Skulferatu #128 - Phantassie Doocot, Phantassie, East Linton

‘Come to see victory

In a land called fantasy

Loving life, a new degree

Bring your mind to everlasting liberty…’

 

So sang Earth Wind and Fire in their disco banger, Fantasy, and it was off to a land called Phantassie that I headed today.  Well, when I say land, I mean a couple of fields and a farm.  I also wasn’t seeking the impossible goal of victory and liberty, but rather was looking to find a luxurious dwelling house for pigeons.

 

Wandering through and out of the town of East Linton I came to a rather fabulous and bent looking old building, Preston Mill.  This stone building with a red tiled roof looking a bit like some witch’s cap is an old watermill that was in the past used for grinding down, milling, grain.  The present building probably dates from around the 18^th century, though it is believed that a mill has stood on the site from sometime before 1599.

 

Preston Mill

 

Preston Mill by the River Tyne

 

Strolling past and over the River Tyne, I made my way down through Phantassie on a gentle path that led me through some fields to the Doocot.  Around me birds sang, and a gentle wind made the wires on the telegraph poles hum in a low meditative way.

 

Path down to Phantassie Doocot

 

So, you may wonder, how did Phantassie get its name?  Some say it comes from the Gaelic for a gentle and damp slope, but as Gaelic was not really spoken around here that seems unlikely.  Others say that it is a made up name coming from the French ‘fantaisie’ (fantasy) and point out that in 1654 the area was recorded as Trapren. By 1800 it did however have the name Phantassie, which was sometimes spelt with a ‘ph’ and at others with an ‘f’.

 

Arriving at Phantassie Doocot I found it to be quite a strange looking little building, with one side having the appearance of a series of concrete collapsed hats designed by some brutalist architect, and the other, with its sloping tiled roof and entry holes looking more like a little fortress.

 

Phantassie Doocot

 

View of Phantassie Doocot

 

Phantassie Doocot

 

Sloping roof of the doocot

 

Entrance holes for the pigeons

 

The Doocot was built sometime in the Sixteenth Century and is a Beehive Doocot with five hundred nesting places inside.  It is unusual in its design in that it has a horseshoe parapet with a sloping south facing roof that would protect the birds from the wind.  This is a design that was popular in the south of France, so it may be that the designer or builder had some connection there. 

 

Doocots or Dovecotes were introduced to Britain by the Normans in the Eleventh Century and were basically buildings designed for pigeons to nest in.  These nesting houses were not built for altruistic reasons, but rather that during the winter months pigeons were seen as a good source of fresh meat.  By building a place for hundreds of them to gather and nest it made it easy to gather them, and their eggs, up to eat.

 

There was, of course, one big problem with the pigeons in the Doocots, and that was the amount of grain they could eat.  Something that didn’t bother the landowner who owned the Doocot, as he got the plump juicy birds to eat, but his tenant farmers would often have to watch in despair as the pigeons munched away at their crops.

 

While watched by some nesting pigeons, and a couple of inquisitive crows, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me in a gap in the stonework of the Doocot.

 

Skulferatu #128

 

Skulferatu #128 in a gap in the stonework of the doocot

 

Skulferatu #128 in a gap in the stonework of the doocot

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #128

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are -

 

Latitude 55.987858

Longitude -2.647786

 

what3words: hunk.collapsed.blush

 

I used the following sources for information on Phantassie Doocot –

 

East Lothian

by Thomas Scott Muir

1915

 

Preston Mill and Phantassie Doocot

National Trust for Scotland

by Clare White and Gillian Simison

2012 

Skulferatu #43 - Rosyth Doocot, Rosyth, Fife

 

Walking away from Rosyth Castle, across an abandoned rail track and up a wooded hill, I came across Rosyth Doocot almost hidden amongst the trees.

 

Rosyth Doocot, hidden amongst the trees

 

Rosyth Doocot

 

The Doocot is from the Sixteenth Century and has over one thousand five hundred stone nesting boxes inside for pigeons.  It must have been a pretty smelly place in its day, but the pigeons were a year round source of meat and eggs for the local community.

 

The Doocot is now empty except for some discarded beer cans and a couple of chairs sitting inside.  The chairs give it a slightly surrealist feeling and I half expected a couple of actors to appear from the side shadows and perform ‘Waiting for Godot’ or something of that ilk.

 

Interior of the Doocot

 

On the lintel above the door are the remains of a carving of a serpent.  This represents the old biblical saying of – ‘Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’

 

Entrance to Doocot, with remains of carved serpent on lintel above the door

 

View of Dovecot and Details from The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland

 

I left a Skulferatu in the wall of the Doocot.

 

Skulferatu #43

 

Skulferatu #43 in hole in wall at Rosyth Doocot

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #43

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 56.024808

Longitude -3.429101

 

I used the following sources for information on Rosyth Doocot –

 

The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century, Volume One

By David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross

1887

 

Tourist Information at site

Skulferatu #34 - Tranent Doocot, Dovecot Brae, Tranent, East Lothian

 

I took a cycle out to Tranent in East Lothian and stopped off along Dovecot Brae, by a crumbling, old building that is now virtually hidden amongst trees and undergrowth.  If it weren’t for the stairs leading up from the road, it would be easy to go right past this place and not even notice it was there.  At first this building, Tranent Doocot, appears to have no great importance or relevance, but there is a dark history associated with the man who ordered its construction.

 

Stairs leading up to Tranent Doocot, which is almost hidden in trees and undergrowth

 

 

Tranent Doocot – almost hidden in trees and undergrowth

According to J Sands in his book published in 1881 'Sketches of Tranent in the Olden Times', Tranent Doocot used to bear the name of David Setoun and the date 1587.  In the present day, this inscription is completely illegible, which is not a bad thing given that David Setoun or Seton, as he is now known, was one of the main instigators in starting what later became known as the North Berwick Witch Trials. 

 

Entrance to Tranent Doocot

 

Pigeonholes inside the doocot for the birds to nest in.

 

David Seton was the Deputy Bailiff in Tranent to Lord Seton and to make things nice and confusing David Seton also had a son called David.  In various descriptions of him, David Seton Snr appears to be a mean spirited, suspicious man who believed that his woes and financial difficulties were caused by others committing ungodly acts against him.  He, and his family resided in Tranent in a house that was commonly known as the Royal George, and in their employment was a maid servant called Geillis Duncan.   Duncan is believed to have been in her early to mid-teens when employed by Seton and is described as being '...young and comely, and distinguished for her readiness to attend the sick and infirm, and for her wonderful skill in curing diseases.' 
 
In November 1590 David Seton became suspicious of Duncan’s growing reputation as a healer and became convinced that witchcraft must be involved.  He then questioned her about this, and she denied the accusations.  Not satisfied with this Seton gathered together some associates and together they tortured Duncan.  First, they used an item called the 'pilliwinks' on her, or what we would today call thumbscrews.  These crushed the thumbs and caused great pain.  However, despite this Duncan would not confess.  Seton and his associates then bound and wrenched her head with a rope to cause her extreme agony, but still, she would confess nothing. They then stripped and shaved her and examined her body for the mark of the Devil, as it was believed that those in the service of Satan had a mark put upon them that was insensible to pain and did not bleed when pricked.  On 'finding' this mark on Duncan's neck Seton and his cronies stated that she then admitted that her looking after the sick had been done at the suggestion of the Devil and that her curing of disease was done by witchcraft.  She went on to name thirty accomplices.  Duncan, and all those she had named, were then imprisoned.
 
Terrified, tormented and tortured those imprisoned soon confessed to a multitude of bizarre crimes including attempting to bring about the death of King James VI.  The strange and wonderful story that emerged was that the coven of witches met in the house of Barbara Napier in Edinburgh.  Napier was a member of Edinburgh high society and was Lady-in-Waiting to the Countess of Angus.  She had fallen out with the Countess and had then supposedly brought about the death of the Earl of Angus through the use of witchcraft.  As well as meeting at Napier’s house, there had been a meeting of around two hundred witches at Acheson's Haven (now Morrison's Haven, Prestongrange) and later another meeting at the Kirk of North Berwick.  The Devil presided over these gatherings and Dr John Fian, a schoolteacher from Prestonpans, acted as the secretary.  The coven had met to devise a plan to destroy the ship that carried the newly married King James and his wife Anne from Denmark to Leith.  At one of these meetings another member of Edinburgh high society, Euphame MacCalzean, handed a waxen image of King James to the Devil and hinted that the Earl of Bothwell, with whom she was closely connected, would be the new king.
 
After the meeting at North Berwick a group of witches and wizards set sail in sieves to meet the Royal ship.  During their voyage they boarded a passing ship and after helping themselves to food and drink, sunk it.  They then carried on with their voyage and on sighting the Royal ship the Devil handed a cat, that had earlier been baptised, to Dr Fian and ordered him to throw it into the sea and cry 'Halo!'  On his doing this a tremendous storm arose and being convinced that nothing but a miracle could save the Royal ship from destruction, the Devil and all those gathered returned to North Berwick.  There they marched with their sieves in their hands to the Kirk.  Geillis Duncan led the procession playing a quick step on the Jews Harp.  At the Kirk they all entered, and the Devil preached a sermon to them from the pulpit.  He asked all those assembled to do all the evil in their power and that if they did so, they'd be handsomely rewarded.  He then bent over the pulpit and asked those assembled to kiss his buttocks as a token of their allegiance.  They all did so before making their way out into the churchyard where they feasted on the dead and were given parts of human bodies by the Devil as powerful charms.  Geillis Duncan then played a reel on the Jews Harp called - 'Cummer, go ye before Cummer, go ye.'
 
All those seized and accused of witchcraft were tortured horribly to make them confess to their roles in the plot.  Dr Fian, the alleged secretary to the Devil and cat thrower, had his legs crushed in the 'bootikens' until 'the blood and marrow spouted out'.  His fingernails were then pulled out and pins pushed into his fingers, however unlike many of the others, he refused to confess to anything. 
 
King James took a keen interest in all the proceedings of these witch trials, as he fully believed that an attempt had been made on his life by Satan and his little helpers.  Though why Satan would be interested in the King of a small, poor country at the arse end of Europe is anyone's guess.  You would have thought that given the chaos that would later be caused by King James' son Charles, that the Devil would have been only too keen to keep James and his offspring on the throne.  Though maybe, unlike God, the Devil does not reside outside of time and is therefore unaware of what is to come.  Anyway, getting back to the story - King James attended to see the witnesses examined and put to torture and also had Geillis Duncan brought to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.  There he had her play the reel on the Jews Harp that she had played for the Devil and all the assembled witches and wizards at North Berwick.
 
Various trials then took place and on 26 December 1590 John Fian was tried and found guilty of numerous charges including being involved in the plot against King James.  He was sentenced to death and it appears that he may have been taken to Castle Hill and strangled and burned there later on the same day.
 
Barbara Napier was tried and found guilty of consulting with witches and was sentenced to death.  On 10 May 1591 she was taken to Castle Hill, Edinburgh where she was bound to a stake to be strangled and burned.  However, she claimed to be pregnant and was given a stay of execution.  It is unclear what then happened to her.
 
Euphame MacCalzean was found guilty of being a witch and consulting with witches.  She was sentenced to death, though cruelly and unusually was sentenced to death by being burned alive.  The sentence was carried out on Castle Hill on the 25 June 1591.
 
No trial records have ever been recovered for Geillis Duncan.  However, she was convicted of witchcraft and was executed on 4 December 1591 at Castle Hill in Edinburgh, presumably like the others by being strangled and then burned to ashes.  She was executed along with Bessie Thomson, another woman convicted of witchcraft, and both recanted their confessions prior to execution.  On being asked why she had confessed and named others such as Barbara Napier and Euphame MacCalzean in her confessions Duncan stated that she had been made to by the two David Setons in Tranent and others, but that it was all lies and for this she begged God's forgiveness.
 
Many of those named by Duncan went on to name others involved in the so called plot against the King, and by 1593 over 70 people had been implicated and many had been executed.  Now, I may be being very cynical about the reasons for many of these people being accused, as I am aware that there were many religious, political, and socio-economic things going on at this time.  However, it is very interesting to note that Dr John Fian had been in a long running dispute with David Seton, while Euphame MacCalzean was Seton’s sister-in-law.  Seton was angry with her, as she had inherited money from a relative that he thought should have been bequeathed to him.  So, at the very least Seton would appear to be guilty of capitalising on a situation, he had started, for revenge against enemies, perceived and real.
 
 
*           *           *
 
Tranent Doocot stands near to Tranent Old Parish Church and was built to house 1122 pairs of pigeons.  The pigeons were a good supply of fresh meat for the local population, who would take the young pigeons, as their meat was the most tender and juicy.  The building has been partially restored but is again in a state of disrepair.  I'm glad that the name of David Seton has faded from this building, as it is a name that deserves to be forgotten.  Instead let us remember the names of those who died in an age of paranoia, religious intolerance, and political intrigue.

 

Tranent Old Parish Church with Doocot on right hand side

 

I left a Skulferatu here for Geillis Duncan and all the others who were persecuted and murdered for imaginary crimes created in the overactive imaginations of jealous or malicious peers and a paranoid ruling class.

 

Skulferatu #34

 

Skulferatu #34 in hollow of wall at Tranent Doocot

 

Skulferatu #34 in hollow of wall at Tranent Doocot

 

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #34

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.950036

Longitude -2.957936

 

I used the following sources for the tale of Geillis Duncan -

 

Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland

edited by Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts (2000)

 

Sketches of Tranent in the Olden Times

by J Sands (1881)

Available digitally at https://electricscotland.com/history/tranent/chapter03.htm

 

Tranent and its Surroundings

by P McNeill (1884)

https://archive.org/details/tranentitssurrou02mnei/mode/2up

 

Geillis Duncan, Witch

https://engole.info/geillis-duncan-witch/

 

Wikipedia - Morrison's Haven

Morrison's Haven - Wikipedia

 

 

Article and photographs are copyright of © Kevin Nosferatu, unless otherwise stated.