From the 17th to 21st century
Our History
Why not join us and be part of St James Church's unfolding history?
Episcopalians have been meeting on the location of the present site of St James Church​ for over three hundred years, having maintained a meeting house there since 1698. Indeed St James Church holds the distinction as being located on the oldest site of Episcopalian worship in the Strathearn region.
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Episcopalians in Muthill were first served by Rev. James Inglis who held his position for forty-three years. He was succeeded by Rev. William Erskine who ministered for fifty years, who rebuilt the meeting house in 1771. After Erskine, Alex. Cruickhank maintained pastoral oversight of Muthill's faithful Episcopalians for fifty-one years, from 1775-1834. During this time, the meeting house essentially became a ruin and his ministry in the early years was carried out in secret so as not to offend Presbyterian and Hanoverian sympathies. He died two years before the present building was consecrated, which occurred on September 7, 1836. St James Church was built by R & R Dickson of Edinburghto conform with a style that was conventional in 19th century, cruciform Protestant church architecture. The church is named in honour of "St James the Less", a brother of Jesus (Mark 15:40).
Regarding the church's history after Cruickshank, Margaret Lye notes that:
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"Cruickshank was succeeded by his grand-nephew, the energetic Alexander Lendrum who was born in 1811 and graduated M.A. at King‘s College, Aberdeen in 1831. He trained for the priesthood under Bishop Walker in Edinburgh and was ordained in 1832. St. James is an extremely handsome example of early 19th century Protestant church design, to be copied at Aberdour in 1843 as a private chapel for the Earl of Moray. In 1836 the essential requirement of church design was for a good preaching auditorium, sometimes called Wren auditories and the Greek cross formed a compact area where the preacher could best be heard. At Muthill they had a gallery at the west end for the upper classes which was typical of the designs of that period. The altar was at the head of the cross at the east end with a pulpit on one side and a reading desk with a place for the precentor [worship leader] underneath was at the other. From 1796 their precentor was a Mr. David Campbell who died aged seventy-six on the 26th February 1840. His obituary stated that during his forty-four years there he travelled 13,728 miles to church and when we remember that most of this will have been done on foot we realise the extraordinary commitment of some of these people in the 19th century." Margaret Lye A Guide to Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of St. Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. Lulu Press, 2012, pp.10-14.​​​
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Below are some photos that provide further snapshots of our rich and varied history, taking us from the early medieval period to the 21st century.​
The early history of Christianity in Muthill
Tradition has it that Christianity was introduced to the Strathearn region by St Fergus around 650 A.D. The old church tower in the village was constructed in the 1100's, likely linked to the Cathedral of Dunblane. In the Charters of Lindores dated to around 1220 there is a reference to Malduvenny as Rex scolarum de Mothell [Muthill]. According to J. H. Shepherd, Episcopacy in Strathearn 1907: "The expression is not a common one, but it points to the fact that Muthill must be added to the lists of places possessing schools in those early days...Muthill must have been a place of considerable importance for the time."
Muthill Communion Tokens
A distinctive facet of post-Reformation Scotland was the introduction of "communion tokens." These tokens would be distributed to congregants to allow them access to receive the sacrament of communion (bread and wine). These communion tokens date to 1703. They were greatly valued by Rev. Alex Cruickshank and from him descended to his great nephew the Rev. Alex Lendrum.
Strathearn Episcopalians in Hiding
In 1689 the Episcopal Church was disestablished in Scotland, with its churches largely being handed over to the presbyterian church. From 1689 until 1836 Episcopalians in Muthill met in a small meeting house and many had to hide their affiliation with the church. In 18th-century Scotland, Episcopalians faced persecution primarily due to their perceived loyalty to the deposed Stuart monarchs (James VII and his son James VIII), which led to them being labeled as "Jacobites" and viewed as a threat to the newly established Protestant monarchy. Until their repeal in 1788 the Penal Acts of 1746 and 1748 forbade Episcopalian worship in Scotland of more than five persons beyond the cleryman's family. During this time in Muthill Rev. Erksine was forced to minister to his congregants in secret.
Bonnie Prince Charlie
One of the treasures of St James Church is a communion token bag whose drawstring is a human hair, labelled as belonging to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who led the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Scottish Episcopalians supported his cause, leading to their later persecution. The Prince held an infamous war meeting in Crieff in 1765, where he no doubt was met by local supporters. This bag was a treasured possession of Revd. Alex Cruickshank, who lived one generation after the 1745 uprising.
Drummond Castle
The family at Drummond Castle has long held an important role in the life of the Episcopalian Church in Muthill, its home village and near neighbour. Lord Willoughby was involved at the outset, along with many other important families, in establishing a site for our current building and in sponsoring its construction. Lord Strathallan and Lord Willoughby were given first choice of which pews to choose for their use and the rest were allocated according to the subscriptions given for building. Lady Willoughby d’Eresby, current head of the family, who regularly worshipped in St James Church, always chose the left pew second from the front – was that always the family pew?
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Key events are noted in Episcopacy in Strathearn by J.H. Shepherd, 1907: In 1835 the Hon. A. Drummond provided a finger organ for the church. In 1861 the Drummond family presented a set of Communion plate, an indication of their support and involvement. In 1874 Sunday evening services began to be held at Drummond Castle, an informal Evensong led by Mr Fanshawe Bingham, incumbent at St. James Church. When the church was extensively remodelled in 1904, the Earl of Ancaster presented the ‘lamps, all of brass’, and the Countess of Ancaster gifted ‘a beautiful altar frontal, for festival use, of white and gold’. Mr Shepherd concluded that in 1907, ‘The present representative of the Drummond Castle family has shown that the Church in Muthill is still as dear to him as to those who preceded him’, while the ‘late Lady Willoughby’ also left a payment of £125 per annum to continue the family’s support. (NB we receive £300 pa from the Ancaster Trust – is this a carry-over from this bequest?) The Ancaster Trust continues to support the Church, with the annual gift of a Christmas tree from the Estate and generous grant support for restoration projects, for which we are most grateful.
Helen Gloag
​Helen Gloag was born in Muthill on 29 January 1750 and was baptized in St James Church. According to historian Miriam Bibby Helen "was beautiful, enjoyed playing cards, and was an Episcopalian. This was a dangerous time to be either an Episcopalian or a Jacobite in Scotland, and one of Helen’s relatives was said to be a Jacobite sympathiser." At age nineteen Helen left Scotland to sail to North Carolina. The ship she was on, however, was raided by Moroccan corsairs. The men on the ship were killed and the women were enslaved. In Morocco the apparently strikingly beautiful and red-haired Helen came to the notice of Sultan Sidi Mohammid ibn Abdullah. She became one of his consorts, then his principal wife, having two sons by him. Helen was apparently able to exercise influence over her husband's political decisions, including taking a more favorable attitude towards European powers. Helen was likely killed after her husband's death in 1790, on orders of the new sultan, Mulai Yazeed (whose mother was a German who, like Helen, was also captured and enslaved by corsairs).
William Erskine, Lord Kinneder (1768–1822)
William Erskine was the son of St James Church's second priest (whom he was named after) and was baptized and raised in Muthill. Erskine was a keen scholar of English prose and song, sherrif-depute of Orkney and a judge. He was one of Walter Scott's closest confidants and without him Scott might not have began his writing career.
Strathearn Gentry and St James Pew Rents
Preserved in the archives of the Drummond estate is a fascinating document from a bygone era–a mid 1800's seating place of the St James congregation. Until the mid-20th century many churches' pews were formally rented by, and assigned to different families. In this document many recognizable Strathearn families and their houses are present: including the Murrays of Ochtertyre, Gask House, Inchbrakie House, Dollerie House, Clathic House, and of course Drummond Castle. Several pews were also assigned for these great houses' servants, and spaces were also reserved for the poor. The presence of a gallery (which was removed in 1904) is also recorded.
Wardsworth Pipe Organ
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Oxford Cambridge Boat Race
St James holds the distinction as having one of the co-founders of the renowned Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race as one of our incumbents. The Boat Race began in 1829, sparked by two old Harrow School friends—Charles Wordsworth of Oxford (later a priest in St James), and Charles Merivale of Cambridge—who challenged their universities to a rowing contest at Henley-on-Thames. The initial race was apparently watched by a remarkable crowd of 20,000 people. Wordsworth won for Oxford. This personal challenge between friends has grown into one of the world's most enduring sporting traditions. It has been held annually since 1856, pausing only for the two World Wars and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The 4.2-mile course runs along the Thames from Putney to Mortlake. Over 100 million people watch it worldwide each year, making it one of sport's most-watched annual events. Cambridge currently leads the men's contest with 88 wins to Oxford's 81.
Educating Muthill
In the mid 1800's Rev. Lendrum began a "day school" which provided education for the children of Muthill. The school closed in 1923 and the building was transferred to Muthill Recreational Club for the benefit of the village's residents. It was sold in 2021, raising £125k that will be used to fund a new community centre for the village. The original school building is now a private house.
Training Saints
Reverend John Comper (1823–1903) was a remarkable Scottish Episcopal priest whose life of service to the poor of Victorian Aberdeen earned him the highest honour his church could bestow--being name a "hero of the faith", the SEC's version of sainthood. His training as a priest was shared between Crieff and Muthill Episcopal churches. Upon the opening of his mission to Nairn he presented with money to buy a communion plate by Rev. Lendrum, paid for in part by the congregation of St James.
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From an English farming family, John Comper moved to Scotland in 1849 to study for ordination into the Episcopal Church in Scotland. He could not gain holy orders in England, as this required education at Oxford or Cambridge, which he could not afford. After his training in Crieff and Muthill he went to minister in Aberdeen and its environs. Recognising that the poorest parts of Aberdeen were not being reached by the church, Comper resigned his charge at St John's church in 1870 to spend more time in the mission he had founded in the Gallowgate slums of Aberdeen in 1867— an area described as having an evil reputation where no one ventured out after dark.​ In 2003, exactly a century after his death, Father Comper was declared a "Hero of the Faith" by the Scottish Episcopal Church — the equivalent of a saint and the greatest honour the Church can bestow. In the Calendar of the Scottish Episcopal Church he is remembered on 27 July, the day of his death.
John Comper's eldest son, Sir Ninian Comper, born in 1864, went on to become one of the greatest church architects of the twentieth century. Ninian adopted the strawberry as his unique artistic signature — found at the bottom corner of his stained glass windows across the world — as a tribute to his father. (His father had just purchased strawberries in Duthie Park, Aberdeen, before he collapsed and died). He is commemorated in the stain glass windows of St Margaret of Scotland Church, Aberdeen. (image Auldcathy, CC BY-SA 4.0). A photograph of John Comper as an older man was recently found in St James' archive.
St James Church in the Edwardian Era
During the late-Victorian to Edwardian period St James Church was closely associated with the beneficence of Robert Thomas Napier Speir of Culdees Castle just outside of Muthill. Spier made his fortune in manufacturing with the Groves, Speir and Company and was a leading layman in the church. The Most Rev. Farquhar of St Ninian’s Cathedral noted that "he is a church architect and has erected several small churches; he makes beautiful coloured windows with his own hands and paints beautifully on china etc; there is something very manly about him." The present interior of St James Church was largely designed by Spier. On the day of his funeral Farquhar wrote: "None have done more for the church, few as much, for the last 50 years. May God raise up younger men to fill his place!"
Muthill War Memorial
Muthill War Memorial on 3rd July 1921 unveiled by the Earl of Ancaster in a service conducted by Rev. Alex. Cross, Muthill Parish Church, Rev. R. P. R. Anderson United Free Church, and Rev. Mr. Caird, Episcopal Church. The service was especially poignant for the Earl, as for many villagers, as he had lost his son in the conflict and his name is listed on the memorial. Photo credit and note by Sandy Black.
Rectory Sale of Works
St James Church has always striven to be at the heart of the community. Here is a rare photo of a church Sale of Works that was held in the Rectory Garden with Mrs Bruce (daughter of Robert Speir) and Mrs Finlay of the Rectory September 1, 1932.
St James Church Choir
St James Church, was able to maintain a church choir throughout most of the 19th-20th century. Like most Scottish Episcopal churches, St James has been influenced by the "Oxford Movement", which emphasizes the importance of art, music and ritual as a way to approach and worship God. One key incumbent of St James who furthered its music was Francis Kitchen. He was born in Stone, Staffordshire in 1841, he obtained a Tobias Rustat Scholarship from Jesus College, Cambridge and graduated before entering the Church being ordained by the Archbishop of York in 1866. His passion was for education and music alongside his pastoral calling and extensively developed schools and choirs in Aberdeen and district, establishing a Diocesan Association of Church Choirs. He was called to St James Muthill in 1878. Liturgy and Music was an integral part of his interest and daily life. The original choir stalls are at the front of the church, while an elevated gallery at the back of the church (now removed) provided space for members of the choir to sing, suffusing St James with the sound of choral music.
St James Church
Incumbents
from 1689—1920
James Inglis
William Erskine
Alexander Cruickshank
1689–1732
1732–1783
Alexander Lendrum
1834–1854
Charles Wordsworth
1854–1855
Albert J. T. Morris
1858–1871
Fanshawe Bingham
1871–1876
J. R. Leslie
1889-1891
W. M. Meredith
1891-1897
1783–1834
Hugh Robert Cunnynghame
1856–1858
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Francis Kitchin
1877–1887
Canon I. H. Shepherd 1898-1908
1898-1908
J. Ferguson Smith
1908–1911
W. H. Jenkins
1912–1915
Dr J. Anderson Robertson
1915–1920
