Download “the precincts of the well formed an almost unapproachable slough

SCOTLANDWELL
The historic village of Scotlandwell lies at the foot of the
Bishop Hill. On the lower slopes of the hill part of the
ancient run-rig system of field division, known as the
Crooked Rigs, can be distinguished clearly in this early
1930s picture.
Named Fons Scotia in early documents,
Scotlandwell was more than a simple
agricultural settlement. Hundreds of
years before the construction of the
decorative canopy and the stone
chamber, in which the springs bubble
today, the village was a place of
pilgrimage for those who came to
partake of the crystal clear waters which
had become famed for their curative
powers.
Little remains of the medieval hospice which was located in Friar
Place. Here, for around three hundred years, until the mid
1500s, as a highly successful business operation, the Red Friars
used a combination of spring water and herbal remedies to cure
an assortment of diseases.
Mainly an agricultural settlement, or ‘ferm toun’,
Scotlandwell was home to a thriving weaving
industry in the 18th and 19th centuries. By the
early 20th century, however, the cottage production
of linen had all but died out as it had become
impossible to compete with the large textile factories
which had sprung up in neighbouring towns.
Generally, loom shops
occupied only the ground
floor whilst the family had
their living quarters in the
upper storeys, which were
often reached by means of a
forestair, but sometimes
entire buildings were used
purely for business purposes.
This late 19th century photograph
shows, David Sharp, a weaver from
the neighbouring village of
Kinnesswood, at his loom.
When they were
built in the mid
18th century the
weavers’ cottages
in the village had
thatched roofs.
At least one of these roofs
was still thatched at the
end of the 19th century.
Throughout the 19th century, however, almost all of those early roof
coverings would be replaced, mainly by red pantiles but some by slates.
Rev John Heggie, born in Scotlandwell in 1859, in his
1910 poem, ‘Scotlandwell Revisited’, recalls “the
bonnie red-tiled bields” of his childhood days.
In the mid 19th century there was a small area of common
ground, close to the Well, known as Peat Hill. Here, the peat cut
in Scotlandwell Moss was stacked to dry before the villagers
burned it in their fires.
In 1821 this
piece of ground
had been split up
and shares had
been allocated to
sixteen villagers
and to the Bruces
of Arnot, the
local landlords,
who owned the
largest share.
Thomas Bruce, who had spent thirty years in India, in the
Bengal Civil Service, returned to Scotland in the mid 1850s.
Before long he had decided on an ambitious scheme to
improve the communal facilities of Scotlandwell. His notes
record that before his work began “the precincts of the well
formed an almost unapproachable slough of mire and filth”.
The eminent Victorian architect, David Bryce,
whose commissions included Fettes College
and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, was
employed by Bruce to draw up plans for the
creation of an ornamental well and a
neighbouring wash house. The scheme
included the upgrading of some village
houses, improvements to the existing
bleachfield, and the creation of a beautiful
walled garden containing exotic trees and
shrubs, some of which still survive today.
The building work on the Well included the erection of a fancy
canopy, which covers the rectangular stone chamber into which
the water bubbles up from underground and an ornamental water
spout. Bruce dedicated the Well to his wife, Henrietta Dorin, who
had died during the project, and on either side of the water spout
are carved their respective initials, TBA and HD.
Great celebrations
were held in the
village to mark the
official opening of
the Well on 3 July
1858.
The date of this photograph is unknown but the metal work
on the surrounding railings is incomplete suggesting that it
was shot close to 1858.
The original surrounding
framework of cross
timber panels was
replaced by stonework
in the 1970s.
The Wash House, an unusually
elegant building for its purpose,
was completed in 1860. A
moulded stone trefoil on the
eastern wall bears the initials
TBA – Thomas Bruce of Arnot.
The gradual introduction of piped water supplies to the
village from the 1920s onwards, followed by the installation
of electrical power to most homes during the late 1940s and
early 1950s, caused a steady decline in the use of the Wash
House. It was last operational in the early 1960s.
Originally there were two
boilers, constructed of
brick, in the Wash House
but now only one remains.
The cast top has an inset
metal basin. Upon removal
of the basin an interesting
and ingenious structure is
revealed.
A channel, shaped like a helix, or a screw-shaped coil, has been
formed in the stonework. This would have allowed heat from the
fire to rise in a controlled manner and wind its way evenly around
the full extremities of the outer surface of the basin. The channel
eventually exits into the external wall at a level around the top of
the basin and there it links with the flue.
As part of the project the
existing communal
bleachfield was drained
and a new drying area,
known as The Green, was
laid out. Poles to support
the clothes lines were
installed.
This picture from Charleston, in
Fife, supplied courtesy of
Charleston Lime Heritage Trust,
provides an indication of how
The Green might have looked on
a fine day. White linen was
spread out on the grass to be
bleached in the sunlight.
This late 19th century
washerwoman, from the
Fife village of St Monans, is
using laundry equipment
similar to that which might
have been evident in
Scotlandwell Wash House.
This 1899 view of the
village provides evidence
that the trees in Thomas
Bruce’s walled garden had
flourished.
The building on the left, Portmoak Public School, had been
completed some fifty-five years earlier on ground gifted to the
heritors of the Parish for this purpose by the father of Thomas
Bruce.
The single storey building on the right, which was demolished in the
early years of the 20th century, was the former toll house which had
become redundant after tolls came to an end in 1872.
Acknowledgements
Aberdeen University - George Washington Wilson Collection
Scran – Charleston Limehouse Trust
National Museums of Scotland
Marshall Museum, Kinross
Alastair White