Skeoch Hill

Nestled in a natural amphitheatre among the hills near Dumfries lies another Covenanter obelisk, crowned with a carved Communion cup. The climb up the hillside and down into the hollow is well worth the effort.

Within this sheltered dip in the landscape stands the memorial. On its north-east side are still visible the lines of stones that once served as seats for worshippers, along with the bases that supported the makeshift tables prepared in the open air for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Look to the surrounding heights and you can imagine sentries keeping watch for approaching troops. It was in this striking and expansive setting that one of the largest field conventicles ever held took place.

In 1678, thousands gathered here from across the neighbouring shires. The memorial mentions three thousand, yet contemporary accounts suggest the number was far greater—perhaps as many as fourteen thousand. John Blackadder vividly described the stream of people travelling from Lanarkshire to attend. Four ministers led the services: John Welsh of Irongray, John Blackadder of Troqueer, John Dickson of Rutherglen, and Samuel Arnot of Tongland.

Local garrisons are said to have observed the vast assembly from a distance but did not attempt to intervene, the crowd being too numerous to challenge. At the people’s urging, John Welsh—ejected from his parish—organised the Communion, and John Blackadder was invited to assist. These men, along with many others, had been expelled from their churches and forbidden by law to preach. To conduct worship in the fields was to risk imprisonment or death.

Even during the harsh persecutions of 1685, conventicles and outdoor Communions continued in remote places throughout the land. In the face of overwhelming opposition, these men and women held firmly to their convictions. Their steadfastness remains a striking testimony to their faith and resolve.

The Monument reads:

[East side]
TO MARK THE SPOT
WHERE A LARGE NUMBER
OF COVENANTERS
MET IN THE SUMMER OF 1678
TO WORSHIP GOD
AND WERE
ABOUT THREE THOUSAND COMMUNICANTS
ON THAT OCCASION
CELEBRATED THE SACRAMENT
OF THE LORDS SUPPER

[North side]
THE FOLLOWING EJECTED MINISTERS
OFFICIATED
JOHN WELSH OF IRONGRAY
JOHN BLACKADDER OF TROQUEER
JOHN DICKSON OF RUTHERGLEN
AND SAMUEL ARNOT OF TONGLAND
THE ADJACENT STONES
BEING USED
AS THE COMMUNION TABLE

[West side]
THESE STONES
ARE SIGNIFICANT MEMORIALS
OF THOSE TROUBLOUS TIMES
IN WHICH OUR FATHERS
AT THE PERIL OF THEIR LIVES
CONTENDED FOR GREAT PRINCIPLES
OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

[South side]
ERECTED BY
VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTION
IN 1870