Peathill manse:snowdrops at the glebe

Grey granite and Rufus happened to peer through a hole in the glebe dyke whilst passing Peathill Manse recently. Grey Granite was surprised by the extensive carpet of snowdrops under the trees  in the glebe. We associate  the glebe with daffodils which, each spring,  are bunched up by Rosehearty BBs and sold for charity at the local shop.

Peathill manse was built around 1770 and remodelled during the ministry of Rev Walter Gregor. The dilapidated, insanitary state  of the manse caused so much concern to Walter Gregor that for almost 25 years of his ministry, from about 1875, onwards he lived in a house built at his own expense in Brucklay Street,Rosehearty. The Grade B listed  manse is now dilapidated and uninhabited, it  is included in the Scottish 'Buildings at Risk' register.

The two storey manse has three wings and extensive stabling and steading. The frontage of the manse retains an air of decayed elegance, despite every pain of glass in the windows having been smashed so that the shutters flap and bang eerily in the wind. The porch over the front door is a 19th century addition. During the cholera outbreak  at Pittulie, Walter Gregor famously preached a series of sermons urging his parishioners to whitewash their walls and plant flowers round their doors. One can hardly imagine that he would approve of the decay and debris about the manse but he would surely have taken pleasure from the snowdrops.

Snowdrops in the glebe. There are also daffodil and wild hyacinth (bluebell) leaves showing through. It was an unusually mild day (14.5c) and the snowdrop flowers are fully open.