The parish ministers' vault

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 7 Jul 2013

See Image for another view, and Image for context. The parish ministers' vault, as I have chosen to call it here (for want of a better name), is the area in the foreground; the enclosure just beyond it, with iron railings, is what remains of the Image; the standing structure immediately behind that is the Image The stone that is most prominent on the left in this view is that of Patrick Slight, who was the parish minister from 1803 to 1808. He was born in the parish of Innerwick (Image), licensed by the Presbytery of Dunblane on the 19th of July 1791, ordained assistant in this parish (Bonhill) on the 6th of August 1793, presented by James, Duke of Montrose, on the 29th of November 1802, and admitted on the 20th of January 1803. He died unmarried on the 31st of May 1808 ["Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae" (FES), Volume 3 (1920)]. Some of those details are legible in the inscription: The Rev'd Patrick Slight Minister of this Parish Died 31st May (1808) In his 4(?) ..." The remainder of the inscription is covered by moss. Common formulae on ministers' gravestones are "in his –th year" and "in the –th year of his ministry". In this case, it appears that he was in his 40s (or, if in his 40th year, 39); FES does not give the year of his birth, or his age at death. More information has come down to us about his successor William Gregor, who, I believe, is also buried here, although it is not clear which of the gravestones is his. He was the parish minister from 1809 to 1848. William Gregor was born near Edinburgh in 1769. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Arbroath on the 10th of May 1797, presented by James, Duke of Montrose, on the 16th of July 1808, and ordained on the 20th of April 1809. He died, unmarried, at Mill of Balloch, on the 22nd of November 1848 [FES, Volume 3]. Tall and spare, and slightly stooped, he was considered a little eccentric in his speech and actions; however, he was well educated, of keen intelligence, and with an excellent knowledge of the classical and Semitic languages. He did not live in the manse, partly because it was in poor condition, but also because he did not want to be troubled with housekeeping duties. Instead, he stayed at Mill of Balloch, where he lodged at the house of the miller, Mr McAllister (of the family who are discussed at Image). He left behind him a sealed envelope which contained very detailed instructions about his funeral and how it was to be conducted, as well as about how his corpse was to be dressed, and details of his gravestone (specifying the form it should take, and the inscription to be carved upon it); in all of these areas, he wished matters to be conducted in a decent manner, but modestly, without showiness or extravagance. It may be noted that FES gives his year of birth as 1769, but does not specify the day and month. In modern times, most take it for granted that they know the date of their own birth, but such knowledge was by no means universal in the past; William Gregor himself knew that he had been baptised on the 12th of March 1769, but, as regards the day of his birth, he knew only that he had been born either at the end of February or at the beginning of March.

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