The Chief of the Montgomerys had become Bailie of Cunninghame in 1366.  During the fifteenth century both the chiefs of Clan Cunningham and Clan Montgomery became Lords of Parliament.  The Chief of Montgomery was made Lord Montgomery in 1444 and the Chief of Cunningham, ‘Lord Kilmaurs’ in 1450.  The Cunningham Chief was then further promoted to ‘Earl of Glencairn’ in 1503 and the Montgomery Chief  ’The Earl of Eglington’ in 1507.  Competition between the two families at this point was there, but very low key.

The feud began mostly over the Bailieship of the land of Cunninghame in 1425.  The Baillieship of Cunninghame had long been in the hands of the Cunninghams but in 1448 the Crown (King James II)  took it away from the Cunninghams and moved it into the hands of their neighbours, the Montgomerys.

Sir Alexander Montgomery was made Bailie (Chief Magistrate) of the King’s Barony (District) of Cunninghame, which had been held by Sir Robert Cunningham, who was married to Alexander’s sister.   Sir Robert believed that his position as Bailie was to be permanently held by the Cunninghams and not part of his wife’s dowry, as claimed by his brother-in-law.   So both the previous owner and the new owner were within the same family – this must have added fire to the feud.

Over what was a relatively minor matter their feud was to continue over centuries, despite legal judgements and government action.  It is arguably one of the longest and bloodiest feuds in Clan history.  Lasting from the mid 15th Century to the mid 17th Century.

Both the Montgomerys and the Cunninghams were powerful clans in the northern lowlands of Ayrshire, they were neighbours and the landscape they lived in had a lot to do with their feud and keeping it going.  The district is cut off by hills and water, to the south is the River Irvine, to the west the River Clyde, the north are the Kilbirnie Hills which form a natural barrier and in the east the hills that divide the district from Lanarkshire.

From 1425 onwards the feud between these Clans saw murders, assassinations, mounted troops raiding civilians killing many of them, the sacking of castles, burning of crops and fields.  The feud was to cause both families to erratically loose then gain fortunes as at one time one was winning then the next time they would loose.    This was all happening while Scotland and England were struggling for the throne.  The Cunninghams seemed to get the better of their rivals during the decade or so of fighting, but the Earl of Eglington(Montgomery) held great favour with James V and so benefited from the power that this gave them.

 Two Castles Destroyed

Eglington Castle

Both Clans had lavish castles that were only a few miles from each other; The Montgomeries of Eglinton had their castle on the banks of the Lugton and the Cuninghames hailed from the parish of Kilmaurs and Stevenston, their Castle was Kerelaw Castle.

Montgomeries of Eglington

With growing power came a corresponding growth of rivalry, until the jealousy and mistrust culminated in The Cunninghhams set fire to Kerelaw Castle in 1488. Although slow to take hold the floors were made of oak, as well as the beams and the furniture.  The fire spread gradually but surely from the basement to the turrets.  This was the end of Kerelaw Castle, it remains in ruins to this day.  Now the Cunninghams were angrier than ever and set on revenge.  They nursed their wrath for years.

The Earl of Glencairn retaliated by later burning down Eglinton Castle in 1528, the castle was rebuilt afterwards.

Kerelaw Castle

Opposing Sides in Battle and a Chief Slain
The two families were for a good while on opposite sides of the political fence and also religious; Cunningham was Protestant and Montgomery was Catholic.

The Montgomery’s and the Cunninghams were on opposing sides at the Battle of Sauchieburn (1488), with Hugh Montgomery among the victorious rebels.   Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn was killed in battle as was the defeated James III.

In 1568 at the Battle of Langside the Montgomerys fought on the side of Mary Queen of Scots.  They were defeated and the Queen lost.  The Earl was declared guilty of treason by the Regency and imprisoned in Doune Castle. After being released he worked hard trying to secure safety and tolerance for other catholics.  His next two successors would follow him in supporting Mary Queen of Scots.  The Cunninghams were Protestants and did not.

During the upheavals of the 1560s and early 1570s  Alexander, 4th Earl of Glencairn (Cunningham) was among the most single-minded protestants of the Reformation.  In the Civil war he emerged as one of the core of the King’s men who overthrew Mary Queen of Scots.  The 3rd Earl of Eglington (Montgomery) was Catholic and until 1571 a Queen’s man, but in that year he and the other conservative Ayrshire lords changed sides and were thus able to end up on the winning side in 1573.  Finally the Cunninghams and the Montgomerys were on the same side.

The Murder of Hugh Montgomerie

Lainshaw Castle

In 1585 Hugh Montgomerie, 4th Earl of Eglinton was travelling to Stirling.  He had been ordered to attend court by the King.  The Earl was accompanied by a few domestic servants.  He stopped at Lainshaw Castle to dine with his close relative, a Montgomery, the Lord of Lainshaw, whose Lady was a Margaret Cunningham of Aiket Castle, with sisters married to John Cunningham of Corsehill and David Cunninghame of Robertland.

There was a plot to betray and kill the Earl, Hugh Montgomery, the story goes that he was followed from the castle and murdered.  It is believed that the Lady, who was a Cunningham or some say a servant who was a Cunningham climbed to the battlements after the meal to hang out a white table napkin and thereby signalling the troops who waited outside that the Earl was there.

Annick Ford

Thirty Cunninghames attacked the Earl as he crossed Annick Ford and cut his servants to pieces; the Earl himself was dispatched with a single shot from the pistol of John Cunningham of Clonbeith Castle. His horse carried his dead body along the side of the river, still known as the ‘Weeping’, ‘Mourning’ or ‘Widows’ path.

Revenge on the Cunninghams  

A wave of bloody revenge swept over Cunninghame and elsewhere. In retribution the Cunningham relatives, friends and supporters were killed without mercy by the Montgomerys.

Aiket was killed near his home; Robertland and Corsehill escaped to Denmark. Clonbeith was traced to a house in Hamilton, possibly Hamilton Palace and hacked to pieces by Robert Montgomery and John Pollock. Robert also killed the Earl of Glencairn’s brother the Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, Alexander of Montgreenan, thought to have instigated Hugh’s murder. He rode to Montgreenan and shot the Commendator at his own gate.

The Crown attempted to step in but failed.  At a parliamentary session in 1606, the Earls of Glencarin and Eglinton, along with their followers, fought each other from “seven till ten hours at night”.  Neither the King nor the Parliament was able to settle the dispute.  The crown had made repeated attempts to reconcile the families between 1595 and 1604.

Kilwinning Abbey

Kilwinning Abbey

In 1570 the two Clan also clashed over control of Kilwinning Abbey. By this time the Montgomieries’ dominance of local patronage was almost complete; only the abbey remained outside of their jurisdiction.   The Earl of Glencairn’s  fourth earl’s son of his second marriage, Alexander Cunningham of Montgreenan, was appointed commendator of Kilwinning Abbey and contested the right of Hugh Montgomery, third earl of Eglinton, to act as bailie of the abbey’s regality.    Alexander was thought to be the instigator behind the plot to kill the 4th Earl of Ellington, Hugh Montgomery.

Interestingly there are tales of a Ley tunnel which is said to run rom Kilwinning Abbey, under the ‘Bean Yaird’, below the ‘Easter Chaumers’ and the ‘Leddy firs’, and then underneath the Garnock and on to the Montgomery’s Eglinton Castle.

The King Steps In … Again

James VI was made aware of the situation and he decided to intervene on behalf of the Earl of Eglinton.  A reason for this may have been that the Earl of Eglinton was a Roman Catholic and the Earl of Glencairn was suspected of heresy and, indeed, of being in league with Henry VIII, who was trying to gain domination of Scotland.

The government of King James VI of Scotland eventually managed to make the chiefs of the two clans shake hands. In 1661 Lord High Chancellor William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn, married Margaret Montgomery, daughter of Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton, drawing a line under the feud.

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This mask was first discovered in the 1840s in a cottage near Cumnock. Along with the wig and a sword it had just been handed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom.  This grim mask dates from around 1660-1670 and was made to disguise the identity of Alexander Peden “The Prophet of the Covenant”. Also known simply as “Sandy”.

The mask, wig and sword of Peden

Alexander Peden

Born in 1626 at the north end of Sorn village in Ayrshire, Peden was well educated. He was a scholar of Glasgow University then worked as a teacher at Tarbolton. His teaching life was dogged by controversy, being accused by an unmarried woman of having fathered her child outside of wedlock. His name was later cleared when the real father eventually came forward, the Mother herself later committed suicide. This scar may have been the reason he never married.

In 1659 Peden went on to seek ordination into the church and no less than five times appeared before the Presbytery of Lanark and Biggar before his licence was granted. He was ordained and appointed to the parish of New Luce in Galloway but his stay was brief as in 1663 along with so many other ministers, he was forced to leave the church. He could not preach from his pulpit anymore as he was a covenanting minister. Without a pulpit Peden refused to give up and for the next twenty three years wandered the hills and moors of South West Scotland from the Clyde, through Renfrewshire, his homeland of Ayrshire into the depths of Dumfries and Galloway, and across the Irish Sea in Ulster where he preached at Kells and Glenwherry, Co Antrim between 1679 and 1681 and made later visits in 1682 and 1684.  He was now what was called a ‘Field Preacher’.   Attendance at these sermons became treasonable and preaching at them, a capital offence.  The authorities were concerned that these were becoming a hot-bed of revolutionary ideas.

Over 300 Ministers had been forced to leave their churches after the restoration of Charles II.  Covenanters were a movement of Scottish Presbyterians, they believed there was one head of the Kirk, Jesus Christ and refused to accept the King in this role, hence their stand led to almost a century of persecution.  The covenant had been torn up by the King and he decreed that he was head of the church.   Covenanting Preachers had massive influence and were a threat to the King.  Scotland and England at this time were at constant civil unrest.  This was a grim period of religious persecution which witnessed the bloodiest crimes of the nation’s history, many committed by Scots against Scots. This time was to be aptly named ‘The Killing Times’.

“The Scots holding their young King’s nose to the grindstone”
A cartoon from 1651 showing Charles II being lectured to by his Scots subject

Peden was a colourful and enigmatic speaker and he soon his reputation spread, he was credited with almost supernatural powers because he managed to not get caught. As the stories spread, his influence grew.  Stories were told of how he escaped the soldiers seeking him out, disappearing into the mists. Peden would also tell prophecies of what will come,  he once told a woman who was laughing ‘rudely’ while watching the Sabbath worship that she would not laugh much longer … then later she was blown of a cliff into the sea.  He also foretold the death of Charles II and the dethronement and exile of Charles’s sucessor James II.  Peden also said there would be no more Stuart Kings and this turned out to be true.

Peden quickly became on of the most wanted men in the British Isles.

Peden started wearing a mask when he was travelling about so that the soldiers wouldn’t recognise him.

Peden’s cup – 1665
Used by Alexander Peden, the ‘prophet of the Covenant’, during his secret conventicles or field meetings.

Soon after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge  Peden downhearted went to Ireland saying that people can go to their prayers but he could not preach ‘for our fiends are fallen and fled before the enemy’.  He stayed less than a year and returned to Scotland, but soon for the sake of safety fled back to Ireland.   He stayed a few years in Ireland and began to preach again, he was still at grave risk and wore many disguises.

King Charles II had died and Peden longed to be back in Scotland.  So he returned to Scotland from Ireland, commenting that he was going from “one bloody land to the other bloody land”.  Worried he would be arrested he  landed by himself in a small boat.   It was a 1685.

In 1673 Peden and Forty other Covenanters were rounded up arrested and spent the next four years imprisoned on the Bass Rock with forty other Covenanters.

Peden continued preaching.  His pilgrimage finally took him back to his native parish of Sorn.  By now Peden was old and in very ill health    On January 6th 1686 he had been visiting his brother`s home at Ten Shilling Side, Auchinleck.  His brother and his wife had begged him to stay with them as he was so ill and weak but he refused and chose to stay in a nearby cave.  He would be putting them in even more danger if he stayed with them.  So wearily he returned to the cave, unfortunately he had been seen and within three hours the troopers came for him, they found the cave but not Peden who hidden himself in a pile of straw.

After the soldiers had gone away Peden was nearing death he told his friends to bury him where they would, and prophesied he would be lifted again.  Within a few hours Peden had died.

As he had foretold, there was no peace for him in death as the government continued to hound him. The Boswell family were so concerned for his body that they had it re interred secretly in their family vault. But some forty days after he had died, and despite protests of the Boswell family and the Countess of Dumfries, soldiers took the body to the place of execution, a hill above Cumnock , and hung it on the gibbet.

Eventually they cut down his body and it was buried again, this time at the foot of the gibbet as if a common criminal. Time has been a great healer for little by little the local people buried their loved ones alongside Alexander Peden thus creating a new and hallowed graveyard.

The inscription on Peden’s Grave
In Memory of ALEXANDER PEDEN [ A native of Sorn ]

THAT FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST,WHO. FOR HIS UNFLINCHING ADHERENCE TO THE
COVENANTED REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND,WAS EXPELLED BY TYRANT RULERS FROM HIS PARISH OF NEW LUCE, IMPRISONED FOR YEARS ON THE BASS ROCK BY HIS PERSECUTORS,AND HUNTED FOR HIS LIFE ON THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS AND MOORS, TILL HIS DEATH ON 26TH JANUARY 1686* IN THE 60TH YEAR OF HIS AGE, AND HERE AT LAST , HIS DUST REPOSES IN PEACE,AWAITING THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST SUCH WERE THE MEN THESE HILLS WHO TRODE STRONG IN THE LOVE AND FEAR OF GOD DEFYING THROUGH THE LONG DARK HOUR, ALIKE THE CRAFT AND RAGE OF POWER.
ERECTED IN 1891.

Places associated with Peden’s Preaching

There are places all over Scotland that have been associated with Peden and the places he preached or hid.

Peden’s Cave

Cleuch Glen in Sorn.

Alexander Peden’s Cave in the Cleuch Glen

Peden’s Cove

Peden’s Cove: along the River Ayr, where Alexander Peden preached clandestine sermons to his Covenanter followers.

The Peden Stone: Near Mid Linthills is a stone which is thought to mark the place that Peden preached, although there is not historical evidence for this.  It is known at The Pedent Stone.

 Various Peden’s Pulpits

Neil Oliver at one Peden’s Pulpit

Peden’s pulpit in the Linn Glen, Dalry.

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