Robert Bennet Of Chesters
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Robert Bennet of Chesters was a 17th-century Scottish gentleman. He lived in the
Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
. Chesters or Grange lies on the banks of the Teviot and is close to the town of
Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 trunk road on the B6400 which runs through A ...
in
Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...
.


The conventicles of Lilliesleaf Moor

Lilliesleaf Lilliesleaf is a small village and civil parish south east of Selkirk in the Roxburghshire area of Scottish Borders of Scotland. Other places nearby include Ancrum, Ashkirk, Belses, Hassendean, Midlem, Minto House, Old Belses, St Boswells, a ...
Moor, which then extended westward to Satchels and Grundistone, was the scene of many a
conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
. From Government papers we are warranted to infer that field-meetings were held for some time regularly nearly every Sabbath during summer and winter on Lilliesleaf and Hassendean moors, Blackriddel hill, and other places in the neighbourhood. Meldrum, the notorious Border persecutor, made the following statement before the Privy Council : — "The shire of Selkirk and the country there about is notoriously known to be the most disorderly part of the kingdom, and there have been always more conventicles there than in any other shire." The place in the neighbourhood of Selkirk where conventicles were most frequently held seems to have been Lilliesleaf Moor.


Life

Robert Bennet became a religious man. His own minister was the famous John Livingstone of
Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 trunk road on the B6400 which runs through A ...
. He in his own writings records how he was greatly affected following the preaching of Rutherford (possibly
Samuel Rutherford Samuel Rutherford (also Rutherfurd or Rutherfoord; – 29 March 1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theologian who wrote widely read letters, sermons, devotional and scholastic works. As a political theorist, he is known for "L ...
) at a communion service, led by Livingstone, in Wilton church on Sunday 22 June 1656. Afterwards Bennet, who was around 35 years old at the time, made a personal covenant with God:
"The Lord, who is rich in mercy to all that call on Him, by providence in my portion of Scripture that morning, did not leave me comfortless, but held forth the sweet promise of Isaiah chapter 55 verse 7, 'Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.' Quhairunto as I could with heart and goodwill, I engaged, with my hands lifted up, to the Most High to forsake all my wicked ways; and, as He would enable, to devote myself to His feare; and solemlie vowes myself to be a Nazarite unto God; and earnestly beggs a heart to call Him my God and Father, and nocht depairt from His wayes, and mak me mindfull of my vowes, and enable me with strenth from above to perform the sam. So help me God. (Signed) ROBERT BENNET."
The Covenant thus made had a most powerful influence on Bennet's walk and conversation. He renewed it each year on 16 January as long as he lived. His wife's extravagance brought him into troublesome debt, but he faced all trials in a noble spirit. In 1676, Robert Bennet of Chesters was declared an outlaw and had all his possessions seized due to the fact he had attended
conventicles A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
by John Blackadder and others. The conventicles took place on
Lilliesleaf Lilliesleaf is a small village and civil parish south east of Selkirk in the Roxburghshire area of Scottish Borders of Scotland. Other places nearby include Ancrum, Ashkirk, Belses, Hassendean, Midlem, Minto House, Old Belses, St Boswells, a ...
moor. He was known as a prisoner from the
Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcan ...
. He was heavily fined and repeatedly imprisoned on the island in the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
for stating that he would not attend open air church services. The main reason behind his detention in the Bass was his taking part in "armed conventicles". He was sentenced on 2 May 1677 and transferred from the Tolbooth to the Bass by 3 horsemen and 6 footmen. He was fined 4000 merks on 28 June 1677. Other counts were preferred against him, such as refusing to wait upon the "preaching of the curates" and to forego the ministrations of one "
John Welsh John Welsh may refer to: *John Welsh of Ayr (1568–1622), religious leader *John Welsh of Irongray, religious leader *John Welsh (actor) (1904–1985), Irish actor *John Welsh (Australian footballer) (born 1938), Australian rules football player f ...
; a declared rebel and traitor". He was fined four thousand merks Scots, and ordained to be carried to the Bass until he made payment thereof. He was ordered to be set free on 9 October 1677.


Family

He married Anna Douglas. He was given leave to visit her from the Bass when she was on her deathbed on 18 February 1678. He was ordered to be put into house arrest on 13 June 1678. Robert seems to have had a least one daughter: Christian who married Walter Scot. He also had a son named Archibald.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, Robert Covenanters Scottish prisoners and detainees 17th-century Scottish landowners Covenanting Prisoners of the Bass Rock