Don’t mess with folk from the Wee County…
In 1699, Rob Livingston, found guilty of stealing sheep, was whipped out of Clackmannan (after a few laps of the town), stark naked, with the sheep’s head and feet round his neck, and was banished on pain of hanging.
Wallace, J. (1890) The sheriffdom of Clackmannan; a sketch of its history with lists of its sheriffs and excerpts from the records of court .James Thin, Edinburgh pp.74-75.
Auchenblae drover James “Satan” Paterson (1811-1889) lost his arm in a mill accident when young. He had a large stone tied into his empty sleeve as a “prosthetic”, which he used ferociously when fighting. He was nicknamed “Satan”, as he was unable to feel pain.
Mollyson, C.A. (1893) The Parish of Fordoun: Chapters in its History. John Rae Smith, Aberdeen. pp. 126-127
v. to transfer milk from a neighbour’s cow to another by magic. Spells were cast using a tether made from a human hair rope. A skill believed to be held by witches and Highlanders.
Dictionary of the Scots Language. https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/milk
Though the stocks as a punishment was far less common in Scotland than in England and “disgracing punishments” were considered old-fashioned by the 1790s… ..the last person to made a “laughing stock” in Fordoun was in July 1841, during the Paldy Fair.
In 1881, Paisley man James Rennie was blind drunk at Barassie Junction defiantly walking on the tracks when he was flattened by the 1030 express to Ayr. When the train moved off him the stationmaster picked him up and found him to be completely unharmed.
Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald. 9th July 1881. pg. 5.
In the 1680s, a man was murdered and his body hid in Greenhead Moss near Wishaw, where it lay for ~250 years until it was found by a man digging peats in 1932.
He was aged 50ish, was 5’6”, with long brown hair, had size 7 feet, and was last seen wearing a fancy cap.
Mann, L.M., Graham, J., Eskdale, R.G., and W. Martin (1937) Notes on the discovery of a body in a peat moss at Cambusnethan, Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, 9(1): 44-55
Saint-Martin-D’Auxigny, nr. Bourges was considered a Scottish “colony” in France from 1425 to 1789 on land granted by Charles VII for Scots’ aid vs. the English. In 1810 locals still called themselves “L’écossais” and surnames like “du Perth” were still common.
For years the “colonists” married within themselves and spoke a strange mix of Scots and French. The town was “a protestant island in sea of French Papists”. In the 1870s churches in Scotland held benefits for the people of St.-Martin-D’Auxigny who were terribly impoverished.
Greenock Telegraph and Clyde Shipping Gazette. 1st July 1871. pg. 4.
Duncan, J.D. (1890) St. Martin D’Auxigny, an old Scots colony in France, Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, 1(4): 544-549
On the 28th April 1647, Isobel Kemp was banished from the town of Aberdeen for “hir bad and abbominable conversation”. She was banished on “payne of drouning” and anyone harbouring her would be fined or lose their pension.
Imagine if your patter was that bad…
Twitter user @Meldrum04 shared some additional info on Isobel from an Aberdeen history book. Turns out she was a tapster, someone who sells ale door to door. She was married but had been found cavorting with another man, which is probably what “conversation” means here.
Stuart, J. (ed.) (1872) Extracts from the Council register of the burgh of Aberdeen. Scottish Burgh Records Society, Edinburgh, pg.84.
n. Mutton from dead sheep.
On the 21st January 1794, a sudden storm hit the Solway Firth area causing major floods. The toll, found at low tide on the Beds of Esk was:
1840 sheep
9 cattle
3 horses
3 people
45 dogs
180 hares
and innumerable smaller animals.
It was remembered as the Goniel Blast.
Dictionary of the Scots Language. https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/goniel
Hyslop, J.D. and R. Hyslop (1912) Langholm as it was : a history of Langholm and Eskdale from the earliest times. John Menzies & Co, Edinburgh, pg. 850
In September 1954, about 200 schoolchildren (some as young as 4) invaded the Southern Necropolis in the Gorbals, armed with sharpened sticks, stones, and penknives. When the police arrived, they were told that everyone was there to kill a 7ft vampire with iron teeth who had eaten two of their schoolmates.
Genuinely scared, the children patrolled the grounds looking for the vampire. The next night, another massive crowd of children scaled the walls after the gates were locked. Gravediggers, cemetery officials, and the police couldn’t keep the throngs of children out of the grounds. A journalist at the scene was begged by the children to help them: “Hiv ye come tae shoot him, Mister? Kill him sae we can sleep tonight!”.
One of my favourite cases of mass hysteria, the whole ordeal was blamed on scary comic books, and compelled the MP for the Gorbals to introduce the Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/3-4/28/contents) the following year.
A poem read to the children “Jenny wi the Airn Teeth”, by Alexander Anderson about a bogle that eats naughty children may also have a lot to do with it!:
“…Jenny wi’ the airn teeth,
Come an’ tak’ the bairn:Tak’ him to your ain den,
Jenny wi the Airn Teeth, A. Anderson
Where the bowgie bides,
But first put baith your big teeth
In his wee plump sides;”
The Scotsman, 18th March 2016.https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/gorbals-vampire-and-monster-hunt-shook-glasgow-1480233
Scottish Poetry Library https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/jenny-wi-airn-teeth/
