay Campbell interfered in his behalf, so that his oppo- 
nents were forced to give way, and he was adinitted to tiials, and 
passed in 1792. 

For a long time he had little practice. He attached himself to the 
party called the Friends of the People, who sympathized with the 
principles of the French Revolutioniats ; and this subjected him to a 
larger amount of obloquy and persecution, and operated still more in 
preventing him from obtaining employment at the bar. H^ was not 
idle. He studied mechanics, botany, chemistry, etc., and engaged 
largely in literary composition. At an early period he had composed 
and published a poem, entitled ' Nature,' and had made some progress 
with an epic poem in' celebration of the achievements of Sir William 
Wallace ; but he destroyed this production before it was completed. 
For the 'Encyclopedia Britannica' he now wrote the articles 'Asia,' 
' Botany,' ' Britain,' and ' Agriculture,' the last of which was afterwards 
enlarged, and published in two volumes. In 1805, he published a 
volume of considerable size, entitled ' Prindples of Moral Science.' 
This volume is written in a clear, treuchant style, and contains many 
ingenious speculations and useful disquisitions ; but it abounds with most 
untenable paradoxes and reckless assertions. Such doctrines as that 
there is uo moral evil and no guilt in the eye of God, and that those 
persons only who have made a certain intellectual and moral progress 
will continue to exist in a future life, would, we suspect, have sub- 
jected him to the charge of heresy, had he remained a preacher in the 
Established Church. He wrote a life of Dr Samuel Johnson, which 
WBS published in connection with an edition of the Doctor's works in 
1806 ; and that same year appealed his ' Beauties of Scotland,' b five 
volumes, illustiated with engravings. This work contains a large 
amount of interesting informatioD regarding Scotland ; but it has been 
superseded by several publications of the same kind, which have 
speared since the period of its publication, particularly the * New 
Statistical Account of Scotland.' In 1830 he published 'Political 
Fragments;' in 1634, a pamphlet, entitled ' Remarks on the Church of 
Scotland;' and in 1838 he wrote .' Observations on the Book of 
Genesis,' which, along with some sermons and a lecture, were pub- 
lished in 1846, shortly after his death. 



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1« BIOGAB AHD TBS HOCSE OF FLEWNa 

Id perua Mr Fonyth wu tall and conunanding, his complexion 
was dark, his CBatnres strongly marked, and his oonstilalion hardy 
and Tigorons. He had an exteoave knowledge of law, and was a 
powerfnl and sncceia^ pleader. In the latter part of his life, he, in 
a great measure, abandoned the more public part of his profession, 
and was principally known as a Chamber Counsel, great weight being 
attached to his opinions, whether oral or written. He became a rigid 
ConserTBtiTe ; and the bellman's sou, and one of the Friends of the 
People, was in the end considered a fit associate and coadjntor of the 
greatest aristocrats in the land. 

The Bev. Henry Scott Biddell, who has risen to distinction by his 
poetical productions, was also at one time a scholar at Biggar Parish 
School He was bom in 1798 at Sorbie, in the Vale of Ewes, Dum- 
friesshire. His father, who followed the occupation of a shepherd, 
shortly afterwards removed to lAngshawbum, a sequestered spot in 
the wilds of FjiViialtTnniT ; and here tLe poet heard the songs in the 
Ettrick Shepherd's first publication so often read and stmg, that he 
oould repeat nearly all of iLem before he was able to read. His father 
had occasiou to make several other changes in his herdings ; and as 
they were all situated in solitary spots among the mountains of the 
south of Scotland, the education of the young poet was veiy desultory 
and imperfect His first regular occupation of life was tLe tending of 
his &ther's cows at the form of Cupplefoot, on the Water of Ifilk. 
By and by he rose to the hi^er trust, and mrae congenial rural 
employment, of herding sheep. He acted one year, while yet a boy, as 
assistant-sheplierd at Glencotbo, on Hohnswater ; and thus, for the first 
time, became acquunted with the Biggai district It was while red- 
dent at this place that he first made an attempt to write regular rhyme, 
by linking the names of the different localities of the farm t<^ther. 

Mr mddell's occupation ss a shepherd was favourable to ^e deve- 
lopment of his lat«nt poetic powers, like scenes amid which he daily 
moved, if not nigged and sublime, were, with their green mountains, 
their sequestered valleys, and brawling rills, full of wild pastoral 
beauty, and well fitted to invigorate the frame, and inspire the soul 
witL Idty imaginings. As he grew up to manhood, the care of his 
flocks, the perusal of books, and the recording of his poetic concep- 
tions, occupied his attention by turns, as he wandered among the 
mountains, or loitered in the sunny nooks and green bracken dells of 
Ettrick Forest^ whither he had now been removed. 
Regarding this period of his life he says, 

* Hy en^ yean were passed far on 

The hills of Ettrick, wild and lone ; 

Through summer's sheen, and winter's shade, 

T ffnHing the flocks that o'er Uum stray'd \ 

In bold enthosiaBtio glee, 

I sung rode strains of minstarelq'.' 



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BIOOAB SCHOOLS AKD LIBBAEIES. l«l 

- Mr Riddell haring, from the proceeds of his employment, saved a. 
little money, and having at the death of his father received his por- 
tion of his effects, he resolved to put in execution a scheme which he 
had for some time contemplated, viz., acquiring a more accurate and 
extended edacation, and devoting himself to the profession of the 
ministry. On throwing aside ' the crook and plaid,' his earlj' imbibed 
predilecdons induced hin^ to come to Biggar, where he continued to 
reside for some years. He placed himself imder the tnitiun of the 
late Mr Bichard Scott, parocUfd schoolmaster, who was a good clasrical 
scholar, and a man of genial disposition and varied information, but 
of somewhat indolent habits. He had, especially, a rooted aversion 
to the drudgery of teaching little children such elementary knowledge 
as is confined in spelling-books. Mr Itiddell, although arrived at 
the years of manhood, resolved to attend day by day in the school, 
amid all its din and distraction. He found the task which he had 
imposed on himself somewhat irksome ; and in the bright days of 
summer, he says that he felt the solitary paths, woods, and wilds, not 
far distant from the town, eternally wooing his steps to retirement, and 
his mind to solitary contemplation. The following verses, expressive 
of his feelings, were written in Bi^;ar school, and which, therefore, 
we venture to quote: — 

' Discontented and imcheecy, 
Of this noise and leanuug weary. 
Half mj mind to madncn driven, 
Wooe the lore by nature given. 
■Mong foir fidds and flowing fountains, 
Ixaely glens, and lofty mountains, 
Charmed with natnie'B wildest grandeur, 
Lately wont was I to wander ; 
Wheresoever fancy led me. 
Came no barrier to impede me^ 
Still from earl; mom till even. 
In the light of earth and heaven, 
Husiog on whatever graces, 
Livelier scenes or lonelier places. 
Till a namelew pleasnre found me, 
Lifing like a dream around me ; 
How, then, may I be contented, 
ThoB confined and thus tormented ? 

' Still, oh ] stdl], 'twere lovelier rather 
To be roaming throngh the heather; 
And where flowed the stream so glany, 
'Ifong its flowen and mai^fins mossy, 
Where the flocks at noon, their path on, 
Came to feed by birk and hawthorn ; 



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H BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIKQ. 

Or upon the roonntMO lofty 
' SwUd, where the wind blew softly, 
With my faithful ft;iend beside me, 
And my plftid from aun to hide me. 
And the volume ope'd before me, 
I would trace the minetrel's atory. 
Or mine own wild harp awaken 
'Mid the deep green glens of bracken, 
Free and fcsrleesly revealing 
All the aool of native feeling. 
' 'Stead of that eternal humming, 
^ To the ear for erer ooining — 

Humming of those thonghtlew bunga, 
In their t^itlen pranka and pleuog», 
And tite sore- provoked Preceptor 
Soaring "Silence I" o'er each quarter. 
Silence comee, as o'er the valley. 
Where all rioted so gaily, 
When the sudden bursting tbund^ 
Overpowere with awe and wonder. 
Till again begins the fun, 
" Haiater, Jock's aye nippin' ua 1" 
I could hear the fountain flowing 
Where the light hil!-breeze waa blowing, 
And the wild winged plover wailing 
Bound the brow of heaven auling. 
Bleating flocka and aky-Urka singing — 
Echo atill to echo ringing — 
Sonnda atill, atUl so wont to waken, 
That no note of them is taken. 
Yet which seem to lend Baaiatance 
To the bleiung of eiist«nce. 
Who ehall trow thee wise and witty, 
Lore of the Eternal City, 
Or derive delight and pleasure 
From the blood-stained deeds cd Gceur? 
Urns bewildering his senses 
'Mong these cases, moods, and tenses ; 
Still the wrong-placed word arranging, 
Kver in their finals changing j 
Out and in, with hie and hockinga, 
Like a loom for weaving stockingB ; 
Latin lords and Grecian heroes — 
Oh, ye gods, in mercy spare us I 
How may mortals be contraited, 
Thus confined, and thns tormented I' 
A number of the young men of Biggar, inspired with a rage for 



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BIOQAB SCHOOLS AHD LIBBABIES. ItS 

tlie&tiicala, formed themgelTes at that time into a dramatia company, 
and act«d ' the Douglas Tragedy,' and the farce of ' Bunaby Brettle. 
Some of them were good singers, and between the pieces gave several 
songs, one of which was Bunis's song, ' let me in this ae Night,' the 
two parts of which were sung by different performers, with the acoea- 
sion of proper stage scenery. Mr Riddell, being Iniown a« a song- 
writer, was solidted by these amateur actors to compose for them an 
appropriate lyric, which they might sing on their homble stage in 
one of the malt lofts of the Brewery. He accordingly, to an air of 
their own selecting, prodaced a piece in the form of dramatdo plot, 
which, as he himself says, being sung by alternate voices, was well 
received, and enhanced his fame as a composer of lyric poetry. 

At thia time also, a Mr Watson, one of those gentlemen who are 
usefoUy employed in going from town to town teaching vocal music, 
came to Biggar, and opened an evemng class for singing in the 
Parish School. He was rather a good singer, — at least he was an en- 
thusiast in his profesnon. ' Besides psalmody, he tangbt song'Singing; 
bnt several of his songs were far from select, the music only render- 
ing them passable. One of his songs was entitled the ' Plongh Boy,' — 
a very poor production, but with rather a good air. Mr BJddell, who 
osed to attend Watson's class, compofttd as a substitute the song of 
' The Crook and Plaid ' to the same air ; And it immediately became 
popolar with the Biggar angers, and ere long found its way over all 
Scotland. 

Mr Riddell, while residing at Biggar, composed a Border Romance, 
which be submitted to the examination of the Ettrick Shepherd, and 
whose remark on returning it was, that there were more rawness and 
more geniUB in it than any work he had seen. He also contributed 
several papers to the ' Clydesdale Magazine,' a periodical published at 
Lanark by William Murray Borthwiok, a son of the late John Borth* 
wick, farmer, Langlees, Biggar. One of his acquaintances while at 
Biggar, was the Eev. James Proudfoot, then parochial schoolmaster', 
Stirling, and now minister of the Free Church, Coulter. Mr Proud- 
foot had distinguished himself at College by carrying off a prize for 
the best poem on the subject of Waterloo ; and a congeniality of 
taste and sentiment naturally led to a bond of intimacy between him 
and Mr Riddell, and in company they made a tour to Yarrow, and 
held converse with that gUted son of song the £ttrick Shepherd. 
Another of his Biggar assodates was James Brown, weaver, Syming- 
ton, a good poet, and an amiable man, of whom notioe will be taken 
in' another part of this volume. Mr Riddell was also on terms of inti- 
macy with the fanuly of a farmer in the neighbourhood ; and for one 
of its members, who had the charge of one of the hirsels of his 
father's flocks, he composed the well-known song, 'The Wild Glen so 
Green.' One of Mr lUddell's school associates was Mr W. B. Clark, 
a native of Biggar, afterwards parochial incumbent of Half Morton, 



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)H BIOGAB AKD THE HUUSE OP FLEMING. 

uid, after the Disroption, for some time pastor of the Free Church, 
MazweltowD, Dumfries.* Through this intimacy he became ac- 
quainted with Mr Clark's sister, Eliza, who, after a courtship of a 
goodly nnmber of yean, becmne his wife. A Mr Harrower, who was 
a son of Mar; Black, B^gar, and who bad realized a considerable 
fortune in Demerara, came home at this time, and took up his resi- 
dence at Biggar. He soon formed an indmac; with Mr Riddell, in- 
vited him frequently to his taUe, and put his horse at his disposal 
After the poet left Bi^ar to attend the Univerfflty of Eldinbtu^h, 
Harrower several times paid him a visit, and on one occasion broi^ht 
with him two English friends. The whole party made a pilgrimage 
to the scene of the battle of Pinkie, and the Ei^lishmen bantered 
Harrower and Riddell a good deal concerning the defeat which the 
Scots there sustained. Riddell, unce he could not make a better of 
it, resolved at least to have the last word in the strife ; and before be 
slept, composed, in support of his country's cause, the popular song, 
' Ours is the IjmA of Gallant Hearts.' 

Mr Riddell, after attending the Universities of Edinburgh and St 
Andrews, was licensed to preach the GospeL He was ultimately 
settled at Teviotfaead, as minister of a chapel erected by the Duke of 
Bocdeuch ; but, after labouring for a number of years in this situa- 
tion, he was visited with severe affliction, which for a considerable 
period lud him aside from the discharge of his duties. On his re- 
covery he did not resume his pastoral charge, to which another in the 
interim had been appointed. The dwelling-house which was built for 
him by the Duke of Buccleuch, he still continues to occupy, and re- 
ceives from his Grace an annuity, with oiber perquisites. Mr Riddell's 
pnblica^ns are — 'The Songs of the Ark;' * A Monody on the Death of 
Lord Byron;' 'The Christiau Politician, or the R^ht Way of Think- 
ing;' and a volume of poems and songs. In 1855 he made a transla- 
tion of the Giospel of St Matthew into the Scotch language, executed 
for Prince Lncien Bonaparte. More recently, he also fo^ his High- 
ness translated into the same language the Psalms of David and the 
Song of Solomon. As these translations were for linguistic purposes 
of the Prince, only a limited number of copies of each was printed. 

All the emanations of Mr Riddell's muse manifest much poetical 
power ; they everywhere breathe an ardent attachment to liberty, to 
cotmtry, to rural scenes and domestic enjoyments. His larger pieces 
contain many choice sentunents and felicitous expressions, which we 
love to con over and over again ; but, on the whole, and for our own 
part, we feel disposed to give the preference to his songs. It is in 
his lyrics that the divine inspiration of genius shines most conspicu- 
ously forth. In these, the ardour of patriotism, the affections of the 
heart, the beauties of nature, and the endearments of home, are de- 
veloped in such glowing and apt illustratious, that they will charm 
■ He is now mluiiter of Ch^lniBn' Free Cburch, Quebeo. 



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BIGOAB SCHOOLS AND UBRARIES. 16i 

and delight so long m Ittiq poetry holds a place in the liteiature of 
oar country. Ae might be expected from the genial sympathies of the 
bard, he lias always cherished a warm attachment to the Bigg&r dis- 
trict and its inhaUtants. A short time ago, in a communication to 
ourselves, he said, ' My recollections concerning Biggar and its sur- 
rouuding localities are vivid, manifold, and, I may add, pleasurable, — 
unless in so far as they are q^ugled with my regret in leaving them, 
and for the depBTtore of those fnenda from them with whom I was 
wont to associate in the days of other years. Still, these things are 
like what Ossian says of departed joys, " They are sweet and mournful 
to the soul.'" In several poetical productions he has given expresuon 
to his regard to the scenes and the people of this district We regret 
that our space only admits of our giving from these efiiisions a few ex- 
tracts. In a poem entitled ' The Folk o' the Clyde,' he says ; — 
' there is not a vale in the wide wt^d in which 
The hearta are so kind, and the scenery so rich, 
Wr its woodlands rio green, and its homes and its domea, 
Where the wind wanden free, and the waterfall foams, 
Where the wild wood is gnnd, it the moorland be grey, 
And its boeom liee veiled in the beauty of day. 
As bold aa a bridegroom, and blythe as a bride. 
And there is not a vale like the vale of the Clyde. 
' The world frae ^Hntock gang ye and surrey, 
It'B no fault of his, if sight fails by the way, . 
But of all the scenes that may beam on the eye. 
Tell see then the loveliest dcae ronnd him that lie ; 
For where is the beauty will ever excel 
Its bowers iu the boeom of wild Coulter Fell, 
Where David singa aweetest of a' at eve-tide, 
O" Ihe wild glen lae green, to the lads o' the Clyde 1 
' And there are the maidens see modert, yet free, 
And sweet as the breath o' the new-blown haw tree, 
Aa fair as the wild flower, and blythe ss tiie day. 
And untainted as daw in the morning of Hay ; 
Wi' blinks in the e'e that will ne'er let alane. 
Till they wann a' the heart, the' the heart were like stane ; 
And if there ere now I had won not a bride, 
I wad woo night and day at the lassea o' Clyde. 
' Te lads o' the hill, and the holm, and the shaw, 
111 long for your welfare while Iweatb I diall draw ; 
And vhea deefa the bard that ye wont eo to hail, 
bring ae sweet daisy frae Clyde's lovely vale. 
And plant the fair flower on the turf o' hia tomb, 
For methinks it will sweeten the sleep of its gloom ; 
And may health, peace, and plenty, for ever betide 
The warm generous hearts on the banks o' the Gyde.' 



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IW BIGGAS AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMIKG. 

In a song written for the Edinburgh Bigg&r Clab, and sung M iu 
uiiuTersar^ meetuig, 7th January 1848, he thus gare utterance to 
similEff sentiments : — 

* On Vsnow Biaes tnd Ettrick Slum beat lul, le&l hearts ukl warm, 
In men and domes, and lovcl; maids tbat cheer alike ai>d ohann ; 
But lealer hearts and fairw fonns are no in Scotland wide. 
Than Uiose that trace and sweetly grace the bonnie banks o' Clyiiie. 

' The Tweed rows down his waters te slang ;on moontain glm, 
Where lonely riUs and lofty hills are roan' the hames o'. men ; 
Bat Tintock rears a pronder eraat, and gosids a tsiier tide. 
In casting his broad shadow o'a the rall^ o* the Clyde. 

' There glow the hearths as ent they glowed ere them we left bdund. 
Where love and worth combined to blem the kiudeat o' the kind. 
And tvight intelligence lits up the fare the free provide, 
When cantily th^ crack within the hapi^ hames o' Clyde. 

' May peace and plen^ dwdl wi' them who still are dwellem there, 
Hoy lore the sunny ringlets wreathe, and wit the hoary liair. 
And sympathies that aye are yonng inmingle life's ain tide, 
While harps are stmng and sai^ are sung upon the banks o' Clyde.' 

The only other extract which we will give is from a lengthened and 
very excellent poem, which he wrote for the same Club also in 1848 : — 

' Climb to green BiszybeiTy's top. 

And say, as round yon cast your eye, 
If loTelier scene on Nature's lap 

E'er s[»ead its breast to Nature's sky. 
Lo 1 Conlter Fdl and wild Cardon, 

IhemselTee with heaven's own hues invest. 
And Tintock lifts his summit kme 

Far 'mid the atillncM of the west. 

' Aronnd lie stieam, and glen, and grove. 

And mannons fair, and woodland wide, 
Reflecting snuke of light and love. 

To hail the mountain of the Clyde. 
Even Tweed's lone hills, dork and sublime, 

Ab if awakening from a dream. 
Look longingly across tlie clime 

To greet the guardian of our stream. 

^ But can Uie distant ^'11 or d^e 

Forth iu the soul sensations draw. 
Such as awake when thought must hail 
Our own hlythe Biggar and Weetraw? 



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BIGQAS SCHOOLS AND LIBRA21E& 

O'er thete, the haantB of earlj daji, 

Emotioa into ispture swelk. 
While fondest feeling wurmly eaya. 

There worth with love and beauty dwells. 
' EVocn OQt these Tillage homee and trees, 

Afar the cbitdren's mingled hum, 
Gomes floating on the light hill-breeze, 

As erst our own was wont to come. 
And, lo t titat venerable pole, 

Grej with the garniture of fears, 
Qivee forth its echo, hark 1 the while, 

Awakening other hopes and fears. 
There sleep the loved of soul and heart, 

The death-departed cd ^nr line. 
Who scorned to play a servile part 

In aught, if secnlar or divine. 
' llieir power could foreign pride o'erawe. 

And smile amid t^e triumphs won. 
When Scotia's Lion raised his paw. 

And shook his grey beard in the sun. 
TTieir T<HCe of freedom bore a away. 

And energy, they say, that shook. 
When passing from the lip away, 

The dial on yon Castle nook.' 



It is only doing justice to the author of these poetic productions, 
here to state, tliat our limita only allowing us to adopt verses here 
and there out of each of them, ^ey, as ^ns given, ftul to develop 
the regular train of sentiment, and consequently to produce the same 
impressioD which they are calculated to do in their original condition. 

The parochial school-house of Big^^ was erected about the oom- 
mencement of the present century. It is a building of two storeys, 
which formerly contiuned a large apartment for a Mihool-room and 
accommodation for the teacher, rather beyond what the statute then 
prescribed. The school-room was by and by found to be rather 
small, and an addition was made to it some thirty-five years ago, but 
it did not altogether prove aajisfactory. The Rev, John Christison, 
therefore, set vigorously to work to get a new and separate building 
erected ; and in this he entirely succeeded. The school-house put up 
under bia auspices, and mainly by his efforts, is one of the most 
elegant and commodious that can be found in the whole country. 
As the erection of this building is a notable event in the history of 
the town, and is most creditable to all parties concerned, we will quote 
a letter from Mr Christison to James SommerriUe, Esq., S.S.C., Edin- 
burgh, showing the steps which were taken to raise the ueoessary 
funds:— 



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I6S BIOGAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

'BieoAS, lOtli Febroarj 1849. 

' Mr DEAR Sir,— I received yonr letter die othw Aaj, wishing lome in- 
formation abont the building of oni Parieh School, and I must apologise for 
not readying sooner. The heritors of this parish agreed to build a new 
'flchool-honae, at an eipeoBe of L.340, on the nte of the old one ; but as this 
rite had no playground attached to it, and was otherwise bad, I urged them 
to purchase a new one. They declined doing this, but agreed to allow the 
parishioners, at their own expense, to furnish a new site, and to improve 
the style and accommodation of the building, if they ohoae. A subscription 
was immediately set on foot for these purpoeee, and went on with gre^t 
spirit In a short time we realized enbecriptions in money to the amount 
of L.1S6. Besides this, everybody who had a horse assisted in driving 
matoials ; the value of the labour thus contributed was L.28. We had 
then a public sermon, at which a collection was made. We had a concert ; 
and we were prtaented with the gratuitous aenricea of the architecta, Menra 
Clark and Bell of Glasgow. We got by these means L.Si. We had now 
raised L.177, and I had become liable to the contractors for L.60 more, 
trusting te the generous spirit which had already given so much, and which 
did not appear to me to be yet exhausted. I was not deceived. Our next 
device was a sale of ladies' work. Every needle in the parish, and not a 
few ebewhere, went cheerfully in the cause. A tempting show wsa set 
before the public, and at the close of the sale we found that it hsd yielded 
us L.59. We wtxo stjll shrat, however, of what we required, for we hsd 
again gone ahead ; and when we were conridering what we should do next, 
the young people of the parish took the matter out of our hands, by getting 
up a ball, and sending us the proceeds, which amounted to L.21. We had 
now raised in all L.267, which, added to the L.940 expended fay the heritore, 
amounted to nearly L.600. With this we have built one of Uie best 
parochial sohools in Scotland. We were fortunate in getting a beautifnl 
rite, and a very elegant derign from Messrs Clark and Bell ; and we adopted 
all the recent improvements as to ventilation, and the proportion of area to 
each child. The main school-room is 5S feet long, by an average breadth 
of 26 feet We also bnilt an additional clan-room of 16 feet by 14, and 
a lobby, which may be occaaionally used as a claas-ronn, 16 feet by 1], 
The clan-room and a tower outude the building are, in the mean time, qu- 
flnished, but we do not deepair of completing them by and bj.* When 
these are finished, the whole will have cost about L.660. 

* You may easily concdve that all this was not done without a struggle, 
but the reeult has richly repaid us. Not only has the direct benefit been 
great, but a very gratifying proof has been given of the readinen of the 
people to EU[^iort and honour the cause of education. — I am, my dear Sir, 
yours truly, ' John CHfiimsoK. 

' JS. SOUUERVILLB, Esq.' 

The want of a suitable apartment in which to hold a snbsidiiiry, 

* Theae parts of the bnilding Keni flnishsd in a ihort titot aftemrdi, and tbe 
tower wu famished vilh & clock, a proprMor In a ndgbbonrlng pariah lubwiribing 
L,20 lor this very useful objsot. 



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BIGGAR SCHOOLS AKD LISBABIES. 169 

or, as it is now called, an adventure school, was loi^ felt at Btggar. 
Those persons who attended the schools taught bj Messn Robertson, 
Slimon, Stephens, and Alton, will recollect the miserable apartments, 
dark, dirty, and confined, in which thej were held. About thirty- 
five years ago, a somewhat better apartment was obtuned in one of 
the office-hoQses connected with the Relief manse; but the ceiling of 
it was low, and it had no playground except the public road. The 
erection of a larger and more appropriate building had, therefore, be- 
come absolutely necessary, to keep pace with the educational wants of 
the parish and the progress of ^e times. The new Parish School 
contains accommodation for 180 children; but the number of children 
in the town and neighbourhood who ought t« be at school was found 
to be 330, thus leaving 150 to be otherwise provided for. A scheme 
was, therefore, set on foot for the erection of a building, to be used 
as a school for the burgh. Liberal subscriptions were obtuned from 
many of the most wealthy inhabitants of the town and neighbour- 
hood, and a suitable site, of half an acre in extent, was obtained at 
the head of John's Loan, on one of the small fragments of ground 
that the descendant of the Flemings still possessed in the parish. A 
suitable plan having been obtained, the foandation-stone was laid with 
masonic honours, by Br. Alexander Baillie Cochrane, Esq. of Laming- 
ton, assisted by the Lodge of Biggar Free Operadves, on the 27th of 
October 1859. The part of the Imilding devoted to the purposes of 
tuition, including an industrial department, was finished in the autumn 
of 1860, and was opened in October of that year. It is capable of 
containing 120 scholars, and has cost L500. A house for the accom- 
modation of the teacher has since been erected, adjacent to the school 
The chief and indefatigable promoter of this undertaking has been the 
Rev. James Dunlop, M.A., ^ the South United Presbyterian Church; 
and it will stand, we hope, for many generations, a monument to his 
honour and a benefit to the district Biggar has been fortunate in 
having two such clergymen as Messrs Christison and Dunlop, who 
felt and understood the educational wants of the district, who set to 
work with heart and hand to remove them,— who could not be driTen 
fiom their design by any amount of lukewarmness or opporation, and 
who have now daily the satisfaction of seong the beneficial efiects of 
their labours, in the increased comfort and improyement of the youths 
of the town and parish with which they are connected. 

llie cause of education in Biggar has been promoted to some extent, 
among the poorer classes, by the benefactions of two individuals, 
whose example is worthy of imitation. One of these was William 
Law, skinner, Biggar, who built and occupied a house near the Cad- 
ger's Brig, the lintel of the outer door still showing his initials and the 
date 1751. This individual, in 1767, mortified L.41 sterling for the 
education of poor children in the parish. The other person was 
William Nesbit, who had his dwelling in the School Green, and used 



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ITO BIGGAB AHD TEE HOUSE OF FLEUIKa. 

to make a livelihood by hawking salt At iiis death, in 1817, he 
iiioiti6ed L.40 for the same laudable puipoae. 

Anodier benefactor of the poor of Biggar, in respect to education, 
was the late Alexander Mitchell, Esq., tanner and currier, Glasgow. 
Mr Mitchell, it has been stated, was a native of the neighbouring 
parish of Kilbncho, and when joung removed to Biggar witii his 
father, who lived for some years in the Kirkstyle, and was employed 
as a WilnniHn at Biggar Mill. When Mr Mitchell acquired sufficient 
strength to toil for his daily bread, he was engaged as a labourer in 
the nurseries of Bailie Cree. He left Biggar, and proceeding to Glas- 
gow, got employment in a tanner and currier's establishment in that 
city. Here, by his steadiness, his shrewdness, and attention to busi- 
ness, he rose, by degrees, to be the head of the establishment which 
he had entered as a workman, as well as to be one of the directors of 
the City of Glasgow Bank. At his death, which took place in 1860, 
he left L,90,000, and among other legades he bequealied I-IOOO to 
the Kirk Session of the Established Church of Biggar, to be invested 
for the support of educaliou in that town. He further bequeathed 
' to the Kirk Session of the United Presb3rterian Church at Biggar, 
in behoof of the school connected with that congregation, the sum of 
L.10D0.' These sums are not payable till afW ^e decease of the tes- 
tator's widow. As two United Presbyterian Churches exist in B^- 
gar, a ^flerence of opinion has arisen as to the one indicated by the 
testator in his trust settlement Both of them, we believe, have laid 
citum to it, and it may be necessary to make an appeal to the gentle- 
men of the long robe before the controversy regarding it is settled. 

A society, called the Edinburgh Biggar Club, which was instituted 
in 1847, has for one of its objects, the promotion of education in the 
parish of Biggar. On several occasiotts, it has given a nuiaber of 
books to the schools as prizes for the reward of merit, — a proceeding 
worthy of commeiidation, as it not only stimulated the scholars to in- 
dustry, but disUibuted a number of useful works in various depart- 
ments of literature among the families of the town, and thus conduced 
to the knowledge and mental improvement of both young and old. 
The Edinburgh Upper Ward Club for some years prosecuted the same 
object, by giving prizes to the schools; but, mngnlarly enoi^h, finding 
these not appreciated in some quarters, it discontinued them, and for 
several years it has given a sum of money to the most proficient 
scholar in the Upper Ward, for the purpose of enabling him still far- 
ther to prosecute his studies. Mr John Jamieson, a native of Abing- 
ton, and for a number of years one of the partners of the firm of 
Gillespie, Mofiat, and Co., Montreal, having realized a competent for- 
tune, returned to his native district, and resided some time in the 
parish of Coulter. At his death, in 1848, he left the sum of L.600, 
to be invested for the purpose of founding a bursary in tiie University 
of Edinburgh. Candidates for this bursary must be the sons of 



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BIGOAB SCHOOLS AND LIBRABIES. 171 

schoohnaaten, fkrmen, mechanicfl, etc., whose yearly income doea not 
exceed L.100; and they miut have been bom and educated in the 
parishes of Biggar, Coulter, Lamington, Crawford, Crawfordjohn, Wig- 
ton, and Roberton, They require to nndergo an examination in Greek, 
Latin, and arithmetic, and the Buocessful competitor holds the bursary 
for four years ; the amount at present b^g L.21 per Mnmim The 
patrons are the Prindpal of the University and ten professors. 

A number of years ago a society was established at Biggar, 
called 'The Sdentific Association.' Its object was to diffuse informa- 
tion on acieiitific subjects, by means of lectures, discussions, and 
books. After flouiishing for some time, it fell into abeyance, and in 
1854 was superseded by a dmilar institution, called the ' Athemeum,' 
which Btill exists, and has a library, a reading room, and a course of 
lectures on miscellaneous subjects, dnriug the winter months. It is 
suj^rted by an annual subscripdon of 5b. from each member. In- 
stitutions of this kind are with difficulty upheld in our largest cities; 
and it will certainly reflect credit on Bi^ar, if, with a population 
scarcely so Urge as is to be found in many a singk street of these 
mties, it should be able to niii.int3i.in its 'Adienstun' in the same 
efficient state which it has hitherto done, and thus hand down to 
succeeding generations an institution productive of much rational 
entertainment, useful inatructioD, and mental unprovement. 

Biggar has a number of other public Ubraries in addition to the 
one connected with the AtheuEeum, but none of them are of a very 
old dat«. The Bi^ar library, founded in 1797, principally by the 
exertions of the Rev. Patrick Mollison of Walston, ttontains abont 
1000 volumes, and has been supported almost exclusively by the 
higher classes of the town and neighbourhood. The number of mem- 
bers is now few, and it is iindeietood to have been in a languishing 
condition for some years. The present librarian is Mrs Tait. Biggar 
Parish Library, was founded in 1800 by the working classes of the 
town and neighbourhood. This library, thirty-five years ago, had 
fidlen very much into a state of dormancy. The members had dwin- 
dled down to eleven in number, the income had become a trifle, and 
the addition of new books had, in a great measure, ceased. The 
merit of restoring it to more than its primitive vigour is due to Mr 
Allan Whitfield, who, at the time refeired to, was elected preadent. 
That gentleman got a new catalogue and a new set of regulations 
drawn up and printed, and commenced an active canvass for entrants. 
The conseqoence was, that in the course of a year or two, the mem- 
bers were increased to filly; and the library has continued down to 
the present time in a flourishing and satisfactory state. The number 
of members at present is upwards of ninety, and the volumes amount 
to fully 1300. The entry money is 6s., and the annual payment 2s. 
At one time this library was tinder the chaige of John M'Ghie, shoe- 
maker, one of the most shrewd and intelligent men of his time i^ 



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m BIGOAR AND THE EODSE OF FLEMDfO. 

Biggsr. He had read all the books in the library, and many of them 
serei&l times over. Ab he was endowed witji a most tenacious 
memory, he could give a anmmary of the contents of any one of them 
to which his attention might be directed, as well as a very correct 
estimate of its merits. His conTersatioiial powers were of a high 
order. It was a treat of no ordinary kind to nt beside bim while en- 
gaged with his ebAnt and his lingle, and hear him discoune with 
flaency and critical acumen on poetry, philorophy, politics, religion, 
and general literature. He was a notable specimen of not a few men 
liyiDg in obscure comers of our country, and pursuing an humble 
Tooation, who have, nerertheless, entered into the very depths of the 
great masters of literature, and have had a powerful influence in 
stimtQating and moulding the minds of the generation around them. 
The present librarian is Mr James Small, shoemaker. 

The Evangelical Library was founded in 1807, and, as its title im- 
ports, it is composed of books of a religious cast. It contains 900 
volumes. The entry money and annual payment are 2s. each. This 
library is scarcely in so flourishing a state as could be dedred, Biggar 
Kirk Library contains upwards of 1100 volumes, and is supported by 
collections at evening sermons, delivered under the auspices of tie 
Established Church. The Biggar Relief Juvenile Library has a very 
useful collection of books, amounting to nearly 700 volumes; and is 
oondncted by a committee of the congregatioii. The entry money is 
6d., and ^e aimual payment Is. Id. 

The existence of these libraries bears abundant testimony to the 
reading habita of the inhabitants, and the desire generally felt to 
spend their leisure hours in rational and profitable exercises. It is 
very desirable, however, that a movement should be set on foot to 
unit« the most of these libraries into one institution. Were this done, 
and a suitable apartment built for th^ accommodation, and a fair 
remuneration given to a person to take charge of them, not only would 
the books be preserved from the risk of being dispersed, but an addi- 
tional impetus would be given to that mental cultivation and rational 
amusement which are to be derived from the perusal of good books. 

One of the branches of education long sedulously cultivated at Biggar 
is that of music, both vocal and instrumental An excellence in this 
department is one of the things in which the inhabitants have taken, 
great pride. No town of so small a size has sent forth so many really 
good singers ; and none has had a succession of better instrument^ 
performers. So far back as 1513, mention is made of the piper and 
fiddler of Biggar, who played to James tV. on one of his visits to the 
town. When the Collegiate Kirk of Biggar was erected, one of its 
prebendaries was appointed to play the organ and to teach music, both 
to the singing-boys of the Kirk, and to the parishioners at large. 
After the Reformation, the pariah schoolmaster was generally the pre- 
centor in the chnrch, and, no doubt, the teacher of psalmody, li^ien 



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I BIGOAB SCHOOLS AKD UBRABIES. US 

John Girdwood was presented to the office of schoolmaster in 1730, as 
formerly stated, he refused to accept the appointment, unless he was 
allowed to find a substitute to precent for hiis in the church. About 
the begLDoing of last century, John Scott was the chief * violer,' or 
fiddler, of the parish. From the parish records we find that, in 1740, 
John Murray was one of the professional fiddlers of Biggar, At the 
conmiencement of the present century, John Simpson, a blind man, 
fiouriahed as the chief musician. He fiddled at all the merry meetings 
in the country round, and could tr»vel everywhere without a guide. 
Nay, what was very remarkable, though he was stone blind, he took 
great delight in the chase, and was often seen following the pack of 
hounds, which, for some time, was kept in the parish by Lord Elphin- 
stone ; and seemed to enjoy the sport with as much relish as any one 
present. 

Some thirty or forty years ago, one of the town fiddlers was Mr 
Thomas Davidson. He was not only a musitnan, bat a tailor, weaver, 
optician, musical Inatrament maker, and philosopher. Two of his 
favourite tnnes were the ' Button Hole' and the ' Hen's March,' which 
he played with comical grimaces and rare ^ect In his old age, he 
tried to leant to perform on the Ante, but he compluned that he con- 
stantly lost the blast ; and therefore he invented a curious' apparatus 
for applying wind to the instrameat with greater ease than by the 
usual mode of sounding it by blowing into the embrochure. He 
could thus sound the instrument, but the notes wanted the delicacy 
and precision produced by the ordinary mode of playing ; so in the 
end he abandoned the task, as beyond the powers which he then pos- 
sessed. Had he lived in the days of James IT., he could, with his 
uncommon tuues, his curiotis instruments, and his ingenious specula- 
tions, have afforded that mirthful monarch rare entertainment daring 
his repeated visits to Biggar. 

Another musician that fiouiished at the same period, was John 
Brown, usually denominated ' The Fiddler.' He was a good performer, 
especiaUy of reel, strathspey, and contra-dance tunes ; and his services 
were in almost (umstant requisition at fairs^ penny weddings, and 
dancing schools. Like most Biggar men of his time, be was shrewd, 
intelligent, and occasionaUy witty. Many of his good things are stall 
remembered in Biggar. Let us merely give a specimen or two. On 
one occamon he was at a Brongbton Fair, fiimi^ung mosic, as osoal, 
for penny reels in a bam. He got considerable supplies of usquebae 
during die day ; and at night, after Hs labonis were over, he had a 
carouse with some boon companions in the Green Inn. He at length 
set out towards Biggar when the morning was somewhat advanced, 
and by the way feeling squeamish and sick, he sat down by the road- 
side, and was seized with an apprehension that his final end was near. 
AAer ruminating for some time, he suddenly started np and exclaimed, 
' If I maun dee, I may as weel dee gaun as sittin'.' 



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174 BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUWG. 

On another occasion, after induing in a round of rather hard 
drinking, he fell into the horron. Ue viewed hia conduct with any- 
thing but complacency. He conridered that a feeling of sorrow and 
regret was not a sufficient atonement for his delinqnenides, bnt that 
he was fairly entitled to receiTe some personal chastisement Labour- 
ing under this impression, he went forthwith to the late Mr James 
Faterson, commonly called ' Oggie,* from having lived with his father 
on the farm of Oggscastle, near Carnwath. Having found him, he 
said, ' Jeames, I maun hae the leu' o' a gun frae ye this momin' ; Tm 
gaun to toka bit daunder doon the length o' Bogha' Castle.' 'The 
len' o' a gun, John,' said James; 'that's a very unusual request. 
What on earth are ye gaun to dae wi' a gun 7 Ye dinna mean to thut« 
yersel' ? ' 'No exactly that, Jeames,' said John ; * but of cooise I mean 
to gie mysel' a deevil o' a fleg.' 

B^gar has had several instrumental bands, who, for a time, have 
cultivated music with great spirit and success. 'These bands, in so 
small a town, are not easily kept up, as the young men are being 
constantly draughted off to fill situations in other districts, and tiieir 
places in the buid cannot be readily supplied. The conseqtience has 
been, that ailer flourishing a few years, ^ey have, one after another, 
been broken up. 



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CHAPTER XIV. 

XjusinBRS lonntttol iDUff ^t^pr. 

fIGGAR, from a remote period, has had a staff of medical men. 
So early as the fourteentli century, meudon is made, in a 
charter, of Simon the Physician of Biggar. We know very 
little regarding the Biggar doctors, howerer, prior to the 
beginning of last century. At that time Andrew Aikmaa flourished 
as a surgeon in Biggar. The earliest notice that we hare of him is on 
the 28th of Jone 1720, when he and James Thrypland were brought, 
before the Bailie's Court, and fined ' in the soiune of fyre punds S<M>t8 
to the fiscal!,' for having, in the course of casting peats in Biggar Moss, 
encroached on their neighbour's room. In 1723, he and his family 
appear to have been greatly annoyed by William Liddell, a borae- 
couper, one of those restless and outrageous individuals who give 
their neighbours and the powers that be a great amount of trouble. 
He therefore orrugned him before the Bailie's Court; and Luke 
Vallange, the presiding magistrate, condemned him, under a penalty 
of 'fyre hundred merks Scots,' to keep &e doctor, 'and his wife, 
bairns, family, and others, harmless and akeathless, in thai bodyes, 
lives, goods, and geir, and not to molest him nor his in any sort, 
directly or indirectly, in tyme coming.' Mr Aikman was on active 
member of the Biggar Lodge of Freemasons, and, in 1726, held the 
office of boxmaster. He died on the 8th of April 1730, in the 
forty-fourth year of his age. 

Drs Williun Baillie and William Boe were distinguished physicians 
at Biggar during a considerable part of last century. Biggar, during 
the time they flourished, acquired some celebrity as a medical school. 
It was a common practice at that time, for young men who wished to 
acquire a knowledge of the medical art to serve on apprenticeship to 
some eminent practitionet. The fame of these two Biggar worses 
drew round them many young men, some of whom distii^uished 
themselves in their profession in after years. We may spedally refer 
to Dr Bobert Jackson. Mr Jackson was bom at Stonebyres, near 
lAnark, in 1750, and was a near relative of the late William Jackson 
of Coulter Mill, and his brother James Jackson, who for nearly half a 
century was well known in the streets of oar towns and villages as a 
blind minstreL Old James had a flue musical ear, and sung a number 
of popular Scottish songs, accompanying himself on the fiddle. We 



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176 BIGOAR AND THE BOUSE OF FLEMING. 

DtmelTes converaed with him a abort time prerious to hia death; and 
it was gratifying to find that, amid atl hia vicisaitudes and wanderings, 
and even when he had 'grown weary and old,' he still retained a 
lively recoUectioa of ^e men and incidents of a former generation 
connected with the Biggar district. 

Robert Jackson received his elementary education at a small school 
at Wandel, and afterwards at the Parish School of Crawford, then 
tanght by a Mr Wilson, a teacher of some local celebrity. In 1766, 
he came to Biggar to study the medical art under the care of Dr 
Baillie. Afl«r remaning some time at Biggar, be proceeded, for the 
further prosecution of his medical studies, to the Unirersity of Edin- 
burgh, tiien enjoying a high reputation, on account of the genius and 
learning of several of its profesgora, such as Munro, Cnllen, and Black. 
After the completion of his college curriculum, he went abroad in 
pursuit of employment, and encountered such a variety of difficulties, 
disasters, and adventures, as to invest this period of his life yiith a 
most engrosang interest. He, however, surmounted them all, and 
gradually rose to eminence. He wrote some valuable treatises on 
contagious fevers in juls, ships, hospitals, etc ; and a number of 
medical reports on climate, sanitary arrangements, and hospital diseases. 
By his writings and personal exertions, he effected great reforms in 
the treatment of soldiers, and therefore was geuendly spoken of as 
' the army physician.' He died at Thursby, near Carlisle, on the 6th 
of April 1627, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. 

Another surgeon, who was a good deal about Biggfir last century, 
and who for upwards of thirty years worshipped eveiy Sabbath in 
the Burgher chapel of that town, deserves to be here noticed. This 
was the well-known James Meikle. Mr Meikle was bom at Cam- 
wath on the 19th of May 1730. From his earliest years, he was 
of a serious and devout turn of mind, and spent much of his lime iu 
secret prayer and reading the Scriptures. In his fifteenth year he 
heard a sermon delivered by one of the Secession fathers, and this 
made so strong an impresnon on his mind, that he was led to make 
inquiries regarding the opinions and proceedings of the new sect The 
result was, that he joined Mr Horn's church at Daviesdykes, and 
continued a staunch adherent of the Secession Church ever ^lerwards. 
The leading um of his early years was to be a preacher of the Gospel; 
but the poverty of his family, and the death of his father in 1748, formed 
an insuperable barrier to the attunment of his wishes. Through the 
efforts of a gentleman who took an interest in his advancement, he was, 
at one time, elated with the hope ot enjoying a bursary at one of our 
universities ; but he was doomed to disappointment so soon as it was 
known that he was a Seceder. He therefore devoted himself to the study 
of medicine ; and soon afterward commenced practising in Camwath 
as a surgeon and apothecary, with the view of earning a subsistence, 
and procuring means for ibe prosecution of his theological studies. 



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PHTSICIANB CONNECTED WITH BIGQAE. 177 

His inoome from the profession on whicb be had now enteTed was 
snuill and precarious, and therefore he formed the resolution of going 
to sea, and serving as a surgeon's mate on board of a man-of-var. 
Af^ rarious disappointments, he left Carnnath on the 10th of March 
1758, and having passed an esamination at Snrgeocs' Hall, London, 
was appointed second surgeon's mate to the ' Portland,' a SO-gun 
ship, lying at Portsmouth. Mr Meikle was now introduced to scenes 
which his soul utterly abhorred. The officers and crew, being men 
of immoral habits, 'nere constaotly guilty of profane swearing, ex- 
cessiTe intoxication, gross debauchery, and Sabbath profanation. 
Amid all the wickedness by which he was surrounded, he nobly 
maintuned his integrity, and found time to compose a great part of 
"The Traveller,' 'Solitude Sneetened,' 'The Secret Survey,' etc., 
which were afterwards published, and which will long preserve his 
name among our Scotti^ worthies. He continued in the ' Portland ' 
four years. During that time he visited various parts of the world, 
and was present at two engagements, in which victories were giuned 
over the French. 

Mr Meikle returned to Camwath on the 24th March 1762, and 
immediately joined the newly-formed congregation at B^gar. He 
attended regularly every Sabbath, and had thus to travel a distance 
of fourteen miles. He seems to have enjoyed great pleasure in medi- 
tating on divine things on his journeys to and from the church. In 
reference to this exercise, he on one occasion says, ' It was a sweet 
day, and no disturbance but from a wandering heart ; ' and on another, 
' I had pleaenre in meditation : the sermon was divine uid edifying.* 
On the 18th of August 1779, he married Agnes Smith, daughter of a 
farmer in the neighbourhood of Camwath. She belonged to a small 
body of Antiburghers, who, previous to 1760, bad erected a chapel at 
Elsrickle, a village about midway between Biggar and Camwath, but 
lying a little to the east of the direct road. Previous to entering into 
this marriage relation, he and bis future partner signed a series of 
articles regarding their conduct to each other. One of them was as 
follows, viz- : ' As there is a difference of our views in some things, 
instead of suffering this to breed discord and contention between us, . 
let it beget in us a proper concern for the divisions of Reuben, and 
continued supplication for the peace and prosperity of Zion ; that, as 
there b one Lord, so His name may be one in aii the earth.' It was in 
diis truly Christian spirit that be conducted bis wife on Sabbath mom- 
mgs to tbe little Aniiburgher chapel at Elsrickle, and, after wonhipping 
at Biggar, returned by that vill^e In the evening, and accompanied 
her home. It was in the same spirit of toleration and liberality that, on 
several occatdon^, he exerted himself to procure pecuniary contributions 
for the support of the Rev. J. Anderson, the pastor of tbe little flock 
of which his wife was a member. Mr Meikle was ordained an elder 
of the Biggar congregation in July 1789, aA«r he had been twenty- 



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ITS SIQOAK AKD THE BODSE OF FLEHniQ. 

seren yean a nember, and held this o&tx till hia death, which took 
pUce on the 7tii December 17d9. 

Dr Jamcfl Boe, Dr Bertram, Dr Senton, and Dr Wibm are Biggu 
BorgeoDS itill Temembered by tbe older portion of the inhabitanta. 
Biggsr at {»eseat baa a number of meritorious medical praclitioiiers ; 
but the only one of them who bas distinguished himself as an author, 
is Hr Robeit Fairmaii. Mr Purman woa bom at Biggar on the 23d 
November 1818. Hia father la Kr Bob«rt Poirman, merctuuit, who, 
during a long life, has been charaoterized for hia integrity, and bis 
calm and ChriMian deporteieot. 

The Doctor receired the rudimetils of hia education at Biggar Parish 
School, then tao^t by the late Mr Biabard Scott At theageof twelve, 
be waa sent to a das^cal aenunary in Edinburgh, at which he studied 
for four years. He matriculated aa a medical student in the University 
of Edinburgh in November 1834, and finished hia curriculum, and 
(Ataiued bis diploma, in 1838. At the close of that sessbn, he carried 
off several very distiDguished prizes : first, one of two medala awarded 
by Professor Idzars to the two most ^dnguished studenta of bia class 
ii>r profideni^ in surgery ; aecoud, the highest prize in the class of 
Dr George A. Borthwiok, Lecturer on Clinical Medicine at the Koysl 
Infirmary ; and third, the first prize in the Materia Medica Class, of 
nearly two hundred student^ conducted conjcantly by Dr J. Argyle 
Bobertaon, and Dr W. Sellar, F.B.C.P., Lecturers at the Argyle Square 
School of Medione. 

Ob leaving the medical schools with these diatinguiahed honours, be 
immediately settled in his native town, and commenced practice. Amid 
the toils and disquietudes of the life of a country surgeon, he has found 
leisure to compose several valuable little works. The first, published 
in 1848, is entitled ' ScepUj^al Doubts Examined.' This work is in 
the form of a dialogue, and slates, mtb great plainness and perspi- 
cuity, and with many happy illnstraliona, the deistical doubts which 
are apt to arise' in the mind of a yooag and ardent inquirer; and the 
telling and conclusive solution which can be given to these doubts by 
a person of learning, experience, and reli^ous conviotions. Hia next 
work was a popular '£xpoa;''nn of Asiatic Cholera,' which ha de~ 
livered before the Biggar Athensum, on the 20th Marsh 1856. This 
treatise contains a clear elucidation of the manifestations and effects of 
this mysterious disease, the proofs which oao be adduced in support 
of the theory that it has its origin in a damp and foul condition of the 
atmosphere, and the methods which ought to be adopted for its pre- 
vention. This work called forth very hearty commendations, both 
&om medical men and the public press. A third work of Dr Pair- 
man's is a series of four tracts on 'Fever Poisons in our Streets and 
Homes,' which were oompoaed at the request of the Griasgow City 
Mission. They have been extensively distributed, not merely by the 
Society fcv which they were originally written, but by other kindred 



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PHT8ICIANB CONHECTBD WFTH BIGQAR 1T> 

institutions.. For instance, llie Indies' Sanitaxjr AssociBtion of Aber- 
deen, in the year ISfid, urculated 2000 oopiei. Several' psssagee 
from these tracts, that appeared in a work by Miss Brewster, having 
attracted the notice of the Committee of Council on Education,- J. 8; 
Lawrie, Esq., one of the officials connected with that Committee, 
addressed a oomnnmicatioii to tlie author in 1656, requesting per- 
migsion to make exttacta for eduoatiouAl purposes. To this request 
the Doctor readily acceded, his great object in composing them having 
been to lend his lud to the auynmeat for the instruction uid t^nporal 
elevation of the poorer classee of society. This ^plication must have 
been a sonrce of gratification to the worthy Doctor as vrell as to his 
friends, as it showed that his labours ws« reoo^ised and appreciated in 
the very highest quarters. The tracts are written in the Dootoi's usual 
clear, shrewd, eamest manner. They are divested -of all perjdexing 
technicaiitie 8, so tittt all classes can read and undwstand them with ease. 
They treat of themes of the hi^eet impartance to the health, happi> 
Bess, and socaal amelioration of the community, and therefore deserve 
to be scattered broadcast among all ranks, the rich as well as the poor. 

It gives us pleasure to notioe a medic^ gendeman^ a native o( 
Biggar, who has risen to distinoticm. This is Dr John Brownj aoa of 
the lat« Rev. Dr John Bcown-of Bronghton Place, Edinburgh. Dr 
Brown was born ki= the 8ecessi<Ki Church tnanse, Bigg«r,-on the 23d 
of September 1810. He lived at Biggar till bis twelfth year. Bong 
educated privately, he did not mix much witii the adventurous, and 
perhaps somewhat mischierons, youths, wbo at that time flourished in 
the litUetown; but,neverthele8s, we know that he reuonss^ery lively 
recollection of the scenes and the men with whcoa he was familiar in 
his early yean. In 1622, he r^noved, along with his father, to £^n- 
burgh, attended the Hi^ School and the Dniv^vity of that city, took 
his degree as «D U.D., and for some yean -was connected -with a medical 
institution in Minto House, Argyle Square. HeenteredaitlengtiiiieUitbe 
marriage relation, and set up his staff as a physician in the same city; 
and then he8tililive8,andenjoysBveryrespectaU»8inotiiitaf praetice 

Dr Brovra, however, has ai^ieved higher fame as a Uoeraleur Atai 
as a physician. He had long been known as a person of mark and 
likelihood, — as a contributor to some of civ inost popular periodicals, 
— and as possessed of that warm devotion to letters and study that 
has characterized bis family for three previous generations ; but it was 
not till he pubHshedthe first series of his 'Hons Snbsecivs,' in 1859, 
that his reputation as a literary man was estnUished. lliis work 
consists of a c<^ection of litezary, saenti£c^ metapfayraool, and pro- 
fessional piqwrs, composed, as their general title imports, at spare 
hours, — hours snatched from the toils and fatigues of a laborious 
profession. These papers are written in a free, hearty, dashing style, 
-with a disregard, we ore sometimes apt to think, of the usual rules 
and conventionalities of Uterory composition; but still with a preoi- 



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180 BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEMING. 

sion and correctness which, on examinatioo, we cannot iut admire. 
They stamp the author as a bold, independent thinker, as possessing a 
clear insight into the intricate workings of the human heart, and 
capable of ranging from a vein of singular i[uaintncss and humour to 
a flow of most gentle hut touching pathos. Hia tale of 'Rab and his 
Friends,' which haa been widely circulated in a separate form, which 
has been translated into German by Mrs Montague, and sent forth 
with attractive pictorial embellishments, from the pencil of George 
Harvey, Noel Paton, and other distinguished artists, has fascinated 
many a heart, and drawn a tear from many an eye. It is to his con- 
nexion with Biggar that we owe this charming tale. He was soUcited, 
through the medium of his uncle, the Rev. Dr David Smith of the 
North United Presbyterian Church, Biggar, to dehver a lecture be- 
fore the members of the Athenteum of that town. He consented, but, 
like many persona in a similar predicament, he felt a difficulty in 
selecting a suitable topic for discussion. He at length fixed on the 
story of Ailie, a story that had made a profound impression on his 
own heart, and over which he had often thoughtfully pondered. He 
gat down to his desk one midsummer evening at midnight, and by 
four o'clock next morning he had committed it to paper. 'I read it 
to the Biggar folk,' he says, 'in the school-house, very frightened, and 
felt I was reading it ill, and their honest faces intimated as much in 
their afiectionate and puzzled looks.' A second series of 'Hone Sub- 
secivte' was published about two years ago, and was also well received. 
A new and large edition of these papers, in one volume, somewhat 
abridged, has just (March 1862) been issued, and has at once been 
taken up by the trade, which ia a proof of the high estimation in 
which the Doctor's writings are now held by the pubUc. 

Dr Brown, afler the reformation effected a few years ago in the 
management of the University of Edinburgh, had the honour of being 
elected one of the Assessors of the University Court, which consiala of 
eight members. He received this honour from W. E. Gladstone, Esq., 
the Eector. The following is a copy of Mr Gladstone's letter to Dr 
Brown, appointing him to this office : — 

'November 25, 1859. 

' Sir, — I take the liberty of requesting that you will permit me, aa Bectoi 
of the University of Edinborgh, to nominate you as an AsKssor and member 
of the University Court. 

'Not having upon you the claim of even the shghtest personal acquaint- 
ance, I may with the more freedom aseure yon, that I prefer this request 
upon public grounds alone, under the influence of an anxious wish that, in 
the exercise of every power with which I may be intrusted, I may be en- 
abled to direct it rteadily and solely towaids the good of the Univerdty. 
'1 have the honour to be, Sir, your futhtul servant, 

'W. £. OLASffTOHB. 

'John Brown, Esq., H.D., etc., etc.' 



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i'' PHYSICIASS CONKEOTKD WITH BIGGAB. 181 

^> Mr Gladstone's graodfather, aa formerly stated, was a Biggar man. 

l'::,^, His ancestors, for geoeraliuiis, held a prominent place in that town, 

e'- '-■ not merely as men of substance, but as active useful members of the 

I' community, and leaders especially in all eccle^aatical movements. 

It was, therefore, a singular coinudence — a coincidence of which the 
Rector himself was probably unaware— that a native of Biggar should 
have been nominated to the office of Assessor by a gentleman descended 
from an ancient stock of Biggar men. 



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CHAPTER XV. 
^ijjEpr a j^Brg^ ol parous. 

B of the favours which JameB n. conferred on Robert, Lurd 
mg, was the erection of Biggar into a free bui^h of 
barony. The original charter is still preserved in the ar- 
chives of the Fleming family. Like odier early charters, it 
is of no great length. It states expressly, that, for the love and 
favour which the King had fot Robert, lord Fleming of Kggar, he 
erected Biggar into a free burgh of barony, with all the usual 
privileges, and particularly a weekly market on Thursday. This 
charter was given under the great seal, at Edinburgh, on the Slat of 
March 14S1, It wa« renewed by the Scottish Parliament on the 25th 
November 1526, in the reign of James V,, in the following terms: — 
'Our BOurane Lord, with avis and consent of his thre estatis, tatifyis 
and apprevis ye charter of new infeftment maid be our sonrane Lord 
to Malcolme, Lord Flemyng, making ye tons of Beggar and Kirktul- 
loch burghis in baronyia, with ye mercat dais, in all punctis and 
artiklis, efter ye forme and tenor of ye siud charter of infilWent maid 
yareupon.' New ratifications of this charter were made by James VL, 
on the 6th of January 15SS; by Charles I., on the 1st of February 
1634i and by Charles U., on the 10th of May 1662. 

The privileges of a burgh of barony were, in general, the, holding 
of a weekly market and certain annual fairs ; the exaction of a custom 
on all merchandise brought into the burgh for public sale; the trial of 
all disputes and offences which took place within the bounds of the 
barony, with the punbhment of ofienders by fine, imprisonment, and 
even in some instances by death; and, lastly, the recovery of the 
baron's mails, duties, profits, multures, and thiII service. 

It is a popular tradition, that the burgh of Biggar, at one time, pos- 
sessed the power of self-government; and that it was thus, in point of 
jurisdiction, similar to a royal burgh, or a burgh of regality. Thi 
power, it is sud, was taken away by the influence or active interfer- 
ence of a lawyer in Edinburgh, who in his youth had been a vagrant, 
and who, on account of some depredation committed at Biggar, had 
been rather roughly handled by the authorities and the inh^itants. 
The foUovring rhyme is understood to have a reference to this trans- 
action, from which it would seem that the individual in question had 
been drummed out of the town : — 



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BIGGAB A BDBOH OF BABONT. 183 

'Tha l*ddi« hid triokB MbtA ewt liim h' da&r, 
For ha was a raDDBgoit loon ; 
Bat tiiBir tin holcfl wid thor un dnuuBticks 
Hu iaitd «B ill fw the tmn.' 

No written proof cziats, >o far as ire know, to lend asTtbing like 
confinnatioa to this tradition, though it is by no means unlikely that 
the Remings, for services pertbrraed, conferred extra privileges on 
the burgh, and that some incident occurred which caused these pri- 
Tileges to be taken ftw&j. It is evident, however, that the Flemings 
treated the inhabitants of Biggar with considerable liberality, l^e 
whole land in the immediate neighbonrhood of the town was coo- 
ferred on the burgh, and was divided into twenty-four portions, called 
Bui^h or Borrow lands ; and be^des these, there were also two Cot- 
lands. A bui^h land was of auiEcient extent to allow one or two 
houses to be erected on it, fronting the street, and to afibrd ample 
space for a garden and a crofl The possessors of these burgh lands, 
who, both in common parlance and in legal documents, were styled 
burgesses, had each of them a right to a piece of land, on the east of 
the town, ctdled the Borrow Muir, on which they rused crops and 
pastured their cattle, and had, besides, a ' darg' or 'room' in one of 
the mosses in the neighbourhood of the town, from which they drew 
large supplies of peats and divots, or, as they are generally called, 
roughheads. The burgh lands were not all of the same extent They 
ranged from five to eight acres, and each of them was valued at L.12, 
18s. Id. Scots, 80 that the extent appears to have been regulated by 
the quality. Taking them at an average of six acres each, this shows 
that upwiurds of 140 acres of the beet land of the parish were in the 
hands of the burgesses. Few of the burgh lands remain entire. 
They have been much subdivided, and some portions of them have 
been sold to the contenninous proprietors, and persoos not connected 
with the burgh. T^e feuars, however, still hold about forty acres of 
arable land, and also thirty-five acres of moss, to which they have a 
conjoined right, and which are lying in a very dismal and unprofitable 
state. They are quite unfit for pasture, and are of little use as a 
source to supply fuel, as coals, by means of the railway, can now be 
got at a moderate rate. It is therefore very desirable, that efforts 
should be made to bring tbem into a state of cuitivation. 

When a burgh land was sold or bequeathed to a successor, a cer- 
tain stun was paid for Lord Fleming's confirmation. On the 2Sd of 
January 1668, John Brown, senior, burgess, Biggar, paid 'sue him- 
der and six ponds threteen shillings and four pennies Scots' for the 
confirmation of his rights to that burgh land sometime possessed by 
Mr John Kello. James Brown, who succeeded his father John, in 
1678, pwd L.40 for my Lord's confirmation of his right to the buigh 
land, he beiug a singular successor. The sums paid for this warrant 
appear to have differed very much, and to have depended on the 



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1« BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMIHO. 

value of the land, and the person into whose hands the land «&• 
transferred. 

The burgesses appear, like the other vassala of the Flemings in the 
parish, to have also had a certaiji right to the Common of Bi^^, an 
extensive hilly tract lying to the north-west of the town. The diffe- 
rent claims to this Common led to a series of litigations between the 
vassals or feuars and their superior, tie Earl of Wigton, before -the 
Court of Session, in the beginning of 1739, a short time before the 
Biggar estate was last ent^ed. Notices of these cases are to be 
found both in Kilkerran and Morrison's Decisions. We will give one 
or two of these notices, and refer those curious in such matters to the 
works jiut mentioned for a detail of the others. 

'Jan. 23d, 1739. 
' The Eabl of Wiotoh contra his Vassau. 
'In the process of diviwon in the Common Uoir of Biggar, at the Bari d 
Wigton's instance, ^^nst his vassals, scxne of whom wen proprietois, 
others had only aervitudee, whereia the Earl claimed not only a proportion 
of the Muir, aocording to the valuation of his adjacent property lands, but 
also a [necipuuni of a fourth, agreeably ta the decision of the Huir of Foggo 
in 1731. The division was not opposed, and though it had, it is believed 
that it would have been sustained, in respect there were common proprietors. 
But the objection being made to the pnecipuum by those having only ser- 
vitudes, that there was no foundation for any such pnecipuum in the Act 
at Parliament, and that they were entitled to a {axiportiou of the whole 
oommonty sufficient for their aerritudea, the Lords " found the superior 
not entitled to a praecipuum, and that these having serritudeBwere entitled 
to a proportion of the Common sufficient for thdr servitudes." ' 

' Feb. 1st, 1739. 
' Tee Earl of Wiotoit and Locrhart of Casnwath contra the Feuabs 
OF BiaoAK Ain> QnoTEQUAX. 
' In the division of the Common Muir of Biggar, it bdng controverted, 
whether certain of the charters of property produced by the vassals im- 
ported a right of property, or servitude jn the Muir, — the Lords found, that 
where lands were disponed with parte, pertinents, and peudiclEe, or wben 
they were disponed with mosses, moirs, commontiea, and parte and perti- 
nents in general, whereon possession in a common moir had followed for 
forty years, it did import a right of property ; but where lands were dis- 
poned with parte, pendicles, and pertinents, with common pastun^ nsed 
and wont, though the poaseraon in the muir had, for forty yeois, to all in- 
tents been the same as in the former case, it was found to imprai only a 
right of servitude in the common muir.' 

The likelihood is, that the Earl of Wigton, previous to effecting a 
new entail of his lands, purchased the rights of the feuars of Biggar 
to the Common, and thus all knowledge of these rights has, in a great 



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BIGOAR A BDBOE OF BABOKT. t8S 

mouaxb, Aided From the remembTonoe of the present geaeration of 
feoars. 

l^e burgettes of Biggar, for th^ posteseion*, were bouitd to rea- 
der die snperior iba uaual serrice ; that is, to attend his court, to follow 
him to the battle-field, ta oast and win his peats, and to lead both his 
p«Bts and ooro, so far as they had horses, and received comnuuid to 
do so. Besides this, the fsuan and burgeues of Biggar were boond 
by their original charters to pay to the lord superior mx chalders of 
malt, with exception of two pecks and a half. This, at least, is stated 
to be the case in 167fi, by an entry in one of the Earl of Wigton's 
books of that period. After the reb^on in 1745, an Act was passed 
for aboUshisg heritable jurisdictions j and tfans the holding of land 
tbr military service was changed into what is called fen tm blench 
lennrea, that is, the payment of ira annual sum of money> or some 
honorary acknowledgment of vassalage; and t^ this means the bur- 
gesses of Biggar were, like all other vassals, relBBsed from ^eir obli- 
gation to follow their lords superior through the gory ranki of war. 

In a burgh of barony the chief magistrate was the baron himself; 
but as that dignitary often found it inconvenient to attend to all the 
duties of his office, he generally deputed his powers to a substitute, 
called his Bailie. The Chief Bulie of the Flemings, at least in later 
times, was most commonly a hiwyer, who had charge of all their 
estates ; and being often non-resident at fi^gar, he had power to 
appoint one or two deputes. Biggar had Uius almost always two 
bailies, and sometimes three. It had three in 1729. The Cluef Baihe 
at that time was John Wardlaw. Luke Vallange, tailor and burgess, 
and a man of very canMderable wealth, hod, for a long tdme, held the 
office of Depute-bailie; but his advanced age and increasing infirmities 
rendered hiin unable to discbarge effidently the whole duties. Bailie 
Wardlaw, Aerefore, gave him a oollet^oe in the pet«6n of Alenuder 
Baird ; and these two worUiy deputes sat on die judical benob in tiM 
Tolbooth together. The next official in the burgh wm a ProCututor- 
fiscal, who seems to have been joint prosecutes with the Bailie, and 
to have received the fines imposed in the Baron's Conrt Besides 
these, there were ft Clerk, to draw up indictments, record the trans- 
actions of court, etc; a Dean of Onild, to take the oversight of the 
buildings ; Inspectors of Markets, to examine the goods exposed for 
public sale, and aaoertMU if they were of good material and workmaa- 
ship; Quartermasters, to secure lodging! for travelling soldiers, and 
horses for the conveymnce of their ba^age ; Referees or Blrliemen, 
as they were cidled, to setde disputes, inspMt the fences, and decide 
i^Mn boundaries ; and lastly, an Officer or Constable, to apprehend 
o&uden, issue summonses, and warn the vassals to pay their feu-duties, 
rents, kains, customs, and casualdes. A Head Court was held once 
or twice a year, and an ordinary Court once a month, and, at times, 



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181 BIGOAB AND THE HOUSE OF PLEHDIO. 

The Court of the Lands and Barony of Biggar was long held in the 
Tolbooth of the burgh. This was a strong vaulted building, which 
stood on a spot behind the present Com Exchange. One part of it 
was used as a court-houae, and another aE a prison. It was the scene 
<rf many a curious trial, and a place of resort to the bnrgeaaea to hear 
the sentences and the laws given forth by the Baron Bailie. It wai^ 
in a great measure, discontinued as aconrt-hottse about the year 1737; 
but the cause is not now known. The court, after this period, was 
generally held in an apartment of the Bailie's own house. 

Had the records of the Court of the Lands and Barony of Biggar, 
during the three hundred years that it existed, been preserved, they 
would, to us at the present day, have been extremely iuteresldng, and 
would have been worthy of being published by some of the literary 
clubs, which have done so mut^ to extend a knowledge <^ rare hooks 
and ancient manuscripts oonnecled with Scottish history. The only 
memorial of this court known to exist, is a mutilated fragment of the 
last volume of its transactions, extending from 1719 to 1761 ; but the 
entries after the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, and the death of 
the last Earl of Wigton in 1747, are few and of little importance. 
The perusal of it, however, brings very vividly before the mind of the 
reader a considerable portion of the inhabitants of Bi^ar, and their 
doings in the earlier part of last century. We will give a few extracts 
from it, illustrative of the rights, Hberties, and proceedings of the 
inhabitants at that period. 

One of the first entries shows the great care that the Bailie mani- 
fested in preserving the horses of the parish from infectious diseases : — 
' Court of Lands and Barrony of Biggar, holden in the Tolbooth thereof 
upon the 12th day of November 1719, by Alexander Wardlaw, factor 
to the Earl of Wigton, and the suits called and the court fenced and 
affirmed; the whilk day the Bailie statutes and ordains, that no person 
nor persons keep colded nor scabbed horses, or otherwise insufficient, 
within the parroch, under the pun of ten punds Scots, by and atlonr 
of repairing their neighbours' skaith and damage. And where such 
horse or mare is found ia the fields, that they be taken up and sighted, 
and if found insufficient, that the magistrate of the town caus di^tch 
them, and the owners thereof punished as said is,' 

The ^pointment of the birliemen was vested in the Head Bailie; 
and it ^peais, as we have already said, that the suburb of Westraw 
had a set of these functionaries of its own. At the Head Court held 
on tiie 19th May 1720, the Bailie, Alexander Wardlaw, appointed 
'David Tweedie and Thomas Altken, Westnw, to be birliemen there 
for ane year, and for that effect has taken their oaths de^fidele admmu- 
tratume.' The sort of cases in which the birliemen gave their deranon, 
is shown by the proceedings which took place at the Court held by 
Luke Vallange on the 28th of June following, vix. : ' The same day the 
Bailie fynes Andrew Alkmoa and James Thrypland, ilk ane of diem, 



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BIGOAB A BUROH OF BABOKT. 187 

in the wnune of fyre pusda Scots, for cattdng peats in their neighbour's 
peatt moss ronmeB, and that conform to ye birliemen's declaratione.' 

The dealers in horses, or horse-coupers, as they were usually called, 
are now characterized in the Biggar district for their orderly habits, 
and the honesty of their tranaactione. Within the memory of person* 
still living, the state of matters was different. Then, cheating in 
horse-dealing was proverbial ; and the evenings of the fairs at 
Biggar and Skirling often presented scenes of swearing, fighting, and 
tomolt among the generation of horse-conpers, tiruly appalling. 
Similar exhibitions, it appears, were common one hundred and forty 
years ago. The old <-ecord states, that Bailie Alexander Wardlaw, 
taking into consideration ' the many complents made to him anent 
drinking, fighting, cursing, swearing, and cheating, by reason of seUii^ 
and exchanging of horses under night, when mercat tyme is over, for 
remeid whereof, the Baron Bailie statuts and orduns, that no person 
whatsoever buy, sell, or exchange any sort of horses after daylight 
is gone, under tlie pain and penalty of five pund Scots, totia quotus, 
for each transgression, and all barguns, after daylight is gone, are 
hereby declared null and of no efiecL He renews all former Acts of 
Court anent forstallers of mercatta, and keeping up horses, and not 
presenting them to the mercat in tyme of day, and orduns this Act 
to be proclaimed at the Mercat Cross, on Thursday, in ^nne of 
mercat.' 

Notwithstanding this enactment, the horse merchants could not be 
altogether deterred ttom pursuing their evil courses. We have evidence 
of this from the following sentence pronounced I^ the Bailie a short 
time afterwards : — ' The same day, the Baillie fines and amerciates 
Kchard Steill, horse merchant, in Biggar, in ye som of ten pound 
Scots, for contumacy in not compearing, being personally summoned, 
at ye fiscalTs instance, and likewise fines him in ye sum of five pounds 
Scots, for his cursing, swearing, and breaking ye peace of ye fair.' 
Bichard appears to have been rather an outrageous knave, for on his 
appealing next court-day, the Bulie fined him in the additional sum 
of fire pounds Scots, for cursing and swearing in the face of Court, 
and umng other opprobrious language. 

The horse merchants of Biggar, it appears, were gtulty of the prac- 
tice of forestalling the market ; that is, the sale of their horses before 
exposing them in the public market place. This practice was consli- 
tnted a crime by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1592, and was 
punishable by the escheat of moyeables. The horse merchants, how- 
ever, were not the only dealers at Biggar who were chargeable with 
this crime. On the 12th April 1729, the Btulie, Luke Vallange, 
fined Gilbert Bannatyne, Thomas Forrest, James Watson, and William 
Bertram, and on the 2d of May following, Andrew M'Watt and Gil- 
bert Reid, all meal-mongers in Biggar, ' ilke ane of them in L.6 Scois^' 
toi not presenting their meal to the market, in market tame of day.' 



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IH BIGQAB AMD THE HODSE OF tLEUlSQ. 

It is a proof of the traffic then carried 0a at Bigg&r, that it had at 
lean ax dealers in the article of meal 

The following ii a speeimeD of the pnmBhmeiit inflicted bj the 
bailiei for the crime of thefL At the Court held on the 20A October 
1720, b^ Bailie Luke Vallange, Margaret StevenBon, a natJTe of the 
pariah of 8t Ninian'a, was arraigned, at the instance of the Fiscal, for 
the eiiibe of breaking into the hoose of Jolm Wilson, shoemaker, 
Bi^iar, on the faet-daj before the Saorament, and theftuoualy GairyiDg 
off all hia clothes. The oulprit confessed that ' she took from him ane 
ooat, ane gown, ane weast coat, ane pair of stockings, and twa shifitis. 
The Bailie having considered the complunt, and ihe defender's judicial 
confession, ordains her to stand in ^e jngs for the space of ane hoar, 
and to be banished oat of ye toxin by tonok of Drum.' 

The ooBtoniB of Biggar were fanned by one of the burgesses, and 
were generally exposed ereiy year to public ctmipetitjon. "Hie Bulie, 
at a Court held in the end of October, intimated that a meeting of the 
bui^easee would take plaoe in the afternoon, when the customs would 
be roiq>ed ; and that none were to bid who could not produce a suffi.. 
cient cautioner, under the penalty of L.5I) Scots. ^Ilds meeting, 
though primarily intended for business, appean to have also partaken 
of a festive ohoracter, as the customer, or person into whose hands the 
customs &sH, was, at least on some oocasions, bound to pay for ' a 
chopin of brandy * to regale the company. At the hour appointed for 
the meeting, the officer set up the half-hour sandglass, and cried 
* three several Oyesses,' and the highest bidder, when the last particle 
of sand had run down the glass, was declared the 'oostomer' for the 
ensuing year. The customs of the two fairs of the town of Blggor 
were ' set' in 1671 to Andrew Telfoord, my Lord's officer, for twenty- 
^ght pounds Scots yearly. The sum yearly obtained from the oustoms 
of Biggar during the early port of last century, ranged from L.60 to 
L.70 Scots, In 1780, Bailie John Wardlaw drew up a revised tariff 
of customs for Biggar, and ordered it to be engrossed in the Court 
books, and observed in all time to eome. It is interesting, as showing 
the rate of custom at the time, and the kind of commodities that were 
exposed for sale at the fairs and markets of Biggar. It is divided 
into two parts, the dead and the quiok customs ; and fixes a higher 
rate of oustom for fairs than for the ordinary market days. On 
market days, it appears, there were exposed for sale, shoes, smith 
work, pewter dishes, spinning wheels, chests, ploughs, harrows, canps, 
sieves, riddles, candle, coal, butter, cheese, salt, tallow, lint, hone, 
nolt, sheep end dog skins, webs of oloth, and suoh merchandisa as 
were hawked about in horse and foot packs. At fairs, a stand for a 
horse pack was Is. 4d., and for a foot pack 8d. ; a stone of lint was 
2b. ; and a stone of tallow, tobacco, cheese, butter, and other weighable 
ware, was Is. 4d. Eaoh shoemaker, smith, cooper, wheelwright, and 
joiner, paid 6d. ; while a horse-load of oaups, sievot, and riddles was 



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BtOaAfi A BDBOH OF BABOMY. 189 

Sd, of ^wter uteosiU, 1b., »ai of tmy other ware, In. id. A web 
of oloth waa fid, ; wd each lotul of meal was the full of the town-ladle, 
aeither heaped nor stropped. On ordinary market days, the rat« of 
oostom was, in general, about onc'half lesa than what it wai on fair 
days. The quick cnatotns, which were lened only at faira, and upon 
both buyer and seller, were Ss- Scots for a horse, Is. for a cow, Sb. 4d. 
fbr each soore of old aheep, and 3a. for each score of lambs. The 
<nut«m on oattle *tiU belongs to the superior, and the custom on grain 
has been let on a long lease to the shareholders of the New Com Ex- 
obangs at Biggar- 

Some of the yonng women of Btg^ar, it would seem, in fanner times 
oooasioBally amused themselves with a reprehensible pastime, which 
in our own day is termed larking. An instaaoe of this occurred in 
Way 1728, as appears from the fallowing entry:— 'The same day the 
Bailie fines Uarioii Roh, in Easter Toftoombs, and Janet Rob, servant 
to William Liddell, Biggar, ilk ane of them in the sum of two pnnds 
Scotq to the fiscal, for their masquerading, and breaking and over- 
tunung of muck carta in Biggar, under doud of night, when all the 
inhabitants were at rest.' 

In the days when the Flemings and their bailies rmgned in Biggar, 
it is evident, from the reoud^ which tbey have left, that the inhabit- 
acts had (o submit to a considerable amount of ioterfeienee with their 
liberties. Let us giro one er two instances :— The Bailie not only 
oi<dered a number of the burgeasea, in 1 7S^, to dispose ttf tfaeb horses, 
cows, and other bestial, wtthin eight days, under a penalty of L.10 
Soota, on the ground of their not ha^ig a sufficient quantity of pro- 
Tender for their support, hut on the J4th of February of the year 
following, Htatuted and ordained, ' that none within the toun of Biggar, 
nor Barrlo&le thereof, bdtmgtng to my IjojA Wigtoun, sell any fodder 
until the toun and tennanlrie belonging to bb Lordship be served there- 
with — they always paying such reasonable prices as others pay for die 
same, under the pun and penalty of twenty pounds Scots, loties quolue. 
Another prohibitory act of die Bailies of Biggar, which seems to 
have been supported by a regulation of the Justices of the Peace of 
the county, but which has been unknown in practice for a long time 
past, was the preventaoo of servants from hiring themselves out of the 
parish, so long as there was within its bounds any demand for their 
services. The following is an enactment of Bailie Alexander Ward- 
law on this subject, on the 17th February 1721 : — ' The whilfe day 
the Bailie having considered the grivancess of the parroch of Biggar 
anent there servants, not only fieing without the said parroch, but in 
going to the neighbouring shyre for the love of extravegant fies, con- 
trair to the act of the Justices of the Peace within this shyre, so that 
servants cannot be had in the parroch for laboring and manuring the 
ground, ffbr remeid whereof the Bailie statutes and ord^ns, that no 
man nor woman servant lass nor lad flit nor remove from there master 



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IM BIOOAS AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHOia 

or mistreai out of the sud porroch in tyme coming, nntil ttie people 
of the said parroch be served, nnder ike pain of ten ponds Scots to 
each transgreasion, totia quotia, and that by and attonr ihe toss of 
what fies and bounlitha shall be resting them by their masten or 
mistresses at the time of there going out of thar service; and eveiy 
such servant suspect to contravene this Act, shall be obliged to find 
caution to obtemper the same under the pun of imprisonment, and 
orduns this Act to be intimat at the cross of Biggar the next 
mercat day.' 

The powers and prerogatives of Bi^ar as a burgh, if they are not 
now extinct, ore at least in abeyance. It maybe questioned if it now 
possesses a fully accredited Baron Bailie. It has no Procurator-fiscal, 
DO legally appointed Birliemen, no Dean of Guild, no Inspector of 
Markets, no Buigh Clerk, and, perhaps, not even a Bnigh Officer. 
A Baron Bailie's Court has not been held for years. A proclamation 
at the Market Cross, in all its state and ceremony, has not been seen 
by the present generatioiL The preservation of tiie public peace is 
now in the hands of one or two officials of the county police, who 
have recently got a location in the neighbourhood of the place on 
which, in former days, stood the Tolbooth of the burgh. However 
active and efficient these men may be, they i^pear to ns to be a 
miserable substitute for the Baron Bailie widi Us stafiT of assistants. 
Biggar may now be compared to a state ruled by foreigners instead of 
its native princes. Disputes and ofi'ences, instead of being brought 
before its own magistrates, sad disposed of by their decision, are now 
dragged away to Lanark, and subjected to the fiat of a Sheriff-substi- 
tute of the county. We anticipate, however, a time when Biggar, 
increased in size and importance, will once more possess the power of 
self-government, and take its place among the burghs of the kingdom. 



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CHAPTER XTI. 

Kgt (S^ontDicra eiui dsbt of ^ig^^pi. 

^^|9HE Bi^ar dutrict, in farmer times, had a number of marketa 
Vtlj . and fairs. Some of these, for numj jreara, have been aban- 
^-*il' doned- The Scottish Parliament, on the 15th of June 1695, 
passed an Act in favour of Andrew Brown of Dolphinton, 
' fcff two free fures to be holdeo at the town of Dolphinton,' the one 
upon the last Wednesday of May yearly, to be called New Whitsun- 
day Fair, and the other upon the 8th of October, to be afterwards 
named; and also a weekly market upon Tuesday, with the usual 
privileges, immunities, customs, casualties, and duties. The Dol- 
phinton annual fairs and weekly market, if they were ever established, 
have long been discontinued. 

' The Edinburgh True Almanack for the year of our Lord 1692,' 
states that ' there are two notable fairs at Lamington, within the 
shire of Lanark, where are to be bod good schap horse, neat, sheep, 
and corns, meal, etc The first on the 15th of June, with a hone- 
race for a saddle at 40s. value, set out by the laird of Lamington ; the 
second, on the 22d of Octobcor yearly, with a weekly market every 
Thnisday.' The fturs and the market of Lamington have also, for a 
long period, been abandoned. 

BrooghtoD, five miles from Biggar, has &om lime immemorial had 
an annual fur. It is, or was, a hiring fair, and was famed for the 
numerons assemblages of the rural population, male and female, that 
frequented it from ^e mountaiooos region aroond, and the desperate 
combats in which the Tweeddale ploughmen and shepherds engaged 
when under the maddening influence of love and drink. This fur, 
of late years, has much declined, — in fact, it is now almost extinct. 
Skirling, two miles distant, has three annual fairs ; — the first in May, 
tlie second in June, and the third in September. 

The Jane fair of Skirling was long one of the largest markets in 
Scotland for horses and cattle. It has now much fallen off. A large 
painting, showing its appearance in the days of its prosperity, by the 
celebrated artist, James How, a native of Skirling, is now in the pos- 
session of Adam Sim, Esq. of Coulter, along with another picture of a 
similar size, by the same artist, representing a show of stallions on 
Skirling Green. These pictures, while they give abundant proof of 
Mr How's great skill as an animal painter, at the same time show 



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m BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

that he had a strong appreciation of the ludicrous and grotesque. 
They exhibit scenes of great fun and comicality, — scenes which he 
himself, no doubt, witnessed and enjoyed in his early days, while 
living under his father's roof. The Biggar district has produced no 
painter of greater genius than How. No artist of his day could give 
a more lifelike representation of the horse, the cow, the sheep, the 
dog, and other portions of the animal creation. His professional 
merits raised him to distinction; and they might have made him 
wealthy, respected, and happy, had they not been counterbalanced by 
great defects. His Panorama of Waterloo alone, by prudence and 
proper management, might haVe placed him in a state of affluence; 
but be allowed that and other golden opportunities to pass by without 
yielding him any solid advantage. What money he gained by inde- 
&tigBble industry and the exercise of his rar« t&lents in one day, he 
squandered away the next in reckless profuKon and the debasement 
rf his noble faculties ; and in the end be died in poverty and neglect, — 
affording another example of the calamitous fate that too frequently 
befklla the sons of genius. 

When Skiriing was erected into a five bor^ of barouy, in 1592, 
by James VT., ' in consideratifme of ye gude and diuildUl aervice to 
hir Majesty, and umquhile oiu- dearest mother, by the lat« Sir James 
Cockbume of Skrali&g,' it Was provided that it should have a weekly 
market on Friday, and an annual fair on the 4th of September, Thv 
reason assigned for this was the distance of Skirling from the principal 
burgh of the shire, 'quhairby they (the inhabitants) cannot goodly 
repair at the fairs and mercat days of ihe said burgh for doing of 
their lawM affairs, and traffic of goods, corns, afid other merchandiae.' 
It would appear from this, that, at the time, it was thought denrable 
that the traffic of a county should as muoh as possible be confinad 
within itself,— 4n opinion very different fh>ta that which bow prevails. 
To what extent the weekly market of SkirUng was pat^oniied by the 
farmen and traffickers of the district, we cannot now say ; but it 
appears, for a long time, to have fallen into disuse. 

The fidn or large markets at Biggar are numerons,' and some of 
them have been long established. The lint of the year is held on the 
last Thursday of January, old Btyle> and is usually called Candlemas 
Fair, The business principally transacted at it is the sale of horses 
and cattle, and the hiring of servuits. The second takes place on the 
first Thursday of March, and used to be called Seed Thursday, because 
it6 principal transactions consisted in the disposal of corn, potatoes, 
etc., for seed. The third &ur is held on the last lliunday of April 
It was only instituted a few y^rs ago, bat has been attended with 
success. At this market servants are hired, stallions are shown, and 
horses, cattle, pigs, etc., U« disposed of. The next fair takes place 
on the third TTmrBday of July, 0. S. Xbis fair, in the charter »- 
erectii^ Biggar into a bur^ of Wwy, granted by Junes VI., in 



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THE COMMBBCE AND TRADE OF BIGOAR. 199 

1588, in &Tont of John, Lord Fleming, ie called St Peter's, and is 
appointed to take place on the festiTal of that s^t, on the 29th (tf 
June,— fairs in aodent tdmes being very commonly held on the festival 
of Borne saint. It vas wont to be called Midsummer F^, and 'waa a 
great market for the sale of lambs, but it began at length to decline ; 
and, about forty yean ago, it was agreed to hold it two weeks later in 
the year, in the expectation that this would operat« as an inducement 
to the farmers in the adjacent pastoral districts to patronize it again 
with their flocks. When a place of business begins to fall off, it is do 
easy matter to restore it to its former stato of prosperity. This was 
iidly exemplified in the case of this fair. It b now wholly deserted 
as a sheep and Iamb market ; bnt some buriness is slUl done in wool, 
and reapers for the harvest are engaged. It was, down to a recent 
period, a practice for a foot-race to be mn on the evening preceding 
the fair, immediately after it had been proclaimed by the Baron 
Bailie at the Cross by tuck of drum. The reward given to the suc- 
cessful competitor was a pair of white gloves. As the expense of the 
gloves was paid by the lord superior, it is likely that the race was 
inatitatod by some of the Flemings to encourage the practice of 
athletic sports. 

The cattle show of Biggar, held on the but Thursday of August, Is 
' another great agricultural display. In the year 1608, a Farmers' 
Society was established at Biggar, the princip^ objects of which were 
the discussion of agricultural subjects, the establishment of an agri- 
cultural library, and the punishment of depredations on the property 
of the members. The library waa, however, never formed. In 1820, 
it was resolved to change the name of the Society to that of ' ' He 
Biggar Farmers' Club,' and to extend its design, by having an annud 
show of live stock and seeds. This show, with the exception of seeds, 
has accordin^y taken place every year since, and has been largely 
patronized. The Club comprises the names of all the principal pro- 
prietors and farmers in the district ; and it cannot be questioned that 
it has, in a great degree, contributed to evoke and keep alive a spirit 
of wholesome emulation in rearing stock, in cultivating the soil, and 
improving the products of the dairy. It has cansed increased atten- 
tion to be paid, among other mattot^ to the breed of horses, for which 
this district has long been famed. The powerfid Clydesdale horse is 
now held in repute not only in Scotiand, but in various other parts of 
the world. Several fine youi^ stallions reared in the Biggar district, 
have of late years been exported to New Zealand and Australia. The 
prices realized for these animals are very considerable. We may 
specially refer to a very fine spedmen, that was recentiy sold by Mr 
William Muir of Hardmgton Mains to Mr D. Innes, Parriora, Canter- 
bury, New Zealand, for tiie large sum of L.S25. The farmers in the 
Biggar district, as might be expected, very often succeed, at the great 
shows held under the auspices of the Highland Society, in carrying 

SB 



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IH BIOGAS AKD TBE HOUSE OF FLEMIKG. 

off Bome of the chief prizes for the breed, not merelj of bones, but of 
sheep and cows, aa well as for the produce of the dairy. 

The last fair of the year is held on the last Thursda; of October. 
It is called the ' Old Fair,' and is a large market for ihe sale of horses, 
cattle, and the hiring of servants. 

It is evident £rom the entries in the old record of the Bailie's Court, 
that sad scenes occasionally took place at the furs of B^;gar. On the 
1st November 1723, the Bailie fined James Young, servant to James 
Anderson, Bridgend of Dolphinton, in the sum of five pounds Scots, 
and to remun in prison until it was paid, for committing ' a blood 
and battery on Steven Gilles in Biggai Fair.' On the 9th February 
1721, the Bailie fined James Aitken and William Fleming in the 
stun of L.IO Scots, for refWng to assist in quelling a tumult in the 
market of Biggar on the last Thursday of January. On the 2d 
July 1724, the Fiscal arraigned before the Bailie, James Millar, in 
Biggar, and his spouse, John Rob, servant to Alexander Forsyth, 
and David Murdoch, son to William Murdoch, officer of Excise, 
for a riot committed by them on the 1st of July, being Bi^;ar Fair, 
upon Robert Reid of Broughton Mains. 
The Bulie continued this case till next 
court-day, but the decision is not re- 
corded. On the 2d July 1728, John 
Rob, son of Thomas Bob in Westraw, 
was fined in the sum of five pounds 
Scots, and to remain in prison until it 
was paid, for fighting and making a 
disturbance in the fair on the day pre- 
vious. It was in consequence of such 
disturbances as these that the Baron's 
officer, and one or two assistants, armed 
with halberts, perambulated the ground 
during the continuance of the fair. 
Their duty was to prevent all tumults 
and riots, and to apprehend individuals 
disposed to be outrageous and unruly, 
lodge them in the Toibooth, and arraign 
them before the Baron Bailie. The 
halberts used on these occasions are still 
preserved, and a represeutation of the 
head of one of them is given in the 
annexed engraving. We are far from 
thinking, however, that the fairs of 
Biggar are more distinguished for dis- 
turbances and immoralities than the furs in other districts. The 
rustics of Biggar, like those everywhere else, have a high flow of 
animal spirits, and when they get free from the thraldom in which 



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THE COmEBCE Atm TKAOE OF BIOQAB. 1» 

they are held all the year round, they are apt to be a little hilariooi 
and uproarious ; but this is nothing more than might be expected fhim 
persona rejoicing in the vigour of youth, and placed in rimilar circnni' 
stances. At the aame time, no right thinking man will condemn the 
efforts recently made to withdraw them, on tLese occamons, from the 
consumption of intoxicating drinks. The unseemly exhitutions of 
swearing, rioting, and fighting, that at times take place, are, in almost 
erery instance, the direct result of the use of these beverages. 

The hirin g of servants in a public market is also a degrading spec- 
tacle. It savours very much of the marts of slavery. Men and 
women there expose, if not their persons, at least their physical capa- 
bilities, to public sale, and are subjected to a scrutiny in some respects 
similar to Uiat which the slave-merchant gives to the human chattels 
placed on the auction block. Moral character here goes but a short 
way, while physical strength is reckoned of higher value, and is in 
iar greater request It may appear difficult to find a substitute for 
these human exhibitions, — the rustics themselves may cling to them 
with the greatest tenauty, like the slave hugging his chains ; bat the 
employers of labour, by subjecting themselves to a little temporary 
inconvenience, and by adopting a proper mode of registration in the 
towns and chief villages, might, in a short time, change' the whole 
systeia of hiring, and obviate the great evils and defects with which 
^e present method is chargeable. At the same time, let servants, 
like other classes, have their holidays. Incessant bondage and toil 
are by no means conducive to the physical and moral well-bong of 
mankind. It is good to have seasons of cheerful reunion, when 
change of scene and innocent recreation give a zest to human exist- 
ence, and scatter the clouds that are too apt to settle down on the 
brows of the sons and daughters of toil Biggar has recently com- 
menced a great movement for the amelioration of the condition of 
farm servants. The public meetings, and the addresses of Dr Guthrie 
and others, at two Biggar Fairs, have drawn upon it the eyes of all 
men. We hope it will not be found wanting, but trill persevere in 
its efibrts till the objects which it contemplates have been crowned 
wiA success. 

At the fairs and markets of Biggar, in the olden time, one of the 
most notable and gratifying spectacles was the ample array of the 
products of female industry that was then displayed. Every house- 
wife in the rural districts was a spinner and a manufacturer. Her 
primary abject was to clothe and adorn her own household; but not 
unfrequently, by diligence and economy, she was able to supply 
domestic wants, and also to have a considerable surplus to dispose of 
to others. Hence, the gudewife appeared at the marts of commerce 
with her lint and her wool, her hanks of yam and her webs of cloth ; 
and, by the sales then made, she increased the family finances, and re- 
ceived encouragement to enter on new schemes of domestic industry. 



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BIOOAfi AKD THE HOUSE OP fXEMtKO. 



)JPP 



Some remains of the (uunent implements of female indnsOy and 
thrift, once so oommon in the Biggar 
district, are stall to be found. In pre- 
paring wool to make a very fine worsted 
thread, a comb of the following con- 
struction was used. This implement 
hasi long been discontinued, and a 
specimen of it is reiy rarelj to be met 
with. 

The implements of spinning, till within the last hundred jears, were 
the distaff, the spindle, and whorle. These implements, which were 
remarkably simple, had been in use from the eai^est periods of which 
we have any record. Thej are mentioned by Homer; and Solomon 
declares that a virtuous woman 'seeketh wool and flax, and worketh 
wilUngly with her hands; she layeth her haads to the spindle, and 
her hands hold the distafi*.* St Catherine, in more recent idmes, was 
the patroness of the art of spinning; and its votaries, and the imple- 
ments which they used, had the 7th of January set &^aii to tlkeir 
honour, and hence called 'St Distaff's Day,' or 'Bock Day.' An 
assemblage of young people for industrial purposes was, on this 
account, called a 'Bockin.' The readers of the poems of Bobert 
Bums will recollect a reference to a meeting of this kind in the 
opening stonxs of his first epistle to L^raik. We quota from the 
oT^nal manuBoipt of this epistle, now in the posseasion of Adam 
Sim, Esq.: — 

' On Fasten e'en wa had a rockin, 
To caw the crack, and weave our stoken. 
An' there was mokle fun and jockin. 
Ye need nae doubt ; 
At lengtli we had a hearty Tokin' 
. At sang aboat.' 

In some districts of the country, the instruments of spinstry were 
borne in procession before a newly married bride. In an old work 
we And the following reference to this custom : — 'In olde tyme there 
was usually carried before the mayde, when she should be married, 
and come to dwell in hir hnsbandes house, — a distaffe, charged with 
flaxe and a spyndle hanging at it, to the intent that she m^ht be 
myndefuU to lyre by hir labour.' 

The whorles, which are commonly made of black stone, are found 
in abundance in the Biggar district. like many of the early stone 
implements, they have had a certain superstitious veneration attached 
to them, and were ranked among the charms that had power over evil 
influences. DiffaSa are now articles of great rarity. They were not 
merely composed of perishable material, but, when they were no 
longer applied to their original purpose, they were speoiaUy liable to 



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THE OOHUEBCE AND TRADE OF BIOGAB. 



U7 



injnry and destruction, from tbeb shape, which readily suggested 
their convermon into another useful domestio 
utensil, viz., a parritch-Btick. Distafis and 
whorles were wont, in ancient times, to be 
highly ornamented, and many curious and 
valuable specimens are careftilly preserred. - 
In a respectable family in the nugbbonrhood 
of Biggar, a finely carved distaff is still kept, 
and regarded as a family relic. The distaff, 
spindle, and wboile here engT»Ted,'were the pro- 
per^ of one of the oldest families in tlie Tillage 
of Coulter, and the initials of one of the mem- 
bers of the family are cat on the top of the distaff. 

The yam, aAer being spun, was formed into 
hanks by means of a hand-reel, which is repre- 
sented below with a portion of the yarn upon 
it. When the winding of the thread was in 
progress, something like the following words 
were used : — 

'Thon's no ane, hut thon's ane a' out ; 
TboQ's no twae, but thon's twae a' out.' 
The thread was not full till it had passed in a 
certun manner' round the reel, and so many 
rounds formed the heap or hank. 

lliursday, ' dies Jovis,* is the day expressly 
mentioned in the original charter conslituling 
Biggar a burgh of barony on which the weekly 
market of that town was to be held. We are, 
therefore, surprised to find, that when the 
General Assembly of &e Scottish Kirk fixed 
on Saturday, the 26th of July 1645, to be ob- 
served as a solemn national fast, for the purpose 
of craving a blesrang on the Parliament about to 
assemble at St Johnstone, and of giving thanks 




for the victory guned by Fair&z in Northamptonshire, the Presbytery 
of Biggar, in making arrangements for the fast, decided that, ' because 
Satterday is ye ordmar day of Biggar mercatt, it was recommended to 



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ISg BIOOAB AKD TH£ HOUSE OF PLEMDIG. 

ye baillies of Biggar to dlBcharge je mercatt for that day.' Say, in 
the charter of 1661, reconstitatiiig Biggar and KirkintoUoch burghs 
of barony, it is stated that tlieir market days were changed ttom 
Sunday to Saturday. However this may be, it b a fact, that the 
weekly market of Kggar, as well as its annual fairs, have, for a period 
beyond the memory of any man now living, been always held on 
Thursday. On market days the farmers, and other portions of the 
mral commtmity, visit Biggar. Grain, meal, potatoes, and other 
agricultural produce are disposed of, the news of the district are dis- 
cussed, the progress of rural labour on the different farms is reported, 
bank business is transacted, farming implements and household com- 
modides are purchased, and the wants of the inner man are supplied 
by a due modicum of refreshments in the 'Crown,' the 'Commercial,' 
or the 'Elphinstone Arms.' 

l^e amount of business done at the fairs and markets of Biggar is 
oonsiderable. It is, indeed, far beyond what any person who t^es a 
cursory look at the town would suppose. No better proof of this can 
be given than the fact, that Biggar supports the branches of three 
different banks, the 'Commercial,' the 'Royal,' and the 'National,' 
besides a Savings' Bank. Some forty years ago the directors of an 
Edinburgh Bank applied to the late Mr Robert Johnston, Biggar, to 
obtun anopinionYrom him, if Biggar could support a branch of their 
bank. Mr Johnston supposed that he knew the trade of the district 
well; but, after all, he was so little aware of its wealth, and the traffic 
it carried on, that he gave his decision against the establishment of 
any such institution. The Savings Bank was established in 1832, and 
was attended with so much success, that the Directors of the Com- 
merual Bank were satisfied that a branch of their establishment 
might also be opened with advantage. They immediately erected 
suitable premises, and the branch was opened in the end of 1832, 
under the management of the late Mr James Furdie. The present 
manager is Mr Thomas Paul, jun. A branch of the Western Bank 
of Scotland was opened on the 25th April 1840, and was conducted 
by Mr John Wyld till September 1848, by Messrs Wyld and Jackson 
till 1858, and by Mr David Thomson till the suspension of the Bank 
on the 9th November 1857. A branch of the Royal Bank was estab- 
lished in place of the Western, on the 26th November of that year, 
and has, to the present time, been conducted by Mr Thomson. A 
branch of the City of Glasgow Bank was opened in January 1857 ; 
and on the partial suspension of that Bank in November of that 
same year, the business was taken up by the National Bank of Scot- 
land on the Ist of December following. The branch of the National 
is under the management of Mr Adam Pairman. 

The Eev. John Christison, in his Statistical Account of the parish, 
makes the following statement regarding the retail trade of the town. 
^Some idea,' says he, 'may be formed of the retail trade of Biggar by 



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THE COMUEBGE AND TRADE OF BIOGAR. 1» 

the following qoantities of excisable articlea eold during the jear end- 
ing 5th July 1635 : 2608 gallona British spirits, 80 gallona brandy, 
136 gaUous ginger wine and other shmbs, 86 dozen of foreign wine, 
2528 lbs. tea, 1876 lbs. tobacco and snuff.' The quantity of ihese 
arScles sold in the shops of Biggar, particularly tea, the annual sale 
of which exceeds 7000 lbs., ia now, 1862, very conaidenbly increased. 
This has been caused by the prosperous state of agricultore, and an in- 
crease in the number of wealthy fomilies resident in the neighbourhood. 

The inhabitants of Biggar devot« themselves to all the industrial 
pursuits common in little towns. Its weavers, masons, joiners, shoe- 
makers, find tailors very much predominate, in point of numbers, 
over the other tradesmen. About thirty years ago, according to the 
Statistical Account of Scotland, there were no fewer than 210 weavers 
in the town and pariah. The webs, which consisted of stripes, checks, 
Oghams, druggets, etc., were supplied by manufacturing houses in 
Glasgow, through the medium of agents. One of the weavers' agents 
at Bi^ar at that time, was Mr James Brown, who deserves to be 
qiecially noticed on account of his amiable manaers, bis Christian 
deportment, and poetic talents. He was bom at Libberton, near Cam- 
wath,onthe 1st of July 1796. His father, who was miller of libberton 
Hill, was considerably advanced in years at the time of his birth, and 
died when he was only six years of age. His mother was Grizzd 
Anderson, a person held in esteem for her kind and amiable disposi- 
tion. As soon as Mr Brown had acquired sufficient strength, he was 
^prenticed to a weaver, and after serving the usual period, he removed 
to Symington, and there wrought for a number of years as a journey- 
man. He devoted his leisure hours to the otdtivation of his mind, or 
the enjoyment of solitary rambles on the adjacent uplands of the 
Castlehill and Tinto. He established a club for mutual improvement, 
which met periodically at his house. He wrote a number of poems 
and songs of considerable merit, which enjoyed some portion of local 
celebrity; but he obstinately refused to commit any of them to 
print In 1623, he obtained a situation in the wareroom of a manu- 
facturer in Glasgow; but this employm^it not suitiag hia con- 
stitution, he was appointed agent of the firm in Biggar. Here he 
lived several years ; but bis health, never robust, gradually gave 
way. When he saw that the time of his dqwrture was at hand^ he 
desired to be taken to Symington, the scene of his early manhood, 
and there he died on the 12th September 1836. His manners were 
rather grave and austere, and his dispontion retiring and reserved ; 
but he possessed a kind and benevolent heart, and his belief in the 
truths of divine revelation was firm and sincere. Several of his pro- 
ductionB were published for the first time, two or three years ago, in 
Rodger's ' Scottish Minstrelsy.' 

The agents at Biggar also supplied webs to weavers at Symington, 
Thankerton, Covington, Quothquan, NewbiggiDg, £lsrickle,etc, — these 



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too BIOOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKG. 

pUces conUming, perlmpB, not leas than 150 weaveis. The number 
of webs received from Glasgow weekly, at least from 1824 to 1686, 
would average about eighty, and the amount of weekly payments 
wonld be about L.200. The rate of remuneration was h^hest in 
1812, and a few yeais subsequently. The weaving of an ell of stripe, 
1000 reed, was then paid as high aa 8^.j but the rate at length began 
gradually to decline, so that the same fabric in 1840 was paid as low 
M 1^. per ell, — a rate at which it was scarcely possible to earn the 
Boantiest subsistence. The supply of work, even at so low a rate, was 
very limited; and this induced some of the agents, and especially Hr 
Allan Whitfield, to exert themselves to introduce new fabrics. Their 
efforts met with partial success, and for some years a conadeisble 
amoont of heavy woi^ counstang of cotton warp and woollen weft, 
was obtained, l^e application of steam-power to weaving, and the 
erection of large weaving establishments in the west of Scotland, 
appear, however, to have had a permanently injurious effect on hand- 
loom weaving in such places as Bi^ar and its adjacent villages. 
While we write, 1862, the weaving trade in Biggar is in a most 
d^r«ssed state. The number of weavers in that town at present does 
not exceed 50, and these are by no means fully employed, — the num- 
ber of webs from Glasgow bong reduced to an averse of ten weekly, 
and the aggregate amount of wages to L.15. 

The other branches of industry in Biggar continue in a prosperons 
state. It is no small proof of ^ progressive character of the town, 
that it is now able to support a printing press. From this press issue 
trade circulars, announcements of rales, pubhc meetings, etc., all con- 
ducive to the enterprise and prosperity of the district The spirited 
proprietor of this press, Mr David Lockhart, in 1660, laid before t^e 
public the first volume ever printed in Biggar. It is entitled, ' Tales 
and Legends of the Upper Word of Lanarkshire.' This volume con- 
tains no inconsiderable portion of Upper Ward history, interlarded, no 
doubt, with a large amount of fable. The style in which these 'Tales' 
are couched, and the industry of the author in ferreting out old tradi- 
tions and inddents connected with the locality, are worthy of commenda- 
tion ; but, upon the whole, the stories rather disappoint the hopes which 
they are calculated at first to raise. We hail them, neverth^ss, with 
great cordiality, aa the first intellectual fruits of the Biggar Press, to 
be followed, we trust, by many worthy and successful publications. 

On the authority of an intelligent statistician, we give a list of the 
different occupations at Biggar, and the number of persons connected 
with each: — Weavers' Agents, 4; Architects, 8 ; Auctioneer, 1; Bakers, 
18 ; Bankers, 5 ; Beadles, 3 ; Besom-maker, 1 ; Bill-poster, 1 ; Bird- 
stiUBfer, 1 ; Boot and Shoemakers, 20 ; Buildera, 3 ; Cabinetmaker 
and Upholsterer, 1 ; Carriers, 4 ; Chimney-sweepers, 2 ; China, 
Glass, and Earthen Ware Dealers, 7 ; Clergymen, 4 ; Clof^ers, 2 ; 
Coach and Post Horse Hirers, 3 ; Coal Agents and Merohiuits, 2 ; 



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THE COIfUERCE AND TRADE OF BIOGAR. SOI 

Coffeehouse Keepers, 2 ; Contractois, 4 ; Coopera, 2 ; Dress and 
Straw Uat Makers, etc., 26 ; Dru^iata, 2 ; Fleshers, 4; Gardeners, 2; 
Gasfitters, 2 ; Glaziers, 3 ; Grocers, Tea and Spirit Merchants, and 
Ironmongers, 24 ; GraTediggers, 2 ; Horse Dealer, 1 ; Hawkers, 7 ; 
Inn and Hotel Keepers, 7; Jewellars, 2; Joiners, 12; Land'Sur- 
veyors, 2 ; Last and Boot-tree Maker, 1 ; Letter Carrier, 1 ; Libra- 
rians, 5; Machine Makers and Millwiights, 4; Manufacturers, 2; 
Masons, 21 ; Midwife, 1 ; Millers, 2 ; Naihnakers, 9 ; Newspaper Agent, 
Stationer, and Printer, 1 ; Notary Public, 1 ; Nursery and Seedsman, 
1 ; Painters, 2 ; Paper-hangers, 2 ; Pavement Merchants, 2 ; Per- 
fumer, Barber, and Halr-dresser, 1 ; Physicians and Surgeons, 5 ; 
Plasterers, 2 ; Plumbers, 2 ; Porter and Ale Brewers, 3 ; Qoarriers, 2 ; 
Saddlers and Harness-makers, 11 ; Sawyer, 1 ; Skinners, 3 ; Slaters, 
4; Smiths, 11; Stationers, 2; Tutors, 24; Teachers, 3; Thatchers, 
4 ; Turner, 1 ; Umbrella and Parasol Manufacturer, 1 ; Valuator, 
1 ; Veterinary Satgeon, 1 ; Victuallers, 2 ; Watch and Clock Makers, 
6 ; Weaver Utenul-makers, 2 ; Woollen and Linen Drapers, 16. 

Biggar was long a depdt for lead from the mines at Leadhills. 
These mines were wrought for some time by James IV. and James V. 
The latter monarch, at length, granted permission to a company of 
Germans to work the whole mines of Scotland for forty-three years. 
In January 1562, John Achisone, Master of the Mint, and John 
Aslowne, bui^;ess in Edinburgh, obtained a license from Queen Mary 
* to wirk and wyn in the Leid Mynis of Glengoner and Wenlek, sa 
mekill leid ure as they may gadlie, and to transport and caiie furt of 
this reahue to Flanderis, or ony utheris pairtis beyond sey, 20,000 
stane wecht of the stud ure comptand sexskoir to ye hundreth trone 
wecht' These parties were to deliTer to the Queen's Mint at Edin- 
bui^h, forty-five ounces of pure silver for every 1000 stones of lead 
ore which they carried away. The lead which these persons dug, was 
conveyed on horses' backs to Biggar, and thence to Ldth, where it 
was shipped for Flanders. There the silver incorporated with the lead 
was extracted, by a process with which the Scota were at that time 
unacquainted. About thirty years afterwards, lliomas Fowlis, gold- 
smith, Edinburgh, obtained a lease of these lead mines, and assumed 
at partner a skilful and enterpriang English miner named Bewis 
Buhner. In the records of the Privy Council, it is stat«d that the 
broken men of the Border were in the habit of assailing the servants 
of this mining company while employed in transporting the ore on the 
backs of horses, and depriving them of ' their horses, armour, clothing, 
and hail carri^e.' 

After the use of carts became common, and the process of smelting 
the lead ore was carried on at Leadhills and Wanloekhead, the 
practice was to cart the lead in bars from these places, and deposit it 
at Biggar, where each mining company had an agent, and then 
convey it in the same way &om Big^^ to Leith, princdpally by 

2 c 



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S03 BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUING. 

cart«rB from Edinburgh and Leitb, who took what they called a ' rake 
o* leed,' when biuinen was alaok at home, or when they had occasion 
to be at Biggar or its ndgbbourhood with other loading. About the 
beginning of the present centtuy, the number of bars that were 
tumuallj deposited' at Biggar, on thm' way to Leith, ranged from 
lOiOOO to 18,000. Each bar weighed about 120 lbs. TE^dng the 
medium number of bars to be 14,000, and each cart to cany 15 bars, 
upwards of 900 cart^loadfi of lead would thus each year, on an average, 
be conveyed to and from the depflt at Bi(^;ar. 

The number of carts constantly coming and going in connection 
with this traffic, caused no small stir at Bi^ar, and brought a con- 
siderable amount of patronage to thehonsee of the stablers. The 
construddon of the Caledonian Railway deprived Biggar of the advan- 
tagea which it derived from this source, and removed the piles of lead 
bars which for a long period Farmed a marked feaftire in the High 
Sb«et'of the little town. 

Besides the transmission of lead, a considerable number of caiTiers 
from the south of Sootland passed every week through Biggar on 
their way to and from the metropolis. Biggar was one of their 
stages ; and on certain nights of the week, ranges of well-laden carts, 
widi a due portion of canine attendants, were to be seen on the 
street. Biggar, standing on the great highway from the south to 
Edinburgh, was visted by a constant succesdcn of travellers on fo6t 
or horseback, in gig or chariot. Bemg the oapital of a considerable 
district, extending from Tweedsmuir to Covington, and from Dolphinton 
to Crawford, its markets and marts of commerce were frequented by 
a considerable population, and thus its monotony was rdieved, and 
its wealth increase*! Biggar, neither in remote ages, with the exciting 
presence of its feudal barons, nor in more recent times, with its spirit, 
mdustry, and traffic, conid therefore, with any feimess, be called a 
dull and lifeless community, or was so 'entirelycnt off from the great 
wiffld, and thrown upon its own solitary reading and reflection,' as 
some persons have ventured to soppote. 



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CHAPTER XVII. 

3^^t ^tnefit Sotittits of ^igjiar. 

C^lPHE people of Biggar and its neighbourliood hftve not tepn 
(III . inattentive to the advantages of aasociadng themselves for 
^■~Xiy the purpose of social interwurae, and mutual relief in case 
of accident or sickness.. Efforts of this kind are nieritori(ius, 
as thej encourage prudent and, economical conduct, promote good 
fellowship, and proride a secuiity against destitution, when, by some 
stroke of calamity, the usual sources of income are dried up. Thirty 
years ago, Biggar could boast of possessing four benefit societies, with 
a conjoined membership of 733 pereons, Hese were the Masons', 
the Friendly, the Whipmen's, and the Weavers' Societies. 

The oldest Society in Biggar is the Masons. Like many Masons' 
Sooieties in Scotland, it has lost its oldest records, and therefore its 
early history is shrouded in an obscurity never likely to be, dispelled. 
When we first becxime acquainted with it, we find it in activq working 
order ; but we obtain no information regarding the way in which the 
members acquired their masonic knowledge, or the time at >vhich they 
first associated themselves together. It is perhaps not going too far 
to say, that a masons' lodge of one kind or another has esisted in 
Bi^ar from the commencement of the building of Biggar Kirk, in 
1545. The men who erected that edifice were evidently, from the 
marks left on their work. Freemasons ; and little doubt can exist that 
they ptactdsed their rites during the time that they carried it on. 
The Lodge then formed would be frequented by the operative masons 
in the district ; and these men would continue the organization long 
after the builders of the Kirk had taken their departure. This is so far 
confirmed by the fact, that the Freemasons uf Biggar continued, to a 
recent period, to practise mark-masonry, and to use marks similar to 
those found on the atones of Biggar Kirk. A record of the Lodge marks 
for a number of years is still preserved, and possesses no small interest 
to the student of the principles of .masonic science. The law of die 
Lodge in regard to marks, as expressed in a minute dated 27th Decem- 
ber 1797, was, 'that every brother, in all time coming, using any mark, 
for any purpose whatever in masonry, shall have the same registered 
by the Mark Masters, for which he shall pay the snm of one mark 
Scots, which shall go to the funds of tlie Lodge, aqd that any mark 
that is not so registered, cannot serve him for any purpose in masonry ; 



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MM BIGQAfi AND THE HOVSE OF FLEIIIMG. 

and further, that no brother can, on lay pretext whaterer, lue a mtA 
employed by another brother after it is registered.' 

The first entry in the records of the Lodge of Biggar Free OperatiTeB 
that has been preserved, is dated 12th January 1736, and states that 
William Ireland and George Young were then entered apprentices, 
and Alexander Crichton was passed fellow-craft. A reference is mode 
in one of the minutes to an Act, passed in 1 725, against absentees from 
the meeUngs of the Lodge ; and this is the earliest date that we con 
find regarding its operations. The Biggar Society of Freemasons 
was, strictly speoldng, what is called an OperatlTe Lodge ; that is, a 
lai^ portion of its members were operative masons. It apparently 
practised at first only two degrees of St John's masonry — the entered 
apprentice and fellow-craft. It is not till the year 1765, that special 
notice is taken of the rusing of entrants to the sublime degree of 
Master Mason. The Lodge, at first, was prended oyer by a deacon, 
who was assisted by a warden, a bos-master, a treasurer, a clerk, and 
several managers; but after the formation of the Grand Lodge of 
Scotland, in J736, the present order of officials, — viz., a master, two 
wardens, two deacons, two stewards, a treasurer, secretary, etc., — was 
adopted. On Sc John's day 1726, the principal office-bearers chosen 
were — Robert Scott, deacon ; Alexander Baillie, warden; and Andnw 
Aikman, box-master; and the most active members, at that time, 
were Thomas Cosh, John Tod, Daniel Aitken, James Vallange, John 
Gladstones, George Bertram, and William Baillie. 

At a meeting of the members of the Lodge, on the 27th May 1 727, 
it was resolved to petition the Lodge of linlithgow to be incorporated 
with that Lodge—' to be made,' as was stated, ' a part and pendicle of 
it, and to obtain the rights, powers, and privileges thereof.' Accord- 
ingly, the Lodge of Linlithgow, at a meeting held at Queensferry on 
the 11th of July following, was pleased to grant the prayer of the 
petition, and to present a charter on stamped paper to a deputation 
from the Biggar Lodge, that were in attendiuic«. lie expenses incurred 
in carrying through this transaction, amounted to L.58, 17s. Soot^ 
and the Biggar Lodge became bound to pay to the Linlithgow Lodge 
one pound Scots yearly. On the 27th of May 173i, the Biggar Lodge 
received a visit from ^e deacon and warden of the Linlithgow Lodge, 
and spent L.12 Scots in giving them a treat 

It was the practice of the Lodge at that time, as it still is, to have 
an annual procession on the anniversary of St John the Evangelist, 
viz., the 27th of December. On the 24th December 1736, the mem- 
bers resolved to have a new Sag for their annual display. Accordingly, 
they bought a piece of silk cloth from William Johnston, and ' yellow 
wattens from Janet Wilson to munt the said flag,' — the price of the 
whole being L.4, 2s. Scots. On St John's day following, they chose 
Alexander Crichton ensign, and Daniel Aitken adjutant, and marched 
through the town five men deep, all with blue bonnets, white aprons. 



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THE BEHEfTT SOCIETIES OP BIGOAR. 205 

white gloves, yellow cockades, and hand-rules. On these occasions, 
it was the custom of the brethren to ascend the Cross-kaowe, and 
while encircling the ancient Gross, to driuk the usual lojal toasts in 
whisky, brandy, or ale. This was done with great acclaim on the 
27th December 1745, during the time of the rebellion ; but whether 
the toasts on that occasion referred to Prince Charlie or Gkorge II., 
the record stuth not We are told, however, that the brethren got a 
present of a pint of whisky from John laidlaw, merchant, and that, in 
the exuberance of their generous feelings, they invited to dinner the 
following townsmen, viz.: — Andrew VaUange, John Gibson, Bailie 
Carmiohael, William Forrest, Robert Craig, John Laidlaw, George 
Bertram, and ' ye Drummer,' and de&ayed the whole expense out of 
the fimds of the box. It b certain that the Biggar Masons were 
intensely loyal to the House of Hanover during the early part of the 
reign of George ID. On the Kingi's birthday — the 4th of June — the 
brethren were wont to assemble, and, clothed in the paraphernalia of 
their order, to proceed to the Cross, and there drink his Majesty's 
health amid loud huzzas and volleys of musketry. 

The order of procession on St John's day was fixed, in 1796, as 
follows ; — 

Music, preceded by three Halbertmen. 

l^ler in uniform. 

Stewards with white rods. 

Brethren out of office, two and two. 

Treasurer and Secretary, with the badges of their offices. 

The Bible, with Square and Compass, borne on a crimson cushion, 

and supported by the two Deacons, with black rods. 

The Chaplain. 

The Wardens. 

The Past Mast«r. 

The K. W. Master, supported by the Depute and Substitute Masters. 

Itwasthepractice, for a number of years, to have a sermon preached 
on St John's day in the Parish Church. In 1794, the sermon was 
preached by the Rev. William Strachan of Coulter ; in 1 795, by the 
Rev. James Gardner of Tweedsmuir ; in 1796, by the Bev. Robert 
Anderson, preacher of the Gospel at Symington; in 1797, by the 
Rev. John Ritchie of Dunsyre ; in 1798, by the Rev. Bryce little of 
Covington ; and in 1799, by the Rev. Patrick Mollison of Walston. 

In 1736, Biggar Lodge sent a representative to Edinburgh, when 
William St Clmr of Roslin resigned his office as hereditary Grand 
Master, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland was constituted in its pre- 
sent form. The name of the representative is unfortunately obliterated 
in the old record, from exposure to damp, but it is supposed to have 
been Sir William Baillie of Lamington. A misunderstanding, it 
appears, arose between Sir William and the Lodge, which he was in- 



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KW BIOOAK AMD THE HOUSE OF PLEUINa. 

dispoaed to take any steps to clear up. When tbe Grand Lodge sent 
a coinnumicatioii to the Biggut Maaoas, in Uarch 1737, requeadng a 
delegation at the Quarterl; CommnnieatJQn on the. IStli of April, the 
brethren set Sir William nside, and eleoted, in his place, Brother 
Thomas Simaon. They fomisbed this brother with a copy of their 
charter from the Lodge of IJnlithgow, and the names of tiie entrants 
since the formatioD of ^le Grand Lodge ; and they instmcted him to 
ascertain if they were recognised as a regularly constituted Lodge, 
and, if this was the case, to pay the stipulAt«d fee of half-a-crown for 
the enrolment of eaoh of their entrants nnce November last It may 
be conjectured that there was either some hesitation on the part o[ 
the Grand Lodge to admit the Biggar brethren, or that these brethren 
themselves were slow in complying' with some of the Grrand Lodge 
regulations. At all events, the Lodge of Biggar was not placed on the 
roll, and the brethren very soon began to cool towards the governing 
body. In 1738, they therefor« came to tbe decision, that, as they had 
many widows and orplians to snj^rt, it would be better to keep 
their half-crowns at home than to send them to the Grand Lodge. 
The Lodge continued its connection with the Lodge of Linlithgow, 
although that Lodge had set the example of resigning its independent 
powers, and giving its adherence to the supreme ruling body estab- 
lished in EtUnborgh; and it was not till the year 1785 that tbe 
Biggar brethren resolved to obtain a charter from the Grand Lodge. 
This accordingly was granted them on the 6th of November 1786, 
and cost the sum of L.7, 19s. 2d. The Biggar Lodge was placed on 
the roll as number 222, which was afterwards changed to its present 
number, 167 ; but had it persevered in its original design of joining 
the Grand Lodge at its formation, it would have taken its place among 
the oldest lodges in the country. The charter, which it thus obtained, 
is preserved with great care ; it is always read at the annual meetings 
ns St John's day, and during processions is carried in an ornamental 
box by the t^Ier. 

The meetings of the Lodge were at first held in the irum and private 
houses of the town. Those most frequesitly mentioned are the houses 
of Thomas Cosh, dyer; John Cree, gardener ; John Gladstones, malt- 
man.; Andrew Brown, Silver-knowes ; and John Jardine and Thomas 
Wilson, vintners. A lodge was occasionsUy opened in the country 
for making masons. Among other plaoes in the neighbonrbood, may 
be mentioned Elsrickle, Bo^bank, and Cormiston ; and on one occa- 
sion a dispensation was granted to make masons for the Bi^ar Lodge 
in England. In 1793, the members purchased a bouse in the centre 
of the town from Matbew Cree and Andrew Nicol, and converted Mie 
of its apartments into a lodge-room ; but it was far from being suitable 
or commodious. The brethren at different times held deliberations 
regarding the propriety of erecting a proper halL In 1796, Lord 
Elphinstone, superior of the barony, proposed to erect a new Meal- 



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THE BENEFIT SOaETIES OP BIOGAB. M7 

hoTue and a Tolbootli ; and, therefore, the brethren put themBelveB in 
oommonication with hia Lordship to get liberty to put an additiimal 
storey on Ae top of this projected building, to be used fur die piir< 
pose of a halt; but his Lordship's design does not appear to have beim 
tarried into execution. In 1808, a committee, composed of three 
delegates from each of the Benefit Societies of Bi^ar, held seven! 
m^tings to decide oa the erection of a common halL To this com- 
mittee a report was given in, that a hall, S5 feet long and 28^ feet 
vide, could be erected for L.450. This project also faiJed, and the 
consequence was, that the Masons erected a new hall for themselves, 
in 1614, adjoining their owb tenement. It is plain but coimnodions, 
and on great festive days is ornamented by the Master's chur, made 
in 1794, and by a portrait of Robert Bums, painted for the Lodge by 
■ townsman and brother mason, the late John Pairman. Hiis portrait 
was presented to the Lodge in December 1821, along with the flaw- 
ing letter addressed to the Right Wor^piiil Master: — 

* R W. Uaster,— As an humble but sincere mark of respect to yon and 
the brethren of Biggar Free Operativee, St John's Lodge, I beg to present 
for your acceptance a portrait of the late Bobert Burai, the Ayiriiire poet. 
la fixing on him tor your hall, 1 do not wish' to bold faim up as a fanttlen 
character, but I may be allowed to say l^t, with all his bulta. Borne will 
merit a place in the affections of every brotber. Wbea living, he waa 
ardently devoted to maaoary ; and sinoe his death, his songs have, in an 
eminent degree, contributed to th> innocOit pkomres of masonry. With 
ben wisluB (0 yoa and the bretliTen whom you have the bononr to repreMnt, 
— ^Iam,et«., 

. . ' John Paibuan.' 

As a small return for Mr Purmon's kindness, the Lodge elected him 
an honorary member, and presented him with » diploma. 

AtAe meeting on St John's day 1796^ some Em^t-Templars who 
were present, insisted on taking precedence of the other brethren, 
who were only Bine Uaaoiu; This led to a keen discnsnoni l^e 
Lodge itself was not disposed to give any delrverance on the subject, 
bat Brother George Jn^s protested against the eondact And prelen- 
rions^ of tlie Templars, and appealed tft the Grand Lodge. That body, 
OD the 1st of May 1797. gave the foUowingdeeiaion:-^' A petition and 
oomplunt was read from sundry bretiiren of the Lodge Biggar Free 
Operatives,' reapeoting oertain brethren of the Order of Knight-Tem- 
plarl, innsting that, in consequence of their ponessing tbat'd^ree in 
nuuonty, they are entitled to precedency «bov<t Master Masons of said 
Lodge. The Grattd Lodge declare in An negative, hnd that -the 
present office-besrers of every regular Lodge shall, according to their 
respective offices, as expressed in their oharter, take precedency of 
every other member of said Lodge; ahd that no odier distinction shall 
be known in a Lodge of the brethren thereof, but that which rises 
from superior knowledge in masonry and exemplary behaviour.' 



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an-s BIGGAR AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

A number of the French prisoners stationed at Biggar on their 
parole of honour, towards the close of the war with France, were 
freemasons. In the befrinning of 1813, they applied to the members 
of the Biggar Lodge for the use of their hall, the master's chair, the 
warden's tools, etc., in order that they might constitute a lodge of 
their own. This appUcation was acceded to, and Brothere Elias Berger 
and Francis Itenaudy became security for any damage that might be 
done. The French masons were here wont to practise their rites, 
which were somewhat different from those of the Scottish brethren. 
One of their number, resident in the Westraw, having died, was in- 
terred with masonic honours, and a funeral lodge was held out of 
respect to his memory. The Biggar Lodge had the honour of enroll- 
ing in its ranks one of these prisoners, a distinguished Polish nobleman 
and a freemason named Francois Mayskie, and received from him a 
fee of one guinea. 

The Lodge of Biggar has taken part in various public ceremonials 
of the craft. It was well represented at laying the foundation-stones 
of the Lodge Hall of Lockhart St John, Camwath ; the National 
Monument at Edinburgh ; the Bridge over the Mouse at Cartlane ; 
the County Buildings, Lanark ; the Freemasons' Hall, Edinburgh, etc ; 
and it turned out in great force at the demonstration at laying the 
foundation-stone of the Com Exchange, Biggar. 

Members are admitted into the Lodge between the ages of sixteen 
and thirty -two years. On being entered apprentices they pay L.1, 
fis. 6d., and lOs. 6d. additional on being raised to the sublime degree 
of Master Mason. The quarterly payment is Is. 3d. Members, when 
sick, are entitled to 6s. weekly for the space of seventeen weeks; and 
if they continue longer in a bad state of health, they receive 4s. 
weekly till the expiration of a year. After this period, they are 
allowed such a sum as the managers think proper. On the death of 
a member, the Lodge pays L.2 in name of funeral expenses. The 
annual income of the Society has been somewhat fluctuating. In 
1837, it was as low as L.93, Is. 4d., while in 1849 it was as high as 
L.172, 5s. 6d;andin I860, it was L132, 3s. 2d. The expenditure has 
varied in the same way. In 1836, it was L.70, 12s. 6d. ; and in 1855, 
it was L.159. The Society is at present in a flourishing condition, 
and the number of members on the roll is 245. The amount of good 
which this Society has done is, no doubt, very great. It has not only 
aided hundreds of poor men when in distress, and after their death 
caused their funeral obsequies to be observed with decent solemnities, 
but it has relieved the wants of many a poor wanderer. The entries 
in the books are numerous of small sums disbursed to travelling 
brethren, to assist them on their journey. 

A benefit society, estabhshed in 1787, was called the 'Friendly 
Society.' In 1835, it had one hundred and fourteen members, with a 
capital of L.250. It continued after this period gradually to decline. 



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THE BEHEPTT SOCtETIES OF BIOOAR. 209 

Few new members joined it, and the demand on ita funda increased 
from Tear to jear. It was therefore dissolved. 

Another benefit society was eatablished at Biggar in 1806, and is 
called the ' Biggar Whipmen's Society.* During the first year of its 
existence, it enrolled 190 members. At its first annual procession, 
which took place on the 17th of July 1607, no fewer than 164 mem- 
bers appeared on horses, gaily caparisoned with ribbons, fiowers, etc 
The privilegB of carrying the colours or flag was rouped, and brought 
the sum of four guineas. The members then proceeded to Coulter- 
mains, the seat of John Brown, Esq., and afterwards to Hartree 
House, the residence of Colonel Alexander Dickson. The annual 
processions at first were fixed to take place on the day after Biggar 
Midsummer Fair, but they have been changed to the day aAer Skir- 
ling Fair, iu June ; and on this day the Biggar gymnastic sports are 
also held. The Whipmen's Society allows its sick members 58. per 
week for twelve weeks, 3s. a-week for twen^-fgur weeks, and then 
one guinea quarterly so long as sickness continues. 

The fourth benefit sodety was instituted on the 3d of December 
1806, and was called &e Weavers' Sodety. Its annual meeting and 
procession took place on the first Friday of July. On this oocasioD 
the members paraded the town dothed with white ^rons, sashes, and 
other insignia. The Weavers' parade was a gala day at Biggar. The 
music for many years consisted of a drum and a fife, supplemented 
with one or two fiddles. The allowance to sick members was some- 
what similar to that of tiie Masons' Sodety, and the faneral money 
was the same. The Weavers' Sodety, from being founded on errone- 
otis calculations, &om having too many very poor and infirm members, 
or receiving no adequate accessions of young men to its roll, began to 
give symptoms of decay. It lingered on for some years ; and though 
it was a kw that any member who should propose that the Society 
should be dissolved, or its funds divided, should instantly and for ever 
be expelled, yet this idea was not only propounded, but entertained, 
and this once flourishing institution was brought to a close in 1841. 
The colours or flag of the Sodety, which waved in tiie breeze on every 
annoal procession, are preserved by Mr George Johnston, merchant, 
Biggar. They are adorned with the Weavers' arms, and the motto— 

'Imperial thrones 
Our art adoma, 
Bnt to the poor 
Hero is our alms.' 



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CHAPTER XVIII. 
C^ Hiti^ id % $t{pi gisliui 

^i^ BELIEF in vritchcraft and sorcery, it is well known, preTaJIed 
qUt at one period throughout the whole of Europe. The minds 
Q^^ of all men were, for a season, given up to gross delusion on 
this subject ; a delusion, unfortunately, that did not remain 
visioaary and passiTe, but manifested itself in acts of the most unre- 
lenting cruelty. It is impossible at this day to read the details of the 
tortures and deaths that were inflicted on old helpless men and 
women, accused of these imagioary crimes, without experiencing a 
tiuiU of intense horror, and brealLing a prayer of grateful acknow- 
ledgment that we live in times more rational and enlightened. The 
Romish Church, when it held undisputed sway over the oatjons, 
waged, with its papal bulls and inquisitorial prooeedings, a terrible 
and unremitting warfare with the supposed possessors of these black 
arts. Tbe Befarmaiion, which had a great effect io eradicating errors, 
eutigbteoijig the mind, and basisbing intellectual torpor, instead of 
HiBpgJling the belief in witchcraft, rendered it more inveterate and in- 
tense, and tanned the rage against it to a state of fiercer acdvity than 
erer, He Scriptures were more diligentJy eean^ed, and in many 
re^kecta better understood; but all classes of men were still imable 
fully to discriminate between what was peculiar and temporary in a 
dispensatioD that ha4l passed away, and what remained obligUory in 
the reli^ouB system tliat had taken its place. The Old Testament 
declared that witches, wizards, eutdianters, familiar sjorita, etc^ not 
mu^y existed, but that the law of God was, that they should not be 
mffered to live. Those rulers amcng tlie uicient Jews who had sig- 
nalized themselves in attempting to effect the utter ejOenniuation of 
these unfortunate beiogs, had received very special oommendatitHi, 
and therefore, it was argued, that men in authority, in all ages, should 
act a similar part. Fortified with such notions, the whole mass of the 
people became blind to the utter improbability that the Almighty, 
either directly or indirectly, would permit old, ignorant, crazed indi- 
viduals to possess powers so extraordinary as to be able to raise 
storms, blast the produce of the field, inflict diseases and disasters on 
man and beast, metamorphose themselves into various animals, fly 
through the air from place to place, hold peiw^nal intercourse witii 
the enemy of mankind, pry into the dark future, and foretell the 
designs of Providence and the fate of human beings. 



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THE WITCHES OF THX BIGQAB DITTitlCT. Sll 

The Scottish Parliameat, in the reign of Qaeen Ktary, enacted lh«t 
'witchcraft, sorcerie, neczonutacie^ the Tsurers theniof, and all persons 
sukand any helpe, response Mr omsaltatioiw fra aaj sic Tsnrers, or 
■busen, are psnished to the death with all regour.' The consequence 
of this ms, that vast munbers of aged penons, especially women, were 
teiied and arraigned for crimes, which we now know were porely 
itnaginaiy; and, in order to extort a confeasioii of guilt, were subjected 
to the most excruciating tortures. The boots and the thombkins* were 
often called into requiutioa in such cases ; men called prickers wore 
onployed to thrust large pins into the fiesh of the accused ; a terrible 
instrument, called the branks, or witches' bridle,' was placed on their 
heads, which fastened them to the wall of tbeir cells, and prevented 
them from speaking ; relays of men were appointed to goud them in 
prison and keep them from falling asleep; and a special and stand- 
ing commission of the Privy Council wm eiiq>owered to try the 
wretches accused o[ the aupp<Med crime. Many <^ the perBODS seiaed, 
made mad by oppres&on, emitted before this tribunal tlte most eztr*- 
▼agant, absurd, and incredible oonfesraous; and, in most catee, were 
sent without delay to the gibbet or the stake. The effect o[ these 
severities was, that the numbers of the accused, instead of bong 
diminished, were increased ta an imm«tse extent. Witches, war- 
lo<^ and diarmen abounded in erery parish, prisons mSiaently 
large could not be got to contain them, and terror smd fren^ reigned 
in every quarter. The moat active iostroments in the discoreij, pro- 
secution, and destruction of witches, were the Reformed clergy. 
These men pursued this object with an unrelenting detennination, 
that while it bedrs ample testimony to their energy and seal, at the 
same time reflects no great czedit on them as men and Chnstianit 
lliey seem to have divested themselves ot all feelings of humanity, 
and to have gloried in evincing an amonnt of error, dehuioa, and 
biubarity utterly alien to the enlightened and benevolent jxindfJes 
which they had undertaken to enunciate to their feIlow-«inners. 

Warlocks and witches, during the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies, of course^ abounded in the Uj^»er Ward of Clydesdale, as well 
as in the other districts of Scotland. Every parish had its quota, bot 
it appean, &c»n the records of the Presbytery of Lanark, that tbay 
were e^edally numerous in the parishes of Douglas, Crawford, and 
Crftwfordjohn. The Pi«sbytery of Lanai^ for a ntnnber of yesre, 
had their hands so ftill o( bumnesa connected with these perscMis, that 
It engrossed a large portion of their ttme. 

In former times, great attention was pud to certnn wells. They 
were held to povess a sovereign efficacy in curing diseases, and were 
dedicated to some saint oi angel, who was suj^toeed to prende over 
them, and to confer upon ibaa their curative virtoee. Bands of 
people walked in procession to them on the festivals of the ho^ beings 
* Good spaoinieni ot Ihaae iiutramsats tm to be nan in Hr Sim's miatinn. 



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lit BIGOAB AND THE HOCBE 07 FLEHING. 

to whom they were defeated; and on these occaaioiis thej were 
decorated with flowers and boughs of trees, and libations of their 
water were poured out with great ceremony and solemnity. Pilgrims 
from distant parts of the kingdom were often to be seen seated by 
their rade, imbibing their water, or washing the sores with which 
their [leraons were afflicted. The leaders of the Reformation resolved 
to suppress these superslitioas practices; and, accordingly, a statute 
was enacted, in 1579, prohibiting all pilgrimagee to wells. This law, 
however, had not the desired effect. It was to little purpose that the 
civil aathorities threatened and prosecnted, or that the Reformed 
clergy thundered against the practice, and inflicted their spiiitoal 
censures. The people could not be deterred frcmi the observance of 
their dd custom, or led to believe that the wells, once so sacred and 
efflcadons, had lost their virtues. The Privy Conndl, in 1629, issued 
an edict, in which they lamented that pilgrimages to chapels and wells 
were still common in ^e kingdom, to the great ofience of God, the 
scandal of the Eirk, and disgrace to his Majesty's Government, and 
enacted that Commissioners should cause diligent search to be made 
'at all soche pairts and places where this idolatrous superstition is used, 
and to take and apprehend all snche persons, of whatsoever rank or 
qoalitie, whom they sail deprehend, going in pilgrimage to chappellis 
and wellia, or whome they sail know themselfles to be guiltie of that 
oryme, and commit thame to waiid,' until measures should be adopted 
for their trial and punishment. Notwithstanding the severity of this 
enactment, it is evident from the records of the Presbytery of Lanark, 
and from other sources of information, that the practice was still, more 
or less, continued, for instance, in September 1641, Mali IJthgow 
was reported to the Presbytery of Lanark, by John Hume, to be 
guilty of charming in the parish of SkirliDg; and William Somervail, 
minister of Dimsyre, was q>poiDted to make dihgent search for her, 
and send her to the Sesnon of Skirling to be tried. On the !>th 
November following, Mali was brought before the Presbytery, and 
confessed that she went to the Well of Skirling,* and was ordered to 
appear before the Kirk Session of Skirling, and answer for her incan- 
tations. And the Session records of that parish, if they have been 
preserved, no doubt contain a detail of her trial and sentence. The 
principal wells in Biggar and its neighbourhood were, and still are. 
Bow's, Malcolm's, Duncan's, Jenny's, Gum's, and the Greystane. Some 
of these were, no doubt, locally famous, in former days, for their 
healing virtues. The practice was common, till a recent period, of 
young persons going to them early in New Tear's day morning, and, 
after thrusting into them a bunch of straw, drawing forth what was 
considered of sovereign excellence, the flower of the weU. 

It can hardly be questioned that Biggar, during the rixteenth and 
■ Tha Wall of SUrilng ms bdd In omuidgnUa rspnta in udnit tlDMi, and ww 
dadioXed to tbe Tlrglii Hvj. 



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THE WITCHES OF THE BIGQAR DISTEICT 213 

seventeenth oentnriea, would have its quota of witohea and sorcerets, 
as well as the adjacent parishes. It is not yet GAj years since per- 
sons were pointed out in th« town, who were supposed to possess 
supernatural powers, and whom their neighbours did not like to dis- 
please. Tradition has preserved the names of several women in the 
town and parish of Bi(^ar, who were reputed witches at an earlier 
period, and who underwent the operation of 'scoring abune the 
breath,' that is, having several incinons made with a knife, or other 
sharp instrument, across the forehead. This operation, like that of 
cutting off the looks of Samson, was understood to deprive them of 
their supernatural powers. One of the most noted of these witches 
was Besne Carmichael, who hved in the neighbourhood of Biggar, 
and was regarded with awe on account of her 'grewsum* looks, her 
intcorcoorse with the weird folk, and her extraordinary powers in 
curing diseases, etc One day a man in her neighbourhood was going 
to the mill of Biggar, with one or two loads of grain on a, horse's 
back — tlien the usual mode of conveyance — and Bessie requested him 
to take, eitiier her 'po(^' which hung in the mill, to receive the gra- 
tuitous offerings of the formers when they had a 'melder' at the mill, 
or a quantity of grain with him, which she had gleaned or received as 
a gift from some of the fanners. Hie man refused to do this; and 
Bessie told him, in the hearing of some persons, that he would soon 
rue it. In course of disloading ihe horse, at the mill, the animal 
became restive, and gave the man so violent a kick, that he was laid 
lifeless on the spot. The whole country round soon rang with this 
terrible instance of the witch's revenge, and the universal demre was, 
that she should be bomt. By the time this incident happened, the 
days of judicial burning for witchcraft had passed away; but it is 
said that some persons, in disguise, broke into her cot, and maltreated 
her in such a way, that they hoped she would no longer 'keep the 
country-rade in fear.' 

In 1640, a case of alleged witchcraft engi^ed a great portion of the 
attention of the Presbytery of Lanark. As it shows the untiring 
energy of the Preabytenan clergy in the prosecution of such cases, we 
will give an outline of the proceedings. The person accused of this 
crime was an aged woman called Marion, or, as she was commonly 
termed, Mali M'Watt, who lived at Nisbet, in the parish of Coulter. 
Previous to her coming under the cognizance of the Presbytery of 
Lanark, she had been arrugned by the Presbytery of Peebles, and had 
undergone a lengthened examination in the Kirk of Glenholm, in 
presence of David Murray of Stenhope, tlie Laird of Hadden, and 
other members of that reverend court. These parties appear not to 
have followed up the examination with any further prosecution of the 
case, as the accused most likely removed herself out of the bounds of 
the Presbytery, and took refuge among the Coulter Hills, in the 
county of I^anark. Here, however, she was found out by John 



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n.* BIGOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF 

Gnriie, minister of Coulter, ttad staamoani to appear bdbre the 
Presbyteiy of Lanark on the 14tli of Ma; 1640. She appeared, but a» 
a cop; of her confeisioD in the Kirk of Glenholm was not forthcoming, 
she Tss dismisaed till next nteeting, after ^ving John M'Watt, 
in Cagill, and William M'Watt, in Baitlaw% u cautionerg for her 
attendance, nnder the pain of L.100 Scots. She, aocordingl;, pre- 
sented horself before the Presb7t«r; on the twenty-eighth day of the 
same month, and showed a di^xwition to deny what it was under- 
stood she had confessed at Glenhohn; but the admitted that she had 
charmed a stream of water with an axe, by crossing it in the name of 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and then giving three knocks on the 
threshold of the door ; that haTing been itaxt for to John Black's cow, 
she had caused it to take the calf, and then prayed to G>od that it 
might give milk, which it did; and, lastfy, having been sent for to see 
Alexander Barn's mare, she had also prayed to God for its recovery. 
We are now apt to think, if no further charge conld be bronght 
ag&inst her than is contained in her confeaaion, that it wonld have 
been amply snScieat, in so frivolons a ease, to have dunusaed hu- 
wit^ an admonititat to abstain &om any absord symbolism in future, 
when she attempted to purify the water, or core the bestial in her 
neighbonrhood ; bat the Presbytery thought otherwise, and tbercf<a« 
set themselves with the most restless activity to take the life of this 
poor woman. In the times to which we refer, it was a practice ob- 
served by the Preebyteries of the Scottish Ki^ to hold diets of visi- 
tation in each parish within th^ bounds. The IdiMrk Presl^tery, 
therefore, at tiieir meeting on the lltb June, instructed the viaitora 
of the Kirk o[ Coulter to be careful and diligent to find out every- 
thing they possibly could agunst Hali M'Watt, and report the result 
of their investigations at next meeting. On the 16th ot July, the 
Kev. Jidm Carrie of Coulter, and the Bev. George Bennet of Quoth- 
quan, gave in a 'process,' which they had drawn up, and which, alter 
deliberation, it was agreed should be delivered to the Cwnmisaary of 
Lanark for his revinon. At this diet of the E^e«t^tery, James Bry- 
den, a son of the accused, was present, and became bound, under a 
penalty of L.100 ScotE, that his nother, till Whit«unday next, would 
at any time appear before the Presbytery when summoned. The Com- 
miasazy of Lanark, it appears, had requested to be fomished with a 
copy of the proceedings instituted against Mali by the Presbytery of 
PeeUe^ and therefore John Currie was instincted to proceed to 
Peebles to procure one; but he ei^er did not go, or was unsuccesafol, 
for, on the 21st of January 1641, a committee, conmsting of the Bev. 
Richard Inglis of Wiston, the £ev. James Douglas of Douglas, and 
the Bev. George Bouet of Qoothqnan, was appointed to hold a meet- 
ing at Coulter with some members of the Presbytery of Peebles, bat 
the result is not stated. 

In the meantime, it was resolved to apply to the Committee ot 



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TEA WlTCaSS 07 TH£ BIQOAR DISTBICT. Jlfi 



EaUtaa iw a flommiiaon to ti; Ifali far tlie crime of yritahataA. 
Tbe Gominissuy <tf I^iuik, bowerer, told the Presbyteij that, in liia 
opinion, Mali liad been guiltfi bX the most, of chmnmng, ttai that mdi 
aa offence did not infer tiie penalty of deatli. l^e Presbyteiy were 
evideoUy chagrined and uinojed by tfaia decimon; bat it did not 
deter them from the fffoseoutian of tlieir bloodthirsty design. They 
inatmcted the moderator, and the committee preriouily named, to 
revise the whole proceaa against Mali, and, if possible, to get it signed ' 
by the members of the Presbytery of Peebles ; and ordained the Bev. 
James Baillie of I«mingtcin tu summon Idali and her csiudoner, James 
Brydren, to appear before lihem on the 1st of July. In these unhqipy 
times, it t^tea happened that old women accnsed of witdicraft were 
desated by llieir reladres, and left to the tender meraes ctf their 
persecutois, without a friend to ooosole and defend them. This hap- 
pefted on tlie {tfeaeot oocasion. 1^ old woman trudged away from 
Nisbet to Lanark, and presented herself, on llie day appointed, before 
the Presbytery; but as tw> person, not even her aon, was present, who 
would vouch for her fuBire appearance, she was committed to die 
prison of Lanark. Her own minister, Joba Cmrie, wM one of her 
most inveterate persecutors; bat on tliis occasion he insisted that 
she ^ould either be declared guilty of wib^craft, or lliat iLe charge 
against her should be idMndoned. The Presbytery were not yet 
pp^wred to dedde either tbe one way or tlie other; they still deside- 
rated fuilJier proofs of her guilt ; and therefore they appointed John 
Gurrie and George Benoet to attend the Presbytery of Peebles, ' to 
labour,' as tbey coUed it, for additional information, and to request 
that a committee of the Presbytery of Peebles should meet at Biggar 
on the 2l8t of the mme month <^ July, to hold a cooferenoe with the 
following committee of dieir own body, viz., — the fier. Alexander 
Somervail of Di^hintaii, tlie Ber. George Bennet of Quothqnan, tbe 
Bev. John Currie of Coulter, the &er. Andrew Gudlatt of Symington, 
and the Ber. John Veitch of Boberton; and to smmnon all parties 
interested to attend the said meedng. This meeting accordin^y to^ 
place, and the result of its deliberations, as embodied in a report, was, 
that many of the charges against Mali M'Watt were found piT>veD, and 
that diere were just grounds for afraigniug her befcoe the aril tribunals 
of the conniry. The Presbytery ibereupcm ODce more took ooiirage, 
and acting, as they mid, on the Scripture warrant, * Thou shaU not 
su&r a witch to live,' they ordained John Cunie to repair to Edin- 
bur^ to wdt upon the Eacl of Angus, Sir William Baillie of laming- 
km. Sir William Carmichael, and Sir John Dalziel, to induce them tw 
lend their sssislance to procure a commissioti to apprehend Mali, who 
had been set at liberty, and subject ber to such punishment as tbe 
laws of Ciod and the counlzy authorized. John Currie, aa instructed, 
went to Sdinburgb ; but he was met with the objection, that his ap- 
plication for a cMnmisaion was informal, ao long aa Mali continued at 



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ns BIOQAR AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEinNa 

luge, and practised her charmH and cures. The Fresbj-tery, when 
they heard this, with one conseat, requested the elder for IrBioiDgton, 
Sir William Baillie, or, in his abeence, fais bailie, Alexander Uenzieg 
of Culteislleis, to apprehend poor Mali witli all expedition, and to 
keep her in confinement at Coulter, or to send her to the coonty jail, 
to be under the vigilant eye of the bailies of Lanark. 

The Privy Council had begun, by this time, to be wearied with the 
endless prosecutions raised by the clergy against old women ; and, in 
the case of Mali M*Watt, they could not, at any rate, see that the 
chai^ oT witchcraft could be enstained. The clergy were determined, 
however, not to be baffled ; and on the 24th of March 1642, the day 
on which Mali was lodged in I«nark Jail, they met and resolved to 
appoint a committee to revise her process, and to moke ft fresh efibrt 
to obtaui a commissioii for her triaL The committee, consisting of 
the Kev. William Somervail of Dungyre, the Rev. Alexander Somerrail 
of Dolphinton, the Rev. Gieorge Rennet, and the Rev. John Carrie, m^ 
at Dolphinton, and, after revising the process, drew up a petition to 
the Lords of the Privy Council, which was signed by the clerk in 
name of the Presbytery, and conveyed to Edinburgh by the indefa- 
tigable John Currie. When John arrived in Edinburgh, he found 
that the Privy CouncU would hold no meeting sooner than the Ist of 
June ; and thus he and the Presbytery were once more baulked in 
their design. The Presbytery, nevertheless, ordered John to repair 
to Edinburgh so soon as the Council met, and agreed to allow him 
two dollars to pay his expenses ; but when the day arrived, John had 
become unweU, and could not leave his manse. The Presbytery, still 
unwearied in their efforts, resolved to take the advice of the Synod on 
their procedure in Mali's case, and also to consult the Commission of 
the General Assembly and the legal agent of the Church ; but what 
advice they got, or what further steps they took, their records, so far 
as we have seen them, give no information. The likelihood is, that 
I&li M'Wfttt, after undergoing a moat harassing and protracted peiae- 
cntion from the Presbyteries of Peebles and I^nark, lived and died 
in her own qinet home in the Yale of Coulter. 

For several years after the formation of the Presbytery of Biggor, 
the members of that reverend court appear to have taken no port in 
the prosecution of witches. Their persecuting zeal, however, broke 
out, all of a sudden, in 1649. At a meeting on the 28th of November 
of that year, it was reported that one Janet Bowis, a confessing witch, 
was imprisoned at Peebles; and therefore Robert Brown of Broughton, 
and John Crawford of I^mington, were instructed to wait on the 
Commissioners appointed to try cases of witchcraft, to ascertain if^ in 
her depositions, ^e had accused any one connected with their congre- 
gations of being guilty of that crime, and to request liberty to bring 
Janet to Biggar, to be det^ued in confinement ^ere, and to be con- 
fronted with such old women as she might declare to be witches. 



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THE WITCHES Of THE BIOGAB DISTRICT. 217 

These two reverend gentlemen, accordingly, repaired to Peebles, and 
obtuning an interview with Janet, the confessing witch, they received 
irom her the names of & number of persons in the parishes of Brougb- 
ton, Lamington, and Walston, whom, she alleged, had been guilty of 
the crime of witchcraft The authorities at Peebles, howcTer, refused 
to allow Janet to be taken out of th^ hands, and transferred to the 
Tolbooth of Biggar. The two delegates, therefore, reptured to the 
moderator of the Presbytery, and laid before him the result of their 
proceedings; and that dignitary lost no time in sending a communica- 
tion on the subject to Sir John Christie. Through the influence of 
this gentleman, a commission was granted by the Committee of Estates 
to at at Biggar on the 19th of December, with power to try all 
witches within the bounds of the Presbytery ; and an order was at 
the same time issued for transporting Janet Bowis, the confessing 
witch, to Bi^ar. The Commission met at Bi^ar on the day appointed. 
The whole members of Presbytery attended. It is a matter of regret 
that no report of what took place at that meeting can now be obtained. 
We only know that the divines of the Presbytery were greatly dis- 
appointed and dissatisfied with the result ; and particularly with the 
conduct of the confessing witch, of whom they expected to make so 
much. She appears to have broken completely down under the 
searching examination to which she was subjected. The divines 
resolved not to give her up. They appointed a meeting to take place 
on the 29th, and summoned her before them. Ilie minute referring 
to what then took place is curious, and therefore we give it entire : — 
'The brethrine in yr attendance npone ye Commisraoneres appoynted 
for tryall of suspected witches, within ye bomidis of ye Presbyterie, 
haveing perceived that Jennett Bowis, ye confesseing witche (brocht to 
Bi^ar for yat end), that schoe micht be confronted with suche persones 
as schoe hod delated and affirmed to be guyltie with her of ye said 
ciyme of witchcraft, had clearlie contradicted herself in these declaia- 
tiones in verie many points, and that the most part of her dispositiioneB 
wer full of variationes, bothe in regard of persones, names, tymes, 
places, matter, and everie other circumstance ; all whiche haveing 
maid them suspicious of her, that schoe hod lyed upone soine innocent 
persones, and concealed ye guyltiness of others, tending to the pre- 
judice of ye work of tryall, and discoverie of that fearfull sinne, and 
to ye advantage of Satan, did therefore oggrie togeder to sett aparte 
this day for hnmiliatione and prayer. And b^g (at least ye most 
parte of yr number) convenit this day in ye Kirk at Biggar, and ye 
said Jennett Bowis bung brocht before theme, efW manie exhorta- 
tiones from ye word of the Lord, and pouring Airth of prayers and 
supplicationes to God (by turns), entreating his Majeatie to open her 
monthe to confess her guyltiness in this point, and with manie wurds 
exhorteing her to yat effecte. At last ye said Jennett btu^ fnrthe 
in clamours and tearea, and said tliat schoe had condemned her awin 



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S18 BIQGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHG. 

nllie sanle in sireamng fakdie, and, in signe jrof, scboe preMStlie 
cleared about fortie ei^t persones, whoes gayltinese before schoe had 
affirmed. Wliairupone the breethrine of ye Presbyterie thoclit fitting 
to referre, as be thet presents they doe referre, ye matter to ye oonsi- 
deratione of ye Commissioners for tryall, ihat they may bothe advyse 
what to doe, and also (if need be), to represent the samyn Uy ye 
Committee of Estoitts for direclione, what sail be done anent ye wd 
Jennet Bowis.' No further statements regarding her appear in tlie 
records of Presbytery, and therefore her ultimate iate cannot now be 
ascertained. 

At that period, so many persons were apprehended for the crime of 
witohoraft, that the ordinary priaons could not contain them. An 
order was therefore issued, that each parish, in its turn, should furnish a 
quota of men to guard them and prevent their escape. The members 
of the Biggar Presbytery, in their great zeal against witohcraft, resolved 
that they would, along with their parishioners, take their turn in 
watching. On the 7th of May 1650, they oven went the length of 
resolving to call in the serrices of a person called Cathie, ' a searcher 
for ye Devill's mark on witches,' who dwelt at Tranent, and who had 
recenUy been pursuing his vocation within the bounds of the Presby- 
tery of Peebles. They therefore requested the Presbytery of Had- 
dington, in conjunction with a magistrate, to bind him down'to answer 
before tlie Judge Ordinary when he should be called. 

At this period, the members of the Presbytery of Ltmark were 
equally active in the proseoutioD of witches. In 16fiO, they caused a 
very oonraderable number of old women to be apprehmided in the 
parishes to the west of Biggar, and lodged in the Tolbootb of Lanark. 
We may briefly refer to one or two of these cases :^-On the 10th of 
Janoary of that year, Marion Hunter, one of the suspected persons 
incarcerated for witchcraft, compeared before the Presbytery, and 
declared, — 1st, That the devil appeared like a little whelp between 
Haircleuch and Littteclyd, and evanished in a bush ; 2d, Like a brown 
whelp at Haircleuch, and, a good while afterwards, like a man, between 
Huicleuch and GU^^en, and nipped ber in her shoulder, and requested 
her to be his servant ; 8d, That she was in Gallowberriehill, and rode 
npon a ' bunwede,' and that of those who are at prewnt in prison, 
the following were with her on this occasion, vix. — ^Idllias Moffiit, 
Marion Watson, Helen Aitchison, Marion Mo&t, and Mali Ijudlaw;— 
the last, she sud, was of special service to ber, for she ' drew her 
when she was hindmost, and could not winne up.' 

In a month or two afterwards, Janet Bimie, from Crawford, was 
tried by a committee of the Presbytery, and the following points were 
found proved: — First, That she followed William - Brown, slater, to 
Robert Williamson's house in Watermeetinga, and there craved him 
for something that he was due her^ A quarrel thereupon ensued 
between them; and in twenty-four hours thereafter he fell from a 



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THE WITCHES OP THE BIOGAR DISTBICT. 119 

house and broke his neck. Second, ' Ane outcast' having taken place 
between her family and the family of Besne Aitchison, the «aid Janet 
prayed that the Aitchisona might Boon have bloody beds and a li^t 
house ; and afler that, Bessie Aitchison's daughter took sickneas, and 
cried, ' There is a fire in the bed,' and died ; and Bessie Aitchison's 
■gndeman dwyned.' And, Third, She was blamed for cannng discord 
between Newton and his wife, and procuring the death of William 
Geddes. The Presbytery, notwithstanding these grievous chaises, 
agreed to set her at liberty, provided the baiUea of Xjuoark would 
enter into recognisances, to the amount of 1000 merks, that she would 
appear before them when called on. 

On the 2l8t Sbroh of the same year, 1650, the Presbytery received 
papers from Richard Inglis^ which contMned the confesdon of ' ane 
wtuiock cidled Archibald Watt, alias Sole the Paitlet, freelie given by 
>iim in the Tolbooth of Doi^las.' The brethren read over the papers, 
and considered that it was clearly set forth that this warlock had made 
a paction with the devil, that he bod held irequent meetings with his 
Satanic majesty and several witches in different places, and that he 
had been guilty of many horrid abominationB. Tley were unani- 
mously of opinion that it was thar duty to obtun a commisnon of 
the Lords of Council to try him ; and therefore they appointed Mr 
Robert Lockhart to proceed to Edinburgh for this purpose, with all 
convenient speed, iii Inglis requested that, as the warlock had once 
before escaped out of the prison of Douglas, he should be brought to 
the Tolbooth of Lanark ; and further, that a committee of the Presby- 
tery should be appointed to confer with Tiim on his arrivaL All this 
was s^ireed to ; bat the records of the Presbytery fail to show what 
was the fate of this tmfortnnate and infatuated individooL 



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CHAPTER SIX. 
Sffe VajpcciU of % J^i^a Sulrid 

(^j^HE Biggar district was, from a remote period, 
/III . swarms of tinkers, gipnes, chapmen, beggars, etc Eiome of 
'-sP' these wanderers were well known, and kindly treated. They 
went regular roondg, obtained quarters at cerlMn farm- 
houses, and claimed and received an ' awmoos,' or small benefaction, 
in the shape of a coin, a bannock, or a handful of meal, at the doors 
of the charitable, and bestowed a benediction in return. The sturdy 
beggars, somers, and bluegowns of a bygone age, carried in their 
capacious wallets what was called an awmous dish, which was round 
in shape and composed of wood, and, in fact, bore a close resemblance 
to a large quaich or drinking cup. On calling at a bouse, the gaber- 
lumde held out this dish to receive the alms of the gudewife, which, 
in that case, generally consisted of a handful or two of barley or oal- 
meoL By this method he was able to ascertain the exact amount of 
the dole bestowed, and to measure out in return a corresponding 
amount of benison to the g^ver. The meal was then deponted in the 
appropiate meal-pock, and the awmous dish had its place of honour in 
one of the pocks in frout. We can thus see the appropriateness of 
the comparison used by Bums, when he says, that one of the heroines 
of his ' Jolly Beggars ' 

' held up her greedy gab, 
Just like an aumoa dish.' 

The accompanying engraving represents an awmous dish, carried, we 
believe, by one of the sturdy beggars 
that at one dme frequented the Upper 
Ward of Clydesdale. These vagrants 
in the long winter nights, when seated 
at the back of the ample hearth, enter- 
tained the family circle with the news 
of the district, or with stories of their 

experience and adventures in their early years. The pedlars, male and 
female, carried a tempting collection of wares from house to house, and 
conveniently supplied persons far remote frop shops with articles 
of ornament or utility. The tinkers mended pots and kettles, sold 
trenchers, horn spoons, heather besoms, rush mats, pottery ware 



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THE VAORAHTS OF THE BIOGAR DISTBICT. 3SI 

etc. Hie men were expert hunters and fishers, and some of them 
excelled as muncians, while the females practised the art of fortune- 
telling. Their encampments, by the side of plantations, or in secluded 
corners of llie country, with th^ blazing fires, and their array of 
asses, horses, and dogs, had a romantic effect, and impressed the mind 
with a primitive state of existence, ' ere the base laws of servitude 
began.' They paid scrupulous respect to the proper^ of those who 
treated them kindly and afforded them shelter; but plimdered, with- 
out mercy, all those who drove them from their doors, or refused 
them the comer of a field on which to pitch their encampment. 
Bemdes these wanderers, there were a number of idiots, who roamed 
the country at large, afforded amusement by their antics, wittidsms, 
or mimicry, or were regarded with terror for their sudden resentment 
and their savage malignity. 

The laws against the sturdy vagabonds that prowled idly about the 
country were numerous and very stringent. They were consolidated 
into one comprehensive statute, in 1579, during the reign of Queen 
Mary, and provided that vagrants, on being appreh^ided, 'sail be 
put into the King's waird or irons, so lang as they have ony gudes 
of thiur awin to live on. And fre they have not quhalrapon to live 
of thair awin, that thair eares be nayled to the trone or to an uther 
tree, and thair eares cutted off, and banished the coimtrie; and gif, 
theiafler, they be found ogaine, that they be hangit' These laws, 
and others of a similar kind, aflerwards enacted, appear to have be- 
come, in a great measure, a dead letter ; and if we can Ailly credit 
the statements of Fletcher of Salton and others, the country about the 
close of the seventeenth ceotury was overrun by thousands of vagrants, 
of whom the settled inhabitants knew little, except being kept in 
terror by their brawls, depredations, and exactions. 

The authorities of Biggar made various attempts to keep the town 
free from the riots and annoyances of the unsettled and lawless hordes 
that frequented the Upper Word. The enactments against them were 
renewed on the 22d April 1727, in the following terms : — 'The same 
day, the Bailie renews all former Acts of Court mode anent resetting 
of sturdy teggars, by giving and selling to them meat and drink, 
whereby they abuse the hail inhabitants of the town; and therefore 
prejudice to all former Acta, statutes and ordains, that no person or 
persons within the town of B^gar resett such sturdy beggars, soraers, 
gypsies, or give imto them drink for yr money, under the pain of ten 
punds Scots, toties ^mliea.' On the 15th October 1728, Bailie Luke 
Vallange fined John Bob, indweller in Biggar, in the sum of ten 
pounds Scuts, for entertaining thieves and beggars, the 'fangs' (plun- 
der) being found in his house. 

The Baron Bulie, on the 28tii March 1747, gave the following 
decision: — 'The same day, complaint having been made upon Samitel 
Bell, innkeeper in Biggar, and Agnes Noble, his spouse, that for some 



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m BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEHIHa. 

time past th^ haro been in use of boimtilig and allowing v^nntt, 
tmUers, somers, and sturdy bef^ars to lodge in their houAQ. The 
Buliff passes them for ail bygone transgressions of that tiature, but 
appcnnts them to find caution, that from this time to the term of Whit- 
sunday next, at which lime they are to leaTe this place and remde at 
Linton, that they shall not harbour any such Tyrants or sturdy beg- 
gars, under the penalty of twdve punds Scots for each tran^resdon, 
totia qtiotia, by and attour repairing what damage neighbours shall 
sustain by and through their harbouring them, aa said is.' 

The gipsy hordes that roamed about the Upper Ward in former 
times, tionaUted of distinct families or clans. The principal of these 
were — the Jardines, Browns, Baillies, Faas, Sbaws, RnOivens, Keiths, 
and Wilsons. They were the source of great annoyance and disquiet 
wherever they went, both on account of the brawls which took place 
among themselves, and the depredations which they committed. Two 
of these parties, the Faas and Shawa, had a terrible fight at Bomano, 
in Tweeddale, about ten or twelve miles from Biggar, on the 1st of 
Obtober 1677. They had been at a Haddington fair, and were on 
their way to Harestanes, to meet two other gangs, the Baillies and 
the Browns; but they quarrelled about a division of the spoil taken at 
the fair, and a £ght ensued. The Faas consisted of four brothers 
and a brother's son; and the Shawa, of the father and three sons, with 
several women on both sides. The combat was keen and bloody, and 
victory at last inclined to the side of the Shaws. Sandie Faa and his 
wife were killed dead upon the spot, and Geordie Faa was dangerously 
wounded. Old Hobin Shaw and his three sons were, some time after- 
wards, apprehended ; and having been convicted of the murder at 
Romano, they were hanged in the Grrassmorket in February 1678. 
Dr Pennecuik, to whom the esUte of Homano belonged, erected, in 
1683, a dovecot on the spot on which this fight, or 'polymachy,' as 
he calls it^ took place, with the inscription, 

' The field of Gipde bbod, which here you see, 
A shelter for tiie harmless dove shall be.' 

The late Robert Johnston, marchaot, Biggar, was wont to relate a 
story concemiug the gipsies and his paternal great-grandffAher, 
James Brown, who was tenant in Skirling Hill neariy a century and a 
half ago. We give it in nearly his own wot^. (hi one occasion, a 
strong band of tinklers quarrelled with the country people assembled 
at a Skirling fair. Tlie budness of the market was stopped, and many 
persons left it in consequence of the violent behaviour of these ruf- 
fians, when James Brown and his brother-in-law, Richard Bums, 
armed themselves with trusty Andrea Ferraraa, and at the head of a 
courageous body of countrymen attained ' the tinklers, and drove 
them qtiite out of the village. One of them, however, determined on 
revenge, and, running off in the direction of Skirling Mill , was over- 



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THE VAGRANTS OF THE BIGGAB DISTBICT. iU 

heard threatening, with the bitterest imprecatiooB, that the whole of 
the buildings would be immediately in flames. Several persons, on 
hearii^ this threat, followed him with all speed, to prevent liini tma 
executing his design; but what was their surprise, on reatdiing the 
court in &ont of the house, to find the fellow stretched on his back, 
and s man above him holding his throat with a grasp which, in a 
shwt time, must have put an end to his existence. This maa'a natae 
was John M'lvor. He was a native of the 'north oountrie,' and had 
been oat in 'the fffteea.' Leaving his native mountains, he ca^e to 
the low countiy, and employed himself as a hawker, and that morn- 
ing had come to the mill after the male portion of the family had 
gone to the fair- Being fatigued with a long morning's journey, he 
had sat down to rest himself in the bam before proceeding to the fur. 
and had fallen asleep, when he was awoke by the screams of the ter- 
rified females, and, rushing out, kuooked the intended incendiary down, 
and held him fastened to the ground till competent assistance Arrived. 
Many years afterwards, the gudeman of the mill had occaaon to make 
a journey some distance from home. In a sohtary part of the road he 
saw an encampment of tinkers, which he could not avoid passing. 
Revenge was a peculiar characteristio of these vagabonds. . The gude- 
man, at the sight of them, in a place far remote from any assiatwce, 
felt a sudden tjemor creep over him; but he resolved to show, no signs 
of fear, and therefore, faced them boldly. While engaged in conver- 
sation with themr one of them brought forth a sword and said, ' Gude- 
man, what think ye o' that swurd? Is it as lang and sharp as the aoe 
ye used at Skirling Fail?' To these questions the gudeman made a 
joculw reply. No violence, however, was offered him, and he was 
allowed to wend his way home in safety. The sword used by Mr 
Brown, on the oocaaiou of clearing the &ii, is still preserved by Mr 
J<duiiBtoii's family. 

The family of ^fwiea that had the most indmate connsotiou with 
the Bi^ar dbtriot, were the Bullies. The chief of this clan, towards 
the dose of the seventeenth century, wss William Baillie, who pro- 
fessed to be a descendant of the family of Lamington, and assumed an 
air of importaoce aooordii^ly. He travelled eoustantly about the 
Upper Ward, and was sure to be present at all thefurs in this exten- 
sive distrioL He was a bold and successful marauder, and derived 
his living almost wholly from plunder. The dairy, the hen-roost, the 
meal-ark, the mountain, and the river, were all laid under conthbuiion, 
to supply the wants of himself and his d^ndants. Many anecdotes 
were wont to be told of his exploits, as a thief and {ockpocket, round 
the hearths of the Upper Ward, but these are now nearly all foi^- 
ten. We give the following one: — At an old fur<)f Biggar, which is 
held in November, the clan of the fiaillies had been singularly un- 
sucoessful; and the sun had snnk behind the lofty mountain of Tin- 
tock, and Uie gloamin' was throwing its duili^ shades over ^e noisy 



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221 BIGGAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

aMcmblage which was still congregated around the Cross-knowe, and 
yet scarcely an article of any value had been captured. It was the 
practice of these marauders to fix upon some house or place, at which 
one of their nuniber was atationed, to receive the booty from the 
hands of those by whom it had been purloined. On thb occasion, a 
room for this purpose had been taken in an old house which was 
burnt a number of years ago ; and here several of the gang assembled, 
and lamented their want of success, cursed the vigilance of the town 
officer and his assistants, and projected schemes for future attempts. 
Will, during these discussions, happening to observe a rustic pass with 
a large plaideii web on his shoulder, exclaimed, ' I'll wad oay o' ye a 
pint o' Lucky Vallance's best usquebae, that ere ten minutes that web 
will be in my possession.' The bet was taken ; and Will, having pro- 
vided hiuiself with a darning-needle and thread, followed hastily after 
the man, who was proceeding up the town. The darkness and noise 
which prevailed, enabled Will, unperceived, to stitch a comer of the 
web, that hung at some distance from the man's hack, to the lappel 
of his own cent. He then tripped the man, and seizing the web, 
placed it on his own shoulder. The man, on regMning hb feel, 
grasped at the web, and demanded it as his. ' Na, na,' quoth Will, 
' this is no your web. Some o' the tinklers maun hae run aff wi' the 
ane that ye had ; and really, gudeman, ye ought to mak your gear 
' mair sicker when there are sae mony o' thae thievish fellows in the 
fair. See, man, how 1 hae secured mine (showing him the web 
stitched to hb coat ; and had ye followed the same plan, ye might hoe 
defied Will B^lie and a' his gang to tak yours awa without your 
kenoin.' On saying this. Will walked coolly off, leaving the poor 
man overwhelmed with grief and amazement at the loss of his web. 

William Baillte's wife, Mary Youstoa, was also a very remarkable 
character. In height she was nearly six feet, her eyes were dark and 
penetrating, her face was much marked with the small-pox, and her 
appearance was fierce and commanding. She was even more dreaded 
than her husband, as she was more audacious and unscrupulous. Few 
persons cared to give her offence, because, if they did, they were sure 
in the end to suffer some loss or injury. It was a common saying, in 
reference to anything that was done to prevent further injury, 'It b 
like Mary Youston's awmous, gien mair for her ill than for her guid.' 
She was, hke her husband, a dexterous thief and pickpocket, so that 
it was a common observation regarding her, 'Whip her up Biggar 
Street, on a market day, wi' a man at ilka oxter, and she wad steal a 
purse ere they got her to the head o't.' Many stories of her sayings 
aad exploits were, at one time, prevalent among the peasantry of the 
Biggar district. We give a specimen or two. One day Mary arrived 
at the village of Thankerton, with several juveniles, who were usually 
transported from place to place in the panniers of the cuddies. She 
oommeuced hawking her commodities amongst the inhabitants, when 



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THE VAOBAITTS OF THE BIOOAB DISTBICT. »fi 

some of the children of the village came into the fauose where she was, 
and cried, 'Maiy, jowc wtatia are stealing the eggs out of the hen's Dest.' 
Mary quite ex)^tingl3r ezclumed, ' The Lord be praised I I am g^ad to 
hear that the bairns are beginning to show some signs o' thrift.' 

One harvest morning during her peregrinations, she called, with a 
number of followers in her train, at a farm-house a few miles from 
Biggar. The family were all employed, at some distance from the 
hoose, in cutting down Uie grain, except the gudewife, who had just 
dished the parritch for the morning's meal Mary declared, that as 
she and her attendants were excesnvely hungry, they must have a 
portion of the parritch. It was in vain that the gudewife remon- 
strated, and declared that the quanii^ prepared was just sufficient for 
the shearers. A pock on one of the cuddies was opened, a number of 
nun-hom spoons were procured, and the contents of the bickers dis- 
appeared in a twinkling. Mary, in her rounds afterwards, never 
failed to coll at the farm-house, to solicit an awmous, or the sale of 
some of her wares. The gudewife invariably told her to go about her 
business, as she wished to have nothing further to do witli her. 
Mary's constant rejoinder was, 'Lord sauf us I gudewife, wull ye never 
forget the drap parritch ?' 

Mary, it is understood, did not originaUy belong to a gipsy tribe, 
but was the daughter of honest and respectable parents. William 
Bailhe, in his wanderings, having acddentaUy met her, 'cust his 
glamottr ower her,' and she imme^otely forsook her home, and fol 
lowed the oommanding and faaunating gipsy. In her subsequent 
career, she showed herself so apt a scholar in the arts of gipsy life, 
that she greatly sorpassed all her compeers, and commanded obe- 
dience wherever she went Though her husband stood greatly in awe 
of her, he does not seem to have preserved strict fidehty to his mar- 
riage obligations. In the records of the Presbytery of Biggar, it is 
stated, that at a meeting of that reverend court, on the 9th of June 
1695, Margaret Shanklaw bang sommoned, and called, compeared, 
and jndidally acknowledged the crime of adultery with William BailHe 
the gipsy; and being seriously exhorted by the moderator (the Rev. 
John Buchanan of Covington) to mourn over her sins, she was re- 
ferred back to the Sesrion of Lamington, to satisfy, according to the 
Acts of the General Assembly of the Church. William Baillie, we 
are told, was killed at Biggarshiels, in a Iray regardii^ the distribu- 
tion of some plunder that had been obtained at a neighbouring fair; 
and Mary died at an advanced age, in an old kiln at Harelaw, and was 
interred in the Churchyard of Carstairs. They had at least two 
children, Mathew and Nannie. Nannie married one of the Keiths, 
and continued to pursue the same wandering life as her forefathers. 

Mathew, who succeeded to the authority and dignity of the chief 
of the clan, travelled over the country and practised the same arts as 
his predecessors. He contrived, somehow, to amass a little wealth, 



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at BIOOAB ASD THE HOCSE OS FLEHINQ. 

and affected to ocaapy a higher Etanding than his forefathers. At 
fairs, and other public occauona, he made a considerable display with 
his brood-tailed coat, hia wrist-frills, and silver shoe-backles. Be 
fixed bis headquarters at Biggar. He erected a house in Westraw, 
which is slill standing; and which, above one of the doors, has his 
initJals, M. B., and the date 1752, along with the letters M. E. C. I., 
and a mason's mark. His name appears several times in the records 
of the Baron Bailie's Court daring the year 1765, in connection with 
the right which, in virtue of his feu, he acquired to the Westraw 
Moss. He was twice married, and had a family by both wives. By 
his first wife he had Jock, Jamie, Mary, and another daughter, who 
was married to one of the Morrisons. By his second wife, whom he 
brought from the north, and whose name was Margaret Campbell, he 
had Mathew, Lee^y, and Rachel Matbew appears, from the Sestdon 
records of the pansh of Biggar, to have been bom in the house at 
Westiaw, on the 4th of September 1754. 

Mathew's children, for the most part, connected themselves in 
marriage with the gangrel tribes who, at the tjme, frequented the 
Upper Ward. They sold the house in Westraw to Mr George Cuth- 
b^rUon, and it is now the property of Adam Wyld, Esq. l^e most 
noted of their immediate descendants was Peter, or, as he was most 
commonly called, Pate BuUie, who for many years settled about 
Loanhead and Bonnyrigg in Mid Lotiuan, and who excelled as a 
player on the fiddle. He certainly was gifted with musical abilities 
of a very high order. Had these received due cultivation, and had 
he not possessed the wayward and obstinate disposition and the un- 
settled habits of the gipsy, be might have taken a high place as a 
muucal performer. He devoted his attention almost exclonvely to 
Scotch music ; and certunly the variattons which he improvised, when 
playing some of our best tunes, were highly original and stiikbg. 
His rude and offensive manners prevented him from receiving that 
patron^;e from the higher classes of society which he would, no doubt, 
have otherwise obtained ; but he was often employed by the country 
people at penny weddings, kirns, and other merry " splores," when he 
was largely plied with intoxicating drink, and it was alleged that be 
played as well when he was dnmk as when he was sober. He died 
some twenty years ago, and was interred, we believe, in the Church- 
yard of Lass wade. 

One or two of the other most noted wanderers that frequented the 
Biggar district during the present century, may be very briefly noticed. 
John Thomson, commonly called ' Langleathera,' was a person of 
great strength, and carried a budget of old iron implements and otber 
articles on his back that few persons could Ufl. He was decidedly 
fatuous ; and the report was, that he had received such a shock on 
witnessing the destruction of the dty of lisbon by an earthquake in 
1755, that he never again entirely recovered his reason. He used, in 



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THE VAGBAHTS OF THE BIGOAB DISTBICT. 07 

his oontemplaliTe moods, often to mutter to himself, ' I saw a city 
sunk.' He was inofiensiTe, except when roused by the annoyances 
and tricks of mischievous boys. H« then became exceedingly noisy 
and outrageous; and being a dexterous 'hencher' of stones, it re- 
quired great nimbleness on the part of his youthful tormentors to 
avoid his aim. When he happened to be at Biggar on Sabbath, the 
boys and he were stire to come into collision, and then a great deal of 
noise and disturbance was the consequence. He had rather a fond- 
ness for lliese encounters, and was not easily prevEuled on to give 
them up. When any person remonstrated with him, and said that he 
ought to pay more respect to die Sabbath, ' Weel, weel, then,' said 
Jock, ' ril ^ to Crawfordjohn ; there's nae Sabbath there.' 

Dafli Frande was sjiothcr well-known wanderer. He was remark- 
ably quiet and inofienmve. His thoughts ran almost constantly on 
the subject of religion, and he considered that he had a special voca- 
tion in the exercise of prayer. When he entered a house, with the 
inmates of which he was on familiar terms, he generally proposed, let 
the season or the hour be what it might, to engage in devotional 
exercises. At certain limes, that was by no means convenient; and the 
consequence was, that the poor fool was often left praying alone. He 
attended religious worship in the nearest church every Sabbath day ; 
and at eveiy tent -preaching for twenty miles round he was sure to be 
present, especially on sacramental occasions. His grimaces, mutter- 
ingB, and ludicrously devout appearance, oflen provoked laughter in 
the church, and disturbed the equanimity of the preacher. A clergy- 
man, on proceeding to his church one Sabbath morning, observed 
Frande stationed by the wall of tiie church, waiting till the ringing in 
of the last belL He had been often annoyed by the fool's extravagant 
conduct in the church ; so he went up to him and said, 'Now, Frande, 
you must promise to sit quietly on yonr seat ; yon must make no 
faces, and speak not a mngle word.' ' Fll doo your biddin',' sud 
Frande. I^e minister then directed his st«ps to the church door, 
when Frande hastened after him, and cried out, among the assembled 
loungers outside the church, ' Hinister, 1 want to speak wi' ye.' 
' What is it?' said his reverence. ' Wull a body no be allooed to 
host?' inquired Frande, with a tone of such solemn gravity and 
earnest simplidty that the bystanders could not refrain from a shout 
of laughter. One Sabbath afternoon, the inhalntanta of a parish 
adjacent to Biggar, in returning from church, met Frande, who had 
been hearing one of his favourite preachers elsewhere. ' Frande,' 
said one of them, ' ye war ill away frae ower kirk tlie day. The 
minister, Tm shure, wad hae pleased ye, for the Gospel cam spewin' 
oot o* his mouth just like a flood.' ' It must hae been an unco effort,' 
stud Francie, ' for it's nae easy wark spewin' wi' a toom stomach.' 
Frande very often engaged in the work of public exhortation himself. 
When he worshipped in a pariah church, his practice was to sUp out 



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its BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHDia. 

immediateljr on the cooclusion of the Bervic«, and, mounting a through- 
stone in the churchyard, to hold forth ^th great vehemence and 
volabillty to all who woidd stop and hear him. On one oocaaion, 
being very mnch dissatisfied witii the semoes of the Her. Thomas 
Gray of Broughton, he commenced to preach in the churchyard with 
such vehement shouts and vociferation, that two horses, who were 
grazing in a neighbouring field, were alarmed, and, polling up their 
tethers, ran off at full speed, and did not halt till they had reached the 
topofanadjoiningemineQce.calledJockie'sBrae. Thifl poor wanderer 
came to an untimely end. He was travelling one very daxk night in 
the parish of E^dleston, and, having lost his way, he stumbled into a 
sheet of water called the West Loch, and was drowned. 

One of the most T«markable mendicants that ever travelled the 
Upper Ward, or drank a glass of usquebae at a Biggar alehouse, was 
James Aberoethy. Of his history very little is now known. He was 
bom in Edinburgh Harch 1722, and was bred a corkcatter. In his 
eighteenth year he was inspired with a warlike spirit, and, being nof 
lesa than six feet four indies in height, be enlisted into the King's 
Life Guards. The two incidents of his mihtary career to which he 
most frequently referred, was his presence at the disastrous battle of 
Fontenoy, fought in 1743, and his being one of the detachment of 
picked men who, in the year 1761, formed the escort to the Princeas 
Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, when she arrived from the Con- 
tinent to marry George III. He received his discharge about the year 
1764, and returned to bis native place, where he obtained employ- 
ment at Crmgleith Quany. He here met with an accident which 
rendered him lame for life ; and afler this he betook himself to the 
profession of begging, which he continued to prosecute for the long 
period of fifty years. His appearance was striking. His stature, as 
already stated, was considerably above the usual size ; his aspect was 
fierce and commanding, end manifested no symptom of the usual 
humility and condescension of a mendicant ; and a curious old hat, 
with the brim cocked up, which he invariably wore, gave him a semi- 
military air. Several wallets, including bis meal-pocks, hung round 
him, and were partially concealed by a plaid ; and the staff, or ' kent,' 
by which he supported himself in the course of his peregrinations, 
was fully two yuds in length, and of corresponding strength. No 
person in the Biggar district carried so formidable a kent, with ex- 
ception, perhaps, of James Forrest, who dwelt at Langlees, and was 
famed for his love of ' parritch,' and his strong antipathy to potatoes, 
whi^h he constantly denounced as ' vile roots, unfit to be men's meat.' 
The accompanying engraving, which is taken from a print pabliahed 
during the mendicant's life by a bookseller in Paisley, gives a tolerably 
fair representation of his usual appearance when he was greatly 
advanced in years, and shortly before he abandoned for ever the 
scene of his wanderings. The print was taken from a sketch made by 



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THE VAGEAHTS OF THE BIOGAB DISTRICT. 229 

a young man, son of Mr Robert Hamilton, factor to the Earl of Hynd- 
ford, at Mauldslie Castle. James entertuaed a strong aversion to the 
idea of having his likeness taken, and resisted all efforts to indtice him 
to ait for this purpose. This object, in the end, was gained by stratagem. 
In the course of his rounds, he came t« the locality where Mr Hamilton 
resided, and, on calling at one of his &vouTite houses, he was invited into 
the kitchen, and some bread and cheese and a stoup of whisky set before 
him. Young Hamilton was concealed in a closet, which commanded 
a view of die place where the mendicant sat, and thus was enabled to 
take a correct sketch of Ma countenance and general appearance. 



Abemethy was a contemporary of Andrew Gemmells, and in many 
respects was a counterpart of that remarkable mendicant, who has 
been immortalized by Sir Walter Scott under the name of Edie 
Ochiltree. He went regular rounds, and called only at cert^ houses 
for an alms. He oousidered that he had a prescripliTe right to be 
served at these houses, and would seldom take a refusal. On one 
occasion, he called at one of his farm-houses near Biggar, and de- 
manded his usual dole. The gndewife, being busily engi^ed in churn- 
ing, told him that she had not time to attend to hia wants just now, 
but promised to give him a double gratuity the next time he came 



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130 BIOOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

ronnd. Aberaethy wu hj no means di^Kued to give credit, and there- 
fore setting oat, and, making a complete circuit of the faim premises, 
returned and demanded his promised supply. The gndewife was 
hardly disposed to admit that he had gone bis usual round ; but 
amused at the artifice resorted to, and seeing there was no use in 
attempting to stave off the clums of the mendicant a second time, she, 
with the best grace she could, gave him a double ' gowpen ' of oat- 
meaL After he commenced bis wanderings, he would seldom engsge 
in any manual labour, but regarded begging as his sole vocaljon. 
One day he arrived at a farm-house in Peeblesshire, where the cattle 
were scant of fodder, and a young lad was the only person left to 
thrash in the bam. The farmer thought he would tempt Abemethy 
to give him assistance hy offering bim a shilling for a day's thrashing. 
Hie mendicant rejected the offer with disdain. 'Why, man,' said he 
to the farmer, ' if ye'll serve me for a day, and carry ray meal-pocks, 
m pe ye half-a-crown for your pains ; and Pm shure yell no find it 
half sae sair wark as your thrasbin*.' Abemethy had great fondness 
for a glass of good spirits, and sometimes partook of considerable 
quantities without any apparent injury. One day he entered a 
grocer's shop in B^gar, and said to the shopkeeper, ' Tanunos, draw 
me a pU of whisky oot o' yer best barrel ; there's a good king's coin 
to pay for't; and let me hae a bit parliament cake to taste it wi'.' The 
grocer filled the stoup and set it down on the counter; and then 
turning roimd to obt^ a parliament, Abemethy with ungular 
dexterity lifted the measure, drank off its contents, and placed it on 
the counter, wholly unobserved. Abemethy appearing in no hurry 
to taste the liquor, the grocer inquired the cause. ' I'm waitin' till ye 
fill the stoup.' ' Fill the stoup ! the stoup is filled already. If it is 
no fou, I'll gie ye a gill for naething.' ' Done,' said Abemethy, and 
turning the stoup upside down, showed that it was entirely empty. 
, The bewildered grocer drew another gill, and set it down. Abemethy, 
though a beggar, was a man of honour. He explained how the first 
gill bad disappeared, drank the second, and piud for both. On another 
occarion, he t^ed at a spirit-dealer's shop at Carawath, and asked for 
a gill. The shopman drew the liquor, and asked where was his bottle. 
' m shune let ye see that,' said James ; and lifting the stoup, emptied 
its contents at a single 'waucht,' and demanded another fill. The 
astonished publican hesitated to comply. 'I maun hae't,' said the 
sturdy vagrant ; ' Tve got one for the tae side, I maon bae anither to 
balance it.' It was drawn, and immediately swallowed as before. 
' Noo,' said the drouthy gaberlunzie, ' if I had a third for the centre, I 
wad be a' richt.' 

Abemethy, like his contemporai; Andrew Gemmells, of^n used 
great familiarity with persons in the higher stations of life, and some- 
times even retorted on them with bitter effect One day, on hb way 
to Hyndford House, be took a near-hand cut through the grounds, 



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THE VAGRASTS OF THE BIGQAB DISTWCT. 281 

and Accidentally met with the Earl of Hyndford himself. The Earl, 
diapleosed at the trespass, accosted James somewhat angrily, and 
sud, ' Get off, ye cowu'd ; what are you wanting here ? ' The mendi- 
cant, not at idl abashed, replied, Tm nae greater a cooard than 
yonr Lordship.' The E!arl, amused at this reply, asked for an ex- 
planatioo. 'That con shune be gien,' said James. 'Your Lordship 
fled frae Dunkirk, and I fled &ae Fontenoy. Ye rade, and I ran; wha 
is the greatest cooard?' The Earl, pleased with the repartee, gave 
James a sixpence, and sent him to the house for refreshments ; and 
ever after James recelTed sixpence and plenty of food, as often as he 
visited Hyndford House. Like most members of the wandering 
train, he had to mmntain a constant warfare with the canine race. 
On approaching a farm-house, he was usually assailed by all the ~ 
collies and mosti^ about the place. The mendicant never flinched, 
but, shouldering his kent, boldly advanced to the attack. If any un- 
wary cur ventured within range, he received such a ' lounder ' as sent 
him at once howling to his den. On one occanon, he was passing 
along the Main Street of Camwath, and there met a mastiff that was 
dissatisfied with his appearance, and seemed disposed to offer him 
battle. James accepted the challenge, and, ascending the steps of tlie 
Cross, provoked the dog to come to close quarters. The bruilziement 
soon attracted a number of spectators, and, among others, the owner 
of the dog, the Rev. Mr Mark, who dwelt near, and who was well 
acquainted with the vagrant. ' James,' cried he, ' you will surely not 
hurt my dog.' ' Your doug I ' said James, ' Fm sorry that he's yours ; 
for if he had been ony itber body's, I wad shone hae lud his yaffing 
for ever.' 

Abemetby travelled the country till he had reached his one hun- 
dred and third year. By the increasing infirmities of age, he was 
now unable to walk to any distance, and was generally conveyed 
from place to place in a cart. He relished this mode of travelhng 
very ill, as he could not get time to sun himself about the dykes, and 
particularly to visit his favourite ale-houses. Notwithstanding hu 
tippling propensities, he contrived somehow to save a little money; 
and, in 1825, he relinquished his peripatetic habits, and took up his 
abode in an institution in Edinburgh, where he stipulated that he 
should, at least, receive two glasses of whisky dtuly, and a due modicum 
of tobacco. It is understood that he did not long survive the close 
of hia wanderings. His favourite toast is said to have been the fol- 
lomng: — 

' Here's health to the sick. 

Honour to the hrava, 

SoccesB to the lover. 

And freedom to the slave.' ' 

John Robertson was one of the most expert and clever knaves that 

ever prowled about the Upper Ward. He had received a good edu- 



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nt BIGGAS AKD THE HOUSE OF FtEUDIO. 

cation, was well acquainted with Scripture, and excelled as an expen 
penman. His knowledge of men and mttimen was extensiTe and 
accurate ; his couTersational powers were of a superior order, and his 
apprehension was remarkably quick and acute. He usually feigned 
himself to be deaf and dumb, and tlien professed to tell fortunes. 
With hb chalk-writing, he made astounding disclosures to the rustic? 
ranged rotind the fire on a winter evemug. To persons with whom 
he waa intimate, he whs wont to give the following explanation of his 
mode of fortune-telling : — ' Such is the propennty oi human nature 
to pry into futurity, that I am very successful as a spaeman ; and as I 
take no money, I am less apt to be committed as a vagrant I can 
hide my tongue in such a tnanner that it cannot be observed ; and 
though I am dumb, I am not deaf: I hear in one house what is going 
on in another, and can eanly make a tolerable history. I first kneel 
down on the floor, then draw a magic circle with my chalk ; next, I 
write the initials, J. S., which will serve for John Smith, James 
Sommerville, Joseph Sym, Jacob Simpson, and a thousand more. On 
seeing the initials, a girl perhaps whispers, " III wager that's our 
Johnnie that's at the sea." Having found a clue, I draw a ship, and 
write Mediterranean, or whatever can be elicited from the tattle of 
the maidens. If, on inspecting the iniUals, they look grave, or give 
a hint about death, I draw a tx>lSn ; but if the initials do not suit any 
absent friend of the parties, I make them a sentence, " I say," and 
follow it up with a new set of letters till I can fabricate a story.' 

It was understood that Robertson had studied at the University of 
Glasgow, at the time at which it was attended by Campbell the poet, 
and the late Rev. Hamilton Paul of Bioughton. He had afterwHrds 
fallen into dissipated and irregular habits, and had served both as a 
soldier and a sailor. In the end he betook himself to a wandering 
life, principally in the counties of Ijinark, Ayr, Dumfties, and Renfrew; 
and he calculated that it took him nearly two years to complete his 
rounds. He contrived to pick up a sufficient amount of food in the 
houses which he visited to supply his daily wants; and he usually 
spent the money which was bestowed on bim for his fortnne-t«lliDg, and 
out of compassion for his pretended deficiendes of hearing and speech, 
on strong drink, to which, of course, he was much addicted. He had, 
naturally, a strong constitution ; so be was never at a loss for a bed. 
When he could not obtain the comer of a bam or a byre, he thought 
nothing of ensconung himself at the back of a dyke, where he slept as 
soundly, and with as little apparent harm, as if he had been accom- 
modated in the most elegant and comfortable quarters. 

One of the last of the noted Upper Ward tinkers, was Moses 
Marshall. He did not belong to the ^sy race, but was bom at New- 
ton-of-Ayr, where his forefathers had resided for several centimes. 
He was bred a currier, and, when a young man, listed into the Royal 
Artillery. After serving with this coips for eighteen years, he deserted 



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THE VAOBANTS OF THE BIQOAS DISTRICT. 23S 

in the Wert Indies. He was afterwards pressed on board a man-of- 
wu*; but embraced the earliest opportunitj of desertdug from diis 
service, which he hated even worse than the Artillery. He then 
commenced a wandering sort of life, which he continued till within a 
vreek or two of his death. He wrought as a tinsmith, and dealt in 
hardware goods ; bat as he was addicted to occasional rounds of hard 
drinking, he often exhausted bis whole stock in trade ; and it was a 
matter of some mystery how he contrived to get it replaced. In 
person, he was tall and powerful ; and at one period was ezcessively 
pngnadons, when under the influence of strong drink. He was 
engaged in constant broils, and thus became a terror wherever he 
went; while punishments of various kinds, inflicted on him for his 
outrages, seemed to be employed in vain. He was often met in 
personal combat, and would have been more frequently defeated than 
he was, had his principle on these occasions not been that ' a's fair in 
time o' war.' One day he encountered a strong fellow at Bathgate, 
and would have received a sound pommelling, had he not, as a last 
resort, caught the man's nose with his teeth, and by a terrible vrrench 
deprived turn of this facial appendage, and made him roar out for 
meroy. On another occasion, he ' took up' the toll-house at Tarbrax, 
when a shepherd in the neighbourhood, hearing the noise, came in and 
attempted to subdue the infuriated Moses. A determined encounter 
took place ; but ere long the herd was glad to relinquish the fray with 
the loss of a finger. During his latter years, Moses became more 
pacific in his dispontion, or at least in his practice. His declining 
strength, no doubt, made him less able to use those weapons with 
which he had achieved victory on many a hard-fought field. 

Moses had a great dislike to live iu the lodging-houses that are 
usually to be found in the towns and villages of the district. He 
earnestly petitioned the proprietors of laud within the botutds of his 
wandcnngs to allow him a small oomer to piteh his encampment ; and 
this request was generally granted. He could, in fact, use a consider- 
able degree of familiarity with the local gentry. A proprietor in the 
parish of Coulter one day came upon Moses' encampment, and found 
him busily engaged in preparing dinner. Among other viands round 
the fire was an escellent leg of mutton, which he appeared to watch 
with great care. ' Moses,' said the lurd, ' you seem to keep a very 
vigilant eye on the mutton.' 'Uuckle need,' said Moses; 'were I no 
to do that, it wad very soon disappear.' He seemed to be api^ehen- 
sive that some of his followers would lay hands on it before the feast 

began. ' Mr ,' said Moses, addressiDg the laird, ' as I hae 

often dined at your expense, I shall be very ht^py if yell tak a bit 
ohack wi' me Uie day, as you're here at ony rate.' The lurd thanked 
Moses, but declined the invitation, on the ground that he was pre- 
viously engaged. Aft«r a short illness, Moses died at Coulter, on the 
15th of May 1860, in the eighty-uxth year c^ his age. 

So 



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CHAPTER XX. 
Cihnt in % %i^ gbirict 

(^SpHE Biggar distiict fans long been inhabited bj an indiutrioiu, 
Jj j . intelligent, and moral population. It has acquired no celebrity 
^'^=^ for the perpetration of the higher class of criminal acts. 
Quarrels, fights, petty thefts, etc, have occasionally taken 
place ; but instances of forgery, housebreaking, arson, and murder, 
committed by the natire inhalMtants, have been remarkably rare. 
We may refer, however, to one or two instances of crime connected 
with the district, which caused some sensation at the time at which 
they happened, and which are still more or less remembered. 

We may, in the first place, notioe the case of Janet Brown, daughter 
of John Brown, Biggar, who, on the SSth of June 1614, was tried 
before the Justiciary Court of Edinburgh, for the crime of child- 
murder. The child was illegitimate, and the alleged father was John 
Stevenson. The indictment charged her with concealment of preg- 
nancy, as none of her neighbours were aware that she was with child, 
and as she had left her father's house and gone to the fields in the 
neighbourhood of the town, where she was delivei^ of a female 
child without the help of a midwife. She was further charged with 
having immediately strangled the child, and having taken its body to 
a dykeside, and there covered it with a number of turfs, and thus 
was guilty of murdering ' the said bairn.' In her confession, she 
denied the murder, and asserted that the child died shortly after it 
was bom, and ' sae she earthed it in the grund of a turf slack.' The 
assize, by the mouth of William Fleming of Persilands, ChanceUor, 
' fand and pronooncit the said Janet to be fylt, culpable, and convict 
of the mui^er of the said infant;' and her sentence was, that she 'be 
tane to the Castlehill, and be hangit quhill she be deid, and her 
moveable goods to be escheat.' This b the only native of Biggar, so 
far as we are aware, that ever suffered the ignominious doom of capital 
punishment. 

A case of a somewhat similar kind, but, so far as we can ascertain, 
without such sanguinary results, occurred in 1646. On the 15th of 
July, of that year, the bailies of Biggar reported to the Biggar Pres- 
bytery 'that some folkes of yr toun had fond a young b^me in 
Biggar Hosse, covered over, and beong alyve, had broucht it forth ; 
and also, that they had apprehended the mother, who had confessed 



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CBIUE IK THE BIQGAB DISTRICT. MS 

the IiaTiions tiad unnaturall facte doae be her to her chyld.' The 
advice of the Presbytery was, that the baihes should detain the woman 
in prison till their next meeting. The members offered U> contribute 
along with the town to ber maintenance, and they instructed the 
moderator to write to the King's advocate to obtain his opinion re- 
garding the nature of her crime, and his advice as to her dispoaaL 
The answer of the King's advocate was, that she should be sent to the 
Justice-General at Edinburgh ; and, therefore, the Presbytery called 
on the bmlies of Biggar to put her confession on record, and send 
her forward to Edinburgh. The &t« of this person, as we have 
already indicated, is not now known. 

An instance of murder ocourred at Bi^;ar, on a fair afternoon, in 
the latter part of t^t century, under very peculiar drcanutances. 
Two individuals who happened to meet in John Craig's pnblio on 
that occasion, were J. M'Ghie, farmer, Moaside ; and George Patanon, 
an old soldier, and at the time a labourer. Mr M'Ghie had been in 
the habit of en^loying Paterson on his farm, and it appears that, in 
the coarse of their tronsactioDS, some miaunderstBiiding bad arisen. 
The quan;^ was resumed over their potations, and was carried to 
such a height that a scuffle ensued, and M'Ghie was laid prostrate on 
the floor. At this juncture M'Ghie'! son James came in, and seeing 
his father maltreated by Paterson, seized a pair of tongs, and stmch 
Paterson so severe a blow on the head, tihat he was instantly deprived 
of life. Young M'Ghie was shortly afterwards appcehended, and 
oommitted to prison. I<ord Elphinstone and other praw>n8 exerted 
themselves in his behalf, and the ronsequence was, that, on brang 
brought to trial, he was sentoiced to receive what, even at the pre- 
sent day, would be regarded as a lenient pnnjshmait, viz., banish- 
ment for a few years furth of Scotland. 

We will now refer to a murder committed near the village of 
Newbigging, which made a great sensation in the Biggar district, and 
was cloeely associated with a man well known in Biggar at the com- 
mencement of the present century. An . old man, named Adam 
'niomBon, with his wife and a daughber, oconpied a solitary hut at 
the place referred to, and employed himself in the manuAetnre of 
heather besoms, straw mats, and umilar articles. Abcmt 11 o'olook 
on die night of Monday, the 17th of June 1771, when the inmates 
had retired to rest, a loud knocking was heard at the door and -win- 
dowB by several persims, who peremptorily demanded that Thomson 
should rise and tdiow them the way across the muir to Peebles. He 
accordingly got up, and, on reaching the door, was atruok a heavy 
blow on the head, and knocked down. The rufSans &en tied his 
hands behind his back, and maltreated him in a brutal manner. Mn * 
Thomson, alarmed by the noise of the scuffle, sprang out of bed, and 
went to Ihe door, when she was instantly struck also, and laid pros- 
trate on the ground. The daughter, bearing the violence that had 



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IS6 BIOOAB AND T^ HOCSE OF FLEMING. 

been inflicted on her paieatB, tn&de her escape bj a back window, 
and proceeding, with all speed, to the netureat hotue, gave the alarm. 
In a short time, KTeral persons, who had been hastily collected, 
hurried to the cottage, and found that Thomson and his wife hat! 
been tenonaly wounded ; that the house had been rifled, the chest* 
broken open, and a quantity of linen, a mlrer watch, several bank' 
notes, and a red plaid carried ofi*. A surgeon with all haste was 
brought from Camwath. The old man was found to have receiTed 
some deadly strokes on the head, and at six o'clock next morning 
breathed his lost Mrs Thomson was le» dangerously injured, and 
in course of time recovered. 

Great efibrts, by ofiering rewards and otherwise, were made to 
discover the perpetrators of this foul outrage. Several persons w^e 
apprehended on sospidon, and all manner of reports was put in circu- 
lation ; but no satisfactory discovery was made, and most persons 
began to consider that further search was hopeless. 

Adam Thomson, a son of the deceased, a man of strange notions 
and eccentric habits, and then schoolmaster of the Parish of Walston, 
after pondering for a long time over the mysterions death of his 
father, resolved ki make peraonal efibrts to ducover the murderers. 
From lime to lime, so often as his vocation would permit, he left his 
native locality, and travelled over the greater part of Scotland and 
England, making minute inquiries after suspidouB characters, visiting 
jails, and mixing with thieves, tinkers, and vagabonds of all sorts. 
Agiun and again he returned home, baffled and disappointed. One 
evening, as be lay in bed ruminating on the painftil subject which 
had taken so fiirm a hold of his mind, he felt a strong and irresistible 
impulse once more to renew his search. He rose early next morning 
and wended his way to Jedburgh, where, as was his wont, he repaired 
to the Tolbootfa. Here he made the usual inquiries at the prisoners, 
if any of them knew tiie perpetrators of his father's murder ; and it is 
understood that he obtained such information as enabled him to take 
eflectual steps to apprehend them and biiiig them to justice. It 
was thus Bscertaiiled that the murder was cominitted by two men, 
John Brown and James Wilson, and two women, Martha Wilson 
and Janet Greig. At what place James Wilson was apprehended, 
we have not ascertaiiied; but John Brown was captured in a house 
near the Fort of Inversnaid, by a party of soldiers from the garrison, 
on Sabbath, the Sd of January 1773, and conducted first to Stirling, 
and then to Edinburgh. As no person had seen them commit the 
act, it would have been difficult to obtain a conviction against them ; 
but the two women basely agreed to turn king's evidence. The trial 
of the two men was fixed to take place on the 26th of June ; but it 
was postponed till the 12th of August, on the plea that at least one 
6t the panels conld bring evidence to prove an aUbi Hie individual 
who at length came forward and made this attempt, was a person of 



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CBIHE m THE BIOOAB DISTBICT. S87 

thdr own Udney, called William Robertsoa ; bat bis Btatementa were 
BO isconnstent ancl contradictoiy, that tbe Court committed him to 
prisoit Tbe yary unanimonaly found die prisoners gnilty; and the 
sentence pronoimced apon tbem was, that thej should be executed in 
the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, tlie Ifith September, and 
their bodies given to Dr Munro for dissection. 

PreviouB to their execution, they emitted their ' last speech, con- 
fession, and dying words,' all of which were attested by Ridiard 
Locfa, inner-turnkey of the Tolbooth, and printed and pnbliahed by 
H. Galbreith, Edinbtirgh. James Wilson declared that he would 
make no public confession of particular crimes, and that he would 
confess to God alone. His lost speech, therefore, throws no light os 
the murder, or the manner in which he and his associates in crime 
were detected. John Brown, in his declaration, was more expIidL 
He stud, ' I do acknowledge that I was at the bouse of Adam Thomson, 
in Gamwath Mnir, on Monday, the 17th of June 1771, along witb 
Hartha Wilson and Janet Greig; but as they did not tell the truth, 
the whole truth, I will give a umple declaration of it to the world. 
I declare that I never knew that house before; neither had I any ia- 
tention to call at it that ni^t^ unlil I was led to it by Martha Wilson 
and Janet Greig ; neither did I knock at the door, as they declared ; it 
was the man that was with me tliat went to the door. I acknowledge 
that when Adam Thomson came out, I was standing by ; but I did not 
give him the first stroke, neither did I give him the last ; but the 
women, Martha Wilson and Janet Greig, struck both tlie woman and 
the man most desperately with sticks. As to the story they told as 
to my beating him with a potato-dibble, it is entirely false; yet I do 
acknowledge that I gave him several strokes. I acknowledge also 
that I gave the woman the first stroke, although it was declared before 
tbe judges tliat it was tbe other man, for which I sorely repent, as I 
acknowledge myself art and part in the murder. As to robbing the 
house, I touched nothing in it i but when I went in to desire the 
women to come out, I saw one of them at a dest, and another at the 
amry.' He made a number of other statements, bat none of them 
beanng particularly on the murder and robbery. 

The execution of Brown and Wilson took place on the day ap- 
pointed ; and Adam Thomson, it is sud, appeared with them on the 
scaffold, and ofiered up a solenm prayer, an ezeroise of whioh he was 
veiy fond, and in whioh, it is allowed, he greatiy excelled. On bis 
return home, he erected a stone at the grave (^ his father in Camwath 
Churchyard, with on inscription in Latin. It was long an object of 
attraction, and was visited by many persons at a distance, who hod 
heard the story of the murder, die extraordinary efforts made by 
young Thomson to discover the perpetrators of it, and the singular 
epit^h which he had composed. A relative of Thomson, some years 
ago, removed the stone to Uie ndghbouring churchyard of Libberton ; 



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«I8 BIOGAB iXD THE HOUSE 07 FLEHINa. 

and ttiere barbuoualy caused the inscriptioo to be defaced or erased, 
and another one, Tegarding his own immediate relatioiu, to be put in 
its plaoe. So far as can be remembered, the inaeription lao aa 
follows : — 

' Hio jacet Adaimie Thomson, qui xr, ante GaL Julii 1771, cmcattis 
maniboe, Joannis Brown, Jaeoln Wihon, et dnanun feminarom, ^lod 
ffignun L^em prope Novam iGdificataonem, cmdeliMme tmoidatiw arat. 
IDi, Adamo lliomaoti, deftmoti Alio et luduDagisUo de Wabbm, datecti 
oant. Ob qnod oriman ne&ndnm, &own et Wihon, ca^dtis daumali, at 
xriL Cal. Oct. 1773, suspensi txaat. 

' Hoc moaomentmn eatruclum fait Adamo Thomaon, rectore Academis 
deWalston.' 

The late Rev. ^Villiam Me^ of Dnnsyre was WMit to quote the 
above inscription, as a ctuions sample of tlie latinitj of the dominies 
of the Upper Ward, putdng special emphasis cm the rendering of 
Blacklaw near Newbigging, by ' Nigram legem prope Novam ^difi- 
cationem,' and the fine conceit of I^omson in styling himself ' Indi- 
magister' and 'Rector' of the Academy of WsiatoD. Hr Thomson 
some lime Kflerwards left the 'Academy' of Walston, and became 
teacher of the School of Quothquan. He was a frequent viaitor to 
Bigg&r, and his appearance and oddities were familiar to all the in- 
habitants. Many anecdotes regarding him were- at one time current 
in the district, all of which, tended to show that he was a man of 
simple manners, derout feelings, and eccentric habits. 

We will only give another incident of a oriminal kind, which made 
a considerable noise in the Biggar district, and indeed over all Scot- 
land ; and which is the only instance, so far aa we are aware, of in- 
dividuals suffering the last aentenoeof the law for' injury inflicted on 
a Biggar man. 

Newly fifty years have elapsed since the incident happened. At 
that time, in the Wysd of Westmw, Bi^ar, dwelt a man named 
David Loch, and his sponie, Jeanie Dodds. la his early days, David 
pursued the vocation of a pedlar, and resized a little money ; but 
tiring of this wandering profes^on, he settled down at Biggat, and 
became a carrier and a dealer in old'horses. He frequentsd t^ prin- 
cipnl ffdn in Scotland,^ and few men in the Upper Ward put so 
many old hacks through their hands. When not attending markets, 
be employed his ' atUd ysdes,' a> he called them, in driving coals to 
Biggar &om Ponfdgh, and vinted regularly, once a week, in tite 
c^tacity of a carrier, the old bnrgh of Lanark. 

A gentleman having ocoamon to proceed to tihe south, &om Edin- 
burgh, hired a horse to convey him the length of Biggar. David Loch, 
who was going to Edinbmgh next day on some business, engaged to 
take the horse back to its owner. He accordingly left Big^^, mounted 
on the faired horse, between one and two o'clock in the afternoon of 
Wednesday, ihe 23d of November 1814, and was soon jogging along 



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CRIME IN THE BIQGAB DISTBIOT. 339 

at a alow trot, by Toft<»>mb8 and Candy Bnm. In his pockets were 
four baok-notea and twenty ahUlings of silver, a tobacco spleuchon, 
made of a piece of calTa alan, and a tvopenny loaf, put there by the 
affectionate attention of his Bpoosei Jeaoie Dcdds, that he might have 
the wherewithal to appease any gnawing of hanger that might ariw, 
and have no pretext to nuispend his time and his means, by indulging 
in relreshments in the many tempting ale-houses by the way. At 
that time the country had been put into a state of great alarm by the 
perpetration of a number of most daring highway robberies. In 
almost every quarter, men and women had been knocked down and 
maltreated, and their money, and in many coses their clothes, carried 
off. Participaling in the general apprehension, David felt onxioiis to 
reach the metropolia at an early hour in the evening, and therefore 
steadily pursued lus journey, and, although the day wae piercingly 
cold, Ttianfiill y resbted all Uie allur^nents of Bridgehouse, Ninemile 
Bum, Howgate, and Lothian Bum, fbvonrite resting-pdaoes in those 
days for the wayfaring man. The days at that season of the year 
being short, the shades t£ night began to descend er« he had reached 
House of Muir, but, as the sky was nnokraded, and the ground 
covered with snow, the night was by no means dark. 

He had now pasted tlie Bnokstane and the Brigs o' Braid, and was 
descending the road towards Momingside, congratulating himself that 
he had escaped all danger, when, near a solitary thorn-bush, which 
long bore his njune, he met two men, one ot whom inquired at him 
if he knew what the clock was. David slackened the pace of his 
steed a little, and replied that ' he didna ken, but he believed it wad 
be about sax.' ' Sure enough,' sud the one who hod not spoken, ' it 
is as near eleven.' David took them to be two drunk rustics, who 
hod been in Edinburgh at the market, and was about to proceed, 
when one of them rushed forward and seized the bridle, while the 
other dragged him off the horse, and tossed him into a ditch by the 
wayside. Instantly the two ruffians were aixive him with their knees, 
and in t^ stru^e several of his ribs were broken. Age, and an 
attack of paralysis, had greatly weakened his bodily powers, and, 
consequently, he was able to offer very little resistance, but he roared 
out ' Murder, murder,' as loud as he was able. One of the villains 
then struck him several severe blows oa the head with the butt end 
of a pistol. Kid threatened, if he would not . be silent, to knock his 
brains out He siill, howoror, kept crying '^Oh dear;' and the noise 
which he Inade reached the ears of iSx Andrew Black, blacksmith, 
Braidsbum, who hod been convoying one Samuel Payne towards 
Edinburgh, who had passed the rubbers a few minutes before, on the 
road, nearer the city, and hod remarked to his companion that they 
were gallows-looldng scoundrels, whom he would not like to ameit in 
a solitary*plaoe with a hundred pounds in his pocket Andrew 
hastened with aH ^eed to tlie spot, and the villains seeing him tip- 



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HO BIOQAS AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHDIO. 

proaoh, ran off ocroes the fields, carrying with them all the articles 
contained in David's pocketa, formerly mentioned. Andrew pursued 
them for some distance, when one of the robbers wheeled round and 
discharged a pistol at him, which caused him to halt and torn back. 
He found David still lying in the ditch, all covered with blood, and 
the horse standing about thirty yards distant. Andrew, having pro- 
cured some assistance, got David conveyed to Mr Scott's of Myrende, 
and afterwards to the Pohce Office, Edinburgh, where his wounds 
were dressed, and where he made a statement of the assault and 
robbery to the authorities. 

SuspidoQB had for some time been entertained that two Irishmen, 
named Thomas Kelly and Henry CNeil, were concerned with some 
of the numerous robberies which had been recently committed- 
Their houses in the West Port were searched, and several articles 
found, which hod been taken from persons who had been robbed, 
and among the rest was David Loch's spleuchan. It was shown to 
David, who recognised it at once. Some of the legal gentlemen in- 
quired how he was able to identify it as the article whidt he had lost 
Davie replied, ' I ken the spleuchan weel eneugh frae the look o't, 
as I hae putten mony an ounce o' tobacco in till't, and also frae having 
shu'd a slit in't the moming afore I cam' awa' fiae Btg$;ar.' The 
spleuchan being unrolled, David's rude needlework was discovered, 
and its identity thus established beyond a doubt. The Irishmen were 
accordingly forthwith lodged in the old Tolbooth, and, in a few days, 
served with an indictment to stand their trial before the High Court 
of Justidary, on the 16th of December, little more than three weeks 
after their robbery of David Loch. 

Hie trial took place on the day appointed, and excited a veiy 
lively interest. The culprits having been placed at the bar, the in- 
dictment was read, whii^ contained three separate chaises, — 1st, for 
having, on the 22d of November, attacked and robbed William 
Welch, parish schodlmaster of Stenton, East Lothian, near the farm- 
house of Howmuir ; 2d, for having, on the same day, attacked and 
robbed James Leigo and Thomas Wilson, farm servants in the parish 
of Haddington, on the high road between Haddington and Dunbar ; 
and 3d, for having attacked and robbed David Loch, carter in Biggar, 
as already stated. Although the panels had, in thdr declarations, 
confessed th^ perpetration of the crimes lud to their charge, they 
now chose to plead not guilty, and so the case went to an assize. A 
number of witnesses bore testimony against the prisoners, and among . 
others, Andrew Black, the smith at Braidsbum, who, on that occa- 
sion, was highly complimented by the Court for his hnmanity and 
attention. The evidence being closed, the Solicitor-General addressed 
the jury on the part of the Crown, and Messrs GiUes and Brodie on 
behalf of the prisoners. The charges against them baviag bSen clearly 
proved, the jury, without leaving the box, unanimously returned ■ 



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CBtHE IK THE BtGGAR DISTBICT. 941 

verdict of guilty. The Betitence of the Court was, that they be carried, 
on Wednesday, the 25tli of January, between the honn of one and 
four in the afternoon, from the Tolbooth, to the spot at which they 
hod committed the robbery on David Loch, and that they be there 
hanged till deftd. 

The sentence was carried into effect on the day appointed, in 
presence of a large concourse of spectators, many ot whom came from 
a great diatance. Two large square stones, in which the beams of the 
scaffold were placed, still remain in the public road, to mark the spot 
at which the execution took place ; and, aa they consist of sandstone, 
they have a dark damp appearance, even in summer, and are thus 
conspicuous to the eye of the traveller. The thom-tree, so long a 
terror afler nightfall, was, a few jean ago, cut down; but the incident 
of the robbery and execution is still tresh in the memory of many of 
the citizens of the Scottish Capital 



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CHAPTER XXI 

Sfet l&'iOt of ^iffljar. 

Z Battle of Bi^ar is a theme well known to all readers (A 
Blind Harry's renowned poem, ' Te Aotia and J)eidis of ye 
illuster and vailzeaiid Gampionn, Shyr Wilfaam Wallace, 
Enycht off Elrisle,' and of the metrical abridgment of it by 
Hamilton of Gilbertfield. Much discussion has taken place regarding 
the actual occurrence of this battle; but whatever opinion may be 
entertained regarding the verad^ of the Minstrel, it nevertheless 
becomes us, in a work of this kind, to give a detail of the incidents 
of the conflict as he has recorded them. 

In 1297, Sir William Wallace, to revenge the murder of his wife, 
attacked the garrison of Lanark under cloud of night, and by fire and 
sword put almost every one of the English who ccanposed it to death. 
This notable exploit soon resounded over the country, and brought 
together a large number of men who were denrous of striking a blow 
for the freedom of their country. Wallace was unanimously chosen 
their leader. The English garrisons who had been left to keep the 
ooimtry in subjection, were of course much alarmed by these watlike 
demonstrations, and Aymer de Yallance, then dwelling at Bothwell, 
despatched a courier with intelligence of them to Edward. Ilie king 
having set his heart on the entire subjugation of Scotland, and having 
been at infinite pains to effect this object by artful schemes of diplo- 
macy, as well as by several military inroads, was excessively grieved 
and enraged at this intelligence, and instantly resolved to much again 
into Scotland, to chastise ^e insolence and audacity of the Scots, and 
put them under more rigorous bondage than ever. The queen v^nly 
endeavoured to persuade him against this expedition, representing the 
outrage and injustice he was attempting to perpetrate on Scotland, by 
depriving it of its ancient sovereign power, and reducing its people to 
slavery. Deaf to all remonstrances, the king despatched his heralds 
over Uie country to summon his vassals to meet him in warlike array, 
and to follow him to Scotland. One of Edward's pursuivants, by 
birth a Scotsman, and well known in Scotland afterwards by the name 
of Jop, on learning the intentions of the English king, left the court 
and hastened to Scotland to give information of them to Wallace, 
whom he found in Ayrshire. Wallace lost no lime in setting up his 
standard at Lanark, asiA sending notice to his friends, especially in 



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THE BATTLE OF BIOGAB. M* 

AjTsfaire and Clydesdale, to join him without delay. Adorn Wallaoe, 
the yoimg laird of Bichardtowa, Sir Robert Boji, the moestor of the , 
EbtIb of Eilniuiiock and Errol, Sir John Graham, Sir John llnto of 
Crjrmpcnunp, Sir Thomaa Sommeirille of linton and Camwath, Sir 
Walter Newbigging of Newbigging, near Bi^ar, Niohol Aiudiinleck, 
and other men of note, hastened .with their foUowere to obey the 
anmmons. On mnBtering their united forcea, they were ' found to 
amount to 8000 horsemeo, well equipped, and a conaderable ntunber 
of foot ; bat these were in a great measure deetituto of anns. Tbe 
Scots, leanu^ that Edward was approaching witli a pewerM and 
well-appointed army, and htaag aware that t^y could not cope with 
him in the open field, betook themselves to a strong poation on the 
hill of Tinto, abont four miles tnm the town of Bi^ar. 

The English anny marched up the Tweed from Berwiak, and after 
winding among the hills of Peeblesshire, desoended on the plains of 
the Upper Ward of I^narkshire, by the ancient pass of Crosscryne. 
The Scots, fnia their elevated encampment, no doubt beheld this 
' awfnl ost,' as the Minstrel calls it, defile over the moontain^ bitow. 
It amounted to 60,000 warriors, clad in complete armoor, led wi by 
the most warlike and politic monarch of the age, and supplied vi^ 
everything that could contribute to their oomfort, or inspire them 
with confidence and courage. Still the little patriotic bond on the 
aide of Tinto momfested no symptoms of fear, nor thought for a 
moment of dispersiog themselves and providing for tbeir safety. The 
English pitched their camp near Biggar, on a piece of ground rising 
gently from the valley traversed by Biggor Water, and having a deep 
and inaccessible morass on the south and east. Here 

* Tai planjtyt yar f eild with tents and pailiogis, 
Quhar cloiyoDns blew full mony mych^ sonis : 
Plenyst yat place with gad vittaill and wyne, 
In carts brocht yair purwionce dcwine.' 

From tliis place Edward despatched two heralds to WaUaee, com" 
man<^g him to submit to his anthority, and. promia^ if he should 
do so to take him into his service and iavonr, and to confer uponhim 
the most ample rewards ; but in case of disobedience, he threatened 
to hang him the first time he should fall into his hands. Wallace, 
after cousnltiag his friends, wrote back to the king ' that he rejected 
his offers with disdain ; and that, so far from being intimidated by his 
threats, he was det^mined to contend against him until he was driven 
from the kingdom ; that the Scots would sacrifice him without mercy 
should he ever become their prisoner ; and tliat tbey would be pre- 
pared to offer him battle at no distant period. 

A young knight, the king's nephew, sitber out of corioaty, or for 
the purpose of ascertaining the numbers and reconnoitering the posi- 
tion of the Scots, had accompanied the heralds in disguise ; but Jop 



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SM BIQOAK AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEHUia. 

recognising this youth, having often seen him before while living at 
the English court, gaye intimadon of his rank and conditioD to 
Wallace. In these chivalrous times, H was considered highly lUs- 
hoQourable for a true knight to act as a spy, or for any ods to assume 
Che chancier of a herald who did not belong to that order ; and the 
person who did so was held to have forfeited all claim to be treated 
with mercy. The Scots, nnarting under the wrongs inflicted on them 
by the English, indignant at the haughty and imperious message sent 
by the king, and especially enraged at the duplicity of iLe youi^ 
warrior and his companions, instantly resolved to punish them ill a 
most severe and summary manner. The knight was conducted to an 
eminence above the camp, and had his head atnu^ from his body ; 
the tongue of one of the heralds was cat out, and the eyes of ^e 
other extracted with a pur of [oncers. The two heralds, in this 
dreadful plight, were ordered to return to the English camp with the 
head of the knight, and to inform the king that he might regard what 
the Scots had done as a proof that his threats and his powerful army 
had not been able to strike them with terror, or bring them to sub- 
mission. When Edward learned what had taken place, he was for 
gome time struck dumb with Borrow and indignation ; and at length, 
when his feelings were somewhat tranquillized, he vowed not to leave 
Scotland till he had taken the most ample vengeance on Wallace and 
the Scots for the outrage they had perpetrated. 

Wallace had now resolved to take a very daring step. He was 
quite well aware that his small army was no match for Edward's in a 
fair field, and that his only chance of success lay in soine well-con- 
certed and vigorously-executed stratagem. To carry out such an 
object, he was convinced that it would be of great advantage were he 
to visit the English camp in disguise, and thus ascerttun its means of 
defence, and the positions occupied by the king and his generals. 
He communicated his design only to Sir John l^to, and enjoined him 
to observe the 8trict«st secrecy. He accordingly disguised himself, and 
left tLe camp unnoticed. On his way between Coulter and Biggar, he 
met a poor man driving a horse laden with pitchers of earthenware. 
Wallace entered into conversation with him ^ and finding him to be an 
itinerant merchant, instantly entertained the idea that he might gain 
admission into the interior of the English camp by pretending to be 
a hawker of earthenware. He accordingly purchased the man's horse 
and his stock in trade ; and still thinking his disguise not sufficiently 
complete, proposed an exchange of garments — a proposal which greatly 
increased the man's astonishment, but to which he readily assented. 
Equipped in the hawker's habiliments, consistuig of a threadbare hood, 
a grey doublet, and hose daubed, or, as Harry says, 'clag^t' with 
clay, closing one of his eyes as if it had been deprived of vision, and 
driving the mare, he set forward, to the great amusement of the old 
hawkter, towards tlie town of Biggar. In this guise, tradition sayit 



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THE BATTLE OF BIOGAB. US 

that ha passed along the old narrow bridge which crosses Biggar Burn ; 
and that from this drcumstance, as we have already stated, it first 
got the name of the ' Cadger's Brig,' which it still rettuns. 

About twilight he entered the English camp, and while seemingly 
intent on the sale of hie commoilities, he was, at the same time, care- 
fa]lj obserring the arrangement of the encampment, 

' Qiihar lords lay and had yair lugyng maid, 
Ze kings palzone qoharon ye libards baid, 
Spyand fall fast qohar awaill suld be, 
And couth treyll luk and wynk with ye ta e.' 

l^e soldiers, no donbt stmck with his singular appearance, Boon 
began to treat him with considerable freedom. Some of them broke 
his pota, while others indulged in Jokes upon his blind eye. It is « 
tradition, that one man declared that if the hawker had not been blind 
of an eye and lame of a leg, he was certain that he was Wallace him- 
self. This declaration was afterwards put into rhyme, and is still well 
known at Biggar. It is as foUows : — 

' Had ye not been crip[de o' a 1^, and blind o' an ee, 
Ye are as like William WoUaoe as erer I did see.' 

Wallace finding his situation becoming perilous, made haste to retire 
without exciting Airther suspicion. 

He returned to his own camp just in time to save the life of his 
friend, Sir John "Hnto. A great discontent had arisen among the 
Scots when it was known that Wallace had secretly lefr: the camp, as 
it was oonjectured that he had, after all, deserted fais friends, and 
might betray them to the enemy. As he had been last seen in com- 
munication with Sir John Tiato, that knight was called on to disclose 
-what he knew regardii^ the movements of their leader ; but as he 
poSLtively refosed to do this, he was pat under restraint, and a cry 
was rused that he shonld forfeit his life for his obstinacy. When the 
excitement was at the very height, and Tinto was expecting nothing 
else than that he would fall a victini to the general indignation, 
Wallace made his appearance, ordered him to be set at liberty, and 
commended h™ highly for his unflinching fideUly to his obligation. 
The chiefs gathered round Wallace to hear an account of his adven- 
tures, the reintal of which afibrded them much amusement ; but it 
called forth a strong expression of dissatisfaction ttota Sir John 
Graham, who maintuned that such conduct was unchieftainlike, and 
altogether unbecoming the commander of an army. Wallace, in 
reply, said that before Scotland was fr^ it would be necessary for 
them all to subject themselves to far greater hazards, and to perform 
still more daring exploits. 

The Scottish army retired to rest, but with instructions that every 
man should be on foot before daybreak, and ready for the march. 



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MS BIOGAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEUINO. 

When the tmmpet, at the ^pointed tdme, blew a nllyii^ blast, they 
all sprang up, r^iij armed, and e^^ for the fraj. Thtjirtxe imme- 
diately drawn sp in three diviaons. The fint was led by Wallace 
hims(jf, and imder him were Sir Robert Boyd and Nieol Auchinleck ; 
the second by Sir John Graham, and under him were Adam Wallace, 
younger of Riccarton, and Sir Thoioas SommerviUe of Carnwath ; and 
the third by Sir Walter of Newbigging, and under him were 
Sir John Tinto, and David, son of Sir Walter. The foot, being 
badly armed, were drawn up in the rear, and recdved orders not to 
engage rashly, but reserve themselves till a fitting opportunity, or 
till they were properly supplied with arms. Wallace then smnmoned 
the chiefttuns around him, and strictly enjoined them to prevent thdr 
followers from being allured from the combat by the pillage which 
the English camp might present He reminded them, t^ those who 
betook themselves to plunder before the victory was g^ed, generally 
lost both their life and their booty. He expr^sed the utmost confi- 
dence that they would, on thia occasion, strike a blow worthy of 
freemen, and exert themselves with all tlieir might to inflict punish- 
ment on a false tyrant who had come to wreathe fresh chfuns on the 
necks of their countrymen. All of them readily consented to attend 
to his orders. 

Th^ had scarcely commenced thdr mardi, when, thiou^ the fiunt 
gloom of the summer's morning, they beheld a body of armed men 
approaching from the south, which naturally filled them with alarm. 
These, however, turned out to be a party of three bundled hardy and 
stalwatt borderers, under the command of Thomas Haltiday and his 
two sons, Wallace and Rutherford ; and with them alto came Jardine 
of Applegirth, and Rodger Kirkpatrick, Lord of Torthorald; the whole 
being on their way to join the Scottish patriots who had taken up 
arms in defence of their country. This welcome accession of strength 
was htuled with great satisfaction, and still Airther raised the spirits of 
the Scots. 

The combined force now proceeded with the greatest celerity 
towards Biggar. The English, to prevent surprise during the night, 
had posted pickets at some distance &om their camp; but as dawn 
began to appear, these had been withdrawn, llie English, bdng 
aware of the comparatively small number of the Scots, entertuned no 
suspicion that an attack would be made npon them by day. When 
the firat division of the Scottish horsemen, led on by Wallace himself, 
therefore, rushed upon them, they were taken somewhat by surprise. 
The knowledge which Wallace had acquired by his visit to the 
English camp, was of the greatest use, as he knew the ground, the 
disporition of the tents, and the best mode of conducting the assault. 
He therefore rushed with his division into the very heart of the camp, ' 
with the view of reaching the tent of the king ; but he found this was 
impossible, as the English soldiers in great numbers rallied round it. 



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THB BATTLE OF BIOOAB. MT 

particularly the Eafl of Keat, with a detachment of 5000 men. The 
Scots, finding thenuelvea encombered with their horses, dismonnted, 
and carried on tLe affray on foot. As they were all stalwart men, 
expert in war, and animated with a deadly resentment to the English, 
they foQgbt with the most desperate valour, and made a prodigious 
havoc among dieir terrified, disordered, and half-anned antagonists. 

Graham and Newbigging, with their divisions, followed by the foot, 
who had now obtained an abundant supply of weapons, aUo pressed 
hastily forward^ overtaming the tents in their way, and slaughtering 
every opponent they conid reaoh. The battle still raged round the 
king's person with great obstinacy ; and the Scots, having joined their ' 
forces, began to drive the £nglish' back towards the valley, covered 
with deep marshes on the south, and in the confusion the royal tent 
was overturned. The £arl of Kent,' proud of displaying his martii^ 
skill and prowess in the presence of his sovereign, rallied his troops 
once and agun; and, widi a ponderous battle-axe, committed great 
havoc ^moi^ tiie Scotai Wallace, finding the conrse of victory 
arrested by the power&l arm of this intrepid and indomitable war- 
rior, sought him out amid the throi^, and engaged him in single 
combat When these two distingoished champions had fairly oncouU' 
tered, the snnounding warriors, on both sides, almost suspended the 
work of death, to watch the issile of a conflict so tremendous and 
heart-stirring. Both fonght with great fury, but with admirable 
courage and dexterity, till, at lei^ifth, Wallace, with an irrraistible 
stroke, smote him lif^ess to the ground. At this sight the English 
were diaeouniged, taii mounting the king on horseback, forced him, 
much against his inclination, to quit the field. In this encounter 
4000 of the English were cut down, and the remainder, in terror and 
confn^n, fied from Biggar, taking the Erection of Coulter by the 
Causeway, which crossed the moss on the west The Scots pursued 
them to Coulter Hope, about four miles distant. Here the English 
rallied in great force, and Wallace, knowing that he was no match For 
them in the open field, withdrew his followers to Biggar, after they 
had slain 7000 men in the putsmt, as no quarter was given. Here, 
finding provimons and valuable commodities in abundance, and being 
exceedingly hungry and fatigued, they sat down to a sumptuous re- 
past ; and after regaling themsdves with bumpers of wine, proceeded 
to take some repose. Their rest, however, was of short duration, as 
Wallace was afraid that the English, apprized of the smallness of their 
numbers, would return, for liie purpose of recovering their camp, and 
therefore deemed it prudent to draw off his forces to a place of 
strength and security, called Davis Shaw, and to convey the booty 
obtained in the camp to Bops's Bog. 

The English were now drawn up in Coulter Hope, on a place called 
John's Green, and were lamenting tiie disaster that had befallen them, 
and the loss of tiieir comrades and commanders, among the latter of 



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348 BIGGAfi AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

whom were the king's boo, bis two uncles, and the EoH of Kent, when 
two cooks, who had concealed tbemselTes in the camp, and skulked 
off after thej saw the Scots indulging ia repose, come and infonued 
them that the Scots were lying in the camp, overcome with sleep and 
intoxication, and mi^t easilj' be overpowered. The king was un- 
willing to credit this story, as he considered it onlikely that Wallace 
would be so remiss and imgaarded in such circumstances. He there- 
fore declared it to be his determination to retreat, aa there was little 
hope of recovering their provinons at Biggar, and no adequate sup- 
plies coidd be obtained amid the mountains by which they were sur- 
rounded. The Duke of Lancaster urged, that the drcamstances in 
which ihey were placed rendered it imperative that an efibrt should 
be made to reg^ the camp ; and though the king himself would uot 
retnru, he requested to be furnished with a strong detachment, with 
which he hoped to recover the supplies, of which they would soon 
stand so much in need. The king was prevailed on to allow him to 
take 10,000 men, and promised to wait on him till next day, expect- 
ing to be able to supply the wants of his troops with such bestial as 
he might find among the hills. The Governor of Calais and the 
Lord of Westmoreland resolved to accompany the Duke^ and each of 
them obtamed the command of 1000 men ; Sir Aymer de Vollance 
also joined them with a considerable reinforcement Those nnited 
parties marched back to Biggar, but found the camp plundered and 
deserted, and strewed with dead bodies that had been stripped bare. 
For some time they were at a loss to conceive what place the Scots 
hod retired to, but some scouts soon brought intelligence that they 
were posted at Davis Shaw, which ia supposed to have been situated 
on the sloping sides of the hill of Bizzyberry, little more than a mile 
from Biggar. They accordingly marched in that direction, but were 
descried by the Scottish videttcs, who gave the alarm. Leaving their 
horses in the Shaw, the Scots passed on foot into Rop's Bog, as a place 
of greater security from the attacks of the Engludi divimon, which 
consisted prindpally of cavalry. The "English seeing them pass into 
the bog, and being dec^ved by its fair and solid appearance, rode 
towards them with great impetuosity. The conseqnenee was, that the 
front line of horse was soon embogued in the morass, and overborne 
by those that pressed on behind. In this state of confusion the 
soldiers were assailed by the Scots, and, being unable to extricate 
themselves, were slai^htcred ahnost to a man. The Scots, embold- 
ened by this success, crossed the bog and fell upon the English, who 
were bewildered and intimidated by the fate of their comrades, and 
the boldness and success of their opponents. The conflict, however, 
was sharp and long-continued, and great valour was displayed on 
both sides. The mode of fighting at that time generally rendered a 
battle a series of single combats. Some notable encounters of this 
kind took place during the engagement. The Governor of Calais, 



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THE BATTLE OF BIGOAK. Ma 

clad in complete itrmoar, and expert in oil warlike exercises, assailed 
Sir John Gt^am, who, with his trusty blade, warded off his attacks, 
and, at length, struck li'm such a blow as pierced his harness, and 
laid him lifeless on the spot. Wallace, espying Aymer de Yallance, 
one of Edward's most active and resolute capttuns, and noted for his 
cruel oppression of the Scots, was ajudoos to engage with him ; but 
the BbtI of Westmoreland, coming between them, received a stroke 
from Wallace on his steel basinet, which instantly deprived him of 
life. Bobert Boyd encountered the Governor of Berwick, and, after 
an obstinate combat, also sutxeeded in slaying him by a 'straik awk- 
wart ye cr^,' which cutting 

* Thionch all hys weid in aondyr straik ye bane.' 
The English, now panic-struck, left the field to the victorious Scots, 
and fled back to John's Green. 

Such was the Battle of Biggar; and if Harry is at all to be credited, 
it was productive of most important consequences. Edward con- 
sidered it prudent to return to England, without gwning the object of 
his expedition. Many persons of distinction came and ranked them- 
selves under the banner of Wallace, and, in a short time after, that 
undaunted and inflexible patriot vras chosen Warden of Scotland, at 
an assembly of his countrymen held at Carluke Church, then called 
Forest Kirk. 

The spot on which the English are supposed to have had their 
encampment, and on which the Battle of Biggar was fought, lies to 
the east of the town, and comprehends what are now called the Back 
Well Park, the Stanehead, Guildie's Oxgait, and the Borrow Muir. 
A little farther to the east is the extensive morass, then called 'Bop's 
Bog,' and now Biggar Moss, a right to it having, at a later period, 
been conferred on the town. A smoU stream, which runs out of this 
bog, is said to have been dyed with blood on the day of the battle, 
and, therefore, got the name of the 'Bed Syke,' by which It is still 
known. A little to the north is the hill of Bizzyberry, on which the 
wood called Davis Shaw is said to have been situated, on which 
evident traces of military works are still to be seen, and which bos 
some parts of it associated with the name of Wallace to this day. 

The story of the Battle of Biggar, as is well known, has been re- 
garded by historians as a mere fable, and has brought down on the 
bead of ^e poor Minstrel a perfect torrent of contempt and abuse. 
The mjun cause of this is, that no historian or state document of the 
period mentions the expedition of Edward I. which ended in the 
Battle of Biggar. It is stated, too, by some historians, and among 
others by Holinshed, that Edward was in France in 1297, the year in 
which Horry says the Battle of Biggar was fought. Now, all these 
circumstances do not put the Battle beyond the bounds of probability. 
Documents of that period, whether written by statesmen or historians, 



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U4 BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OP FtEUDia. 

were nei^er very detailed nor Kccimte, and irere often, in the conne 
of a few years, destroyed or loat Supposing Blind Harry's narrative 
to be correct, it ia far from unlikely that the king was at puns, bo &i 
as he possibly could, to obhterxte every trace of an expe^don so dis- 
appointing to his hopes, and so damping to his military reputation. 
It is not a decisive statement to say that Edward was that same year 
in France, because he may have gone to that country shortly after the 
battle was fought ; and even suppoang that he vas the w^jiaJe of the 
year there, the detailsi' given by Harry may be perfeody correct, 
although he may have made a mistake as to the exact dafee. Several 
reasons might be assigned in favour of attttdung credit -to ike Min- 
strel's story. The causes which are said to have led to the battle, viz., 
the sanguinary proceedings at Lanark, do not rest on the testimony of 
Harry alone. They are recorded by Fordun in his 'Scotiebronicon)' 
and by Wyntoun in his 'Ckronykill of Scotland;' and are generally 
regarded as facts beyond all cavil or dilute.. The slaughter of Hesi- 
rig. Thorn, and the English garrison at Lanark, and the gatboing 
together of the Scots, under Wallace and other competent leaders, 
were certainly events sufficient to rouse Edward to make a fresh in- 
road into Scotland. The complete subjugation of this cotmtry was 
regarded by that monarch as a matter of the last importance. Eor 
the attainment' of this object he hod platted and contended ftv yeals ; 
he had held important national assemblies ; he had overrua the greater 
part of Scotland ; he had vanqmahed its armies.;' he, had dastroyed or 
carried oS the memcnals of its national independence.;, he had filled 
its strongbolda with hia troops ; and he bad forced its Idag and its 
barons to submit to the most bitter marti£cationa, aod to bend before 
him as iJieir lord superior. Though detatchments of En^ish troops 
were stationed in different ports of Scotland, it does not appear that 
there was at that time any concantrated force that oould efieetnally 
cope with the patriatB who had banded themselves togetherj In these 
circumstances, nothing was more likely than tiiat Edward should again 
march into Scodandat thehead of a large army. 

It serves somewhat to confirm thestatement that Edward <was' at 
Biggar, and fought a battle there, tiiat iragments of aadeot. armonr, 
according to- reporl^'have been repeatedly dug up in the neighbour- 
hood of the toim ; and coins of his retgn have been found in the 
adjoining fields. One of these, found on Gtmi's Meadow, by Adam 
Wyld, Esq., Bi^ar, is stiUin.the ponesatMi of timt gentleman; and 
another, found -some forty yean ago by Mr Peter Williamson on the 
Borrow Muu*, is now in the possession of William Ballantyne, Esq;, 
manufacturer, Glasgow, a native of Biggar. A few years ago, an 
immense number of these coins were dug up at a spot on the sodtii 
side of Crosscryne, about three miles from Biggar, which tradition 
points out as lying on the exact line of the march of the English 
army. "Diat zealous antiquary, Mr Sim of Coulter, viated the spot, 



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THE BATTLE OF BIGOAB. SU 

uid he {aaai the ctniu acattered about in sncb abimdance, that he 
wu led to entertain the opudoli that a panion of Edward's military 
cheat had been there depoaited, either from the drcumstaiice of a 
waggon breakiDg down, or for the purpose of concealment. As 
mi^t be ezpecied, Mr Km has in Ua repooitories a nomber of these 
coins, which he delights to show to his friends, as forming, it ma; 
be, a slight corroboration of the old Mimtrera narratiTe of the Battle 
of Bi^ar. 

"Die details given by Blind Harry are by no means improbable. 
The Tisit of Wallace to the English camp cannot be a matter of great 
sorprise, when we know that the Duke of Wellington, one of the most 
cantioos of gmerals, was in the habit, both in Spain and France, of 
going alone, and in disguise, almost dose to the piid^ets of the enemy, 
to ascertun, with hie own eyes, the nature of the ground, and the 
best modes of carrying ottt his movements. The disparity of num- 
bers is, no doubt, very great ; but the battle is not described as a 
regular engagement in the fields, but as, in the first place, an unex- 
pected assault on the enemy's camp, and in the second, a stand 
against an attack of cavalry in a bog, in both of which a small bn^y 
of powerful and intrepid men might successfully oppose and overcome 
five or six times their own number. The removal of the booty by 
the Scots to a place of securi^, the return of the English to Biggar, 
and the position taken up by the Scots on a piece of ground defended 
by a morass, are all circmnstaocea most likely to occur ; while the 
nature of the ground, and the relative position of the places mentioned, 
are accurately described, and lend additional confirmation to the 
Minstrel's tale. 

It is not to be denied that there is much confosion of dates, and 
even of statement, in Blind Harry's book. In the end he dispenses 
with dates altogether. His narrative, however, agrees in many points 
with that given by old historians, particularly by Fordun and Wyn- 
town ; and recent researches have tended rather to establish than 
invalidate the events which he describes. If he tells the truth in 
very many respects, it is rather surpiiong that he should be gmlty of 
an entire fabrication in regard to the Battle of Biggar. Harry lived 
at a time when, no doubt, much authentic information, both written 
and oral, existed regarding the career of Wallace. He refers to 
various works as his authorities, which unfortunately do not now 
exist, such as 'The First Line of the first Stewarts,' ' Con's Cronykle,' 
and, above all, a Ufe of Wallace, written in Latin by his chaplain, 
Robert Blmr, and Thomas Gray, parson of Libberton, in the neigh- 
bourhood of Biggar, and confirmed for truth by Sinclair, Bishop of 
Dunkeld, who had himself been a witness of many of the exploits of 
Wallace, These works may have borne out the Minstrel's narrative in 
veiy many particulars. As it b evident that he was an enthtudast m 
ibe cause of his hero, he would spare do pains in collecting the stories 



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SS8 BIGOAR AND THE BOUSE OF FLEMING. 

then corrent regai'ding bis achievements. He mendoDS sereral parties 
who had supplied Mm with facts, particular]; Wallace of Craigie, and 
the Laird of Liddle. His own declaration regarding his book bears 
such an appearance of simplicity and candour, that it would almost 
satisfy an inveterate sceptic of his entire siacerit; in the uurative 
which he has given. 

' All worthy men yat redys jh mrall dyt, 

Blajm nocht je bok e^ I be nnperfyt. 

I mdd halve thank, een 1 nocht trawaill spaid. 

For laj labour na man hecht me reward. 

Na charge I had off king or oyir lord, 

Oret harm I tliocht hjs gud ddd sold be sm<ffed. 

I haiff said her ner as je procew gaui, 

And fended nocht for freindschip nor for fais.' 
We have no iatention to stand up and implicitly mMJntain that a 
battle, with all the incidents detailed by Blind Elany, actually took 
place at Biggar ; but, at the same time, we have little doubt that in 
these unsettled times some engagement or another was fought at this 
place, on which the narrative of the Minstrel was, in a great measure, 
founded. 



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CHAPTER XXII. 

(^$H£ encampment of Edward II. of England at Biggar, in 1310, is 
rvlfij ^° important event in ^e hiatoiy of the town. B; thb time 
^^S&r Wallace had been betrayed into the hands of the Snglisb, 
and bad been roost unjustly and ignominiously put to death 
as a traitor; and hia savaf;e executioner, Edward I., who bad caused 
so madi injniy to Scotland, had also paid the debt of nature, without 
obtaining the great object of bis ombitioQ, the entire subjugation of 
the Scots. His son, Edward 11., now reigned in bis stead ; and though 
possessed of far less energy and discrimination than his father, he 
still pursued the same unjust and aggressive policy in respect to the 
northem kingdom. He had, however, to contend with Robert Bruce, 
a most politic, indefatigable, and raliaut champion of his country's 
rights and liberties. Bruce, at first, bad met with reverses and dis- 
couragements safficient to crush any ordinary man ; but, at the period 
to which we refer, he had rallied hu scattered fiiends, and was over- 
powering in detail the generals whom Edward had sent to overawe 
and subjugate the country. The English king, on learning the 
reverses of his troops, and the successful career of Bruce, resolved to 
levy a formidable army, and once more make an inroad into Scot- 
land, hoping that his imposing array of military force would put an 
end to all further efforts on the part of Bruce to oppose his designs. 
He summoned his vassab &om all parts of his dominions, and, in a 
short time; arrived at Berwick with a mighty body of armed men, 
his principal generals being the Earls of Gloucester and Warrene, 
Lord Henry Percy, and I>ord James Clifford. Leaving Berwick, they 
ascended, by leisurely marches, the vale of Tweed, and arrived at 
Biggar on the I2th or 14th day of October. The English monarch 
was, most likely, desirous of an engagement ; but Bruce was now well 
aware of the advantages of stratagem and cantion. He saw that he 
was more likely to ddeat a large army by allowing it to march up 
and down a barren and desolated country, than by encountering it in 
the open field. He therefore kept hovering on die flanks of the 
English, intercepting their supplies, and cutting off such stragglers 
and foraging parties as fell in his way. On one occasion he pounced 
on a detachment of 300 men, and before a reinforcement could be 
seat to their aid, cut them to pieces. 



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SM BIGGAB AKD THE BOUSE OF FLEHDia 

From ^e long-continoed wars in which Scotland had been engaged, 
tillage had been greatly neglected, and the country, at the time, was 
suffering from the direM effects of famine. Any corn and forage 
that existed bad been carefully removed to places not eaaily accessible 
to the English. This was a leading feature in the policy of Bruce^ to 
which he gave prominent expression in what is called Us Testament, 
originally written in lAtin verse, and afterwards translated into Scotch 
by Heame. In speakingofthe manner ofdealing with invaders,he says, 
* In strait placis gar kdp all etoire, 
And biman the planen land thaim befoire, 
Thanan "*!! thu pass away in hust, 
Qiibcn ibat thai find nt n^^^^Ti g hot wust-^ 

Had the sound advice given in this testament been attended to by 
the Scots in aA«r times, it would have saved them from many a sad 
disaster ; tmd, at this day, we would not have had to lament such 
woeful defeats as those of Flodden, Finkey, and Dunbar. 

While Edward lay at Biggar, his troops began Iq suffei; very much 
from the waat of provisions, and, therefore, he issued an edict to the 
sheriffs of the different counties of England to levy and forward sup- 
plies of com, etc. As tiiia is die only state dpcnment, so f ajr as we 
know, that ever was issued filom Biggar, we will venture to ^ye a 
translation of it from the Norman French in which it was wiitteo, 
and which was bq long the langi^age of the English court, although 
the statements conttuaed in it are not, historiooUy speaking, of any 
great importance : — 

' The King to the Sheriff of Warwick, grtOmg. 
' Whereas we lately commanded you, by our lettere bearing the 
stamp of our great seal and the special seal of our Sxcbei^uer, to 
make diverse purveyances of c^m and other things for die sustenta- 
tiOD of us and our army in Scotland ; and we have since learned by 
intelligence from some people, that you have begun to make these 
purveyances in an undue manner.: We agoiq command and charge 
you, on the faith which you owe to us, that you cause these purvey- 
ances to be made in a manner so expedient, as not to locnr the ill- 
will of ouj- people, whom God protect pur will in this respect ia^ 
that you do no wrong on account of this lery of provisions, and iJiat 
you do not, under a pretence of purchase, carry off the goods of any 
one, without their consent ; but that, by the best methods that you 
can adopt, you will cause the said victu^ to. be prorided with oU 
despatch, under warrants of your bailiffs, by way of purchase, voIud- 
tfiry presentation, and the favourable disposition of well affected 
* people. And should it happen that the whole of our own revenues are 
not sufficient to procure these purveyances without having recourse 
to the property of others, we command you that with all despatch aod 



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MILITABT HOVEUEHTS AND BOTAL FBOOBS^ES AT BIQOAB. SEE ' 

caie yon ]Svy the wbote of our daes which jou h&Ve, or may have in 
cha^e, from ota reaoorces, and the sums in our Exchequer, and by 
other express orders from ua in your possessioB. You must exempt 
no one from the Bums due to us unless he ' cau sfaoW a dideharged 
account or other acquittance, or yon have instmbtions from us that he 
ia to be specially exempted ftom thti taxes which y6n have levied, or 
may leVy, as well as from all' btfaer wairaiits issned by your bailiffs. 
Make, then, fully and without delay, the purveyance already referred 
to, and in the manner Specified ; ind see that you fail not, a* you re- 
gard th6 honour of us and our tealfn, and wish to avoid the heavy 
penalty which you will incur for any loss that we may thereby sustain. 
' Given at Biggar, the 18th day of October. 
' Ihe sam« instroctdoin are given to the ^herifb underwritten ; that 
is to say, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertford, etc, etc' 

For six days, the English king and his army remained at Biggar ; 
but Bobert Bruce, true to the cautious policy which he had adopted, 
kept at a distance, and afforded uo prospect of sorrenderiug to his 
opponents, or coming to an engagemen't m the field. They struck 
their teste, therefore, and marched down the Clyde to Renfrew ; but 
finding in the west the same uniform scenes of poverty and desolation, 
tboy soon reversed th^ march and came to linUthgow, where they 
remained twelva days, and then returned to Berwick, at which town 
they arrived on the 10th of November. The whole expedition was a 
comi^etA failure, being nothing better than a piece of empty ostenta- 
tion and bravada It awed and subdued nobody. Edward, in writ- 
ing an acoonnt of it to the Pope, however, claims the credit of com- 
pletely overawing the Scots. He says, — ' When we lately marched 
into Scodand to suppress the rebellion of Robert Brace and his 
acoompUces, trutors idike ag^st us and your Holiness, they lurked 
in hidhig-places like foxes, not daring to oppose us in the field.' He 
bad a very (Afferent tale to teli a few years afterwards, when he met 
Bruce on the famous field of Bannockbnm. 

Biggar was the place appointed as the rendezvous of the Scottish 
warriors, who, in February 1802-8, were summoned to repel an in- 
varaon of the Eu^ish. Here assembled an army of 8000 or 10,000 
men from Dumfriesshire, Aynhiie, and Clydesdale, — districts &med 
throughout the whole of our history for containing the boldest and 
most unflinching (^tampions of freedom, civil and rehg^ous. The 
principal' commanders were Sir John Comyn, Lord of Lenzie and 
Badnooh, and one of the guardians of the kingdom, and the brave 
Sir %mon Eraser of Oliver Castle, in Peeblesshure. Walsingham and 
some odier English historians state that Wallace held ^e chief com- 
mand; but a»this circumstance is- not confirmed by Fordun or any 
Scottish writer, it is probable that the great hero of national inde- 



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SB8 KIGGAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEUDia. 

pendence wai not preseDt, bat, at the time, waa living in retirement, 
or hod gone to France, disgusted with the selfishness and treachery of 
the greater port of the Scottish nobility. We can readily imagine the 
lively interest with which the inhabitants of Biggar would regard the 
array of brave and patriotic men, who had assembled on their plains, 
not for the purpose of a mere holiday review, but of using their good 
broadswords, and imperiUiog their lives to repel the swarm of in- 
vaders that Edward of England had agun sent to ravage their country. 
The English, amounting to 20,000 men, under the conunand of Sir 
John Segrave, marched about Lent from Berwick to Edinburgh, and 
then commenced to move in three divisions to the south. The Scots 
at Bi^ar appear to have got notice of their movements, and being 
nearly all horsemen, they hastened by a night march lo meet them, 
and stop their progress. While it was yet dark, they fell on the first 
division near fioslin, commanded by Segrave, and ere it had time to 
draw up in battle order, routed it with great slaughter, and took a 
lai^ number of prisoners, among whom were Segrave himself, sixteen 
knights, and thirty squires. The Scots, thinking they had guned a 
complete victory, began to collect the booty, when the second division, 
under the command of Ralph Manton, the cofferer or treasurer, 
appeared in nght, and no alternative was lefi bat to sby the prisoners, 
and engage in a second combat. The Scots made the attack vrith 
such irresisdble fury that they bore all before them, and captured the 
cofferer and many other peisons of distinction. Scarcely had this 
combat been decided, when the Scots saw the third division, nnder 
the command of Sir Robert Neville, hastening to the scene of action. 
Worn out by their night march from Biggar, and their exertions in 
the two previous engagements, their first thoughts were turned to a 
retreat from the field ; but the enemy was too close upon them to per- 
mit this to be done with safety, and they were compelled to fight a 
third time, and a third time they were victorious. Neville was laid 
lifeless on the field, and the whole of the English army were either 
killed or scattered in hopeless confusion over the plains of Lothian, 
while the Scots were rewarded by the rich booty left in their hands. 
At a convention held at Stirling, on the 15di May 1565, Queen 
Mary expressed her intention to enter into the marriage relation with 
her cousin. Lord Damley. Lord John Fleming and the barons pre- 
sent gave their aancdon to this union, and it was accordingly solem- 
nized on the 20th of July following. Unfortunately, the step gave 
great dissatisfaction to some of her principal nobility. Professing a 
warm attachment to Protestantism, they viewed Damley with special 
dislike on account of his adherence to the Romish faith. The Duke 
of Chatelherault, the Earls of Murray, Glencaim, Rothea, and Argyle, 
Lords Boyd and Ochiltree, and others, usually styled the Lords of 
the Congregation, drew together their followers, and broke out 
against her in open rebellion. Whatever may have been the faults 



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tnLTTABT UOVZHENTS AHD KOTAL PBOQRESSE8 AT BIGGAE. S57 

■nd failinga of Mary Stewart, she waa certainly not deatdtnte of courage 
and setivity. She lost no time in summoning her faithful subjects 
around her, and, at the head of 5000 men, marched ag^nst the rebel 
lords, then assembled in the west of Scotland. The Queen expected 
to encounter them at Hamilton; but they eluded her, and proceeded 
to Edinburgh. Finding that they were to receive Httte support in the 
capital, they left it in a few days, and retreated, first to Luiark, and 
then to Hamilton. Considering their position insecure in the west, 
they proceeded to Dumfries, so that, in case of necessity, they might 
readily retire across the border, and take refuge in the dominions of 
Queen Elizabeth, who secretly favoured their rebellious designs. 
Queen Mary and her friends, on the rebel lords first leaving Hamilton, 
went to Stirling, and then to St Andrews, from which she issued a 
proclamation calling on the rebels to lay down their arms, and appear 
before her in six days, to answer such charges as might be brought 
^unst them ; but, as none of them appeared, they were denounced 
as rebels, and put to the horn. Her authority being thua set at defi- 
ance, she sent forth a summons to her faithful subjects to assemble at 
Biggar on the 8th of October, ' all boden in feir of weir,' with twenty 
days' provision, ' under pane of tinsell of lyS, landis, and guddia.' 
The author of the ' Diurnal of Semarkable Occurents,' in referring to 
the 6tb of October 1565, says : — ' Upon the samen day our souranis 
with thair army depairtit of Edinburgh towart Biggar.' The equip- 
ment of the Qiieen was decddedly warlike. She rode a stately charger, 
and had a p^ of pistols stuck in holsters at her saddle-bows ; and it 
is said that her scarlet and embroidered ridJng dress covered a suit of 
defenfflve armour, and that under her hood and veil she wore a steel 
casqua Damley was also gaily mounted, and wore a splendid suit 
of gilt armour. These royal and illustrious personages were received 
at Biggar by an enthusiastic host of 18,000 men, all ready to march 
against the foes of their sovereign, and to fight to the death in defence 
of her rights and authority. Mary, no doubt, honoured her cousin, 
Lord Fleming, by taking up her abode in the Castle of Boghall during 
her brief stay at Biggar. Its old walls would then resound with the 
enthusiastic shouts that welcomed Scotland's fur Queen and her 
husband to repose within its towers and battlements. 

Biggar never saw a more gallant array- of Scottish chivalry than 
was, on this occouon, displayed on its adjacent acdivitieB. Here had 
assembled a large portion of the nobles, barons, and knights of Scot- 
land, with their retiuners, from almost every part of the kingdom. 
The names of the chief leaders of this army, and the posts which they 
were to occupy in the different battalions, as given by some of our old 
historians, are as follows : — The vanguard was led by the right noble 
and mighty Lord Mathew, Earl of Lennox, Lieutenant in the western 
parts of the realm, who was supported by the Earls of Cassillis and 
Eglinton, Lords Semple, Boss, Catbcart, and Sanquhar, the Sheriff 



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lU BiaOAB ARD THS HOUSE OF FLEHUfG. 

of Ayr, the I^ird of Gftrlies, %r Jsmes Hamilton, and other tiegee 
of die Queen, within the Earl of Lennox'i juriadiction. The rear- 
guard was led by George, Earl of Hontly, John, Earl of Athole, uid 
David, Earl of Crawford; and these noblemen were aocompanied 
by Lords Buthven, Glamis, Forbes, Drununond, and Innenneth, and 
the Conunendator of Deer, who took the place of his father, the Eaii 
HarischalL The main body was onder the command of Lord Daroley, 
the huflband of the Queen, who was supported by the Earls of Morton, 
Bothwell, and Mar ; Lords Fleming, OgUvie, Livingston, Sommerrille, 
Borthwick, Yester, Lindsay, and Hume, and ' the hull remnant of 
ye reahne.'* 

ffhe Queen was the life and soul of this warlike assemblage. She 
directed its morementa and inflamed its martial ardour. Her youth 
and beauty won ereiy heart ; and her courage in takii^ the field in 
person, to imperil her liberty or her life in defence of her lights, no 
doubt lent strength to every warrior'a arm, and made ^iTn resolve to 
conquer or die in her behalf. The review of her troops on the gently 
rising grounds of B^gar, therefore, far surpassed in thrilling interest 
any martial demonstration that has taken place in our covintry in re- 
cent limes. It was not a mere hoUday display, or a muster for a 
sham fight. It was not a spectacle got up for amusement, and 
theatrical efiect ; but an array of men who had seized their weapons 
of war, left their homes and usual employments, and taken their plaoe 
in battle order, ready to be led against their foes, and to eng^e in 
deadly combat 

The Queen led forth her loyal and devoted warriors from Biggar 
on the 10th of October, and proceeded by Coulter, Lamington, and 
Crawford towards Dumfries, The rebel lords fled at her approach, 
and, crossing the border, took refuge in England. Mary, two days 
after she left Biggar, entered Dumfries ; but finding none in arms to 
oppose her, she disbanded her army, and with all the tclat of a blood- 
less victory, returned to her capital by way of MoSat, Tweedsmuir, . 
and Peebles. 

After the battle of I^ngmde, so disastrous to the claims and pow«r 
of Mary Stewart, the Regent Murray proceeded to inflict vengeance 
on the adherents of the unfortunate Queen. His policy was rather' to 
plunder their estates and overturn their strongholds, than to shed 
thnr blood on the scaffold. He is consequently described in a history 
of the time as running in a rage ' throwe the cnntne like a wilij^ 
boare, depopolatinge the landis of the Queenis faithful subieots, rob- 
bing them of ther goodia, and puUinge down ther holds and houses, 

■ The OoiinoU of irer, ht wUah the ftbove uruigwsaiit me agreed to, nude the 
reaemtlon ' that tbe present ordouring and diapoelng of the BattelUs toBiHsidii, be 
■uvkjia prejudicUU to the Erie of Ang^ie, ble Utile and interaa qnhalaaniBTer.' The 
Bid of Angus had » handitory right to lead the TUioI the royal anay, bnt It appeaia 
that he waa not prawnt at Btggu on this oooaatoD. 



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HILITABT UOVEHEHTS AND EOYAL FB00BBB6BS AT BIOGAR. iU 

persuinge them with fire and sworde vhithenoeTer he came, and 
confiscatmge all ^er mowables for his owen particular niae.' 

One of his first expeditioDs cf this sort was up the Tale of Clyde, 
and to the Bouthem parts of Scotland. He ' put out proclanuitioBS 
commanding all men to tjbb with fifteen days provisions,' and ap- 
pointed the rendesTDus to be at Bi^ar. He set out from Glasgow in 
the beginning of June witli 2000 men in his train, and three pieces 
of artillery ; one of the noblemen who accompanied him being James 
Douglas, Earl of Morton, and lAird of Edmonston. On bis way he 
took and destroyed the Castles of Hamilton and Drafien, belonging' 
to those zealous partizans of the Queen, the Hamiltons. Hemes, in 
his * Historical Memoirs of the Reign of Mary Queen of Scots,' states, 
that the Regent, on his arriral at Bi^ar, ' found four thousand hon 
and one thousand foote with fyrlocks.' With this force he plundered 
and devastated the domains of the Supporters of the Queen in the 
Bi^iar district, with absolute freedom and impunity. 

Lord Fleming was particulariy obnoxious to the Regent, both 
because he was a zealous and indefotigable partisan of the Queen, 
and espedally because he obednately continued to hold the strong and 
important fortress of Dumbarton in her interests. He was, of course, 
absent from Biggar at this lime ; so the fuU weight of the Regent's 
vengeance fell on his tenants and vassals. We know from a journal 
of the Regent's proceedings in Clydesdale, preserved in her Majesty's 
State Paper Office, that he laid siege to the Castle of Boghall, and 
took it, afW overcoming some reastaoce, and most likely demolishing 
a portion of the buildings. He then led a detachment of bJa men to 
Skirling, the domain of Sir J. Cockbum, who, at the time, was a 
fugitive in England. The Regent, meeting with no opposition, found 
little difficulty in obtaining possession of the castle of that barony. 
This stronghold was situated in a morass, which now forms part of 
the glebe of the parish minister, and was of considerable size and 
strength. It was prin<upally defended by the morass ; but this being 
somewhat accessible on the south-west, die building in that quarter 
was protected by stroi^ turrets. The ordinary access was by a cause- 
way and stone bridge. The Regent, being determined to leave behind 
him a sensible token of his displeasure, caused a large quantity of 
gunpowder to be deposited in one of the lower apartments, and tbis 
being fired, the edifice was immediately reduced to a heap of smoking 
ruins. It was never rebuilt The rranains of it continued standing 
till the present century, when they were unfortunately removed by 
the Rev. Mr M'Alpine, a late incumbent of the parish, during some ' 
improvements which he made on the glebe. Ilie ground has now 
been so much changed by drainage and cultivation, that it is very 
difficult to discover the spot on which the Castle stood. 

Detachments of the Regent's troops were also sent out to ravage 
the lands of the other adherents of ^e Queen in the neighbonriiood 



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an BIQGAB AND THE BOUSE OF FLEUIKG. 

of Biggar. The tenanta of Baillie of Lamington, Baillie of St John's 
, Kirk, &nd Ch^oellor of Shieldhill, were ass^ed and plundered with- 
out mercy. The fortalice of the Ghfuicellors, which at this period 
Mood at die village of Quothquan, was of coune attacked and hud in 
ruins. It was not rebuilt ; and when times became more settledonder 
the rule of James TI., the laird erected a habitation on the spot on 
which the House of Shieldhill still stands. The Kegent thus left the 
Biggar district a scene of suffering and desolation ; and the expedition, 
on this account, received the name of the Kaid of Bi^ar. In the 
records of Justiciary, we find that on the 4th January 1570-1, James 
Spens, in Glenduke, William Rossell, in Glaslie, and John Dick, elder, 
in Easter Cartmoir, were 'delatit for remaning fra the Raids of Lang- 
syde, Biger,' etc The Court deserted the charge against them at that 
time; but the Judge ordered them to find caution to appear and 
underlie the law on the 15th of February next. No record has been 
left to show whether they were ultimately punished or acquitted. 

After the execntion of Charles I., the Scots proclaimed his son 
Charles successor to the throne. .They despatched Sir William Fleming 
and other Commissioner to hold an interview with the young King 
at Breda, to invite him to Scotland, and profier him support, oa con- 
dition of his accepting and signing the Solemn Leag;ue and Covenant. 
Charles by no means relished such terms; but, at the time, seeing no 
other way of arriving at the throne of England, he came to Scotland 
and accepted them, but with a secret determination to violate them 
so soon as circumstances would permit. The Scots, by the support 
thus tendered to the King, were brought into collision with the Re- 
publicans of England. Oliver Cromwell was recalled from Ireland, 
and despatched to Scotland with a force of 16,000 men, in order to 
compel the Scots to renounce their adherence to the King, and to 
submit implicitly to the Commonwealth. Hie Scots mustered a 
considerable army to oppose the English general, and would have 
forced him to leave the country, had not the improper interference of 
the Presbyterian clergy caused them, in spite of the remonstrances of 
their commander, General Leslie, to hazard an engagement at Dunbar, 
on the 3d of September 1660. As might be expected, they were 
thoroughly defeated. This disaster caused great consternation in the 
Upper Ward. The brethren of the Biggar Presbytery, as we have 
elsewhere stated, on the morning of the 5th, two days after the battle, 
hastened spontaneously to Biggar, and found the whole town in an 
uproar, ' be reason of the sad newes of ye defeat of our army.' They 
'called the people together, and offered up supplications to the Almighty, 
that they might be preserved &om the outrages and devastations of 
war, and that their enemies might be rebuked and scattered. Before 
dismissing the people, they resolved to meet again next morning, and 
spend the day in fasting and humiliation, on accoimt of their own nns 
and the sins of the land, which had so signally evoked the judgments 



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HILITABT HOVEHENTS AHD ROTAL PBOGBESSES AT BIGOAB. 2St 

of di-nne Proridenoe. The Presbytery of Lanark alao met oa the 5th, 
and spent the day in derotional exercises, aod, at the same time, 
resolved to set apart the 22d, aa a day of fastdng and hnmiliation, in 
the parishes within their bounds. Accordingly, on that day suitable 
discourses were delivered, collections were mode for defraying the 
expenses incorred by attendance on the sick and wounded, and ex 
hortations addressed to all able-bodied men to lose no time in repair- 
ing to the camp at Stirling, where the scattered remains of the Scottish 
army had been gathered together under the banner of the King. 

Cromwell lost no time in improving the advantages which he had 
gtuned by the vitMxiry at Dunbar. He bombarded and took the Castles 
of Roslin, Taniollon, Hume, Borthwick, Neidpath, and others; and 
their shattered remiuns still bear witness to the effects of his destruc- 
tive assaults. In the end of November he despatched a force of 4000 ' 
men, chiefly horsemen, to the Upper Ward, who took possesmon of 
the town of I^nark, and committed a series of ravages on the country 
round. It is supposed that it was this force, or a part of it, that laid 
siege to the Castle of BoghalL The camp which the soldiers of the 
Commonwealth are said to have occupied, is (dtuated a few hundred 
yards to the south-west of the Castle, and though much obliterated by 
the progress of agricultural improvement, can still be very distinctly 
traced. It completely commanded the habitable part of the Castle ; 
and as it was no doubt furnished with a battering trtun, a few shots 
would serve to show that the walls could not long withstand the efieols 
of a cannonade by heavy ordnance, and that the garrison had no 
alternative but to surrender. At all events, it seems to be certain 
that the Boyalist troops were expelled, and that the Castle was held 
for some time by the soldiers of the Commonwealth. These men 
committed great devastation on the country round. The only retaJia- 
tioa inflicted on them, that we have heard of, is recorded by Captain 
Armstrong in his ' Companion to the Map of Tweeddale,' published 
during the latter part of last century ; but we suspect that his statement 
rests on no higher authority than tradition. He teUs ns that a party of 
sixteen horsemen from Oliver Cromwell's camp at Biggar, penetrated 
the hills of Tweeddale. They had reached a place in the parish of 
Tweedsmuir called Talla or Fala Moss, where they were surprised and 
made prisoners by PorteoosofHawkshaw, and a party of country people. 
After some deliberation, it was resolved that the whole of them should 
be put to death ; and the captors at once rushed upon the defenceless 
soldiers, and plunged their swords in their breasts. One of the soldiers 
having received only a slight wound, ran several miles ; but being 
overtaken, was cut down with a number of blovre. I^e others were 
interred at the part of the moss where they had been massacred 

The Scots, although encountering many disasters, still prosecuted 
the war against CromwelL They rallied round the standard of Charles 
at Stirling, and manifested a most resolute determination not to yield 



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Ml BIGGAB AHD THE HOOSB OF FLBMIHO. 

to the invader. Cromwell &t length set ont to prosecnt« hratilities in 
Penbshire ; and the way to England being thus left open, Charlea 
fonned the desperate resolution of marching into England, where he 
hoped he would be joined b^ a large nomber of adherents. He 
therefore set out on his march, and in a day or two arrived at Biggw. 
David Leslie, his major-general, summoned the Castle of Boghall to 
surrender ; but the governor, according to Whitlocke,* returned a 
resolute reAisal, declaring that he held the Castle for the Common- 
wealth of England. As Uie BoTalists were anxious to cross the border 
with all possible haste, they ^d not halt suffident time at Biggar to 
attempt a reduction of the Castle by force. Cromwell followed hard 
in the track of the royal army, and therefore the likelihood is that he 
also visited Biggar in person, and took up his quarters for a night in 
the Castle of Boghall. 

No sooner did it become generally known in 1715 that the Earl of 
Mar had set up the standard of rebellion in the north, than a meeting 
of Jacobites was held at Edinburgh. At this mee^g it was resolved 
that troops should be raised to join the squadrons expected to be 
levied in the south of Scotland, and that the rendezvous should be at 
Biggar. This muster accordingly took place; but the number of troops 
that assembled at Biggar on this occasion cannot now be ascertained. 
We know that a troop of horse came from Camwath, commanded by 
Philip Lockhart, a brother of the distingnished Sir George Lockhut. 
This gentleman, who was a capUun in the royal army, and, at the 
time, was on half pay, possessed good natural abilities, which had been 
cnltivated by a liberal education, and was now influenced, by the 
persuasions of his brother and the movements of the Earl of Mar, to 
draw his sword in behalf of the Chevalier St George. His broker, 
in speaking of the Camwath troop that joined the Jacobite muster at 
Biggar, says, ' In respect of the goodness of the men, horses, and arms, 
and bdng commanded by three brave experienced officers, besides 
several private men that had served in the army, and whom I prevailed 
with and engadged at no small charge to enter the service, was rec- 
kvned the best troop in the little army.' 

The men assembled at Biggar were all cavahy ; and, after a short 
halt, marched to the south to join the Earls of Kenmure, Nithsdale, 
Winton, and Derwentwater, Lord Widrington, Thomas Forstcr, and 
others, who bad levied a number of horsemen in the south of Scotland 
and the north of England for the service of the Pretender. As they 
felt unable to make any dedded movement from the want of infantry, 
the Earl of Mar despatched a body of 1400 Highlanders, under the 
command of M'Intoah of Borlum, commonly called Brigadier M'Intosh, 
to their assistance. These several forces formed a junction at the 

■ Vhitlooke wTole » JoonuJ, or Hemoin, u he rails thsm, o( tha bansacUons 
vhioh took phoB from dmy to d>;, tram tb« beginning oi the rdgn of CIutriM L, to 
ttu nstonUOD of Ctwrln IL 



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HILITABT HOVIHEMTS AND BOTAL PBOGRESSES AT BIOGAB. S«3 

town of Kelso, and, aA«r some detate, resolved to march into 
Eogland. 

Li tUs resolation the Highlanders obstinately reiiuied to acquiesce. 
They had an extreme aversion to enter the sister kingdom. They 
drew ap in battle order on ihe Huir of Hawick, and, cocking their 
muskets, declared that they would not go into England to be kidnapped 
and Bsid as slaves ; and that, if they were doomed to destruction, tiiej 
would prefer to die in thdr own country. The greater part of them 
were ultimately prevailed on to cross the border ; but 400 of them 
broke off from their companions, and attempted to regain tlieir native 
mounttuns. The people of the (Muntry through which they passed 
hovered about them, captured the stragglers, and prevented them 
from plundering. Ten of them were taken prisoners by Robert Jar- 
dine, at a place called Briery Hill, and marched to Dumfries. The 
rest proceeded in a body by MoffiU to Erickstane; and here they 
divided themselves into two parlies, one of them taking the route by 
Crawford and Douglas, and the other atoiking through the hills towards 
Lamington. Two countrymen, who bad been watching their move- 
ments, knowing the passes of the hills, hastened on before them, and 
arrived at lamington about midnight. Bullie of Lamington, who was 
ftvourable to the House of Haaover, lost no time in despatching 
messengers in every direction to summon the well-afiected to hasten 
with aU speed to Clydesbridge, above lamington, to assist in capturing 
the poor Highlanders. Accordingly, next morning, the 2d of November, 
a large multitude from the country round assembled at the place of 
rendezvous, headed by the Lairds of Lamington, Nisbet, Glespea, and 
Mosscasde, Mr Mitchell, factor to the Laird of Hartree, Mr Campbell 
of Moat, and, what is not a little surprising, conndering that the Earl 
of Wigton was, at the lime, in prison for his Jacobite attachments, 
Lnke Vallange, one of the baiUes of Biggar. Tliey were all well armed 
and accoutred, and having been divided into several companies, they 
penetrated the hills, and, afler a little search, found the poor mm- 
derers, in number about 200, quite worn out with hunger and fatigue. 
Meeting with little or no resistance, they took them aU prisoners, and 
marched them off to Lamington Kirk, where they were detained all 
night, and next day were conducted to Lanark, and afterwards to 
Glasgow. Rae, who recounts this incident, has failed to teU us what 
was the ultimate fate of these wretched men. 

The main body of the insurgents pursued their march into England. 
At length they reached the town of Preston, and here they were 
attacked by G«nerals Willis and Carpenter, and, aAer a series of 
desperate encounters, were farced to surrender to superior numbers. 
Captain Lockhart, and five other officers who held commissions in the 
regular army, were tried by a court martial, and condemned to be 
shot. This sentence was carried into execution on all of them, with 
the exception of Ensign Daliiel, a brother of the Earl of Camwatb, 



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SH BIOOAB AND THE H0C8S OF FLEHINa. 

who waa found to have redgned his commiasion preTious to hu 
engaging in the rebellion. 

Durii^ the aizteenth and Beventeenth centuries, Biggar receiTed 
many visits irom royalty. One of the reasons which condaced rery 
much to this, was the celebrity of the shrine of St Ninian at Whit- 
horn. St Ninian, who was the son of a British prince, about the 
year 870, paid a visit to Rome ; and the Pope, finding hitn well in- 
structed in the mysteries of the Christiaii faith, and zealous for thor 
promulgation, ordained him as a missionary to the heathen tribes of 
Britain. On his return, he built a church at Whithorn, which he 
dedicated to his uncle, St Martin of Tours, and which, being built of 
stone, was generally known by the title of 'Candida Caso,' that is, the 
White House. St Ninian was interred within its walls, and it con- 
tinued to be the Cathedral Church of the district for several centuries. 
Pergns, Lord of Galloway, in the reign of David L, erected near this 
church, which by that time hod fallen into ruins, a priory for monks 
of the Premonstratensiao Order ; and gartering together such relics 
of St Ninian as bad been preserved, deponted them in this sacred 
edifice. From that time down to the Beformation, the memory of St 
Ninian, and the sanctity and efficacy of his supposed relics, were held 
in the highest esliiaadon. All ranks, &om the King to the beggar, 
made pilgrimages to Whithorn, and pmd th^ devotions at its shrine. 

In the summer of 1473, Margaret, the Queen of James HI., made 
« pilgrimage to the shrine of St Ninian, attended by six ladies of her 
bedchamber, who were attired in new dresses for the journey. They 
no doubt passed through Biggar, and lodged in the Castle of Bo^iall, 
as Biggar lay on the direct rrad to Whithorn from the Royal Palaces 
of Edinburgh, linlithgow. Stilling, and Falkland. The monarch who 
made the most frequent pilgrimages to this shrine was James IV. 
Although James was one of the most gallant and courageous men that 
ever lived, he was deeply tinctured with the supenldtious notions of 
the times. He had strong compunctions regarding the part which he 
hod taken in the movement that led to his father's death ; and, in 
token of his penitence, wore an iron belt, to which he added a link 
yearly ; and the priests of the Chapel Royal, both at matins and ves- 
pers, made daily lamentation in his presence for his having been 
'counsalled to ciun agiunes his father in faattell.' Once, and some- 
times twice, every year, the King repaired td St Ninion's shrine to 
pour out his sorrows, and pray for strength and consolation. On 
these occasions he was attended fay a considerable retinue, and par- 
ticularly, as he was fond of music, by a number of minstrels. It was, 
besides, always the practice of the local musicians to turn out and 
entertain the King with their minstrelsy, on passing through their 
villages and towns. In the accounts of the Treasurer of the Boyal 
Household, we find, that James, during these pilgrimages, disbursed 
ooosiderable nuns to pipers, fiddlers, and laters, and also to tale- 



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UHJTART HOVEHENTS XHTD BOTAL PBOOBESSES AT BIQOAK. S6G 

tellers, priests, and poor mea. For mstance, is 1502, on pasnng 
through Wigton, he gave 14b. to the pipera of that tonn for playing 
during his progiess. On the 24tli of February 1503, there is die fol- 
lowing entry in the Treasurer's books, viz. : — 'Item, That samyn 
nycht, in Bigar, to ane piper and ane fithelar, be the Song's com- 
mand, xiiJB.' On the 10th of Febrnary 1505-6, Margaret Tudor, his 
Queen, bore a son and heir to the Scottish throne, and her life having 
been placed in extreme peril, her royal spouse set off as usual on a 
pilgrimage to the shrine of St Ninian, to pray for her recovery. He 
walked the whole way on foot, and was accompanied by four Italian 
minstrels, who, being unable to bear the same amonnt of fatigue as 
the robust and spirited monarch, completely broke down, and had to 
be borne forward on horseback. It would be a rare sight for the 
people of Bi^ar to see &e King, with his staff in bis hand, marching 
on foot, while his foreign minstrels were mounted on horses, like so 
many noblemen. When James arrived at the shrine, he prayed most 
powerfully; and it was noted that the Queen began to recover at Uie 
exact time at which be was engaged in this pious work. So soon as 
the Queen was able to go abroad, a pilgrimage on a grand scale to 
the shrine of a saint so propitious and infiuential was resolved on. 
T^ took place in July 1607. The Queen, being still weak, was 
borne on a litter, the wardrobe and baggage of the King were carried 
by three borsea, and the paraphernalia of the Queen required no 
fewer than seventeen. Another horse was laden with 'the King's 
chapel geir,' and the 'chapel graith' of the Queen was borne along in 
two coffers. They were attended by a large retinue, and occupied 
nearly a month in the joomey to and from the sbrina 

James V. also made several pilgrimages to Whithorn, particularly 
in the years 1532 and 1588. According to the statements of the 
author of the 'Memoire of the Sommervilles,' James also paid frequent 
visits to the Upper Word, with the view of visiting Catherine Car- 
michael, a daughter of die Captain of Crawford, of whom be became 
enamoured by sedng her in Cowthally CasUe, at the marriage of the 
eldest daughter of Hugh, Lord SommerviUe, to the Laird of Cookpoot 
in Annandale. As his sister Joan, or Janet, was married to Malcolm, 
Lord Fleming, it is natural to suppose that he was no unfreqnent 
guest at the Castle of BoghalL The Bannatyne Club, in 1836, pub- 
lished a work, entitled 'Excerpta e libris Domicilii Domiiu Jaoobi 
Qointi, regis Scotorum,' from 1528 to 1538, consisting of a statement 
of his household expenses at various places which he visited, written 
in a sort of Frenchified Latin. It is extremely corions and interest- 
ing, as it not only shows the rarions kinds of viands with which the 
royal table was supplied, and the prices at which they were por- 
ohiased, but also die different journeys which he undertook, and the 
places at which he occamonally rended. Although Biggar is not 
mentioned in this book, yet it is eacfy to infer that, in passing from 



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IM BtOOAS AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEUDIO. 

PeeUM to the Upper Wwd, be wotUd take the Gosde of Bofjihall in 
his way, kud reoeive enlertaminent from Lord snd Lady Fkmii^. At 
Peebles and Laoait Le had eyerjibiiig to buy, -and henoe yre hwe in 
the book Tefeired to, long lists of ulideB fornished at theie towns for 
bieak&st, dinner, and snpper, oonssting of bread, ale, mutton, nd- 
mon, solea, torfoot, skate, pike, troats, chickens, capona, rabbits, 
woodcocks, redriMoks, ploven, bntter, cheese, onions, petm, qsples, 
mustard, not forgetting occasionally the faTowite Scotch dii^ of 
o^nta arienHn e( peda o<M(m, that is, sbe^'i heads and trotters ; but 
at the Gasde of Bogbm, as well as at the Csstin of CowthaUy, he would 
get the best of these viands without any expeme, and htnce the 
Master of the Hoosehcdd would be under no neoesnty of Tn».fcTnj^ any 
entry in his books of the dishes with which be was there eatertained. 
Bi^sr iq>pe«rs to have berai honoured by seraral rints from Jiunes 
VI. From u deq>atch, preserved in her Majesty's State Pinter Office, 
from George ^diolson to Mr Bowes, we know that this monarch, in 
the moiAh of January 159&, was fiviag at Biggar, and no doubt in tfae 
CMtle of BogludL His ot^eot, we are told, was to enjoy the q>art of 
hawking. The Biggar distriot was, na doubt, at Uiat period plentifully 
stocked with various kinds of wild fowl We know that the marshy 
grounds, «nd the banks -of the Clyde and the Tweed, abounded with 
borons, which afbrded exceUenA sport to the fidcooET, and, in all 
Kkdihood, greatly attracted the attenlian of the royid hustaman. 
The most famous heranry in tite neij^tbowhood in oldm times, was 
in an old orchard at Dawick, where tlie faeroas, by carrying tronts and 
eels to thmr nests, famished the strange spectacle of fish, flesh, and 
fruit, on the same tree. 'Hte sojoam of jsones and his court in tbe 
Castle would 'Oreate some stir and excitement in &e littte town. 
Messengers of State would be constantly coming and gcong; the 
servants o[ Ifae faonsebold would be fr«c(aeaiting the shops, and pur- 
veying for the royd table; and the inhabitaats would be on the aleit 
to witness the movemonts of the King, and to give him a joyous wel- 
come 'as often as be appeaired. We can iijKy the sajnent monarch, 
motmted on a stately 'charger, surrounded by some of his nobility, 
and followed by a goodly tndn of faloooets sad other rebnners, issaiag 
from the spaciotis gate 'Of the Castle, prooeedmg along the bruad 
avenue t^t led to the highway, and then, amid the defiles r^ the 
Tweeddale mountains, or on the gentle ndges of the Oommon, the 
Lindsqdands, or -the Shields, partidpaliing in the exhilBrating pastime 
of the chase as t&en pursued. It wQl be long, we fear, before another 
monarch ooTUves a maukin at brings down a muiroock in dte same 
district. 



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CHAPTER XXIII. 
^tontal SIulr(»8 of Ifrt ^Umiii^ ^amilji. 

rthe twelfth centuiy, the Flemings were perhaps die moat 
active and enterprising people in Europe. Finding their own 
territorieB in Flanders too limited for their ambitions aspira- 
dons, thejr emigrated in connderable numbers to England, 
during the reigns of William BuAia and Henry I. ; and, lome yem 
afterwards, took an active part in the dvil war waged hj Stephen to 
obtain the English throne. Henry CL havii^, in the end, vanqnished 
his opponent Stephen, the Flemings were consequently banished the 
kingdom ; and numbers of them taking refuge in Scotland, entered 
into the service of David L, then on the Scottish throne. Many other 
Flemings ore understood to have come, about the same time, direotly 
from their native regions to Scotland. These strangers, settling in 
towns and rural ntuations, contributed greatly, by their skill in agii- 
imlture and other industrial ortv, to the improvement of the country. 

One of these Flenush leaders, it is said, obtained a grant of the lands 
of Biggar from David L, and settled there with bis followers; and 
thus became the founder of a family that for sevend centuries 
reigned as lords superior in that parish. We propose to give a brief 
account of the most notable incidents in the history of this family, 
and particularly of the battles and warlike expeditions in which the 
soccesaive members of it took part These are entitled to special 
notice in a work on Biggar. The Flemings of Biggar, in addition to 
tli^ anxiety to support and advance any cause to which they might 
be attached, were bound by the feudal law, not merely to appear in 
tlie field themselves, at the call of their sovereign, but to bring with 
them a certain number of their retainers. Iliese retainers, or vaasals, 
were in their turn bound, in consideration of occapying their farms and 
fens, to ^ve their superior suit and service, both in his court and in 
the field, as often as these should be required. It is, then, a matt«r 
almost of certainty, diat in all the battles in which the Flemings 
fon^t, they were attended by a portion of tlie inhabitants of Biggar. 
In fact, some of tJie charters by which the Scottish kings conferred 
honoun or rewards on the Flemings, make express reference to the 
services of their retainers on the battle-fi^d. For instance, in the 
commission of Chancellorship to James, Lord Fleming, granted under 
tlie Great Seal on the 12th of November 1553, during the minority of 
Queen Moiy, it is stated that this honourable office was eoBferred 



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MS BIGOAB AND THE HODS£ OF FLEHDia. 

on Lord Fleming, spemllf in considention of 'the good, faithful, and 
gratoitoas service to our late most noble father, of happy memory, 
whose Boul may God benefit, and to ua, by onr late well-belored 
counn, Malcolm, Lord Fleming, our Great Chancellor, who, under our 
banner, wilL diverse of his relatives, servaats, and friends, was sUun 
in the camp of Pinkey Cleogh.' In the warlike proceedings in which 
the Flemings took put, the men of Biggar, no doubt, then, fou^t by 
their side, and sometimes lost their liberties or their lives in con- 
tending with them to revenge a wrong, to repel inranon, or ip w -n t ain 
the independence of their country. 

The &nt proprietor of Biggar, of whom we know anything, was 
Baldwin, who at first was styled Baldwin Flamingus, but who after- 
wards, as was the usual custom of the period, took also from his lands 
the tide of B^;gar. He was appointed by Haicohn IT., the grandson 
and successor of David L, to the o£Qce of Sheriff of I^narkshire — tJbie 
shire of Lanark, at that period, including also the territory now form- 
ing the county of Renfrew. He, along with his stepson John, who set- 
tled at Duneaton, and gave his name to Crawfordjohn, between 1147 
and 1160 witnessed a charter of Amald, Abbot of Kelso, granting 
the lands of Douglas Water to Theobald, also a Fleming, and said by 
some writers, though perhaps without sufficient authority, to be the 
foondra' of the distinguished House of Douglas. He was also a wit- 
ness of a charter of Walter, son of Allan, the Steward of Scotland, to 
the monks of Paisley, between 1165 and 1174; and he himself 
granted to Hugh de Padenon the lands of Kilpetcr in Stragrife. In 
the Register of the Monastery of Paisley a charter still exists, setting 
forth that Baldwin, ShetitT of Lanark, gave and granted to God, and 
the Church of St Mirin of Pmsley, and the monks serving Grod there, 
the Church of Innerkyp, vrith all Uie lands lying near the river where 
the church is founded, with the entire parish and its pertinents, to be 
held in free and perpetual gift. 

Baldwin was succeeded by his son Yaldeve, who, most likely, was 
also appointed to the office of Sheriff of Lanarkshire, as this office 
seems to have continued in the Biggar family for several generations. 
The most remarkable incident in his life, that has been preserved, is 
his capture by the English, along with William I., sumamed the Lion, 
at the siege of Alnnick Castle, in 1174. It may be stated, that the 
kings. of Scotland, sometime previous to this period, held conuderable 
possessions in the north of England, and had been deprived of them 
by the superior power of the English. William the Lion made a 
demand for the restoration of these provinces, but Henry, the En^idi 
king, refused to comply. William, therefore, proclaimed war against 
Henry; and, during the year 117S, inroads were made, on both sides, 
into the territories of each other; and though much propeKy was 
destroyed, and many lives lost, yet no de<»sive advantage was gained. 
Next year, William levied a numerous but ondisciplined host, con- 



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mSTOBIOAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEMING FAMILY. £69 

sisting of Scots, Flemings, and GaUowaymeu, and invaded England 
He laid siege to Alnwick Castle; but on the I3di of July 1174, with a 
lamentable want of prudence and caution, he separated himself iVom 
the main body of hia army, and, attended by Yaldeve of Bi^ar and 
about sixty horsemen, rode to some distance. The day was dark and 
misty, and, before they were aware, a body of horsemen had ap- 
proached within a few hundred yards of them. The King at first 
took them to be a detachment of his own army; but they soon turned 
oat to be a party of four hundred Englishmen, headed by sereral 
gallant Yorkshire barons, who had mustered this force, and were 
hasUng to the assistance of their countrymen. When the King per- 
ceived hia mistake, he disdained to flee, but cried out, ' Let it now 
appear who among you are good knighta,' and instantly charged 
against the foe. The King and his followers fought desperately, but, 
in the end, were overpowered by superiority of numbers ; and the 
king, Valdere of Biggar, and others, were taken ptisonen. They were 
conducted to Newcastle, and then to the town of Northampton, where 
William, and most li^y his fellow-captlTes of note, were presented 
before King Henry, with their legs tied under their horses' bellies, as 
if they had been the most ignominious felons. The Scottish King 
was kept a prisoner for some time iu the Castle of Richmond, and 
then sent to Falaise in Normandy, that contdnental sorereigns might 
behold an instance of the successful achievemeDta of the English, 
Whether any of the other capUves accompanied the King to the Con- 
tinent, history has not declared; but he was not himself released till 
the 6th December, when the Scottish nation had to submit to the 
deep mortification and disgrace of giving up to England the Castles of 
Edinburgh, Berwick, Roxburgh, Jedburgh, and Stirling, and seeing 
the King do homage, not merely for his lands in England, but for the 
whole kingdom of Scotland. 

For several generations, nothing very remarkable regarding the 
family of Biggar is known. Their names, however, appear very 
frequently as witnesses of important charters granted by the Scottish 
kings and barons, and the abbots of reli^ous houses. For instance, 
William Ftandrensia, most likely a 'Son of Yaldeve of Biggar, along 
with Hugo Cancellarius, who died in 1199, witnessed a deed dl 
William L to the monks of Kelao, and also a charter of the same 
monarch confirming the teinds of Linlithgow to the nuns of ManueL 
He was also a witness of a donation of lUchard le Bard to the monas- 
tery of Kelso, which was confirmed by Alexander H. in 1226. Hugh 
of Biggar, a grandson of Yaldeve by his son Robert, as patron of 
the Chur<^ of Stiathaven, granted, on the 14th February 1226, to St 
Hachute's of Lesmahagow, and the monks there, in pure asd perpetual 
gift, all the tithe land of Itichard le Bard lying on the south part of 
the river Avon, the great Kyp, the lesser Kyp, Glengenel, Polnebo, 
and Louchere. llie names of the witnesses to this charter are in- 



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tTO BIOOAB AND THE HOUSE OP FLEIHNO. 

teresting, tx Bhowiog toma of the principal men then holding posMs- 
noDa in the neighbourhcx)d of Biggar. Thej' were, William Fleunang, 
probably the unole of the donor, Malcolm Loccard, most likely of 
Symington, Bobert of Robert«tun, Kadulph of Cormaoeston, and 
I^hard, parson of Conltor. Peter of Bi^;ar is mentioned in » 
charter of Anneis de Brua, granting the Church of Wodekyirch, or 
Thankerton, to the monks of Kelso ; but, aa is commonly the case in 
rery old ohartert, the precise dat« is not given. In 1232, fiymon of 
Biggar is a vitneM of a charter of the Archbishop of Qlaagow, tiaiu- 
ferring the Chorchei of Soberton, Wi«ton, Symington, Dunsyrs, etc., 
to the monk< of Kelso. Sir Maloolm Fleming, moat likely a son of 
William formerly mentioned, witnessed the donation of the Choroh of 
Largs to the monastery of Paisley, by Walter, the High Steward, who 
died in 1S46. In a charter of Maloolm, Earl of Lennox, of which 
he was a witness, he is styled, ' Vice Comes de DnnbarWn,' which 
shows that during the reign of Alexander HI. he had been appointed 
to the office of Sheriff of that county. Nicholas of Biggar, Knight, is 
mentioaed in a deed dated at Lesmahagow in the year 1269, and he 
^peara to hare been Sheriff of Lanarkshire in 1273. He died pre- 
vious to ] 292, when the marriage of his wife Mary, and the ward and 
marriage of his daughters Marjory and Ada, were granted by Edward 
L of England to Robert, Bishop of QIasgow. It has been asserted 
by some writers, that the Lairds of Bi^ar to whom we have already 
referred, were a difierent &mily from the Flemings who afterwards 
were proprietors and superiors of this barony. A Fleming, they say, 
married one of the daughters of Sir Malcolm de Biggar just referred 
to, and receiving with her the lands of Biggar, became the pri^enitor 
of the family who possessed the Biggar estate for some centuries. So 
far, however, as we can ascertain, this assertion is based entirely on 
conjecture. 

Robert Fleming, who probably was the son of Malcolm, attended 
the assembly of bishops, earls, abbots, priors, and barons, which took 
place at Brigham, 12th March 1289-90, to oonsider the proposal 
made hy Edward L of England, to many his son Edward to the Maid 
of Norway, heiress to the Scottish throne, and thus to unite both 
kingdoms under one sovereign. Robert Fleming, along with the 
others present, agreed to this proposal, and appended his name to a 
tetter addressed to the English monarch, in which it is stated that 
diey were overjoyed to hear the good news thM the 'Apostle' had 
granted a dispensation for the marriage of Margaret, their dear hidy 
and Queen, to Prince Edward ; and requested to be furnished with 
early intelligence regarding the steps taken to forward this important 
measure, with assurance of ikeix full and ready concurrence, provided 
certain reasMiable conditions were agreed to, which would be ^ecnfled 
by commisstoners, who were to attend in London at (ha meeting of 
tbe Parliament in Easter. This soheme, after all, was defeated by 



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HISTOBICAL SKETCHES OF T^ FLEUUIG FAMILY. 87t 

(he oAy deuk o£ die UJud of Norway, ia September 1290. iUAien 
Eventing, pnnotu to tb» year 1805, appears to liaT« thrown off U» 
^llgginnffo to Edwaid of EDg^and, aad to hxr* joined the patriots 
vho foo^ for theii oouatry's fivedom. AoeordiHg to HoUn^ied, he 
WM in the Cwde of Lochnubea wiieii Ec4)ert Brace, eae^tiBg irom 
the mardeRMu &ngs of dte Bngliih lonSi Hrived, in Ae FebroEury of 
ibst year, at tte rtrooghoU of loB fbrefnthen. At t^t time, the 
ivniaan, Roger de Kiricpatric^ and Walter Bui^betofL, held tfa^ 
courts Jit Ontn&iei ; and Brace, as a frwiktAiier in Annandde, wa^ no 
doubt, Bummoned to give ttat and service for hii lands, by ^peanug 
ia the retdnue of these dignitaries. He, at all events, set out to tbat 
town, attended by his brother Edward, and Bobert Fleming; «ad 
during theor journey, it is said, they met a sernnt of de lUacinguiAed 
Sir John Oomym, who had been Gioveraor of Sootland, and who, as a 
sister's son of Bahol, vnu abe one of tlie -oluwiants of the 3oMtish 
throne. Tbat semutt was bearing deapatdtes from his master to tfae 
l^gl'^ ^mg; and as Smce had beg«n to suspeoC that Comyn was a 
trsdtsr to ihis oountiy, and faithless to certun engagemente into wliich 
he bad entered with himself, he ^t no aornple in attadsng the 
aerrant, and depixrii^ him of t^ documents with wtiich be had been 
entrusted. In these he fmuid that -Comjna stroi^ly urged Edward to 
lose no inme in putciog Brace to death, alleging as his principal reason 
for grriog ibis advioe, thsX so long -as he continued to live, it woold 
be difficult to suppress the efforts of the Soots to throw off the yoke 
of England. At DumirieB, Bnioe met with a number «f the buons 
ood £reebolden of the southern ^tricts of Scotland, and among 
others with Oomyn, Boger Eirkpatrick, and James Lindsuy. It is 
sud that Bruoe embraced this crpportunity to oonTene a meeting of 
his cow nti ' ^i nen, at which he urged them to ma^ a etand once -more 
in defence of .their libei^ and independence, aad ended by adTancmg 
his own. claims to the Scottiah ithnme, and expressing his determina' 
■don to assert and maintain them at tdl haaards. Uuiy of the gentle- 
men preaent aignified their intention of ^ving him support; but 
Oomyn, as was to be expected, opposed Ins pvetensions and designs, 
and attempted to show liiat he had a preferable cHaim to the Bcotti^ 
thnme, as the heir of Baliol, and for the servioes .which he <had already 
rendered to bis country. 

The meeting appears to hxre broken up without coming to any 
decided lesdlution ; and Bruce 'shortly aft^wards met Convyn m the 
Qhuioh of the tirqrfriara, and 'taxed 'him with bis duplicity. A-wuim 
altercation ensued, and in -die heat of the moment Bruoe so tar 
forgot himself, and the sacred place in which he stood, that he drew 
bis poniard, and smote Comyn to the ground. Struck wid> horror 
at committing so atrocious a deed, he instantly rushed to tbe door, 
and there met Fleming, 'Kii^atrick, and other friends. 'Seeing him 
pale ;and tiemhling,th^ asked the caoK. ' I doubt,' said Brace, 'I 



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m BIOQAB AND TEE BOUSE OF FLEHDIG. 

have skm Comyn.* 'Doubtl' saidKirkpatriok; 'thennimakaicker;' 
and along with the others hurried into the Ghnrch. The; were re- 
solutely opposed by Robert Comyn, who defended the body of his 
brother ; but they very soon despatched him, and then plunged their 
weapons into the breast of the dying baron. On their retnm, Bruce 
inquired if Comyn waa dead. Fleming, holding op his bloody sword, 
exclaimed, 'Let the deed shaw;' and it is said thai henceforth this 
expression was adopt«d as the motto on the crest of the Flemings of 
Bi^ar. fiobert Fleming continued to be a strennoos supporter of 
Robert Bruce, and, no doubt, so long as he lived, fought in his battles 
and shared in his varied fortunes. 

Robert Fleming died previous to 1314, and thus was not destined 
to take a part in the glorious and decisive battle of Bannockbnm. 
He left two sons, Malcolm and Patrick. Patrick is usually styled 
Lord of Biggar, and he may have recdved the barony of Biggar for 
his patrimony. He married one of the daughters and heiresses of Sir 
Simon Fraser of OliTer Castle ; and thus the Flemings obtained con- 
nderable possessions in Tweeddale, and also a right to add the aims of 
the Frasers — viz., second and third azure, and three t^nqn^oils ai^ent 
— to their escutcheon. It was, no doubt, in consequence of obtaining 
these possessions that he was appointed to the office of Sheriff <^ 
Peeblesshire. We see no reason to credit the statement given by 
Crawford, and repeated by many subsequent writers, that Patrick 
Fleming rec^ved the barony of Bij^ar as part of his wife's heritage. 
We can, in fact, find no proof whatever that her father, Sir Simon 
Fraser, was ever proprietor of the lands of Bi^ar. The doctunenta 
in the charter chest of the Fleming family throw no decided light on 
this subject. The oldest family doonment in which the Flemings of 
Biggar aro mentioned, is dated 1857. This is a charter granted by 
Malcolm, Earl of Wigton, to his kinsman, Malcolm Fleming, Lurd of 
Biggar, of all his lands of Anchmoir, etc, with their pertinents, 
wadset to him by Sir Thomas Morham, Knight, for 200 merks. There 
is, indeed, an old paper in the chest referred to, entitled, ' Catalogue 
of the knights, lonls, and earb of the house of flemyng, as they ar 
recorded in their Charters,' and evidently written during the seven- 
teenth century, in which it is stated that a Sir Malcolm Fleming of 
Biggar lived in the reign of David L This statement was made, 
perh^is, on the authority of a charter, though it cannot now be 
found ; bat, if it rested on nothing better than tradition, it at least 
shows that the family, two or three centuries ago, entert^ed the 
opinion that the Flemings of Biggar were as old as the days of that 
monarch. 

Malcolm, the elder son, appears to have given a warm support to 
the cause of Robert Bruce. He was, no doubt, present with his re- 
tainers at the battle of Bannockbnm. Robert Bruce, in consideia- 
tion of bis eminent services, conferred upon him die charters of 



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HISTORICAL SMTCBES OF THE FLEMIHa FAMILY. J7I 

several Iimds. We give a transUtioii of oae of them as a specimen. 
' Boberl, Kiag of Scotland. Be it known that we hsne given, and by 
this OUT present charter confirmed, to Malcohn Fleming, our well- 
beloved and faithful soldier, for his homage and service, the whole 
barony of Kirkintilloch, with its pertinents, which formerly belonged 
to John Comyn, Knight, holding and to be held by the stud Malcolm 
and his heirs from us and our h«rs, by all its proper boundaries and 
diviMons, and with all its liberties, commodities, easements, and just 
pertinents, as freely, quietly, fully, and honourably as the said John 
held or possessed, for some time, the said barony and its pertinents ; 
the said Malcolm and his heirs rendering to us and our heirs the 
service of a knight in our army, and suit in the court of the Sheriff- 
dom of Dumbarton.' He also received from Bruce charters of the 
lands of Acbyndonan and their pertinents in the Lennox, which bad 
been resigned by Malcolm de Drummond, and of the lands of Foltown 
in the county of Wigton. Bruce also appointed bim to the offices of 
Sheriff of Dumbarton, and Governor of the castle of that name ; and 
Walter, the High Steward, on the Feast of St Dnnstan, 19tl) May 1321, 
rewarded hint with an uinuity out of the revenues of the Abbey and 
Convent of Holyrood, drawn from the barony of Gara. 

Sir Walter Scott, as is well known, mtJces Malcolm Fleming a 
leading character in his last published novel, ' Castle Dangerous.' 
He is described in that work as fighting at the capture of Douglas 
Castle, the Castle Dangerous of the novel, and there vanquishing in 
single combat Sir Aymer de Yallence, on Palm Sunday, 19th March 
1306--7. He has, of course, a sweetheart, whose name was Margaret 
de Hautlieu. Her father was a Norman baron, who, in quest of 
adventures, came to the Scottish court, and in the war for independ- 
ence took the side of BalioL His daughter Mai^aret, in course of 
the story, says, ' Among those soldiers of the soil, Malcolm Fleming 
of Biggar was one of the most distinguished by bis noble birth, hia 
high acquirements, and his fame in chivalry. I saw bim, and fell in 
love with the handsomest yontb in Scotland.' Her father had designed 
to wed her to a youth, bred at the English court, and, therefore, was 
utterly opposed to her union witb Malcolm Fleming, a keen partisan 
of the opposite faction of Bruce. ' Fleming, who was inspired by a 
similar passion, resolved not to be thwarted by any ordinary obstacle, 
and therefore, along with Sir William Wallace, concerted a plan to 
carry her off by force. They assuled the bouse in which she lived, 
and a combat ensuing, Wallace attempted in the midst of the confu- 
sion to carry her down a ladder ; but this being overturned, they were 
both precipitated to the ground, and the form of the fair Margaret 
was seriously injured and disfigured. On recovering Irom her 
wounds and bruises, she became a nun at Donglaa, and during the 
contentions of the period, was carried off by a bimd of marauden to 
the borders. She was, however, rescued ; and the last sentence that 



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374 BIOGAB AHD THE HOUSE OF PLEHDia. 

Scott pablished as a noreiiat, u aa follows : — ' In a abort time it waa 
made generally known throughout Scotland, that Sir Malcolm Fleming 
and the lady Uargarot de Hautiieu were to be nnited at the court of 
the good King Robert, and the husband inveated ynlh the hoaonn <^ 
Biggsr and Cumbernauld, an earldom so long knovn in the family td 
Fleming.' 

PreviooB to completing the noved of ' Caatle Dangerous,' Sir Walta 
paid a visit to the scene in which it ia laid. HaTing been sabjected 
to several attado of spopUxy, bis health waa at the time in a pre- 
carious conditian; and a few weeks prerionaly, he had been assailed 
with a strong bnnt of popular indignation at Jedburgh, in making an 
attempt to oppose tbe movement for Parliamentary Reform. Aocom- 
panied by Ur John Gibson Lockhart, his aon^in-law, he left Abbota- 
ford on ^e morning of the 18th July 1631, and, travelling throni^ 
many soenea hallowed by his magio pen, he arrived at Big^ in the 
afteniooo, where he waa detained for some time, in consequence of 
the hones belonging to tb« chi«f inn being engaged elsewhera A 
report spread rapidly through the town that the great minstrel of 
Scotland had srnved ; and instantly the weavers left their looms, the 
smiths thdr forges^ the shoemaken their stalls, and the merohmta 
tbor shops, and hastened forth to obtain a sight of a loan who had 
afibrded them so much delight, and who bad conferred so great ftme 
and hononr on his country. In general, Scott waa annoyed when he 
was made the object of vulgar gaze and attention ; but, on this occa- 
sion, Lockhart says that he appeared gratified by the respectful notice 
of the people of Biggar, jmd he accounts for it by saying, 'Jedburgh, 
no doubt, hung on his mind, and he might be pleased to find that 
political differences did not interfere everywhere with his reoqition 
among hia oountrymen-' 

It is to be regretted that the temper of our great novdist, in tbe 
enfeebled state in which ha was at the time, was mffled by an in- 
cident which occurred a few minutes aiter he left the town of Biggar. 
It is thus related by Lockhart: — ' About a mile (ram Biggar we over- 
took a parcel of carters, one of whom waa maltreating his horse ; and 
Sir Winter called to him from the carnage- window with great indig- 
nation. The man looked and spoke insolently ; and, aa we drove on, 
be used some.strong expressions about what he would have done had 
thia happened within the bounds of his sherifiship. Aa he continued 
moved in an uncommon degree, I said, jokingly, that I wondered bb 
porridge diet had left bia biood so warm, and quoted Prior's 
" Waa eva Tartai fierce or cruel 
Upon a mCB of waXet-gniel f " 
He smiled gntdoosly, and extemporized this variation on the next 
couplet, 

" Yet who shall stand the ShcriTs foroe 
U Selldik carter betta his hone ?" ' 



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HISTOKICAL SKETCHES OF THE fLEHDfO fAUILY. ST( 

MBlrnlm Flcmmg mu succeeded b^ hia son Malcolm, who raiuiiied 
•ted£ut in bis attachment to David, the youthful mh of Bruce, whom 
that monaTch left to inherit hb periloiu and unstable throne. Flenung, 
dHrefore, threw in his lot with the Earl of Mar, the Douglases, Sir 
Andrew Murray, and others, who, after the Battle of Dnpplin in 1333, 
vefiued to eonmr in the nsnipation of the Bcottidi throne by Edwwrd 
BatioL Uttvlng succeeded hi* father as Garemor of Dnmbartoa Castle, 
he waa able to afford a refuge in that fortress to DaTid during the 
(iijBstzous state of his affairs that ensued from the loss of that battle. 
Uie parly with wbcMn Fleming acted, having attacked Balid, and hii 
adherents at Annan, drove them across the border. Edward III. of 
England, who favoured Baliol in conaequesce of barii^ received ikaa 
ham an acknowledgment as his lord supeiior, proelsjmed ww ^alnit 
the friends of Brace, and having levied a Inge amy, bid siege ta 
Berwick. This town was gallanUy defwded by the Earl of March 
and 6ir Alexander Seton. A stipulation was entered into with Sdward, 
(hat the Soots woidd deliver Berwick into his hands unless they were 
able, before the 19tb day of July 1S33, to throw 300 men iUo the 
town, or defeat the Englidi in a pitched battle. The adherents of 
Oairid Brace immediatdy raised an anny, and marched to the relief 
of the beleaguered town. The GoTemor repreamting that the iahabi' 
tanU were reduoed bo the last extremity., the Sccris resolved to hazard 
a battle, and, crcseug the Tweed, look up their poolion at a place 
sailed Donse Park. On this movtment, Edward withdrew his army 
to an eminence on the west of Berwick, called HaUdonhiU, and boUi 
sides prepared for the eombat The English wwe drawn up in fonr 
faatt^ons, flanked by those terrible arcben who often contribnted so 
Btoeh to gain the battles of the English. The Scots were also arrayed 
in fonr battalkms ; and their principal leaders were, Lonl Aix^bald 
Douglas of Galloway, Regent of the kingdom^ the Steward of Scotland, 
a yoQth of seventeen years of age ; the Earls of Boss and Moray ; and 
James and Kmon Fraaer. Fleming and his retainers were placed in 
the first divisioa of the second battalion. A morass intervet>ed be- 
tween the two armies, and the Scots, with their national itj^ietuDBiCy, 
resolved to cpoes it and attack the £ngliah, Tke morass, as might 
aaHondl/ be expected, retarded their advance, and threw them into 
mnfnsion. * And then,' as an old author states, ' tbe Es^ische myn- 
Aelles beten ther tabcn, »nd blomn ther tpompea, and pipers pipdcB 
loode^ and mad a grete sc^oute appan the Skottea, and then hadde 
Ute Englische bachekers eche of them 11 wingis of ardiers, whicbe, at 
that meeting, mii^tly drewen ther bewes, and made arrowes flee as 
thik as motes in the sonoe heme, and «o thu nnote the ^uttes that 
thai fell to the grouode by many thousands.' A conmderable body of 
(he Scots, led on by the more intrepid of the nobili^, succeeded in 
fikanng the marsh, and presai^ up the hill on whidk the Eogliah 
anny stood. They fought, however, under great disadvaat^ei. "nieir 



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ITI BIQGAB AND THE BOUSE OF FLEHDia 

ranki were disordered ; the^ had to ascend a rising gronnd, and to 
encounter a bod^ of men greatly superior in numbers, drawn up in 
close array, and occupying s commanding positioa. They renewed 
the charge several times, but they were uldmately driven back, and 
^e whole Scottish army was completely broken and scattered in 
irretrievable confusion. Fourteen thousand warriors, iacluding » 
number of the nobility, were laid lifeless on the field. Fleming was 
fortunate enough to escape, and fied to his strong Castle of Dambartou. 
Edward overran the country, appointed gherifis, garrisoned castles, 
and managed all matters as if Scotland had been thoroughly and 
irretrievably subdued, and had become an integral part of England. 
Fleming, therefore, began to suspect that Dumbarton might not be 
strong enough to protect the King and Queen ; and on this account 
he privately conveyed them to France, where they remwned for dght 
years. They returned to Scotland on the 4th of May 1341, when 
their interests in Scotland had begun to be again in the ascendant. 

David, whatever may have been his defects in other respects, was 
fully alive to the great and notable services which had been rendered 
to him by Malcolm Fleming. At the town of Ayr, on the 9th of 
November, about nz months after his return from France, he con- 
ferred on him a charter, by which he was raised to the dignity of 
Earl of Wiglon, and obtained very important rights and privileges. 
Tht following may be given as the substance of this charter, from the 
original Latin : — David, by the grace of God, King of Scotland. Be 
it known to all good men on the face of the earth, lay or clerical, 
that we have given, granted, and, by this our charter, confirmed to 
Malcolm Fleming, our well^beloved and faithful Knight, for his 
homages and laudable service paid and to be paid to us, all our lands 
of Faryes and the Rynnes, and the whole of our bui^h of Wigton, 
with all their pertinents, and all my lands of the whole Sherifisbip of 
Wigton, by dieir proper boundaries and divisions, viz., along the 
Water of Cree to the sea, and along the sea-coast to Molereunysuage, 
and from that point to the bounds of Carrick, and from these bounds 
to the head of the Water of Cre& All these lands are to be held by 
Malcolm and the heirs-male, lawfully begotten, or to be begotten, of 
his body, from ns and our heirs, in fen and heritage, by the bounds 
and divisions described, in free Earldom, with homages and services of 
the said lands, with feus and forfeitures, with courts and escheats, 
with pit and gallows, with sok and sak, tliol and theam, vrith infang- 
thief, with mnltures, mills, and their eeqnels, with fowlings, fishings, 
and huntings, with all other liberties, commodities, easememta, and 
just pertinents, that may belong to the free Earldom at present, or at 
any future time, named as well as not named; together with the 
advowson of churches, and the right of patronage of the monasteries 
and abbacies existing in the Earldom, reserving only to us and our 
heirs t^e patronage of the episcopal seat of Whithorn, and continuing 



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HI8T0BICAL aKETCHES OF THE FLEUIMQ FAMILY. S77 

to the burgesses of Wigton the same liberties nhich they justly pos- 
sessed in the umea of onr predecessors. And because the place uf 
Wigton u held to be the principal manor of the whole Sheriffdom, 
we ord^ and perpetually confirm that Malcolm and his hdrs take 
hence the title of £arl and Earb of Wigton ; and because the said 
Malcolm has always conducted himself faithfully and laudably towards 
na, in times both of prosperity and adrersity, we add, as a perpetual 
memorial of such service, to the grant of the said Earldom, that he 
and his hdxs hold it in free regality, and have power to judge, in its 
couirts, in the four pleas of the Crown,* — the said Malcolm and his 
heirs rendering to us and our heirs the service of five knights in 



land, was often the cause of great disasten to the Scots. It repeatedly 
involved them in war with England, during which thur country was 
invaded and their armies defeated. David IL had been hocpitabb^ 
entertuned in France during the eight years that he resided in it; 
and Philip, the French king, had aided his adherents in Scotland with 
GontributioQs of arms and money. When war broke out between 
France and England in 1346, the French naturally desired that David 
would make a diversion in their favour by invading England. The 
Scottish king, therefore, summoned his subjects to repur to his stand- 
ard at Perth ; and thither accordingly went Malcolm Fleming, now 
Earl of Wigton, bis cousin, Sir Malcolm Fleming of Bi^ar, and their 
relatives and retainers, to devote their energies and their lives to tlie 
service of thdr sovereign. The Scots, nnder the command of the 
King himself, marched to tbe borders ; and rashly supposing that, as 
Edward m. was in person cairying on the war in France, the English 
would be incapable of making any defence, they crossed the border, 
and isvaged ^e country as far as Durham. Had David possessed 
any forethonght, or been amenable to advice, he would have lost no 
time in retreating, and securing his booty in the less accessible places of 
his own conntry; but he allowed time for the English to assemble 
an army of 30,000 men, under the command of Balph Nevil, Lords 
Henry Percy, Musgrove, Scrope, Haslinga, etc. The English very 
soon advanced to meet the Scots, who were encamped at Bear Paric, 
near the town of Durham. Their position was ill chosen. It con- 
stated of an undulating common, intersected with hedges and ditches, 
. which prevented the different divisions irom readily supporting each 
other. David drew up his army in three divisions. He led the cenb« 
himself, while the rig^t wing was commanded by the Earl of Moray 
and the Knight of Liddesdale, and the left by the High Steward and 
the Earl of March. When tbe English bowmen advanced, they b^an, 
as usual, to discharge a shower of arrows, which did conmdeiable 
ezeoution ; and this caused Sir John Graham to hasten to the King, 

* Than idau wgra robbery, npa, mtudw, uid knou. 



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1TB BIOGAB AHD THE BOOSE OF FLEHIHG. 

and request a detachment of cavalry to disperse them ; bnt though 
this was the movement that decided the Battle of Bannockbarn, the 
King imfatoatedl; turned a deaf ear to the request, and Graham, atnng 
with disappointment, rallied such followers as he could command, 
and rushed on the foe. His heroism was unavailing. The deadly 
■bower of arrows laid numbers prostrate in the dnst ; and when hui 
awn hotae was shot down, it was with difficulty that he made his way 
back to the mun body. 

He whole forces (k the English were now in nght, and the number 
of gorgeous banners and crucifixes carried by the warriors of the 
CStorch made an imponng display. Moray's division having been 
galled by the archers, and attacked by the men at arms, was put into 
diswder; and the English cavalry improving the advuitage^ rushed 
on the broken ranks with irresistible fury and impetuosity. Moray 
himself was shdn, and his division nearly out to pieces. The force 
of the English attack was now directed to the centre of the SootSj 
under the command of the young King. It was assuled on the flrak 
by 10,000 bowmen, but it bravely stood its ground, and, for three 
hours, carried on the fray with great vigour. Ute King would not 
flindi a foot His nobles fell thick around him. Hay, Uie Qreat 
Constable, Keith, the Great Marshall, Charters, the Chancellor, and 
Peeblea, the Lord Chamberlain, were all out down ; and two arrows 
penetrated the King's person, but he would neither surrender nor flee 
from the field. Copland, aa English knight, at last broke in upon 
him, and engaged him in a hand-to-hand encounter, in the course of 
which the King drove out two of Copland's teeth with his dagger; but 
in iJte end he was overpowered, and taken prisoner. The I£gh 
Steward and the Eaxl of March, thinking that opposition was now 
hopeless, withdrew their diviuon, and sustained little loss. It is esti- 
mated that 15,000 of the Scots were slain in this battle ; and among 
the prisoners taken, besides the King, were the Earis of Wigton, 
Fife, Mont^th, and Sutherland, Douglas, Knight of Liddesdale, and 
about fifty other barons and knights, including Sir Ualoolm Fleming 
of Biggar. Ihey were conducted under a strong escort to London, 
paraded along the streets with great ostentation, and then lodged in 
the Tower. The £ari of Wigton, and his cousin, Sir Malcolm Fleming 
of Biggar, were captured by a person named Bobert Bertram, and it 
iqtpears that they were afterwards CMomitted to his charge. Iliis 
individual either set them at liberty, or allowed them to escape ; and 
for this conduct, was denounced an enemy to his king, and punished 
with impiisonment in the Tower, and ^e confiscation of his lands 
and goods. 

The English, taking advantage of the defenceless and disordered 
state of Scotland after tiie Battle of Durham, overran the Merse, 
Ettrick, Annandale, and Gialloway. Conudering that these districts 
had all been thoroughly and irretrievably subdued, they fixed on a 



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HISTOBIGAL SEETGHE3 OF THE FLEHIMG FAUILY. 279 

new bomidaiy between the two kingdoms, which was to extend from 
Cockbonupath to Sonltra, and from Corlops to CrosBcryne. Aa 
Wyntoun in his ' Cronykill ' Bays, 

' Al Karlinlippis and at Corscrjne, 
Thare tliai jnade the muches syne/ 

The Earl of Wigton was present at the Parliament held at Edin- 
burgh, 26di Septranber 1357, and gave his consent to the appunt- 
ment of a commission to conclude a treaty for the ransom of David 
IL This negotiatian was completed at Berwick in October following, 
and the Scots agreed to pay 100,000 merks, and to give a number of 
persons connected with the chief families, as hostages for the faithful 
performance of their part of the trsa^. The Earl of Wigton appended 
his seal to the documents in this case, and gave his grandson Thomas 
as one of the hostages, his son John having died about tlie year 1S61- 
The Earl, «dio seems to have had very extensive possessions, eonv^ed 
the lands of Kilmaronock in Dtunbartonahire, and the island of locb- 
caillooh in I/Ochlomond, to his son-in-Uw, John Danielson; the lands 
of Kyllynsith in Dnmbartoushire, to Robert de la V«ll ; the lands of 
Hallys and Letbemald, to Robert Dunbaiton, Clerk of Register ; and 
he gave a donation to the Monastery of Newbattle, in the beginning 
of 1346, to say prayers for the safety of his souL He himself obtained 
a charter of the five merk land of Oannuole and Knookiebirvan. He 
died abont the year 1862, md was luoceeded by his grandson Thomaa. 

Utomas, ^e second Etol of Wigton, was a hostage for David IL, 
when be was pennitted to virat his dominions, 4th September 1851 ; 
and, as we have already 8tat«d, he was one of the hosta^ tor the 
fulfilment of die treaty that set David at liberty, 3d July 1864. 
David oonferred on him a new charter of the Earldom of Wigton, 
dated at. Perth, 25tb January 1865; but he withheld the ri^t of 
regality, out of deference, it is supposed, to the wishes of Archibald 
Douglas, Lord of Galloway, who was grievoudy dissatisfied that 
another person should exercise such a jurisdictioa in a territory with 
which he was connected. The right of regality was of great impert- 
aace. By it'^e possessor was made absolnte in his own domains. 
He held his own oonrts ; was supreme ju<^ in ail cases, civil «r 
nriminal; had the power ofdeath or imprisoomentin his own dungeon; 
and could reclaim any of his vassals &om the oourt even of the Hi^ 
Justiciar himself. A quarrel at length arose between the Earl and 
the native populadon of Wigtonsbire, most likely ori^nated and 
fomented by the same Archibald Dou^as ; and this rendered his posi- 
tion so disagreeable, that he was induced to dispose of his lands, 
privileges, and title in Wigtonshiie to th^ nobleman. A copy of the 
deed conveying these still exists ; and as the transaction is one of very 
ran'oocuirence in Scottnh history, we give the following tranda- 
tion :— ' Know ye that I, Thomas Fleming, not by force - or fear in- 



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ISO BIQOAR AND THE ROUBE OF FLEHIHa. 

duced, nor by error misled, but of my pure free will, finnly reaolved, 
in my great, argent, and inexorable necessity, and especially becauM 
of great and grievous discords and deadly animorities lately arisen 
between me and the natives of the Earldom of Wigton, hare sold, and 
by title of sale for ever granted, to the noble and potent Sir Archibald 
of Douglas, Knight, Lord of Galloway, on the east side of the Water 
of Cree, my whole foresaid Earldom ; and hare purely, simply, 
absolutely, and for ever transferred to the said Arofaibald all right 
and claim competent in future to me, my heirs and assignees, in the 
said Earldom, with its pertinents, for a certain considerable sum of 
money paid to me in my foresaid great and urgent necessity, to be 
holdrai by the foresaid Archibald, his heirs and assignees, in fee and 
heritage, by all its bounds and marches, in meadows, grazings, moors, 
marshes, roads, paths, waters, pools, milb, multures, with servants, 
thralls, and their progeny, with fowlings, huntings, and fishings, with 
pit and gallows, sok and sak, toll and teme, infangthief and ontfang- 
thief, with fees, forfeitures, and escheats, wards, reliefs, and marriages, 
t«nandrie8 and services of free tenants ; as also, all and whole the 
other liberties, commodities, easements, just pertinents, and free 
customs, belonging, or that can by any right or title whatsoever be- 
long, to the said Earldom, as freely, quietly, fully, and hononrably, 
and entirely in all and through all, as I, the foresaid Thomas, or any 
of my predecessors, held and possessed the same Earldom. In testi- 
mony whereof, I have appended my seal to these presents. Given at 
Edinburgh, the 8th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1371.' 

This sale was confirmed by Bobert II. on the 7th of October 1372. 
The sum which Thomas Fleming obtuned for the Earldom, with all iti 
important rights and possessions, was L.500. One of the most notice- 
able things connected with this transaction, is that a sale was made, 
not merely of the lands and their privileges, but also of the title. In 
a royal charter granted by Bobeil U. in 1375, Fleming is styled 
Thomas Fleming of Pulwood," formerly Earl of Wigton. The family 
of Douglas, however, did not assume the title till a considerable time 
afler the sale took place. 

Homas Fieming, having no children, appears to have alienated 
most of his estates during his life. In 1371 he granted an annuity of 
twelve merks to William Boyd ; on the 20th June 1372, he gave in 
pledge the barony of Lenzie for the sum of L.80 ; and be gifted the 
town of Kirkintilloch to Sir Gilbert Kennedy, which was confirmed 
18th May 1S73. 

Tlie successor of Thomas Fleming was Sir Malcolm Fleming of 
Biggar, a son of Sir Patrick, who married the daughter of Sir Simon 
Fraser. As formerly stated, he was taken prisoner at the Battle of 
Durham ; and afterwards received from David II. charters of tLe 
barony of Dalliel, and of the lands of Knns of Wigton, and Sthboger 
* Tbs UdiU of Fnlwood lla on tha buiki of tka Qraif la Brafrawdilra. 



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HISTOKICAZ. SKETCHES OF THE FLEUING FAHILT. Mt 

in the baronj of Leuzie. His coosiu, Uakolm, Earl of Wigton, gave 
him a grant of the lands of Achmoir and SeTmoir in 1857, aa already 
Btated ; and his predecessor Thomas, previous to his death, conferred 
on him the barony of Lenae, and this g^ was confirmed by Robert 
n, on the 20th September 1382. He was appointed Sheriff of Dum- 
barton in 1364, and hod an assignment of the ple<^e made of the 
barony of Lenzie by Thomas Fleming to William Boyd for L.80. 
He had a charter from Babert 11. of a tenement in Cramond, resigned 
by Marjory Fleming, 16th January 1380. 

Sir Holcolm leA two sons, David and Patrick. Patrick, in April 
1S69, exchanged his lands of Dalnoter and Gattscondone, in the ^A- 
dom of Lennox, for the lands of Bord, Tweoures, Croy, etc., in the 
barony of ' Leygneh,' belonging to Sir Robert Erskjne, and became 
the progenitor of the Flemings of Bord. 

David Fleming of Bi^ar played a distinguished part in the pnblio 
transactions of his time. In 1362 be received from David H. a 
charter of certain annual rents; on the 20th of May 1365 he ob- 
tained a safe conduct to visit England ; and in 1388 accompanied 
Douglas in the expedition to England which terminated in the Battle 
of Otterbum, so much celebrated in our annals, as one of the most 
chivalrous encounters that ever took place between the inhabitants of 
the two kingdoms. The Scots, on this occasion, numbeiing about 
5000 men, penetrated into the mountainous district of England on 
the eastern fronder, and then emerged into the flat and richly culti- 
vated country, burning, plundering, and slaying wherever they went. 
The Perciee of Northumberland lost no time in levying aa army, and 
throwing themselves into Newcastle. In the course of a sally which 
they mode from the town, Douglas c^tured the spear of Henry 
Percy, commonly called Hotspur, and bragged that he would cany 
it as a trophy into Scotland. Hotspur, indignant at the thought of 
this disgrace, resolved to make every effcnt to prevent the design 
from being carried into effect. In the meantime, the Scots, having 
accomplished the object of tbur expedition, retreated up the vole of 
the little river Reid, and on the 1 9th of August pitched their tents 
at Otterbum, about twenty miles from the Scottish border. They 
were doeely but stealthily followed by the English, who were much 
superior in point of numbers, and who, during the ni^t, approached 
within a short distance of their camp, with the design of making an 
attack on its flank. 

As soon as the alarm was g^ven, Douglas dre\( up his men on a 
piece of ground still more advantageously situated for an engagement 
than that occupied by the encampment The English supposed that 
the Scots by this movement had beat a retreat, and, therefore, were 
suiprised when, by the light of the moon, they discovered them drawn 
ap in battle array, and awaiting the encounter, llie combat instantly 
commenced, and raged with great fury, both sides being inflamed 



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Mt BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIMa. 

with national animosity, and putting implicit confidence in the skill 
and bravery of their leaders. The Scots, oppressed with numben, 
were on the point of giving way, when Douglas ordered his banner to 
be Advanced, and, attended by his best knights, rushed forward, 
ahoutiag his ttsual war-cry, 'A Douglasi a Douglas!' and smote all 
down before him with his battle-axe. He at length fell, pierced by 
thre« mortal wounds; but he urged those around him to conceal hu 
disaster, and to cany on the combat with redoubled fury. This was 
done ; and in a short time the English were entirely routed, and all 
the chief men of Durham and Northumberland were either killed or 
taken prisonera, and among the latter were the Percies themselveH. 
Froissart, who obtained his information from persons on both sides 
who had taken part in the battle, says in his Chronicles : — ' Of oU the 
battles which I have made mention of heretofore in this history, this 
of Otterborn was the bravest ajid the best contested ; for there was 
neither knight nor squire bnt acquitted himself nobly, doing well hii 
duty, and fighting hand to hand without either stay or faint-hearted- 
Sir David Fleming, or, as the monks of Holyrood used to call him, 
' Davie Fleming of Biggar,' came out of the encounter at Otterbnm 
with no small reputation for bravery and martial prowess. It was 
most likely as a reward for his gallant services that he obtained from 
Robert n. grants of various lands and sums of money. On the 14th 
March 1390, he rec«iTed from that monarch a charter of annual rents 
of the value of L.SO sterling, due to the Crown by the abbot and 
monks of Holyrood from the lands of Cars in Stirlingshire ; and 
charters rf Ae lands of Aucblan, in the barony of Kinnedward,— of 
Barbethe, Caslis, Galnethe, and tilentall, in the parish of Strsiton in 
Ayrshire, — of Cambusbanon and Blaregis, in Stirlingshire,— of the 
chapels of KlrkintiUooh, the lands of Dmmtablay, in Dumbartonshire, 
— the lands of Wodland and Meiklgall, in the barony of Monycabow, 
and liie lands of Caveis and the Sheriffship of Roxburgh. 

With the oonsent of his son and heir Malcolm, he, in his tun, 
gave the lands of Mureton to the Monastery of Cambuskenneth, in 
order that the monks of that establishment might constantly pray for 
the welfare of the souls of Malcolm, his father, of Chris^an, his 
mother, of himself, and his wife Isabella. At that period, he seems 
to have been in a very generous and pious turn of mind ; for in a few 
days afler, viz., on the 25th of the same month, he granted a charter 
to the abbot and monks of Holyrood, which was drawn up at Btiililig, 
and confirmed by Robert TIL A copy of it stiU exists in the char- 
tulary of the Monastery of Holyrood, and, strange enough, is written in 
the contracted vernacular Scotch of the period, and not, as was usmal, 
in Latin, ' It oontenis and bearis witness that ye said Davi Lord of 
Bigare and Lenzie has giffen in pure and perpetuale almous to ye 
said religious men, twenty marks of minniili» rent to pay a chanuoo 



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HISTOnCAL SKKICHES OF THE FLEHKO FAHRT. ttt 

nof^d peTpetiully at je altare (^ 8t Nieliolaa, in ye said Abbft;rr 
<iuare je said Davi has ordanit bia sepulture. It«m the laid Davi 
hat gifieu five marlu of annuale rent in pure and perpetual abnoua 
for the repiur of Bt Nkbolaa' altare, both withdn aod without, witb 
giaae windows, aod his anna on thou. Fin^y, he has giSen ten 
pound of nnnnalu jent for the ofiering up of cantinval prayer for his 
owu soul and the souls of bis relatives.' It farther providea, that 
David Fleming or his heirs might ledeem these ^ntnyt offeriogs hf 
paying down lo the abbot and monksr on the high altar of Holyrood, 
the sam of one hundred pounds. He also mortified his whole lands 
of Dnuntablay, with ■ portion of the miln thereof, to the Chapolof tiie 
Blessed Virgin in Kirkintilloch, to say masses for the salvatian of bis 
own soul, the soul of his wife, his parents, and otben. IW mortifi- 
cation was confirmed by Robert III. in 1879. 

Bobert III, though possessed of a mild and generous dispocdtion, 
was a weak and Indolent monarch. He had been injured in boyhood 
by a kick from a horse, and was thus prevented iiom engi^ing in 
tbose martial and violent exercises in which tlie nobles took delight, 
and whic^ they thought indispensable in a king. The Ihika of 
Albany, the King's brotlier, was a, {ax more spirited aod energetic in- 
dividual, and took the chief numagem^it of public affiuta. The Dnka 
of Rothesay, the King's eldest son, gave great uneasiness to bis father 
by his riotous and irregolai behaviour ; and, with the view of re- 
claiming him to mora settled habits, it was proposed to unite hini itt 
marri^e with & daogbter of one of the nobles. Albany, in oanying 
out this arrangement, made it a condition, that the daughter of that 
nobleman would be preferred who would pay down the largost sum at 
TBoaej. The Earl of March at first proposed to give &e largest som, 
and his daughter and the Prince were betrothed. The Earl of Dong- 
las afterwards offered a still larger eum; and Albany, with great in- 
justice, broke fidth with the Earl of March, and united the Prince, to 
Margery Douglas. This marriage was exceedingly unhappy. The 
Prince continued his irregularities; and two ruffians, at the iosljgatian, 
it is said, of Albany and Douglas, seized the unhappy young^man, and' 
immured faim in thtf dungeon of Falkland Castle, where he was starved 

The Earl of March, filled with indignation at the dishonourable 
treatment which he had received in tliis matiimonial transaction, fled 
to England, and at the head of an English force committed gnpt 
havoc on the Scottislt border. The Earl of Douglas, to revenge lliia 
inroad, levied on army, and marched into England; but he was routed 
at Qomildon by an English force under the oommand of the Pescies, 
and taken prisoner. A short time ailerwards, the Per<ne9, in con- 
junclioQ with other discontented nobles, broke out in rebellion, and in 
the war which they waged against their sovereign Henry IV., received 
the assistance of Douglas, whom they had set at liberty. At the Battle - 



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■H BI60AB AND THE HOUSE OF PLEUIMa. 

of Slurewsbury, Dougks fought with great bisTer7, but hi> hone 
munbUng, he was wounded and taken prisoner; while the Earl of 
Northumbertand and Lord Bardolph, escaping from the field, took 
refuge in Scotland. Henry IV., addresaing himaelf to the Duke of 
Albany, proposed to set at liberty Murdoch, the Dnke's son, the Earl 
of Douglas, and other Scottieh prisoners in England, on condition that 
the English refugees were inunediately put to death. Albany entered 
into this base project; but Sir David Fleming of Biggar having dis~ 
covered it before it was ripe for execution, apprised his friend, the 
Earl of Northumberland, of the fate intended for him, and advised 
him to seek safety in flight. By this means the English exiles escaped 
the bloody fangs of the Duke of Albany, greatly to the mortification 
of the Dou^ases, who resolved to embrace the earliest opportunity of 
taking vengeance on Fleming. 

Robert UI., being well aware of the ambitious and unscmpaloiis 
character of his brother, the Duke of Albany, was careful to have his 
■econd son, James, Earl of Carrick, brought up in a place of secnri^. 
He was, therefore, educated in the Castle of St Andrews, under the 
superintendence of Henry Wardlaw, then Bishop of that See. The 
dttth of his brother in the Castle of Falkland, and the unsettled state 
of the country, made the King apprehensive &at there was no place 
in Scotland beyond the reach of violence, and therefore he resolved 
to send his son to France to complete his education. A vessel was 
prepared for the voyage, and stationed at the Bass ; and a strong body 
uf armed men, under the command of Sir David Fleming and the 
Earl of Orkney, were ordered to escort the Prince from St Andrews 
to Edinburgh, and then to North Berwick. These borons perfonned 
the duty assigned titem with great promptness and fidelity, and the 
Prince, with the Earl of Orkney and a small stut, were safely put 
aboard the vessel. They were, however, not destined to reat^ the 
shores of France; for, on passing Flamborough Head, they were cap- 
tured by an armed English vessel, carried to London, and thrown into 
the Tower, in direct violation of a truce, which, at the time, existed 
between the two kingdoms. 

Ilie Duke of Albany and the Douglases being full of indignation 
against David Fleming, both on account of the escape of the English 
refugees and the departure of the young Prince, collected a number 
of their retainers, and placed them under the command of Sir James 
Douglas of Balveny and Alexander Seton. These individuals fell 
upon Fleming and his party at Longherdmanston, on their way from 
North Berwick ; and, afler an obstinate encounter, Fleming and a num- 
ber of his followers were slain. The body of Fleming was conveyed 
to the Abbey of Holyrood, and there, according to hie own arrange- 
ment, was interred under the altar of St Nicholas, the patron sunt of 
the <4d Parish Eirk of Biggar. Wyntoun thus speaks of bis prowess 
as a warrior; and the esteem in which he was held by the King : — 



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HI8T0BI0AL SKETCHES OF THE FLEUIHO FAHILT. IN 

' Schite Dftvy Fl€m;rng of Cnmbumld 
Lord, — a knjcfat stoat and bald, 
Trowit and lurit wel wytti je King, 
Our Prynoe mavit in IkU kdfoug.' 

Of his death and burial the same poet says : — 

' Fra this, Schiie Davy thaie wea alajne, 

Der Lords all panit bame agane, 

And je eon wea on je morne 

nuonti Edinbmoh vyth honooie borne 

"m Halyntdhonse, yara he Ijta, 

His B^te intil Pindjo.' 
Sir David Fleming was twice married. Hia first wife was Jean, 
daughter of Sir David Barclay of Brechin ; and by her he had a 
dangbter, Marion, who become the wife of Sir William Maule of Pan- 
mure. By his second wife, Isabel, heiress of the Baron of Monyca- 
bow, he had two sons, Malcolm and Darid. David was the founder 
of a respectable branch of the Fleming fiunily, who settled at a place 
in BenfreweUre which was called Bt^halL* The elder son, Malcolm, 
succeeded to the family estates of Biggar and Cumbernauld He 
married Elizabeth, daughter of the Duke of Albany, niece of Bobert 
T IT ,, and thus was closely connected with the royal family of Scot- 
land. He was knighted by that monarch, and received from his 
father-in-law a charter of the lands of Torwood, most likely as the 
dowry of his wife. He, of course, inherited the lands in the parish of 
Drammebder, acquired by the Flemings from their marriage with the 
bmily of Sir Simon Fr^er. The father of Sir Simon, who died in 
1291, had bestowed a portion of the lands of Kingledoors on'the 
monks of Melrose. These lands, in ancient times, were divided into 
Craw Kingledoors and Chapel Kingledoors; Chapel Eingledoors being 
so called from a chapel which stood on it, dedicated to St Cu^bert. 
A dispute arose between the monks of Melrose and the Lairds of Big- 
gar, regarding the party on whom devolved the burden of repairing 
and upholding the ch^el, and had the right of appointdng a priest to 
officiate at its altar. Malcolm Fleming, of whom we are now treating, 
put an end to this long and keenly controverted point, by renouncing, 
in I4I7, ' all right and claim in the chapel and its priest bad, or to be 
had, fVom the beginning of the world to the end of time.' 

The Earl of Carrick, whom we mentioned as having been conveyed 
by Sir David Fleming to the Bass, and as having been captured and 
imprisoned by the English, became, on the death of bis father, in 
1406, James L ; bat for eighteen years was detained a prisoner in 

■ Tha lud* ol BogtukU, on Oia dMlh ol th^ jaep^elar, John Fleming, in 1681, 
oune Into tlie buids ot Johu, Lord Fleming, who disponed them lo hia seoond Mm, 
Juus, in 1S8S. la ooone ot time the; vent oat ol die heude of the nemfngi, ukd 
beoune the property ot the I!»rli ot Dandonald. 



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SM BIGOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMDia 

Eugland. He was allowed to visit his domiDions in May 1421, and 
Malcolm Plemiiig was one of the hostages foi his return to captivity. 
A war breaking out between France and England, in 1419, many of 
the most bold and adventuroua Scots embarked for France, and took 
part in the contest against the English in that country. The English 
carried the Scottish king to France, in order that he might exert hia 
authority to prevent hia subjects from taking any ftuther part in the 
war; but they refused to obey his orders so long as he nas not a free 
agent ; and this circumstance made the English more readily disposed 
to listen to proposab to set him at liberty. A treaty was at length 
concluded at London on the 4th December 1423, by which it was 
stipulated that the Scots should pay L.40,D00, as a compensation for 
the expense which the English had incurred in the maintenance and 
education of James, and alao give a number of the principal barons 
aa hostages for the due fulfilment of the terms of this treaty. The 
names of the hostages, and the yearly income of each, are giTen in 
'Rymer'a Focdera.' 'Malcolmus, Dominus de Bygare,' was one of the 
hostages; and his yearly income is set down at 600 merks, which, if 
the value of a merk at that time was equal to L.10 of oui pieeeot 
currency, would amoimt to L.6000. 

James I. was no sooner established on his throne than he began to 
adminiBt«r justice with a severity that, in a short time, cost him his 
life. Among other persons whom he brought to trial, was Murdoch, 
Duke of Albany, his cousin, who had succeeded his father as Reg^it 
of the kingdom during the coofiuement of the King in England; and 
both he and his two sons were condenued for abusing the King^ 
authority, »nd Ipebeaded at Stilling, in May 1425. Sir Malcolm 
Fleming of Bjggar, being the biother-in-hkw of Murdoch, was appre- 
hended »t the same time ; but, as most likely no satiafactoi; plea oould 
be advanced against him, he was soon set at hberty. 

In those days of feud and faction, very strange, and unes^pect^ 
alliances ^en ofWn formed. It would natuially be supposed that 
Malcolm Fleming, having lost his father by the ciaft and malignity of 
the Duke of Albany and the family of Douglas, would hold them in 
deadly enmity ; but, iosteod of this, he married the daughter of the 
one, and becapie the intimate friend and counsellor of the other. At 
that time no noblemen were more powerful, or comported themselvea 
with a more haughty and impeiions bearing, than the Earls of Douglas, 
of w)iom it was nothing uncommon to hear, that they were marching 
thiouffh the counliy with a band of several thoiuand anned man in 
theii train. In fact, their power and authority, became dangerous to 
the Stewart dynasty, more espedally as, by inarriage with the royal 
family, they had acquired some hopes of succeeding U> the throne. 
Archibald, the Sfth Earl of Douglas, died on the 26th of June 1439, 
and left two sons, William and David. William, Who at his father's 
death was only seventeen years of age, was a youth of good abilities, 



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mSTOBKUL SEETOHBS OF THE FlfUIKO FAMILY. O! 

gMsat detneonoor, aod generous disponUon ; ftnd, bad his lot been 
cast in more peaceful and settled timee, he might hare been one of the 
most distinguished nmabers of his illostrious Hoose. Ualcolta Flem- 
ing of Biggar was hia nesr neighbour, and his a^ and experielice 
might point him out as a most propel? friend and adriser. At all 
BTents, the recent feud behreen the two Hotues was fbrgotten, arid a 
great intimacy springing np between thto^ Dutiglas sent him add 
Allan lAuder of the Baas to Franoe^ to carry his oath of all^^ce to 
the Fr«noh ki>g, and to reoMve investiture in the Dukedom of Tou- 
rmine, iriiich had been bestowed on the grandfather of Douglas, for 
tus gttUant serricea to the French nation. Charles Til., then King of 
Franca, gave Fleming and Lauder a very kind reception, and, as We 
are toM by lindsay of Pltscottie, 'grantit ^Imdlie to th^ requeint 
and message, and gave to him (Douglas) and his procutatouria the ' 
haill landia and rentia in France, quhilkis hid guidichir hkd a befoir.' 
At the period of which we are now speaking, Scotland was in a 
Tery miserable condition^ James I. had been cruelly murdered at 
Perth, and his son and successor was only a few years old. No angle 
person possessed , sufficient power and authority to exercise, with 
effect, the administration of public affairs, to cause the laws to be 
rwpeoted and obeyed, to overawe the factious, turbulent, and blood- 
thira^ barons, and promote the peaceful arts of industry and com~ 
mene. The two noblemen who tdaiiried and tikerdsed the largest 
share of power were Alexander liTingston of Oidlender, who held the 
office of Governor ; aad William Criohton of Criehton, who was Ohab- 
oellor of the kingdom. These barons carried on a constoat rivalry' 
with oao another, eadi of them being resolutely bent on obtaining the 
superiority, and equally industrions in issuing edicts, calling on the 
people to give him exclusive obedience. The minds of the population 
werethus distmct«d; the aiUierents rf one party perpetr&ted every 
species' of enormity on the odier J tile lands renutined tmcaltivat«d; 
and famine, with all its dire conoomltanta, was the result. The young 
Eaii of Douglas, amid these unhappy dissensiouB and calamities, is 
alleged to have conducted himself in a very imperious and lawless 
manner, tiding up and down at the head of aevefal hundred armed 
troopers, and burning, slaughtcmng, and pill^ing wherever he went. 
He G<i>vernor and Chaacellor having, at length, effected a recondlia- 
tion, game to a resolution to orosh^ l^ dissimulation and violence, the 
exorbitant power of DouglaS; A letter was ^rritten to hiin, repre- 
senting that the idairs of State cordd not be conducted without his 
aid, and requesting him to repwr without delay to Edinburgh, It 
is stated that other inducementa Were given to draw bim into the 
snore, such as htdding out a prospect of advancing him, or his uncle, ' 
Halise, Earl of Strathem, to the st^reme power, in preference to the 
son of Barnes L ; but the fact is, that the reasons wkich they adduced 
are not certainly known. Whatever they were, they were sufficient 



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ISS BIOOAB AND THE HODSE OF FLEIUHO. 

to puff up Uie Tain young man with reiy oonfident tad exalted no- 
tions, and made him deaf to all the entrealieB and remoDBtranoes of his 
frienda to keep aloof from the aodetj of Grichton and LinngBton, 
whose hasty reconciliation made them apprehensive of impending 
danger. Accompanied by his brother Dand, his friend Malcolm 
Fleming, and a small escort, he set out towards Edinbni^h, and by 
the way wss met by Crichton, the Chancellor, who cmAacted him 
and his attendants to the Castle of Crichton, and- there splendidly 
entertained them for several days. They at length left Crichton's 
festive halls, and proceeded to the Castle of Edinburgh, where they 
were seemingly welcomed with the greatest cordiality. Lesley, Pits- 
cotlie, and perhaps some other of our older historians, state that they 
were here entertained at a snmptaous dinner, and that, in the course 
(^ it, a bull's head was placed on the table, which was a sign of con- 
demnatjon to deallL This, it is said, gave rise to the popular 

' Bdinbn^h Castle, town, and toww, 
Ood grant ye sink for sin ; 
And that even for the black dinnoor 
Elarl Douglsa gat therein.' 

lytler, in oppontion to the statements of the old historians, rejects 
the Btory of the bull's bead as a mere fiction; but his opinion rests on 
nothing better than supposition. It is certain, at least, that Donglu 
and his principal attendants were immediately accused of treason and 
placed under restraint. The Earl and his brother were subjected to 
the forms of a mock trial, and condemned to be taken to the Castle- 
hill and beheaded. This sentence was accordingly carried into exe- 
cution, in presence of the young monarch, on the eve of the Festival 
of St Katherine, viz., the 24th November 1440. 

It has been generally asserted, that the trial and execution of ^ 
Malcolm Fleming took place at the same Ume with the Douglases. 
This u a mistake. It has been ascerttuned that he was not tried and 
executed till the fourth day afler his friends had been deprived of life. 
Alter a form of trial, as illegal as it was insulting, he was brought to 
the Castlehill, the usual place of execution at the time, and there his 
head was struck from hie body by the axe of the headsman ; thus 
ignominiously lorang his life for no other crime that faiatoiy has left 
on record than that he was a friend to the youths Douglas, and 
obnoxious to men infiamed with mod ambition, and ready to make a 
cruel and unwarrantable use of the power that had fallen into their 
hands. 

Malcolm, by his wife Elizabeth Stewart, who in old writs is termed 
Lady Biggar, had two sons, Malcolm and Robert. Malcolm was one 
of the hostages for James I., and appears to have been released from 
this duty on the 20th January 1432. He predeceased his father, and 
therefore his brollier Robert succeeded to the estates. One of Robert's 



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mSTOmCAL SKETCHES OF TH£ FLEUIHO FAUILY. 18» 

first acta was to make Beverol public protests t^amst the sentence of 
death and forfeitnn whicli had been pronounced against his father. 
Copies of sereral of these instruments are still preseired. We ma; 
refer to one of them, written partly in Latin and parti; in the verna- 
cular Scotch of the time, which was made at die Cross of Linlithgow. 
It commences by invoking the name of the Deitj, and wishes all men 
to know b; this public instrument, that on the 7th da; of Jonuar;, in 
the ;ear of our Lord 1440, and the 14th ;ear of the Pontificate of the 
most hoi; Father in Christ, Lord Eugeniua, b; Divine Providence 
Pope, and in presence of the witnesses whose names are subscribed — 
Walter Buchanan and Thomas Muirhead, Esquires, and procurators 
of Bobert Fleming, son and hdr of the Ute Malcolm Fleming, Lord of 
Biggar, having power and sufficient instmc^ons, as is shown b; legal 
documents, went to the Market Cross of the burgh of Linlithgow, and 
there, before William Houston, Sheriff-depute, andinnameof the said 
Bobert, falsified a certun sentence pronounced, or violentl; carried 
out, upon Malcolm Fleming, father of the said Bobert, on the Castle 
Hill of Edinburgh ; all this being done according to dne mode and 
form, and for the reasons written below, the tenor of which follows in 
the vulgar: — 

'We, Waltyr of Bnchquwane, and Thomas of Murhede, spedal 
procuratoris and actoumeis, conjunctl; and severall;, to Bobert 
Flem;ng, son and a;T to Malcolm Flem;ng, surname Lord of Bigar, 
saps to thee John of Bla;r, Dempstsr, that the Do;mB g;ffin out of 
th; mouth on Malcolm Flem;ng in a said court hald;n befor our 
soverane Lord ;e King, on the Castle-hill of Ed;nburch on Mononda; 
the acjit and twenty d»; of the moneth of November, the ;ere of our 
Lord M°">c,c,c,c''°° and fonrt; zeris sa;ande, " that he had forfat 
land, l;ff, and gud aschete to the King, and that ;ow gave for do;me," 
that doyme furgud giffen out of thy mouth is evyl, fals, and rotten in 
itself; and here. We the fois^ Walter and Thomas, procuratoris to the 
scud Bobert, for hym, and in his name, fals it, adnul it, and again 
cancel it, in th; hand William of Howston, deput to the Bherra; of 
Lithgow, and tharto a borch in th; hand; and for this cause the 
oonrte was unlachfiil, the doyme nnlachful, unorderl; gifien, and 
agane our statut; for had he been a common Uief takyn redhand, 
and haldyn twa sonys, he sulde haff had his law dayis, he askande 
them, as he did befoir our soverane Lord the King, and be this resotme 
the doyme is evyll gif^n, and well agane said ; and here we, the for- 
sud Walter and Thomas, procuratoris to the forsud Bobert, protests 
for ma resounys to be giffp up be the said Robert, or be lus pro- 
curatoris, quhan he acht in lawful ^pie.' 

The S(ud sentence, as thus set forth, being false and void, the pro- 
curators of Robert Fleming took a pledge to pursue the adnnlificatlon 
and falsification of the sud sentence, in the hands of Bobert Nichol- 
son, Serjeant of our Lord the King, who received the same pledge. 



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390 8IGGAB AND TUB BOUSE OF FLElIIlt& 

The procurators afterwards offered a falaificatioii and adnnMcatdoD 
of the sentence, under the seal of Robert Fleming, to William Houston, 
Sheriff-depute, who refused to recelTe it, alle^ng that the reception 
of Buob a document pertuned to the Justiciar and not to the Sheriff; 
and thereupon the agents publicly protested against this refoaal being 
the cause of any prejudice to the said Robert in time to come. 
Upon each and ^ of these points the procuratois took public instru- 
ments in the hands of a notary public, at tlie Cross cf Linlithgow, at 
ten o'clock of the day already stated, and before a number of com- 
petent witnesses. 

On the 16th of August 1443, Sir Alexander Livingstone, as is 
shown by a document still preserred, in presence of Robert Fleming 
and four bishops, s<demnly purged himself, upon oath, of having 
given any counsel, assistance, or consent to the slaughter of Sir 
Malcolm Fleming. It would thus seem that the death of Sir Malcolm 
is to be ascribed solely to the vindictiTe feelings or ambitions aspira- 
tions of Oiohton the Chancellor. 

When James JL arrived at the age of maturi^, he became con- 
vinced that great injustice had been done in putting Malcolm Fleming 
to death, and forf^ting his estatq^ He therefore caused precepts to 
be addressed to the sheriffi of the different counties in which Fleming's 
estates were ratuated, ordering them to infeft Robert Fleming of 
Biggar as the heir and successor of his father, who had been proved, 
by the testimony of several peraons, to have died at the faith and 
peace of his sovereign. He also, on the 6th of June 1451, bestowed 
on him a charter of the tweuty-four merk lands of Petkemiy, Cnle- 
venny, and Balrody, and their pertinents, lying in the barony of 
Kin^om, to be held of the King by rendering the usual services. 
On the following day, viz., the 7th of June, he conferred oa him a 
charter of all and whole the lands of Auchtermony and thar pertinents, 
lying in the Earldom of Lennox, to be held of the King by rendering 
a silver penny Scots if sought. It was, no doubt, James also who 
raised Fleming to the pe^vge, though the date at which this look 
place is not exactly known. But the favour received by him float 
the King, which possesses the greatest interest to the people of Biggar, 
is the erection of Biggar into a free burgh of barony, as we have 
elsewhere stated. 



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CHAPTER XXIV. 
pistoiuBl Ske^ts irf % ^ItntniEi ^xnttls — Coatimtd. 



rwu a yerj common thing for the nobility in former days, to 
enter into a bond or league mth each other for motoal defence, 
or the attainment of some object. The main plea in juadfioa- 
tion of this step was the defective administration of the laws. 
The executive department of goTenunent was often powerless ; and 
the consequence was, that the strong oppressed the weak, and rapine, 
slaughter, and confusion prevailed. On the 10th of February 1465, 
Bohert Lord Fleming entered into a remarkable bond, or ' Indenture,' 
as it was called, with Gilbert Lord Kennedy, and ^ Alexander Boyd 
of I>uchaL The object of it is thiu stated : ' Ye said lordis ar bundyn 
and oblisit ytumselfis, jaii kyn, friendis and men, to abwd in afold 
keadness, supple, and dcfenoa, ilk an til odir in all yair causis and 
querrell, leiful and honest, movit and to be movit, for all ye dais of 
yair lifBs, in contreiy and aganis ol mauer of persones yat leiff or dee 
may.' Beservation was made with respect to the ' bands' which these 
barons had previously made with other parties; and from this it 
appears that Lord Fleming had bands with Lord livingstone and 
Lord Hamilton. The document goes on to bind Lord Fleming not to 
give his consent or assent to any proposal to take the King from 
Lord Kennedy and Sir Alexander Boyd, or the pereous whom they 
might appoint his keepers in thdr absence ; and to use all his power 
of good counsel to prevail on the King to be kind to them, 'yair 
baiitus, and iriendis yaiat bdoug to yaim for ye tym.' If be did this, 
he was to have such reward as follows : ' Gif yair happynis a large 
thyug to fall, mc as vard, rdeiff, marriage, or offes, yat is meit for 
hym, the said Lord Flemyng saL hoS it for a resouable compodon 
befoir udir.' It appears that two individuals, 'Thorn of Sumerwel' 
and ' Wat of Twedy,' were special friends of Lord Fleming ; and there- 
fore Lord Kennedy and Sir Alexander were bound to have them in 
special Duuntenance, supply, and defence in all their actions, causes, 
and quarrels, lawful and honeot, for Lord Fleming's sake, and for 
services done, or to be done. The document ends with this solemn 
sanction : ' All to be lelily kepit bot fraud and g^ after they have 
giveu to each other yair bodily aithis, the hali euangelist tuychit, and 
set to thair sealis.' 

In the records of ' The Acts and Proceedings of the Lord Auditors 



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m BIOOAB AND THE BOUSE OF FlfUmO. 

of CauMS and Complaints, from 1466 to 1494,' Robert Lord Fleming 
frequently appean as a party in the lawsuits then carried on. We 
will briefly rrfer to one or two of the oases with which he was more 
especially connected. On the 30th July 1473, an action was raised 
by Heniy Livingstone of Middlebinning against Robert Lord Fleming 
and John and Thomas Anderson, for their spoliation and withholding 
of ten oxen and cows and two bulls from the lands of Weltown and 
Castlecary, belonging to the said Heniy, and the improper holding of 
his lands. The Lords decreed that Lord Fleming had done wrong in 
taking the said gnirrm lii, and ordained him to restore them, and, in all 
time coming, to desist from annoying the stud Hetiry ' in the browkin 
and joysing' of his lands, as well as to pay him 20s. for his costs and 
expenses, his three witnesses 15s. for their costs, and, if necessary, to 
distrain his effects for payment. On the 16th May 1474, Lord Cricbton 
raised an action against Lord Fleming for the payment of L.150, which 
had been awarded by a decreet of arbitration. The Lords decided 
against Lord Fleming, and ordered his lands and goods to be dis- 
trained. On the 14Ui October 1479, Lord Fleming appeared in an 
action against Lord Crit^ton, for wrongously withholding from him a 
basin and ewer of silver gilt, valued at L.60, which he had laid in 
'wad' to the said Lord Crichton for L.20. The Lords continued the 
case to the 17th of January following, to afford Lord Fleming time to 
bring forward proof of the value of the basin and ewer, and to Lord 
Crichton to retiun them, or give the balance of their value ; but the 
final result is not recorded On the 12th Jnne 1476, the Lords 
decreed and delivered that Robert Lord Fleming should content and 
pay to Patrick Baron, bnrgess of Edinburgh, the som of 26 merks, 
owed by him and his son Robert Fleming, for certain merchandise 
which he had received, as was proved by Baron's account books, and 
that letters should be written to distrain his lands and goods for pay- 
ment. Lord Fleming aUeged that his son owed 20 merks of this 
account; and therefore the Lords condnued the case till the 3d of July, 
to ^ve him time to summon witnesses to prove what he had stated. 
It appears that his Lordship either had been afflicted with that great 
evil, a scarcity of money, that he had an avaricious desire to obtain 
the property of others, or had a natural avernon to discharge his pecu- 
niary liabilities ; for his name occupies rather a discreditable place in 
the record, not less for his violent possession of the effects of others, 
than for his unwillingness to pay the debts which he had incurred 

Robert Fleming died in 1494. He was twice married, first to Janet, 
daughter of Lord Douglas, and second to Margaret, daughter of John 
Lindsay of Covington. By his first wife he had two sons, Malcolm 
and Robert, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Beatrix ; but by his 
second wife he had no children. 

Malcolm, the elder son, was one of the Commissioners appointed to 
negotiate a marriage between James, Prince of Scotland, to Cedlia, 



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HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE PLEMDJG FAMILY. 298 

daughter of Edward IT., on the ISth of October 1474. He died 
before hii father, and hy bis wife Euphemia, daughter of Lord 
Crichton, had two sons, David and John. David, bb the heir-apparent 
of hia grandiatfaer, had a charter of the faioil^ estates of Biggar, 
Thankerton, Gumbeniauld, etc, about the year 1480. He died early. 
His brother John, in 1482, some years previous to his aoceseion to the 
estates, appeared with the retainers of the family at the Boroughmnir 
of Edinburgh, on the summons of Jamea HI. to assist in oppomng 
Edward FV. of England, who had nused a force for the purpose of 
invading Scotland. The Bcotdsh army marched to louder ; but the 
barons, dissatisfied with the King, on account of bis partiality to 
tradesmen and persons of low degree, seized one Cochrane, his 
master-mason, whom he had raised to the peerage by the title of the 
Earl of Mar, and who had conducted himself in a very superulions 
and offensive manner, aad hanged him over the bridge of Lauder, 
disbanded the army, and conveyed the King prisoner to Edinburgh 
Castle. When the King was restOTed to Uberty by his brother, the 
Duke of Albany, and the Duke of Glo'ster, he attempted to take 
revenge on his rebellions nobles, and, among others, committed Jolm 
Fleming to prison ; but he was soon after released. 

Flemii^ again joined the discontented party — Angns, Htune, Botb- 
well, and others — who seized the young Prince, afterwards James IV., 
and proclaimed him King, declaring that bis father, on several grounds, 
had forfeited his right to the crown. Both parties mustered their 
vassals, and an engagement took place on the 18th June 1488 at 
Sauchiebum, in which the King's forces were routed. The King fled 
from the field, and on descending a declivity at Beaton's Mill, near 
Stirling, he was thrown from his horse, and, being encased in armour, 
was much hurt. He was conveyed to a bed in the miller's house, and 
was there murdered, and his body carried off by a person whose name 
remains unknown to this day. 'Kie rebel lords were unable to obtain 
any intelligence of the King, and therefore it was supposed that he 
had gone on board one of the ships of war tiiat had been sailing up 
and down the Pirtb of Forth, under the command of Sir Andrew 
Wood. They therefore requested a conference with Sir Andrew ; but 
he refused to meet with them, unless two noblemen were placed on 
board as security for big own safety. The noblemen selected for this 
purpose were Lords Fleming and Seton ; and, so soon as they were on 
bowl. Sir Andrew landed, and had a lengthened oonvereatioQ with 
the Lords, during which be spoke very freely of thrir rebellious con- 
duct, but, of coarse, could give no information regarding the King. 
Fitscotde says, 'The lordis doing nothing ia Captane Wood bot 
disphyghtfull answeiris and proud speakingis, they war not content 
thairwith ; yitt they durst not put hand in him to doe him any skaith, 
becaos of the lordis that war pledges for him : fibr if the had done 
him any akaith, they wold incontinent have hanged the lordis that war 



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SM BtOQAB AHD TBE HOUSE OF PUHDIO. 

pledget for bim, qnhilk as it was, escaped nurowlie, becftus of Ute 
loDg stay of the eaid cnptane. The Lords htusted away the captane 
to his Bchipea, and inquyred no moe tydingg of liim This being done, 
the lordis pledgee war delyrered and tone on land againe, who war 
richt flied, and schew the Prince and the lordia, if th^ had boldin 
Ciqitane Wood any longer, they had been both hanged.' 

A war haring been proclaimed between France and En^and, 
James IV. of Scotland, about the year 1511, was urged by the King 
of France to invade England. He refused to do lo, on the gTOtmd 
that a bond of alliance existed between the English King and himself; 
bat he promised to send a reinforcement to the asststance of the 
French. He accordingly fitt«d out a fleet of considerable axe, appointed 
Lord Hamilton Admiral, and Lord Fleming Vice-Admiral, and placed 
nnder their command a body of 10,000 men. The ship in which 
Fleming sailed was called the ' Mai^aret,' and the Admiral's ship was 
the ' Micheall,' which was built by James, and was Hie lai^est Teasel 
in Scotland, being 240 feet long, and 46 feet over aU. She carried 
1400 men, and cost upwards of L.40,000. Iliis armament set tail; 
but instead of directing its course to France, it approached the coast 
of Ireland, burnt the town of Canickfergus and some of the neigh- 
bouring villages, and then returned to Scotland. The Admiral and 
his men landed at the town of Ayr, where they ' played thamselves, 
and reposed be the space of fourtie dayes.' The King, when he heard 
of tlieir conduct, was in a terrible rage, and sent Sir Andrew Wood 
and several heralds to order Lord Hamilton to ^ve up his command ; 
but his Lordship disregarded the King's authority, and having put 
his men on board, he again set saiL The expedition was a complete 
failure, and apparently was one of the causes which induced James to 
master a land army and march into England, where he lost his life cm 
the disastrous field of Flodden. 

At the death of James IV., in 1613, his son James was only two 
years c^ age, and therefore his Queen, Margaret, was appointed Regent 
of the kingdom. During the year following. Lord Fleming, and James 
Ogilvie, Rector of TCinVoll^ and afWwards Abbot of Drybuigh, were 
sent on an embassy to France, and acquitted themselves with so much 
fidelity and success, that Fleming, on bis return, was chosen a member 
of the Queen's Privy Council He was shortly afterwards entrusted 
wiA another embassy to France, and brought back a connderable 
quantity of arms and ammunition, and 10,000 francs, to assist the 
Soots in defending themselves against the English. The Queen, in 
consequence of entering into a marriage with the Earl of Angus, was 
called on to reagn her office of Regent; and was so incensed at the 
idea of being deprived of power, that she requested assistance from 
her brother, Henry VliJ. of England, to enable her t« retain possession 
of her office. It appears that Lord Fleming had by this time deserted 
her party, and incurred her resentment; for in the letter in which she 



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HISTORICAL EEETCHES OF THE PLEUIKQ FAMILY. 2BG 

requested this asmstance, she says, ' It ia told me that the Lord adver- 
saries are prepared to siege me in the Castle of Stirling. 1 woiUd, 
therefore, that Lord Chamberlain Fleming be held waking in the 
meantime with the Borderers. I trow I shall defend me well enough 
from tbe others till the coming of the English army.' The passion of 
the Queen having been thoroi^hly roused, she appears to have stickled 
at nothing by which she might blacken the character of Lord Fleming, 
and fire tbe indignation of her brother against him. In one of her 
letters, she accuses him of having been guilty of a most atro^ous 
crime. ' For evil will,' says she, ' that he had to his wife Euphenua 
Drommond, caoAed poison three ssters, one of them his wife ; and 
that is known as truth throughout all Scotland. And if he be good 
to pnt about tbe King, my son, God kuowetb.' 'Hie sudden death of 
Lord Drummond's Qiree dau^tera, Margaret, Bnphemia, and Sybilla, 
by poison, is a historical fact ; but, so far as we know, not a shadow 
of proof remans to implicate Lord Fleming in a tragedy so foul and 
nnnatutaL During his subsequent career, no one ever publicly chained 
him with beii^ either an accessory or a principal party in the perpe- 
tration of this dime, which would not very likely have been the case 
had it been supposed that he was guilty. James Stewart, then Duke 
of Botbesay, and afterwards James IV., was passionately attached to 
Margaret, one of the daughters who was poisoned. Muky historians 
aasert that he had actually married her privately, and that, as the 
union was within the prohibited degrees, he was only wailing for a 
dispensation from tbe Pope to hare it legally solemnized. Three 
partiee in the state were violently opposed to tbis mairiage-^rst, t^ 
cleigy, because it was within the degrees prohibited by the Churdi ; 
second, a portion of tbe nobles, because they wished the Prince to ally 
himself in marriage with tJie royal family of England ; and third, tbe 
Kennedys, because the Prince had carried on a love intrigue widi 
Lord Kennedy's dau^ter Jane, whom it was expected he would marry. 
It was, no doubt, by some of these parties that the deed was committed, 
and not by Fleming, who apparently had no motive in murdering not 
only his own wife, but the wife or mistress of the young Prince, and 
her sister. Had James IV, really believed him to be the murderer, 
he would, considering his passionate attachment to Margaret Drom- 
mond, and bis grief at her untimely death, very quickly have brought 
him to tbe ignominious doom that he would, in that case, have so 
justly deserved. 

l^e Queen was succeeded in the regency by tbe Duke of Albany, 
grandson of Jamee II., who had previously lived in France. Lord 
Fleming, by his seal and abilities, rery soon secured the favour and 
oountenanoe of the new Regent, who appointed him to the office of 
Lord Chamberlain in 1516, on the execution of Lord Chamberlain 
ilimte, for tbe cowardly and unpatriotic part which he had played at 
the Battle of Flodden. The office of Lord Chamberlain, or Treasurer, 



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MS BIOGAB AHD THE HOCSS OF FLBICQia 

which remained in the family of Fleming for several generalioiu, wm 
one of great trust and d^;mty. It required the perron who held it to 
be conatantlj resident at court, to have charge of the household of 
the Borereign, and to disburse all sums that were necesaary for the 
maintenance of the royal establishment. The accounts of die Trea- 
BUt«ra of Scotland have been preseired from a remote period, and 
are extremely interesting, as well as useful in illustrating the move- 
ments of the court, and the manners and customs of the times. Lord 
Fleming, so tar as we know, first signed himself * Camerarins Scotin,' 
in a letter of date 7th October 1517, which was sent by the Segent 
and Parliament to Eeniy VUI. of England, regardii^ a suspension 
of hostilities between the two kingdoms. 

The Duke of Albany soon found his position as Regent beset with 
so many difficulties and troubles, that he longed to return to the calm 
privacy which he had formerly enjoyed in France. He therefore 
departed to that country, holding out as the cause, that he wished to 
enter into a personal negotiation with the French King regarding the 
assistance which he would render in the eTcnt of the English invading 
Scotland; but he remained so long absent, that Lord ChamberUin 
Fleming was despatched to France to urge his return. A copy of the 
instructions which he received on this occasion is preserved in the 
charter chest of the family ; and from this document it is made to 
appear that the Regent was detained in France by die influence of the 
French King, and that the Councilof Scotland threatened, if he was not 
very soon sent back, they would enter into an alliance with England, 
break off all connection with France, and declare the office of Regent 
vacant As a specimen of this document, we quote the 'Item' in'which 
the threat is hddout of an alliance with England: — 'That the Conseil 
of Scotland is adui^t that gyf thai have na sickyr tydingis of my lord 
gonemour be Monsyeur de Flemyng, or the said Vitsonday, thai wil tak 
pece witht Ingland as is oflerit thame, straytar than the auld and 
alluterly agains France ; quharfor thai have ellis send for ane sauf 
conduct to Ingland for thair ambassadouris to tret the sammyn.' Lord 
Fleming was, however, successful in gaining the object of this mission ; 
and he returned to Scotland in the retinue of the Regent in No- 
vember 1621. 

Albany, after his return, wished to get poesession of the person of 
James V., then resident with his mother and his brother, the Earl of 
Ross, in the Castle of Stirling, and for this purpose levied an army of 
7000 men, and invested the CasUe. The garrison, ere long, was 
induced to surrender; and Queen Margaret, seeking an interview with 
the Regent, caused the young King to place the keys of the Castle in 
his hands. The Regent then committed the King to the guardianship 
of the Earl Marischall and Lords Fleming and Borthwick, in whose 
fidelity he placed entire confidence; and this proceeding was ratified 
by public instrument in November 152S. 



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mSTOBICAL SKETCHES OF TEE FLEUINO FAMILY. 297 

Th« Begent Albany, at the iDstdgation of the King of France, in- 
volved Scotland in a var with England ; bat he conducted it in a way 
that reflected little credit on his energy and skill, and entailed many 
calamitiea on the country over which he ruled. Bom and brought up 
in France, he never had any warm attachment to Scotland, and seemed 
always well pleased to escape from its plots, its turmoil, and miseries. 
He left it in May 1524, aad never again set foot on its soiL After 
his departure, the country was placed, if possible, in a still more dis- 
ordered state than ever. The young King, who was only thirteen 
years of age, was incompetent to take on his shoulders the cares of 
goremment ^ and he had no person around him of sufficient power 
and energy to grasp the reins of admiuiatration, and keep the country 
in proper awe and subjection. His mother had obtained a legal sepa- 
ration from her second husband, the Earl of Angus, and had entered 
into a new matrimonial connexion with Henry Stewart, a younger son 
of Lord Evandale, and had thus lost all pohtical influence. Her late 
husband, tlie Earl of Angus, now rose into power ; but was opposed 
by a faction, who wished to place the King, young as he was, at the 
helm of public affairs. Is the unsettled state of t^e country many 
disorders arose, and many barbarities were perpetrated. One of the 
most remarkable of these was the murder of Lord Fleming, on the 
1st of November 152i, by the Tweediea of Dmmmelzier and a baud 
of accomplices. 

The Tweedies, who long occupied a considerable portion of the 
wild and mountainous re^ou in the upper part of Tweeddale, were a 
numerous dan, distinguished for their arrogance, turbulence, and 
ferocity. Outrages committed by them are found repeatedly recorded 
in the annals of the criminal oourts of Scotland. For instance, at a 
Justice Aire held at Peebles by Lord Drommond, on the 15th Nov. 
1498, John Tweedie of Drummelzier, and five others, came in the 
King's will, and were each fined five merks, for art and part in on act 
of oppression committed on Oswald Porteons, and hu wife Janet 
Fleming, in ejecting them irom their holding in Upper Kingledoors. 
In the reign of James IV., Gilbert Tweedie, John B^kb, and Andrew 
Chancellor, were arraigned for the slaughter of Edward Hunter of 
Fohnood; and on the 1th Feb. 1502, John Tweedie of Dmmmelzier, 
Walter Tweedie of Hawmyre, and William Tweedie, became sureties 
for the appearance c^ the said Gilbert Tweedie at the next Justice 
Aire at Peebles, under the penalty of 100 merks. On the 26th 
January 1565-6, 'Adam Twedy of Drawey was dilatit of (the crime 
oQ cutting Bobert Raimagis luggis, and demembring him.' A feud 
broke out in the upper part of Tweeddale in 1590 ; and as it affords 
a good illustration of the turbulent character of the Tweedies, we 
quote the account, somewhat abridged, which has been given of it by 
Mr Bobert Chambers in his 'Domestic Annals.' 'The fact &om 
which it took its rise,' be says, ' was the slaughter of Patrit^ Veitch, 



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Ma - BIGQAB AND TBE HOUSE OF FLEinNO. 

K>D of William Veitch of Dawick (now New Poaso), by or throngh 
Jamet Tweedie of Drumebder, Adam Tweedie of Drera, Williun 
Tweedte of the Wrae, John Crichton of Quarter, Andrew Crichton in 
Cardon, and Thomas Porteona of Glenkirk, These personi were in 
prison in Edinburgh for the fact in July of diis year ; bat the case 
was deferred to the edrt of Peebles. Meanwhile, on the 20th of the 
month just mentioned, two relatives of the slain youth — James 
Veitch, yonnger, of North Synton, and Andrew Veitch, brother of the 
Lurd of Tourhope — set upon John Tweedie, tutor of Dnunelzicr and 
burgess of Edinburgh, as he walked the streets of the capital, and 
killed him. Ilius were the alleged murdeKis punished throagh a 
near relative, probably uncle, of the principal party. Six days after, 
the two Veit«hes were "dilated " for the fact; and we find Veitch of 
Dawick taking their part in true Scottish style, by joining in surety 
for their appearance at trial to the extent of ten thousand merks. 
After some further procedure, the King was pleased to interfere with 
an order for the liberation of the Vutchea. It would appear that, 
within a short space of time, the Tweedies of Drumelzier took revenge 
to a considerable extent on the Veitches ; in particular, they effected 
the slaughter of James Geddes of Glenhegden, who seems to have 
been brother-in-law to a principal gentleman of that family. The 
recital of James Geddes's death in the Privy Council Record, affords 
by its minuteness a curious insight into the manner of a daylight 
street-murder of that time. ' James,' it is stated, ' being in Edinburgh 
the space of aught days together, haunting and repairing to and fra 
openly and pubUcly, met almoist daily with the lAird [of Drumelzier] 
upon the Hie Street. The said laird, fearing to set upon him, albeit 
James was ever single and alane, hod espies and moyeners [retainenj 
lying await for him about his lodging and other parts where he re- 
paint Upon the 29th day of December [1592], James being in the 
Cowgate, at David Lindsay's buith, shoeing his horse, being altogether 
careless of hia awn surety, seeing there was naething intendit again 
him by the said laird divers times before when they met upon the 
Hie Gait ; the said laird, being advertised by his espies and moyeners, 
divided his haill fnends and servants in twa companies, and directit 
John and Robert Tweedie, hb brothers-german, Patrick Porteous of 
Hawkshaw, John Crichton of Quarter, Charles Tweedie, household 
servant to the sud James, and Hob Jordine, to Cow's Close, bdng 
directly opposite to David lindsay's buith, and he himself, being 
accompanied with John and Adam Tweedie, sons to the Gnidman of 
Dreva, passed to the Kirk Wynd, a little bewest the said buith, to 
awtut that the said James sould not have escaped ; and buth the 
companies, being convenit at the foot of the said close, finding the 
sud James standing at the buith door with his back to them, they 
rushit out of the said close, and with shots of pistolets slew him be- 
hind his back." The guilty parties were summoned, and, not appear- 



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HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEHING FAUILT. SM 

ing, were denounoe)] as rebels. In June 1S93, we find James Tweedie 
of DrumeMer released from Edinburgh Castle, under sure^ that he 
should presentlj enter himself in ward is the Sheriffdom of Fife. We 
next hear of the two belligereni parties in January 1600, when they 
were commanded to come and subscribe letters of assurance " for the 
feid and inimitie standing betwixt tbem."' 

The principal residence of the chief of the clan Tweedie, was 
situated on the banks of the Tweed at Drummelzier. It was a build- 
iag of great size and strength, but ila situation was ill chosen either 
for assault or defence. To compensate for this disadvantage, they 
erected a fort on a neighbouring eminence, which was called the 
Thane's Castle, but more commonly, by the country people, Tennis 
Castle. It is a trsdition that it was a custom of the Tweedies to 
demand an act of homage from eveiy person that passed these strong- 
holds, and to inflict severe punishment in cose of refusal This im- 
penous conduct brought them at times into collision with the Scottish 
kings, who made them feel the full weight of the royal displeasure. 
An instance of this is still related by the peasantry of Tweeddale and 
Clydesdale, and is more or less detuled in several publicationa. It is 
to the following effect : — One of the Jameses having heard t£ the 
overbearing and tyrannical conduct of the Tweediea, resolved to visit 
Drummelzier incognito, and witness, in person, the treatment which 
they bestowed on strangers. He went, as was a \exy common prac- 
tise with our Scottish monarchs, to hunt the fallow deer in the wilds 
of Tweedsmuir and the Forest of Ettrick, attended by a conmderable 
retinue. Having made some of his courtiers privy to his dengn, and 
enjoined them to keep themselves concealed among the hills, bnt to 
remain within hail, he disguised himself, and as a solitary traveller 
descended the Vale of Tweed. At a place not &r distant &om the 
Castle of Kittleball, the andent seat of the Geddeses of Sacban, he 
came up to an old man, a cobbler to trade, tending a cow, and enter- 
taining himself with a spring on the bagpipes. This man, whose 
Dame was Bertram, and who occupied a small hut in the neighbour- 
hood, readily entered into conversation with the traveller, and at last 
invited him to bis humble dwelling to partake of refreshments. The 
King at once complied, and having been regaled by the homely fare 
set before him, resumed the conversation, and made minute inquiries 
regarding the conduct of the neighbouring barons. Time flew rapidly 
by, and evening coining on, the King b«ng greatly delighted wi^ 
the kindness and intelligence of the cobbler and his wife, readily 
consented to take the shelter of tbeir cot during the nighL Next 
morning, to the great astonishment and even consternation of his 
host, he disclosed his rank and condition, and his design of passing 
the Castle of Drummelzier, and requested Bertram to act as his gmde. 
The King uid Bertram immediately set out, and on coming to the 
Castle of Sir James Tweedie, not only offered no act of homage, but 



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300 BIOOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKa 

took puns to maufest their contempt, and then pursued dieir jonmejr. 
The iadign&tion of the Tweedies was ronsed. Sixteen of them mounted 
thdr steeds, and following the refractory couple with all speed, had 
almost overtaken them at a spot.called Glenvhappen, when the King 
blew a loud blast on his bugle, and inunediat«ly a party of horse- 
men appeared in sight. So great was the insolence and audad^ of 
the Tweedies, that they nevertheless threat^ied to inflict corporal 
chastisement on the fugitives for the aflront whitji they had offered 
them. The King instantly stript off his disguise, and ordered the 
Tweedies to be seized and disarmed. Sir James, finding himself 
caught in a snare Irom which he could not escape, fell on his knees 
and begged the King's pardon. The King with some reluctance 
granted his request, on condition that in future he and his retainers 
would refrain from all aggresmons on travellers. BerEnun was highly 
honoured, and rewarded with a grant of dxteen acres of land adjcnn- 
ing his dwelling, with the right to pasture a mare, and a foal, and a 
sow, and nine pigs, on a piece of ground at the foot of Holmes Water. 
The descendants of Bertram long held this posBeseion, which was 
called Dukepool, and acknowledged no superior, and paid no tax or 
assessment. In course of time it vras much curtailed by the disposal 
of portions of it to the neighbouring proprietors, and such of it as 
remained, fell some time ago into the female line, and is now the 
property of James TweetUe Esq. of Quarter. 

Between the Tweedies and Lord Fle ming a feud had arisen. The 
cause is not very accurately known, but it seems to have been regard- 
ing the disposal or marriage of Catherine Frizzel, heiress of Fmid in 
Tweedsmuir. Catherine was a descendant of the old family of Frizzel 
or Ftaser, who held large possessions in the upper part of Tweeddale 
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. By tjie marriage of Patrick 
Flemii^ of Bi^^ with one of the heiresses of Sir Simon Frizzel, the 
Flemings, along with the Hays of Yester, whose ancestor married 
another of the heiresses, acquired some control or superiority over 
the lands of Fruid. We have a proof of this in 1445, when Lord 
Fleming's buHe and Hay of Yester granted a sasine of the lands of 
Fruid to William Fraser. John Lord Fleming, it appears, was 
anxious that Catherine of Fruid would marry one of his sons, whose 
name was Malcolm, — not his legitdmate son and heir of that name, but 
another, most likely illegitimate. On the other hand, the Tweedies 
were determined that she should wed no other than James Tweedie, 
eldest son and heir of John Tweedie of Dromnieizier. From casual 
expressions in some of the old documents on the subject, it would 
seem that she had actually been married to Malcolm Fleming, as she 
styles him her husband. This, no doubt, fired the indignation of the 
Tweedies. Having got notice that Lord Fleming was to enjoy the 
sport of hawking over his lands in Kilbucho, Glenholm, and Drum- 
melaer, they assembled to the number evidently of not fewer than 



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HISTOBIOAL 8EET0HES OF THE FLEMING FAHILT. 301 

forty or fifty men, and waylaid his Lordabip and his small retinue 
among the hilla. When the parties met, a hot altercation ensued, and 
in the txnine of it young Tweedie of Drummelzier drew his sword 
and slew Lord Fleming on the spot. Miss Agnes Strickland, in her 
' Lives of the Queens of Scotland,' says that it was Douglas, ' Lord of 
Drommellar,' who attacked and murdered Lord Fleming, and that 
this was done on the threshold of St Giles's Church, Edinburgh. She 
does not ute her authority for these statements ; but they are not 
borne out by the records of Justiciary, Che documents in the Wigton 
charter oheU, or the assertions of our old historians. Not a word is 
said in any of these authorities, so far as we have seen, that in any 
way implicates the Douglases in this transaction ; and Lindsay of 
Pitscottie expressly says, that Lord Fleming was slain when enjoying 
the sport of hawking. 

The party ia attendance oo Lord Fleming was small, condsting 
merely of his son and a few domestics. After the slaughter of his 
Lord^p, the Tweedies plundered his servants and carried off young 
Fleming, and kept him in confinement in the Place of Dnunmelzier. 
While this young nobleman was in their custody, they extorted a 
promise from him that he would confer on them the ward and 
marriage of Fruid — that is, a sum equivalent to two or three years' 
rent that the heir of a vassal was bound to pay to the superior on his 
marriage and accession to the estates ; and it is likely, also, that he 
consented that Catherine Frizzel should give up her eugi^ement to 
his brother, and should marry young Tweedia In order to obbun 
his liberty, and as a pledge that he would fulfil the agreement which 
he had made, he put into the custody of the Tweedies Malcolm Fleming 
his brother, Bobert Stewart of Minto, and William Fleming of Bog- 
hall ; otid these persona were for some time kept in confinement in 
the Place of Drummelzier. 

Malcolm Lord Fleming, on regaining his liberty, wished to resile 
from this engagement ; but being afraid of the vindictive character of 
the Tweedies, he signed an instrument to show that he sent CatherinB 
Frizzel, with the writs and evidenta of her lands, to the Place of Drum- 
melzier, solely for the purpose of obtaining the liberation of his friends, 
and fr«m a dread of the disastrous consequences that might otherwise 
ensue. Several other legal instruments, still preserved, also show that 
Catherine bad been compelled to go to Drummelzier Place against her 
inclination, and that her object was to set her husband, Malcolm 
Fleming, and the other gentlemen held in custody, at liberty, and 
further, to testify that whatever she might say or do on that occasiou, 
could not legally be used to the prejudice of her, her estates, or 
marriage. I^ese documents are dated the 17th and 25th of Novem- 
ber 1524. 

l^e QTil authorities lost no great time in making efibrts to bring 
the Tweedies and their accomplices to justice. In the course of 



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802 BtQOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEIUHO. 

fourteeo days after the murder was committed, it appears tbat a 
cumber of them had been seized or bound down ' to thole an asmze ;' 
for at that time a respite for one year was granted to James Tweedie, 
son and apparent h^ to John Tweedie of Dmmmelzier, and other 
persons, for the craeil slaughter of ' ye Tmquite John Lord Fleming, 
and treasonable taking and presonyng of Maloolme, Maister of Fleming, 
his Bone and are, ye king's fre man. In priuate presone ; and for rtdf 
of certain gndis fra yame and yare seroandis ye samyn tyme.' 

From an indenture made at Edinburgh 23d November 1524, and 
still preserved, it appears that by some influence or other, it was 
'appoyntit, aggriet, and finalie concordit,' between Malcolm Lord 
Fleming and James, son and apparent heir of John Tweedie of Drum- 
melner, that a reconciliation should take place and all prerions wrongs 
forgiven. This document iotimatea that James Tweedie and his accom- 
plices went ' to ye mercat croce of Peblis in their lynning daithea, viz., 
sark alaoe, and yair thai huf ofieiit yr naykit suords to ye sud Mal- 
colm, his kyn and iriendis,' that th^ bound themselves to be his 
servants 'all ye dayis of' yr livis,' and gave him a band of manrent 
thereapon. Lord Fleming, on the part of himself and his friends^ 
received James Tweedie and his accomplices 'in faithiiil trotli and 
afald kindness,' and forgave them the rancour which they had shown, 
and the injury which they had inflicted ; and in token of his dncerity, 
ext«ided to them the right hand of fellowship at the Market Cross of 
Peebles, at the time the foresaid sword was delivered, and agreed to 
support and defend them in all their actions honest and lawful, 'hot 
fraud or gyle.' Tweedie and his accomplices engaged ' to gang, or 
gar gang,' the three head pilgrimages of Scotland, viz., St Ninian's in 
Galloway, St Duthus in Boss, and St Andrews in Fife, and at all of 
these places to make offerings and cause masses to be said for the 
weliaie of Lord Fleming's soul ; and they were to infeft a chaplun to 
say mass at the high altar of Biggar Kirk for the same purpose. It 
was finally agreed that the son and heir of Tweedie should be married 
to one of Lord Fleming's sisters, that an honest and competent liveli- 
hood should, at the sight of friends, be bestowed on the young couple 
by Tweedie, and dial Tweedie was to receive the ward and marriage 
of the heir of Fruid. It appears from several documents still extant, 
that the terms of this agreement were not strictly adhered to, and 
that the vengeance of the law still pursued the Tweedies and their 
accomplices. 

On the 6th of June of the follovring year, a respite was granted for 
nineteen years to James Tweedy, Drummelzier, John Yeit*^ of Ring- 
side, James Tweedy of KirkbaU, David Newton of Mitchelhill, William 
PorteouB of Glenkirk, and twelve others, for the crime of murdering 
Lord Fleming. On the 18th of August 1525, a petition, in connexion 
with this foul transaction, was presented to the Lords of Council by 
Georg« G«ddea of Kittlehall, near Bachan. As it is curious, we will 



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HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEHINQ FAMILY. aOB 

give it ia the original words : — ' My Lordis of ConnBal and Anditoris 
of Chekker, vnto zout 1 huimlie menis and sfaewis I, zour seruitor, 
Geoi^e Geddes of CuthiLhaU: That quhare Williame Tuedy, ane 
scohir, wes delatit of airt and pairb of je slauchter of rmquhile John 
Lord FlemiDg, and is innocent yairof, considering j% tyme of ye com- 
mitting of ye tumin, he wes at ye scule in Edinburghe : And becaus I 
diiell amang his frendis, yu sollist and liatit (enticed) me to be sonerte 
for him, for bis entre to ye law : And becaus he durst nooht compier, 
he being innocent, for feir of his parti, I am vnlawit for his nonenbe 
befor ye Justice ; howbeit as I tnust, I suld nocht have bene ressauit 
sonerte, nor sold have bene vnlawit, considering I wes and is of less- 
age within x¥ yeiria, and may nocht nor suld nocht be scmerte, of ye 
law. Heirfor I besek your I, to have considerationne herof, and gif 
command to ye Justise Clerk to draw me out of Adiomal, sua yat I 
be nocht poinded for ye aud vnlaw. According to justice and zour 
ansuer I beseik.' The Lords ordained that, as the complainant at the 
time of his signing the document was in his minority, he should be 
relieved frcan his engagement, and his name erased from the books of 
adjonmaL 

On the 22d October 1528, the Tweedies were declared to be 
fngitives from the law, and were put to the horn, and their goods 
forfeited and conferred as a gift, under the Privy Seal, on Malcolm 
Lord Fleming. In the spring of 1529, the oase was still unsettled; 
but it appears that at that time some impetus was given to the tardy 
wheels of justice, for we find that John Tweedia of Drommetzier, John 
Tweedie dwelling with him, Thomas Tweedie of Oliver Castle, James 
Tweedie of Eilbucho, and James Tweedie of Wrae, were compelled 
to find secnrity to appear at the Justice Aire of Peebles, and underly 
the law for art and part in tbecruel slaughter of John Lord Fleming; 
and OS these parties hod been previously put ta the horn, John Hay 
of Yester was taken as security for their ^pearanoe, by warrant of 
the Privy Council, sjid with consent of Malcolm Lord Fleming. 
James Tweedie, younger of Drummelzier, John Yeitch of Kingside, 
David Newton of Mitcbellhill, and eight others, were also summoned 
to appear at the same time, and offered Sir Walter Scott of Branx- 
holm as their cautioner, to answer at the same time and place for 
the above crime. On the 18th September of the year mentioned, 
Champnay, messenger-at-arms, was despatched with the King's writings, 
to summon a ' condign' assze, to convene at Peebles the 13th day of 
October, betwixt the Laird of Drummelrier and Lord Fleming of 
Biggar. 

This assize did not give a delivenince on the merits of the slanghter 
and ^spntes, but referred the whole case for arbitration to the Lords 
of Council Their Lordships, on the 4th of March 15S0, pronounced 
a decreet-arbitral, by which it was decerned that John Tweedie of 
Drummelzier should found a ohaplainarie in the Church of Bi^aT' 



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•M BIQGAB AND THE H0D8K OF FLUONG. 

and endow it widi a yearly stipend of L.iO oat of Iiia landa and herit- 
ages, to pray for the soul of die umquhile John Lord Fleming, and 
the Lords Fleming to have the patronage. It was fiirther ordained 
that James Tweedie, heir- apparent of Dmmmekier, and the other 
persons guilty of the slaughter of Lord Fleming, should go out of the 
kingdoms of Scotland and England within three months, and should 
remain for three years, or during his Majesty's pleasure ; and that the 
parties in the dispute should, in presence of the King and Council, 
take each other by the hand, and bind themaelves for the orderly 
behaTionr of their respective kin and followen. Li regard to the 
marriage of Catherine Frizzel to James Tweedie, a thing which was 
daimed by Malcolm, Lord Fleming's brother, it was decided that the 
Tweedies should cause I^idy Fruid infeft heritably and irredeetnably 
the sud Ualcolm and his assignees in the L.4, lOs. land of old extent 
of Mossfennan, in the 408. land of old extent of Smallhopes and the 
mill thereof, and in the 408. land called Uriatand, etc. All this was 
to be done without prejudice to the concord made between Lord 
Fleming and the Lurds of Glenkirk and Polmood ; and the penalty 
of failure was to be 10,000 merks. This decreet was confirmed by 
James V. on the 22d of March 1S31. 

Malcolm, the eldest son of John Lord Fleming, who was murdered 
by the Tweedies, was bom in 1494. He was educated, as became his 
rank, in all the learning of the time ; and on arriving at manhood, 
was distinguished for his abilities, acquirements, and upi^ht character. 
His merits were highly appreciated by James T., who conferred on 
him many favours. On the death of his father in 1524, he was 
appointed to the vacant office of Lord Chamberlain, and received 
charters of the lands of Dnuunelaer, Ht^icastle, Halmyre, Cardrona, 
Rachan, Glencotho, Covington, Kilbnoho, Over Kingledoors, Over 
Menaon, Oliver Castle, Auchtermony, Kerse, Lenzie, Cumbernauld, 
Boghall, Thankertoo, Biggar, and many others. On the 26th Feb. 
1524-5, he obtained a dispensation from Pope Clement Vli to many 
Joahanna or Janet Stewart, a natural daughter of James IV., as she 
vras related to him in the third degree. 

On die 24th July 1526, Lord Fleming accompanied James Y. in an 
expedition to the border to settle disturbances and punish thieves. 
After this had been effected, the royal par^ set oat on their march 
homewards, tmd had reached the bridge of Melrose on the 29th, when 
the LaJrd of Buccleuch presented himself at the head of a thousand 
horsemen, l^e King, it appears, had come to be of opinion that he 
was kept too much in bondage by the persons by whom he was daily 
surrounded, and had sent a secret message to Buccleuch to raise his 
clan and come to his rescue. The Earl of Angus, who commanded 
the King's troops, demanded to know what Bucdeuch's dengn was in 
coming with so great a force. Buccleuch replied that he had come 
to do the King honotir and service, and to show him his retainers and 



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HISTOfilCAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEHINa FAHILT. MS 

fiiends. AngoB at once ordered him to depart on the pain of treason, 
and on his refiisal, a combat ensued ; but Buccleuch in Ae end was 
routed, and eighty of his men slain. 

Tha Soots, about this period, varmly resented the interference of 
Henrjr VIIL in their national affiurs ; and the consequence was, tliat 
a war ensued between the two tingdoms. llie inhabitants c^ the 
Biggar district have ever been distingnished for their loyoltj to their 
sovereign, and for their contendings in behalf of their nadve oountry ; 
and therefore one is surprised to find that about seventy of them were 
aiTugned for treasonable intercourse, during the war, ' with Alexander 
Forrester, Jonkin Storie, and others their accomplices, Inglishmen and 
traitors, dwelling upon leviDe and reset of them within the realm.' 
The names of the principal parties arraigned were, Malcolm Lord 
Fleming, James Murray of Fawlohill, Gilbert Brown of Threpland, 
Andrew Brown of Hartree, Richard Brown of Coultermains, Patrick 
Porteous of Hawkshaw, Walter Hunter of Polmood, James Kincaid, 
the Laird of Crympcramp, John Murray of Lewinshope, William Mur- 
ray of Sundhope, William Boyd of Ba^enhengh, William Garwood of 
that Hk, and William Mumy of Rommano. On the 16th c^ August 
1526, a respite was granted them for nineteen years ; and it does not 
appear that they were ever subjected to any Airther legal proceedings, 
which is apt to moke us believe that the accusations brought against 
them were false and unfotuided. 

Lord Fleming, in 1535, accompanied James V. on his matrimonial 
expedition to France. Ambassadors had, a short time before, con- 
cluded a marriage treaty between James and Marie de Bourbon, 
daughter of the Duke of Vendoama Henry Vlil. of England had by 
this time quarrelled with the Pope regarding the divorce of his wife, 
Catherine of Arregou, and had embraced the doctrines of the Se- 
ibrmation. He was consequently anxious to withdraw his nephew 
James irom the matrimonial connection already stated, believing that 
it would tend to confirm the young King more devotedly in his attach- 
ment to the Romish Ghureh, James finding himself opposed by his 
uncle, resolved to repur secretly to France to see the object of his 
choice, and complete the marriage. He set sail with a considerable 
retinue ; biit the nobles who accompanied him being disposed in 
AiTour of the English alliance, embraced an opportunity, when the 
King was asleep, to reverse the course of the ship, and ere James was 
aware, he was brought back to the coast of Scotland. James, in a 
fit of pasoon, ordered tiie captain to be hanged ; and this would hare 
been done, had not the nobles taken the whole blame on themselves. 
The King, determined not to be driven from his design, agun set sail, 
attended by many of the nobles, among whom was Lord Fleming, and, 
in ten days, arrived at Dieppe. Notwithstanding his previous engage- 
ment to Mary of Vendosme, he fell in love with Magdalene, daughter 
of the Frendi king, a lady of great beauty, but of weakly constitution, 

24 



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nt BIOOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEUma. 

and WB3 married to her in the Chorch of Notre Dune, PariB, on N^v 
Tear's day 1537. In the spiing the King retomed with his Queeo 
and attendants to Scotland; but the fair and youthfnl Magdalene 
sickened and died, forty days after she set foot on the shore of her 
adopted country. 

lie misunderstanding between James V. and his uncle Henry VllX. 
still continued. James refused to ired Henry's dangbter, Mary, and 
formed a matrimonial union with Maiy of Guise, a lady whom Henry 
himself had shown a disposition to add to the list of his wives. Henry 
was anxious that a conference should take place between James and 
himself at York, to discuss various matters of importance to both 
kingdoms. James was disposed to' meet his ancle, and made a pro- 
mise that he would do so ; but, influenced by the remonstrances of the 
Romish priests, who were apprehensive that James would be dnwn 
fh>m his allegianoe to the Cbnrch of Rome by the entreaties and 
reasonings of his uncle, who had become a zealous cham[»on in sup- 
port of the principles of the Reformation, he failed to keep hia 
appointment. Henry was greatly enraged at the conduct <^ his 
nephew, and, in ret^iation, caused several rich merchant-vessels be- 
loi^ing to Scotland to be s^sed and detained. James demanded 
satisfaction, which was refused ; and the result of the whole was, that 
a war broke out between the two kingdoms. "Hie success, at first, 
was decidedly on the side of Scotland ; and this caused Henry to raise 
an army of 40,000 meti, which he placed under the command of the 
Duke of Norfolk, and sent to invade Sootland. James, on his aide, 
summoned his sabjects to assemble on the Boronghmoir, near Edin- 
, biugh, and, in a short time, at the head of a large army, marched to 
Fala. The Duke of Norfolk, harassed by detachments of the Scots, 
suffering ftom the want of prcvinons, and opposed by a formidable 
army, in a short time beat a retreat across the border. Now was the 
time, as James thought, to retaliate mtb efiect on the English ; but, 
to his extreme surprise and mortification, his principal barons ref^ised 
to advance a step farther. Many of them had become dissatisfied 
with his condnct in annexing estates to the Grown, limiting the power 
of the nobles, refusing to meet with his uncle Henry, and manifesting 
a stubborn determination to uphold the principles and the patrimony 
of the Church of Rome. It was in vain that James upbraided them, 
and declared that they no longer possessed the spirit of men and 
patriots. His words were disregarded ; and he had no alternative but 
to disband an army with which he expected to deal a deomve blow 
upon England. The alienation of these barons threw the King still 
more thoroughly into the arms of the Romish priests and their bigoted 
adherents, who, elated with the confidence reposed in them, strove to 
gratify the wishes of the King by contributions of men and money. 
In a short time James saw himself at the head of an army of 10,000 
men, whom he despatched, in November 1542, with all haste to the 



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aiSTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEilINO FAMILY. S07 

border. He accompanied them hinuelf in person, bnt being overtaken 
with indispositton, he halted at Caerlaverock Caatle. The annj, never- 
theless, hastened on tlieir march, and had scarcely disentangled them- 
selves from the dangerous sands and bogs of the Solway, when th^ 
were filled with surprise and indignation hj a proclamation, that Oliver 
Sinclair, the King's gentleman-in-waltJng, had been appointed to the 
chief command. A shout was instantlj' rused by the army that they 
would not follow such a leader ; and a scene of complete insubordi- 
nation and disorder immediately ensued. The English wardens, 
Daore and Musgrove, widi 100 horsemen, happened at this juncture 
to advance for die purpose of reoonnoitriog, and, observing the con- 
fusion of the Scots, instantly assailed them with levelled lances, and 
drove them in irretrievable rout from the field. A number of them 
were slain, and many of them taken prisoners, among the latter of 
whom were the Earls of Caamllis and Glencum, and Lords Fleming, 
Sommerrille, Maxwell, Gray, and Oliphant. These barons were marched 
to London, and, on the 19th of December, lodged in the Tower. 
On the second day after their arrival, they were clothed in gowns of 
black damask, furred with black nibbit'skins, and coats of black 
velvet, decorated with the red cross of St Andrew ; and in this guise 
were publicly paraded through the streets of London to Westminster 
Hall, where Audeley, the Lord Chancellor, reprimanded them for 
invading the territory of England, and waging war with its sovereign 
and people. He, however, stated, 'that his Majesty meant to return 
good for evil, and to give a signal instance of the benignity of his most 
princely nature by releasing them from personal restraint; and that, 
taking only their word of honour for remaining in England prisoners at 
large, he would allot them their lodgings with the Archbishop of Can- 
terbury, the Duke of Norfolk, and other persons of high conndeistion.' 
James V., fourteen days after the rout of Solway, died of a broken 
heart in his palace of Falkland, in the thirty-first year of his age. 
When his uncle, Henry vm , heard of his death in circumstances so 
melancholy and deplorable, he treated the Scottish prisoners with 
more kindness and forbearance, hoping to make them insbimiental in 
promoting the political designs which this sad event now led him to 
entertun in re^ird to Scotland. He invited them to a grand enter- 
tainment on the 26th December, and after bestowing on them the 
most flattering marks of respect, he propounded to them his new 
scheme of uniting the two kingdoms by a marriage between his only 
son Edward and the infant Queen of Scots, who was bom a few days 
before her father's death. This design, had its accomplishment been 
•ought by &nr and honourable means, had mnch to commend it, as it 
held out the prospect of condncii^ to the peace and prosperity of both 
nations ; bat Henry closed it with conditiona that were highly re- 
prehensible. He insisted on receiving tii» custody of the young 
Qneen, in. order that she might be brought up and educated in Eng- 



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SSB BIOOAS AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

land, on hang declared Imrd raperior of Sootland, and on placing 
Engliih tro<^ is the principal fortreaKS of that countiy. Seven of 
the prisoners, viz., the Earb of Casnllis and Glencum, and Lords 
Fleming, Sommerrille, Graj, Maxwell, and Oliphant, signed a bond 
to um their ezertioiu to carry this design into ef^ct, and were released, 
on giving hostages that thej would return to captivi^ hj a preacribed 
lime, or, failing in this point, to pay the sum of money at which they 
were valued. Lord- Fleming gave as his hostage his eldest son James, 
and his ransom was fixed at 1000 merks. The Soottiih barons began 
thdr journey homewards on the 1st of Jannary 1548, and by the way 
vimted Enfield, where the young heir -apparent of the English throne 
resided, and were greatly pleased with his intelligence, faia fine feature*, 
and grscefnl deportment 

Lord Fleming, for some time after his return to Scotland, continned 
faithful to his engagement to the Knglish mcmarcfa. In the Parliament 
which met at EcUnbnrgh on the 12th March 1548, he defended the 
proposal of a mani^e between Mary of Scotland and Prince Edward 
of England, as likely to put an end to the fends and wars that so often 
prevailed between the two kingdoms. He was consequently, in oppo- 
sition to the wishes of Cardinal Beaton and his par^, appointed, tJong 
with Lords Erskine, livingstone, and Ruthven, a guardian of the 
young Queen, who, at that time, was kept in Stirling Castle. Sir 
Ralph Sadler, the English ambassador, in his state papas, bears tecti- 
mooy to the strict manner in which these barons dischaifjed their 
duties. They would neither allow the Cardinal to lodge in the Castle, 
nor above one or two of his accomplices to enter the gates at the same 
time. In a conversatioD which Sir Balpb had with Lord Fleming in 
April of this year, his Lordship attributed the opposilian to the matri- 
monial project of Heniy Vlll. prindpally to the Bc^ent, the Earl of 
ArTan,BndtheDon^ases; his Lordship stating that the Begent had told 
him that he would rather take the young Queen and carry her with him 
into the isles, and dwell there, than consent to malry her into England. 
His Lordship, as a proof of his own zeal for the English interest, 
declared that his reply was, that if the Begent should take this step, 
the English King, for L.10, might get one of the ' Irish cetterickt' 
(banditti) there to bring him the Brent's head. Sir Ralph says that 
Lord Fleming and the Douglases were at that time at variance re- 
garding a sheriffship ; and he assigns this as the mun cause why he 
spoke so strongly against them, and especially agunst Airan the 
Begent At the same interview, Lord Fleming declared that he would 
proceed to England before the day appointed for his return, and would 
lay his opinion regarding public matters before Henry in person, as 
' he was fidly determined to serve bis Majesty to the uttermost of his 
power, according to his promise.' 

By the month of August following, a complete change had been 
produced in Lord Fleming's mind regarding the English alliance ; and 



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HISTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEHIKa FAUILY. SM 

hence Sadler, writing on tlie 10th of that month, saya that, bj the 
assiitance of one of the ipiea in hia employment, he had difoovered 
that Fleming and other noblemen had secretly ugned a bond against 
the matrimonial conneotdon with Sngland, which had been drawn tip 
by Cardinal Beaton at Linlithgow. He further saya, that it had come to 
his ean that Lord Fleming had declared that he would never go back 
to England, whatever became of hia son ; and that he had resolved to 
pay the sum fixed for his lansom, and thus shake Tiinrulf fiee from 
all obligation to the English king. This, in reality, was the course 
pursued by bis Lordship. He broke off all connection with die 
English party, pud the 1000 merks for his ransom, and became one 
of the most z^ous and devoted partisans of the Queen Dowager, 
Cardinal Beaton, and their confederates, all bigoted adherents to the 
Romish ^th and the interests of France. The step which he thus 
took was so far justified b; the decision of the Scottish Parliament, 
which, on the 11th December 1543, by a solemn act, declared that all 
negotiationB regarding the proposed matrimonial nmon were at an end. 
The consequence of this dedsion was, that war broke out between the 
two kingdoms with renewed vigour. Henry, greatlyincensed at the con- 
duct of the Scots, resolved to chastise them with the greatest sevoity, 
and therefore sent invading armies into Scotland that committed every 
species of havoc, burning towns, villages, and religious houses, and 
^ughtering and plundering the people. In some of the battles which 
were at that time fought. Lord Iteming took part He obeyed, for 
instance, the proclamation which was issued for the lieges of the 
Queen to assemble at Dunbar on the 2dth November 1544, and march 
to the border. Seven thousand men having mustered, they received 
several pieces of artillery and other weapons, taken out of the Castle 
of Dunbar, and then proceeded to Coldingham, which at the time 
was in possession of the English. They opened their batteries on the 
town ; but their operations were feebly and unsucoessfully conducted. 
The English made a sortie, broke th^ ranks, and chased them for 
miles back into the country. 

Malcolm Lord Fleming, to manifest his seal in the cause ii Popery, 
resolved to erect and endow a Collegiate Chnrch at Biggar. He 
commenced this work in 1540, and carried it on with vigour so long 
as he lived. The cares and solidtnde consequent upon this erection 
did not wididraw his attention &om the business of the State. He 
attended a convention of peers, spiritual and temporal, which met at 
Stirling on the 10th of June 1545. Great efforts were made at this 
meeting to reconcile and unite the parties who opposed each other, 
and obstructed the establishment of peace, order, and secunty within 
the realm. Lord Fleming, although attached to the French party 
and the abettors of Popeiy, was strongly disposed to enter into heal- 
ing measures; and therefore he approved of the proposal to select 
twenty peers, four of whom were to remain, alternately for a month,' 



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no BIOQAB AND THE BOUSE OF FLEIOHG. 

vith the Goremor, the Eari of Airau, as bis secret cotmciL Hie fiiM 
four ^pointed to duoharge the dutiea of thia office, were, Lord Flem- 
ing; Pstriok, Bishop of Orkney; Patrick, Earl of Bothwell; and 
CKlbert, Earl of CaasUhs. 

In retaliation of the wronga inflicted by the Kngliah on Sootlaad, an 
army was sent into England on the 10th of August 1545, to bom, 
plunder, and slay in return. Malcolm Lord Fleming, with his re- 
tunera, formed a portdi^ of the rear division of this army. It bntnt 
and destroyed a number of Tillages, and returned laden with booty, 
without meeting with any decided opporition, or incurring any great 
loss. 

Henry VUL died in 1547, and as his son Edward was only in the 
ninth year of bis age, the Duke of Somerset was appointed Begent of 
the kingdom. The Begent, unfortunately, resolved to prosecute the 
same policy in regard to Scotland as his deceased master, and there- 
fore levied an army of 18,000 men, and marched Into Scotland, 
determined stLU Auiher to punish the Scots, and to cany off the 
young Scottish Queen. The Soots, on ^eir side, mustered a host 
almost double in point of numbers ; but, as was usual, it laboured 
under the disadvantage of having no commander adequate to guide 
and control the various sections of which it was composed. Ualcolm 
Lord Flemii^ mustered his vassals, and marched to the Scottish 
camp ne*r Mtuselburgh. Several of his near relatives had also taken 
the field with their foUowen, particularly his two sons-in-law, the 
Master of livingstone and the Master of Montrose, both of tliem des- 
tined to meet with the some disastrous fate as himself. Ihe position 
of the Scots, on the left bank of the Esk, was well chosen ; and on 
Someraet reconnoitring it, he saw that he could not attack it with 
advant^e, and therefore gave orders to withdraw his troops to some 
distance. This movement made the Boots imagine that the English 
were retreating to thor ships lying in tlie bay. In oppomtion to the 
opinion and remonstrances of the most experienced leaders, the Scots 
crossed the Esk, and thus gave thrar opponents the advantage of the 
rising ground on which they stood. Lord Gray, with the English 
cavalry, lost no time in mshing down on an advanced body of Scottish 
infantty, who, drawn up in a firm and close phalanx, with th^ long 
spears projecting in every direction, stood the dreodfU charge quite 
iniahnlffn^ while the southern horsemen were soon sent back reeling 
in disorder. The want of cavalry on the part of the Scots prevented 
them from following up their advantage. Lord Gray refused to renew 
the conflict, declaring that he might as well charge a castle wall; and, 
therefore, a body of musketeers and archers was advanced to assul 
the Scots, whose compact array more ftdly exposed them to the effeots 
of the destructive shower of missiles that was hurled against them. 
A change of position became necessary ; and this was in the course of 
being executed in good order, when the Highlanders, who had left 



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HISTOBIOAL SEETOHES OP THE TLEUIKG FAMILY. 811 

their ranks for the Bake of plunder, supposing that their fiiends had 
commenced a letreat, immediately betook themselves to their heels. 
A panic wot, consequently, infused into the whole Scottish army, and 
in an instant the country round was covered with fugitdres. The 
English oST^ry having now rallied, hastened after their foes, and cut 
^em down without mercy. No fewer than 14,000 men were slain in 
the pursuit, so that dead bodies lay in the fields for five miles, as 
thick, according to Old Patten, as cattle in a well-stocked pasture. 
Lord Fleming, and many of his retainers from Biggar and his other 
estates, were among the slain. This battle was fou^t on the 10th of 
September 1547. 

Lord FloTtiingj at his death, was in the fifty-third year of his age, 
and his body was, no doubt, conveyed to Bi^^r, and, according to 
his own directions, interred in the church which be had founded and 
partially builL He left two sons and five daughters by his wife 
Janet Stewart, and also several Illegitimate children. On the 16tb 
of February of the same year on which he was slain, he executed a 
testament, in which he left his family under the charge of several 
executors, and appointed his wife, so lopg as she remained unmarried, 
to be the principal 'intromittar' with all his goods, moveable and 
immoveable, with the advice of these executors. The inventory of 
his efiecta is of great length, and remarkably intereelang, particularly 
as showing the sources from which he drew his income, and the 
amqont and value of the grain, stock, and other produce which were 
paid to him in the shape of rent. We will quote such parts of it as 
are applicable to Biggar and its neighbourhood. ' The mulls of the 
hale barony of Biggar, of the Whitsunday's term of jJvij zere, 106 
merks, 4s., 4d., the said term's male of Kilboche, L.47, 5s., the said 
term's male of the Quarter 50s., the said term's male of Broghtown 
L.8, the said tei^'s male of Bumatland 10 marks, the said terra's 
male of Smalhoppia L.10, and the said term's male of Thankert»un 
L.9, 198. 6d.' The sum-total of mails for that term, including those 
of Lenzie, Kera, Dreppis, Auohtermouy, Lour, etc, amounted to L.89&, 
18s. 4d. The above seems to have been the money part of his rents, 
but &om tiiese places mentioned, aod others, he drew beddes a large 
revenue in name of multure meal, farm meal, and teind meal, and also 
in hens, capons, oxen, bulls, kye, stirks, horses, sheep, etc The 
tenants on several parts of Ms lands, had, it would seem, fallen some- 
what into arrears, and therefore we find such statements as follow : 
' Item rests in Thankertoun of malt c^ the WiiT^inTniiH term, the slvj 
aeir, and Whitsunday term in the xlvij zeir the said xv day of Feb- 
ruar, iii score xij bolls malt, price of the boU xxx shill., — sum, 1'' iij 
lib, ij sh, ix d. Item rests d* male in Thankertoun of the xlvj zeir 
crop, iiij chalders vj bolls, — price of the boll xx sbilL Item rests 
within ^e barony of Biggar of malt aad bear the said xv day of Feb ■ 
mar, of llie Martinmas term in the xlv] ceir, and Whitsunday term in 



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3U BIGOAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKO. 

the :dTij zeir, xi chalden, x bolls, i ff, iii p, malt and bear, price of the 
boll XXX Blulling8,^-«um. xiij Bcore xix lib, ii ahil, ix d. Item rest* 
of the former male oD Biggar barony of the xlvj zeir crop, vij chal- 
ders, XT boUs, i ffi ii p, — ^prioe of the boll the fonaid sum, — tj aoore 
vij lib, y^ sUl, vi d. Item rests in ffiggar barony, iiij acore c^)ons, 
price of the peice ij shil, — mm viij lib. Item in Louk Wilson's hmnds 
in the Lyndsylands t chalden ats, at the price of the boll x shil, — 
sum xi lib. Item in Ick Eempis hands, xi kye price of the peice iiij 
merks, snm is xliiij merks. Item in his hand a boll, price xl shiL 
Item in hia hand iij stirks price of the puce xx shil, — sum iij lib. 
Item in Jean Faterson elder's hand xi score vij yois, xiiij Enbbia, iij 
score V yeld yois, iij tnppis, xi score vij hoges, and v score iiij gym- 
ntera, sum of sheep in Jean Faterson elder's hand xxxij score vuj 
sheep, price of the peice overhmd, viij shils, som xij score xix lib, iiij 
sbiL lit Jean Faterson yonnger's hand of schip xxxij score twa schip, 
price of the peice overheid viij shil, — smn xij score xvj Ub, xvj shil 
Item in the Bog-hall, that draws in plough and paddodi, xiij oxin — 
price of the p^ce iiij lib, sum Iij lib. Item hele sawin in the Bo^iall 
this instant zeir v chalders xiiij bolls ata, estimat to the third grain 
price of the boll xx shil — snm xlviij lib.' Among various other 
tenants mentioned, may be noticed the miller of Killacke (Call-lateX 
whose mail was twenty boUs, and the miller of Glenholm, whose mail 
was sixteen bcJls oats and two bolls of sale bear. The whole sum of 
the inventory amounted to L.50O6, 18s. 4d. Soots. 

Among the legades which he left, were 400 merks to his servants, 
and L.20 to ' the poir househalden within Lenzie and Bi^ar, that 
pays me nocht, that are fallen folks, to pray for me.' To his eldest 
son James he left the 'insight,' that is, the fiimiture widiin the Flace 
of Cumbernauld; along with die ulver 'wark, an bason, an cover, 
twa gilt cups with covers, vi — of nlver, vj alver spoons, an doien 
of silver trenchers, twa saltfata of nlver,' etc ; and to hia second son 
John, L.1000; and to his daughters, Agnes and Mary, 1000 merks 
each. To his wife, in addition to the house of Boghall, with the ' in- 
sight within the same,' except the artillery, which was to be the pro- 
perty of James, his son and heir, he beqneaAed all the oxen and kye, 
com and bear, on the Mains of BoghslL 



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CHAPTER XXV. 

^stonod Sblc^ts of % JItmtitg Janttl];— CWmued 

YABT, one of the dniighters of Lord Fleming who founded 
Biggar Kirk, and lost his life at Pinkie, was, when a child, 
selected to be a playmate of Maiy, the young Scottish 
Queen, and to be tnuned up with her in all tbe brauchea of 
learning common at the period. She thus fonned one of the Queen's 
four Marys ; the others b^g, Mary, daughter of Lord LiringBtone ; 
Mary, daughter of Lord Seton ; and Mary, daughter of Beton, I^rd 
of Creich. The unsettled state of the country rendering it necessaiy 
that the Queen should live in places of security, she successiTely 
occupied several castles, and spent some time on the looe but pleasant 
isle of Inchmahon in the lake of Monteith. After the Battle of Pinkie, 
the Scottish people were more averse than ever to the marriage of the 
Queen with Edward of England, and becoming apprehensive that no 
place in their country might afford her adequate protection, they 
resolved to send her to France. I^y Fleming, the widow of Lord 
Malcolm, and the Queen's aunt, was appointed to accompany her in 
the capacity of governess. The Queen, attended by Lady Fleming 
and her four Marys, accordingly set sail for France in a EVench gal- 
ley, commanded by Monsieur de Tlllegaignon, in the month of July 
1548, when the Queen was in the sixth year of her age. When they 
had almost reached their destination, a violent storm arose, which 
lasted several days, and caused the youthful voyagers to suffer 
severely from sea-sickness, I^y Fleming repeatedly implored the 
cqitain to allow the Queen and her companions to land, and repose 
themselves a short time on shore ; bat his instructions being peremp- 
tory against any such step, he rensted all her solicitations, and at 
length, in a fit of ill humour, told her that she must dther go to the 
place appointed for disembarkation, or be engolphed in the stormy 

Lady Fleming was much respected and caressed at the French 
court The attentions pud to her gave a handle to the English 
ambassador to make an attempt to injure her reputation, by alleging, 
in a letter which he sent to the English court, that an improper inti- 
macy existed between her and the French king. The story appears 
to have been a mere iabrication, got up for the purpose of gratifying 
certain parties in England. It is certain, however, that Henry H., 



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314 BIQOAB AHD THE BOCSG OF FLElimO. 

King of France, held Lady Fleming in very high eatimfttion. Aa a 
proof of this, ve may a quote a letter which he wrote regarding her to 
the Queen Dowager of Scotland : — 

' Madame mj Good Sitter, 

* I beliere that jtiu think enongh of tJie care, poina, and great 
vigilance that my conan, the Lady Fleming, constantly takes about the 
person of our little daughter, the Queen of Scotland. The really good, vir- 
tuous, and hoQouiable manner in wtuch abe perfoTma her datiea tberdn, 
makes it only reaaonaUe that yon and I should have her, and the chUdren 
of het family, in perpetual remembrance on this aoconnt. She has been 
lamenting to me that one of her aona is a prisoner in England, and I desire 
to lend a heljuig hand, as for as poanble, to obtain his deliverance ; yet, 
sitnated as I am, it is not quite eo^ to accomplidi that wish. It appears 
to me, Madame my good sister, that you ought to write and request, aa you 
have the means of doing so, to have him exchanged for some English pri- 
soner. In doing this, you will perform a good work for a person who merits 
it. Praying God, Madam,' etc. 

I^y Fleming continued to superintend die education of the young 
Queen for several years, when she was at length superseded by 
Madame Parois, ■ bigoted devotee of the Romish Church, whom Car- 
dinal Lorrmne, the Queen's uncle, is said to have selected as a person 
well qualified to instil into the mind of the Queen those extreme 
popish opinions which, in Germany, in England, and in Scotland, 
were now actively and successfully assailed, and which the ultra- 
Romish party, therefore, felt all the more anxious to defend and 
maint^. The services of Lady Fleming being no longer required 
about the person of the Queen, she returned to her own couutxy in 
1555, and most likely took up her residence at Boghali Castle, as 
assigned to her by her husband. Her daughter Mary, however, 
remained with the Queen as one of her miuds of houour, and no 
doubt was present at all those amosetnents and festivities in which it 
is said the Queen so lai^y participated, during her aboile in France. 
She would be one of her bridesmaids on the occasion of her marriage 
to the Dauphin, and she would be called on to condole with her 
when that young monarch was laid in a premature grave. She 
accompanied her back to Scotland, and heard her take that affectionate 
farewell of France which has been so pathetically described by many 
Listoiians, and which has fiimished a theme of inspiration to not a few 
gifted sons of song. She was afterwards a witness of some of those 
scenes in the life of her royal mistress, which have invested her history 
with a romantic interest beyond that of any monarch that ever lived, — 
such as her mirlike displays, her progresses through her dominions, 
her interviews with Knox, her marriage to Daruley, the murder of 
lUzzio, the birth of a son in Edinburgh Castle, the loss of her husband 
by violence, etc Mary Fleming was one of the ladies seated in an 



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HISTOBIOAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEMDIQ FAMILY. Slfi 

outer chamber of the Palitce of Hol^rood, gorgeously apparelled, in 
156S, whom Knox addressed after one of his stormy iaterriews with 
the Queen. ' O fair ladies,' said John, 'how plesing were this lyfe of 
yours, if it sould evir abyde, and then in the end that we mycht pas 
to heiven with all this gay gear. Bot fie upon that knave Death, that 
will come quhidder we will or not, and quhen he faes lud on his 
amst the foull woimes will be busie with this fiesch, be it nevir so 
fair and so tender. And the ully saull sail be so feabill, that it can 
nyther caiy with it gold, gamisohing, targating, pearll, nor precious 
Btooes.' 

In a court which Knox was fond of describing as utterly dissolute, 
and at which, as he maintwned, fiddling, flinging, and drying wit^ 
dames formedthe constant pastimes, it is not to be expected that the 
Queen's Marys would escape his reproach. Accordingly, in his 'His- 
tory of the £efonnation in Scotland,' after referring to several wicked 
practices which, he alleged, prevailed at Holyrood, he states, that 
' Schame hastit manage betwix Johne Sempill; caUed the Danser, and 
Marie Levingstoun, sumamed the Lustie;' and he then strikes a blow 
at the whole of the Marys and the dancers. ' What bruit,' says be, 
' the Maries and the rest of the dawnsera of the court had the ballats 
of the age did witness, which we for modesties sake omitt' We are 
disposed to take this sweeping denunciation with considerable limita- 
tion. Knox was ineensed against Queen Mary because she gave her 
subjects toleration with regard to their religions opinions, and because 
she would not renounce the faith in which she had been brought up, 
and become an actdre promoter of the principles of the Befonnation. 
He was evidently at bottom a hilarious sort of man ; but in the dis- 
charge of his duties as a minister of the Gospel, he considered himself 
warranted to express a strong dislike of all harmless amusements, and 
to attempt the imposition of the most grave and depressing austerities, 
particularly on the young Queen and her courtien. Preedom to 
praodse popish rites, and the sound of music and dandng, were 
regarded by him as utter abominadous; and hence, throughout his 
' History,' he hurls against them his severest denunciations. 

One of the amusements at that time practised at the Scottish 
court, was the cutting of a cake in which a bean had been concealed, 
and the distributing of it among the company present. The person 
who found the bean was denominated the Queen or King of the Bean, 
according as it might fall into the hands of a lady or a gentleman. 
The amusement of cutting the' cake took place on the 5th of January, 
being the eve of Epiphany, and no doubt had its origin in connection 
widi the oeremonies observed at the celebration of this Bomish festlTaL 
On the day following, a banquet was served up in honour of the 
person to whose lot the bean had fallen; and, at this entertainment, 
the holder of the bean was saluted as King or Queen, and called on 
to act the part of a sovereign. On the Qth of January 1568 the bean 



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■M BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUINO. 

felt into tlie hands of Mary Fleming; and Thomu BandoJph, in a 
letter addressed a few days afWwards to Lord Robert Dudley, in the 
style of enphuism then in rogne, thus describes the snccest, the 
appeftraice, and effect of the mo4^ Queen: — 'The ladies and gentle- 
women,' says he, ' are all in health and merrie, which your Lordship 
should have seen, if yon had been here upon Tuesday, at the great 
solemm^ and royall estate of the Queen of the Beene. Fortune was 
so favourable to &ire Fleyming, that, if shee could have seen to have 
judged of her vertue and beauty, as blindly shee went to work and 
chose her at adventure, shee wold sooner have made her a Queen for 
ever, than for one only day to exalt her so high and the nixt to leave 
her in the state shee found her. Ther lacked only for so noble a hart 
a worthie realme to endue that which — That day yt was to be seen, by 
her princely pomp, how fite a match she wold be, wer she to contend 
ether with Venus in beauty, Minerva in witt, or Juno in woridly 
wealth, haveing the two former by nature, and of the third so much 
as is contained in this realme at her conunand and &ee disposition. 
' The treasure of Solomon, I trowe, was not to be compared unto that 
which that day hanged i^n her back. Happy was yt unto this 
realme that her raigne endured no longer. Two such sights in one 
state, in soe good accord, I beleeve was never seen, as to behold two 
worthie Queens possess, without euvie, one kingdom both upon a day. 
I leave the rest unto your Lordship to be judged of. My pen stag- 
gereth, my hand faileth farther to wiyt "Dier praises surmount 
whatsomever may be thought of them. The Queen of the Been was 
that -day in a gowne of doath of silver; her bead, her neck, her 
shoulders, the rest of her whole body, so besett with stones, that more 
in our whole Jewell house wer not to be found.' Mary Fleming was 
married at Stirling to Sir Williaiu Maitland, the celebrated Secretary 
of Queen Uary, on the 6th of January 1567, exactly four years after 
she had played with so much eclat the part of Queen of the Bean. 

James Lord Fleming, who succeeded his father, who fell at Pinkie, 
was a nobleman of distinguished abilities, and took a prominent part 
in the public transactions of the period in which he lived. In Sep- 
tember 1550, along with the Earls of Huntly, Sutherland, Marischal, 
Cassillis, and other noblemen, he accompanied Mary of Iiorraine, the 
Queen Dowager, in a visit which she paid to her native country of 
France. They sailed from Leith, and landed at Dieppe, in Normandy, 
in the middle of October, lliey then proceeded to Bouen, where the 
French court was, and afler ^>euding some time there in mirth and 
jollity, they paid a visit to Paris, and participated in the gaiety and 
festivities that then characterized the French capital, llie osteusble 
object of the Queen Dowager was to see her daughter, then receiving 
her education in France ; but her principal design in reality was to 
prevail on the French king to exert his influence to secure for her the 
office of Regent of Scotland. The King promised that he wonld do 



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mSTOUCAL SKETCHES OF THE TLEHtNa FAULY. 917 

80, pnmde^ the Earl of Amn, at the time Kegent, wotild ToliiDtarily 
Ttmga his office. The Queen Dowager at length left Fiance, and 
landing at Portsmonth on the 2d of November 1551, repaired to 
London, and had an interview with King Edward VI at Whitehall. 
After her return to Scotland, she set herself indnetrioualy to obtain 
the great object of her ambition, the Regency of the kingdom. Her 
efforts being crowned with mccesB, she was, in 156^ exalted to the 
office of chief ruler of tlie ancient realm of Scotland, and thus, as 
Knox Bays, had ' a cronn put upoun hir Held, als seimlie a mcht, gif 
men had eyes, as to put a Saidill upoun the Back of ane unrewlie Cow.' 
As Lord Fleming stood high in the estJntation of the Queen Dowager, 
he was, by letters patent under the Great Seal, appointed to the office 
of Lord Chamberlain of the kingdom, which had formerly been held 
by his father. He was also, on the death of Patrick, Earl of BothweU, 
chosen Guardian and Lieutenant of the East and Middle Marches on 
the Border, with the power of justiciary within the limits of his juris- 
dictiou. 

Lord Fleming was one of the Commissioners appointed by the 
Scottish Parliament, on the 16th December 1557, to be present at the 
marriage of Queen Mary with the Dauphin of France. His chief 
colleagues in this embasc^ were, Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow; Rdd, 
Bishop of Orkney; James Stewart, Prior of St Andrews, afterwards 
Earl of Murray; tiie Earls of Cassillis and Bothes; Lord Seton; the 
Provosts of Edinburgh and Montrose; and Mr Erskine of Dim. To 
detrsy their expenses, a tax of L.15,000 Scots was imposed on the 
burghs and the estates of the clergy and nobles. They set sail on the 
8th Febmary, and encountered extremely stormy weaker; the conse- 
qu^ice of which was, that one of the vessels that carried the rich 
apparel, in which they intmded to make an imposing appearance at 
the French court, was lost off St Abb's head, and another foundered 
in the roadstead off Boulogne, and all on board perished, except the 
Earl of Bothes and the Bishop of Orkney, who were picked up by a 
French fishing-boat, while the other ships were separated from each 
other, and arrived at different French harbours. The CommissionerB, 
before leaving Scotland, had been carefully instructed to give no 
sanction to the marriage unless they obtained the most ample guaran- 
tees that the independence of the country would be maintained, and 
its laws and hberty secured. Before their arrival, Henry, King of 
France, had obtained the signature of Queen Mary to a document, 
conferring on him and his heirs the crown of Scotland, and her right 
to that of England in case of her decease without lineal succession ; 
and to another, transferring to him the revenues of her kingdom in 
payment of one million of gold crowns, or any greater sum that might 
be expended on her board and education in France or in defence of 
her kingdom. The Commissioners readily agreed that the arms of 
France and Scotland should be borne by the Queen and her husband. 



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ne BIOOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEHIKQ. 

on separate shields, anrmoimteii by the French crown; that tLeir 
eldest son should be sorereigD of both reahns; and that, in the event 
of their having ovXj daughters, the eldest, who would be prevented by 
the Salic law from being sovereign of France, ahonld, on her mother's 
death, succeed to the throne of Scotland ; but, on being summoned 
before the French Coundl after the celebration of the marriage, and 
required to swear fealty to the Dauphin, and confer od him the 
emblenu of royalty, they peremptorily refused, and asserted that they 
would not go a step beyond the instmctions which they had receiv^ 
from their own Parliament. Hie French king, finding that they woe 
inflexibly bent on adhering to their resoludon, detained them several 
weeks amid the gaieties and festivities of the French capital; and on 
dismissing them, expressed a hope that they would at least support a 
proposal, which he intended to lay before the Estates of Scotland, to 
cotter the crown-mattimonial of Scotland on the Dauphin. Their 
young Queen also preferred the same request; and after promising to 
give the subject a careful consideradon, they took leave of the French 
court, and in a short time arrived at Dieppe. At this town the Bishop 
of Orkney died suddenly; and in a day or two aflerwards, the Earls of 
Rothes and Cassillis, and several other members of the embassy, were 
also laid in the grave. Lord Fleming, alarmed at the sudden mortality 
among his colleagues, drew up his last Will and Testament, which is 
still preserved in the archives of the family. To his brother John he 
left his 'chapel graith,' his silver plate, the furniture of Cumbernauld 
House, etc ; and, among all his bequests, it is interesting to note the 
following: 'Item to ye poore men of ye WesCraw of Byggar one chalder 
of meilL' He also enjoined on his brother to 'set forthward ye proSet 
of ye Kirk of Byf^;ar to beild ye prest's chalmers and ye provest'a 
house, and desyn of ye kirk, and also ye said Dione to set up my 
fadyr's toum.' Having executed this deed, and dreading infection, he 
hastened back to Paris; but, after all, he was seized with tlie same dis- 
temper, and died on the 16th December 1668, in the 24th year of his 
age. As no infectious disorder prevuled at the time, the general 
impression in Scotland was, that he and bis colleagues died from the 
effects of poison, which had been administered to them in consequence 
of their refusal to comply with the ambitious designs of the French 

Lord Fleming was married at on early age to Barbara, a daughter 
of the Duke of Chatelherault On the 14th December 1558, he con- 
ferred on her a charter of part of the barony of Lenide ; and on the 
21st December of the year following, he executed another charter in 
her favour, constituting her liferenter of the lands of Kildowan and 
Auchtermony. He left by this lady an only child — a daughter. 
Father Boillie, who wrote a work on the events of that period, says 
that John Knox, the Reformer, after the death of bis &cst wife, in 
1561, paid his addresses to Lady Fleming. Bullie's words are, — 



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msTOBICAL 8KBTCHES OP THE FLEMIHO FAMILY. . 819 

' Having laid aside al fair of the panis of hel, and regarding na thing 
the honestie of the varld, as ane bimd Bklave of the Devil, being 
keadellit vrith aoe nnqnenshible lust and smbitioii, he durst be sua 
banld to enterpiyse the sate of marriage with the maiet honorabil 
ladie, my ladie Fleming, my Lord Duke's eldest dochter, to the end, 
that his seid b^ng of the blude royal, and gydit be thair father's 
spent, might have aspyrit to the crovn. And becans he receavit ane 
refusal, it is notoriouslie knawn how deidlie he hated the hail hous of 
the Hamiltons.' What tmtb there may be in that statement, it would 
not be veiy easy now to discover ; but it is certun that Knox was 
anxious to ally himself in marriage with a &mily of the nobility. He 
accordingly nuide suit to Mai^aret Stewart, a daughter of Lord Ochil- 
tree, who was connected with the royal family, and being accepted, he 
was married to that lady in March 1564. 

John Fleming, the second son of Lord Malcoln), succeeded, on his 
brother's death, to the title and estates. On the 17th May 1564, he 
married Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Sobert, Master of 
Boss, who was killed at Pinkie. The marriage, instead of being cele- 
brated at the Castles of Bi^ar or Cumbernauld, took place in presence 
of Queen Mary and her court at Holyrood. From an account of the 
festivities which took place on this occasion, it would seem that they 
were celebrated in the Koyal Park, at the lower end of the vaUey, 
between Arthur Seat and Salisbury Crags, a place at that time covered 
with water. Here the Queen, with her nobles, and foreign ambassa- 
dors, forgot for a time the cares and troubles of her unruly kingdom, 
toA gave herself up to mirth and jollity. As Kobert Chambers says, 
'The incident is so pleasantly picturesque, and associates Mary so 
agreeably with one of her subjects, that it is gratifying to reflect on 
Lord Fleming proving a steady friend throughout her subsequent 
troubles.' 

On the let of August 1565, the Queen and Parliament conferred 
on Lord Fleming the odSce of Lord Chamberlain, an office that had 
been held by tiiree of his immediate predecessors. In 1567 he re- 
ceived a grant of a third of the profits and rents of the Prioiy of 
Whithorn, as a compensation, in part, for serricea which he had ren- 
dered to the Queen, and for the losses which he had sustained by 
depredations committed by maranders from the borders. Abotit the 
same time he was appointed Governor of Dumbarton Casde, and 
' Justiciar ' within the bounds of the Upper Ward of Clydesdale. 

Lord Fleming was one of the nobles who were in the Palace of 
Holyrood on the night of the 9th of March 1666, when a body of 
armed men, headed by Damley, Morton, Buthven, and otiiers, rushed 
into the Paiaee, and in the Queen's presence assassinated David Biazio, 
her foreign secretary and favourite musician. This outrage naturally 
caused a great uproar in the Palace. The attendants on the Queen 
were taken quite by surprise, and finding themselves utterly incom- 



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StO BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHIHO. 

petent to contend against theasaailing force, they e9C^>ed by the back 
windows, and some of them did not stop till they reached the Castle 
of Crichton. Hie persona connected with the Biggar district who 
were implicated in this foul oonspiraoy, were William Tweedie of 
Drummelzier, Adam Tweedie of Drera, John Brown of Conltermains, 
and Richard Muirhead of Crawford. These persons, along with the 
other conapiratoTS, were summoned on the 19th March following to 
compear personaUy before the King and Qneen, and the Lords of the 
Secret Cotincil, to answer sncb things as wonld be Itud to their charge. 
Their names, howerer, do not appear in the list of those who were put 
to the horn for their partidpation in this oatr^^ It is not unlikely 
that they submitted tbemselves to the Coundt, and were sentenced to 
some slight punishment. 

On the 19th of April 1567, Lord Fleming, along with other noble- 
men, subscribed a bond, acquitting the Ewl of Bothwell of the murder 
of Lord Damley, recommending him as a fit and proper person to be 
elevated to the honour of being the Queen's husband, and pledging 
himself to stand up in defence of this unseemly and unnatural con- 
nection. The subscription of this bond was extorted by Bothwell 
from Lord Fleming and the other nobles, whom he hod invited to on 
entertainment, and whom, it is said, he overawed, by snrrpundiDg 
them with a strong body of his retainers. Armed with this docu- 
ment, Bothwell seized the Queen at Cramond, and carried her off to 
the strong Castle of Dunbar. In a few days afterwards they appeared 
publicly in the streets of Edinburgh ; and Bothwell, having obtained 
a divorce &om his wife, was married to the Qneen, on the 15th df 
May, by the Bisht^ of Orkney. Lord Fleming was present at this 
ill-starred solemnity, at which, as the author of the ' Dinmal of Re- 
markable Occurrents,' says, ' there was neither pleasure nor pastime 
as was wont' 

It has long been a subject of disputation, whether Maiy was acces- 
soiy to the murder of her husband Damley ; but scarcely any doubt 
was ever entertained, that the chief actor in this foul transaction was 
BotliwelL He was, no doubt, acquitted of the charge by an ' assise;' 
but this was effected by snrroun^ng the court with armed men, and 
preventing aaj person trom giving evidence against him, by a dread 
of personal violence. The Queen, therefore, by marrying Bothwell, 
lost the empathy and respect of a great portion of her subjects. A 
report was spread, that Bothwell, having now obtained an entire con- 
trol over the Queen, entertuned the design of seizing the person of 
her only son James, a child of two yeai« of age, and most likely of 
putting him to death also. Many of the nbbles, therefore, fiew to 
arms, to protect the young Prince, to thwart the treacherous schemes 
of Botliwell, and rescue the Queen from the fangs of her blood- 
stuned paramour. Mary summoned her subjects to rally to h^ 
standard, and having assembled a consideTable force, she left Dunbar 



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BIBTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEHDta FAHHT. 831 

and advanced towftrda Edinburgh. The confederated lords with an 
equal number of retainen marched from the capital to Mtuselbnrgh, 
and learned, on reaching that town, that the Queen'a army had taken 
possegaion of the neighbouring height of Carfoerry. They therefore 
made a detonr by Wallyford, and ascended the hill until they came 
nearly in contact with the Queen's troops. The Queen, with her 
usual boldness and impetuosity, insisted on bringing the matters in 
dispute at once to the arbitration of the sword ; but her iriends by 
no means possessed the same ardour for the combat as herself. T^ey 
cotmselled delay until the expected r^nforcementa from Clydesdale, 
under the command of the Hamiltons, should arrive. The Queen 
th^i proposed that she should go and meet them, prominng that she 
would immediately return ; but this design was opposed. It is likely 
that these reinforcements were at the vety time on their way to join 
the Queen. The opposing forces came &ce to &ce on Garberry Hill 
on the 15th of June; and on the day preceding, the following letter 
was sent by Lord John Hamilton to Lord Fleming, at his Castle of 



' Ht Loan, — Efter msist hartde oommendationnB le sail understand that I 
reeavit ane writtin fia the qnenis MuEtie, daitdt at Dnuhar, the xiij of thia 
instant of Jimij, that hir grace is reddy to cum fordwart this momlDg 
toward Haldingtoun, and therfore deeins me and my friendis to be in redi- 
nesB, qnhen it sail pleiae hir to charge us to merche fordwart. Heirfcnr I 
haif thocht goid to send this berar, knawing that sour lordship sould be 
togidder this nicht, in to B^gar, to knaw zonr dyet, and thinkis g<nd, 
safand better oounaell, that we joyne us t<^;idderor we cum to hir Maiestie, 
haith for zour surete and onris. And we intend qtthen we maidie, to pus 
be Pentlandhills or neir theilue, and gif ze please to appoint ony plaoe be 
that way, we being chargit to cum fotdwart, we wald be glad to auat K>n 
ther, a* ye sail appdnt ; and the rest refeiTis to sour advertiBment with 
the berar ; and sa oommittds aonr lordship to the protectionne of Ood, this 
Saterday at vij honria afoimoone the ziiij of Junij 1567. , 

Zonr Lordship's lovii^ friend at pow«gr, 

Jhoke Hamilton.' 

From a statement made in an old document, it would seem that 
Fleming and bis Biggar ret^ners actually reached Carberry, but the 
whole of the Clydesdale forces did not arrive in time ; and the Queen 
was thus induced- to dismiss Bothwell, and surrender herself to the 
confederated lords. She was conducted with every mark of indigni^ 
and disrespect to Edinburgh, and next day, in violation of the condi- 
tions on which she had surrendered, she was placed in confinement in 
Loohleven Castle. Lords Fleming and Hamilton, after the Queen's 
surrender, withdrew thdr forces to Hamilton to watch the progress of 
events. 

After the surrender of the Queen at Carberry, the Earl of Both- 
well fled to the north of Scotland. It would seem from a letter c^ 

3 s 



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m WaUR AND TOM HOUSE OP TUUHa 

Sir Niohidaa Thnkmoiton to Queen Eluabeth, dated IStli July 1567, 
chst he had been joined there by Lords Fleming and Seton. The 
likelihood is, tliat tliey had been despatched from Hamilton to hold a 
conference irilih him, and leam his designs. It is evident from the 
following extraot fiton tlie letter, that their stay witli him was ^ort, 
and that, to their credit, tbey left Mm to his &te :— ' Bodwell doethe 
still remwne in the noithe parses, bot the Ixadis Seaton and 
Flemynge, vMch have ben iha^e, hare ntteriye abandoned hym, and 
doe repayre betherwardes.' 

Hie party opposed to the Qoeen sawthatitwonldbeof impottaoce 
to gain the conntenaiioe and oo-opovtion of the leaders of Uie Pro- 
tesUnt Chuich, now in the ascendancy in Scotland, as thereby tbey 
were likely to secure the &Toiir of the great body of the people, 
lliey, therefore, took an active port in the prooeediiigs of the General 
Assembly wluch met at Edinburgh in the month of Jane, and which 
was presided over by the celebrated George Buchanan, Principal of 
St Leonards College, St Andrews. Thronf^ thor inflnence, letters 
were addressed to Lord Fleming and a number of noblemen belonging 
to the other faction, calling upon them to come to Edinburgh to en- 
gage in the important work of establishing the principles of true 
religion in the Church, defining the just rules of ecclesiastical goTem- 
ment, and proriding a suitable maintenance for the clergy and the 
poor, A commission, oonmsting of John Enoz, John Douglas, John 
Bow, and John Craig, was appointed to wait upon these lords in 
person ; bat Lord Fleming was too zealous a Boman Catholic, and too 
much devoted to the cause of the Queen, to comply with any such 
proposal, even though he had entertained no appiehennon of danger 
in appearing in Edinbui^, which was tiien entirely in U>e hands of 
his oppon^itsi 

Horton, Rathven, Grange, and the other barons leagued against 
the Queen, soon found that all their ostentatious zeal for the Protes- 
tant faith would not be sufficient to support their popularity. Their 
treacherous and omel treatment of the Queen was beginning to rouse 
the indignation of the people, and the charge of rebellion holh at 
home and abroad was constantly rung in their earsi They con- 
sidered that, in order to extenuate their conduct, it would be necessary 
to make the Queen still more accessary to her own humifiatioB. 
They therefore despatched Lord lindsay, a man of stem and rough 
manners, to LocUeven, to induce the Que^ by persuasion, or if 
necessary by force, to abdicate the dirone, to invest her infant son 
James with the sovereign power, and to ^>p<»nt her brother, the Earl 
of Murray, Begent of Uie kingdom during the young King's minority. 
The Qneoi was forced, from a dread of personal violence, to adhibit 
her name to the degrading documents, which stript her of her crown. 
Steps were immediately taken to have the young Prince crowned. 
& James Melville was despatched to Hamilton, where Lwds Hamilton, 



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aiSTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLSUDIO FAUIir. 8tS 

Fleming, Boyd, aod other fiiends of the Queen were still anembled, 
to EDTite them to be piesent at the coronatioa, vhich was to take 
place on the 29th of Jvij. They were, of course, afltonished to hear 
of the Qneen's abdioadon, and could scarcely beUeve that it had 
oconired ; bnt, after some oonsultatian, John Hamilton, Archbiahop 
of St Andrews, in reply to Sir James MelTille, said, ' We ar beholden 
to tlie noble men wha has sent yon with that frendly and discret 
eommisnonn, and following ther desyre ar redy to concure with tiiem, 
gif diey mak na snfBcient securitie of that quhilk ye have sud in 
ther name. In sa doing they gif us occasion to Bnpose the best of all 
ther proceadinga past and to com ; sa that gif they had maid ns foir- 
seon of ther first enterpryse to the punishment of the mouitheris we 
Buld have tane plane pairt with them. And wheras now we ar heir 
eonrenit, it is not till peraew or offend any of them, bot to be vpon 
our awen gardis, vud^vtanding of sa gret a concourse of noblemen, 
baiTons, bouiTOues, and vthrs snbieots. Not being maid privy to 
ther enterpiyse, we thocht meit to draw ns togither till we myoht se 
whertu thingis wald turn.' 

T^e confederated lords at Hamilton not having received gatisfactoiy 
Hssorance of protection, and not approving of the business to be 
transacted, did not attend the coronation of the infant Prince at 
Stirling. In the Castle of Dumbarton, held for the Queen by Ix>rd 
Fleming, they entered into a bond for the pnrpose of restoring the 
Queen to liberty. The docoment to which they appended their 
names commences by stadng that they had no freedom of access to 
her Majesty for transacting their lawful business ; and therefore they 
tund themselves to use all diligence, and to adopt all reasonable 
means to set her at liberty, npon such conditions as may be oonMstent 
with her honour, the advantage of her kingdom, and tiie security of 
her subjects. In the event of the refusal of the noblemen who had 
her in custody to open her prisou'doors, they declared that they would 
employ themselves, their idn and friends, their servants and partakers, 
and their bodies and lives, to put her Highness at liberty, as well as 
to procure the punishment of the murderer of the King her husband, 
and the safe preservation of the Prince her son. They also issued a 
proclamation &om die same place, c^ling upon all good subjeotA to 
be ready on nine hours' warning to take arms for the delivery of the 
Queeit. 

Queen Mary, by the aid of William Douglas, a boy of &Reea or 
ffixteen years of age, was at length enabled, on Sunday the Sd May 
1568, to escape from Lochleven. She was received, on landing from 
the boat that conveyed her ashore, by Lord Seton and a par^ of his 
retaoners, and conveyed to Niddrie Castle, and next day to Hamilton, 
Intelligence of her escape soon spread far and wide, and brought 
large accesaons to her ranks, so that in the course of a day or two 
her troops amounted to 6000 men. A bond was drawn up and signed 



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8M BIGOAB AHD THE HOUSE OF FLEHIHa 

by nine earls, nine buhopa, eighteen lords, tvelve abbots and priors, 
and about a hundred other barons, pledging themselves to protect the 
Queen and restore her to her rights. Lord Fleming, of course, was 
among the number of those who signed this bond. Mary's desire was 
to go with Lord Fleming to the strong Castle of Dumbarton, where 
she could remain in safely till she saw whether the nation in general 
would declare in favour of her restoration, or whether it would be 
necessary for her to abandon her kingdom, aad retire once more to 
France. The Homiltons being anxious to gain an ascendancy in the 
management of pubUc affiurs, thought that the presence of the Queen 
was necessary to the accomplishment of their designs, and therefore 
they detained her several days in the Castle of Dra£Fen. The Earl of 
Murray had assembled a force of 4000 men at Glasgow, and a request 
was sent to him fay the lords at Hamilton to agree to repone the 
Queen to her former status at the head of the government ; but as be 
reftised to do this, it was resolved to conduct the Queen in a sort of 
warlike procession to the Castle of Dumbarton on the 13th of Hay, 
under the direction of the Duke of Argyle, who had been appointed 
commander-in-chief of the Queen's forces. The Earl of Murray no 
sooner learned that the Queen's army was on its march towards Dum- 
barton, than he crossed the Clyde, and took possession of the little 
nllage of Langside, where he advantageously stationed his hagbutters 
among the cottages, hedges, and gardens that skirted the narrow road 
along which the Queen's forces were to pass. The Queen's vangnard, 
2000 strong, commanded by Lord Claud Hamilton, soon advanced to 
dispute the passage, and were rec«ved by a murderous fire, which 
they were unable to return with any effect. Though thrown into a 
state of some confusion by the shower of balls to which they were 
exposed, yet being tunfident in the superiority of their numben, they 
continued to press up the rising ground on which the village is ntu- 
ated. At this juncture they were charged by Murray's advanced 
divifflon, consisting chiefly of border pikemen, and then the combat 
was carried on with the greatest obsdnacy and fury, l^e shock of 
spears was tremendous ; and these weapons from ^ther side were so 
closely inMrlaced, that pistols and broken shafts flung on them were 
prevented f^m falling to the ground. ' Linked in the serried phalanx 
light' the combat n^ed, till the right wing of the Regent's aimy, 
consisting of the barons of Renfrew, began to give way. Kirkcaldy 
of Grange, to retrieve this disaster, immediately brought up Lochleveu, 
Lindsay, Balfour, and their retainers, and charged the victorious 
detachment of the Queen's troops with such fury, that they were 
driven back in their turn. The Regent seized this juncture to make 
an onset with his main body, and the effect of it was such, that the 
whole opposing force was chased in irretrievable rout and confusion 
from the field. 

Lord Fleming himself took no part in the battle. Along with 



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RISTOKIOAI. SKETCHES OP THE FLEHIMQ FAHILT. 316 

Lords HerricB and LiTingstone and a small goitrd, he stood by the 
Queen's side at a thorn-tree, not far distant irom Cathcart Castle, and 
watched the progress of the fight with breathless anxiety and suspense. 
When that small party saw that their hopes were blasted and their 
designs frustrated by the victory of the Regent, they lost no time in 
placing the Qneen on hoiseback, and conveying her by a circuitous 
route through Ayrshire, Nitfasdale, and Galloway, to the Abbey of 
Dnndrennan. Mary, in a letter written to her uncle, the Cardinal 
Lorrune, duiing this journey, which lasted two days, states, ' I have 
suffered injuries, calumnies, hunger, cold, and heat; flying, without 
knowing whither, fourscore and twelve miles, without once panmng 
to alight ; and then lay on the hard ground, having only sour milh to 
drink, and oatmeal to eat, without bread, passing three nights with 
the owls.' In the Abbey of Dundrennan she sat in council with her 
friends for the last time; and here she intimated her intention to 
proceed to Enghuid, and throw herself on tlie protection of Queen 
Elizabeth. LordFleming, Lord Herriea, the Archbishop of St Andrews, 
and others who were present, implored her to abandon this design, 
and to put no faith in the spedous promises and pretences of the 
English Queen. Finding her deaf to their remonstrances, they pre- 
vailed on her to sign an instrument exonerating U>em from tiH i^proval 
of, or complicity iik, the st«p on which she had resolved. A boat was 
then procured, and the Queen, accompanied by Lords Fleming, Boyd, 
Livingstone, and others, amounting in all to mxteen persons, crossed 
the Solway Firth, and landed at Woikington, a small town on the 
coast of Cumberland. She there surrendered herself to the English 
, Depu^ Warden, named Lowther, who assigned her a residence in the 
Canle of Carlisle, till such time as he sfaoold receive instructiona from 
Elizabeth regarding her further disposal Lords Fleming and Herries 
hastened i^ to the English court, with the view of entering into 
arrangements for the Queen's proper accommodation ; but their mission 
was unsuccessful, and Mary was shortly afterwards removed to Bolton 
Castle in Torkshii:«, where she was placed in ibe strictest confinement. 
Here, however, she found means to carry on a correspondence with 
her irieuds in Scotland, and, among others, with Lord Fleming. In 
a letter, dat«d 'Off Bowtoone, the 27th of September 1566,' and 
addressed to tLe Archbishop of St Andrews, she says, ' We haif 
rritten in dphere to my Lord Flemyng, qnha will mak zou participant 
therof.' We cannot find, however, that any of her letters to Lord 
Fleming have been preserved. 

Lord John Reming, after returning from London, was despatched 
by Queen Mary to the French court, to explain the late events in her 
history, to vindicate her character, and ask for advice and assistance. 
On the 24th of August 1568, most litcely before his return from 
France, he and his relative, John Fleming of Boghall, were summoned 
lo present themtelves before Parliament and answer for their late 



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■M BIOOAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEITIMO. 

oondnot in mpporting the Queen. HsTing ftuled to appear, their 
estates were liable to be forfeited ; bat at the request of the Begent, 
who in this case is said to haTe acted on the advice of Qneen Elizabeth, 
it was agreed that the sentence of forfeiture should for a short time 
be anspended, in order that they might have a fur opportunity to 
acknowledge their faults, and be reconciled to Queen Mary's successor, 
her son James. 

The B^ent Murray, in order to justify his conduct iu taking up 
arms gainst the Queen, publicly charged her with b^g accessory to 
the death of her hnsband Damley. On this account, Queen Eliza- 
beth refused to hold an interview with her until she could exonerate 
herself from this chaise. EUzabelh's object was to obtain a plea to 
be constituted judge in a cause so important as a dispute between the 
Queen of Scotland and her aubjecta. She had no right to put the 
Scottish Queen on her trial for this or any other offence ; but Mary, 
confident in her innocence, and acting under due protest, accepted the 
tribunal. CommiasioneTs from both sides were thereupon appointed to 
meet at York in October 1568, and thither Mary sent Lords Eleming 
and Herriea, the Bishop of Boss, and other able iriends, to act in her 
defence. It was on this oocanon that the Earl of Murray, in order 
to give a tangible proof of Queen Mary's guilt, produced the famous 
letters and sonnets which, it was alleged, had passed between the 
Queen and Bothwell, and had been taken from a servant of that 
nobleman's called Dalgleish. The investigation was carried on for 
five months ; and Elizabeth, in the end, dismissed the CommissioneiB, 
declaring that the criminal charge against Queen Mary had not bera 
proved. 

Lord Fleming, after this period, took up his abode in Dumbarton 
Castle, of which he still continued to be GoTemor. The Master of 
Cbaham was several times sent to the Castle for the purpose of per- 
suading him to surrender it to the Regent ; but he obstinately persiited 
in rejecting all overtures on the snbject. The Regent, therefore, 
invested it with a considerable force, and as any attempt to cany 
it by assault was considered hopeless, the siege was turned into a 
blockade ; and on the 18th of November 1569, ' sentence of foirfaltour 
wes proDOtmcdt ^anis Lord John Fleming, and John Fleming of Bog- 
hall, for the keiping and balding the Castel of Dumbaitane aganis 
the Kingis majestie.' This sentence was confirmed by the Scottish 
Parliament in 1571 ; and the Act then passed, among other things, 
states, ' And thurfoir decemis and ordanis all and stmdrie ye landis, 
guidis, movable and vnmovable, alsweill landis as offices, and vther 
thingis quhataomever pertening to thame and eueiye ane of thame, to 
be conliscatt to our sourane lord, and to reman e in propertie w^ hia 
heynes for ewir. And thair persones to onderlye ye panes of tressone 
extreme taxi just pundsment distinatt of ye lawes of yis Bealme. 
Quhilk dome wes pronoundt be ye mowth of Andro landsay, dranpstar 



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mSTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE PLEUDIQ FAUILT. 8>7 

of ye said Parliament.' The CBtate of Biggar, and the other estates 
of Lord Fleming, by this sentence were transferred to the Crown, and 
were held by it for eight years. 

The garrison of Dumbarton began, ere long, to be straitened for 
want of provisions ; but early on the morning of the ISth Deoember, 
the Laiid of Borg, taking advantage of the darkness that prevailed, 
and the want of vigilance on the part of the blockading force, suc- 
ceeded in conveying into the Castle several ' ky' and 'ludes of meill,' 
greatly to the satisfoction of the Governor and his men, but vastly to 
the displeasure of the Regent, who sharply rebuked his captains and 
men of war that they ' tholit the said fumischings to pas to ye Castel.' 
Hie Regent made various efibrta to induce Lord Fleming to surrender 
the Castle during the month of January 1569—70 ; but intelligence 
having reached bis Lordship that Thomas Fleming, a brother of the 
I^ird of Boghall, had arrived in Lochryan from France, with two 
largaships laden with provisions and military stores for the use of the 
garrison, he refused to hold any Airther parley on the subject. The 
Regent, baffled ia obtaining the object of his desire, lell Dumbarton, 
and, in a few days afWwards, was shot at linllthgow by Hamilton of 
Botbwellhaugh. The besegers, so soon as they recdved intelligence 
of die Regent's death, broke up the blockade and retired to Stirling. 
In a few days afterwards, Thomas Fleming arrived at Dumbarton 
with his ships, and transferred the whole stores to the fortress without 
molestation. The Earl of Argyle, several of the Hamiltons, and other 
adherents of the Queen, repaired to the Castle, and held a conference 
with Lord Flemii^ on Uie poetoie of public af&irs, consequent on the 
death of the Regent 

Qoeen Elizabeth, at the instigation (^ the King's faction, sent an 
army at this juncture into Scotland, under the command of Sir 
WilUam Dory, which, during the ^ring of 1570, committed great 
havoc in Clydesdale on the estates of the adherents of the Queen. 
The devastation at Hamilton was such as had hardly ever been paral- 
leled in Scotland before, and the ruthless soldiery 'herrit ^ the 
Uonkland — my Lord Fleming's boundis, my Lord Livingstone's 
boundis, together with al their puir tennantis and freindis, in sic 
maner that nae heart can think theron bot the same must be dcdorons.' 
Sir William, after perpetrating these enonnides, had the audacity to 
repair to Dumbarton in the month of Hay, and request a parley with 
the Governor respecting the Archbishop of St Andrews, who had 
taken reflige in the fortress. Lord Fleming, justly enraged at the 
outrages which Sir William had committed, saluted him with a bullet 
discharged from one of the great guns on the ramparts. This was 
considered a grievous outrage by the Sing's party, and gave rise to a 
ballad, entitled ' The Treason of Dumbartane,' which' was printed in 
black letter, at Kdinburgh, by Robert Lekprenik, in 1570. The first 
verse of it is as follows : — 



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SM BIGGAE AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUINQ. 

' In Majis rnoneth, roBning na diapate, 
Qnhen Inffaru dois tluor dallie obaemance 
To VeDos Queue, tlie goddee of delyte, 
The fjftene day, befell the mmen chouoe.' 

After the deatli of the Earl of Mniray, the Earl of Lennox was 
chosen Regent This nobleman manifested great anxiety to obtain 
possession of the Castle of Dumbarton, as a rumour prerailed diat 
Lord Fleming intended to deliver it to the French. He craved assist- 
ftnce from England, in order that he might besiege it in due form; 
and Queen Elizabeth sent an armament by sea, for t^e ostensible 
purpose of furthering the demgns of the Regent, but the real policy 
of that monarch was to crash neither of llie two factions into whiidi 
Scotland was divided, but allow them to weaken each other by con- 
tinued quarrels and oatrages. It does not Uterefore appear ttuU the 
English force ever invested the Castle. Indeed, Elizabeth became of 
opinion that the Queen's party had been rather too much weakened 
already ; and therefore her lieutenant, the Earl of Sussex, caused the 
Regent to give an assurance that he would, at least for a time, abstran 
from inflicting any further outrages on hb opponents. The Regent, 
nevertheless, in violation of this compact, despatched a strong detach- 
ment of men to Biggar, and, according to the testimony of Richard 
Bannatyne, the secretary of John Knox, who wrote a Journal of the 
Transactions of Scotland from 1570 to 1573, tbey committed great 
enormities ; and as the estates of Lord Fleming had been forfeited, 
they compelled the tenants in the Barony of Biggar, as weU as in 
ThankertOD and Glenholm, to pay large contributions under the name 
of the mails and rents of their lands. From Biggar they went to 
Cumbernauld, and perpetrated mmilar outrages, besides destroying 
the deer in the forest of that barony, ' and the quhit ky and bullis of 
the said forrest, to the gryt distrucdone of potede and hinder of the 
commanweilL' 



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CHAPTER XXVI. 
^istoiicitl Siittt^ of % Jltmtnji ^smlji—Cotitmutd. 

Je of Dmnbarton, situated on a lof^ and pTecipitoiu rock, 
and nearly Borronnded by the Firth of Clyde, was in early 
times deemed impregnable. The tue of batteiing artilleiy, at 
the time of which we are now speaking, 1571, was as yet but 
little known, and a blockade seemed unavailing, after the abundant 
supplies which the garrison had recently obtained from France. Captain 
Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill, a keen partisan of the Regent Lennox, 
was therefore entrusted with the apparently desperate enterprise of 
taking the Castle by escalade, during the darkness of mghL He 
called to his aid the Lurd of Drumwhassal, a skilful and intrepid 
soldier, and several other men of known courage, particularly a person 
of the name of Robertson, who at one time had been a member of 
the garrison, and was intimately acquainted with the fortifications 
and acclivities of the rock. The party assembled at Glasgow on the 
2d of April 1571, and provided themselves with 'ledderis, coardis, 
crawes,' and other neoesaary implements, and despatched a few of 
their number to stop all travellers to the west, so that no intelligence 
of the intended enterprise might be conveyed to the Governor, Lord 
Fleming. Having appointed the Hill of Dumbeck, within a mile of 
Dumbarton, as the general rendezvous, they set out by different 
mutes about an hour before sunset, and it was past midnight before 
they reached the foot of the rock. 'The geat with the gilteaue 
horn,' as Richard Bannatyne styles Lord Hemiug, and the other 
inmates of the Castle, with exception of a warder or two, had retired 
to rest, undisturbed by a single apprehension of an attack, and 
confident in the protection afforded by the crags an^ walls by which 
they were surrounded. A thick mist had by this time enveloped 
the top of the rock, and tended still more to conceal the operations of 
the party below. The ' orawes ' were then thrown against the rock, 
and the soldiers began to ascend the ladders, when the whole gave 
way, and came to the gronnd with great noise and violence. Had the 
sentinels on the walls not been asleep, or utterly inattentive to their 
duty, the party must have been discovered, and their enterprise 
defeated. They eagerly listened for a time ; but all being still, they 
made another attempt, and with greater success. Some of the soldiers 
landed on a shelving part of the rock, where an ash-tree sprung from 



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ISO BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

the crericea, and, by atta<Juiig ropes to it, they were able to render 
very effective itid to their companions below. They had now reached 
the middle of the arceut ; but the most difficult put still remuned, and 
the ruddy streaks of dawn begaa to appear in the east. They fixed 
the ladders once more ; bat an incident now occurred, which seemed 
likely to defeat the whole design. One of the soldiers, while climbing 
a ladder, overcome most likely by terror, was seized with a fit, and 
clung to the Steps with such tenacity, that he could not be disengaged ; 
but the self-poesesdon and fertile mind of Crawford soon removed the 
obstructioQ by causing the man to be tied to the ladder, and taming 
it upade down. Id a abort time the whole assulants were at tiie foot 
of the walls, winch were old and ruinous, and offered no great 
obstruction. They were now descried by the warders, who gave the 
alarm, and the inmates at onoe sprung oat of bed, and rushed forth in 
bewilderment, without taking time to supply themsdvea eitho with 
clotlies or arms. The assailants, having team down a part of the wall, 
entered at the same, time, and beating a drum, and shouting 'A 
Damley, a Damley I' fell upon the disordered and amazed garrison. 
Three or four of them were killed on the spot. Lord Fleming and 
several of his retainers hurried down a passage in the rock, and findm g 
a boat, escaped to Argyleflhire ; while Lady Fleming, John Fleming 
of Boghall, Jdim Hamilton, the Archbishop of St Andrews, Verac, 
the French ambassador, John Hall, an Englidiman, and the rest, were 
made prisoners. Next day, at ten o'clock, the Regent Lennox arrivedat 
the Castle, and showed Lady Fleming very great Undness and attention. 
He gave her liberty to depart, and take with her all her clothes, jewels, 
and silver plata In the Castle were found a large qoantity of war- 
like stores, twent; tuns of wine, twelve chald^s of meal, ten bolls of 
wheat, eight bolls of malt, eight hogsheads of Uscuit, and four 
puncheons of bacon. Lord Fleming found means to escape to France, 
the Archbishop o( St Andrews was beheaded and qoortered at Stir- 
ling, and John Fleming of Boghall was sent to the Castle of Blackness. 
Lord Fleming returned from France on the 28th of May 1572, and 
brought with him a considerable som of money, of which the adherents 
of the Queen stood very much in need. He landed in Gralloway, and 
was met by Lord Herries, the Laird of Lochinvar, and others, who 
most likely escorted him to Biggar. On the 26th day of Jnne, he 
arrived in Edinburgh at the head of a detB<dm)ent of thirty horsemen, 
and took up his residence in the Castle, then held for the Queen t^ 
that stout warrior Sir William Kirkaldy of Crrange. A few days 
afterwards, a party of twelve or fifteen French soldiers, who had been 
taken in a ship of war, and forced to serve in the King's army against 
their will, came np from Leith. Their design very likely was to desert 
the King's service, and to take reAige in the Castle. When they arrived 
at the Tolbooth, they were either opposed by another party, or were 
overjoyed to see Lord Fleming, whom ihfff leem to have known, and 



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aiSTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEinKQ FAMILY. S3l 

1^10 is said to ha.n been the cause of their leaving thdr quarters in 
Leith. At all events, they fired a volley, and one of the balls re- 
bounding from the causeway, struck his Lordship and wounded him 
in a most serious manner. The author of the 'Diurnal of Remarkable 
Occurrenls ' says that the gun by which his Lordship was wounded, 
was only charged with powder and paper, and that the firing of it 
caused ' the skalpis of the stanis ' to fly up and hurt his Lordship in 
the legs ; but this statement is very improbable, as the mere concus- 
sion of the shot was not very likely to Bplitthestooes on the street, and 
make them fly up with such force as to inflict a deadly Ground. His 
Lordship was carried back to the Castle, where he remained till the 
beginning of September. ' The text of September,' to tise the words 
of Eichard Bannatyne, 'the Lord Flemyng, wha wes hurt be the 
Frenchemen which befoir ataw out'of Leyth, and that by his specialle 
doingis and meanis, departit this lyfe in Biggar, where he wes coreit 
in ane litter furth of the Costell of Edinburgh ; which litter not being 
able to go furth at the Castell yeat, vntUl the portcullions were raisit, 
and liitit vp hier, which beand rasit vp, fele doun to the ground agane, 
and pairt of a spelch therof fleing of, hurt Haiie Balfour in the heid, 
wha efter he had lyne a 10 or 11 dayis, deid the zi of September. 
And so thair twa have gottia thare rewarde. God gif it be his pleasoui 
that that throw his judgments may be a warning to the rest to bring 
tham to repentance ; but conmetudo malt at iadelStSu.' 

Lord Fleming, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and sole heiress of 
Bobert, Master of Ross, left a son, Jobs, and three daughters, Mary, 
Elizabeth, and Margaret. 

I^y Fleming only survived her husband two or three years. At 
her death she left a Will, still preserved, in which she appointed her 
son John, her brother-in-law, John Earl of Athole, and her brother, 
Thomas Scott of Abbotshatl, her executotv. It was in virtue of this 
arrangement that John Fleming, styled ' Captain of Biggar,' on the 
25th and 26th October 1578, delivered on inventory of the ' siluer 
wark and garments, and vyer thingis' that pertained to the deceased 
lady, to John Earl of Athole. As this inventory is remarkably curiou% 
and as the articles were most likely kept in Boghall Castle, we give 
a copy in the original ortht^raphy : — 

' In y° first xxvii dosonn viij pair and ane horae of gold Item sax 
grit buttounis four ringis all of gold Tua crimter paciss of leid ane 
for ane grit chinze and ane uyir for ane small qlk ar in michael gU- 
bertb handis Item in ane buffet ane ailuer lawar Tua siluer caupis 
ane saltfalt ane luggit deiche Tua chandeleris ane dosane of truncheris 
ane dosane of spunis sax caruig prikis Item mae of siluer wark Tua 
conpis ane basin ane brokin saltfalt gilt elevin spunis Item ane ryding 
clok. ane skirt of blak begayrit w^ welnot Tua hamisingis The ane of 
welnot pasmendt and wrocbt n' gold And y' uyir of blak welnot 
plane Sevin pair of welnot schone lliis geir aboue wiitte ia put in ane 



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S82 BIQOAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHG. 

coffer Item ane chapell niif of reid skarlat cattit out nponn quliit 
BBtene j' taffitie freinzeit w' reid and qohit silk aucht ti^pia of beddie 
of trie j- gilt ane pein of purponr welnot.franzeit w' falak and reid 
silk ane round miff of blak satene bordourit w* blak silk and freinzeit 
y/t blak silk ane miff of gray dalmes paamentit w* gold ane blak nlk 
for curtin^ of gray dalmes for y* said roif and thre bandis to j* 
beddis stuipia ane baimia coit fnalevit of eiluer ^ fugeirrit welnot ane 
miff of ane bed of grene reid and zailow dalmes and thre curtdngis to 
j^ samyne ane collat of gray must welnot pasmentit w^ silaer and 
gold ane clok of blak dalmes w' ane collat warrit w' welnot ane mat 
of grene reid and zoUow taffitie Tua collattia sewit of holene clay* ane 
wt blak gilk and ane uy reid Tua sarki^ of holene clay' ane sewit reid 
and ane uyir blak Tua pokis w' missiue writing This geir foraaid put 
in ane coffer Item ane hamising of blak welnot ane ruiff of ane bed of 
purponr welnot borderit w' siluer Thre curtingia of dalmes fiissit w' 
siluer and silk ane pend of purpour welnot paamentit w' siluer four 
stuipis of y* same pasmentit w* siluer ane fute mantill of blak welnot 
of my ladeis, ane goun of bUk weinot w' ye bodie w^out slaues ane 
cap clok of blak welnot pasmentit w* silk ane almay clok of blak wel- 
not freinzeit w' blak sUk and lynit w' taffide ane goun of quhit satein 
w* ane bodie but slaues pasmentit w* clay* of gold ane goun of cra- 
mosie welnot w* aoe bodie but slaues pasmentit w* gold and siluer 
ane skirt and slaues of clay' of gold raisit ane skirt of clay' of gold 
and slaues raisit upoun cramone satein ane miff of ane bed of quhit 
dalmes freinzeit w* quhit silk ane cap clok of purpour welnot pas- 
mentit w' gold and reid silk ane pair of breikis of purpour welnot but 
schankis pasmentit w' gold and reid silk ane coit of purpour welnot 
pasmentit w* gold and silk ane alman clok of blak satein barrit w' 
blak welnot and skirtit w' matrikis ane ny alman clok of dalmes barrit 
w' welnot and skirtit w^ matrikis ane skirt of satein cnttit out in 
doggrane sevin ourlaweris of sorkis w* ye handis wro' w' gold silver 
&, silk This geir put m y« maist coffer ane burd clay' of domik of 
dalmes champ w' ane cupbnr' clay' of ye same sax saruietis of ye 
same champ uthir four burd clay*aof domik champit w* ane copburd 
day' of jrB same seven towellis of domik ane uyir burd clay' of domik 
ane dosane saruietis of domik Thre linnig butd clay'' auchtene 
saruietis of iinnig spelnzeit w' blew fyre wasching towellis speinzeit 
w' blew ane auld copburd of clay' about y^ rest ane auld furrin of 
toddis This geir put up in ane uy coffer Item be y^ cofferis ane kame 
caiss and ane auld kimig clay* about y" same ane blak buist w' drawin 
schottulis Twa cbeiris y* ana couerit w' purponr welnot and y* uy 
w' gray fyve stuillis couerit w' purpour welnot. 
' We Johnne erle of Athole chancellar of Scotland, ^. Be yir pntis 
grantis y' Johnne flemig capitane of biggar hea deliuerit to us 
The hoill guidis geir claitfiing and jeweUia above specifat con- 
tenit in yis pnt Inventar qlk ye sud Johnne had in keiping qlk 



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HISTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEMDJG FAMILY. 333 

ptenit to Umq'B dame eli' toss lady flemig and we grant us to 
hare resauit y* same to be keipit be us to y^ utilitieand proSeit 
of ye said dame eli** bairois [•Herefor we be yir pntis discharge 
ye said Johnne flemig hi^ airis ezeoaturis and aasignais yairof 
And we bind and obtess as To warrand releiff and keip skaitUes 
him and his foirsaidis of y^ same at y' handis of quhatsumever 
peradunis havand or pretentand to half interes yurto for euer 
and euerj Be yir pnts subscriTit wt o'' hand in Edibntgh y* 
xxviii day of October the zeir of god (jav&°.) thre scoir auchtene 
■eiria. 

' Ebll of Atholl.' 

John Fleming, at his father's death, was only four years of age. 
In an account of the state of the Scottish nobility, published in 1583, 
it is stated that he was, at that time, a youth in die fifteenth year of 
his age, that his income was small, and that he was involved in debt 
and trouble, in consequence of the efforts which his father had made 
in upholding the cause of Queen Mary, and particularly in defending 
and maintaining the Castle of Dumbarton. A great part of this 
embarrassment was, no doubt, attributable to the forfeiture of the 
family estates, by virtue of which their revenues were engrossed 
either by the Crown, or by some of the partisans of the opposite fac- 
tion. The Regent Lennox was graciously pleased to allow Lady 
Fleming, after the capture of Dumbarton Castle, to occupy a portion 
of her husband's lan<^ ; but this would likely be barely sufficient for 
the maintenance of herself and her iniant family. An Act was passed 
by the Scottish Parliament in 1579, ' Kestorand, rehabilitand, and 
makand the said John (FlemingX lauchful to enter be brevis to the 
landis and heretaige sumtyme pertaining to his said vmquhile father, 
as gif he had deit at onr soveran Lordis fayth and peace.' The fol- 
lowing reservation made in this Act, was no doubt attributable to the 
Earl of Morton, then Begent, and the most powerful man in the king- 
dom ; — viz., that ' ye heritable dispositioun of ze landis of Edmestoun 
to James Earle of Irlorton, Lord of Dalkeith, &a., nor the soume con- 
signit be him for the redemptioun of the landis and barony of Kilbocho 
and disponit to him by reason of escheat, &&, be not comprehendit 
under this Act of present pacificatioun and restitution.' Lnmediately 
on the execntion of the Begent Morton in 1581, the Parliament de- 
cided that the clause regajiliiig the lands of Edmonston should be 
reversed. ' Sua that ye said Johne, now Lord Fleming, may bmik 
and jois the saidis landis of Edmiaton, confonne to his predlcessooris 
infeflmentis.' Archibald, Earl of Angus, as Morton's heir, laid claim 
to the lands and barony of Kilbucho, that belonged to Lord Fleming. 

* In Uie origliul, lbs words iiuertad vitliiii braoketa mre arcHsd wilh > pan, pro- 
bably bcdors rigning. The plaoa of liguAtnra, uid il>7 of the montli, aie In the 
hand«nitil>B of the EvI of Athol. 



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8S4 BIOOAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEHING. 

Angtu' claim waa brought before Parliament m 1587, and it was 
dedited that the matter in dispute should be settled by arbitration. 
The parties agreeing to this mode of adjustmeat, Lord John Fleming 
chose the Earl of Montrose and Sir John Maitland of Thirlestane on 
his side, and the £arl of Angus chose the Earl of Mar and the Master 
of Glamis on his. The decision seems to have been in favour of the 
Earl of Angus; for his descendants in 1641 disposed of the estate to 
John Dickson of Hartree, servitor to Alexander Gibson, younger of 
Durie. 

At this some period, great feuds, as u«ual, prevailed among the 
nobility of Soodaud, and kept the country in a state of constant turmoil 
and disorder. James VI., who was a rare compound of sillineBs and 
ability, of folty and sagacity, on the 14th of May 1587, assembled all 
the nobles at Holyrood, and exhorting them to ^ve up their animosi- 
ties, and to lead peaceable lives, caused them to join hands, and to 
walk two by two to the Cross of Edinburgh, where a grand oollation 
of bread, wine, and sweetmeats had been provided. Amid salvoes of 
artillery, and the jubilant demonstrations of the inhabitants, he drsnk 
their healths, and wished that they might long enjoy happiness and 
peace. On the 13th of July following, an incident occurred at the 
opening of Parliament, which showed that the efforts of the King to 
establish concord had been of little avail We give this incident in 
the words of the venerable historian, David Moysie: — 'The Parlia- 
ment,' says he, ' beguid the xiij day of the monetbe of Julij, quhoir 
his Majestie accumpanied with his nobilitie red to the tolbuithe of 
Edinburgh. Bot befoir his vnlooping thaire arrose one heicne con- 
tentioun betulx the erles of Crafurde and Bothuell, the lordis Fleming, 
Settoun, Home, and Innermeithe, anent thaire wntes. The Counsel! 
sat thairvpone, and fand that the erle of Grafiirde sonld have the 
prioritie of woile, and that the lord Flemyng sonld have the woite 
afair the rest of the lordis. Quhairvpone ^e Lord Home challendgit 
the lord Flemyng with the singular combat, quho wer not suffered to 
fecht, albeit they were baith weUl willing.' 

In the month of May 1590, the King brought home his bride, Ann 
of Denmark, to Leith, and lodged her in the house of Thomas Undsay. 
Here the King took all the Danish nobles who had accompanied the 
Qnecn, one after another, by the hand, and gave them a grodous 
welcome to Scotland. Shortly aAerwards the King and Queen re- 
paired to church, to give thanks for their safe voyage; and there they 
were met by Lords Fleming and HamUton, who escorted them into 
the place of worship, and sat beside them while Patrick Galloway 
preached a sermon. In six days afterwards, the Queen was conducted 
in state to the Palace of Holyrood, amid great manifesl*lions of joy. 

Lord Fleming was a great favourite of James VI., and received 
from him many tokens of his respect. In the beginning of the year 
1595, as we have already stated, \he King paid his Lordship a visit 



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HISTORICAL SKSTCH£3 OF THE FLEHINO PAUILT. 385 

at hia Castle of Boghall, where he remained several daTS, and enjoyed 
the sport of hawking. 

AAer James ascended the English throne, Lord Flendng was one 
of the Scottish noblemen who were permitted to visit the court in 
London. He was appointed one of the members of the Scottish 
Council that sat in the English capital ; and it was in virtue of this 
office that he iras admitted to the presence chamber in 1607, when 
the King gave andienoe to the eight clergymen whom he had sum- 
moned from Scotland to cooler with him on the state of the Scottish 
Church, at that time greatly disturbed by his controlling the freedom 
of the General Assembly, and appointing bishops aa nders in the 
Church. The prelates, who formed part of the delegation, of course 
readily came into the King's measures ; but the inferior clergy, repre- 
sented by the venerable Andrew Melville and his nephew James, 
would not renounce thrir opinions, or ^ve up their opposition, and 
the consequence was, that in violation of everything like honour and 
justice, they were condemned to perpetual exile. 

The King, to mark his appreciation of lord Fleming's services and 
attachment to the throne, created him Earl of Wigton, Lord Fleming 
of Biggar and Cumbernauld, by tetters patent, dated at Whitehall 
Idth March 1606. This dignity was ' to last and continue' to him, 
and his heirs male of lawful and lineal descent, in all time to come. 
Lord Fleming, in presents of a number of Scottish barons assembled 
at Perth on the 1st of July following, delivered the warrant for this 
honour, imder the sign-manual, to the Earl of Montrose, his Majesty's 
Commissioner, and received investiture in due and ancient form. In 
the first place, his banner was displayed, and he himself was brought 
forward attired in hi« appropriate robes, and supported by two noble- 
men; and then, after the ceremony of 'belting,' or girding his person 
with a sword, the heralds, with a flare s^ trumpets, proclaimed his 
new style and tides. 

The Roman Catholics in the north of Scotland, under the direction 
of the Earla of Hontly, Angus, and Errol, had, in the early part of 
1608, shown connderable dissatisfaction, sad a disposition to disturb 
the peace of the realm. A Greneral Assembly was therefore convened 
at linlithgow in the month of July of that year, by the King's com- 
mand, at which several strong resolutions were passed against them, 
and a conuninee appointed to lay a petition before his Majesty, pray- 
ing for the enforcement of &e taws against Popery. The Earl of 
Wigton was chosen a member of this committee ; and the King, in 
reply to the petition drawn up and presented by the Earl and his col- 
leagues, said that he ' would give atder for a Convention of Estates, 
which should ratifie the conclusions of the Assembly, assuring them 
that the Church, keeping that course, should never lack his patrociny 
and protection.' On the 24th of November, James wrote the following 
letter to the Eail in reference to these ecctenastica] proceedings : — 



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3Sfi filGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

' James R. 

Right tniBty and well-beloTcd Cosen, wee greete you well. 
The rcporte made to us by the CommiBBioneis of the late geoerall afisemhly 
of the procedingis therin. and of the greate zeale ajid affection kythed iu 
all sortes of people there, tor the advancement of God'a glory, and the sup- 
pressing of the common enemy, and alho of Uie bappie unity and concorde 
amongst the clergy, did give ua no small joy and contentment, that in this 
last age of the wortdc, wherein eri'our and supenitition ahroade had taken 
Ko greate rooting, nevertheless, within these our dominions, (rod hath bene 
pleased t« reserve a haudfull to him selfe, who have never bowed the knee 
to Baal. And as wee acknowledge our selfe (in dewty to our God) bound 
to be a nursing father to his churchc, a prot«ctouT to alt true profeseours, 
and a proeequutour of all the enemyea of the treuth, bo they may be eyther 
reclamed, or then brought to that case as they may be no more feared (sinc« 
all those who are affected to this Romish superstition may justly be suspected 
as daungerouH subjoctos in the estate), so for the better count«nauncing of 
the proccdingis of the general assembly, wee have appojnted a convention 
of the estates of that our kingdome to mete at Edinburgh, the iivj of 
Januarie neite, to the entent that such thinges aa may farder the advaimce- 
ment of the gospell, and suppressing of the enemy, may be then treated of, 
advised, and concluded, wherein there shall be no want eyther of onr good 
wiUe, power, or authority ; desiring you hereby to be present thereat, and 
to utter your loving care and affection to the wele of that Churche. And 
because wee have appoynted a preceding meeting of some selected oute of 
every estate, to be at the same place the uiiij of Januarie before, and 
having made choice of you for one of that nomber, wee desire you also both 
to keepe the time appoyutcd, and to kyth still as yee have done heretofore 
aSectioned, to the advauncement of the rehgion prcseotie profest, wherin 
ye shall do us acceptable service ; and so bid you farewell From our 
Courte at Newmarket, the 24"' NOT'ember 1608. 
' To our right trusty and well-beloTed Coeen, 
The Earle of Wigtoun.' 

Several other letters, addressed by James VI. to the Earl of Wigton, 
have been preserved by the family. They, among other things, de- 
clare, that the King had special confidence in the Earl's 'affection to 
the advancement of religion and good estate of the cuntrie,' and there- 
fore call on him to attend certain meetings of Parliament and of the 
General Assembly, which had been summoned by the King, to adopt 
measures, among other things, for 'htnderanceof thecncreasof Poperie.' 
The King was not content with the meetings and deliberations of the 
Scottish nobility regarding religions matters; but, as is shown by a 
document addressed to John Lord Fleming, he issued an edict in 1619, 
calling upon the whole members of his Privy Council in Scotland to 
repair to Edinburgh, ' and upon pashe day to convene at the heich 
Kirk of Edinburgh, and thair to ressave the coromuniouD, efter the 
nianer prescryvit by the ordoure and actis of the last generall assem- 



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BISTOBICAL SKETCHES OP THE FLEMIKQ FAMILT. aa? 

blie, assaremg tbame that sal refuise to do the Bame, that they salbe de- 
posit from thair placeia in connsall, ae unwcolLie of the tnut quhilk hia 
M uestie hes repoEit in thame, by advanceing thame to sa heich a rowme.' 
It appears that the Earl of Wigtoa, wbea frequenting the court at 
Whitehall, not only presented petitions to his Majesty from others, 
but that, like ^chie Moniplies, he sometimes embraced an opportunity 
of slipping into the royal band 'a sifflication' of his own. We have 
an instance of this in 1613. The Fleming family, at one time, were 
patrons of the Church of Stobo,* which had four pendicles or chapels, 
Tu:., Dawick, Dninunelzier,| Brougbton, and Glenholm. It is likely 
that they had also a right to appoint the Ticars to these chapels, at 
least to DmmmelzieT and Glenhobn, in wMcb they bad large posses - 
siona. At the Reformation, the righto of the Flemings in these 
respects had been disturbed, and the Earl of Wigton, of whom we 
now speak, hod recdved a light to the patronage of the Church of 
Glenholm from his present Majesty, and had also given to the titular 
a large sum to secure hio consent. The right of tlie Earl was, how- 
ever, disputed by one John Gib, who attempted to establish his claim 
by an appeal to the legal tribunals of the country. The Earl presented 
a petition to the King regarding this matter, when he was at court; 
and be now addressed the following letter to his Majesty on the some 
subject : — 

' Moat Qratiaua and Dread Souiane, 

At my Mte bong at your HeighneB Conrte, Qie petitioun 
preferred by me for the Kirk of Gleuquhome was gratiouely acceptit t^ 
your Haistie, the samen Kirk being formerly gifUt by your Heighn«a to 
me, wbiche nocht the lew in porchesaiDg the Titular's consent to the mmen 
did stand me at no leea rate than ten thooaand poundis Scottis, aa I did 
particularly signifie to your Haiestie, who then oat ot your Heighnes most 
grations and bountifDll dispoaitdoun, pleaaed to piomeia that efter a oouiaa 
aoiild be tone for secoring wnto me the Patronage of that Kirk, acqnyred 
by me at so deir a pryce, or then aufBdent satisfactioim and recompence aoold 
be gewen me for the aamen. And now Being John Gib bathe of lait tiovbtit 
me with purauite in the law, and heathe recovred decreit agonee roe, I will 
meet hmnblye intreat your Moiatie to be pleaaed, according to your Hdgh- 
nes promeia, titat, aoid Kirk, without farder trowble, be in my peoceble 
enjcqring thwrof, or dew recoinpance and aatisfactioun be gewen to me for 
the Bomin. Thus humble crawing pardon for my bauldnes, and praying 
Ahnychtie Qod to encrea your Maiatie'e happynefl with bug and happie 
regno ower wa and blinitnes eUwheir, I taik my lief, and, aa I am meet 
bound, Ball enir reniane your Maistie's moat humble serwand and subiect, 

WlQTOUH. 

CummbeniaU, the 6^ Oct. 1613. 

To the King's his Hoat EzceUent Haieatie.' 

• Ponnecoik'B DMcriptiaD of Tweeddale. 

t DrnmDMliIer, Id former Umsa, inolodsd the t««Mnt pariah of Tiraadamuir. wUeh 
wH called Upper Drammeliler. 

S U 



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tn BiaOAB AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEHINO. 

We are not aware how this dispate was settled. It is certun that 
the Flemings claimed, and perhaps exercised, the patronage of the 
other Tweeddale chnrchea down to the close of tiie seventeenth 
century. 

Lord Fleming married Lady Lillias Graham, a daughter of John, 
Eari of Montrose. Her ladyship was distingnished for her piety and 
devotion, and her zealous efibrts to promote the prindples of the 
Reformation. Ivivingstone, in his ' Characteristics,' says of her, * When 
I was a child, I have oflen seen her at my father's, at the preachings 
and communions. WMle dressing, she rend the Bible, and every day, 
at that time, shed more tears (said one) than ever I did in my life.' 
The distinguished John Welch, son-in-law of John Knox, in I SOS, 
addressed a lengthened epistle to her from the Castle of Blackness, in 
whioh he was imprisoned for attempting to hold meetings of the 
General Assembly, in opposition to the edicts of James VL In this 
document, which has been printed, he expresses the oonsolations whioh 
he experienced in the midst of his sa£Feiings ; refers to the calamities 
whioh he antidpated would fall on bis native country ; vindicates the 
views which he held with regard to Church government, views which 
had led to his condemnation and impiisonment as a tnutor; and 
declares his readiness ' to be offered up as a sacnSce' for the predous 
truths which he had maintained. The gist of his opinions on eoclen- 
astical polity, he says, was wntfuned in the two propositions — that 
Christ is the Head of the Church ; and that the Church u free in her 
government from all other jurisdiction except Christ's, yea, as free as 
any kingdom under heaven, not only to convocate, hold, and keep her 
meetings, conventions, and assemblies, bat also to jndge in aU her 
aSairs among her members and subjects. Such propodtions as these, 
in the opinion of the King, were rank heresies. He maintained that 
no Assembly of the Kirk could be held without his authority, and 
under his special control ; and, in the end, he came to be of opinion, 
that the deUberations of the Kirk should be altogether suppressed, as 
inconsistent with kin^y power and prerogative. I^y Fleming, no 
doubt, held the views of Welch in regard to Church government ; 
while her husband, although remaining an adherent of the Kiik of 
Scotland, appears to have countenanced tlie represdve measures of 
the King. The following entry in the Becords of the Presbytery of 
Glasgow, under date 13th July 1596, shows that he was somewhat 
remiss in his attendance on religions ordinances in his Faiish Church : 
— ' The Preabytene understanding that the absence of my Lord Fleming 
fra the Kirk of Lenzie upon the Sonday, hie Lordship being then at 
Cumemald, within the bounds of Presbyterie, is the motive and great 
occadoune of moving his tennants, being porochiners of Lende, to 
byd away fra the Kirk to heir Godis word prechit on Sondaye, thaij- 
fore the Presbyterie ordenis Mr Niniane Drewe, person now present, 
ordinar minister of Lende, to summond the said Lord Flonii^, how 



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HISTOBIOAI. SKETCHES OF TEE FLEHIHQ FAHILT. SN 

sone his Lordship cununis in Camenuld, to compeir befoir je Bud 
Preabjrterie to answer for his absence fra the said Kirk, and to sik 
-wther thingis as the sud Presbyterie sal happin to hare to laye to his 
charge.' 

The Earl died in April 1 619, leaving three sons and five daughters, 
and vas succeeded by his eldest son John, who warmly embraced his 
mother's eoclenastical opinions, and was as zealous in the cause of 
Fresbyterianism as bis forefathers had been in the maintenance of 
Popery. He married Margaret, daughter of Alexander Livingston, 
first £arl of Linlithgow, a lady of amiable dispositioQ and great piety, 
who entered cordially into the religions views and schemes of her 
husband. They not only attended the ministrations of the settled Pro- 
testant clergy, but for some time maintained a chaplain in their own 
family. The person who acted in this capacity was John Livingstone, 
a son of the Bey. William livingstone, a distant relative of the Coun- 
tess of Wigton, who was first settled at Monyabrock, and afterwards 
at Lanark. Bis faUier wished him to marry and settle on some lands 
which he had purchased in his former pmish of Monyabrock, but 
young livingstone's inclinations were altogether in favour of devoting 
himself to the work of the ministry. ' Now being in straits,' he says 
in his autobiography, ' I resolved I would spend one day before Grod 
my alone, and knowing of ane secret oave in the south side of Mouse 
Water, a little above the house of Jerriswood, over against Cleghom 
Wood, I went thither, and after many too's and fro's, and much con- 
ftision and fear anent the state of my soul, I thought it was made out 
to me that I behoved to preach Jesus Christ, which if I did not, I 
should have no assurance of salvation.' 

Mr Livingstone began to preach in January 1625, and for some 
time was employed in occasional ministrations in the pulpits of the 
neighbouring parishes, and in that of Biggar, no doubt, among the 
rest. His practice, he says, was to writo out his sennons at length, 
and commit them to memory ; but he was led to abandon this praotioe 
by an incident which took place at Quothquan. He had agreed to 
deliver a sermon at that place, on a Sunday aftier the commnnioi) ; 
but he came with only one discourse in readiness, and he had preached 
it a short time before in the church of an adjoining parish. He 
observed in the early part of the day that a niunber of the worshippers 
at Quothquan had been his hearers in the church referred to, and, 
therefore, feeling reluctant to preach before them ^e same discourse, 
he, before ascending the pulpit in the afternoon, selected a new text, 
.and merely noted some heads of the subject on which he proposed to 
enlarge. He says that he found more assistance in discotusing on 
these points, and more emotion in his heart than he had ever felt 
before, and so from that time he never wrote his sermons at full 
length. 

In the autumn of 1626 he went, by desire of Lord Torphichen, to 



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BM BIOQAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEUIHG. 

Mid~CaIder, and officiated ob the assiBtaiit of the aged incnmbeitt of 
- that charge. At the death of this official, which took place soon 
afterwards, considerable exertions were made to get Mr Livingstone 
appointed his successor ; but this object was defeated by the bishops, 
to whom he was obnoxious. He resolved to go back to his fath^s 
hotue at Lanark, bnt before doing so, paid a visit to his uncle, William 
Livingstone^ at Falkirk ; and here he received a letter Irom the Countess 
of Wigton requesting him to come and see her mother, Eleanor, 
Countess of Linhthgow, then on her death-bed. He complied with this 
request, and the Earl and Countess of Wigton proposed, ihat as their 
house of Cumbentanld was somewhat distant from the Parish Church, 
he should reside with them, and in winter preach in the hall to their 
household and aocb of their tenants as chose to attend. • He remuned 
in this situatitm two years and a half, lbs Fleming family treated 
livingstone with great respect. In 1 635, when he was married by 
his father in the West Eirk of Edinbm^h to a daughter of Bartholo- 
mew Fleming, a merchant of that city, the Earl and his son, John 
Lord Fleming, honoured the nuptial ceremony with their presence. 

In the month of July 1629, an event took place which reminds tu 
strongly of times still more remote, when the grandees very frequently 
decided their quarrels by brute force. A difference regarding the 
service to some land having arisen between the Earl of Wigton and 
the Earl of Casmllis, it was discussed for some time with increaang 
obstdnaoy and f\iry on both aides, and at last was submitted for ded- 
aion to Uie Lords of Oountul and Session. The presence of the two 
noblemen were, of course, required in Edinburgh ; and as they either 
conndered themselves in danger of bodily harm, or wished to overawe 
the judges by a display of force, they summoned all their retainers to 
accompany tbem to the capital The appearance of two large and 
hostile bodies on the streets of Edinbiugh, naturally caused great 
disorder and alarm. The Privy Council met in haste, and appointed 
a committee to wait on the belligerents, and remonstrate with them 
on the impropriety of their conduct, and to prevent them, if posdble, 
from proceeding to actual blows and violence. The Council at the 
same time decided, that so loi^ as the two noblemen remained is 
town, they would not be allowed to ^pear on the streets with more 
than twelve followers each, or come to the bar with more than six, 
that they should comport themselves in a peaceful manner, and dis- 
miss &om their attendance all persons who had no necessary cause to 
be present The Conndl also issued injunctions to all the other 
noblemen who were in town, and were friends of the two htiganle, 
that they should ' forbear the backing of them at this time, on the 
pain of censure as troublera of his Majesty's peace.' 



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CHAPTER XXVII. 
^tstotual iSbttt^a of Hjt ^Umtan ^smln — Coatmued. 

fN the chapter on the Covenaaters in this volume, we have re- 
ferred to various movements on the part of John, second Earl 
of Wigton, and hia son John Lord Fleming. They attached 
themselves at first to the cause of the Covenant, bat influenced 
bj the solicitations of their relative Uoatrose, and by the blandish- 
ments of Charles 11., they turned their backs on that movement, and 
lent thuT support to the measures of the King. AiW the Battle of 
Phjliphaogh, they do aot s^em, however, to have taken a very active 
part in the public transactions of the time. The overthrow and the 
execution of Montrose, and the losses and injuries which they them- 
selves sustained, most likely disposed tbem to withdraw fVom pubUc 
life, and to spend the remainder of their days in retirement and peace. 
The Earl died at Cumbernauld on the 7th of May 1650, and waa 
succeeded in his titles and estates by hb son John. This Earl married 
Jane Drummond, a daughter of the Earl of Perth, by whom he had 
five sons and three daughters, and died in February 1665. 

The Earl's second daughter, named Lillias, fell in Love with one of 
her Other's servants called Richard Storry, and having eloped with 
him, succeeded in forming with him a matrimonial union. She, with 
consent of her husband, in October 1 673, resigned her portion, consist- 
ing of the five merk land of Smythson and others, lying in the barony 
of Len^e, to her brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Fleming, and received 
from him a l^al acknowledgment that the same would be redeemable 
in the maimer there described. The family afterwards obtained for 
Storry a situation in the Custom-House. The marriage of this pair 
made a great noise at the time, and gave rise to a ballad, which has 
been preserved in some publications, and of which the following 
is a copy : — 

'The Erie o' Wigtoon had three donghters, 

braw wallie they were bomiie ; 
Hie joungGBt o' them, and the bomiiest too, 

Bob fa'en in love wi' Bichie Storrie. 
' Here's a letter for ye, Madame, 

Hen's a letta for je, Hadame, 
The Erie o' Home wad taia praenme. 
To be a suitor to ye, ¥ ~ 



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BU BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEBONG. 

* III hae aaae o' your letter, Richie, 

111 hae Dane o' your letter, Richie ; 
For I bae made » tow, and I'll keep it true. 

That 111 hae n&ne but yon, Richie. 
'O do not say k, Uadame, 
do not say to, Madame; 
F<ff I hae nralber land nor rent, 
For to maintain yoa «ri', Madame. 

* Ribands ye mann irear, Madame, 

BibaDda ye mann wear, Madame, 
Wi' bands aboat your bonnie neck 

0' tbe goud that shinet tae clear, Madame. 
' 111 lie ayont a dyke, Richie, 

111 lie ayont a dyke, Kchie, 
And 111 be aye at yoor command. 

And biding when ye like, Richie. 

* Fair Powmoodie is a' my un. 

And good and pearlina too, Richie; 
Gin ye'll consent to be my ain, 

rU gie ibem a' to yon, lUclue, 
' he'a gane on the braid teaid raad, 

And she's gane throngh the broom so bonnie, 
Her lillar robce doun to her heels. 
And ahe'il aw> wi' Hichie Storrie. 
' The lady gaed np the Parliament Stain, 

Wi' pendle* in her log ne bonnie ; 
Mony a lord lifted hia hat, 

Bnt little wiet they she was Richie's lady. 
' Up then spak the Erie of Home's lady,— 

Wasna ye ricbt sorrie, liBie, 
To leave Uie lands o* bonnie Cnmbemald, 

And foUow Kchie Storrie, Lillie f 
' what need I be some, Usdame, 

what need I be aorrie, Madame? 
For I've got them that I like best, 
And war ordaned for me, Madame- 

' Cnmbemald is mine, Annie, 
Cnmbemald is mine, Annie, 
And a' that's mine it shall be thine. 

And we will sit at wine, Annie.' 

The subject of this balliid fortaed tbe groundwork of a t^le which 
appeared in the first and second nnmbere of ' Cfaamben' Edinburgh 
Journal' in 1832. 



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HISTOBICAL SKETCHES OP THE FLEMING FAMILY. 841 

John Flenung, the eldest Bon of the last Earl, succeeded to the title 
and estates. Of his history very little is known. He married Anna, 
daughter of Henry Lord Eer, by whom he had a daughter, Jane, who 
became the wife of George Manle, Lord Panmure. He had only in- 
herited the estates a period of three years, when he died, in 1668, and 
leaving no male issue, was succeeded by his brother William, who 
had entered the army the year previous, his commissioii as an enagn 
in General Thomas Dalziei's own oompany of foot bong dated 26th 
July 1667. The foUowing is a translation of the terms in which 
William, on the 5th of August of that year, was retoured heir of the 
Biggar estate to Chancery : — ' William, Earl of Wigtoun, Lord Fleming 
of Cumbernauld, heir-male of John, Earl of Wigtonn, his brother- 
german, in the lands of Splttal, Easter Tofl-Combes, Middle and 
Wester Toft-Combes, lands of Whinbusb, Telfer's Oxengate,* and 
Gildie Oxengate, — the lands of Heavyside, — the lands of Stane and 
Chamberlane Oxengate, Mosc^de Oxengate and Staneheid, four oxgates 
of land at Hillhead,— the town and burgh of Biggar, comprehending 
twenty-four burgh lands and two cotlands, with mill of Biggar, — • 
lands of Westraw of Biggar, comprehending thirty oxgates, — two 
oxgates of lands of Westerraw of Biggar, — the three pound limds of 
the lordship of Boghall, — a part of the barony of Biggar, — the de- 
mesne lands of Lindsielands, the lands of Over and Nether Toltis, 
part of the barony of Biggar, two oxgates of die temple lands in the 
Westerraw of Biggar within the said barony and said burgh of Biggar, 
andent extent L.36, new extent L.144, acris of land of 

the sud burgh of Biggar lying round in the lands and barony of 
Biggar, the six merk lands of ancient extent of Glentoers within the 
barony of Monkland, with the patronages of the Churches of Stobo, 
Dmmmelzier, Dawick, and Brou^ton andent extent L4, new ex- 
tent L8 ; the burghs of barony of Kirkintilloch and Biggar, all 
erected into the £arldom of Wigtoun.' 

The Earl resigned his lands and honours to Charles 11., and obtained 
a signature under the hand of the King, on the IStb of August 
1669, authorizing a charter or regrant to pass the Great Seal of the 
dignities of Earl of Wigton, Lord Fleming and Cumbernauld, and also 
of his estates, in favour of himself and the heirs-male of his body, 
containing remainders also to Charles Fleming, his brother-german ; 
Sir William Fleming, Chamberlain of the Household to the King, and 
son of John, second Earl of Wigton ; to Lieutenant- Colonel Fleming 
son of Malcolm Fleming, and grandson of John, first Earl ; and to 
Jane Fleming, only daughter of John, fourth Earl, and afterwards 
wife of Geot^ Earl of Panmure j to the heiis-male of their bodies 
MriafHn, each and all of tJiem, with an ultimate substitution, without 



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3M BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

division, to the eldest heir-female of the body of the disponee. It 
is a very singular circumstance that this regrant was never completed; 
that, in the course of a few years, it became unknown to the family, 
and remained in oblivion until it was accidentally discovered some time 
after the middle of last centiiry. By the above resignation of the 
Earldom, which was gratuitous and not onerous, and by the failure to 
carry into effect the new warrant obtained, the Earl may be legally 
held to have denuded himself of the honours conferred on the Fleming 
family by James VI., and perhaps also of his estates. 

The Earl was appointed by Charles II. Sheriff of Dumbartonshire, 
and Governor of Dumbarton Castle, and also a member of the Privy 
Council. His name, however, does not appear in connection with any 
of the arbitrary and discreditable transactions with which the Privy 
Council during his time was so very largely engaged. He appears to 
have lived a good deal in retirement, for his name seldom occurs in 
any pubUc document. From the numerous papers connected with 
the management of his estates still preserved, it is evident that he 
was a careful and methodical man of business. He seems to have 
exacted from his factors a full and satisfactory statement of all their 
transactions. Eari William died on the 8th of April 1681, and was 
succeeded by his son John. 

This Earl, the sixth who bore the title since its revival by James 
VI., was a decided Royalist, and of coiu-sc had no sympathy with the 
efforts made by the worthies of the Covenant to thwart the designs of 
the men of power, and overturn the Stewart dynasty. When William, 
Prince of Orange, landed in England, he took no part in the general 
rejoicing, but remained sulkily at his house of Cumbernauld. As 
might be expected, he lent no assistance to raise the Upper Ward 
Regiment, the 2Cth Cameronians, that was embodied at Douglas in 
1687, for the purpose of supporting the principles of the Covenant, 
and the designs of King William. After James VU. had abandoned 
the throne, and settled in France, the Earl went over to the Continent, 
and remained for some time at the royal residence to console bis 
fallen master. He returned to Scotland, and joined the party who 
were resolutely opposed to a union of the two kingdoms of Scotland 
and England. When the measure for effecting this imion was brought 
before the Scottish Pari lament, he voted against every one of the 
articles. This measure, as is well known, was highly obnoxious to 
all ranks in Scotland;— the noble, the divine, the merchant, the crafts- 
man, and the peasant, could see nothing in it but ruin to their respec- 
tive orders, and, of course, misery and degradation to their cotintry. 
The inhabitants of the Biggar district were in a perfect flame daring 
the whole time that the Union Parliament, as it was called, carried on 
its discussions. During the month of November 1706, addresses or 
petitions against the Union were presented to this Faxliament from the 
parishioners of Covington, Symington, Libberton, Quothquan, Dnn- 



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HISTOBICAL SKETCHES OF THE FLEMING FAHILT. 3i5 

■jre, Crawford, and Crawfordjohn. The address from the parish of 
Biggar was presented on Friday, the 15th of that month, and was do 
doubt grati^Tng to the Earl, who was present at this sederonl. A 
design was entertuned to bring some thousands of the men of Clydes- 
dale to Edinburgh, to dissolve the Parliament by force. Cunningham 
of Eckatt was entrosted with the task of carrying this design into 
execution ; but as he was in reality a Government spy, and as the 
Duke of Hamilton, who possessed great influen^ in Clydesdale, and 
pretended to be a resolute opponent of the scheme of Union, was, at 
bottom, fainthearted, if not insincere, the whole affair, in the end, 
came to nothing. The Government thus got a pretext to repeal the 
Act of Security, the effect of which was, that any person afterwards 
assuming arms without authority, was held to be guilty of rebellion. 
The Articles of Union, aAer calling forth some creditable displays of 
forensic eloquence and patriotic feeling in Parliament, and the grief 
and resentment of nearly the entire nation, were, one after another, 
passed into a law; and Scotland saw the majority of her senators, for 
the most paltry bribes, barter away her independence, and sacrifice 
their own dignity and power. 

The first effects of the Union were disastrous to Scotland. The 
abiding sense of humiliation and tarnished honour, the removal of 
many of the nobles and gentry to London, the ignominious treatment 
of the representatives of Scotland by the English senators, the improper 
interference with Scottish commerce, the imposition of new and odious 
taxes, and the dispersion over the countiy of a swarm of English reve- 
nne officers of dissolute habits and imperious dispositions, all contri- 
buted to keep the minds of the people in a state of intense irritation, 
and to attach them more and more to the exiled House of Stewart. 
Accordingly, when John, Ear! of Mar, was repulsed from the presence 
of George I. in 1715, then newly landed on ^e English shores, when 
the address of loyalty and attachment from the chiefs of clans, which 
he wished to present, was rejected, and the office of Secretary of State, 
which he had held under Queen Anne, was taken from him, he set up 
the standard of rebellion, and colled on all tme patriots to rally to the 
rescue of their country. 

No sooner was the note of rebellion sounded, than the Government, 
in virtue of a statute, commonly called the Clan Act, summoned 
upwards of fifty Scotsmen of note, and, among others, the Earl of 
Wigton, to appear at Edinburgh in order to give bail for their orderly 
and loyal behaviour. Only two persons, Sir Patrick Murray and Sir 
Alexander Erskine, thought fit to comply. The consequence was, that 
the others were declared rebels, and put to the horn. On a warrant 
issued by Major-General Williams, the Earl of Wigton was accordingly 
apprehended on the 20th August 1715, and placed in confinement in 
Edinbnrgh Castle. The Earl, by an instrument dated 19tb June 1716, 
demanded that the Governor of Edinbui^b Castle should set bim at 



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4M BIGOAB AND THE HOOSE OF FLGHmO. 

liberty; bat the Govemor, in reply, a^d, that as he bad been ocHnmitted 
to prison in the time of war, he oould not be released vrithout a war- 
rant irom the King, or those acting under his authority. The Court 
of JusticiaTy, howerer, in the course of a few days, ordered the Gover- 
nor to &ee him from his bonds; and accordingly he was immediately 
set at large, after he had been kept in ward for ten months 

Many of the gentlemen of the Upper Ward at that time belonged 
to the opposite side of politics &om the Earl, and therefore made a 
stand in favour of the House of Hanover. Captain Daniel Weir of 
Stonebyres, the Laird of Corehonse, Sir James Carmichael of Bottniton, 
Sir James Lockhart of Lee, BaUlie of Lamington, Alexander Menzies 
of Conlt«rallera, and others, assembled all tbeir tmsoIs, and had them 
regolarly drilled and ready to take the field in support of the move- 
meats of the Duke of Argyle, Commander-in-Chief of the Boyal 
Forces. The Duke of Douglas raised a r^i;iment of 800 men, com- 
pletely officered and trained. The first detachment, consisting of 100 
men, commenced their march to the Kc^alist camp at Stirling on the 
27th September 1715, and got the length of Carluke, when intelligence 
arrived that they were not to advance farther, in consequence of a 
scarcity of provisions in the camp. They consequently ratumed to 
Douglas; but the Dnke himself, Baillie of Lamington, Sir James 
Carmichael, etc, proceeded onwards, and arrived at Stirling on the 
29th. Tley were -very likely present at the Battle of Sherrifiinnir, 
which took place about a fortnight afterwords. 

It was the Earl of whom we are nowspeaking, that in 1789 carried 
on a series of litigations with his vassab and fenars at Biggar regarding 
their respective rights to the Common. This was most likely done 
preparatoiy to his effecting the new entail of his estates in 1741. As 
already stated, he seems to have been ^together unaware of theregrant 
by Charles IL in 1669. 

By the new deed of entail, he became bound to resign his estates 
and titles in favour of heirs-male lawAilly procreated of his own body ; 
hat fuling these, in favour of Charles Fleming, his brotber^ennon, 
and his heirs-male lawfully begotten ; and foiling all these, in favour of 
heirs-female. One of the special objects of the £arl was, that as his 
brother was unmarried, and as his only daughter Clementina had in 
1735 married Charles Elphinstone, son of Charles, ninth Lord Elphin- 
stone, the peerage of Wigton should not be merged in or identified 
with any other title. It was therefore expressly stated, that the 
heir to succeed should be bound and obliged to assnme and bear the 
title, name, arms, and designation of Lord or Baron Fleming, and no 
other. He therefore provided, that when any h«r other than the 
heir-male of himself or his brother should succeed, or have a right 
to succeed, to the estates of Biggar and Cumbernauld, and ahonld also 
succeed, or have a right to succeed, to the title and dignity of another 
peerage, then, in that case, and so soon as it should happen, he was 



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HISTOBICAL SEETCBES OF THE FLEMING FAUILY. S<7 

bonnd to denude himself of the estates, and that the^ should go to 
the next heir, who shoold assume the name of Fleming. 

The Earl died on the 10th of February 1742, in the ilst year of 
his age, and was interred in the Church of Biggar. He was three 
times married. His first wife was Margaret, a daughter of Colin 
Lindsay, third Earl of Balcairas ; and by her he had a daughter, who 
appears to hare died ja early life. His second wife was Mary Keith, 
daughter of -William, ninth Earl Marischall ; and by her he had 
an only daughter, Clementina. His third wife was Miss Lookhart, 
daughter of the celebrated Sir George LoclchaTt of Camwath; but by 
her he had no issne. 

The Earl was succeeded by his brother Charles, of whom nothing 
of importuice is known. He died unmarried in 1747, and the estates 
went to his niece Lady Clementintt, sod the title became extinct. 
Charles Boss Fleming, M.D., Dublin, claimed the title, and voted at 
some of the electious of Scottish Peers; but the House of Lords, in 
1762, decided that his claim was without proper foundation. AAer 
the deatji of this gentleman in 1769, his son renewed the claim, bat 
with no better success ; bo that the title of the Earl of Wigton hu 
for more than a century been dropped from the . roll of the Scottish 
nobility. 

Lady Clementina Fleming, only child of John, sixth Earl of Wigton, 
in 1786 married Charles, second eon of Chaiies, ninth Lord Elphin- 
stone. On the death of. her uncle Charles, seventh Earl of Wigton, 
as already stated, she became possessor of the estates of Biggar and 
Cumbernauld, and she was also, through her mother, heiress-of-line 
of William, ninth Earl Marisohal. Her husband, on the death of his 
father in 1757, became Lord Elphinstone, hiselder brother John having 
died some time previotuly. . Her Ladyship by this nnioa had four sons 
— John, Charles, William, and George Keith — and several daughters. 
Charles and George devoted themselves to the n^val service, and rose 
to distinotion. Charles perished at sea, on board the 'Prince George,' 
90 gtm ship, when she was destroyed by fire on the 18th of April 
1768, dniiog a Toyageirom^ England to Gibraltar. William, who was 
£di many years an East India Company Director, married the eldest 
daughter of WillimnFullertony£sq.af CarstairB; and'from this couple, 
William, the present Lord Elphinstone, is directly descended. In the 
year 1778, Lady Clementina 'did for certain causes and considera- 
tions sell, alienate, and, in feu faun, dispone to and in favour of Sir 
Michael Bruce of Stenhouse, Bart, his heirs sad assignees,' those parts 
of the lands of the barony of Biggar and Boghall wbioh she inherited 
&am her father and uncle. In the yeas following. Sir Michael Bruce, 
by dispostion and deed of entail^ sold, alienated, and disponed the 
same lands to and in favour of lady Clementina, and the heirs what- 
somever of bar body, and failing them, to the heirs^eaiale of her uncle 
Charles if any existed, to the Iieir»iioale or female of Jean Fleming 



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MS BIQOAR AND THE HOUSE OP FLEUma. 

or Uaiile, relict of George Lord Itamaaj, or to the hein-msle of the 
deceased WiUiam Fleming of Boroohtui, etc. Thii disposition and 
deed of entail waa, however, not recorded in the Begister of TaiMes. 

John, Lady Clementana's eldest son, was bom in 1739. He was an 
officer in the aimj, and served under the distinguished General Wolfe 
in Canada, where, at the Heights of Montmorenci, he was wovmded in 
the neck by a mosket-ball. He recuved the command of a company 
of invalids in 1760, and at a sabsequent period was appointed Gover- 
nor of Edinburgh Castle. He succeeded his father as eleventh Lord 
Elphinstone in 1781, and was several times choeea a representative 
peer for Scotland. He married Anne, daughter of Lord Ruthven ; and 
by her he bad four sons — John, Charles, James Ruthven, and Moont- 
Btuart. He died at Cumbernauld House on the 19tb of August 1794. 
His mother, the venerable Clementina, outlived him upwards of four 
years, and died at Cavendish Square, London, on the 1st of January 
1799, in the 80th year of her age, and, as formerly stated, was interred 
in Biggar Kirk. The last of the Flemings was thus appropriately laid 
in the tomb of her forefathers ; aitd many ages, in all likelihpod, will 
roll by before it is again opened. 

Witb the death of Lady Clementina, the connection of the direct 
line of the Flemings with Biggar terminated. For four or five cen- 
turies at least this family reigned superior in the parish. Nay, we are 
strongly disposed to believe that they held uninterrupted possession of 
it irom the time of the first David. The opinions opposed to tiiis 
view rest merely on conjecture, while a probability at least exists in 
its favour. So soon as we obtun distinct and satisfactory evidence of 
the existence of the Fleming family, we find them in possession of 
Bi^ar parish; and, therefore, we are inclined to conclude that the 
family of de Bigris and the family of Fleming were the same. This 
evidently, at all events, was the opinion of some members of the 
Fleming famify two centuries ago. 

Biggar, no doubt, reaped very considerable advantages from its con- 
nection with this old and difidnguished family. The presence of a 
chief who often resided at court, who fought in bis country's battles, 
who went on important embassies to foreign kingdoms, and who took 
a prominent part in the great public movements of the age, must have 
inspired the inhabitants with pride and confidence, while his vigilant 
eye would rouse them up to industiy and self-respect, causing them 
to cultivate their fields with care, maintain their dwellings in a state 
of comfort, and cultivate habits of decency and order. No evidence 
exists to show that tiiej were ever harsh and tyrannical landlords or 
superiors, but much, on the contrary, to prove that they treated their 
tenants and vassals with leniency, and conferred on them many 
favours. It was through their influence that Biggar was erected into 
a free burgh of barony. They bestowed on the burgesses very ample 
possessions, and, with the exception of appointing a head bulie, they 



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HISTOSIOAL SKETCHES OP THE FLEMIKG FAMILY. US 

appear to hare leil them very much to manage their owu affairs. The 
iohabitanta of Biggar parish, no doubt, sugtained occamonal losses from 
their connection with tlie Flemings. In the days of feud and foray, 
revenge for the offences of a lord-superior was too oHen exercised on 
his unoffending vassals. The Flemings were at Umes obnoxious to 
men in power, or having at least the means of inflicting injuries; and 
hence their poor tenants were assailed, and tbetr property destroyed 
or carried off. Murray, Lennox, and Cromwell made Biggar suc- 
cessively a scene of desolation. 

The Flemings, as we have seen, were bountiful patrons of religious 
bouses and the Romish faith. The altars in many a religious establish- 
ment received their benefactions, and many a mass must have been 
said for the salvation of their souls. The erection of the Collegiate 
Church of St Mary at Biggar, and its magnificent endowment, must 
ever keep their names fresh in the memory of the people of Bi(^ar. 

John, Lady Clementina's grandson, who became twelfth Lord 
Elphinstone, was an officer in the army, and served in different corps. 
He attuned the rank of Major-General, and, on the 2dd of April 1806, 
was appointed Colonel of tlie 26tli or Cameronian Regiment. His 
brother Charles, who was bom in 1774, entered the naval service, 
and attained the rank of Captain in 1794. He commanded the 'Tartar' 
frigate in April 1797, when she was lost by striking on a rock, while 
engaged in cutting out some valuable merchantmen from a French 
battery at St Domingo; but the crew vrere all saved. He afterwards 
comjnanded the 'Bulwark,' a 74 gun ship, and was stationed for some 
time in the Mediterranean. He rose to the rank of Admiral ; and in the 
latter part of tiis life, held the important office of Governor of Green- 
wich Hospital In virtue of the entail executed in 1741 by John, 
Earl of WigtoD, to which we formerly referred, he lud claim to the 
estates of Biggar and Cumbernauld, the ancient inheritances of the 
Flemings; and as thb was resisted by his elder brother, Lord Elphin- 
stone, a litigation took place, in the early part of the present century, 
to settle the dispute. The Court of Session, on the 19th of January 
1804, decerned in favour of Charles, the second brother; and this 
decision was afterwards confirmed by the House of Lords, and he con- 
sequently assumed the name of Fleming, and took poesesdon of the 
estates. The Admiral for some time represented the county* of Stir- 
ling in the Imperial ParliameuL In 1616 he married Donna Catalina 
Paulina Alessaodro, a Spanish lady, and by her he had one son and 
three daughters. Having fallen into pecuniary difficulties, his liabili- 
ties amounting to fully L.41,000, he obtained an Act of Parliament 
in 1826, empowering the Judges of the Court of Session to sell certain 
parts of the lands and barony of Biggar and lands and barony of 
Boghall, and to apply the price in payment of his debts. Three of 
the ten heirs next in succession being at the time of the passing of the 
Act in foreign countries, three years were allowed to obtain their con- 



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3B0 BIOGAR AKD THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

sent to the sale ; and this having been procured, nearly the whole of 
the ancient pOBsestdona of the Flemings in the parbh of Biggar were, 
about the year 1830, brought to the hunmer, and, as formerly Mated, 
fell into the hands of five or six different proprieton. The Admiral 
died on the 30th of October 1840, and was succeeded by his only son 
John, who was bom on the 11th of December 1819. 

John Elphinstone Fleming entered the army, and served for some 
time in the 17th Lancers. At the close of his active military career, 
some five or six years ago, he was in command of the 2d Light Dra- 
goons of the German Legion, and held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. 
On the I9th of July 1860, he succeeded his cousin John as 14th Lord 
Elphinstone; but dying at Bournemouth on the 19th of January fol- 
lowing, he enjoyed his elevation to the peerage only a few month*. 
The estate of Cumbernauld, and such fragments of the estate of Biggar 
as still remain in the hands of the family, are now the possession of 
Viscountess Hawarden, eldest daughter of Admiral Fleming, and 
sister of the late John Lord Elphinstone. 

We close these brief and imperfect sketdies of the Fleming family 
with a out, representing such fragments of their once spacious seat of 
Boghall as still remain — a fitting emblem of the power and glory now 
departed, that in former ages attached to their name in the district of 
Biggar. 



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CHAPTER XXVtII. 
iSarlg (Sontcnninoiu ^(ajtrutorB. 

fAVING- given some details regarding the Fleming family, it 
may not be inappropriate to follow them up with a very brief 
notice of some of the early oonterminoiu proprietois, to 
whom special reference has not yet been made. These men, 
though of inferior rank and influence to the Flemings, yet occupied 
a prominent place in the district They were chiefs in their own 
localities, and had a number of retainers, who were bound to aid 
them in all their enterprises. Each of them occupied his grim baro- 
nial tower, in which he defended himself and his property &om the 
attacks of marauding neighbours, and &om which be occasionaUy led 
forth an armed band to revenge his wrongs, or obey the call of his 
lord-superior. 

We will begin with the 

BROWNS aud dickbons of habtsze. 
Hartree is an estate which lies to the south of Biggar, and was long 
held by a family of the name of Brown. Richard Brown of Hartree is 
mentioned in a deed dated at Lanark, 2Qth December 1409, serving 
William Douglas heir of hb father, by an inquest held at that town. 
Sichard and his son John were, in 1431, appointed bailies to David 
Menzies, lurd of one-half of the barony of Coulter. William Brown 
of Hartree appears in a suit before the Lord Auditors of Parliament 
in 147S-9, at the instance of John Mandn of Medop. It appears that 
Richard Brown, son and apparent heir of Andrew Brown of Hartree, 
had married Janet, a daughter of Malcolm Lord Fleming; and his 
'Lordship, on the 23d September 1586, granted a precept of sasine 
for iufefting Richard and his wife, and the longest liver of the two, in 
the L.5 lands of Easier Hartry. Andrew Brown of Hartree was one 
of the witnesses of the charter of foundation of the Collegiate Church 
of Bi^ar in 1545. In 1587, John Lord Fleming granted a precept 
of eiare constat for InfeftiBg Andrew Brown of Haztree, as heir to 
Andrew Brown, his grandfather, in the lands of Logan, lying in the 
barony of Glenholm, his Lordship being superior of diese lands. On 
the 21st of June 1627, Andrew Brown of Hartree was served heir of 
his father, Gilbert, in the annual rent of 300 merks of the village, 
demesne lands, and mill of Kilbucho. In the mnstCT roll of a Weapon- 



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iSt BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF PLBMIHG. 

showing, held on the King's Muir, near Peebles, on the 15th June 
1627, it b stated that the Lurd of Hartree (Andrew Brown) was 
absent himseir, bnt that ten of his men were present, ' horsed, with 
lances and swords,' 

On the 13th of Angnst 1630, John Dickson, 'servitor' to Sir 
Alexander Gibson of Durie, Clerk Register, rec^ved a charter from 
the Earl of Morton, of all and haill the town and lands of Kilbucho, 
the myhx and mainlands and multures thereof, the lauds of ' Moitt 
or Majnis of Kilbucho,' of Baw, Blendewing, Cleugh, Goisland, with 
the patronage of the kirk, and the parsonage and vicarage teinds of 
the parish. The same John Dickson received, in 1635, two charters 
from the Earl of Traquair, conferring on hiiri the lands of Bumfoot, 
Easter Place, Howslack, Blackhjres, Hartree Mill, and Threpland, 
' with the toure, fortatice, and maner place of the same lands.' John 
Dickson, who thus became the founder of the family of Dickson of 
Hartree and Kilbucho, followed the law as a profession, and was 
raised to the Bench by the title of Lord Hartree. Some of Lord 
Hartree's successors have been distinguished men. We may refer to 
Lieutenant-Colonel William Dickson, who commanded the 42d Royal 
Highlanders at the commencement of the present century. He 
accompanied his regiment in the expedition to Egypt in 1801, and 
was wounded 

' Whan Abercromt^, gallant Scot, 
Hade Britain's faea to tack again.' 

On his return in 1602, he reviewed his Highlanders before George 
ni., and an immense concourse of spectators, at Ashford; and then, 
at their head, commenced his march to Scotland, receiving great 
attention and applause from the inhabitants of all the towns through 
which he passed. At Peebles, he and his officers were entertained at a 
public dinner by the provost and inhabitants of that burgh; and, in 
course of the evening, the civic wonhies, feeling proud of the Colonel 
as a native of their own conn^, offered to make exertions to return 
him as their representative to the next Parliament They were as 
good as their word, and at next election succeeded in securing a 
majority of votes in his favour, and the Colonel sat one Parliament as 
the representative of the burghs of Lanark, Linlithgow, Peebles, and 
Selkirk, then united in returning a member to the Imperial Parlia- 
ment. Shortly after this, Colonel Dickson was raised to the rank of 
Brigadier-General, He is understood to have been a free, hearty 
individual, and rather fond of a glass of good wine or whisky punch. 
In consequence of repeated applications to these inspiring beverages, 
his nose by and by assumed a somewhat rubicund appearance. On 
one of his vimts to London, he happened to be in company with 'that 
datl buckie Geordie Wales,' when his Royal Highness said to him, 
' Well, General, how much has it cost you to psint your nose?' ' I 



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EARLY CONTEaMlHODS PBOPRIETORS. S58 

really caasa say,' replied the General ; * I haena yet coimted the cost, 
BB I conuder the wark still nnfimBhed.' It is worthy of notice that 
the General's servant, Mr William Harlan, who attended him in his 
expedition to Egypt, and remained with him till his death, is still this 
year, 1862, aliTe at Biggar. 

The Tower of Hartree, which was a conspicuons object from Biggar, 
stood on a knoll Bnrroiinded by marshes, near the site of the present 
mansion-house. It was demolislied by the late Colonel Alexander 
Dickson, who erected the present building in its stead. 

The Hartree estate is now the property of David Dickson, Esq., 
advocate. He generally reddes a portion of the year at Hartree 
House, and takes a deep interest in all schemes for the benefit of the 
district. 



l^irepland, a farm lying at die foot of the Hartree HiUs, a short 
distance to the west of Hartree House, was a separate holding in the 
time of Alexander IIL At the commencement of the war of inde- 
pendence, in 129G, Robert, Laird of Threpelande, swore fealty to 
Edward I. The name of the proprietors of Hirepland was Brown, at 
least it was so in 1526. At a short distance from the ' onstead' of 
Threpland, at one time stood a cottage or hamlet, called tlie Hole 
ayont Threpland, which very probably was built by the company of 
Germans to whom James V., in 1526, gave a grant of the predous 
mines of Scotland for forty-three years. These individuals made 
many excavations in our >iilla for the purpose of discovering ores of 
lead, silver, or gold. A hole in the hillside, supposed to be dug by 
them, can still be traced, and pieces of lead ore are occamonally picked 
up. Thb place is referred to in a rhyme, which, it is sud, was com- 
posed by a vagrant, who had been disappointed in obtaining an 
' awmons ' at the difi'erent farm-houses mentioned :— 

'Glmkitk and Glencotho, 
The Mains of Eilbucho, 
Bkndewan and the Raw, 
Mit4^ielhill and the Shaw, 
The hole ayont the ThieiJand 
Wad bad tkem a'.' 

NENZIES OP COULTEB. 

One half of the lands (^ Coulter, at an early period, belonged to a 
family of the name of Bisset. It Uien passed in succession into the 
hands of the Newbiggings and Douglases. The other half vras long 
the patrimony of a family named Menzies. In the year 1385, Bobert 
Bfaynheis obtained a chiuier ftom Bobert H of half of the barony of 
Coulter, which his father John had resigned. It is interesting to note 



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aM BIGGAB AMD THK HODSE OF FLEUINa 

that David Uenybeis, one of the membera of this family, granted, in 
1431, his part of the lands of Wolchclide ' in frankalmoigne ' lo the 
monks rof Melrose. At the Keformation, this and other possessions of 
the monks were conferred on Sir Thomas Hamilton of Byres, in Had- 
dingtonshire, who, in 1619, was raised to the peerage by the title of 
Earl of Melrose, but whu shortly afterwards was allowed to change 
this title for that of the Earl of Haddington. In 1645, John, the 
foorth Earl of Haddington, was retomed heir of the demesne lands 
of Melrose, comprehending, among others, those of Wolfclyde. Tlie 
farm of Wolfclyde appears to have been, at a subsequent period, Uie 
property of Sir William Menzies of Gladstanes. It now forms part of 
the Hortree estate ; uid it is worthy of notice that it still pays annually 
a few shillings to the I>iike of Buccleuch, as Lord of Erection of the 
Abbey of Melrose. Alexander Menzies, yr. of Goulterallers, was ap- 
pointed Commissioner of Supply and Lieutenant of the Dpper Ward 
of Lanarkshire Militia, by an Act of the first Parliament of William 
and Maiy, 14th March 1669. 

The family of Menzies continued to bold a portion of the parish of 
Coulter, particularly Goulterallers, down to Uie death of Mr Robert 
Menzies, which happened in 1769 ; and the lands of Goulterallers and 
others were purchased two years afterwards by Mr James Baillie, 
writer, Edinburgh. The family generally rended at Coulter, but their 
names do not appear Teiy frequently in history. 

BAILLIE OF COULTEBALLERS, 

The family of Baillie of Goulterallers, formerly of Bagbie, Harding- 
ton, and HUlfaouse, is an offshoot from the Baillies of Lamington. It 
is not accurately known at what time it branched off, but it has gene- 
rally been stated that the founder of it was a younger son of William 
Baillie of Landngton, who flourished in the early part of the rmgn 
of Queen Mary. This, however, appears not to be correct, as we 
find that the Baillies were in possession of Bagbie previous to 
1555. On the 22d of November of that year, William BailUe of 
Bagbie, Nicholas his brother, and Michael Short, his servant, and 
three others, were 'replegiated' by James, Earl of Morton, to his 
regality of Dalkeith, to underlie the law, on the 17th of Janiiary 
followii^, for the convocation of the lieges to the number of six 
score persons, armed in warlike manner, and attacking James, Lord 
Sommerriile. 

William Baillie of Bagbie, in 1574, purchased the farm of Unthank, 
in the parish of Coulter, of which his father Richard had been tenant. 
His son, Alexander, succeeded to the lands of Bagbie and Unthank, 
but does not seem to have made up any titles to Unthank. He was 
appointed rulmg elder for the parish of Roberton to the Presbytery 
of Lanark 18th July 1639. His son, Major Alexander Baillie, made 



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EABLT CONTEBUIHOOS PBOPKIETOBS. 8M 

up titles to Unthank, u disponee of his father, ia 1642. Hta brother. 
Major Claud Bullie, made up titles to Unthank, as heir to his brother, 
in 1644. The lands of Hardington seem to have belonged to afamilj 
named BaiUie, probabljr cousins of Bullie of Bagbie ; and on the 2d 
October 1645, ^e Moderator of the Presbytery of Lanark gave thanks 
to liOrd Angus, the Laird of Lee, Sir William Cannichael, James 
Wondrone of Wiston, the Lturd of Ealcraig, Hardinglon, probably 
Alexander Baillie after -mentioned, Gilkeracleugh, and Gideon Jack, 
baillie of Lanark, aU personally present, for their commendable adher- 
ence to the CoTensnt, and their resolute resistance to the eaemy at 
this difficult time ; and on 6th September 1666, Mr William Thomson 
reported to the Presbyt«ry of Lanark, ' That as for the conventicle 
keept of late at young Hardington's house, he, can prove by Witnesses 
that Mr Nicol Blaick preached there. The Presbytery thinks fitt that 
it be recommended to Xittilgill, Sainot Jinn's Kirk, snd William 
Somervil, the Justice of the Peace, to take notice thereof for the 
breach of the Act of Parliament.' Major Claud BaiHie married Jane 
Baillie, daughter of William Baillie of Lamington. The Major vas 
appointed one of the Coramiwdoners for the oounty of Lanaric, to 
gather in a supply, in 1666. He seems to have been of an extrava- 
gant disposition. He sold Unthank in 1666, and on 4th July 1661 
he granted an heritable bond over all his lands and heritages to Alex- 
and«r Baillie, son of the deceased William Baillie of Hardington, and 
Marjory Menzies, spouse of the said Alexander Baillie ; and he 
granted another heritable bond to Alexander Baillie of Hillhouse, son 
to lUchard Baillie, his brother-german, for 1300 marks, and to Joan 
Baillie, his sister, for 1000. merks, on 29th October 1661. Major 
Claud Baillie had a son named William, who succeeded him in the 
lands of Bagbie, against whom Mr Alezandeir Baillie of Hillhouse led 
an apprising, in which he obtained decree on 27th November 1672 ; 
and Mr William Baillie of Hardington (probably son of the above 
Alexander Baillie) also led apprisings and adjudications agiuiut Mr 
William Baillie of Bagbie, by Which he acquired the lands of Bagbie; 
Shillowhead and Marchilands, Hillend and Bank, from him. Mr 
William Baillie of Hardii^ton seems to have got into difficulties him- 
self; for we find him denounced his Majesty's rebel, and put to the 
horn, for not making paymqpt of some money he was Owing. An 
action of ranking and sale of the lands of Bagbie and Shillowhead 
with the Kirklands thereof, Nether Hardington and Kirklands thereof, 
the Half West land of Hardington, Eallside, Smellgilla, HiUecd and 
Bank, was brought, in which decree was pronounced on 18th July 
1721, declaring these lands to belong to Mr James Baillie, Writer to 
the Signet This Mr James Baillie was son to Alexander BaiUie of 
Hillhouse, who was son to Richard Bmllie, brother of Major Claud 
Bullie of Bagbie, and son of Alexander BnilHe of Bagbie add 
Unthank. He was bom in the year 1660; married Miss Elizabeth 



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SM BIGOAB AND THE HODSE OP FLEUIMO. 

Johnston, daaghter of David JohnBton, merchant, bnrgeM, and guild- 
brother, of Edinburgh; and pacsed Writ«r to the Signet in 1694. 
In right of his wife, he was nuicle a burgess and guild-brother of 
Edinburgh 8th July 1696. He ia designed of Wells in 1701, and 
seems to have sold this property previous to 1704, whrai he married 
Miss Anna Livington, daughter of George livingtoD of Saltcoats, in 
Haddingtonshire. He had time sons bj his first marriage, — Robert, 
who was one c^ the magistrates of Edinburgh in 1745, and again in 
1755; David, who married Miss Helen Bruce of Earlshall, and was 
killed at a horse-race at Cupar-Fife in 1725 ; and William, who was 
Governor of Guinea;— and by hie second marriage he had an only 
son George. 

Mr James Baillie purchased Hardington and Bagtne from the 
representaliyes of Mr William Bullie in 1721. Mr Baillie, who 
died in 1747, is represented as having been ' a very honest and 
bright gentleman,' and was private agent for the Earl of March, 
Baillie of Lamington, Menzies of Coulterallers, etc., and had a large 
and respectable practice. His son, Mr George Baillie, succeeded him 
in the lands of Hardington and Bagbie, and married Miss Eupbemia 
Bertram, daughter of William Bertram of Nisbet, and.bad — with 
several other ohildren — James, Robert^ and Menzies. James, who 
was born ia 1732, was a writer in Edinburgh. He purchased Coul- 
terallers in 1771, and died unmarried in 1618. Robert, who was 
bom in 1734, was apprentice to his uncle, the Edinburgh magis- 
trate, and afterwards a settler in Georgia, in the United States of 
America. He distinguished himself veiy much in the American 
War, and was colonel of a regiment of Volunteers in the service of his 
Britannic Majesty. He married Miss M'Intoah, daughter of John Mohr 
M'Intosh, one of the earliest colonists of Georgia, and one of whose 
descendants again distinguished himself in the Mexican War. He 
died in 1782. Menzies was first an asustant surgeon in the army'; 
then a partner of the firm of Bertram, Gardner, & Company, of Leitb, 
and afterwards Barrack Master at Leith. He was bom in 1741, and 
died in 1804. He married Miss Anne Hodgson. The present pro- 
prietor of Coulterallers, Robert Granbery Baillie, Esq., who is grand- 
son to the above-mentioned Robert Baillie, succeeded to the estate of 
Coulterallers on the death of his grandunole, James Baillie, in 1818. 
He married Miss Anna BulUe, daughter of the above-named Menzies 
Baillie, and has two sons — James William Baillie, Esq., W.S., and 
John Menzies Baillie, Esq., CA. 

THE BKOWHS OP CfitlLTEBlUIKS. 

llie lands of Coultermains were held for a long period by a family 
of the name of Brown, a name that prevailed largely in tke Bi^ar 
district. The Browns of Coulterrnains are supposed to be a branch 



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EARLY CONTEBUmOUS PR0PSIET0B3. 3SJ 

of the fiunily of Brown of Hartree, to whom we have referred- The 
period at which the Browns became proprietors of Conltermuns 
cannot now be exactly known. The earliest notice of them that 
appears on record is in 1492, when John Brown of Cultre is mentioned 
M attending on inquest of the gentlemen of the shire of Clydesdale. 
Richard Brown of Couitermwna, in 1512, along with John Tweedie of 
Drummekier, and James Lockhart of Lee, became surety for John 
Symontoun of Symontoun, when be was arraigned on a charge of 
treasonably forging false money ; and as Symontoun did not appear 
to underlie the law, Brown and bis associates were ' amerceated ' in 
the sum of 1000 merks. Richard Brown of Coultermains, along with 
Malcolm Lord Fleming, Andrew Brown of Hartree, and others, as 
formerly mentioned, was in 1526 accused of treasonable communica- 
tion with Englishmen in time of war, and received a respite for nine- 
teen years. He also, along with Hugh Lord Sommernlle, on the 24th 
April 1536, became surety for William Chanoellor of Quothquan, his 
brother Robert, and James Chancellor, when they were accused of the 
slaughter of Thomas Baillie of Cormiston. 

In December 1562, James Tweedie of Pruid, most likely the son of 
the individual who married Catherine Fraser, formerly referred to, 
was aUacked when seated before a fire in the house of William 
Tweedie, burgess of Edinburgh, and mortally wounded, before he 
could raise himself up, or pany the blows aimed at him. Patrick 
Hunter, John Hunter, burgess of Edinburgh, John Bum of Over 
Fosso, (jeorge Paterson of Uarestanes, and William Glen, the Lurd 
of Fruid's servant, were tried for this murder ; and among the ' Pre- 
locutouris ' at the trial were tte Laird of Coultermains, the laird of 
Carmichael, my Lord Semple, the laird of Traqoair, and the Laird of 
Coilstone. The paneb were on this occasion acquitted. John Brown 
of Coultermains was arrugned for taking part in the murder of David 
Uizzio, in March 1566 ; but it is not known whether he suffered any 
punishment for this crime or not. 

In the year 1571, during the regency of the Earl of Lennox, the 
people of Scotland were divided into two inveterate factions, called 
respectively Queensmen and Kingsmen ; that is, Uiose who favoured 
Queen Mary, and those who favoured her son James. Both factions 
held separate Parliaments, and pronounced condemnaticn and for- 
feiture on each other. The Queen's party held a Parliament at Edin- 
burgh, in the autumn of the year referred to, under the protection of 
William Kirkcaldy, the Governor of 1^ CasUe, and, of course, passed 
the doom of forfeiture on their opponents, the Earl of Lennox, the 
Earl of Morton, the Earl of Mar, and, amoi^ many others, James 
Johnston of Westeraw, John lindsay of Covington, and John Brown 
of Coultermainsf ' for certain ciymes,' as the author of the * Diurnal ' 
says, ' and poyntis of tressoune cooteoit in the summondis directit 
thiurupone ; and decemit the saidis personis, and ilk ane of thame, to 



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8S8 BIQOAB AMD THE HOUSE OP FLEUDIG. 

have tint and foirfallit tiiair lyris, londu, and gnidis, and ordaynit 
thair airmes to be riffin, and thair namis and annia to be deleted out 
of the bujkis thairof for ever ; and thairefter the Budia lieutennentiB 
and nobilitie, with sword, sceptour, and croim, past to the merest 
croce of Edinburgb, and thur causit proclame the said foirfaltoor.' 
From this it appears that the Laird of Coultennaina was opposed to 
the unfortunate Queen Maiy, and t«ok part with the Earl of Moxray, 
the Earl of Lennox, and others, who contended for the government 
of her Bon James. 

Robert Brown of Coulter, most likely a relative of the- Bnwns of 
Conlteimains, was, in the June of 1596, cruelly slaughtered on the 
Green of Coulter, and the goods and cattle of tusbioUter oanied oK, 
by Thomas Jardine of Bimock, and his two sons, Humphrey and 
Alexander, individuals who, about that period, committed many bar- 
barous outrages in the Upper Ward. One of th^ most atrodoos 
deeds was their burning and destroying the place of LittlegiU, in the 
parish of Wandell, in 1669, ' with haill laicbe housu, bames, and 
byres thurof, and h^ll inncht and plenessing being thainn, and their 
orewall burning and slaying of umquhile Alexander Bailzie of IJttle- 
gill, Rachel B^lzie, dochter to Madiow Bailde now of Littlegill, and 
umquhile AcMesone, servand to the said Uathow, the saidis 

nmquhile three persones being all within the said place the tyme of 
the burning and destroying thairof.' 

The estate of Coullermains consisted of two divisions. The one 
was called the dominical 50s. lands of old extent, and the other the 
L.5 lands of old extent. The &0b. lauds lay on the west, and are 
those which were first acquired by the family of Brown, and on which 
the old mannon-house was built. Till 159S, this manmon was a 
tower, or, as it is called in the deeds, a fortalice, and the exact spot on 
which it stood is the north-east comer of the present garden. The 
family abandoned the tower at Uiat time, and erected a nnall but 
commodious dwelling-house near it ; and this building renuuned till 
1838, when it was removed by the present proprietor, Mr Sim. Two 
stones of the old building were carefully preserved, and built into the 
elegant new edifice then erected. One of these stones has the inscrip- 
tion, J. B. 1598, K. L.; and the other, J. B., K. L, 1600. The initials 
refer to John Brown, and his spouse, Eatherine Lockhart, a daughter 
of the old Clydesdale House of Lee. 

This Lurd died in 1600, and was succeeded by his son Richard, 
who, on the I2th of May of that year, was retouxed heir of bis father 
of the 50s, lands called ' Coultermaneia,' within the barony of Coulter. 
John Brown, and his son Richard, involved their affairs and estate in 
pecuniary difficulties ; but from what cause, does not appear ; and 
wadsets were granted over the lands to Sir James Lockhart of Lee, 
Malcolm Fleming, younger, of Cardon, Menzies of Coulterallers and 
Carlops, and Walter Carmichael. It appears that in the end Sir 



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EARLT CONTEBMINODB FBOFBIETOBS. 869 

Jamet Lookhart' exerted himself to set the a&iis of his relatives the 
Browns free &om embarraasment, and that through hb means a charter 
of reaigtiation in favour of John Brown, and his wife, Jean Soinmer- 
viUe, waa granted by the various parties, restojing all their possessione 
from wadsets, in 1637. 

John Brown, the L^d of Coultermains of whom we are now speak- 
ing, was what was called a ' Malignant,' that is, he favoured the side 
of Chatlea L ; and though he did not openly join Montrose, and take 
part in his military movements, yet he secretly gave hitn his counte- 
nance and ud. liie conseqnence of this was, that he came under th^ 
lash of the Presbytery of Biggar. At a visitation of the Kirk of 
Coulter, on the 16th of July 1645, one of the qtiestlons asked at 
John Currie, the minister of the pariah, was, ' if there was any in his 
parish Buq»eeted of maligoancie?' Tlie answer was, that 'John 
Brown, portioner of Cnltermainea, was suspeoted, because it was re- 
ported that his reasoning in discourse with company did tend that 
way. As also, when upon a time, ye minister in his sermon was 
Mirring ixp ye people to advance and hasten the levie, the sw.d John 
Brown was perceived to smyle.' Mr Brown denied that there was 
any truth in these allegations, and, being removed, the elders of the 
pariah were called in ; but though they admitted that ' he was bruited 
and ill thought off,' yet they could not charge him with any special 
act of malignancy.- The case being referred to the minister and elders 
of the parish for farther examination, John Currie, on the 19th 
November, reported that he and his session had been diligent in 
trying the disaffection of John Brown, but had not found out any- 
thing against him of a serious character. This did not satisfy the 
Presbytery, and therefore John Carrie was ordered to cite the I^iird 
of Coultenntuas to appear before the Presbytery at their next meet^ 
ing. The Laird acoordingly appeared before the Presbytery on the 
24th December, and admitted that he smiled in the Kirk when the 
minister was insisting on constancy in the good cause ; but he 
asserted that the smile was extorted from him by the light behaviour 
<^ a penoB that sat near him in the Kirk, and that he was very sorry 
that such a thing had taken place. He declared ' that he thocht weill 
of ye work of Befonnation,' but denied that he received any protection 
from Montrose, or was at the Battle of Philiphangh. He confessed, 
however, that he went in.the cause of the King to Ihunfries with the 
Marquis of Douglas. These admissions not proving satisfactory to 
the Presbytery, Robert Elliot of Kilbucho, George Bennet of Quoth- 

* It m*y b« mentioned tint Sir Jamee Lockhut ins the fktber of the oelebrated Sir 
William Lookhut, vbo wu the trisiid and minister of Oliver Cromwell, his unbw- 
sadi» lo Fimnoe, uid the mmmuidBT of his um; mt the t&kfog of DonUrk Sir 
William married Bobiiw BewMer, the nleos of Cromwell, and thus the oonsln of the 
OoDllenosIni tamU; wu iadmalel; conneoted with tb« gr«*t bead ol the Cmnnion- 

WMlth. 



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MO BIOQAB AMD THE HOUSE OF FLEUINO. 

qiun, sod the indefatigable John Carrie of Cotdier, were spp<Mi)t«d a 
committee to investigate Btill further into hia condact These worthies 
reported at the next meeting that they vere tinable to elidt any 
further information, and therefore it vas resolved to cite the Idird to 
appear once more before the holy conclave. The resolt of the irhole 
was, that the Lurd was forced to compear on the 21st of October 
1646, when he humbled himself, confessed his malignancy, and craved 
pardon. He was therenpon referred back to the Kirk of Coulter to 
fulfil the rest of his censure. This, as laid down by the Presbytety 
in cases of malignancy, was to appear before the congregation, and 
' efter sermon, to stand before ye pulpitt, and ntak open confessione 
of yr offence, and falling down upone yr knies, cruve pardon for ye 
same.' 

At the period to which we are now referring, when great commo- 
tions in Church and State prevailed, and property and even life were 
insecure, John Brown of Coultermains removed the writs and evidents 
of his lands to the house of his friend and brother-Malignant, William 
landsay of Birthwood, situated in a solitary but beautiful glen at the 
foot of Coulter Fell. Here an accident happened, by which the whole 
papers and chaiteis containing the history of the Browns, and the 
rights and titles of their estate, were destroyed. The following ex- 
tract from the Charter of Novodamus of both halves of Coulteraaains 
in favour of John Brown of Coultermuns, dated 4th Februaiy 16fi9, 
tells the Btoiy ; — ' Richard, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of 
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and dominions thereto belonging, to 
all men to whose knowledge this our present charter sail come, greet- 
ing, — Be it knowne that for-as-meUU as we undeiatanding that our 
loved Johne Broune of Coult«rmayneB stands heritablie infeft in all 
and haill the fyve pund land of Coulter Maynes, alswell that balff 
thereof called the anld or west halff, as in that other halff of the 
samyne called the new or eister halff of the saidis lands, with honses, 
biggings, yardis, pairts, pendicles, and pertanents thereof whatsomever, 
lyand within the parocJiin of Coulter and our Sbereffdome of Lanark, 
holdin immediatelie of us and our predecessors. Kings of Scotland, be 
service of warde and relieff, and ddyke, wee being certainlie informed 
that in the time of the lat« trouhUs in the year ane thousand sex 
hundreth and fiitie ane, the sud Johne Broune, for securing his writes 
and evidents of the saidis lands, having committed the samyne to the 
custodie of William lindsaye of Biithwode, to be keeped wtin his 
hous, as a place remote and reteired frome all publice hieways, the 
saide hous, and all within the samyne, and among the rest, the saidis 
haill writs and evidents, were be ane sad and unexpected ac<adent 
totallie brunt, and destroyed with fyre, as hes beene sufficientlie in- 
structed and made appear to our said Commissioner of Exchequere, be 
twa severaU certificates of tfae tniitb thereof produced before them,— 
ane whereof subscribed be the Moderator and brethren of the Piisbitre 



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EARLY CONTEBUIHODS PB0PEIETOR3. 861 

of Bi^^ar, and the other, be the Justices of our Peace Trithin that oar 
ooustie,' etc., etc llie Brotmes thought it necessaty to get a nmilar 
c^iarter from Charles H, July Igt, 1661, two years afterwards. 

In July 1681, a deed was committed by the Laird of Ck>ultennaii)a, 
which strongly marks the disordered state of the country at the lime, 
and the disposition of the loc^ proprietors to disregard the laws and 
settle their disputes by bmte force. Alexander Menriea, Laird of 
Coulterallers, about that period, for the accommoclatioa of the house- 
wires of his neighbourhood, erected a waulk-mill on his own property, 
near the foot of CouIt«r Water, and a short time afterwards built a 
hoiue contiguous to it, as a dwelling for the person in charge of the 
mill. Mr Brown offered no obstruclion to the process of building this 
house ; but after it was completed, he, on some ground or other, mani- 
fested bis dissalisfactioa. Mr Menzies, in consequence, took out a 
law-borrows ag^nst him ; hut Mr Brown paying no regard to this legal 
protection, assembled a considerable number of persons connected 
with Coulter, and among others, John Vallange, Luke Tallange his 
•on, John Kemp, James Brown, William Brown, John Patoun, Mungo 
Inglis, and Alexander Inglis, < all boddin in feir of weir, armed with 
swords, pistols, axes, and other instruments,' and leading them to the 
waulk-mill in questioD, there ' by force, baogistry, violence, and 
oppression, did demolish and throw down the said dweUing-house.' 
For this crime, the I^ird and his accomplices, just named, were served 
with an indictment at the instance of Sir George Mackenzie of Eose- 
haugh, his Majesty's advocate, and Mr Alexander Menaes of Coulter- 
allers, on the 30th of the same month of July, to stand th^ trial ; 
but, unfortunately, the result is not known. 

In the chapter on the Covenanters, we hare referred to the capture 
of a James Brown of Coulter by Claverhouse; but this person was not 
the Laird of Conltennains, though It is very possible he was a relation 
of the family. John Brown of Coult«nnaina died in 1685, and was 
succeeded by bis son Bichaid, of whom nothing of importance is 
known. His son William was the next Laird of Conltermains, who 
obtained a disposition of the estate from his father in 1704, upon 
which he expede a crown charter, and was infeft. The eldest eon of 
William was John, who succeeded in 1736, and was at first minister 
of Symington, and afterwards of his native parish of Coulter. 

The memoiy of this worthy clei^yman is still held over the district 
in the very highest respect As a minister of the Gospel, he was dis- 
tiilguished for hia piety and intelligence, as well as for his deeds of 
hospitality and benevolence ; and as a proprietor, for the improvements 
he made on his ancestral property, by embankments, water-ducts, and 
l^anting, thus affording ample employment to his poorer parishioners. 
With the exception of the old trees which stood round the tower 
t«ken down in 1598, he was the planter d* all the others, on this now 
well-timbered property. He built a considerable addition to the 



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Ml BIOGAS AHD THE HOOSK OF FLEUING. 

mannon in 1758, wUoh formed the principal part of the honse that 
ma remored in 1S3S. An omamental window, which was carefully 
placed in die new house, has the above date, 1758, cnt <m it, and is 
preserved aa a sort of memorial of the worthy minister. His eldest 
■on, called William, was educated for the Church, but was carried off 
by consumption in 1771, nt a vety early age. His worthy father re- 
ceived a severe blow from this bereavement; and when asked by the 
family when the funeral should take place, he replied, ' Do not be in 
a hurry, you may have two to bury.' He died the same night, and 
the worthy minister and stm were interred in the same grave- An 
inddent occurred at the funeral which we have heard related by an 
eye-witness. The minister's man, an attached old servant, was ao 
overpowered by his feelings, that he fell, as if he had been dead, into 
the grave. Water from the baptismal well soon restored him to con- 
sdonsness ; but thg incident, of course, made a great noise at the time 
at which it happened. 

John Brown, before the Sheriff of Lanark, 8d July 1795, was 
served heir to his father, John Brown, Lturd of Coultermains, and 
minister of the Gospel at Ck>ulter, to whom we have just referred. 
He married Miss Cedlia Grizel Bertram, a daughter of the old House 
of Nisbet and KerseweU. Ur Brown was a Deputy- Lieutenant of the 
county of Idnark, and a freemason, haihng from St Luke's Lodge, 
Edinburgh. He was admitted an honorary member of the Lodge <^ 
Biggar Free Operatives in April 1796, and on the occasion presented 
the Lodge with a donation of two guineas. On the 19th of February 
1817, Mr Brown sold Coultermaios to the late David Sim, merchant, 
Glasgow. The present representative of this old family is John 
Brown, Esq., W.S., Edinburgh, a gentleman well known and univer- 
sally re^>ected. 

We regret that the old documents connected with this family were 
lost, and that we are thus lefl in ignorance of the time and manner 
in which they ocqiured their estate, and other incidents in their early 
history. In preparing even a brief notice of their proceedings and 
their difierent successions, it is difficult to avoid confusion from the 
continued repetition of the family names, Richard and John, which 
evidently were favourites with the House of Coultermains. It was, in 
fact, a common custom with great families, to adhere as closely as 
possible to certain names, and hence, from this source, no small em- 
barrassment is felt in writing family history. The Browns of Coulter- 
mains for three hundred years held their properly in direct succession 
from father to son, and, with one exception, were all called ^chard 
or John. 

The present proprietor of Coultermains, Adam Sim, Esq., in 1836, 
erected an elegant mansion on the estate. It is in the Elizabethan 
style of architecture, from a design by Mr Spence, architect, Gla^w. 
It stands on a lawn not far distant from the banks of the Clyde, and 



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EAELY CONTEEMraoTJS PBOPEIETOES. S6B 

is finely embowered amid luzuriBnt plantBtions. IntenuUy it is fitted 
tip in a Btjie of great elegance and taste. The library is a fine apart- 
ment, stored with a rich collection of antiquarian lore ; the drawing- 
room b magnificently adorned with costly fuTnitnre, and a perfect 
profusion of rare and choice works of art ; and one of tbe rooms above 
stairs is fitted up in a very impresaiTe manner, with carved oak 
pannelling in the medisval style of art, with antique furniture and 
stained glass windows. The floor and walls of the lobby are covered 
with a variety of implements of the olden time ; every apartment, in 
fact, has its store of curiosities ; while scattered over the house is one 
of the largest collections of Lanarkshire antiquities that was ever 
made. The generous-hearted proprietor deserves the utmost gradtnde 
for the immense labour, to say nothing of the cost, that he has ex- 
pended in gathering these rare articles together, and also for the 
readiness, frankness, and evident delight that he, on oU occasions, 
exhibits in showing them to his friends. 

TBE BAILLIES OF lAWNQTON. 

To the south of Coulter are the lands of I^mington. The earliest 
proprietor of these lands of whom mention is made, is Hugh Braidfoot, 
who, acoording to Blind Harry, died previous to the year 1295, leaving 
A son and a daughter. Hesilng, the English Sheriff of Lanark, put the 
young Laird to death ; and his sister, whose name was Marion, pnr- 
chosed the protection of the English, and leaving the tower of Laming- 
ton, took tq> her abode at Lanark. Sir William Wallace, in the year 
1296, occasionally sojourned at Gilbank, in the pariah of Lesmahagow, 
the residence of his uncle, Nichol Auchinleck. It was his wont, when 
living here, to repair at times for recreation to the town of Lanark ; 
and here he accidentally met with the heiress of Lamington. At the 
time at which Wallace first saw her, she was little more than eighteen 
years of age, possessed of great personal attractions, and distingnished 
no less for her modesty than for her amiable and generous di^Mmtion. 
Wallace fell deeply in love with her; and finding thai his love was 
returned, he, af^ much hesitation, on account of his own unsettled 
mode of life and the disturbed state of the country, made her his wife, 
greatly to the mortification of tbe English Sheri^ who, it seems, hod 
a denga to wed her to his son. Some time after his marriage, Wallace 
received a visit from his attached companion-in-arms, Sir John 
Graham, accompanied by a small party of his followers. One morning 
the two chieiWns and their retainers attended ntasa in the Parish 
Church of Lanark, which stood at a short distance from the town, 
and, on theij return, the English soldiers, who at that time occupied 
the town and Castle of Lanark, intentionally fastened a quarrel on 
them in the streets. After some altercation, swords were drawn, and 
a sharp conflict ensuing, a strong party of the English were marched 
from the Castle to the aid of their friends. The Scots fought stoutly, 



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8M BIGGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEIUNG. 

and slew not a few of their opponenta; but being overborne by 
nnmbers, they irere forced to retreat, and natorally directed their 
Btepi with all speed to Wallace's mansion, where they were admitted 
by a female domestic, who bad presence of mind to bolt the gate 
behind them. TTiis retarded their porsners ; and by a back passage 
they succeeded in securing a safe retreat amid the woody fastnesaes 
of Cartlane Craigs. The English, incensed at their escape, seized 
the wife of Wallace, and barbarously put her to death. The news 
of this sad event was conveyed to Wallace by an old female re- 
twner of the House of Laminglon, and natursJly overwhelmed him 
with the deepest sorrow and distress. On recovering, he vowed from 
that time to devote himself entirely to the service of his country, 
and either to drive out the English, or perish in the attempt. It was 
instantly concerted that an attack should be made that night on the 
garrison of Lanark ; and Auchinleck bung apprised of this reeolution, 
joined them with a small detachment of men. The Scots, divided 
into several little parties, came suddenly and unexpectedly to I^nark, 
and, by fire and sword, put the whole garrison, consisting of about 
250 men, to death. Among the slain were He^lrig the Sheriff, his 
son. Sir Bobert Thorn, and other persona of distinction. 

It is stated by the Minstrel, that Marion BraidlHite had by Wallace 
a daughter, who was married to a person named Shaw, and that 
' rycht gndly men came off yis lady zong.' It is supposed that eidter 
this lady herself afterwards, or that her daughter and heiress, was 
married to WilUam, a member of the family of BaiUie of Hoperig, in 
East Lothian. It was the opinion of the learned antiquary, ^ 
William BaJllie of Castlecarry, that the name Baillie was the same as 
Baliol, and that the family of Hoperig was a branch of the illustrious 
House of Baliol, the head of which was Lord of Galloway, and, at one 
time, King of Scotland. William Baillie, who married tiie heiress of 
Lamington, was taken prisoner at the Battle of Durham in 184S. 
After his release. King David Bruce, in 1857, raised him to the rank 
of a knight ; and on the 27th of January 1366, conferred on him and 
his heirs a new charter of the lands of ' Lambestown,' on condition of 
rendering the usual service^ 

William Baillie left two sons, William and Alexander. Alexander 
is supposed to be the founder of the family of Baillie of Carphin. 
Willuon, the heir of Lamington, is designed in a charter, dated 4th 
Feb. 1395, also proprietor of Hoperig ; and it thus seems that these 
two estates were for some time possessed by the same individual. He 
gave his son William as a hostage in exchange for David Lesly of that 
Ilk, in 1432; and this son is mentioned in a document, dated 1466, as 
still the possessor of the estates of Hoperig and Lamington. He was 
appointed by his country one of the conservators of peace ; and in this 
capacity he took part in the negotiations at Nottingham that led to 
the conolnsioD of a treaty of peace with England in 1484. His 



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EABLT CONTERHINOUS PBOPBIETOBS. Sfl6 

daaght«T, Mary, was married to Lord Sommerville of Camwath ; and 
in 1485, lie witnessed a charter of the lands of Cambusnethan, granted 
hj that baron to his son. 

Sir William Baillie left a son, William, who was his successor, and 
who married Marion, a daughter of Patrick Home of Pplwarth, 
Comptroller of Scotland in the reign of James IV. He obtained a 
charter of his lands, onder the Great Seal, in 1492 ; and left two sons, 
William, Us hear, and John, the progenitor of the BaUlies of St John's 
Kirk, Jerriswood, and Walston. WilUam married Elizabeth, daughter 
of Lord John lindsay of Byres, and had a son, also William, eridently 
a favourite name in the family, who, in 1542, was appointed to the 
office of Principal Keeper of the Wardrobe to Queen Maiy. ' This 
gentleman was a keen partisan of that Qneen. He speared on her 
aide with his followers at the Battle of Langside ; and on this account 
his lands were ravaged and afterwards forfdted by the Regent Murray. 
By his wife Janet, daughter of James, Earl of Arran, he had William, 
his successor, and another son, said to be the progenitor of the Baillies 
of Bagbie and Hardington, now represented by B. G. Baillie, Esq. of 
Coulterallers. 

William, the next Laird of Lamington, married Margaret, a daughter 
of John Lord Maxwell, and relict of Archibald, Earl of Angus. By 
this lady he had one child, a daughter, who, by the negotiations of 
her mother, was induced to marry a relative of her own, Edward 
Maxwell, Commendator of Dnndrenan, and third son of Lord Herries 
of Terries. Bullie conferred the fee of his estate on his daughter 
and her heirs, on condition that they should assume the name of 
Bcullie, and heax the arms of the House of lamington, reserving only 
a life-interest in his estates to himself and his lady. While his wife 
was still living, he formed an improper intimacy with a Mrs Home, - 
by whom he had a son. After his wife's death, he married this 
woman, with the view of legitimatiziDg his son ; but in this object he 
failed. The son, thus prevented from inheritjng his paternal estates, 
deroted himself to the profession of arms. Like many enterprinng 
young Scotsmen, he wrait abroad, and fought with distinction under 
the banner of the renowned Gustavus Adolphus. When the conten- 
tions between Charles I. and the Parliament broke out, and both 
sides prepared to adjust their difierences by the arbitration of the 
sword, Baillie returned to his native country, and threw in his lot 
with the opponents of royalty. 

Under old Lesly, Earl of Leven, be was appointed Lieutenant of 
the Scots army that assembled at Berwick in 1644, and afterwards 
marched into England. He shared in the victory over the Boyalists 
on Marston Moor, and took part in the siege of York and the capture 
of Newcastle. When the great Montrose was known to be carrying 
everything before him in Scotland in the cause of his royal master, 
Baillie was despatohed from England to oppose his movements. He 



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866 filGGAB AKD TEE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

encountered KoQtroae first at Aliord, and afterwarda at KUayth, and 
in both cases sustained a defeat Historians have not failed to vindi- 
cate ihc generalship of Baillie, and to admit that his failures on these 
occasions were attributable not to himself, but to the nobility and 
Committee of Estates, by whom his counsels were thwarted and set 
aside. In the year 1648, he held a command in the army that was 
raised in Scotland in favour of Charles I., and placed under the direc- 
tion of the Duke of Hamilton. This army was marched into England; 
but was remarkably ill-conducted, as the Duke vras no general. The 
consequence was, that his troops were defeated and dispersed by the 
English Soundheads ; and Baillie, after being deserted by his com- 
mander, was forced to surrender at Uttoxet«r to Lambert, one of 
Cromwell's captains. He is known to have made an effort to recover 
bis pat«mal estate of Lamington, but without success. 

William Maxwell, the son of the Commendator of Dundrenan, took 
the name of BaiUie, and married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Stewart 
of Craigiebftll, Linlithgowshire. He was the elder for I^miington 
parish at the formation of the Presbytery of Biggar. In 1648 he was 
a member of the Scottish Parliament, and agreed to support the cause 
of Charles I. afler he was placed in confinement by Cromwell and his 
party. The engagement which a number of the other Scottish barons 
entered into on this occasion, as is well known, gave great offence to 
the Presbyterian clergy. They denounced it from their pulpits, and 
threatened to inflict spiritual censures on those who should obey the 
edict of the Parliament, and take up arms in defence of the King. 
Baillie of Lamington, in consequence of his connection with the ' sinful 
engagement,' as it was caUed, was, along with others, pounced on by 
the Presbytery of Biggar, and summoned to appear brfore them. He 
accordingly appeared on the 12th December 1649, and pled that by 
taking part in the engagement he did not consider that he had done 
anything wrong. The members of Presbytery were of a difierent 
opinion, and therefore they intimated to him, ' if he wold not be readie 
to give satisfactione against ye next melting, that tfaey wold enter 
into farther proces against him.* He came up before tlie Presbyt«ry 
again on the 2d January 1650, and the reverend court laid down in 
detail the chaises which they brought against them. They were as 
follows : — ' His being a member of that parliament consen^ng to yr 
unjust proceedingis, and not dissenting with ye honest partie of that 
parliament, — his being att ye committee of estwtts flowing from that 
Parliament, and giveing his oath yr, — bis keiping ye first rendezvous 
at Lanerk moore w^ his men verie wiUinglie, — his refusing to helpe 
ye westeme forces, and not suffering his men to helpe theme or joyne 
with theme, — his giveing furth his men to the enemie witbout 
constraint, — bis goeing a great way for joineing with Lanerkers,-— 
and bis refuseing to cleare himself anent subscrybing the nnl&wfull 
band.' 



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BARLT CONTEBUIMODS PKOPBIETOBS. 867 

The Laird denied the greater number of these charges, but admitted 
that, in Parliament, he gave his consent to the engagement, and took 
no part with the ' honest partie,' and that he refused to render any 
help to the western forces. The Presbytery laboured hard to bring 
^im to ' a sense of his gnyltines ;' but not succeeding, iLey appointed 
a committee of 'some breather and revling elderis' to deal wiUi him, 
and report at a fatnre meeting. The clergy, in these days, when 
they entered on a case of this kind, pursued it with unwearied obsti- 
nacy; but in searching the records of Presbytery, we ftuled to discover 
any intimation that the Biggar divines had succeeded in extorting any 
further confession from the Laird, or inflicting on him any sort of 
punishment. The kirk -session of Lamington found him qiut« inexor- 
able, and therefore deprived bim of his office of elder, until he should 
give signs of penitence and make satisfaction. 

Sir William Baillie was succeeded by his grandson William, who 
married Henrietta, a daughter of William, Earl of Crawford. By this 
lady he had only daughters, the eldest of whom married Sir James 
Carmichoel of Bonninton. Sir James agreed that his estate should be 
sunk into the family of lamington, and that his hein-male should 
bear the title and surname of Baillie. Daring last century, the estate 
of Lamington was held by two other heiresses, iLe last of whom, 
Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Lord President Dundas, married Sir 
John Lockhart Ross of Balnagown. Tiaa lady's son. Sir Charles 
Ross, had a daughter named Matilda, who married Admiral Sir Thomas 
Cochrane, E.C.B. The eldest son of this lady, Alexander Dundas 
Boss Wishart Baillie Cochrane, Esq., as heir to his mother, is the 
present proprietor of the I^unington estate. He was bom in 1816, 
and received his education at Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge, 
where, in 1837, he took the degree of B.A In 1844 he married 
Annabella, a daughter of A R. Drununond, Esq. He represented 
Bridport for upwards of ten years in the Imperial Parliament, and the 
coun^ of Lanark for three months in the spring of 1857. He was 
elected for Honiton in 1859, and this place he still continues to re- 
present. Mr Cochrane has devoted a good portion of his time and 
attention to literary pursuits. On returning &om his travels in Greece 
and the east of Europe in 1S40, when be had only reached his 24th 
year, be published a poem entitled '"Die Morea.' He has since pub- 
lished a work on Italy, and several novels, such as ' Lucille Belmont,' 
'Ernest Vane,' 'Florence the Beautiful,' etc., and other produc- 
tions. He has taken a warm interest in the affairs of the town of 
Biggar ; and has especially been noted for hb generous efforts to 
befriend the poor, and promote the cause of education. The old tower 
of lamington, which it b supposed had stood from the days of Wallace, 
was greatly demolished eighty years ago, and thus rendered altogether 
uninhabitable. Mr Cochrane, some time ago, erected an elegant 
muuiDn on the estate, at wbi<^ he usually resides a part of Hie year. 



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S«S BIGGAS AND THE HOUSE OF FLGUIHG. 

and, from hia oSkbilitf and active beneroleBCe, is held in great and 
deserved esteem, not odIj bjr Ms tenantry, bat bj the popnlalion of 
the district at large. 

LOCEBABTS OF SnUNOTOK. 

The first proprietor of Sjmjngtoa of whom we know anything was 
Simon LocUiart, who flourished in the reigns of Malcolm IV. and 
William the Lion. Simon wag one of the witnesses of a donation of 
the Chnrch of Weston, to the Abbey of Kelso, hj Widos of Weston, for 
the safety of the soul of King Malcolm and his brother William, some 
time previons to 1164. The honoar of knighthood was conferred 
upon him by William, as appears from a gift, which he bestowed on 
the Abbey of Kelso, of the Church of Wodechnrch, with the whole of 
its parish, as well of Thankerton as of the village of Sir Simon Lock- 
hart This gift was confirmed by Jodline, Bishop of Glasgow, who 
occupied that See from 1174 to 1199. A controversy afterwards 
arose between the Prior of Ftusley and the Abbot of Kelso in regard 
to the diapel of the vilUge of Sir Symon Lockard; but a compromise 
at last took place, by which it was agreed that the chaplwi appointed 
by Sir Simon should contmue for life, and tJiatthe chapel shcrald then 
be resigned to the Abbot. It is understood that it was from this 
knight that tlie village and parish received the name of Symon's 
•Town, afWwards changed into Symington. 

The Lockharts continued for a bng period to be proprietors of 
Symington; and their names occur repeatedly as witnesses in early 
charters. They became proprietors of the estate of Lee, in the parish 
of Lanark, an estate still possessed by their descendants. The lands 
of Symington at length fell into the hands of a family who took the 
name of Symington of that Ilk. The Symingtons are often incident- 
ally mentioned in oiu- public muniments. As already stated, John 
Symontown of that Dk, was, in 1512, charged with the crime of 
forgery and making false money. Robert Meriiaes of that Ilk, John 
Tweedie of Dnunmelzler, James Lockhort of Lee, and Richard Brown 
of Coultermuns, conjointly and severally became caution that he 
would appear and stand his trial, under a penalty d* 1000 merits. 
As he did not come forward, these parties forfeited this large stun. 

THE BAILUBS Ot ST JOHN'S KIRK. 

The lands of St John's Kirk, in the suppressed parish of Tliatiker- 
ton, were long poesessed by a family of the name of Baillie, a branch, 
OS we have ali^dy said, of the Baillies of LamingtorL Thomas Btullie 
of St John's Kirk, like the rest of the Baillies, was a partisan of 
Queen Mary. On the 27th of February 1572-S, he was delatit for 
the slaughter of the umquhile James Baltonye and others at the 
Battle of Langeide, 18th May 1568 ; but the case against him was in 
the end deserted. He had previously, however, sustained serious 



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EABLT CONTEBMINOUS PROPKIETOBS. 8S9 

losses by the rarages committed on his property by the Earl of 
Murray, shortly after that battle. On the 4th of January 1642, John 
Baillie was returned heir of the lands of Thanterton, lately St John's 
Kirk, with the teinds and pasturage in the Common of Thankerton, 
the lands of Lockharthill and a portion of Anneston commonly called 
* Schawcruick,' in the barony of Symingtou, and the lands and meadow 
called Annetscheill, with pasture In the Common of ' Wowsloun.' We 
hare already referred to the part which the Lady of St John's Kirk 
played during the persecuting times of Charles II. and James VJJ. 
She appears to hare had a strong leaning in favour of the Covenanted 
work of Reformation, but manifested some alarm and indecision at 
a time when a terrible system of rapine and bloodshed, carried out 
under the orders of Govenmient, made the stoutest hearts tremble. 
From this respected family sprung the Baillies of Walston and Jervis- 
wood, that have given birth to men who have played a distinguished 
paft in the public transactions of their countiy. The estate of St 
John's Kirk, which is pleasantly situated at the foot of linto, has been 
ont of the hands of the Baillies for a condderable peiiod. 

THE C&ANCELLOBS OP SBIELDHILL. 

The Chancellors of Shieldhill are the oldest proprietors of land in 
the neighbourhood of Biggar. They are supposed to have come to 
this country from France at the time of the Norman Conquest, along 
with the Sommervilles of Camwath, whom they acknowledged as their 
lords-superior. The alliance between them and the Sommervilles 
appears, according to Nisbet, to have existed at least in 1317, is the 
time of Robert Bruce. The oldest of their charters estant, b one 
that is referred to in that curious gosuping work, ' The Memorie of 
the Sommervilles,' and was granted by lliomas Lord Sommerville to 
William, or, as Nisbet calls him, George Chancellor of Shieldhill, in 
the year 1432. George was succeeded by his son Alexander, who 
added some lands to the family estate, and obtuned a charter from 
Lord Sommerville in 1460. He was succeeded by his son Geoi^ 
who resigned his lands into fhe hands of his superior, Lord Sommer- 
ville, in 1472, for new infeftment, and at that time received a new 
charter. He is styed ' NobUis vir Greorgius Chanceler, dominos de 
Quodquan.' By Ms wife, a daughter of Bamaay of DaLhousie, he left 
a son, William, who was hu successor, and in whose favour, and of his 
wife Janet Geddes, a daughter of Geddes of Kachan and Kirkurd, a 
■asine was registered in 1477. In the account of the famous incident 
of 'Speates and Raxes,' which took place in July 1474, William 
Chancellor of Qaothquan is mentioned as one of the parties who 
turned out to the assistance of his friend and superior, Lord Sommer- 
ville, when it was supposed that he was placed in a state of dai^erin 
Edinburgh. 

The next two Lairds of Shieldhill were John and Robert; but 



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S70 BIGOAB AKD THE BOOSE OF FLEUIKa 

nothmg is known regarding them worthy of Gpeo&l notice. Hie aoc- 
cessor of the last named was WiUiun, who was mfeft in his lands in 
1583, and was dengnated of ShieldhUl, Qaodigoan, and ConuistcoL 
In April 1535 he became surety for Hngh Lord SommerriUe's ondeP' 
lying the law at the next Justice Aire at Liinark, for art and part of 
sondirief and oppreirion done to John Tweedale, Camwath, in reiving 
from him his cows, horses, crops, goods, and ntensils. In the year 
following, his Lordship rendered a similar service to William Chan- 
cellor and his brother Kobert, when they were charged with the crime 
of being art and part in the murder of Thomas Baillie, Laird of Cor- 
miston. The Chancellois were £ned in the sum of three hundred 
merka for not appearing to answer this charge ; bat Lord Sommerrille 
and Richard Brown of CoolteimunB came forward as their cantionera, 
and a new trial having been appointed, they gave themselves up to 
jmtice, and were acquitted. 

William Chancellor was sacceeded by his son William, who had a 
charter from Lord Bommerville in 1546, and who married Agnes, a 
daughter of Sir John Hamilton of Crawf ordjohn. Being allied with 
the Hamiltons, as might be expected, he was attached to the cause of 
Queen Mary. He accordingly, with his retainers, joined the Queen's 
party at Hamilton, and took part in the unhappy encounter at Lang- 
nde in 1567. On this account his mansion-home at Quothquan was 
destroyed, and his lands were devastated by the Kegent Murray. The 
snccessor of William was Bobert, who- married a daughter rf Sym- 
ington of that Dk. His son John was the next Laiid of Shieldhill, 
and the sanne of his lands is dated 1 605. John was nicceeded by his 
son Robert, who was distinguished for his loyalty to Charles I. and 
Charles II. In consequence of his attochm^t to the Stewarts, he was, 
no doubt, either opposed, or at all events indifferent, to the Presby- 
terian form of Chnrcb government then established. It was on this 
account perhaps that he and his family got into trouble with the 
Presbytery of laaark. On the 24th of June 1630, he was summoned 
before that reverend court, when ' being couvick of contempt of word, 
of raling against his pastor, wes ordainit to find cautione to obeye qlk 
thing be promisit to do, whairfor he wea injoined to make his pnUick 
repentance in his awin olaithes only one day, if he maid a guid con- 
fessione, and so to be absolved.' 

The minister of Quothqoan was not content with the prosecnlion of 
Mr Chancellor himself. He laid an accosation before the Presbytoy 
against Lady Chancellor, and her daughter Snsanna, for having resorted 
to charming in order to restore a child to health. The corpm Micti 
was, that for the attunment of this end they had ' buried the duthes 
of a chyld betwixt laird's lands.' The worthy inoumbent, on the S3d 
of September 1630, insisted before the Presbytery that the I<ady of 
Shieldhill should appear before the brethren, and, in all humility, 
confess het fenlt, and give ngns of unfeigned repentance. It is oer- 



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EARLY CONTEBIIUIOUS PBOPSIETOBS. ■?! 

tain U leut that Hisa CbancelloT, oa the lith October following, did 
^peai before tke Precbyterj, ' find, in preaenca of the brethren, upon 
lur knees confenit her grit offence in haying an; medling with 
diannen, and promiait amendment in tyme coming.' The reverend 
gentleman had another contention with Ur Chancellor before the 
Pretbyter; of Lanark in 1639. The cause of ofienoe on thia oocasion 
was, that Mr Chancellor had broken open lite door of Qaothquan 
Kirk, and interred the remains of hia lady in the interior of the said 
Kirk. As we have slated elsewhere, the Lurd had to acknowledge 
his fanlt, and waa ordered to be censored by the kirk-sessitm of 
Qaothqnaa. 

Bobert Chancellor died in 1664, and was suoceeded by his son 
James. The opinions of James on the political and ecclesiastioal 
topics of the day were somewhat different from those of his father. 
He spears to have attached himself to the cause of the Covenanters. 
After the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, he was for soma time confined in 
prison on the charge of having given shelter to some of the poor 
oountrymen who fled from that unhappy conflict On another ocos- 
sioo, he got into trouble by taking violent possession of a piece of 
ground called the Farkbolni, lying on the river Clyde. 1^ river 
formed the boundary bcAween Uie lands of Thankerton, belonging to 
Cumidiael of Bonniton, and tlMMe belcMiging to Jamea Chancellor, 
Geo^ Kello, and olhen. About the year 1638, a violent storm 
taking place, caused the Clyde to overflow its banks, and form a new 
channel, thus leaving a jneee of groond belonging to Carmichael on 
the opposite side of the river. It got the name of the PBrkholm, and 
remained for a number of years in a neglected state. Cannichael, 
considering it to be his property, at length put it under the plough, 
and ymt after year carried off the prodttce, much to the dissatisfactian 
t£ the neighbouring proprietors, who entertained an ide* that the 
river should stjll form the boundary, as before. Cannichael dying 
about the year 1688, and his son and successor being a minor, James 
Chancellor and his friends thonght the time favourable for establishing 
dieir claim to the piece of ground referred to. They mustered about 
eighty men, furnished with pitchforks, great atavec, scythes, pistols, 
swords, and mastiff dogs, and in a rude and violent manner cut down 
' the whole growth of fonrteen bolls sowing of ccnn or thereby,' drove 
it home to their houses, and there made use of it in bedding their cattle, 
or converting it into dung. Thus 'coins which would have yielded 
at least ninety bolls, at eight pounds Scots the boll, were rendered 
useless for man or beasU' During the progress of the plunder, the 
tenants were confined to their houses under a guard; so it was alto- 
gether a riot and oppression, inferring severe punishment, which was 
accordingly called for by the curators of the young landlord. The 
Council having heard both parties, found the riot proven, and 
ord&ined Mr Chancellor (^ Shieldhill to pay 300 merks to the pur- 



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87S BIGGAE AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMOJQ. 

nier. The Lords of Secsion fioallj determiaed, in 1695, that the 
Parkholm shoold remun the property of Sir Jomea Carmich&el.* 

Junes Chancellor was returned an elder by the Presbjtery of 
Biggu to the first General Assembly that met after the KeTolation in 
168S. 

The members of this family are not known to have taken a very 
prominent part in the stormy and violent contentions of former ages,' 
which constitute the larger portion of written history. They appear 
in general to have held on the noiseless tenor of their way, doing good 
and rec^ving the esteem and approbation of their neighbours. They 
have thus contrived to preserve th^ name and their property for 
centuries, while the family of many a baron, once powerful and en- 
dowed with extensive domains, have disappeared. The present pro- 
prietor of Shieldhill estate is J. G. 'Chancellor, Esq. 

THE LDIDSArS OF COVIMOTOH. 

To the west of the possessions of the ChanceUors lay the lands of 
the Lindsays of Covington. For a considerable period they were 
ndghbouring proprietors of the Flemings of Biggar, while they held 
the lands of Thankerton. The oldest writs of Thankerton in pos- 
session of the Fleming family do not indeed extend farther back 
than the year 1465, but it is understood that these are not the 
original titles. The lands and barony of Thankerton were sold on the 
18th of February 1666 to Sir William Purves. The Lindsays of 
Covington were not only neighbouring proprietors of the Flemings, 
but several marriages took place between the two families that united 
them in a greater bond of intimacy and friendship. The Lindsays of 
Covington were descended from the Lindsays of Crawford. The first 
of them was John Lindsay, who was the son of Sir Philip Lindsay, and 
married the heiress of Covington some time previous to the year 
1366. Lord Lindsay, in his 'Lives of the Lindsays,' gives a detail of 
the successive Barons of Covington; but there is nothing very interest- 
ing in it, except to the genealogist. Margaret, a daughter of John 
LJndsay of Covington, became the second wife of Robert Lord Fleming, 
who died in 1494. John Lindsay of Covington was one of the per- 
sons who witnessed the Charter of Foundation of Biggar Kirk in 1545. 
That baron, during the very year in which he signed that charter, was 
arraigned, along with several of his relatives and eighteen other per- 
sons, for having assembled a party of two hundred men, armed with 
lances, culveriugs, bows, and other invasive weapons, and on the 26th 
September, marching to the bam of James Sommerville, Rector of 
libberton, and there wounding Robert Millar, the Rector's servant, in 
the neck and other parts of his body, to the efiusion of his blood and 
the danger of bis life. Lord Sommerville became surety for Lindsay 
himself, and he was det^ed in Edinburgh ' until a royal license was 
* Chftmbms'i Oomeatio AdhiIb, vol. ilL 



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EAELY COHTEBHIKOUS PBOPRIETORS. 378 

gnuited for hie depsitore.' The record does not say vhat was his 
ultimate punishment 

John I^dsay of CoTington, abont the commencement of the aeven- 
teenth century, married Agnea Fieming, onXj daoghter and heir to 
John Fleming of Bord. Her tocher, amounting to 8000 merks, was 
paid on the 18th of November 1602 hy John Lord Fleming. The 
oldest SOD ofthiapair was George Londsaj, who, on the 4thof NoTember 
1623, was retoured heir of his father in the baiony of Covington, and 
also of two oxgates of temple lands called 'Stane,' in the barony of Big- 
• gar, ike value of which, according to the ancient extent, was 16s. 8d., 
and according to Uie new extent, 3 merks. This Baron of Covington 
seems to have married I^dy Bachel Fleming, a daughter of John, 
second Earl of Wigton; and a discharge for her tocher, dated 31st 
March 1630, is still preserved. 

Sir William Lindsay, the last Baron of Covington, bj profuse 
expenditure, squandered away the family inheritance, so that his 
lineal descendants became, ere long, merely labouring men. Lord 
Lindsay has given the following amu^g anecdote regarding Sir 
William, the last .Laird, who died previous to the year 1686: — 
' Sir Williaio left four daughters, one of whom marrying John BailUe 
of St John's Kirk, was mother of a daughter married to William 
Somerville of Corehouse, representative of the Barons of Cambus- 
netfaan. Their daughter Isabella married Inglis of Eastshiel, whose 
only child, Violet, was the late Krs Lockhart of Birkhifl, who died in 
1825. She used to relate to ber grandchildren the following anecdote 
of her ancestor, Sir William, who, it appears, was a humorist, and 
noted, moreover, for preserving the picturesque append^e of a beard 
at a period when the fashion had long passed away. He had been 
extremely ill, and life was at last supposed to be extinct, though, as 
it afterwards turned out, he was only in a " dead faint," or trance. 
The female relatives were assembled for the " chesting" in a lighted 
chamber in the old tower of Covington, where the bearded knight lay 
stretched upon his bier. But when the servants were about to entw 
to assist at the ceremonies, Isabella Somerville, Sir William's great- 
granddaughter, and Mrs Lockhan's grandmother, then a child, creep- 
ing close to her mother, whispered in her ear, " The beard is wagging 
— the beard is wagging I " Mrs Somerville upon this looked to the 
bier, and, observing indications of Ufe in the ancient knight, made the 
company retire, and Sir William soon came out of his faint They 
explained that they believed him to be actually dead, and that 
arrangements had even been made for his funeral t In answer to his 
question, "Have the folks been warned?" (ie., invited to the funeral), 
he was told that they had, that the funeral day had been fixed, an ox 
slmn, and other preparations made for entertaining the company. 
Sir William then said, "All is as it should be; keep it a dead secret 
that I am in life, and let the folks come." His wishes were complied 



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374 BIOGAB AND THE HOUSE OF FLEIUHG. 

with, and the company usembled for the burial at the appointed time. 
After some delay, occasioned by the non-arrival of the clergymMi, aa 
was supposed, and which afforded an opportunity for dircossing the 
merits of the deceased, the door suddenly opened, when, to their sur- 
prise and terror, in stepped the knight himself, pale in countenance, 
and dressed in black, leaning on the arm of the minister of the parish 
of Covington. Having quieted this alarm, and expluned matters, he 
called upon the clergyman to conduct an act of devotion, which included 
thaoksgiviDg for hia recovery, and escape from being buried alive. 
This done, the dinner succeeded. A joUy evening, after the manner 
of the times, was passed. Sir William himself presiding over the 
carousals.' This story will remind the reader of the resuscitation of 
Athelstane, and his subsequent supper, in Ivanhoe. 



The barony of Skirling, or ' Scrawlin,' was possessed by a family of 
the name of Cockbura for more than three hundred years. The 
first Cockbon of Skirling appears to have been Alexander, who, some 
time prior to the year 1362, married Margaret of Monfode, daughter 
and heiress of Sir John of Uonfode, to whom Robert L granted the 
whole lands of Skirling and the advowson of the church. The names 
of many of the subsequent Barons of Skirling appear in our public 
muniments. We may refer to one or two of them. In the year 1478, 
the Auditors of Parliament decided that Walter Tweedie of Dreva 
should restore to Adam Cockbum of Skirling a silver cup double gilt, 
having a foot and a lid, which Cockbum had laid in pledge for twenty 
merks. At a Justiciary Conrt held at Peebles on the 12tb Novemb^ 
1498, Sir William Cockbum of Skirling, James, his brother, and 
John Paterson, in ' Kingildurris,' produced a remisaon from the 
charge of being art and part in the slaughter of Walter, son of John 
Tweedie of Dreva ; also of being art and part in the southrief of a 
sword and shield from the said Walter,— «nd further, of forethon^t 
of felony, in mutilating Andrew Tweedie within the town of Edin- 
burgh during the ntting of ParliamenL 

William Cockbum of Skirling, who flourished in the early part of 
the sixteenth century, appears to ha've had a feud with Alexander 
Crichton of Newhall. He was, in addition to other acts of oppressioii, 
charged with carrying off a box of documents belonging to that 
gentieman, which he found in possession of Patrick Aitken, burgess, 
Edinburgh, — with forcibly occupying his lands of Kirkrigbill, pas- 
turing on them seven score of cattle and sixty horses and mares, 
overturning a 'fwl dyke,' etc This case was brought by the Coun- 
cillora of State before James V. llie King, who at the time was 
■qjooming at Crawfordjohn, wrote to his Councillors the following 
reply:— 



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EARLY COHTEEMniOUS PEOPBIETOBS. S76 

'Bez. 

Tniet OoimaaloanB, we grete yon wdl, and hei rcBBTit lonr 
mitingig anent the Itiid of Sending, and thinkis loaz aviae and oongel best 
anant the publiahmg <J dome gevin aganis him. Qohair u mmttioue of ane 
Hinat send, we haue aene iiane. Therefor we pny zou jat je tak yat travil 
to pas to him and deolaii qohow it etandis. 8wa yat his lyf and goddii 
are in our handia. Gif he cummia in will we wilbe gnciouB to him. Fail- 
Eeand yairof , we eall oanae jnatiee be k^pib And yaiiefter yat le write to 
TB one anaoir, as le will do tb ringnlar pleaoDr. 

Qerin at Craofordjone, ye zzix day of Htuoh, and of oar r^ne ye 
xxijieir.' 

James Cockburn thought it proper to come in the King's will, and 
tbi^ he did on tLe Slat of March 1236 ; but no statement has been 
lefl on record regarding the punishment assigned >iitTi by the King. 
Sir James Cockburn of Skirling, most likely a son of the preceding 
Ijurd, was a keen portisaii of Queen Mary. The Queen, as a mark of 
her confidence and respect, appointed him GoremoT of E^nburgh 
Castle in the spring of 1567, in room of the Earl of Max. Birrel, in 
notifang the event, says, 'The 21** of this month the Castell of Edin- 
burge was randred to Cockbume of Skirline at ye Queinis command. 
This same day ther rais ane vehement tempest of vunde, which blew 
a Terej grate shipe out of the rode of Lietb, and sicklyk blew the 
taile from the cocke wich standis one the tope of ye steiple away 
Irome it, so the old prophecy came trew, 

* Qnhen Skirline sail be Ot^taine, 
Te cock sail rant his taile.' 

The author of the ■Diurnal' states that this change in the command 
of the Castle was made against the wishes of the inhabitants, who 
were in favour of the Earl of Mar, as he ' wea a guid man and na 
oppressDur.' Sir James Cockburn, however, did not long enjoy the 
honour of holding this responable office. James Balfour, Clerk 
Begister, who had been instrumental in getting the banns proclaimed 
between the Qneen and Bothwell, was appconted Governor on the 8th 
of May of the same year, most likely as a reward for his subserviency. 
Cockburn still renuuned &ithiul to the Queen; and the consequence 
was, that his lands were raraged, and his house of Skirling was 
destroyed by the Begent Murray, while he himself bad to seek security 
in exile. 

James VL, as some compensation for tlie services which Sir James 
had performed, and the losses which he had Eosttuned in defending the 
cause of his mother. Queen Mary, with the advice of his Parliament, 
erected Skirling in the year 1592 into a free burgh of barony, 'with all 
the easements, liberties, and commodities in as ample and large fonn 
as any burgh of barony within this realm, with power to keep and 



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■iTS BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING. 

proclaim & fair to be observed within the said burgh on the fourth of 
September yearly, and a market day weekly tipon Friday.' At that 
period, however, Sir James Cockbum had paid the debt of nature, 
and his son William possessed tlie estate of Skirling. This baron was 
succeeded by tis son William, as we find from a ' Retour' that he 
was returned heir of his father, on the 20th Dec. 1603, of the lands 
and baroDy of Skirling, the L.20 lands of Boberton and Newholm, 
and the L.IO lands of ' Heidis,' all of o!d eKtent, annexed to the 
bai-ony of Skirling. This was, most likely, the last proprietor of 
Skirling of the name of Cockbum, as, in the roll of the persons who 
attended the weaponshaw held on the Borrow Muir of Peebles on the 
15th day of June 1627, it is stated that James Cockbum, bailie of 
Sir John Hamilton of Skirling, appeared for that knight, who was 
absent; and who thus seems by that time to have acquired the supe- 
riority of the barony of Skirling. Skirling is now the property of 
Sir William Gibson Carmichacl, Bart, of Castlecraig. 

We close this volimie, which is principally of an antiquarian 
character, with a woodcut representing the Moat Knowe of Biggar, 
undoubtedly one of the oldest monuments of antiquity in the parish. 



tl OltTB, PEUiTERS, KDDrBUUOK. 



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