St Vigeans is a small village and parish in

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

, immediately to the north of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

. Originally rural, it is now more or less a suburb of the town of Arbroath.

History

The name St Vigeans is derived from ''Vigeanus'', a Latinised form of the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

name Féichín.

Saint Feichin In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

flourished in the 7th century. There is no record of his having visited what is now

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, but followers of his cult may have founded a monastery among the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

at St Vigeans as early as the 8th century. This is shown by the unusual dedication, and especially by the collection of more than thirty elaborately carved stones preserved in the St Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum (converted from an old cottage) in the village (

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

; key from

Arbroath Abbey Arbroath Abbey, in the Scottish town of Arbroath, was founded in 1178 by King William the Lion for a group of Tironensian Benedictine monks from Kelso Abbey. It was consecrated in 1197 with a dedication to the deceased Saint Thomas Becket, who ...

visitor centre). The collection includes cross-slabs, some with

Pictish symbols A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones ar ...

, cross fragments, recumbents, and architectural fragments. It is one of the largest and finest in

of its period, and includes stonework dating from the 8th-12th centuries. Most of the stones were recovered from the parish church, into whose walls they had been incorporated as building rubble during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, during 19th-century 'restoration' work. Further fragments remain in the church's walls. A monastic context for the St Vigeans' sculptures is suggested by some of the stones showing representations of clerics and patristic scenes. The so-called "

Drosten Stone The Drosten Stone is a carved Pictish stone of the 9th century at St Vigeans, near Arbroath, Scotland. In academic contexts it is sometimes called ''St Vigeans 1''. Inscription The Drosten Stone is a Class 2 cross-slab: a flat rectangular st ...

" features a much-analyzed Hiberno-Saxon inscription. The presence of a formerly important, but moribund or redundant, monastic establishment at St Vigeans may have led

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

of Scots to found nearby the Tironensian monastery of

, the former monastery's lands being donated to the new foundation.

St Vigeans Church St Vigeans Church is a Church of Scotland parish church, serving the parish of the ancient village of St Vigeans on the outskirts of Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. The church was rebuilt in the 12th century but not consecrated until 1242 by David de ...

served as parish church to the inhabitants of

up to the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Built of the local red sandstone, it was a large and impressive example of a Scottish medieval parish kirk. Its situation on top of a prominent, steep-sided mound (presumably of glacial origin, though doubtless 'improved' by landscaping) is striking. Dating in part from the 12th century, but largely 15th century in date, the church unfortunately underwent a drastic '

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

' in the late 19th century which, while it uncovered many Pictish fragments, also replaced most of the original architectural features of the church. It retains its internal round-pillared arcades, but all the doors and windows were renewed, so their original appearance has been lost. The western tower was also heightened and 'improved' by adding a castellated top and

cap-house A cap-house (sometimes written cap house or caphouse) is a small watch room, built at the top of a spiral staircase, often giving access to a parapet on the roof of a tower house or castle. They provided protection from the elements by enclosin ...

. The 18th-century headstones in the kirkyard, some of which are notably well carved, are interesting examples of folk-art, characteristic of

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

. There was once a legend that the kirk was built with stones used by an enslaved

Kelpie A kelpie, or water kelpie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Each-Uisge''), is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie ...

, and for several years the local congregation would not enter the kirk during certain services for fear the building would collapse due to the Kelpie's curse. Bridge at St

The old village of St Vigeans consisted of a single street of red sandstone cottages flanking the foot of the church mound. These have been attractively restored and are well maintained. The Brothock Burn runs past the village and so through

(formerly Aberbrothock nd variants, and is crossed by a bridge of 17th-century origin. The village lacks a shop or post-office, but does have a large public hall.

Notable residents

Joseph Anderson Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First Comptroller of the United States Treasur ...

, antiquarian, museum keeper and author (1832-1916), grew up in St Vigeans *

Isabella Carrie Isabella Scrimgeour Carrie (3 May 1878 – 29 November 1981) was a Scottish suffragette and schoolteacher. She became a suffragette after bouncers threw her out of a meeting where Winston Churchill was speaking. She was said to have remarked, ...

, secret suffragette, was born here in 1878.Hamilton, S. (2004-09-23). Carrie, Isabella Scrimgeour (1878–1981), suffragette and schoolteacher. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 29 Nov. 2017, from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-60800. *

David Chapel David Chapel (23 June 1882 — 4 May 1912) was a Scottish first-class cricketer and advocate. The son of the solicitor David Chapel, he was born in March 1930 at St Vigeans, Angus. He was educated at Arbroath High School, before matriculating ...

, cricketer

References

{{authority control Villages in Angus, Scotland Arbroath