Lochore and Ballingry – A Parish History
What follows is a series of three articles, published in weekly instalments in The Dunfermline Press in 1961 when I was a schoolboy at Dunfermline High School, approaching my 18th birthday. When I read through the typescript after so many years, I was very tempted to do a complete rewrite. To me now, at age 70+, some of the language presents at times as childlike and at other times, rather pompous. I decided to make no real changes as that would have compromised the integrity of the original. I have made only a very few minor alterations in the text where the original might be ambiguous. Some superfluous and (now) irrelevant sentences have been deleted.
As a matter of historical fact, the articles were written by a teenage schoolboy at that exciting and scary time of life when he was seeking to establish his own identity. Whilst I always welcome constructive criticism of anything I write, please bear in mind that what follows was written by a schoolboy!
People who are less well disposed towards me may, of course, consider that my later writings are also childlike and pompous. On that issue, others alone must judge.
Also, it should be kept in mind that the area of which I wrote has changed beyond recognition since the early 1960s, with the closure of the coal mines and the remarkable reclamation of Lochore Meadows, now a country park.
These three articles led to my being awarded the Sixth Year Divinity Prize at school, of which I was, at the time, immensely proud!
Chapter 1 – Ancient History of Ballingry
Ballingry – to those who know only the geography of West Fife, this name brings up a rather uninspiring picture of coal-pits and modern council houses in one of the more run-down regions in the county. However, the bystander should know some of the history of that area before he or she passes judgment.
One of the oldest sites in the parish is the large stone circle on Hare Law, just east of Glencraig. Unfortunately little is actually known about it – some say that it is the site of an ancient battle, others that it is a type of burial mound to some long forgotten chieftain. Excavations have taken place and material, said to be human remains, was found deep in the cairn. Whatever it is, historians can safely place the date of the cairn between the second and first millennium BC.
The historical event for which Ballingry parish is best known is the battle, said to have taken place on the north bank of Lochore in the first century of the Christian era, around 83 AD.
A battle that might correspond to this is described by Tacitus, the biographer of the Roman General, Julius Agricola. According to Tacitus, the Roman fleet assembled in Bodatria, now the Firth of Forth, and then the soldiers advanced north into Caledonia. Tradition states that he landed either at Aberdour or Burntisland. Both of these places have natural harbours, both with advantages and disadvantages, but there is information that traces of (possible) Roman encampments survived in the Burnisland district until fairly recent times. Some say that he might have come ashore at Kinghorn – it all depends which town you like best!
Tradition also states that Agricola made a line of forts across West Fife, the most famous being those at Lochore and Carnock near Oakley, to the west of Dunfermline. . In the eighteenth century, a horde of Roman coins was found on Carneil Hill near Carnock and last century[3] another similar horde was found at North Bogside, near Ballingry. Coins have also been found near Auchterderran and Strathmiglo.
At the Battle of Lochore, the Ninth Legion narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of the local people (the Horestii) and indeed the position was so grave that Agricola was sent for at his temporary headquarters at Carneil Hill to come quickly with reinforcements. He came at once and was able to turn the tide of events.
The Roman legion had been asleep and the Horestii (Caledonians) made a sudden rush at daybreak from their own camp on Benarty Hill right into enemy territory. The Ninth Legion fought back bravely and kept the Caledonians at bay until Agricola came with his force, the very sight of which drove them back to their native hills.
The result of this battle was a stalemate but it did two things (a) it made the Romans realise the strength of the Caledonian forces and (b) it gave the Caledonians a fatal confidence in their “rush” tactics, just as at a later date it was the downfall of the Highland Host at Culloden.
There are still people in Fife who state, not without cause, that the famous Battle of Mons Graupius took place somewhere at the base of the Lomonds, perhaps at Strathmiglo. Large numbers of skeletons were found near Gateside, signifying in all probability the site of some ancient battle.
Assuming that Mons Graupius was fought there, is it not possible that the Caledonian forces were routed and that as a result they built the line of camps which run across the country to the south of Crieff as a kind of improvised wall, just as was done under the Emperors Hadrian and Antonine?
After the Battle of Lochore, Agricola was so shaken that he is said to have withdrawn over the Forth to consider the position. In that case it seems unlikely that Galgacus would withdraw his troops back over the Ochils when he had just won a moral victory.
After Mons Graupius, when victory was in their blood, it is quite likely that the Roman legion would pursue the fleeing Caledonians over the range of hills or even further. It is evident from historical writers such as Livy that the Romans, once victory was in their sight, would pursue a fleeing enemy with delight.
In the days of Agricola, the land around Lochore would not have had its present appearance. It would have been wild and desolate and in all probability much if it would have been covered with thick forest land, inhabited by wolves.
The remains of the Roman camp at Lochore have been almost completely destroyed within the last 200 years. It is said to have stood on the site now occupied by Chapel or Camp Farm on the north bank of the loch. According to historians’ reports, the camp measured 2020 feet right round, had three ramparts and ditches and a large watchtower facing out over the dark waters of the loch. Camps of similar appearance are said by rather unreliable period writers to have existed near Burntisland, Kinghorn and Queensferry. This kind of camp would perhaps have been one of the many temporary forts erected by the Romans.
The person who probably knew most about the Lochore camp was Sir Walter Scott, but like the great writer he was, he was apt to make up what he did not know. Sir Walter’s connection with Lochore will be dealt with later.
Chapter 2 – The Coming of Christianity to the Ore Valley
To begin a critical survey of Saint Serf whose followers are said to have brought Christianity to the Ore Valley would require a whole volume but, to understand how the faith was brought, a little knowledge is necessary. When exactly he lived and who his parents were has long been a matter of argument among learned men. Indeed it is often argued (with very little evidence) that there were two Serfs or perhaps even three. To keep matters simple we shall place Saint Serf in the sixth century and attempt to keep him singular!
According to tradition, he died at Dunning in Strathearn and was buried at his place of ministration, Culross. When the Norse invasion came, his followers were driven out of Culross and were given refuge by the Pictish King Brude on the largest island on Loch Leven called St Serf’s Inch to this day.
The Priory on St Serf’s Inch was brutally sacked at a later date by King David I, the “Sore Saint” who crushed the Celtic church in Scotland while his mother, the Saintly Queen Margaret of the royal line of Edward the Confessor was content to “let sleeping dogs lie”. The rather idealised picture of this kindly king peacefully building beautiful churches for the greater glory of God is only one side of the picture.
When Saint Serf’s followers fled to this large island (which is now bigger due to the later partial draining of the loch) they gradually began to bring the light of the Gospel to the surrounding wild and barren areas. It will never be known how much of Scotland was actually enlightened by Saint Serf himself or by his followers. He is known to have had a retreat at Dysart where, according to Andrew de Wyntoun, sometime the Prior of St Serf’s Inch, he had an argument with the Devil!
If Serf walked between Culross and his retreat at Dysart, he might well have made a detour into the upland country. He himself might well have founded the church of Inchgall, probably near Chapel farm and (possibly) the church at Aucterderran. The ministration of Serf or his followers has been eclipsed by a much later figure – Fothad II, the last Celtic Bishop of St Andrews, who performed the simple marriage service between Malcolm Canmore and Margaret in the humble Culdee church on whose site she built the Church of the Holy Trinity – later built over again by King David I as the great and impressive Abbey of Dunfermline. Although the Abbey is like a favourite penknife which has had a new handle and two new blades but remains the same old knife, much of the old part of the Abbey is still David’s.
If Saint Serf founded Ballingry Parish Church[4] it may be of like age with Culross, Dysart, Tullibody, Tillycoultry, Alva, Dollar, Fossoway and others. If it was founded by his Culdee followers, it may be two centuries younger, but it still ranks as a very ancient parish being between 1,000 and 1,500 years old.
The present church was built in 1831 and although subsequently enlarged, it has not changed fundamentally. It contains two burial aisles and a most unusual bell which peels across the valley every Sunday. It bears the following inscription:
Malcolme of Lochore 1658
Felices quos haec Balingria cimbita Christi ad pia sacra vocant
Ps. 89 vers 15
It may be translated thus: Blessed are they whom these Ballingry chimes call to the sacred worship of Christ. Psalm 89 verse 15 reads: Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
It is interesting to notice that the Latin lines are written in a Classical metre and scan perfectly.
The church of Ballingry is mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in his (rather dull) novel “The Abbot” in the following terms: “Send or take the body to the Chapel at Scotland’s Well[5] or to the church at Ballingry.”
The church at Ballingry has passed through three Christian traditions – the Celtic Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland. The last Roman Catholic pastor of Ballingry was Alexander Wardlaw, a member of a famous family. He was a kinsman of the respected Bishop who, in 1411 was the founder of the University of St Andrews. The first Protestant minister was a Peter Watson.[6]
In nearly all of the early Celtic churches there was a school, run by the Culdee fathers. There was certainly such a school at Culross, founded by Saint Serf and where Mungo, the future patron saint of Glasgow was educated. If such a school existed at Ballingry, it probably disappeared long before the Reformation. There is no written record of a school in the parish until 1668.
In addition to the enlargement of the church to accommodate incoming workers and their families, other churches were built in the area. Just over a century ago[7], Lochgelly was still the Fife gypsy headquarters under the influence of the Graham family. It is sometimes stated that Lochgelly was originally part of Auchterderran parish but, in actual fact, what we know today as the Burgh of Lochgelly was in the parish of Ballingry. Lochgelly village was originally nearer to the Gelly Loch, as the name would imply.
At one time, Ballingry would have contained the lands of Lochore, Balbedie, Lochcraig, Navitie, Benarty, Cartmore, Lumphinans (the site of Saint Finan’s Chapel), Lochgelly (part), Milton, Crosshill and Glencraig. The Lochore church, Lochcraig was opened in 1904.[8]
Lastly, this might be an appropriate moment to comment on the name “Ballingry”. There are two popular suggestions – bal – a village, and INRI the letters on the Cross of Jesus, still used by the Roman Catholic Church. The second suggestion seems more plausible – bal –an – rhi, a king’s dwelling or, perhaps, a dwelling fit for a king. There is no evidence that Ballingry was ever a king’s residence, although it is believed locally that royalty in some form has stooped there during the last millennium. There is also the story of the “disappearing palace” – a castle mentioned by Kenneth MacAlpine; or perhaps Lochore was the site of the lost city of Orrea? Who knows?
The idea of royalty was very likely meant as a compliment to the former beauty of this much spoiled locality which might, as little as 150 years ago, have been a dwelling place “fit for a king”.
With the coming of the modern mining era, Ballingry enjoys prosperity and everyone is glad to see the end of the former squalid miners’ rows. It is only to be hoped that the inhabitants are also proud of their church heritage and its ancient connections.[9]
Chapter 3 – Later History
After the coming of Christianity to the valley, the first recorded land owner was Duncan of Lochore who, in 1160, built the castle on the island on Loch Ore called Inchgall – the isle of the stranger. The Lochores were a powerful family of lawyers and produced at least four sheriffs. The name of Thomas de Lochore is on the seal of the Ayr Parliament that placed royal rights on the successors of Robert the Bruce.
It has been said that at the Battle of Black Earnside in 1291 there fought under William Wallace no less a person than Sir Constantine de Lochore, the Sheriff of Fife, who had succeeded his brother in that position.
Sometime at the beginning of the fourteenth century, Adam de Valloniss or Vallance married the heiress of Lochore and with her acquired the Barony which comprised the parishes of Ballingry and Auchterderran. The last of the Vallances was Dominus Jacobus Vallance who had no sons, but three daughters. In 1477 Sir Andrew Wardlaw of Torrie married the eldest daughter and received the parish of Ballingry as her dowry. This marked the break-up of the Barony of Lochore.
The Wardlaw faily made very extensive renovations to Lochore Castle and in all probability it was this family who built the causeway connecting the island with the east bank, in place of a drawbridge. Until last century[10] the name “Jacobus Wardlaw” could be seen above the main door that faced out over the loch. The castle today, guarded by two gaunt trees, is only what remains on the surface[11]. Its total circumference was in the region of 200 yards. If a little excavation could be made and some of the rubbish cleared away, more of the actual building might be found and would give experts an opportunity to examine the foundations and structure of the castle. In its present state, it is nothing short of a disgrace. The old causeway has completely disappeared but outlines of the island are quite plain and give an idea of how the size of the loch today compares with what is was formerly.
Somewhere in the middle of the seventeenth century, the parish of Ballingry was acquired by Sir John Malcolm of the Balbedie family. It is his name that appears on the Kirk bell. This marked the beginning of the split-up of the parish. Until they finally parted with it in 1790, the family gradually lost interest in the estate and sold off many small portions of it.
Captain Park, who bought the estate in 1790, has p