From a mysterious ring to a Pictish Stone in Cromarty…

There are so many fascinating stories about Scotland that I never know which subject to choose for my next post! I was still thinking about it when, a few days ago,  a very interesting article caught my attention. It had been published in March 2025 by Hector Mackenzie in  The Inverness Courier and was entitled “Gold mourning ring linked to famous Black Isle figure Hugh Miller set for Cromarty display after amazing South Africa beach find”. Hugh Miller, a “mourning ring”, Cromarty, the Black Isle! Great ! That rings a bell ! We visited Hugh Miller’s native cottage and the adjacent Museum  in Cromarty a few years ago  and I have a number of his books in my library. I also wrote a post on Scotiana about this great Scottish writer, folklorist and geologist. But what can be the link between Hugh Miller’s ring, Cromarty and… a Pictish Stone?

One of the most popular books by Hugh Miller is entitled Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland. I downloaded it on my kindle some time ago. Its cover at once intrigued me. On second glance, I realized that it represented both Hugh Miller’s cottage and a Pictish stone!  We’ve seen a lot of Pictish stones in the north of Scotland, but I don’t remember seeing one in Cromarty. 

Hugh Miller was a stonemason who sculpted stones and he was also a great geologist but I don’t remember any page written by him about Pictish stones. But to be honest, I’m far from having read all his books, far from it!  Come to think of it, Hugh Miller lived in a time when the Pictish art might not have been as highly regarded as it is today… not to mention the people who used these stones, or fragments of them, to build walls…

I soon discovered through Internet research that the stone featured on the cover of the Hugh Miller’s book is The Nigg Stone and that it is displayed in a room inside the parish church of Nigg on the north shore of the entrance to the Cromarty Firth.

We’ll try to know more about this stone in the second part of my post but first let’s go back to the discovery of the mysterious “mourning ring” found on a faraway beach of South Africa…

A “mourning ring” ?

I didn’t know what a “mourning ring” was, so I turned to wikipedia.

“A mourning ring is a finger ring worn in memory of someone who has died. It is one subcategory of the larger group of mourning jewelry and often bears the name and date of death (and possibly an image or a motto) of a deceased individual. The name and death date are traditionally communicated through use of enamel or engraving. Rings were usually paid for by the person commemorated, or their heirs, and often specified, along with the list of intended recipients, in wills.

Stones mounted on the rings were usually black, and where it could be afforded jet was the preferred option. Otherwise cheaper black materials such as black enamel or vulcanite were used. White enamel was used on occasion, particularly where the deceased was a child, or less commonly, an unmarried individual.In some cases a lock of hair of the deceased person would be incorporated into the ring. During the Victorian period, concerns arose that the hair of the deceased would be substituted with the hair of anonymous donors.” (..)

“Mourning jewellery was common in Miller’s time, and this ring, made of 18 carat gold, features the inscription ‘In Memory Of’, which would likely have been filled with black niello, and on the inside it is delicately engraved with ‘Hugh Miller Born Octr 10th 1802, Died Decr 24th 1856’.”

A discovery worthy of Treasure Island… far away from Scotland

The story of this mysterious ring must have begun a very long time ago, when it had been designed in memory of Hugh Miller after his death in 1856, but its discovery on a faraway beach of South Africa only dates back to three years ago, in  June 2022. That was an incredible find!

Here is the story told by Cornall Swart, a local to Gordon’s Bay near Cape Town, South Africa, who found the ring on her local beach:

“I was hunting on the beach, and I noticed a small area that had lost a lot of sand,” said Swart.

“Initially I found some old pennies and buttons, and that prompted me to stay in the area and check it more thoroughly. I got a very faint, deep signal, and I dug down in between rocks and pebbles where I finally found the ring. From the first moment I saw it I knew it was special – when I realised it had historical significance I was over the moon.”

The story will always hold a great deal of mystery for to whom this magnificent ring might have belonged, how had it been lost and found so far away from Scotland…

A wonderfully engraved ring in memory of a dear relative or friend…

Great erudite and prolific writer, newspaper editor, great defender of the people and social cause and at the forefront of the religious reforms of his time Hugh Miller was a complex and multi-faceted man. Since the days when, as a child, he haunted the beaches of Cromarty, collecting stones and shells, to the time when he became a gifted stonemason and renowned geologist, Hugh Miller’s whole life revolved around the study of stones and fossils. Indeed, his work made him one of the most respected men in 19th-century Scotland and one of the world’s best-known geologists.

But… on a more private sphere, Hugh Miller also seems to have been a very endearing man, a loving husband and father, an unfailing friend. The magnificent gold mourning ring could only have been intended for someone who adored Hugh Miller and whose sudden death left him or her inconsolable. It has to be said that his death came as a shock to his family and friends.  Victim of intolerable suffering due to what was assumed to be a brain disease, Hugh Miller committed suicide on the night of December 23, 1856. His beloved wife Lydia and his four children were devastated. Harriet was aged 19, William 17, Elizabeth 14 and Hugh only 6 then. Lydia, their beloved mother was aged 44…

Hugh Miller A Family Man – Cromarty Museum

Hugh Miller had always been very attached to his family and was much loved by them in return.

Some think the lovely mourning ring may have belonged to Harriet, the eldest of the four children… I would be tempted to think the same. A photo of Harriet and a trip she made in Australia and probably in South Africa seem to go in this direction.

“Photographs of Hugh Miller’s children show his daughter, Harriet, wearing a ring which is very similar to the one found. We know from old records that Harriet travelled to Australia in 1870, and her children returned to the UK in 1884. Many routes to Australia would have stopped in Southern Africa during this time, so it is possible the ring was lost on one of these journeys, but we will never know for certain.”

(The Inverness Courier)

A Family Man

Visiting Hugh Miller’s Cottage and the Museum is not only very interesting thanks to the many information boards you can find there but also very moving for a great number of family souvenirs including, now, the famous mourning ring are displayed…

Early years at Cromarty

Lydia, the love of Hugh Miller’s life…

Lydia Wife of Hugh Miller of Cromarty – Elizabeth Sutherland

“My first, my only love“

I’ve found an old edition of Lydia by Elizabeth Sutherland and I’m looking forward to reading it.

 

“Apart from an entry in the Dictionary of National Biography wife, Lydia, born in Inverness in 1812, has remained undeservedly in obscurity. Now, in this book, she is at last brought on stage. Elizabeth Sutherland tells us of Lydia’s upbringing and education, and the romantic story of how she fell in love with and married a “plain working man”, as Hugh described himself, with little formal education and apparently few prospects.

We are taken through the tragedy of the early death in Cromarty of their first-born child to their move to Edinburgh in 1840 when Hugh was appointed editor of The Witness newspaper. We learn how their deep love and Lydia’s active help supported Hugh through the difficult years leading up to the Disruption in the Church of Scotland in 1843, in which he played such an important part, and beyond, while she became a published, though anonymous, author herself.

Her life and that of her children after Hugh’s suicide in 1856 is described, and we discover how, to the detriment of her own health, she devoted the first six years of her widowhood to editing and publishing posthumously her husband’s writings, which otherwise might never have become available to the public. Elizabeth Sutherland’s research has built a skilful picture of a remarkable woman, whose love and strength were a vital ingredient of Hugh’s lasting reputation.”

A loving husband and father… 

On January 7, 1837, Hugh Miller, who had succeeded in establishing himself in society and gaining acceptance from the parents of the young woman he had loved for years, finally took Lydia Falconer Fraser as his wife.

The Millers’ first year of marriage (1837) was crowned in November by the birth of their first child, Elizabeth (“Eliza”) but their joy was to be short-lived. In the summer of 1838, Hugh contracted smallpox and the following year, Eliza became gravely sick and died a few months later, aged only seventeen months. Her parents were devastated.

Soon after, Lydia wrote a heart-wrenching poem, based on the child’s last words “awa, awa,” (which Lydia interpreted as “away”).

Thou art “awa, awa,” from thy mother’s side,
And, “awa, awa,” from thy father’s knee;
Thou’rt “awa” from our blessing, our care, our caressing,
But “awa” from our hearts thou’lt never be.

No one can ever forget the loss of a child, but the birth of their second daughter, Harriet, on 25th November 1839, brought some relief to the young couple, just weeks before Hugh departed for Edinburgh.

“Eliza’s Path”

The Friends of Hugh Miller charity was founded in 2006 and one of their projects was known as “Eliza’s Path”.

“Eliza’s Path leads up to the St Regulus’ Graveyard in Cromarty, and the grave of Hugh and Lydia Miller’s first born child, Eliza, who died in infancy.  Some of Miller’s ancestors, including his great grand-farther John Feddes, are buried beside her. The graveyard also contains a burial vault of Clan Urquhart chiefs below the remnants of a medieval chapel. It is probably Cromarty’s single richest repository of folklore.”

We lingered for a long time in St Regulus’ churchyard, looking at the old and mossy graves decorated with death symbols. The atmosphere is rather gloomy when it gets dark. We took a picture of the headstone of Eliza, trying to imagine her tearful father lovingly carving the text, letter after letter…

Eliza’s headstone Cromarty churchyard © 2012 Scotiana

IN MEMORY OF
ELIZABETH
LOGAN
INFANT DAUGHTER
OF HUGH AND
LYDIA MILLER
BORN 28 NOV. 1837
DIED 25 APRIL 1839

 A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF CARVING: THE NIGG STONE!

The Nigg Stone ©Andy Hickie

This photogrammetric image of the Nigg Stone which highlights the different patterns of the stone (including the missing parts) is a good way to introduce it. This image was created by Andy Hickie, an expert in photogrammetry. I found it on the Highland Pictish Trail website, on the page dedicated to the Nigg Stone. I wonder if the Pictish stones were originally painted…

But let us try to know more about this magnificent Pictish Stone…

Nigg_cross_slab_info_board_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae

Having failed to see the Nigg Stone with my own eyes, I’m once again turning to the Internet to find out a little more. And to start with, I found an interesting article on Wikipedia about this superb Pictish stone.

The Nigg Stone is an incomplete Class II Pictish cross-slab, perhaps dating to the end of the 8th century.

The stone was originally located at the gateway to the grounds of the parish church of Nigg, Easter Ross, Scotland. It is one of the finest surviving Pictish carved stones, and one of the most elaborate carved stones surviving from early medieval Europe. It is now displayed, restored to its original proportions, in a room inside the parish church (open in summer; key kept locally).

It bears an elaborately decorated cross in high relief on the ‘front’ and a figural scene on the reverse. This scene is extremely complicated and made more difficult to interpret by deliberate defacement. Among the depictions are two Pictish symbols: an eagle above a Pictish Beast, a sheep, the oldest evidence of a European triangular harp, and hunting scenes. Scholars interpret the scene as representing a story of the biblical King David. The carvings on the cross side show close similarities to the contemporary high crosses of Iona. These works may indeed have been made by the same ‘school’ of carvers, working for different patrons.

The stone was shattered in the 18th century. The upper and lower parts were crudely joined together using metal staples (now removed), and the shattered intervening part was discarded. Part of the missing fragment was recovered in 1998 by Niall M Robertson, in the stream which runs below the mound on which the churchyard is set, having probably been thrown down the bank at the time the slab was ‘repaired’. This small fragment shows most of the ‘Pictish beast’ symbol, and was preserved in Tain Museum, until being reattached during a restoration in 2013.

On the Highland Historic Environment Record website, there is an extremely well-done and detailed page on the Nigg Stone.

Nigg represents ‘the supreme masterpiece of Pictish art’ (Henderson & Henderson 2004. 227).

The rectangular slab has a pedimented top and very slightly tapering sides. It is carved in relief on both broad faces and on one narrow face (the other narrow face may have been trimmed or have suffered obliteration from weathering). The panels on both broad faces and the cross on face A are bordered by roll mouldings.

The Nigg Stone from the Highland Historic Environment database

“Front side bears a slender cross with rectangular arms, square indents and a square centre, set on a long shaft. The side-arms extend to the sides of the slab and the upper arm to the lower frame of the pediment. The arms contain interlocking beasts with fine thread-like limbs, and the square centre is filled with nine circular knots in three rows of three knots. The lower shaft contains dense diagonal key-pattern. The panels on either side of the cross are carved with high-relief and intricately carved bosses, serpents and spirals. The top edge of the pediment is bordered by plaited palm trees, enclosing the bowed figures of St Paul and St Anthony but leaving a space at the apex for the raven to deliver the host to the readied chalice between the two saints. They hold books, almost resting on the backs of the two crouched animals guarding the chalice.”

Nigg Stone reverse side – 19th illustration

“Reverse side bears a long panel of figural carving within a wide border divided into panels crammed with patterns: diagonal key pattern, interlinked ring-knots and interwoven spirals. Beneath the eagle and Pictish beast symbols at the top, the central panel is devoted to David, although his figure, once carved in high relief, is severely defaced. He is shown rending the jaws of the lion, with his own symbols of lamb and harp in front of him, and images of the royal hunt above and below.”

Nigg Stone fragments – 19th illustration

This small fragment shows most of the ‘Pictish beast’ symbol, and was preserved in Tain Museum, until being reattached during a restoration in 2013.

Sur le chemin des pierres pictes…

From our first trips to Scotland, we fell in love with Pictish stones and spent a lot of time looking for these mysterious and fascinating engraved or carved stones scattered all over the north of Scotland. Some are found on the islands and in the south.

Keltia – Les mondes Celtes – n° 18 fevrier-avril 2011 Editions du Nemeton

I even wrote an article on the French magazine Keltia.

When we started our quest for the Pictish stones in Scotland, we only had with us A Wee Guide to The Picts, a small but extremely useful guidebook, fully detailed and illustrated … no wonder this little book is so well done for it was written and published by Martin Coventry for Goblinshead. Martin Coventry is well known for  The Castles of Scotland. We could not have done without this wee guide and we’ll certainly be taking it with us next time we go to Scotland.

I’m a great admirer of Martin Coventry. I have in my library two editions of The Castles of Scotland: the first one was published in 1995.  My book is an old ex-library with pages coming loose and it’s all tattered with bookmarks everywhere. Today it serves as my working copy. The second one is the 2015 edition and I can’t wait for the next edition of the book  to join its predecessors on the shelves of my library. It should be published next month, in June 2025.

We shouldn’t have missed the Nigg Stone, as it appears in our little guide (2005 edition) on page 72 under heading No. 104 “Nigg Old Parish Church”.

The mysterious path of the Pictish stones is a very strange path, and if you listen carefully, it’s like a distant echo that reaches you…

My first encounter with the Picts was in a field in Fife, sometime in the 1980s. I was looking at a standing stone when suddenly, as the sunlight slanted over the ancient surface, the incised outline of a warrior, armed with spear and shield, flicked into focus. One instant, nothing ; the next, sun and shadow combined to bring this figure from the distant past into my view.

(Martin Coventry)

Rhynie Craw Stone Class I Pictish symbol stone © 2007 Scotiana

As the saying goes: “You know where it starts, but you don’t know where it ends”. This can be applied to my post today. It began with a mysterious ring linked to Hugh Miller, the great Cromarty writer and geologist, and it ended with the Nigg Stone, a Pictish stone situated on the Cromarty peninsula…

If you’ve missed the link between the ring and the stone, just go back to the cover of Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland ;-).

Now, I would very be happy to find a page written by Hugh Miller about the Pictish Stones…

Anyway,   I hope to have inspired you not only to visit Hugh Miller’s birthplace and museum in Cromarty, but also to go and discover the magnificent Nigg Stone and why not go and discover other Pictish stones on the Pictish Trail… trying to catch the faint echoes of the distant path…

Enjoy!

Á bientôt.

Mairiuna