The Preacher Stone in the Bathgate Hills
Preacher Stone, Secession, Bathgate, Hills, Craigmailen, Craigmailing, Hunter, Inscription
18th century
Abstract
The Preacher Stone is a natural boulder in the Bathgate Hills which is inscribed with a text recording a sermon preached on 14 January 1738 by ‘the worthy Mr Hunter’. This was an event of some significance in the early development of the Secession Church. The stone has not hitherto been the subject of a detailed study, and the various published references to it are incorrect or defective in some respect. In this article we give an accurate account of the stone and its environs, we comment on the letterforms which were intended to add dignity to the inscription, and we explain the importance of John Hunter in the context of the newly developing Secession. We draw on the unpublished Minutes of the Associate Presbytery and of the Session of the Craigmailen congregation to correct some of the misunderstandings that have arisen about the place and date of the event it records, and maintain the veracity of the inscribed text.
