tomb – Scottish Adventures

In an overgrown tangle of trees on a hill in the Raith Estate, on the outskirts of Kirkcaldy, there’s a long forgotten tomb. This is a place only visited by the occasional dog walker and teenagers searching for a bit of woodland adventure. Millie didn’t care that it took a while to find the location and what a magnificent resting place this would have been, once upon a time, when it overlooked Raith Lake and the surrounding rolling hills.

This is the Tomb of Lieutenant Robert Munro Ferguson, an officer of the 79th Regiment of Foot who became Colonel of his Regiment, commanding from 1835 to 1841. He was born on 20th August 1802, grew up in Muirton in Fife then went on to study in Edinburgh. Robert was the son of Ronald Craufurd Ferguson (also Colonel of the 79th from 1821 to 1841) and was appointed commanding officer with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 13 March 1835, thus commanding in the regiment under his Father. The regiment had been serving in Canada but returned to Scotland in 1836.

On retiring from the army, Robert got into politics and became Liberal MP for Kirkcaldy Burghs from 1841 to 1862. He wholeheartedly supported the Liberal agenda, wanted electoral reform, male suffrage and the secret ballot, supported triennial fixed parliaments, voted for revision of Corn Laws and income tax. He also voted for universal, free schooling. Robert was re-elected unopposed at 4 consecutive general elections.

On 17th May 1859 he married Emma Elizabeth Mandeville at Westminster in London and they went on to have six children together: Ronald Craufurd, Alice Edwina, Emma Valentine, Hector, Robert Harry & Edith Isabel. In 1864 Robert inherited the baronies of Novar in Ross and Muirton on condition of adding ‘Munro’ to his surname. He died on 28 November 1868 and was laid to rest here.

The slab from the top of his tomb now lies unceremoniously, toppled to one side and the inscription around its rim reads: Robert Munro Ferguson of Raith & Novar. Lieutenant Colonel of the 79th Highlanders. Born 20th Aug 1802, Died 27th November 1868, Succourer Of Many.

His daughter, Emma Valentine, also held her father’s liberal views, was in favour of women’s suffrage and is known to have created a leaflet entitled ‘Union of Practical Suffragists within the the Women’s Liberal Federation’. In 1890 she became engaged to Scottish born politician, Richard Burdon, Viscount Haldane, but for reasons I haven’t been able to ascertain, she broke off the engagement. Sadly, Emma died at the age of 34 years and was laid to rest here alongside her Father. The beautifully intricate, now broken cross lying in pieces on the slope was in memoriam of her as the base bears her name. The inscription around her grave is still legible and says: Valentine. Born Feb 14 1863. Died Sep 14 1897. Until The Day Dawn.

I’d heard about this magnificent stone so finally took the time to stop off to search for it while heading to the Cairngorms. Once you get into Pitlochry it’s actually quite well signposted however there isn’t really much parking nearby so I left the van in town and Millie and I enjoyed a stroll (for the most part) out past the caravan park and along the road to get there. It’s quite a narrow road without pavement and the drivers of a couple of Range Rovers that passed me seemed to think they were in a formula 1 race so Millie and I were forced into the ditch a couple of times. Do take care.

The Dunfallandy Stone is an elaborately carved Class II Pictish stone which is more than 1200 years old. To protect it from the elements, it has been enclosed in a shelter but disappointingly, reflections on the glass make it difficult to see and photograph. Non reflective glass would certainly have been a better option here.

Reminiscent of intricately decorated Pictish jewellery, this cross-slab once marked a place of prayer and is set in its original location, prominently on a mound known to have been topped by a chapel, where it would have been seen by all that passed by. The relief carvings show the sophistication of Pictish culture, mixing influences from across the British Isles and Europe with local traditions and belief. Typically, the body of the Cross is decorated with the familiar intricate Pictish knotwork.

It’s thought that stones such as this one were once coloured, using mineral pigments such as yellow ochre, red lead and green verdigris, emulating the style of metalwork and religious manuscripts of the time. The images on the front depict Pictish monsters (considered agents of God’s wrath), a stag, Jonah being swallowed by a whale and angels. On the reverse side, depictions are of enthroned bishops or saints facing each other, a rider representing perhaps the patron who commissioned the stone then at the bottom are Iron-working tools (tongs, hammer, crucible). There are also several distinctively Pictish symbols on the reverse here, the Pictish monster, double disk and the crescent with v-rod however their true meaning is now lost to us.

Dunfallandy Stone now shares the mound with burial enclosures surrounded by railings. One of these is the site of the impressive tomb of Lieutenant-General Archibald Fergusson of Dunfallandy who died in 1834. This, I assume would be why the location was referred to as Mausoleum Mound from the 1860’s.

Tag: tomb

Tomb of Robert Munro Ferguson – Kirkcaldy, Fife

Dunfallandy Stone – Pitlochry, Perthshire