The Hallhill Covenanter Martyrs Memorial at Irongray (NX 910797) near Kirkpatrick Irongray Church in the old county of
Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...
, now
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
, is the site of the deaths and burials of
Covenanter
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
s Edward Gordon and Alexander McCubbin.
[Scottish Covenanter Memorial Association](_blank)
/ref>[Canmore - Hallhill, Martyrs Tomb](_blank)
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Introduction
The site of the hangings lies on the lands of Hallhill Farm or at the time Haughill House in Irongray, then a mansion-house, close to Kirkpatrick Irongray church and next to the River Cruden at the eastern end of Glencairn.
Description of the memorial and site
The memorial stands on a low ridge which was once a corpse of oaks, hazels and apple trees. It is unclear the location of the bodies, or ashes as stated on the 1832 stone, were buried. After their executions the bodies were left exposed for a time on the oak tree, a dule tree, on which they were hanged, as a warning to others.[Jardine's Book of Martyrs](_blank)
/ref> The remains, possibly as ashes, were eventually buried beneath or near the oak tree.
A memorial stone with a detailed inscription was carved in the 18th century, circa 1702 to 1714, and was enclosed by iron railings with red sandstone corner pillars in 1832, when a new vertical gravestone with a finial and carvings of the martyrs faces was put alongside the old memorial stone, which lies horizontally. The site is Category B Listed.British Listed Buildings
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The execution
The Covenanters Edward Gordon and Alexander MacCubbin lived in Glencairn and were captured by Captain Sir Andrew Bruce of Earlshall on 11 February 1685, and after a few days brought to this site on Hallhill Farm where they were hanged on an oak tree on 3 March 1685. They had been taken prisoner with four others at Lochenkeit in the parish of Kirkpatrick Durham
Kirkpatrick Durham (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Phàdraig) is a village and parish in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is located north of Castle Douglas.
History
An old church dedicated to ...
and four of the group were executed soon after capture.
Grierson of Lag, known as 'Cruel Lag', had been active in requiring those living in the area to take the Abjuration
Abjuration is the solemn repudiation, abandonment, or renunciation by or upon oath, often the renunciation of citizenship or some other right or privilege. The term comes from the Latin ''abjurare'', "to forswear".
Abjuration of the realm
Abj ...
Oath and Captain Bruce brought Edward and Alexander before him, pressing for an assize be arranged to try them. 'Monsterous Lag' would have none of it although Bruce managed to stall the executions for a day.
Captain Andrew Bruce of Earshall had gained the name "Bloody Bruce," as recorded on the older gravestone, by hacking off the hands and head of Covenanter Richard Cameron after defeating the Covenanters at the Battle of Airds Moss
Airds Moss is a large area of moor in East Ayrshire, the site is a protected area because of the extensive blanket bogs. In 1680 it was the location of a clash between troops loyal to King Charles II and the covenanters under Richard Cameron in w ...
in 1680 during the so-called 'Killing Times'. He was a colleague and lieutenant of 'Bloody Clavers', John Graham of Claverhouse
John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (21 July 1648 – 27 July 1689) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. He was responsible for policing southwest Scotland during and after the religious unrest and r ...
.
Alexander was permitted to send a message to his wife saying that he "left her and the two babes upon the Lord, to His promise." The hangman asked for forgiveness and Alexander replied "Poor man, I forgive thee, and all men; thou hast a miserable calling upon earth."
They were then executed without trial and are said to have died with "Much composure and cheerfulness." The oak from which they were hanged is said never again to have produced a single leaf. The Lady of Haughill House icgave her scarf to bind the eyes of the victims and for this act of kindness she was condemned to spend seven years in exile in the colonies. The ship transporting her was caught in a violent storm near the coast of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and was lost, however she clung to a cask and survived, returning to the Irongray area after the Revolution.
Edward and Alexander are recorded on the Martyr's Cross at Dalgarnock near Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
where all fifty-seven Nithsdale Covenanter martyrs are commemorated.
Inscriptions
The inscription on the original 18th century horizontal stone reads:-
HERE LYES EDWARD GORDON AND ALEXANDER M'CUBINE MARTYRES HANGED WITHOUT LAW BY LAGG AND CAP. BRUCE FOR
TO THE WORD OF GOD, CHRISTS KINGLY IN HIS HOUS AND THE COVENANTED WORK OF REFORMATION AGAINST TYRANNY
PERJURY AND PRELACY REV XII. 12.11, MAR 3 1685.
AS LAGG AND BLOODIE BRUCE COMMAND WE WERE HUNG UP BY HELLISH HAND AND THUS THER FURUS RAGE TO STAY WE DYED NEAR KIRK OF IRON GRAY - HERE NOW IN PEACE SWEET REST WE TAKE ONCE MURDER'D FOR RELIGEON'S SAKE.
The inscription on the upright 19th century stone reads:-
THIS MONUMENT, DESIGNED TO EXPRESS THE RESPECT CHERISHED BY THE PRESENT GENERATION FOR THE MEMORY AND PRINCIPLES OF THE MARTYRS WHOSE ASHES REPOSE ON THIS SPOT AND WHOSE NAMES TOGETHER WITH THE CAUSE OF THEIR SUFFERING ARE INSCRIBED ON THE ADJACENT STONES WAS ERECTED WITH THE PROCEEDS OF A COLLECTION AFTER A SERMON FROM REVELATIONS 20. 4 PREACHED ON THE 27TH JULY 1851 IN THE cHURCHYARD OF IRONGRAY BY THE REVD JOHN MCDERMID MINISTER OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, DUMFRIES.
AND I SAW THE SOULS OF THEM THAT WERE BEHEADED FOR THE WITNESS OF JESUS AND FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND WHICH HAD
NOT WORSHIPPED THE BEAST NEITHER HIS IMAGE NEITHER HAD RECEIVED HIS MARK UPON THEIR FOREHEADS OR IN THEIR HANDS AND THEY LIVED AND REIGNED WITH CHRIST A THOUSAND YEARS.
See also
*Trumpeter's Well
The Trumpeter's Well at Caldermill in South Lanarkshire is recorded as the site of the death of a government trumpeter or cornet who was killed in the aftermath of the 1679 Battle of Drumclog at which the Covenanters were victorious.
Introducti ...
References
Notes
Sources and further reading
* Campbell, T. (1996). "Standing witnesses : a guide to the Scottish Covenanters and their memorials, with a historical introduction. Edinburgh: Saltire Society".
*Fergusson, Alexander (1886). ''The Laird of Lag. A Life-Sketch.'' Edinburgh: David Douglas.
* Whyte, I. and K. Whyte. (1990). "On the Trail of the Jacobites". London: Routledge.
* Wilson, W. (1751). "The true and impartial relation of the persecuted Presbyterians in Scotland; their rising in arms, and defeat at Bothwell-Bridge, in the year 1679". Glasgow.
External links
YouTube video with history of the Hallhill Memorial
A Researcher's Guide to Local History terminology
{{authority control
Religion in Scotland
Landforms of Dumfries and Galloway
Villages in Dumfries and Galloway
Buildings and structures in Dumfries and Galloway