Strathearns Hidden Heritage

This my first Blog of the new decade and  my 

231st in total. It is lovingly dedicated  to my children with deep love and affection - Nic Mayall - Elise MacDonald - Jasmine Mayall and  the late Richard Mayall . Doad x

Strathearn's Hidden Heritage 

                                   Part One 

Despite coming from a  long time Presbyterian back ground  I have always had a strong fascination  for the pomp and  circumstance  of the old Kirk  be it “ Piscy“ or Catholic . Working  in France some  years  back , I had the privilege  of attending a  church service in Chartres Cathedral. Chartres  is  renowned  for its “ vitrage “ or stained  glass windows and  this  coupled  with a  miscellany  of  church  music  stands out  in my memory .



Here in the Strath  there are  more than  a few  buildings   dating  back in time well  beyond that of the so called “ Glorious Revolution  “ ! Sadly neglect and decay have taken there toll but I an afraid  much  of the  responsibility  for lies at the  feet of  our administrators  past and present . Let  us look at  some of the decayed  gems  within the  Strath . This is  not a total encompassment of all the buildings   but a sufficient list  to allow you  to peruse  the past and perhaps pay a visit when in that particular airt . I Have where possible  included an OS Reference to facilitate finding the location . Do remember the law in Scotland gives  you “ right  to ramble “ and the Law of Trespass exists  south of the Border  and not here in Scotland . That being  said  always  respect the existence of the farmer or  land  owner and if  you have a dog best keep it on  a  lead particularly  with sheep about .



Kinkell : located  near the bridge of that name over the River Earn  and located adjacent  to a modern house on the hill  above  the Bridge . Place  to park  your  car beside the house .

Grid Ref is NN91 938163

The Church of St Bean

Dates back to about 1600 although believed  to have  been built on older medieval foundations . Roofless and clad in ivy with surrounding grave yard .

Strowan : The ancient  church of Strowan located on the  south bank of the Earn and adjacent to the old market  cross is another ancient building functioning as  the Parish Church up until the  amalgamation  with the  adjoining Parish of Monzievaird  back in 1804 . You  can park south of the present  bridge  and  walk  the  short  distance   to the Church .

Grid Ref is NN821214

The old bridge of Strowan was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with a modern structure about half a mile downstream . This realigned the road from Monzievaird thus virtually isolating the old market place of Strowan and the ancient kirk to the east .

The name Strowan is derived from Saint Rowan who is reputed to have lived in this airt in the mid seventh century . He was  a  Celtic saint who is recorded as having been involved in the contentious debate of the time  over the keeping of Easter . Rowan crossed swords with the formidable Fiaan , Bishop of Lindisfarne in this matter .

The church has been in a ruinous state for many a long year . This account written in an article penned in the 1880s could well have been written in 2006 .

The ruins of the old Church or Chapel of Strowan surrounded by the kirkyard are near the bridge  . It had been a thatched one storey erection . The East gable and a considerable part of the side walls are standing . Several memorial stones are built in the walls but there is now difficulty in deciphering them owing to defacement and the masses of ivy which cover the buildings . It ceased to be used in 1804 when the new Parish Church of Monzievaird and Strowan was erected about a mile northwards . The old school and teacher’s house was close to the Southern wall of the kirkyard .It was latterly a stable but was demolished a number of years ago . 

We have heard old men , whose history dated from the end of the last century , tell of the worshiping in the old kirk . The young people gathered at seven o’clock in the Sunday mornings to receive instructions from the minister . Long before the hour for public worship , the inhabitants of the surrounding braes and uplands would assemble in the kirkyard and discuss private and parish matters , and retail the news of the district. Ministers in those days were looked up to and venerated in a manner we now little understand . If traditions can be believed , they did their best to promote harmony and peace in their bounds .

                                                                      

St Ronan’s name was long associated with various things connected with the neighbourhood . Besides the Pool of Saint Ronan , there was Fil - Ronan , ie the festival or fair of Ronan , latterly known as Strowan Market now transferred to Crieff .

                                                                     

Ronan is the name of a fine spring of water and a fish cruive in the Earn close by was also called Ronan .The fairs were held round the Market Cross of Strowan . Tradition says that the Cross of Crieff was taken from Strowan to Crieff upwards of 200 years ( ie circa  1680 ) ago and the rent in the stone took place in transit . Certain it is that the Crieff Cross does not face the East nor any of the cardinal airts . We have heard it said that the stone stood on the South side of the highway beside which it now stands  . The present Cross of Strowan is said to have replaced the previous Cross and tradition says that it was taken out of the kirk or kirkyard for the purpose . It stands on a small mound West from the Old Kirk under the shade of the drooping branches of a lime tree.



It is a Maltese Cross about four feet high .  The arms are 7 inches long and the outer parts are 12 inches broad and 7 inches thick .On the West side are a series of embossed letters and signs .The south arm is broken about 3 inches from the centre as shown by the wavy line on the arm . Part of the lettering is I.N.R.I, being the initials of Jesus Naseremus Rex Judeoum . The embossing is partly indistinct. That on the pillar seems like a shield or coat of arms .There is no lettering on the east side of the stone .

The jures, dewars, bellmen or beadles of Strowan were proprietors in the parish . St Rowan left  three acres of good ground , a little west from the Church to the dewar or bellman , the charter for which required the bellman and his heirs to ring the holy bell of St Ronan under his gown when mass was said . The bell is a large wired hand bell apparently made of brass and iron , but now minus the tongue . It was carefully preserved by the dewars , generation after generation . Over a hundred years ago  , a dispute took place regarding the ownership of the three acres of land and the case was taken to the Court of Session . Upon examination of old records, the bellman’s claim was established . Till about fifty years ago , the dewars occupied the land but for many years both the ground and the bell have been possessed by Mr Graham Stirling of Strowan . A short distance westwards from the Cross are the stables of Strowan , which occupy the site of what was anciently known as Bogha’ farmhouse . Amongst the last , if not the last tenant of the farm was a Mr McRostie whose name still faintly recurs in the traditions  of the district .He was a character and father of nineteen children  . He had a peculiarity in his tongue which caused a thickness or deficiency in his utterance . He tried to rule his own house in proper form and frequently sung Psalms , always reading or reciting a line or two previous to singing . His family and others used to smile at the uncouth sentences as peculiary drawn out .. The line , “ The pelican in wilderness “ , was rendered “ The pelican in wild duck’s nest “ . Bogha’s quaint sayings used to form a frequent subject of gossip and amusement .
                                                                     
Old people used to tell of the great doings of Strowan Market , and how from time immemorial the agents of the Duke of Athole ( sic ) attended in due form and received , in acknowledgement of feudal  rights , a number of graip , spade and rake shafts , after which the Market was declared open .
                                                                                 

Strowan House was erected in 1804 by Sir Thomas Stirling , Bart , who died in 1808 . He left the property to the second son of Mr Thomas Graham of Airth , his nephew m being the present proprietor  Mr Thomas J Graham – Stirling , who succeeded to the estate at his birth , and in time assumed the name Stirling . The mansion was considerably improved and enlarged in 1864 .It is nicely situated on the banks of the Earn , and has a fine southern exposure . The small estate of Lochlane lies east from Strowan and was of some note in former times . Old people yet occasionally speak of the Laird and Lady of Lochlane . The mansion house was the old white farm house on the south side of the wood of Lochlane .The last lady was Mrs Campbell , widow of Captain James Campbell , and sister to General Sir Thomas Stirling , previously referred to  . The marriage settlement of these two is dated 3rd August 1760 and one of the witnesses is James Bruce of Kinnaird , the great Abyssinian traveller .  The estate with that of Trewin or Trowan , on the north side of the earn passed into the possession of Lady Baird of Ferntower and is now owned by Lord Abercromby . Lochlane was long owned by the Murrays , and a gravestone inside the walls of the Kirk of Strowan records , in embossed letters round the margin that “ Here lys ane gentleman , John Murray of Lochlane , who departed this life 1632 . “ Across the stone is recorded “ Jean Hum his spouse , 1622 “ . The Earn runs for about a mile eastwards on the north of Lochlane where it has worn a deep bed for itself . Along the high part of the south bank are the remains of what looks like a mill – lade , with ruins of small buildings at short distances along the track . There is no information or tradition concerning the lade , and the source from which  water could be taken is unknown . The works must have been made many generations ago  and cost a considerable amount of engineering and trouble .

                                                                      

Strowan Kirkyard is the burial place of the family of Strowan . One of the most recent interments was that of young Strowan , whose neat marble headstone records that “ Thomas James Graham – Stirling , Lieutenant , the Black Watch , fell at Tel- al – Kebir , Egypt , 13th September 1882 in his 24th year . “

Bell of St Rowan of Strowan

The Bell of St Rowan is typical of many of that associated with  Celtic saints such as St Fillan . The History of the Parishes of Monivaird ( sic ) and Strowan penned by the local minister the Rev Porteous gives a reasonable amount of information about the Saint whose name is encapsulated in the place name of Strowan . This was written in the mid 19th century and seems to have escaped general publication . One suspects ( or should I say in the much more descriptive vernacular - jalouse ) that these words were seized upon by later Perthshire authors such as Marshall to satisfy the Victorian hunger for the past .

On the east side is the estate and town of Strowan ( or St Rowen ) , as well as Trowen , which seems to have been the eastern part of this estate before the river was made to run this way , named from St Rowen , who also , in some histories , is called Rowan , a clergyman , who was proprietor thereof , AD 660 . He travelled through France and Italy , was made professor in one of the universities of Germany , and was highly esteemed  every where  for his learned writings . The venerable Bede  informs  us that he was daily engaged in controversy against Finan , Bishop of Lindisfarne  , or Holy Island , - the Bishop strenuously maintaining , with all the British churches  , that Easter was to be observed on one day ; and Rowen , with the Pope and Church of Rome , that it ought to be kept on another . It was perhaps for this reason that he was afterwards canonised . He left three acres of good ground  to the bellman of Strowan . The term Dewar ,in Gaelic , signifies a bellman ; and the service required by the charter granted to his heirs  is , to ring the holy bell of St Rowen . This is not the church bell   a fine hand – bell , still carefully preserved by the Dewars , which was rung by the bellman under his gown when mass was said . This land pays nothing to the public  , to the minister or the school master . About fifty years past , a plea happening betwixt the Dewars before the Lords of Session , concerning their right to this land , Andrew Dewar , as advised by his lawyers , applied to to the minister and session , who , upon examination of old records , found  out the right of their claim to a succession in said office as beadle of Strowan ; by which means he carried his plea . We have here St Rowen’s Lin , a part of the river wherein he bathed himself ; and St Rowen’s Dam – dike , going through the water , wherein he had a cruive * , which furnished him with fish on his fasting days . Below this is his well of fine water ; and a little west of the church  is his large stone cross where his market is still kept .

The term “ cruive “ noted above is defined in Warrack’s Scots Dialect Dictionary ( Edinburgh .1988 ) as “ an apparatus for and method of catching salmon in a river “ .

After the above history was written in the early 19th century , it transpired that the Dewars who had established their legal ownership of the “ Bellman’s Acres “ sold out to the then Laird of Strowan ( the Graham – Stirling family , a cadet branch of the Stirlings of Kippendavie near Dunblane ) . The Bell of St Rowan also passed into his possession and the following extract from the minutes of Scottish Society of Antiquaries  recounts how it was passed by TJ Graham – Stirling of Strowan as a donation to their Museum .

The “ Bell of St Rowan “ of Strowan in Strathearn – This bell is reputed to be the “ Bell of St Rowan “ , who is supposed to be St Ronan , as there is a deep pool in the River Earn near the church called “ Pol Ronan “ , and a fair which used to be held in the neighbourhood was called “ Feil Ronan “ . The bell however is a cast bell of the ordinary circular form , and not the tall quadrangular and flat sided form peculiar to the early Celtic Church . It measures 6” in height and 6” in diameter and the metal of which it is composed appears to contain silver . Two holes have been bored through the top of the bell into which the ends of a squarish looped  handle of brass hve been inserted and roughly soldered . This handle has originally pertained to some object of much greater antiquity than the bell into which it is now fastened  , and may probably have belonged to a bell or a bell shrine  of the Early Celtic form . It is rudely engraved with a simple variety of fret , which occurs pretty frequently in the ornamentation of the sculptured stones and Celtic manuscripts  . It seems that this bell had a hereditary keepership  , with a grant of land attached  , like many of the ancient Celtic bells ( see “ Archoeologia Scotica , “ 

vol.ii.p.75 ) .

Inchaffray Abbey

Located south of the Crieff - Perth main road (the A85) and  about  a mile before Madderty School ( see details in text  below )

Grid Ref is NN954227

I wrote at some length about Inchaffray Abbey in my fourth and last book " More Tales of Crieff & Strathearn " . I have a strong fascination  with the old Abbey and an equally strong indignation that it has  been badly  neglected " by the powers  that be ". In Scotland  we have the right to roam . This is our heritage - please  feel free -where ever you are from-  to visit this  tranquil spot so steeped in our past . Read 

on ! 

Sketch of the Abbey ruins in 1794

The solitary gable remaining 

The vault or crypt still remarkably intact !

This is where the High Alter was located and the burial place of Malise Earl of Strathearn 

Some of the stonework  remains intact 

Trees and shrubbery chokes much

Hewn stonework is scattered around the site


 

I first visited Inchaffray  in the 1980s before it was encompassed  by the  modern dwelling that has now been  erected  immediately to the south . Why that erection ever received  planning  permission remains a source of  never ending incredulity !This  together  with a total absence of signage and displayed information is quite inexcusable . Inchaffray  is located about six miles  east of Crieff .How  do you get there ?  Leave  Crieff on the A85 Trunk Road  and head through Gilmerton. Look for the sign to Madderty on the right hand side . Proceed  about a mile until  you get to the copse of trees on an elevated mound . That is INCHAFFRAY ! You will have  to climb  over the small wall into  what now remains . From the attached pictures  you will note the standing gable  , various small walls and an arched vault . You can clearly see the  scorch marks of the fire in the 17^th century !

The Abbey of Inchaffray is a part of  Strathearn’s  heritage  which has  not been well looked  after . Although generally regarded as an Augustinian Abbey founded  about 1200 , it  does in fact pre date this  by more than a few centuries. The site was originally occupied by “ brethren “ which was the old Celtic  Church or the Church of the Culdees .  It was run by the brethren of St John of Strathearn , the head of whom is designated “ Hermit “.

The Augustinian Abbey was founded in 1199 by Earl Gilbert , Earl of Strathearn . Gilbert is reputed also to have also founded the See of Dunblane . The Abbey was dedicated to the honour of God , the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist . The Charters refer to and designate it “ Insular Missarum “ or the “ Island of Masses “ . This is translation from the original Gaelic name of Inchaffray . It is supposed originally to have been an island set in the Pow at a time prior to that Burn being turned into a natural drainage channel for the low lying areas around it .

Gilbert appeared to have considerable influence in the  religious circles of the time . It was stated that his Family of Strathearn of which he was the progenitor “ were the only Scots subjects who can claim the distinction of having founded a Bishopric , and inheriting its Patronage , unless we accept the great Lords of Galloway , who appear to removed the Foundation of the See of St Ninian “ .

The first Charter by Earl Gilbert in favour of the Abbey is witnessed by Countess Matilda, his wife, and his six sons, the last named being Gilchrist, who died in 1198. Before this, the Earl had founded the House of Inchaffray; but then, the parents having chosen it as a place of burial for their son they recorded their sorrow in an extended foundation and endowment of their monastery. Malise, the Hermit, “in whose piety and discretion the founders had all confidence,” was to be head, and to have the selection. The Earl and Countess declared their affection for the place – 

“ So much do we love it, that we have chosen a Place of Sepulture in it for us and our successors, and have already buried there our eldest born. ”

By its Great Charter, AD 1200, this Abbey was endowed with the Churches of St. Kettanus of Aberuthven, of St Ethirnanus of Madderty, of St. Patrick of Strogeath,  of St. Mechesseock of Auchterarder, of S. Beanus of Kinkell ; with the Tithe of the Earl’s cain ** (** cheese) and Rents of wheat, meal, malt, cheese and all provisions used throughout the year in his Court; with the Tithe of all fish brought into his kitchen, and of the produce of his hunting; and the tithe of all the profits of his courts of justice , and all offerings . The Convent had the liberty of fishing in the Peffer, and of fishing and birding over all the Earl’s lands, waters and lakes. . They might take timber for building, and other uses from his woods, and have their pannage or mast – feeding for pigs as well as bark and firewood, in whatever places and as much as they chose. Some years later, Earl Gilbert granted to the Canons, now seated at Inchaffray, the Church of S. Beanus at Foulis, with the “ dower ” land of the Church, and the common pasturage of the parish, and the church of the Holy Trinity of Gask, with the same privileges.

In his old age, Earl Gilbert took a second wife, Ysenda, the daughter of a knightly family of the surname of Gask. A Chronicle, which seems to have been written in the Diocese, or to be in some other way peculiarly connected with Dunblane, records Earl Gilbert’s death – “ Gilbertus fundator canonicorum Insule Missarum et episcopatus Dunblanensis, obiit AD 1223 “. Earl Gilbert was succeeded by his son Robert, who was also the good Patron of the Canons of Inchaffray.  One of his Charters, indeed, savours of some estrangement and reconciliation  - Earl Robert, in the Church of Strogeath, in the presence of Abraham, Bishop of Dunblane, Gilbert the Archdeacon, and other notable witnesses, binds himself towards Innocent, the Abbot, that he will never in all his life vex the said Abbot, or his Convent, unjustly; nay, will love and every where honour them as his most special friends, and will add to the possessions of their House whatever he may, by the counsel of his friends  . In particular, he confirms to them the Churches of Gask and Strogeath.

 As early as 1218, the Canons of Inchaffray had reclaimed apportion of the vast marsh in which their “ Isle of Masses “ stood. Nearly 500 years afterwards, the “ heritors upon the Pow of Inchaffray ” applied to Parliament to appoint Commissioners for draining the whole marsh for common benefit. The Act, which followed upon their petition, dated 9th October 1696, given in the Appendix to the Registrum of Inchaffery, is curious, as perhaps the single instance of a great agricultural improvement effected under the authority of the Scottish Parliament.

The Abbey of Inchaffray, though respectably endowed, does not seem to rank among the greater monasteries of Scotland such as Melrose or Dryburgh . The Abbots, though Prelates of Parliament, occur rarely in public affairs, or in transactions which so frequently brought together Churchman of various religious houses. We have thus only a very few names of the successive Abbots preserved. 

I will conclude this " blog "  with a tale I copied many years ago which  explains the sad demise of this fascinating but forgotten and neglected Abbey right on our own door step ! 

A Strange tale about Inchaffray Abbey

( contained within the Perthshire Collection of the historian Fittes in the Sandeman collection and copied in 2003 in the AK Bell Library  )

“Fiercely gleams the old monk’s home

To other lands thy now must roam

Their Abbey grey is clothed in fire

From lowest stone to topmost spire .“

Inchaffray is located in the Parish of Madderty , and was at one time one of the largest Abbeys in Scotland . It is said to have contained upwards of 200 monks . One of the Abbots , as historical readers will remember , carried the arm of St Fillan , and performed mass before the Scottish Army , on the field of Bannockburn , where Scotland’s independence was fought and won . The numerous church roads through that part of the country where it is situated , show the paths on which trod many  a ghostly father  , as , leaving its hallowed sanctuary , they went to their respective allocations in the vicinity  to preach , pray and bless .  Though now only a gable wall , small arch  , and a few crumbling ivy clad walls  are almost all that remains of its former magnificence , it is reported to have been of vast extent .  The solitary gable  has already stood the test of many a winter storm , and from its present state of solidity , may yet remain as a memorial of the past for many a century to come . Trees now grow amid the ruins of  the ancient place  , and where once was heard  the matin bell , or the sweet voice of midnight prayer , nought now breaks the solitude but the wind  , as it sighs amid the branches  , or whistles drearily among the decaying walls .

Connected with this ecclesiastical edifice  hangs a strange tale . In 1665 , London was afflicted with that awful scourge – the plague . Its victims were so frightfully numerous  that the living  could scarcely bury the dead . Stalwart men arose in the morning  and ere evening were numbered with the dead .  The kiss of love had scarcely faded from the lips of beauty ere she slept in the grave . Parents saw the children of their affection seized with the dread  distemper and almost instantly expire . No class escaped its ravages . The very air seemed pregnant with death   . Terror seized hold of the mind – the better feelings of humanity were for the time forgotten . Thousands  fled to the country in their excitement , they knew not where – they seemed not to care – if they only left that dreadful charnel house behind .  A lady , resident in London , filled with the common fear , went , along with her servants , to Scotland and took up her residence in Inchaffray Abbey  ( by this time untenanted in consequence of the abolition of the monasteries ) , expecting to find safety and repose . But vain was the hope ! Scarcely had she arrived at her destination ere one of her servants died of the very disease from whose scourge she had fled . The inhabitants around heard that the plague was amongst them , and their terror became extreme .  They rose en masse and barricaded the doors , and set fire to the whole building , mercilessly determined to consume every soul within . Sickening was it to see and hear those frantic maidens wringing their hands in intensest agony , and pleading at the latticed windows to the stern hearted multitudes  below for mercy , as the greedy flames were almost encircling the place where they stood – but needless their prayer . Some ascended to the highest turret , but the whole mass soon became enveloped in fire , and with terrific shrieks , they disappeared amid the devouring ruin . Terrible was it to see the midnight sky illuminated by the tremendous glare , and a s the wind ever and anon blew sheets of flame around , to hear , in fancy’s ear , the despairing cries of the helpless mortals , who had already perished amid the blazing element !

All perished , save a small dog , which by some means escaped  , and ran eastwards , carrying the infection with it .Another romantic reminiscence is connected with the event . Two cousins , Bessy Bell and Mary Gray – desirous of escaping from the contagion  , went to the lonely banks of the Almond, and with their own hands , erected a rude hut , in which for a considerable time they lived a hermetical life . They held communication with none , until the lover of one of them , anxious to see the lady of his choice , paid a fatal visit to their solitary dwelling . He was not long gone when both fell victims to the disease . It is on them that Allan Ramsay composed  the beautiful song of

“Bessy Bell and Mary Gray ,

They were twa bonny lasses ;

They bigged a bower on yon burn brae ,

And theeked it owre wi’ rashes .“

For long years the Abbey was shunned as a haunted place . Numerous wild legends connected with it were repeated . The ploughman whose duties occasionally impelled him to its neighbourhood hastened

“ Like one that on a lonesome road ,

Doth walk in fear and dread  ;

And having once turned round , walks on ,

And turns no more his head . “

The schoolboy returning to his home in the evening with beating heart , accelerated pace , and averted head , soon left the inauspicious spot behind .The milk- maid , as she wandered through the contagious fields “ at twilight’s contemplated hour , “ often fancied she heard unearthly sounds echoing from the hoary pile . All looked upon it with a suspicious eye . At “ the wee short hour ayont the twal , “ the boldest heart would have quailed , if , passing the place , even a brown bush rustled in the wind .

Rumour says that a vast quantity of treasure is buried in the ruins . One old man is reported to have recovered a considerable amount of valuables  by digging around the place ; but few , if any , possessed the nerve to make a thorough search . The walls have served the surrounding farmers as a quarry for ages . Many stones , whose quaint inscriptions would have delighted even the heart of a “ Jonathan Oldbuck , “ are built in neighbouring dykes . No doubt the old glebe too , would have long ere now have been removed for similar purposes , were it not for the trouble its demolition would have cost . There is an unworthy spirit of vandalism  abroad , even in Scotland  - the land above every other of historic associations  and noble deeds , which would tear down the remnants of antiquity , or even violate the martyr’s cairn  if the stones would only aid in the construction  of a dyke or drain ! This spirit cannot be too severely condemned . These relics of the past ought to be looked upon with the utmost veneration . in France , they are upheld with the greatest care . Scotland ,  however , leaves them to take care of themselves , and the result will soon be , that many of the monuments of deeds which have made our country immortal  will be destroyed by sacrilegious hands , and the place that knew them once will know them no more again for ever . This is much to be deplored . A Nation’s pride is at stake  , and if it is desirable to leave to future generations a few mementoes of the gallantry or piety of their sires , these ought to be preserved inviolate .