Saddell & Carradale - A Church History

SADDELL & CARRADALE A CHURCH HISTORY © 2003 P. Donald M. Kelly, PA29 6XE/14, U.K.

The history of Scotland itself may be said to have begun in Kintyre when, in 503, Fergus the Great crossed from Dalriada, the name given to the country around Antrim, to Dunaverty, near Southend. Sixty years later, in 563 and en route to Iona, St. Columba rowed across The North Channel to land at Southend and even a thousand years on, as late as 1547, the peoples of Cantire - ‘the head of the land’ - were to be known as the Hibernii because of these ancient Irish connections, the name Kintyre itself being given to a farm at the southern end of the peninsula. With the accession of the Dalriadic kings from Ireland, a strife gradually arose arose in The Western Isles and three hundred years were to pass before one Kenneth Macalpine managed to unite the various factions and establish The Kingdom of Scotland. By the time of Macalpine’s death, in 858, the Vikings had begun to swarm down the western coasts and for the next 400 years these generally unwelcome invaders would dominate the scene, the final 100 years of their reign of terror being signalled with the emergence from a cave in Morvern of the mighty Somerled, Lord of The Isles who, tradition has it, later married a daughter of The Bishop of The Isle of Man and, to please her father, began the building of the Cistercian Abbey at Saddell, just ten or so miles of Campbeltown in 1160 and the work completed, following his father’s death at the hands of King Malcolm’s army at Renfrew in 1163, by his son Reginald. Sommerled’s body was laid to rest at Saddell, the tombstone set within the arched recesses in the south wall of the choir, the cruciform structure of the building aligned exactly to the four compass points and its transepts measuring some 178’ x 24’ from north to south.

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The importance of the old Saddell Monastery as an ecclesiastical seat, one almost as great as that on Iona, is now largely overlooked and few are aware of the fact that, even as late as the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, this charming old world sanctuary in the vale of Saddell was still remembered daily in prayers of Rome. As a consequence of Saddell’s building, other churches began to flourish in Kintyre, it then at the very heart of the spread of Christianity in Scotland. On the opposite side of Kintyre, just a mile or so south of Tayinloan and built in 1243, just 60 years after Saddell Abbey’s completion, stands the ruin of the mother church of Kintyre - “Ecclesia Sancti Joannis”, The Church of St. John as from ‘Eoin’ or ‘Iain’ - Killean Church, its three ‘penny lands’ granted some time before 1251 by Roderick, he holding the then Lordship of Kintyre and a further deed, written some time between 1380 and 1423 by Donald, Lord of The Isles, informs us by its witness that one Sir Archibald McGillivray would be Vicar of Killean. Apart from this, we know nothing of the history of the mid-Kintyre churches between the 1243 grant of Killean church by Alexander II to The Bishop of Argyll and the year 1641 when the parish of Killean was joined to that of Saddell where on Murdo McWhirrie (or McCurrie) was Protestant minister and he then too required to visit Gigha every six weeks. The linking of the parishes would stand for 112 years and, though records have been lost, the main history of this period is relatively well detailed. A year later, in 1642, a further change took place and Martin MacLauchlan, an Islay minister, was instructed to visit Killean occasionally to administer the ordinances. These were troubled times, injurious to the peace and prosperity of the Church in Argyll and Kintyre for Montrose had made a rapid and unexpected descent from the north and “Kintyre became like a desert its few inhabitants became the

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prey of a fearful pestilence which followed in the train of all their other calamities”. Church Synod records state that members could not attend the meetingscheduled to be held in Inveraray in 1644 and, in 1646, absentees were excused because of the country’s troubles. The Presbytery of Cowal had sought shelter in The Lowlands, the Presbytery of Kintyre, under rebel control, had no members resident in Kintyre as too was true of the Presbytery of Argyll and Lorn and any presbytery members as might be found at all in the area were in the shelter of the garrisons. A skirmish, rather than a battle, took place between the retreating MacDonald’s army and the vanguard of Leslie’s advancing force at Rhunhaorine Moss on Tuesday, May 25, 1647 - The MacDonalds retreated to Dunaverty Castle, a grave blunder which ended with tragic results. Dunaverty’s garrison fell and more than 300 MacDonalds were put to the sword. Eight years later, on Wednesday, August 15, 1655, the first meeting is noted of the Kintyre Presbytery in Campbeltown it then too variously known as Lochead, Kinloch and Kilkerran - and the presbytery including Islay and Colonsay as well as Kintyre. Among those present that day were Dugald Darroch of Campbeltown, Martin MacLauchlan of Islay, James Gardiner of Saddell and John Cunison of Kilbride in Arran. In October 1655, a complaint was made to the Presbytery about the numerous Sabbath-breakers. The desecration existed in “people gathering nuts and berries on The Lord’s Day and flocking to visit friends” and Lord Neil Campbell was recommended to “take some public course for punishing thereof witin the bounds”. In 1656, Dugald Campbell of Inverawe, then ruling elder at Killean Church appeared before the Presbytery “for himself and the remnant of parishioners of Killean (and Saddell) to prosecute a call to Mr David Simson for the work of the

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ministry among them” and made reference to “the sad and deplorable condition of the people whereunto he is called” calling for Mr Simson’s speedy admission to Killean - It is said that “every man did what was right in his own eyes” and no doubt there was relief in the community when at last, on Friday, July 25, 1656, Simson arrived and set the Kirk Session to sort out delinquents. A couple of years later, at a meeting in Killean Church on Friday, September 3, 1658 attended by Dugald Campbell of Inverawe, Duncan Campbell, Baillie of Kintyre and The Marquis of Argyll himself, David Simson requested help to clear to clear the parish of troublemakers and Hugh Campbell of Inverness and Duncan Campbell were authorised to impose fines, known then as ‘mulets’, on the delinquents. David Simson was a graduate of St. Andrews University. In 1660 he was appointed, along with many others, to translate The Scriptures into Gaelic and was assigned for his part The First Book of Kings. Simson was undoubtedly from the north and on at least one occasion was excused by the Presbytery “for long abscence having been necessarily called north”. The laudable undertaking of The Synod to translate The Scriptures into Gaelic proved fruitless at that time because of The Restoration and the work was delayed for nearly 150 years. At this time English-speaking ministers were being settled in parishes which were subsequently made Gaelic charges. This seems to have been the case in Saddell where the minister, James Gardner, “had, for his learning and piety, been appointed chaplain to the devoted Marquis of Argyll - He thus incurred suspicion which led to his ruin”. Gardner was summoned to appear before The Privy Council in Edinburgh with two other ministers in 1662 and had sentence of banishment to Holland given against him but later, privately, came back to Scotland and died in Glasgow. Simson’s charge of Killean (and Saddell) then also included Gigha and the island’s parishioners were at odds about the

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repair of Gigha’s church and the building of a new manse. The Presbytery duly intervened and ordered that “the parishioners of Gigha build or re-edify a sufficient church on the island; that they be relieved from contributing to the building or re-edifying of the church building at Killean and, that after sending the proportion of the tiend to the minister’s chamber in Gigha, they were next to transfer the same to the Killean side at their charges”. Gigha paid for the minister’s travel to the island at their own expense, the minister’s return to the mainland being paid for by Killean, a service conducted on every third Sabbath from March to September and on every fourth in winter months. The elders, respectively, ordered the dates of meetings ‘for the exact execution of discipline’ and expenses for the minister’s travel to and from these meetings paid as in the case of his Sabbath attendances. In 1660 the Stuart dynasty was restored to the person of Charles II and “in the latter end of March” the parliament rescinded all the Acts which approved the National Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant and the Abolition of Bishops in Scotland and rescinded all parliaments since 1637 as wanting authority only tolerating Presbyterian government “during the king’s pleasure”. All ministers who did not conform were “outed” and deprived of their charges for refusing to conform to the system of Church government then introduced. Those who persisted were punished with the loss of their liberty or even their lives. David Simson, minister of Killean, was “outed” in 1663 but seems some time afterwards to have been ‘indulged’ and was translated to the parish in Southend. In 1685 his name appears in a list of ‘indulged’ ministers who were ordered to be liberated on a bond of 5000 merks each - about £3,500 Scots or £280 sterling. This suggests that Simson had probably been imprisoned earlier for opposing the system of Church government. A year later Simson was banished to New Jersey in America. Simson’s son later became Episcopal

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minister of Southend and about 1692, after making submission to the Presbytery, was appointed minister of Kilarrow in Islay. On David Simson’s “outing” from Killean in 1663, one Aeneas Macdonald, a native of Milton in South Uist and a graduate of Glasgow University, was appointed Episcopal minister of Killean and a new manse provided on the brae opposite Killean church. Aeneas Macdonald deserted his charge at Killean at the Revolution and was drowned while journeying to visit his relations in Uist. Mrs Marquiss of Cara, a second cousin to one Flora Macdonald, was herself related to the Macdonalds in Milton, South Uist. The Rev. John Cunison, a Covenanting minister, had been resident at Killean during Aeneas Macdonald’s ministry and had been minister at Kilbride in Arran in 1655. Cunison, like David Simson, had also been “outed” from his charge. A native of Perthshire, Cunison was a member of a highly respected Athole family and it was perhaps these Athole connections which led him to view Killean and Kintyre as a fairly safe retreat. Of passing interest at this point, there was, though no date of its foundation can be traced, a shire of Tarbert which included Kintyre, Gigha, Islay, Jura, Scarba, Colonsay and Mull plus the various and adjacent smaller islands. On February 26, 1481, a Monday, Knapdale too was made made part of Tarbert-shire. Previously it was part of Perth-shire ! Eventually, on Friday, June 28, 1633, Tarbert-shire was amalgamated with the shire of Argyll - The last Tarbert-shire M.P., elected in September 1628, was Sir Lachlan M’Lean of Morvern.

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The Marquis of Athole exercised justiciary powers in Argyll and his eldest son, who married the Duke of Hamilton’s daughter, is said to have favoured The Covenanters. From all accounts Cunison was a man of much worth having great courage, religious zeal and a disposition to suffer in support of his beliefs. Cunison lived in a miserable dwelling at a place called Clach-fhionn in Strathduie Glen. William Watson, tenant of Claongart and an elder of Killean, told the Rev. Daniel Kelly of Campbeltown the following story of John Cunison. When living at Strathduie, a gentleman (duine-uasal) from Perthshire visited Cunison. Cunison’s house had neither window nor chimney and the smoke within became so annoying that they retired outside to the river-bank and Cunison set himself to catch a fish for their meal. While fishing, Cunison told his visitor to return to Athole and tell his relatives that his house possessed one door which served for entrance, for the escape of smoke and for ‘The Light of Heaven’ to fall on the table where Providence supplied him with a meal. Cunison was obviously a Covenanter with a sense of humour able to discourse facetiously amid comfortless surroundings and in depressing circumstances. One can imagine the twinkle in his eye as he speaks of his humble abode proving far more serviceable than the stateliest of mansions. Another story tells how Cunison came home from a day’s fishing on Arnichle Loch to find a sturdy beggar, another Athole man, on his door. Cunison’s wife had refused to give this objectionable visitor lodging for the night and it was only after some hesitation that Cunison let the man stay. Cunison remonstrated with the visitor for retiring to rest without engaging in prayer or thanks marking the visitor as a man wanting as much in devotion as n common civility.

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Taking hold of the man, Cunison made to evict him from his humble dwelling but the visitor proved a formidale antagonist. Cunison, himself a powerful man, eventually pinned the visitor o the ground with his knee on his chest and ordered the man to repeat his prayer. The man declared he was unable to pray and had never prayed before. Mortified by his discomfiture, the visitor added that he had never thought that any man in Scotland could have ever laid him on his back as he was now. John Cunison had his way and the visitor, inspired rather by his physical discomfort than his spiritual misery, began “God be merciful to me a sinner” ! Not only did John Cunison prove a man of strong means but too he proved an active benefactor for he was instrumental in securing a small farm tenancy for his uncouth guest. Having lived in destitute circumstances in Kintyre for some years, Cunison at length set off for Arran to crave arrears of stipend for his ministry. His circumstances do not lead to any conclusion that his claim could be legally supported but nonetheless he explained his case to the Duchess of Hamilton. The Duchess told Cunison that the Duke did in no way have any regard for his particular sect but despite this directed Cunison to the Duke who was in the castle gardens. Cunison put his claim for seven years payment of stipend to the Duke and the Duke, not surprisingly, denied liability “you must be a strange man,” said the Duke. “Strange things I have known,” replied Cunison. “That Bishop Sharpe, the fiddler’s son, be sitting here at court before The Duke of Hamilton”. Such was the effect of this remark, carefully calculated to extol, though not too fulsomely, the dignity of the house of

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Hamilton that Cunison duly received his seven years backstipend from the Duke. Cunison’s ministry was indeed proscribed at this time and he preached at considerable risk. Nonetheless he administered the sacraments in many communities - Carradale, Gigha, Jura and Arran amongst them. In order to serve his peoples he travelled away from roads and across hills and burns and frequently preached at night. In the course of his residence at Clach-fionn a marriage party came to seek his services on a day when the Strathduie Water was in full spate. Cunison was out ploughing when the marriage party arrived and was on the opposite bank of the raging river. The bridegroom placed the marriage lines in a napkin and threw them across the water and Cunison, having seen that all was in order, duly carried out the service his voice nigh drowned by the noise of the water. He was an impressive and practical preacher and, in a service at Kilchenzie, made use of the text “Let all thieves cast from them stolen goods”. At these words one of Cunison’s congregation, a man with a taste for his mutton and who just happened to have a shoulder of mutton hidden under his plaid at the time felt the words were levelled personally at him. Such was the circumstance and the effect of Cunison’s sermon that the man drew out the ‘goods’ from his plaid and before all declared that he had never stolen from a poor man at any time and that what he had taken was from a wealthy neighbour who could well afford to lose it ! In 1695 Cunison was parish minister at Killean, for how much longer before that is not on record though it would seem that he had covered the needs of the area from 1672 onwards, from about the time of Aeneas Macdonald’s desertion of the charge.

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In 1696 Cunison wrote to the Presbytery that “age and manifold infirmities rendered him unfit for the duty of minister” and craved the Presbytery “to supply the charge by an assistant” for although Gigha no longer formed part of the charge of Killean the parish of Saddell had been added in 1641 when Murdo McWhirrie (or McCurrie) arrived at Killean. John Cunison died about 1698, “an old man and full of years”. Of him it was remarked that “the frailty of ministers could not be attributed to him for he never canted nor recanted like some of his brethern”. He was buried in Killean graveyard and his lair marked by the name Montgomery. Cunison’s son, James, was made Baillie of Kintyre and latterly, on behalf of the Duchess of Argyll, made Chamberlain of Argyll. In September 1698 the lairds of Largie and Carradale invited the Presbytery to supervise the subscription of a call to Patrick Campbell, son of Duncan Campbell, minister of South Knapdale. The call was accepted and Patrick Campbell came to Killean in 1699. In 1699 too a small chapel and burial ground was opened on the shore just north of Bellochantuy and known as Cladh Nam Paitean. Part of the chapel, by then roofless, was converted into a pinnacled enclosure to be used fo McAlister graves. Patrick Campbell’s uncle and grand-father had been ministers of some note in Argyll. His uncle, too named Patrick Campbell, was inducted to his charge of Inveraray Castle in 1657. He died in 1700 and Lady Campbell of Auchinbreck, step-daughter of the Earl of Argyll, testifies to the “awakening effect” that Campbell’s sermons had on her and to “having access to hear the sweet and powerful truths at Campbeltown underMr Cameron and Mr Keith’s ministry these two emminent lights in that place”. Patrick Campbell of Killean’s maternal grand-father had been minister at Kilfinan at the time of The Restoration and, like David Simson, was “outed” and ordered to appear before The

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Privy Council. At that appearance too were Mr Gardner of Saddell and Mr Gordon of Inveraray. Campbell of Kilfinan was ‘indulged’ in 1672 and later came to the charge of the Hughland Church in Campbeltown. Patrick Campbell’s father, Duncan Campbell of South Knapdale, lived to be a 103 and was said to “have been singularly overpowered with melancholy”. There are some suggestions that this unfortunate disposition was inherited by his son at Killean. At the time of Patrick Campbell’s arrival at Killean, the church building was not in sufficiently good state of repair to allow his ordination to take place there and it too was the case that Killean had neither manse nor, any longer, a glebe and the Laird of Largie, Duncan McVicar and Archibald Cunison presumably another son of the late John Cunison - were appointed to find a house for the new minister and the following year the parish heritors and tacksmen offered the sum of £42 Scots - about £3.50p sterling - as compensation for the lack of a manse and glebe. In the same year, 1700, it was resolved to build a meeting house at Corputchachan Trainspattain too had been suggested originally but it was considered too far and remote from Kilchenzie. In the end a meeting place was built to the south side of Bellochantuy, this the first mention of a proper place of worship there. In 1822 plans were put in place to erect a new building at ‘Beallachantuie’ and this duly opened in 1825. 150 years later, on Wednesday March 19, 1975, the last wedding took place when Iain Sinclair, son of Session Clerk John A. Sinclair, married Margaret Semple. Bellochantuy Church closed shortly afterwards and was demolished in the late 1970’s to make way for ‘the new road’ realignment. Patrick Campbell spent the next twenty years and more petitioning the Presbytery for improvements to his Killean charge and the heritors and others summoned to appear

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before the Presbytery were not wanting in reasons to explain away, or at least minimise, Campbell’s grievances. “That the charge is too vast” - the parish of Killean was some 52,000 acres, nearly 80 square miles alone and the addition of Saddell parish in 1641 added a further, not only area but, distance for travelling. “That he accepted the call on condition of Saddell parish being disjoined” - this happened eventually in 1753 when Saddell parish was joined to Skipness and a new 47,000 acre parish was formed, little smaller than the acreage of Killean. “That his maintenance being only 700 merks, £470 Scots, about £39 sterling per year and that that was badly paid; That there was no manse or glebe or Communion elements; That his ministry was unsuccessful owing to the subject discoursed on in one corner of the parish being forgotten ere he visited that corner again; That his knowledge of his flock was imperfect as he could seldom visit them owing to the very vastness of his charge; That the sick were going into Eternity without his ministering to them; That his precious time was consumed by incessant toil, fatigue and travel so that he had no time to gather food for the souls committed to him and that such hardships had broken his health and would necessitate the abandoning of his ministry even though dear to him above all sublunary comforts”. Over and over again Campbell petiotioned the Presbytery to remove him to another sphere of labour, “to transport him” or “pass an act of transportation in his favour”. Patrick Campbell lived to support his grievances for some twenty-seven years and his primary grievance, made in 1700, that there was “neither roofed church nor meeting house in all the bounds of his charge” was seen by the Presbytery as only something of but a mere and trivial effect ! Despite “the fair promises” little was done to help Patrick Campbell though a resolution was made that “so much a

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merkland” be given to the minister until such time as a manse and glebe could be provided. Even so, it is little wonder that Patrick Campbell still felt grieved for, despite early promises of increase to his stipend, his salary was effectively ‘pegged’ from 1704 until 1719. Then there was the promise that “on fourteen days notice they would provide elements whenever the minister desired a Communion” ! The meeting house could not be repaired however without first repairing the church - ‘the trivial defect’, the roof of Killean Church, was eventually and the church made usable for some sixty years. The Presbytery too had visited Killean in 1701 and had found that “there were few or no scandals amongst the people in the parish and found that there was a visible outward reformation upon them” but a report five years later, in 1706, reflects severely “that they made little progress in knowledge and that those remote parts of the parish neglect religious ordinances”. 1719 was a turning point for Patrick Campbell. Hitherto he had lived at Beachmore in an ivy-draped house which stood at the foot of a bank to the north of the farm and near to a small stream. Outside the house stood a stone on which he sat on Saturdays when meditating his service and sermon for the following day. Now, twenty years after he arrived, he was given a manse but it, like the church building with its west gable in danger of falling, was in no good state of repair. With the manse came a glebe, one lone acre of arable ground. That same year of 1719, in common with all Kintyre charges, stipends were raised by a commission appointed by The Duke of Argyll, the rises from £470 Scots, £39 sterling to £600 Scots, £50 sterling per year and, in addition, came the annual provision of £2.70p for communion elements.

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Given Mary, union whom

his new found prosperity, Patrick Campbell married daughter of Dugald Campbell of Drumnamucklach, the producing two sons, Duncan and James, neither of married and three daughters.

In October 1719 Patrick Campbell asked the Presbytery to release him from the task of crossing the hilly terrain to preach at Saddell during the winter months on account of his ill-health. The Presbytery, desiring “to have tender sympathy with him under his many grievances”, made arrangements to supply Saddell as requested. On Thursday, January 7, 1720, the Presbytery visited the parish as a complaint had been made against Patrick Campbell by some of the people “for depriving them of their portion of worship” - This referred to the holding of a service at Arnicle which at an earlier time had been the site of the church manse. Patrick Campbell represented to the Presbytery “that he preached there out of regard to the good of the whole parish”, the service there being held to make it in some way easier for the people of Saddell to attend. The Presbytery took a different view and advised Patrick Campbell that, for the future, he was not to preach at Arnicle again “unless on a Fast Day or some public occasion”. In his forty-ninth year, Patrick Campbell died on Monday, February 14, 1726 and was buried in South Knapdale. Patrick Campbell was succeeded by John MacLean (sometimes called Alexander McLaine), son of Charles Macneil bane MacLean of Mull. Licensed by the Presbytery of Lorn, he was ordained on Wednesday, May 8, 1728. John MacLean, in the fifteenth year of his ministry, died on Monday, January 17, 1743. At the end of 1743, the charge having been vacant all year, the call went to Robert Thomson, tutor to Baron Macneal of Ugadale’s two sons John and Hector. Thomson, a native of Ayrshire who had been left an orphan and and was brought up

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by his uncle, a Dr Thomson, was ordained on Wednesday, April 25, 1744. About this time a young gentlewoman of whose humanity and heroism the world would later here, came to spend a year with the Macdonalds at Largie Estate - her name was Flora Macdonald and her mother was the daughter of the Rev. Angus Macdonald whose wife was a lady of the Largie family the rest of that story is history. It would seem that Killean’s new minister Robert Thomson favoured, if he did not actually himself originate, the idea of abandoning the ruinous church at Killean in favour of a site at Muasdale which was considered to be at the centre of Killean parish were it to be disjoined from the parish of Saddell, that linking being little more than a century old and that linking having put so much strain on his predecessors. Sympathetic to the arguments, The Lords Commissioners, in a discreet dated Monday, June 11, 1753, “suppressed the churches of Killean and Beallochantuie and ordained a new church to be built upon the lands of Muasdale in the centre of the parish” - Thirty-six years later and nineteen years after the roof of the old church at Killean crashed down, one Thomas Cairns of Campbeltown began work on A’Chleit Church at Muasdale, the work contracted to be completed on the last day of June 1790, just two years after the completion of The Mull of Kintyre lighthouse. The present-day church in Carradale, built in 1865, stands on the site of that erected following the ‘disjoining’ from Killean parish in 1753. Like A’Chleit Church at Muasdale, Carradale Church stands in the centre of the parish, midway between Brackley Cemetery to the north and Saddell to the south. Though the Free Church, built in 1887, became part of The Church of Scotland in 1929, both Carradale churches continued in weekly use until 1952 when the congregations united and, though for a time both buildings were used for

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public worship, the old Free Church building on the road to the harbour, referred to as Carradale Church, was eventually adapted for use as a meeting place for church organisations and Saddell Church, its driveway opening at the bridge and opposite Dippen Farm, once a coaching inn, became the sole place of worship in the village. © 2003 P. Donald M. Kelly, PA29 6XE/14, U.K.

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