Ancient Shepherds' Monument

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 15 Feb 2011

This memorial is located within Image, and commemorates both a person and an event. A large upper part is concealed by the trees; the monument has "a capital of cornice with shepherds' crook, etc, the whole being surmounted by a carved urn" ["The God's Acres of Dumbarton", Donald MacLeod, 1888]. The sculptor's name was Galloway. Above the main inscription is the representation of an open Bible, with the words "Feed my lambs; feed my sheep", while the second of the three bases of the monument bears the word "Resurgam"; the latter, meaning "I shall rise again", is particularly common on gravestones. The main inscription is shown in close-up in Image, but is reproduced here in order to make the information easier to locate. It reads as follows (spellings such as "brethern" are those used in the inscription): the monument was erected "to commemorate the opening at Dumbarton of the Pride of Leven Lodge of Ancient Shepherds A.U., The mother lodge of Scotland, on the 4th May 1868; and the Introduction of Shepherding into Scotland by brother David McCulloch P.P.C.S. who died 21st Feb'y 1871, aged 32 years, and to whose memory this stone has also been gratefully raised by the brethern. Erected A.D. 1882." A.U. stands for Ashton Unity, and indicates where this organisation had its beginnings (Ashton-under-Lyne). It was a Friendly Society – more specifically, a sickness and benefits club. At the time of writing, it survives – though in modified form, and after some mergers – as Shepherds Friendly, a mutual insurer. As for P.P.C.S., it stands for "Past Provincial Chief Shepherd". The original purpose of the organisation is explained in part by the inscription on the left-hand side of this monument (again, the original spelling has been retained): "The brethern of the Pride of Leven Lodge have aquired the ground in front of this monument where members without relatives or in needy circumstances may rest after the battle of life has been finished". Below this, on the uppermost base of the monument, is the society's motto, "Christus Noster Pastor". Many societies of a similar nature sprang up in this area. The book "The Story of the Vale of Leven" (J.Agnew, 1976) mentions some of these, "the oldest being the masonic lodge in Renton, founded 1788, and the other in Bonhill in 1826. The Oddfellows (see Image) established themselves next, followed by Shepherds, Good Templars, Gardeners, Foresters, and others. Mutual aid was one of their prime objects, and some advocated temperance or total abstinence. Others did not."

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