Burial Vault, Through Stone and Seating of the Watsons of Saughton at Corstorphine Old Parish Church
Corstorphine Old Parish Church
Corstorphine Old Parish Church is described on the 13th Edinburgh BB website as a building of national interest and historic importance - but in particular to researchers of Clan Watson. The Watsons of Saughton have throughout the generations had a burial vault, family seating area and even their own doorway at the Kirk.
The parish appears anciently as ‘Crostorfin’ and sometimes ‘Crostorfyn’, in the foundation charter of Holyrood House in 1128, and later in Ragman’s Roll of 1296. However, the story of the Old Parish Church really begins in 1376 when Sir Adam Forrester bought lands from William More of Aberdeen and erected a votive chapel (a type of chapel for devotions of a private person or to commemorate a significant event) “over and against” the pre-existing 12th Century parish church of St. Mary.
Sir Adam Forrester died in 1405, shortly after the completion of his chapel and was most likely buried within. Unfortunately the exact site remains unknown, however it would have been within the boundary of the present day church, and it’s been suggested within the area of the South Transept or Chancel.
Adam’s son, Sir John Forrester, Master of the Household and Lord Chamberlain to King James I, extended his father’s chapel to include what is now the tower, nave, chancel, vestry and South Transept - establishing it as the Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist in 1429 and an inscription of which can be found on the wall of the chancel.
At a meeting of the Presbytery on 19th March 1587, Sir James Forrester produced papal bulls and other rights in his possession and the Church of Corstorphine was formerly recognised as a Parish Church.
According to ‘Scotland’s People’ it became recognised as a parish in 1587 and united with Gogar parish in 1599. Subsequently, Ravelston and Saughton areas were added to Corstorphine parish in 1630 from St Cuthbert’s.
Watson Burial Vault
A.S. Cowper in her 1984 paper titled “Watsons of Saughton - Tombstone in the South Aisle”, tells us that the Watsons of Saughton, early in their rise to position of substantial lairds in the area, secured burial rights within Corstorphine Parish Church located within the South transept, or South aisle.
The South aisle was known historically as “Nidries ile”, with the name Niddry deriving from a branch of the Forrester family from West Niddry, barony of Winchburgh in Linlithgowshire.
Motion put before the Kirk Session by Lord Forrester
On 4th April 1669, a motion was put before the Kirk Session of Corstorphine Parish Church by James Baillie, 2nd Lord Forrester, regarding the proposed opening of the Watson burial place. The minutes state that Lord Forrester was not present at the meeting however, so any action was delayed. Unfortunately, a description of the motion is not included, nor is there any follow up in subsequent minutes.
The armorial through stone of the Watsons of Saughton that once covered the vault is dated 1620, so this must have been regarding a reopening of the vault, as opposed to its creation. Perhaps for a burial although its unclear at this time who that would have been for.
Church Floor Plan of Rev. John Sime
Reverend John Sime was an ecclesiastical and architectural antiquarian in Edinburgh.
His plan of “St. John’s Baptist Church at Corstorphine near Edinburgh” dated 6th May 1847 (shown above) shows a label reading “Saughton vault + seats” located within the South Transept, near that of the Ministers’ Seat and Chancel, next to the monument of Bernard Stewart, 3rd Lord of Aubigny who died in Corstorphine in 1508, and where it is suggested that the site of the original Chapel of Sir Adam Forrester once stood.
According to Thomas Thomson, Writer to the Signet, in his “Parish of Corsorphine” statistical account in 1839:-
“According to tradition, the southern aisle is the most ancient part of the building and was probably a part of the chapel of St. John the Baptist”
Quite the prominent location of considered importance within the Church.
This location on the plan is backed by the description of A.S. Cowper in the manuscript “Watsons of Saughton - Tombstone in the South Aisle” who states:-
“When trouble arose in 1683 and 1684 with the encroachment of Foulis of Ravelston on the Watson area of the Church Lord Forrester upheld the Watson right of burial in the south aisle - “the frontish” part, “near unto the midle”, “the haill space forward to the wester wall”. It was also set down that there were two large through stones (flat gravestones).”
Note: the “Ravelston” area is marked within the North Transept of the plan above.
The first of these disputes in 1683 that A.S. Cowper mentions came about when Alexander Watson, brother of David Watson (5th of Saughton) along with a notary public, discovered a wright (carpenter) and a painter at work within Niddrie’s Ile where his parents and grandparents were buried.
The men had been sent by Sir John Foulis of Ravelston to decorate seating in the area with the Foulis arms.
Removing the chisels and hammer from the wright and sponge and paint from the painter, Alexander Watson declared that legal steps to be taken to prevent any interference with David Watson’s burial place.
The following year, William Baillie, 4th Lord Forrester, signed a statement confirming the Watson burial place “in the south ile” where they had their “through stones” (note the plural) and giving them power to life and lay the stones as well as the Kirk seats when a burial was to take place.
When alterations were being made to the Church in 1829, they exposed an arched vault “before the pulpit” which at that time was located at the South West corner of the North Transept. They found fragments of wood and remains and it was noted that this was close to the Watson burial vault and appears to have been a burial place within the Church in earlier times.
Who is buried in the Watson Burial Vault?
During the 1904 renovations at Corstorphine Church, 5 coffin plates were found below the South Transept in the area of the Watson burial vault- unfortunately I’ve only found 2 named. These, along with the remains were placed back under the floor, frustratingly however, no locations of where they were found or replaced were recorded.
Two of the coffin plates were for James Watson, 10th of Saughton and the last known Chief of the name in Scotland who died in 1823, and another for his 2nd son Charles Watson, 11th of Saughton, who died in 1836.
Despite post reformation enactments forbidding interment within churches, The Watsons of Saughton continued to bury family members within their burial vault well in to the 18th Century.
James Watson - 3rd of Saughton; (d. 1620)
We can be fairly confident that James was buried here as it is his initials, date of death and arms of he and his wife that are upon the through stone that covered the vault at one time.
James Watson - 10th of Saughton and last known Chief of the Name; (d. 1823)
James was one of the coffin plates found during the renovations in 1904.
Charles Watson - 11th of Saughton; (d. 1836)
Charles is the 2nd Son of the last known Chief and was one of the other coffin plates found during the renovations of 1904.
The Watson Ring Stone
The Watson Ring Stone, is what is known as a “flat through stone”, a tombstone that is usually mounted on the floor above a burial vault.
M
I W(Watson and Douglas arms displayed side by side in a Per Pale pattern)
I D
He died the 1 May
1620
(What looks like a masons mark, perhaps a crude square & compass or initials A V)Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones behold I will cause breath to enter into yow and ye shall live and I will lay sinews upon yow and will bring up flesh upon yow and cover yow with skin and put breath in yow and yow shall live and ye shall know that I am The Lord - Ezekiel 37 Chap 5 Verse
It’s a wonder that the condition of this stone is so good. It clearly wasn’t on a well walked area of the floor, and if installed in 1620, or shortly following, it survived occupation of the Church by both General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven and his army in defence of Edinburgh, and subsequent occupation by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell.
The Watson Seating Area
From the financial accounts of various Watsons of Saughton we know that men had to be paid to move seats in order to open the vault. Along with the labelling of Revd. John Simes’ plan its almost certain the seating of the Watson’s of Saughton was located directly above the family burial vault.
A dispute occurred on Sunday 23rd May 1686, described as a day of “riot” in Corstorphine Kirk. James Watson (6th of Saughton) arrived at the Kirk to hear divine service, however upon arrival they had found that William Baillie of Torwoodhead, Lord Forrester, had sent his servants - George Wauch, John Duncan, William Gibson, Robert Fyfe and Andrew Wilson - to occupy the Watson two pews and foreseat.
Forrester’s servants, having not had the key held by Watson’s servant, “most irreverently” leapt over the locked doors to the pews. When James Watson “in a discreet manner” said to them that he and his tenantry wished to occupy their seats, Forrester’s men refused them access. This caused “a great uproar and gazing in the church which was scandalous to the whole congregation”.
Watson having complained to the Privy Council regarding Baillie’s conduct, Baillie retaliated having both James Watson and his uncle Alexander Watson, summoned by the Procurator Fiscal, resulting in short imprisonment at Tollbooth of Edinburgh for Alexander and both paying a fine of 60 rex dollars to settle the matter.
In 1710, at the same time as the Watson Doorway was being installed, James Watson (7th of Saughton) employed Andrew Barclay, wright of Abbeyhill to repair the existing seat, and also install a new one. For this, accounts show that he used five double trees, 1000 single flooring nails, 60 double flooring nails, 500 door nails and 1000 English sprigs. Supplying “two armed chairs” at the cost of £62-11-10.
Charles Watson (9th of Saughton) also had repairs carried out on the church seating in 1784. He employed Peter Dodds as a joiner for 14 days, who was assisted by two men each paid 1/6 per day. In addition to timber, flooring and nails, Dodds also supplied a spring latch and keeper for the seat and a pair of hinges for “the fold of the seat”.
The employment of 3 men for that period of time suggests a substantial amount of work was carried out.
I found an interesting little nugget within the Corstorphine Kirk Session minutes on 2nd July 1713 when James Clelland become a heritor in Corstorphine and requested that the Kirk session allocated him a seat to be built at his own charge within the church. In the minute it is recorded that the session unanimously agreed that the seat should be “in the easter isle betwixt the door of Saughton’s old seat, and the door of Mistress Heriot’s seat bewest the same”.
This reference to “Saughton’s old seat” is of interest and an ongoing piece of research, as indeed is most of these ramblings.
As always if you would like to learn more about the Watsons of Saughton, Clan Watson or The Clan Watson Society, head over to clanwatson.org