IN my recent series on the ancient history of Scottish towns, I named St Andrews as the most famous town in Scotland worldwide, more so even than Paisley or Ayr or Lanark, my logic being that because it is the Home of Golf, the name of St Andrews is known by more people across the globe than any other Scottish town.
No-one seriously disputed my choice, and once you see the logic of my conclusion today, I trust readers will have to agree the most famous village in Scotland is John o’ Groats.
Today I will complete this series which was extended by readers’ suggestions. I have written about West Linton, Fettercairn, Luss, Falkland, Muir of Ord, Tarbert, Glencoe, Culross, Lamlash, Wanlockhead, Kilmartin, Dunbeath, Castlebay, and today I shall tell the histories of Crail, Dalmally, Eaglesham, Ceres and Cullen – apologies to all these 18 villages, but I am sure John o’ Groats is the most famous village in Scotland.
Inspired by that graduate in mediaeval history Alex Salmond, my next series will be on the ancient kingdoms of Scotland, specifically Dalriada of the Scoti, the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu, Strathclyde of the Britons, Galloway of the Gaels and the Norse kingdom that comprised Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, Caithness, part of the west coast and the Isle of Man.
But first the question of defining what is a village. As I explained, there is no absolute definition of what comprises a village, but over the years I have used criteria taught to me long ago by a fine geography teacher – that it should be in a rural location, have a population of under 3000, i.e. larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town, and be the site or past site of a centre of worship or some other form of meeting place.
Reader Allan Findlay wrote to say: “Your geography teacher’s definition of village may or may not be right. The National Records of Scotland have stats about Scottish places using several different geographies. The most detailed info about small places in a rural setting is published in relation to ‘localities’. The Scottish Government, along with Scottish Towns Partnership, have produced a really interesting website called Understanding Scottish Places. It’s a great resource that you may like to refer to in future. By their definition ‘localities’ over 1000 people are towns. This of course bumps into your definition of villages as places with less than 3000 people. It’s not a huge issue, but it sounds as if your ‘villages’ include quite a few towns.”
Fair point, Allan, but I would suggest that the Scottish Towns Partnership has a vested interest in increasing the number of “towns” it represents and in all the villages I have visited over several decades, not a single person ever said they were townspeople rather than villagers, so I am sticking to my definition.
All the 19 villages I have chosen comply with my criteria for choosing them which is as follows: they need not be ancient – i.e. pre-Reformation – but must have been extant for a couple of centuries at least. They should have some claim to fame in the context of Scotland’s history, and there must have been some historical research about them.
As I have also explained, In my unscientific choice of villages, they must be places I have visited, which rules out villages in Orkney and Shetland which I will get to next year when I will also write about the ancient history of our eight cities – please do email me if you have any suggestions or information that could help me.
And so to John o’ Groats. Because of its geographical position as the northernmost village on the island of Great Britain, it is always linked with the landmark at the southernmost part of the island, Land’s End. Neither is actually the most northern or southern point of mainland Great Britain, those being Dunnet Head and The Lizard respectively, but the village of John o’ Groats and the settlement – a holiday complex and a pub – at Land’s End are renowned the world over for being the starting and finishing points of the journey, or vice versa, from one end of this island to the other, a distance of 603 miles (970 km) as the crow flies or more than 870 miles (1400 km) for walkers and cyclists, though some who cycle or walk the distance cover more than 1000 miles (1609 km).
John o’ Groats is not a very ancient village as it was only founded in the late 15th century, possibly 1489, by a Dutch immigrant, Jan de Groot, with a connection to King James IV who encouraged him to settle in this part of Caithness. Local tradition has it that Jan set up a ferry service across the Pentland Firth to Orkney, and he then built a house which legend says had eight doors for himself and his seven sons so that none could claim to be superior to the others.
The National Library of Scotland has a copy of the 1838 Gazetteer for Scotland which states: “He erected upon the extreme point of their territory an octagonal building, having a door and window at every side, and furnished with a table of exactly the same shape; and when the next occasion of festivity took place, desired each of his kin to enter at his own door, and take the corresponding seat at the table.”
End of family stushie, beginning of legend…
The local distillery, which produces some very fine whisky, is known as the 8 Doors Distillery, in acknowledgment of the legend.
Though definitely much older than almost every other village in my series, Crail in Fife was also greatly influenced by the Dutch as can be seen in the architecture of the village which at one point traded greatly with the Low Countries.
Its name indicating that it was a Pictish fort, evidence has been discovered to show that Crail’s earliest inhabitants were native tribes from prehistoric times. It was definitely settled by Picts before the second half of the first millennium and became a centre for Christianity as indicated by the 8th century stone slab preserved in the parish church.
The legend that King Constantine I was killed by Vikings in the cave near the village that bears his name is more of a myth as Constantine was most probably killed in battle against the invaders. By the 11th century, Crail was already an important port, and like many of our ancient towns and villages, it befitted from a local fortification and royal patronage, plus a religious institution – a lost priory – and a church. The current Crail Kirk is on the original church’s site.
Long since demolished, with barely a fragment remaining, Crail Castle was used by King David I (r.1124-53) and his successors Malcolm IV – the Maiden – and William the Lion also favoured the village, the latter making it a royal burgh in 1178.
Though it did not expand massively, Crail became a market town as stated by King Robert the Bruce in his charter to the burgh in 1310. Its harbour dates to the 17th century, and Crail stayed a vital part of the Fife fishing industry until it declined in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dating from 1786, Crail Golfing Society is the seventh-oldest golf club in the world.
Reader Alison Lindsay suggested I include Dalmally in this series and I am happy to do so as it was often the scene of my youthful fishing trips to adjacent Loch Awe.
I tend to think of the village as the centre of ‘greater Dalmally’ because so much happened around it. In compiling this brief account I acknowledge the excellent work of the Dalmally Historical Association sourced via the website www.loch-awe.com – visit it for much more information on the area.
You do not have to look far for evidence that this area of Argyll was settled in prehistoric times. There are about 20 extant crannogs, those artificial islands which are a feature of many Scottish lochs, in Loch Awe, dating as far back, perhaps, as 500 BCE.
There is evidence in the village itself of early Christian settlement in the shape of St Conan’s Well.
According to the Historical Association: “An 18th-century account by the Minister of the Parish, Dr Joseph MacIntyre, says that the Well was known in the sixth century and was blessed by St Conan. It was ‘known for the lightness and salubrity of its waters’.”
The village grew as a settlement alongside the River Orchy with links to up to four castles in the immediate area, the chief of which is Kilchurn Castle at the head of Loch Awe, built in the mid-15th century by Sir Colin Campbell, chief of the powerful Glenorchy sept of the clan. The other Loch Awe castles are Fraoch Eilean, Innisconnel, and Fincharn, the last of those possibly the oldest, dating to the 13th century. Inishconnel was given to the Campbells by King Robert the Bruce after the clan fought for him in his victory at the Battle of the Pass of Brander, a much-neglected event in the Wars of Independence fought in 1308 as part of the Bruce’s campaign to solidify his reign, in this case by defeating the MacDougall allies of the Comyn family.
Dalmally was a frequent stopping point for many armies over the centuries and when the railways arrived in the 19th century, the village became a popular destination for those visiting this beautiful part of Scotland.
Eaglesham was not intended to be part of this series because the population has grown spectacularly in recent years and now numbers over 3000. I also knew it as mostly a planned village, now a conservation area, dating from the late 18th century. But a local villager, as she called herself, pleaded that I should tell its ancient story, which I shall do briefly.
Its very name shows how Eaglesham started as it means ‘church settlement’. According to East Renfrewshire Council’s website: “Eaglesham was part of land given to Walter, High Steward of Scotland, by King David I in the 12th century. He in turn granted it to Robert de Montgomery, grandson of the Earl of Shrewsbury, probably as part of a marriage dowry, when Robert married Walter’s daughter. It remained in the hands of the Montgomery family until 1844 when it was sold to the Gilmour Brothers.”
The Montgomery family, later spelled Montgomerie, were the Earls of Eaglesham and also Earls of Eglinton, and It was the 10th and 11th Earls of Eglinton who planned the Eaglesham village we see today.
Ceres in Fife is included because though it is lacking in great historical developments, reader Dave Simpson wrote to tell me of its fantastic claim to fame dating back to 1314: “After Bannockburn the men from Ceres returned to the village – all of them – and celebratory games were held. This tradition has been carried on ever since, making Ceres Games the longest established games in Scotland.”
That’ll do for me. Lastly, Cullen in Moray has a long history and was established, possibly as a Christian settlement, long before its first appearance in written history as the location of the Battle of Bauds in 962 in which the Kingdom of Alba defeated the Norse invaders once and for all, though King Indulf seems to have been fatally wounded in the battle.
Made a royal burgh in the 12th century, the village developed around Cullen Castle, a royal fortress where Robert the Bruce’s wife and Queen Consort Elizabeth de Burgh died in 1327.
The King had a chapel built in Cullen in her memory.
Cullen was entirely rebuilt as a planned village in the 19th century hundreds of yards from the original location, the old Mercat Cross being the only survivor. Nowadays, the village is most famous for originating Cullen Skink, my favourite soup.
