OS1/1/46/70

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 70
Parish of Kennethmont

There was a burying ground attached and altho' it still remains, there is no care or interest taken for its preservation.
There are only two grave stones in the graveyard, one to the memory of John Legan, who died 10th Novr. [November] 1767, but
the letters on the other one are illegible; and it is only about 9 years since the last burial took place here.
Although there is no date mentioned with reference to the building of the Church there can be no doubt
of its Antiquity. In the "Comprehensive Gasetteer of Scotland," published by Blackie and Son, Edinburgh
we find the following; under the head of Kinnethmont, "A Parish called Christs' Kirk is annexed, and,
and on a green sward of that name a fair was formally held during the night, which
was appropriately designated the "Sleepy Market". It is contended that this was the scene of
"Christs Kirk on the Green", ascribed to James I of Scotland".
In the work called "James the Fifth or the Gude Man of Ballangeich". James Paterson the Author, says,
"It cannot be doubted that James V was a poet, and that he composed "Christ's Kirk on the Green", we have
every reason to believe. But at what precise time it was written, or where the locality of the poem,
are questions not so easily answered. It seems pretty clear that it was not wholly a fiction, but the
result of observation - a picture of what the author had witnessed at those great annual gatherings,
or fairs, held in every district of the County. And no one was better acquainted with the manners
and customs of the people than the "King of the Commons." The dancing and fighting upon these
occasions came down, in a modified form, even to our own times. The Poem is not a juvenile production,
but of ripe and cultivated genius. In Short it can hardly be excelled in graphic description and
See page 3
[Continued on page 3]