Longside Kirkyard

Whilst walking along the Formartine Buchan Way near Longside recently Grey Granite noticed the bellcot of what turned out to be Longside Parish Church and  a tall tower, that of St John's Longside Episcopal Church. The link below is to an account of this walk.

http://greygranitewalkingtheline.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/longside-and-haughs-of-rora.html

Longside kirkyard contains the present Parish Church which was built in 1836 when it replaced an older, now roofless, church dating from 1620 the year the parish was created. When the old church was built it was designated as the 'ower Kirk of Petrugie', Peterugie being the old name for Peterhead. However, since the farm on which it was built was called Longside both the church and the village which grew up round it became known by this name.

The present parish church with the tower of St John's Episcopal (1853) church in the distance on the right. 

There are several patches of Yellow Corydalis (Corydalis lutea) growing on the kirkyard dyke. This attractive little plant also appears on several old walls in Old Deer but seems not to grow closer to the Buchan coast.

The entrance to the old kirk is through the lychgate  from which a now sunken cobbled path leads across the kirkyard to the old kirk, now filled with graves. This dates from about 1620 and is one of only two lychgates in Scotland though many English examples still exist, many of them wooden. The lychgate was essentially a shelter over the gate to the kirkyard and was intended to provide some shelter for the coffin and pall bearers or mourners as they waited  to be met by the clergyman officiating at the burial. The recesses in the inner walls were probably seats for the pall bearers, English examples often have a stone block in the middle of the gateway on which the coffin could be rested.

The lychgate from within the kirkyard, note the path paved with large pebbles and below the level of the  kirkyard. It is thought that there may originally have been a bellcote on top of the gateway.

Beautifully carved and well preserved mortality symbols on  a grave slab in the oldest part of the kirkyard. Clockwise from the top left these are an open book, probably a Bible or the Book of Life, a winged skull representing the soul leaving the body, an hour glass represents the passing of time and would be similar to the hour glass on the pulpit, a died bell, this was the small hand bell rung to announce the death and at the funeral, next to this is a coffin and below that crossed long bones (like the skull nothing to do with pirates!), the gravedigger's tools and  a skull beneath a banner carved with the legend Momento Mori, 'remember you must die'. The initials of the deceased and their spouse are in the centre.

The family tomb of the Keiths of Ludquharn built into the east dyke of the kirkyard.  Jervais considers this to be the oldest monument in the graveyard

On the left of the lychgate is this elegant, crisply carved, well preserved mural monument to Reverend John Lumsden who was minister of the parish for 15 years prior to his death, aged 47, in 1732.  Again the open book, winged skull and hour glass. The rosettes were  a popular form of decoration in the 18th century.

The grave of Rev John Skinner an Episcopalian whose ministry at Longside lasted for an astonishing 64 years. The tablet beneath commemorates his wife, Grissell Hunter. Rev Skinner became parson  of Longside in 1742. Following the defeat of the Jacobites in 1746, there was little tolerance of  Episcopalian clergy and many, including Skinner who disguised himself as a miller to avoid capture were hounded by government troops. On the night of 29th July 1746 his parsonage was raided by the troops who set fire to the Episcopalian chapels in both Longside and  Old Deer. Skinner continued his ministry by preaching from the window of his house at Linshart, the congregation sheltering in the lee of the two wings of his house. The Penal Act of 1748 forbade Episcopalian clergy from preaching to more than four people but Skinner defied this and continued to preach freely until May 1753 when he was imprisoned in Aberdeen for six months. His eight year old son John who was destined to become Bishop of Aberdeen insisted on being incarcerated with him. On his release Skinner was extremely circumspect and successfully avoided further sanctions. He continued to live at Linshart but, like many of his colleagues, who needed to supplement their reduced incomes, he turned to farming  taking on the farm of Mains of Ludquharn in 1758. This venture was not a success and he abandoned it after seven years. By 1760, following the accession of George 3rd, toleration of Episcopalians began to increase and Skinner was subsequently able to build a new chapel near Linshart, this was first used for worship on 7th August 1763.  Thereafter Skinner began to record the history of the Episcopalian Church producing the Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, completed in 1788. Skinner was also a much respected poet, one of his works, Tullochgorum was considered by Robert Burns to be 'the  best Scotch song Scotland ever saw'. Tullochgorum, written at the suggestion of Mrs Montgomery, wife of  the Inland Revenue Officer in Ellon, contains the lines:

 May choicest blessings still attend
Each honest-hearted open friend,
An' calm an' quiet be his end,
Be a' that's good before him!

Rev. John Skinner met his own end quietly but suddenly, after dinner and in the company of three generations of his family, sitting in his chair at the home of his son John, by then Bishop of Aberdeen on 16th June 1807.

James Fleming, affectionately known as Jamie Fleeman, was born at nearby Ludquharn, and christened at Longside on 7th April 1713.  He gained such notoriety as 'fool' to the Laird of Udny that a biography of him written by Rev J Pratt (of 'Pratt's Buchan' fame) was published in 1831, four decades after his death and reprinted in 1980. In the introduction to the biography Pratt explains that 'a century or two ago, a professed fool was considered an necessary appendage to every family of distinction. The primitive elements of his character were the knave, the idiot, the crazed madman. Wit combined with apparent stupidity, unbending fidelity mingled with reckless audacity, and a discriminating judgement concealed by a well dissembled indifference, were indispensable ingredients in his composition.' Pratt considers that the necessary characteristics of the successful fool 'were part real and part feigned'. Jamie was well regarded with great affection during his life time for his ready wit, loyalty, discretion and trustworthiness, even being used by the Countess of Errol as a go between, taking messages to and from the many fugitives, including Lord Pitsligo, who were hiding about the countryside in the terrible aftermath to Culloden. Despite his 'foolishness' he could be relied upon, if interrogated, not to disclose the nature of his mission. Jamie died at the home of his sister at Kinmundy in 1778, his dying words were said to be, 'Dinna bury me like a beast'. He was buried at Longside in what was, for many years, an unmarked grave. However, in 1861 a visitor to the grave of Rev. John Skinner having been told the story of Jamie and his dying wish, collected about £14 in shilling subscriptions to pay for the granite pillar which now stands over the grave. It is inscribed with the words 'Erected in 1861 to indicate the grave of Jamie Fleeman, in answer to his prayer, 'Dinna bury me like a beast'.

A wonderfully elaborate Celtic cross, the memorial of William Randolf Center.
Dr Center was fleet surgeon to the Royal navy and Senior Medical Officer of HMS Russell which was sunk by  a mine about 7 miles off Malta on 27 April 1916. Dr Center died of wounds the following day and is buried on Malta.

The Russell a Duncan class battle ship  was launched in 1903 and was the fastest steamship at the time reaching a speed of 18 knots. It had  a crew of 800 under the command of Captain Bowden Smith and was armed with four 12 inch guns and 12 six inch guns. The ship was heading for Malta for some minor repairs when at about 5.30 a.m she hit two mines which had probably been laid by  a German submarine the previous night. Fire broke out in the aft part of the ship which was rapidly engulfed by flames, but she sank slowly enabling many of the crew to escape in lifeboats however several went down with their ship. About 300 sailors were treated for injuries at Valletta Naval Hospital but many subsequently died of their wounds which included burns and gas poisoning. In total 27 officers and 98 ratings were lost.