Tour Scotland Spring travel video, with Scottish music, of a road trip drive from Falkland, North on the B936 road, through Dunshalt on visit the historic parish church in Auchtermuchty village in Fife. The first recorded mention of any church on the site of the present Parish Church is on March 31st 1245 when the building, probably constructed of wattle and daub, was consecrated by the then Bishop of St Andrews, Archbishop de Burnham. There may well have been a church on the chosen site before this and it might have been called St Serf's or St Severus' in remembrance of one of the early saints of this area. We can find out exactly what took place that day in 1245 as the records, including the order of service, are in the Louvre in Paris, France. In the following year, Macduff, Thane of Fife, was captured in the Battle of Durham. He made a vow that, if he escaped with his life, he would make recompense to the Church, and in 1250, he gave the living of the Parish of Auchtermuchty, including the land and produce to the Abbey of Lindores. The Reformation that impacted on the rest of Scotland scarcely touched Auchtermuchty. In 1615 the Reverend James Barker, the 2nd Reform Minister, was accused by the Synod of Gambling and was Rebuked. The Reverend Barker was married to a relation of the local Laird whose family financed the building of the Reformation Church, which could explain the leniency of the sentence. Other ministers in other areas might have been dismissed or fined. There were a number of independently minded clerics in Auchtermcuhty. One of these was John Glass, son of Reverend Alexander Glass of the Separation Church. John Glass founded the breakaway sect of the Glassites who met in the open air in what is now know at Glassarts Glen to the north of the town on the Newburgh Road. From here John Glass went to Dundee and founded the Sandeman Church in 1727, whose parishioners served soup after services, giving the Sandeman Church the nickname of the Kail Kirk after the cabbage soup so often served. In 1733, the Secession Church was founded by those who did not agree with the way the Parish church was being run at the time. They met at Abernethy, Perthshire. From 1890 to 1956 the Minister of the Church in the Burnside was Reverend Mr Bell, whose son, H J B Bell was a famous hill climber. In his latter days, H J B Bell lived in the former manse, now known as Redwood, at the corner of Low Road and Gladgate.
Until 1975 Auchtermuchty was a royal burgh, established under charter of King James V in 1517. In the past, the linen industry was a major source of work in the town, but in the early 18th century the firm of John White was established, bringing the town its first foundry, there were two eventually. There was even a whisky distillery in operation from 1829 to 1929, when Prohibition in the U.S.A. led to its closure. The town war memorial is of note, and is an unusual design by the architect Reginald Fairlie, portraying a Scottish soldier with head bowed. The village was used as the location for Tannochbrae in the 1990s ITV series Dr. Finlay. Craig Reid and Charles Reid musicians and founders of the folk rock group The Proclaimers were born in Leith on 5 March 1962 and grew up in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. When they lived in Auchtermuchty they attended Bell Baxter High School.
James Ferrier was born on 22 October 1800 in Auchtermuchty. He emigrated to Canada in 1821 and established himself in Montreal, Quebec, as a successful Scots Quebecer merchant. He served as a city councillor of Montreal from 1841 to 1848. In 1842, Ferrier took the lead in establishing the High School of Montreal, supported by William Lunn, William Collis Meredith, the Rev. Henry Esson, and others, one of their purposes being to provide a solution to the growing influence of Anglicanism in education at the time. The new school opened in 1843. He became the fourth mayor of Montreal, holding office from 1844 to 1847. He served on the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1847 until Confederation, after which he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Royal Proclamation on 23 October 1867. He sat with the Conservative group and represented the Senatorial Division of Shawinegan until his death in 1888. From 1867 until his death he also served on the Legislative Council of Quebec, sitting for the division of Victoria. He was chancellor of McGill University from 1884 to 1888. He is commemorated by Ferrier Street in northwestern Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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