The Churchyard Collessie

thatched houses in collessie, fife



countryside south of collessie



the tomb of sir james melville, collessie, fife

the churchyard has been used since @ least 12th century. extended both in 1840 , 1871. taken on local county council in 1929.

the melville tomb

perhaps striking single feature of kirkyard ‘the melville tomb’. mausoleum of local lairdly family of melville of halhill, tomb restored extremely ruinous condition in 2004. erected in 1609 house remains of christian boswell, wife of courtier, diplomat , memoirist sir james melville (1536-1617) of halhill. boswell of balmuto, estate north of burntisland. balmuto castle, altered, still inhabited; in 1722, passed line of boswell of balmuto possession of kinsfolk boswells of auchinleck, family of samuel johnson’s biographer james boswell (1740–95).

sir james melville , christian boswell had 4 children; far famous poet elizabeth melville, lady culross, named 1 of own daughters christian. presumably, mausoleum received sir james’s body in 1617, , inaccurately described on information board next ‘the tomb of sir james melville of halhill’. after burials of 1609 , 1617, collessie mausoleum may have been used further members of family, there no extant records prove this. tomb’s builder succeeded laird of halhill eldest son, called james. on death of latter s son (another james) in 1664, halhill adjudicated relative, george, lord melville, in payment of debt. tower-house @ halhill pulled down in eighteenth century , exact location unknown. collessie mausoleum gradually fell prey neglect , became ruin: carved heraldic shields once filled niches on walls have entirely vanished, has date 1609 , recorded late 1895.

however, before restoration, melville tomb known in annals of funerary literature, because bears 2 seven-line stanzas of scots-language verse. these inscribed on outer wall, forms part of kirkyard boundary, , overlooks formerly principal highway st andrews. poem, carved in large capitals, intended read travellers; vanished heraldry, have been painted, , legible. damaged, transcribed , published complete in 1895.

poems in vernacular or in latin extremely common feature of tombs, celebrate deceased. collessie poem quite different; 2 seven-line stanzas make no mention of christian boswell or husband, constitute short sermon sin, redemption, death, burial , resurrection. second stanza sternly denounces widespread practice of burying bodies inside churches, , striking first line has twice been used in titles of articles on burial practices. both these articles discuss blame of kirk-buriall, tending perswade cemeteriall civilitie, mr william birnie, minister of lanark (edinburgh, 1606), edited w.b.d.d. turnbull (london, 1833).

ye loadin pilgrims passing langs way
pans on fall, , offencis past, ponder
how frail flesh first formit of clay
in dust mon desolvit @ last:
repent, amend, on christ burden cast
of sad sinnes, quha can sauls refresh
syne rais grave gloir grislie flesh.


defyle not chrysts kirk carrion,
a soleme sait gods service prepard,
for praier, preaching , communion:
your burial suld in kirkyaird.
on uprysing set great regard,
quhen saull , body ioynes, joy ring reign
in heaven ay christ our head , king.

the poem, uses ‘rhyme royal’ (known in scotland ‘troylus verse’), has been attributed christian boswell’s poet-daughter elizabeth melville on biographical , stylistic grounds. original literary inspiration may have come inscription on wall of aberdour kirk on fife coast, quite close balmuto castle , melville family seat, rossend castle in burntisland (home of elizabeth melville s uncle sir robert of murdocairnie, , son, sir robert of burntisland):

pans o pilgrim ponder
that passith way
upon thine end
and thou sal fear sin
and think also
upon latter day
when thou god man count must give account
then best thou begin then

which laid out pentameter verse (with hypermetric last line) read:

pans o pilgrim passith way
upon thine end, , thou sal fear sin:
and think upon latter day,
when thou god man count: best thou begin.

it has been suggested ‘pilgrim’ alludes mediaeval pilgrimages well-known, vanished healing located near church. however, ‘when’ (rather scots ‘quhen’) suspicious in supposedly pre-reformation inscription. word ‘pilgrim’ human beings on earthly journey standard metaphor used protestants, collessie mausoleum inscription indicates. elizabeth melville repeatedly employs term in poetry.

it possible melville tomb inscription provided inspiration aberdour inscription. if aberdour inscription predates 1609 , colessie tomb, elizabeth melville have known of man in 1603 became master of culross grammar school - fellow-presbyterian john fairfoul, former minister of aberdour, had become minister of dunfermline in 1598. alternatively, sir james melville himself may have told daughter aberdour inscription (he have had considerable input content of poem on wife’s mausoleum). aberdour quite close both balmuto castle christian boswell born, , melville family seat, rossend castle in burntisland, home of sir james’s elder brother sir robert of murdocairnie, 1st lord melville, , of son, sir robert of burntisland, 2nd lord melville. furthermore, aberdour kirk stands right next aberdour castle, 1 of seats of douglas earls of morton. therefore residence of 2 important scottish peers known sir james melville, namely regent morton (d.1581) , militantly presbyterian archibald douglas, eighth earl of angus , fifth of morton. archibald died in 1588; thereafter aberdour castle home of archibald’s widow, jean lyon, , third husband, alexander lindsay, first lord spynie.

other notable interments

sir william oliphant hutchison (1889-1970) artist, president of royal scottish academy
john cheape of rossie, father of sir john cheape




^ ralph ogg & partners - chartered quantity surveyors . raogg.com. retrieved 2016-03-24. 
^ http://www.scottishgraveyards.org.uk/downloads/16collessie.pdf
^ balmuto castle | castle in kinghorn, fife | scottish castles | stravaiging around scotland . stravaiging.com. 2014-06-20. retrieved 2016-03-24. 
^ boswell . electricscotland.com. retrieved 2016-03-24. 
^ tour scotland melville tomb . visitdunkeld.com. retrieved 2016-03-24. 
^ see, example, andrew spicer, ‘ defile not christs kirk carrion : development of burial aisles in post-reformation scotland’, in p.marshall , b.gordon, eds., place of dead in european society, 1400-1700 (cambridge, 2000), pp.149-69. spicer assigns date of christian boswell’s death husband, mistake has given rise published statements sir james died in 1609, e.g., in sarah tarlow, ritual, belief , dead in modern britain , ireland (2010) , in oxford handbook of archaeology of death , burial (2013).
^ see note 9 above, , ‘ defyle not chrysts kirk carrion : william durandus (c.1230-96), medieval view of burial’, in monuments , monumentality across medieval , modern europe: proceedings of 2011 stirling conference, ed. michael penman (donnington: shaun tyas, 2013), 212-223.
^ see jamie reid-baxter, poems of elizabeth melville (2010), pp.125-26.
^ st. fillan s parish church - aberdour (dunfermline), fife - places of worship in scotland | schr . scottishchurches.org.uk. 1926-07-07. retrieved 2016-03-24. 
^ see notes @ end of: http://data.historic-scotland.gov.uk/pls/htmldb/f?p=2200:15:0::::building,hl:3608
^ e.g. in ane godlie dreame (1603), melville calls on god ‘mak haist end our painefull pilgrimage’ (line 32) ; describes herself ‘ane pilgrime puir consumit siching sair’ (line 108) , reader ‘ane pilgrime puir thy loathsum lyfe’ (line 398). see jamie reid baxter, poems of elizabeth melville (solsequium : edinburgh, 2010), pp. 73, 76, 88.
^ hew scott, fasti ecclesiae scoticanae , v, p.27.
^ rossend castle
^ memoirs of own life sir james melville (bannatyne club : edinburgh, 1827) pp.247-61 ; 300, 325.
^ memoirs of own life sir james melville (bannatyne club : edinburgh, 1827) p. 402