Welcome to our virtual trip to Clachan, Scotland, in the year 1820. We are here to meet Archie Darroch and Mary Milloy. This story imagines how they planned their wedding. Assuming Archie and Mary discussed their plans as a couple, I have taken the liberty of reconstructing their dialogue, based on genealogical data, historical facts, and the traditions of the time. The italics denote historical fiction, after which I list the actual facts.
It was spring, 1820. As part of the wedding planning, Archie and Mary decided to try the route Archie had chosen for the traditional “wedding walk” to the kirk.
Walking alongside Mary, Archie said, “The piper will lead us down the path from your house, where we cross the creek. We turn right at Ronachan Inn, where we cross the creek a second time. We then turn left on Main Street and walk into the kirkyard.”
As they walked the proposed route, they discussed the events of the upcoming day. Mary asked, “What do you look forward to most?”
“To being wed in my family’s parish. I know the tradition is to marry in the bride’s parish, so I appreciate the exception.”
He squeezed her hand. “And you, Mary?”
“Well, I am looking forward to two layers of fruit cake!” They both laughed.
“To be serious,” she added, “I love that the piper leads the wedding party through the community to the kirk, where our friends and family wait.”
“Aye. It’s wonderful to have so much family from both sides. So many Milloys and Darrochs live nearby.”
Mary said, “Perhaps not for long. My folks and siblings are talking about moving to Upper Canada.”
“Well, I think we’ll be very happy right here, especially with you by my side.”
“Do you intend for us to stay in Clachan forever?”
“Of course. We’ll raise our family here, where we Darrochs have the tradition of the stone.”
“Tradition of the stone?”
“Aye, the oldest gravestone in the parish is for a Darroch minister who served here two hundred years ago. We’ve been here ever since, and it’s an honour to hold my ancestors’ good name in Clachan.”
Archie was clearly not considering moving anywhere. Mary decided to drop the subject for now.
As planned, Archie and Mary were married on Saturday, March 25, 1820. Archie was the eldest of seven children. Mary was the fifth of eleven. He was 31 and she was 23. The Darroch family had lived for generations in the Kilcalmonell and Kilberry Parish, of which Clachan was the seat. The Milloy family had similarly lived for generations in the Killean and Kilchenzie Parish, fourteen kilometers away. Their wedding likely followed the customs of the time, such as the following.
A fiddler or piper led a "wedding walk" from the bride’s house to the church. The maid of honour walked with the groom, followed by the bride who walked with the best man. When they arrived at the kirk, they were met by a piper who had been playing for arriving guests.
According to tradition, the wedding march should cross a body of water—not once, but twice—on the way to the kirk. Clachan’s layout works well for that, as shown by the map below.
The couple would give gifts to each other as pledges to their respective roles in their new home. The groom would give a sheaf of wheat and a dirk, signifying the need to provide and defend. The bride would give a piece of woven cloth and a Bible representing her pledge to comfort and nurture the home.
A member of either the bride’s or the groom’s family would “pin the tartan” (pin the crest of one family to the tartan of the other), symbolizing the union of two families into one.
Rural receptions were often a “penny wedding,” a potluck where guests brought their own food. Gaelic dancing and music could last more than a day but did not cross into the Sabbath. (Archie and Mary wed on a Saturday, so their merriment would have lasted one evening.)
The traditional wedding cake was a two-tiered fruitcake. The bottom layer was eaten at the wedding, the upper one reserved until the birth of their first child.
The next post will be about the birth of Archie and Mary’s first child, Kate, and how they celebrated by eating that second layer of wedding cake!
In the meanwhile, this being March of 2020, I hope you will commemorate the 200th wedding of John Darroch's parents: Archie Darroch and Mary Milloy.
Footnotes:
[1] Photo of the gate to the Kilcalmonell Parish Church, by Doug Robertson, 2011
[2] https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/blog/scottish-wedding-traditions-an-introduction/