William Bell was a field preacher and 17th century minister. He was apprehended at Pentland while in the discharge of his duty, 4 September 1676. A number of the hearers were also apprehended. While they were carried up the West Bow at Edinburgh, along with

Robert Dick Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist. Life He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa. At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good e ...

, an unsuccessful attempt was made at a rescue, and all were imprisoned. The indictment he was answering for, was "preaching and discharging the other functions of the ministry without a regular licence." He was tried for preaching sermons in the open air for "by the fifth act of the second session of the second Parliament of Charles II, 1670, it is statute and ordained, "that whosoever without licence or authority shall preach, expound scripture, or pray at any meetings in the field, or in any house where there are more persons than the house contains, so that some of them are without doors (which is declared to be a house

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 ...

), or who shall convocate any number of people to these meetings, shall be punished with death, and confiscation of their goods."" He was sent to 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 ...

on the Firth of Forth in

Haddingtonshire East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

on 12 October 1676 along with

. He was released on 19 July 1679 after nearly three years. From September 1679 until April 1680 it is recorded that conventicles were held in the town-barn of the earl of Tweedale at Innerkeithing. William Bell is listed as one of the preachers. Bell was subsequently imprisoned in

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blacknes ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, William Covenanters Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Scottish prisoners and detainees Covenanting Prisoners of the Bass Rock 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland