Information board on Mary Rae's Well, Bellshill

Image: © Becky Williamson Taken: 13 Feb 2010

The board is misleading; it makes the Battle of Bothwell Bridge sound like part of a King versus Parliament dispute as in the English Civil War, whereas the issue for which Mary Rae died was whether the King could claim to be the spiritual head of the Church of Scotland. What began as a purely religious dipute grew into a more general opposition to James VII's absolutism in the 1680s. The Covenanters sought religious freedom and the curbing of the King's arbitrary power, rather than 'independence of [the Scottish] parliament from the arbitrary power of the king' (as stated on board). Information on board: MARY RAE’S WELL This plaque marks the site of a spring named after Mary Rae, an Ayrshire woman, who died here beside the body of her sweetheart, Robert Lambie. He was a Covenanter involved in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, which took place between the Covenanters and the Royalists on 22 July 1679. The Covenanters lost the battle. Many were killed and prisoners were tortured and hanged. Others were banished to America. Lambie was found by Mary Rae who dragged him to the well and bathed his wounds. In assisting her sweetheart she had committed treason. When he died she resolved that as love made them one in life, so in death they should not be parted. She was found dead at his side by local people who called the well after her. The Covenanters took their name from the National Covenant, which upheld the presbyterian system established in Scotland after the reformation. They sought religious freedom and the independence of parliament from the arbitrary power of the king. Until this day there may be seen Within a Circle, bright and green A little stone protected mound Twas here the faithful pair were found And often travellers pause a while Beside the little rustic stile Which guards the grave of Mary Rae And he who fell on that sad day. William Thomson For photo of well, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2275894 and for photo of Lambie's farm, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2275858

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