THE  STEWARTON  SICKNESS

 1625 – 1630

By  Archie  McKellar  MA (Hons)

Twice since the Reformation of the Church of Scotland in 1560 the name Stewarton has been talked about in church circles. The first time was in 1625 when the first ever Revival of the new faith took place in the small town and was given the nickname “The Stewarton Sickness”. The second was from 1840 until 1843 when William Cunningham of Lainshaw contested The Chapel Act of the General Assembly in the Secular Court. The Chapel Act allowed Chapels of Ease to be raised to full Parish status. Chapels of Ease were churches erected by voluntary effort to create additional places of worship for the growing population. In Stewarton, William Cunningham, the chief heritor of the town, disallowed the existing parish to be divided. This conflict became known as “The Stewarton Case” and was one of the causes, which led to the 1843 Disruption of The Church of Scotland when over 450 ministers left the Established church to form the Free Church.

The Stewarton Sickness began in 1625 when this little country town found itself in the midst of some strange happenings. Such was the impact that Stewarton became a place of interest to some of the leading churchmen of the day.

Stewarton in 1625 consisted of four main areas Kirkford, Kirkton, Corsehill and Nether Robertland the population of each earned a living from the land. Land farmed in the early seventeenth century had to provide two types of income, one for the peasants to support themselves, known as subsistence farming, and the other to pay rent to the landowners. Scottish Feudal Law treated all landowners as vassals or sub-vassals of the King. The land was organised into social strata with three out of every four men coming under the description of peasants. Nobles and landowners who held land in the name of the King when called upon to do so were required to provide an army mustered from their workforce. By the seventeenth century the call for military service had not been so demanding and the farmer could now sow his seeds and reap his crops without fear that they would be destroyed by battles being fought on the land which he had cultivated.

Work on the land was difficult and tiresome; only the barest crops were produced, and large tracts of moorland were covered with broom, thistles and weeds of all descriptions. Few attempts were made to drain or lime the land, as it was believed that the weeds were the consequence of Adam’s fall. Communications too were poor as the roads were rough tracts only suitable for animals or tough ponies with bags slung over their backs. Robbers were frequently lying in wait along these tracks so people travelled in groups in the interest of safety.

Living conditions also varied greatly; the landowner lived in large house and had ample food, the peasant lived in a crude hovel called a “But and Ben,” which was shared with cattle. Both cattle and the family entered by the same door with the family sitting with their backs to the “but” and the cattle looking “ben” to the family, hence the name. While the landowner dressed like an English Gentlemen the peasant man wore a plaid and trousers. A peasant woman wore a linen skirt with a plaid draped over her head, usually pinned across her bosom and falling to her knees. Women were not allowed by Kirk Sessions to wear a plaid over their head in church as they were liable to fall asleep without being detected during the long sermons; men wore shoes and the women and children went barefooted. Food too varied. The landowners ate the finest food and drank fine wine while the peasants had a diet of oatmeal which could be taken as porridge or mixed with water and baked into oatbread or bannocks. Milk was consumed in large quantities and made into butter and cheese with some being preserved for consumption in the late winter when food was scarce. Poultry and fish were used to supplement animal meat and the peasant women made soup. Many of the peasants also were tailors, shoemakers, weavers and bonnet makers. Bonnet making was the main industry in Stewarton. The bonnet trade was instituted in 1590, so restrictions would be in place governing the quality of the bonnets produced at that time.

 It is therefore rather surprising that the “Stewarton Sickness”, the first ever Revival of the new faith of the Church of Scotland, happened in this rural community. Many revivals followed in the following centuries, not only in Scotland but also throughout the world.

Dr Patrick Dixon of Toronto Canada states in his book published in 1995, Signs of Revival – book on revival / Toronto blessing:‘ The history of emotional Christian faith can be traced back to the day of Pentecost when the Disciples’ first experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit, an occasion on which they became so intoxicated that the effect on their bodies seems to have been similar outwardly to that of alcohol.’

Later in his book Dr Dixon mentions the Stewarton Sickness as being  “ ... the remarkable work of God in Ayrshire.”

The Bible gives the account of the happening at Pentecost, the Israelite festival celebrating the wheat harvest, as:

Perhaps not as dramatic as the account given in the Bible of Pentecost but the happenings in Stewarton were equally as strange as the actions of The Disciples. According to an account written in the seventeenth century (Gillies, Historical Collections) “ A very solemn and extraordinary out-letting of the Spirit happened in Stewarton about the year 1625 and afterwards this was in the West of Scotland. It happened first in the parish of Stewarton and then throughout the country, particularly at Irvine under the ministry of the Rev David Dickson MA. It is remarkable that few Sundays did pass without some people being converted or some convincing proof of the power of God accompanying his Word. Many were choked and taken by heart through terror, the Spirit in some measure convincing them of sin on hearing the Word. They had been made to fall over and had to be carried from the church and afterwards proved to be most solid and lively Christians. Some broke out in rashes in their arms and legs while others called out hysterically while in church. Such was the excitement that the “Revival” was called ”The Stewarton Sickness.” A few people who mocked religion were also converted and they too became solid Christians.”

This particular out-letting of the Spirit lasted from 1625 until 1630 and spread from house to house for many miles on both sides of the Stewarton Water. The minister of the church in Stewarton at that time was the Rev Castlelaw, who called on the Rev David Dickson MA of Irvine to assist him. The Rev Castlelaw encouraged his congregation to attend the market at Irvine each Monday morning, so that those who could travel gathered together as many items as they could sell and made their way to Irvine Market each Monday morning, the chief design was to attend the talk given by the Rev Dickson before the market began. It is believed that by those weekday sermons, the famous “Stewarton Sickness” was begun and spread from house to house for many miles in the Strath, on both sides of the Stewarton Water.

The Rev David Dickson MA was an eminent preacher, educator and theologian. The son of a wealthy and godly Glasgow merchant he was ordained to Irvine in 1618 where he laboured for twenty- three years, though his ministry was interrupted between 1622 and 1623 when he was banished to Turriff in Aberdeenshire for his public opposition to the Articles of Perth and the Episcopalian polity they imposed. The Five Articles of Perth were ordered by King James Vl to be included in the book of cannons, which stipulated kneeling at the Lords Supper, private communion, private baptism, confirmation by a bishop and the observance of Holy Days such as Christmas and Easter.

Many eminent ministers and academics of the day visited Stewarton to see for themselves what was happening. Mr Robert Blair a minister and an assistant at Glasgow University tells in his book “Blair’s Life” of preaching in Stewarton where the Lord had done great work in converting many. “Numbers were at first under great terror and deep exercise of conscience and afterwards obtained sweet peace and strong consolation.” Mr Blair goes on to tell of his stay in Stewarton during the university vacation when he resided at the home of Lady Robertland, a woman of remarkable powers of mind who was of immense service both to the ministers and to the people of Stewarton during this time. Mr Blair said many people called the Christians  “The Daft People of Stewarton,” but he claims he profited greatly from them, perhaps more than they did from him.

In the Book of Acts, chapter 2 Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow –Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem listen to me and I will tell you what this means. These people are not drunk as you suppose; it is only nine o’clock in the morning. Instead this is what the prophet Joel spoke about. ... I will pour out my spirit on everyone...” No doubt this is why the people who were filled with the Holy Spirit at that time were branded “The Daft People of Stewarton”, as there would seem to be no explanation for their actions.

Robert Boyd MA of Trochrigg, who had been principal of Glasgow and later Edinburgh University, came to see what was happening. Perhaps one of the most educated men of his day, after conferring with the men and women of Stewarton, he heartily blessed God for the Grace of God in them. The Countess of Eglinton did much to help the people in their spiritual awakening and persuaded her husband to visit Stewarton. The Earl said he had never spoken with the likes of them and wondered at the wisdom they manifested in their speech.

The following story illustrates the influence the Rev David Dickson had on people he met, even his enemies, such as this highway robber. The Rev Dickson was travelling on horseback to Edinburgh when he was stopped and robbed by a young man who stole a considerable amount of money from the minister. He said to the man “This is a very bad way of making a living you are now following. Take my advice: Take my money from me, go trade with it- and leave off this woeful course of yours.”  Many years later the Rev Dickson was Professor of Divinity at Edinburgh University when a hogshead of the finest wine arrived at his residence at the University. Not knowing who sent it the wine was laid aside. A few days later a wealthy merchant arrived at the house of the professor and was treated with the greatest of respect and given a glass of ale. When the merchant asked if there was any wine in the house it was explained to him that a hogshead of wine had arrived a few days ago but no one knew who it was from. The Merchant said he had sent it and asked the professor if he remembered a young man robbing him of his purse, the professor replied that he remembered it vividly; the merchant said he was that young man and he had come to repay the money he had stolen plus interest.

It is difficult to determine why the first ever revival of The Church of Scotland happened in Stewarton. King James VI had died in 1625, when the Presbyterian faith was still in its infancy the thought of having left the Church of Rome and the fear of threats from the Saints, who were very real at that time, was at the back of many peoples’ minds. Those considerations could well have had an influence on the small rural population but the preaching of the Rev David Dickson certainly inspired the people to adopt the new faith. This first Revival of the faith spread like wildfire all over the West of Scotland at that time. Was the Stewarton Sickness the seed, which grew into the Covenanting Movement in Scotland? The Rev David Dickson and the Rev Robert Blair both became leading preachers in the Covenanting Movement.

Revivals have been an important dimension in Scottish church history and many new religious groups have been formed from revivals. The Cambuslang Revival in 1742 is said to have had an influence on Stewarton born David Dale of the Old Scots Independent Kirk. Many books have been written on the subject of Religious Revivals, which have taken place all over the world with almost all referring to the first ever Revival in Stewarton in 1625, which lasted five years until 1630.