There are rumours about the practice of Witchcraft in Neilston during the 16th and 17th century, but there seems to be scant documentary evidence to confirm any exact details. The Presbytery records from 1650 mention that a "witch or witches" were apprehended in Neilston, but these individuals were not named and their stories never told. A tantalising reference found elsewhere comes from the 1910 publication "A History of the Parish of Neilston" by author David Pride. He writes: "a number of witches were apprehended in Inverkip, Linwood, Neilston and Kilallan [in] 1650, against whom an appeal was made to the Committee of the Privy Council for their punishment. It would appear that this appeal was listened to, and that after, the wretched people were duly worrit [strangled]." Pride's text did not name those accused and executed. However, as it referred to a request to the Privy Council of Scotland, it offered a useful lead to explore further.
The second series of the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland (Vol VIII) Edited by P Hume Brown was consulted. Within Renfrewshire (the former County of Renfrew) only one case is mentioned in 1650 - a complicated and detailed story about an accused woman called Margarat Finlasoune. The accusation resulted because of a dispute between Margarat and Robert Patersone, a Miller from present-day Garscadden. He believed she bewitched him as he became ill with a fever. Margarat was a woman of some financial means and was married to Johne Patersone, and the couple had a young son called Mathew. There is nothing in Presbytery records to suggest Margarat was related to her accuser, but given he had the same surname as her husband, it is entirely possible. It does however mention that Robert's first wife was a woman called Marioune Robisoune who was the servant of Margarat, so they would have known each other fairly well. It was suggested that two previously convicted and executed 'Witches' -Thomas Lich and Jeanat Mountgomerie - also named Margarat as their accomplice, cementing her poor reputation within the community and ultimately leading to a guilty verdict. However, the records only describe the people involved in this case as residing in the County of Renfrew or Renfrew Parish, but makes no mention of the exact whereabouts. And as 'Renfrew-shire' at that time extended to the area north of the River Clyde, to include places such as present-day Clydebank, Yoker and Garscadden, it is too vague to narrow down any solid connection to Neilston with any single individual.
If we look further back to the previous year, the Presbytery records has an entry from 2nd November 1649 which again mentions suspected Witches from various places in Renfrew-shire. The entry reads "It was appointed that severall brethren deall with the persons in prison for witchcraft at Paisley and Renfrew [Tolbooths] to bring them to confession, viz., that Mr Hew Peebles deall with them in Paisley this nicht, and the morrow with them in Renfrew; Mr James Hutcheson on Monday with them in Paisley and on Tewsday in Renfrew; Mr Thomas Hall with them in Paisley on Tewsday and on Wednesday with them in Renfrew." When the entry says to "bring them to confession" what this actually means, is 'warding and walking' - a practice where suspects were kept awake for prolonged periods of time by a rota of different people watching them around the clock, which eventually caused confusion and disorientation. In this mental state, suspects would often agree to anything said by their captor if it allowed them to end the misery. Although physical torture of suspected witches was illegal in Scotland at this time, it was not believed that sleep deprivation was a form of torture. The three men mentioned are members of the clergy. Hew Peebles was the minister at Lochwinnoch and a devout Calvinist who refused to adopt episcopacy and was brought up on charges for not following the Presbytery rules. James Hutcheson was the minister from Killellan and was accused of not following the Privy Council rules. Thomas Hall was appointed as a temporary minister of Erskine between 1649-51 and was later transferred to Kilmacolm where he served for around 4 years before returning to Larne. He was described as a pious man of learning, which seems incongruous with him trying to obtain confessions from suspected witches. The minister at Neilston was Irishman William Semple - described as "more eminent" than any of the others who came from Ireland at that time. He escaped his charge in Letterkenny in 1649 due to violence and persecution and stayed for four years during which time these accusations of witchcraft seemed to arise.
The next source consulted was the "Survey of Scottish Witchcraft" which yielded no results for Neilston between 1649-50. The database did however reference Rev. David Brown, the Minister of Neilston who was involved in the infamous Bargarran trial of 1697. He visited those tried and convicted in this case while they were held at the Paisley Tollbooth on Wednesday 9th June 1697 - the day before their execution. He preached a sermon about the sin of Witchcraft, taken from Timothy (1st) Chapter 16. The text included the following:
"..the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. [..] (younger widows) when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves [..] they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. [..] give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. [..] Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure."
Although there are no names listed in the Privy Council records for anyone who resided in Neilston having been tried for witchcraft, it does not mean that any accusations or trials did not take place in the local Church Court rather than escalated to Edinburgh. As these records relate to events more than 300 years ago, we can never be sure how much other information has been lost over the years. As the Presbytery records refer to "witches" being apprehended locally in 1650, such a reliable source cannot be overlooked. I have argued before that in several case I have researched, although many factors are at play, the one catalyst that seems to tip the scales is the intervention of a particularly zealous member of the clergy. In the County of Renfrew in the mid seventeenth century, there appeared to be several.
Other evidence can also be considered - for example historic place names. There is a stream known as the 'Witches Burn' which enters the Old Patrick Water above Killoch Glen. There is a local legend associated with this place - that of the "Witch of Killoch Glen" which is also mentioned by Pride in his 1910 book. When the water is low, several potholes can be seen in the bed of the stream, which have naturally worn into some unusual shapes. It is said that the long smooth parts between the holes are the witch's floor and hearth, and the cavities are her cradle and her grave. A local rhyme also mentions this:
"Down splash the Killoch's wimpling wave, as through the Glen the waters rave, far o'er the witches eerie grave, frae Craig tae Linn yon beetling rocks, they wildly lave wi' gurgling din."
But could this site be the grave of an accused 'Witch'? Another accused woman from Torryburn called Lilias Adie was buried at the coast in an intertidal grave - an area which is above water level at low tide and under water level at high tide. It was believed that the water and stone placed above her would prevent her from returning from the grave to take revenge on those responsible for her imprisonment and subsequent death in gaol. Could it be then, that this area of Killoch Glen in Neilston was the final resting place of someone who was believed to practice withcraft there?
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