Peden the Prophet has died

0 - 0 • Last updated 10 Apr 2008 12:27

JANUARY 26, 1686

NOTORIOUS preacher Alexander Peden died this day on his brother"s farm on the Auchinleck Estate.

It is believed he had been hiding from the authorities in a cave nearby, subsisting on supplies provided by his brother.

Peden was born around the year 1626 at Auchencloich in Sorn Parish. He became a minister, taking to the pulpit in New Luce, Wigtonshire. However, three years after taking the cloth he was ejected from the church for his Covenanting beliefs.

From then on he lived the life of a hunted man, preaching at illegal conventicles and defying the authorities calls to answer their charges.

According to an official release, he was known to 'ride up and down the country with sword and pistols, in grey clothes.' He was declared rebel in march 1666 and a reward of 1000 marks was levied on his head.

He marched for a time with the Pentland insurrectionists as they made their way to Edinburgh in November that year but left their company at Lanark. They subsequently fought a bloody battle at Rullion Green and were routed by the forces of General Tam Dalyell.

He subsequently fled to Ireland but returned and continued furthering his Covenanting principles.

In June 1673 he was captured at Knockdown Cottage in Carrick. He was taken to the tolbooth at Ayr and thence to the common jail in Edinburgh. Tried and convicted, Peden was sent to Bass rock in the Firth of Forth, where he remained for over four years.

In a statement released during this period, he described the daily routine: 'We are close shut up in our chambers, not permitted to converse, diet, or worship together, but conducted out by two at once in the day, to breathe in the open air, envying the birds for their freedom...and again close shut up day and night, to hear only the sighs and groans of our fellow prisoners.'

In 1678, the authorities decided to transport he and over 60 other prisoners to the West Indies, where they were to be worked as slaves on the plantations.

Peden, displaying a gift for prophecy that had stood him well in the past, stated that 'the ship was not built that will take us overseas to the plantations.' In London, he managed to convince the captain that he and his fellow prisoners were fighting for religious freedom and were allowed to go free.

After a sojourn in Ireland, he again returned to Scotland, riding the country disguised in a wig and mask.

However, old age and his stressful lifestyle caught up with him and he died today. It is known that he had expressed a wish to be buried on the battlefield at Aird"s Moss beside the grave of Richard Cameron. Before his death, he told The Killing Times: 'Carry me to Ayrsmoss, and bury me beside Richie, that I may have quiet in my grave; for I have had little in my life.' He also stated that it mattered little where he was laid, for it would soon be lifted again. However, it is believed this may be too dangerous a course of action.

LATE NEWS: Alexander Peden was interred in the Boswell family plot in Auchinleck churchyard. However, once again, Peden the Prophet was proved correct for soldiers garrisoned at Sorn Castle removed the body and carried it unceremoniously to the gibbet at Cumnock. News just in is that the Earl of Dumfries refused to allow them to hang the corpse on the gallows.

'The gibbet was erected for lamefactors and murderers, and not for such men as Peden,' the Earl told The Killing Times.

The soldiers contented themselves with burying the body at the foot of the gallows.

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This article appeared in Cumnock Chronicle 10 Apr 08

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