Transactions

OF THE

BANFFSHIRE FIELD CLUB.

THE STRATHMARTINE BanffshireTRUST Field Club

The support of The Strathmartine Trust toward this publication is gratefully acknowledged.

www.banffshirefieldclub.org.uk THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1882

MEETING AT BANFF.

THE Banffshire Field Club held its first meeting of the session in the Academy Buildings on Thursday. The Rev. Mr Milne, King-Edward, introduced Mr Ramsay, St Leonards, as president for the next twelve months. Mr Ramsay having taken the chair and thanked the meeting for the honour done him, called upon the Secretary to read the minutes of last meeting, which were approved of. Four new members were then nominated.

OLD KIRK OF KING-EDWARD. Rev. Mr MILNE read a paper on this subject in the following terms :— Name—Kynedor. 1178. earliest; Kynnedor. Kynnedore Kynedar, Kynedir. Kenidor. second: Keineder, Kvn- edwart, Kynnedwart Kinedwart. Kinedwarte, Kin- erward. Kinarword. Kynedward. 1389. usual form for next 300 years ; Kynnedward, Kynedworde Kinedward, 1471. common; Kinnedward, Kynedward, Kynnedward, Kynnedwarde, Kineduard, Kingedward, 1552; King- Edward. 1619. The name occurs in twenty-four different forms, the earliest being Kynedor. 1178 and there are six forms, mostly early, of similar sound. The last part of the name becomes wart in 1273, and ward in 1309. In 1389 the name becomes Kynedward. and soon after occurs Kinedward. These forms, especially the former, are very common for the next 300 years. In the Chartulary of Cathedral, about 1552, we get g for the first time. Kingedward. wif,h e. The modern form. King-Edward, occnrs for the first time, on the Communion cups, in 1619, and it came into Banffshirecommon use in the course of lasFieldt century. Club I have no etymology to offer for the name: but there are two other places of the same name, one in Fife, and another in Elgin—the latter as old as 934 at least; and any derivation proposed for this King-Edward would require to apply to the other places also. I may add that the oldest inhabitant, when I came to King-Edward 30 years ago, used to speak of the Manse as King- Edward, and that the name of the Castle is now so for- gotten, that it is usually called the 'Old Castle of Castleton.' Parish.—'The origin of the parish may be put about the year 1121, with David 1., the first Feudal Sovereign of Scotland. There were churches in this part of Scotland long before that: Columba planted churches at Aber- dour and Deer about 580. St Congan founded a monastery at in the following century; but the earliest clear instance of a parish in Scotland is >dnam. in Berwick, erected about; 1100, in the time of Edgar. His son, Alexander I , carried the formation of parishes north of the Forth, and with David I. and the feudal system, parishes became general over Scotland. The feudal system, with its written charters, made the Saxon Thane or Norman Knight feel secure in the possession of lands granted by the Sovereign in return for military service. The proprietor of a large district, he distributed his lands among his followers or the native inhabitants, to be cultivated for him at a fixed rent. With their labour, a castle or house of defence was erected for him; next, a church was built, and tithes were granted for the support of a minister; and an estate tithed to a church became a parish. In the Book of Deer, there is mention of the Bishop of Aberdeen about 1132. This, ot course, implies that there were churches and parishes to oversee in this dis- trict at that time, and it may be regarded as almost certain that a church and parish had been erected at King-Edward by the Celtic Earl of early in the 12th century, say 1124, the accession of David. King Edward has a detached part cut off by Gamrie and Alvah. This may have originated in two ways. Cultivation and population would spread outward from the parish church in continuous lines along the best tracts of land, and the new land would be tithed to the church, perhaps not the nearest, from which its ray of cultivation proceeded. Suppose a colony from King- Edward had settled about Montcoffer, or the Gowny of olden time, leaving a piece of unimproved land between them and the church of King-Edward, their land would be tithed to King-Edward, and it would be their parish church. Then the lines of cultivation spreading from Gamrie and Alvah may have met between the Mont- coffer colony and King-Edward, cutting them off, but leaving them still tithed to it. Or Montcoffer may have belonged to the same proprietor as King-Edward, and having it in his power to tithe his lands to any church he pleased, he may have selected King-Edward Banffshirefor other reasons than nearness . FieldThere is a ' Kirkside Club' in the detached part, and it may at one time have had a church of its own. In 1173 "William the Lyon founded the Abbey of Arbroath, and it soon became possessed of great wealth and influence. The nobles of the north trans- 5

ferred to it the right of appointing ministers to the Parish Churches in their lands; and with the patronage went the tithes. The Abbey drew the tithes, and sent some of its members to be ministers. The Bishop of Aberdeen, in 1178, or soon after, transferred to Arbroath Abbey the patronages of some churches vested in him— . Gamrie. with the Chapel of Troup, Banff, Forglint, Turriff. . and Fetterangus. King-Edward was not amongst the number ; possibly it looked to the ancient monastery of Deer for its ministers; but two of the charters conveying these patronages to Arbroath Abbey are witnessed by Henry Parson of King-Edward, ' a Henrico persona de Kynedor,' first; ' Kenidor/ second. This is the first mention of the name. About 1300, John Comyn. Earl of Buchan, bestowed the Church of King-Edwird upon the Abbey of Deer, founded by his grandfather in 1219. The monks sent one of their number to officiate at King-Edward, and uplifted for their own use the revenues of the Church—every tenth sheaf, every tenth chicken and lamb, every tenth cheese and pound of butter and wool. Money there was little or none to give. Pasch money and funeral fees are mentioned. How well or how ill the duties at King-Edward were performed we have no means of knowing, but we may suppose that it fared neither better nor worse than other parishes dependent on religious houses At first the duties would be well performed, but latterly the monks of Deer led an irregular life, spending on them- selves the revenues of dependent churches, and sending out ill-paid, perhaps ill qualified, chaplains to outlying churches. Robert Keith, one of the last abbots, is praised for his zeal in reforming the prevailing im- morality of his c'ergy. but he left. a natural son himself, who was created Lord Dingwall (1584.) Out of the fruits of the benefice of King-Edward, a chaplaincy was founded in St Machar Cathedral. In 1437. his salary was £3 6s. 8d., and next century it was raised to twice that sum. The Reformation came in 1560, when the monastery of Deer was suppressed and its revenues fell to the Crown. Robert Keith second son of William, 4th Earl Marischal, was appointed Commentator or Steward to levy the revenue of the Abbey for the Sovereign. At first, he grudged the teachers of the new doctrine their small stipend, and in 1569, with the countenance of Regent Murray, he asked that he might be relieved from certain payments to the preachers at King-Edward, and other abbey churches; but the General Assembly replied that the that in na wise Banffshireremit the thing that pertains to Fieldthe poor ministers. ' Club He seems, however, to have done some good to King- Edward. and to have been concerned in the enlargement of the Parish Church—not. at his own expense, but out of the revenues which he merely collected for the Crown. His initials, R.K., above his coat of arms, adorned one corner stone ot the east end of the old church, and the date, 1570 (or 6), the other. The stipend of the minister of King-Edward at this time was 10 marks (£5 l1s. 1d ); but he had to officiate also at Phillorth. "When 58 years of age, Keith re- signed the whole possessions of the Monas'tery of Deer (including those of King-Edward Church), into the hands of the King, who immediately erected them into the Lordship of Altrie, to he held by the commendator during his life. After his death, they descended to his relative the Earl of Marischal, and thus the patronage of King-Edward remained in the Earls Marischal till their forfeiture at the Rebellion of 1715, when it fell to the Crown. There it continued till the recent abolition of patronage. In the charter erecting the Abbey lands into the Lord- ship of Altrie, dated 1587, it. is stated that for • preach- ing of the Word of God. and the administration of the Sacrament, the King has erected a rectory or parsonage in each of the Parish Churches of Deir, Peterugie, Fovorne, and Kynedward ; the rector of each of which shall have a glebe and manse, and shall be bound to give continual residence at the same Church, and serve the Cure. Each of which rectors shall have for his pay and support, besides glebe and manse, an annual payment of victual and money,' Kynedward, two chalders of oatmeal and 100 merks to be paid to them by Robt.Keith and heirs. In 1638, Earl Marischal reminded King Charles I. of a promise made to him to piv £15 000 stg . on account of the expense the earl's father had incurred in bringing home King James's wife from Denmark, and contracted with the king that he should receive the whole revenues of the Abbey, includiug the revenues of King Edward and other churches that belonged to the Abbey, for 110 pounds Scots annually, which might be redeemed by the king on paymeutof 7900 merks at St Giles's Church; signed at Whitehall and at Inverugie, 1638. Church..—The old church of King-Edward censed to be used as a place of worship in 1818. It consisted of a main part lying east and west, and an aisle projecting from the south side The west end, still standing, was the oldest part. There was no date upon it. and the east window, which had been its chief architectural feature, had been removed when the church had beeu lengthened long ago. There were two doors, one in the west end, another (now built up) in the south side. There still remains a window above the door in the west end, and another in the south side. All of these are round-headed, and indicate that Banffshirethe church had been built durin Fieldg the Romanesqu e Clubor Norman period of architecture, which prevailed from the earliest time at which churches were built in Scot, land, till the time of Alexander If in lilt. The small- ness of the original chnrch. and the adamantine hardness of the lime in the walls also bespeak a great age, and I am of opinion that the part of the old church still standing had been the church of which Henricus was parson in 1178, and that it was the first church ever erected in King-Edward. In 1570 (or 6), as I have already said, the church had been enlarged by an addi. tion at the east end at the time when Robert Keith was commendator; and his initials and coat of arms had been put on one corner stone of the east end, and the date 1570 (or 6) on the other. When the east end of the church was taken down a few years ago, these stones were put into.the west end for preservation. When John Urquhart, Tutor of Cromarty, became proprietor of Craigfintray, now Craigston, in the end of the six- teenth century, he erected a tomb in the west end of the cburch to his mother, who probably lies in front of it. The tomb consists of an arch above a horizontal shelf for a recumbent figure. Only the head of the figure now remains. On the back of the tomb is the following inscription:—' Joannes Urquhart hoc in hono- rem Dei et matris suae Beatricis Innes dominae a Cromertie erexit opus anno 1590." Near it is a flat stone, with 1580 at the top, and Elizabeth Urquhart at the side, with the Urquhart shield in the centre. A few years later, he built Craigston Castle, and probably in 1619 he built an aisle projecting from the south side of the church. I think it is likely that 1619 was the date of the building of Craigston's aisle, because, in that year, two massive silver Communion cups were pre- sented to the Cburch by him, along with Dr Guild and Sir Thomas Urquhart, bis grandnephew. The cups bear each the following inscription:—' Sacrosancto Domin- icae cenae usui in perpetuum Ecclesiae de King Edward decavit M. Gulielmus Guild Pastor ejusdem amatis- eimus, 1619. Sacrosancto Dominicae cenae usui in perpetunm Ecclesiae de King Edward dicaverunt Dominus Thomas Urquhart de Cromartie Miles et Johannes Urqubart de Craigfintrie, 1619.' As the engraver has taken some liberty with dicavit, making it decavit, he may, perhaps, have taken leave to turn the name of the parish from Kingedward, then in common use, into King-Edward, which I have not found used earlier than this date. The same John Urquhart, in 1621, erected a handsome gateway into the churchyard for his own private use. On the outside of the arch surmounting it is— Banffshire Field Club

On the shield are two boars' beads above, three stars in the middle, nnd another hoar's head below. The initials, I.U., stand for John Urqubart, and E.S. for Elizabeth Seaton of Meldrum, whom he married— 3rd wife—in 1610. The stars are for Innes, his mother's 8

name. On the inside the same shield and initials, with the mottoes, ' Feir God.' ' I hope.' In the west side of the Craigston Aisle, above the door, is a stone with

I make the motto to mean—Wish well to others and know or experience good to yourself. Dea grea is a mistake of the carver for Dei gratia. The shield lias the Urqnhart boars' heads, and the Innes' star in the centre. Into the south wall of the church has been bnilt recently a slab with a deer's head, the crest of the Keiths, probably the Commendator's, and of date 1570, but there has been added at a later date ' M. DUF." Above the door of the church is a small stone bearing two heads, different, above a mullet or star and a rose. The stone is weatherworn, and the heads may be a bear's—Forbes; a deer's—Keith; or a boar's—Urquhart. Above the west door there is also a small stone bearing W. G. for William Guild. Dr Guild was minister of King-Edward for about twenty years. In the possession of the minister of King-Edward there are several charters, not hitherto printed, of grants of land to ministers, by neighbouring proprietors. Dr Guild was removed to Aberdeen in 1631, to be minister of St Nicholas Church. He was appointed Principal of King's College in 1641, and con- tinued to be till 1651, when he was dismissed by General Monk on theological grounds—either he differed from the orthodox faith or from Monk's. Dr Guild was a great benefactor to Aberdeen. He founded Trinity Hospital, for decayed tradesmen in Aberdeen. At a meeting last week one of the toasts was * the memory of Dr Guild.' He built also the gateway to Marischal College, and left a hotel house in Castlegate, now the Bursar's Hotel, to found bursaries. His widow, Katherine Rolland, was not unmindful of King-Edward. At her death she bequeathed a legacy to King-Edward Kirk-Session, which yields £5 10s. annually, to be given for education, or to the poor. It is always given to the poor. It is Banffshirenot likely that there had bee nField a belfry upon the originaClubl church, but one had been added last century. The old bell still hangs in the belfry, with t.he inscription. ' De Old Abd John Mowat, me fecit 1755, in usum King- Edward, Sabbata pango, funera plango.' The belfry is supported by two piers, built up inside the church, of later workmanship than the fabric itself, and it appears to have been taken down and rebuilt. Apparently the 9

bell had attracted more people to the cbnrch than It conld well accommodate, for two years afterwards, 1757, the Kirk-Session erected a new loft in the east end of the church. A pair of new communion cups had also been needed in 1780. They are of pewter, and are in- scribed, ' King- Edivard, 1780.' The original church had no galleries, but waut of accommodation had necessi- tated the erection of a gallery in the west end at some former time. A queer old church King-Edward had come to be before it, was abandoned in 1818 for the modern building ; but for as humble as it was some of the older inhabitants could not be convinced of the propriety of building another. One old gentleman stood one against auy change after all others bad given iu. The minister's wife got him into a corner one day at a dinner party at the manse, and tried to talk him over. Just when she thought she had couvincel him, he broke out with— ' It's nae eese argeein', Mrs Fimdlay; I never yields.' The Manse was built in 1767. It has subsequently undergone alterations, and additions have been made to it. Around the gardens there are some ash and gean trees as old as the Manse Schools —The first school had been erected after the Act of 1696, ordaining a school to be established in every parish not already provided. Its site was to the north of the manse. No trace of it remains; but in 1761 the Session paid £1 (Scots)' for a tree to mend the school tables brock at the Sacrament.' Another school took the place of the first in the last century. It still stands at Danshillock, having served various purposes since 1811, when the third school was built. It too was found insufficient, and another took its place in 1819. It is still in use, but had to be enlarged after the passing of the Education Act of 1872. A discussion of considerable interest followed on various points raised by Mr Milne's paper. Sheriff SCOTT-MONCRIEFF suggested that the Club should endeavour to have all the other old churches and Banffshireparishes iu the district described Field, if possible, in as Club complete and lucid a manner as had been done in the case of King-Edward. This was approved of. The business terminated with a vote of thanks to the President, proposed by Mr Smith, Elm Bank. There was submitted for inspection an interesting specimen, iu the shape of a piece of the petrified stem ofa Lily Encrinite, which had been found on the beach at Dunbar, by Master John Clark, The Manse, Gamrie.