Solemn League & Covenant 25 Sept 1643. At the end of the Bishops` Wars and the return of the English Long Parliament in November 1640 there was a public dissatisfaction with the bishops and episcopacy in the church. This gathered momentum with the attempt to arrest the Five Members. Subsequent to that a bill was […]
Escapes from the Tolbooth An early record of an escape – rather a liberation, concerned Kirkaldy of Grange who in 1570 descended on the tolbooth from the castle with armed guards and forcibly removed a servant from custody, and on 1 May 1571 he again seized the tolbooth and Council House. His intervention with the […]
A commentary from The Scotichronicon Rev J.F.S.Gordon (1867) about the premeditated murder of Archbishop Sharp. Mr. Wodrow, after having given the Archbishop the charitable epithet of “a bloody and perfidious man,” has the assurance to say, That he came to this fatal exit by no premeditated and formed design; but circumstances offering an occasion, it […]
Biggar Covenanter Museum The Covenanter Museum in Biggar is further down the road from the main museum at the church. The old farm building is impressive and must have been the property of a reasonably well off farmer, given its size and very solid brick construction. It has been sited under the lea of a […]
The events leading up to the `outing` of ministers. With the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, his supporters in Scotland lost no opportunity of bringing into contempt what the Covenanters looked upon as the saving grace of the country—the Solemn League and Covenant. On 29th May, Restoration Day ( the date of Charles landing […]
Montrose at Kilsyth 15 August 1645. Kilsyth was the last of the string of successes enjoyed by the Marquis of Montrose in his campaign of 1644-5. It was also an important event politically as the Scottish army under Alexander Leslie (Earl of Leven) was at that time allied with the New Model Army in England, […]
PASSING UNDER THE ROD This was a favourite quotation of the Covenanters as it relates to the purging of the wicked who will not be allowed into Israel (Heaven). This inscription appears on a gravestone in Wanlockhead Churchyard, Dumfriesshire. [ with permission of A. Little a great, great, grandson ] Ezekiel 20 v 37 I […]
Preston 17 – 19 Aug 1648 and Uttoxeter. In 1647-8 the alliance with the English Parliamentarians and the future of the Solemn League and Covenant were crumbling, with the English unable, or unwilling, to fulfil their end of bargain, Not least they were against the extension of Presbyterianism as the true religion in England and […]
James Ure of Shergarton Cited in Hewison`s The Covenanters etc The Rev. Robert Wodrow, the historian of the Covenanters, gives a credible account of the hardships endured by James Ure of Shargarton, in the parish of Kippen, in Stirlingshire, a centre of nonconforming disaffection.’ From 1670 Ure was leading the disorderly life of a dissenter, […]
King Henry`s Oration to the people 8 November 1528. Our trusty and well-beloved subjects both you of the nobility, and you of the meaner sort: It is not unknown to you, how that we, both by God’s provision, and true and lawful inheritance, have reigned over this realm of England almost the term of […]
John Wyckcliffe and the English Reformation. The simpler beliefs in the Scriptures, Protestantism as it later became known, was making renewed progress in England from about the beginning of the 14th century and received an essential boost when a Bible in the vernacular was produced. There had been earlier translations including the Psalms, but the […]
The Act of Supremacy, 1559 Extract from the Act I Eiz. Cap I. Of note is the inclusion of the term `for ever`; and the recognition of past deeds by the catch all word `enormities` that could in future be applied to just about any act, word or deed that the Crown took offence at. […]
Definition of Benefice from a modern Catholic Encyclopaedia. (Lat. Beneficium, a benefit) Popularly the term benefice is often understood to denote either certain property destined for the support of ministers of religion, or a spiritual office or function, such as the care of souls, but in the strict sense it signifies a right, i. e. […]
The murder of Richard Hun. [ Foxes Acts and Monuments vol iv, p 183-205 etc ] Richard Hun was a freeman and merchant tailor in London who habitually spent time each day reading his Bible. To all intents and purposes he was a good man and a conforming Christian who carried his beads (rosary) with him […]