Warmington.
Minor Notes.
_Remains of Sir Hugh Montgomery_ (Vol. iv., p. 206.)--Allusion has been
made to the following stanza from "Chevy Chase:"--
"Against Sir Hugh Montgomery,
So right his shaft he set,
The grey goose wing that was thereon
In his heart's blood was wet."
Having lately visited the sea-bathing town of Largs, my attention was
attracted to a building in the churchyard forming the present burying
ground. In this building, bearing date of erection 1636 by Sir Robert
Montgomery (ancestor of the present Earl of Eglinton), there is an
elaborately carved tomb of mason work, beneath which is a strongly
arched stone vault, where, besides the founder and others, tradition has
placed the remains of the brave Sir Hugh Montgomery. It is difficult to
reconcile this with the long prior date of the battle of Chevy Chase,
unless the vault, which has certainly a very ancient look, can be
substantiated to have existed before the above building. Taking matters
as they go, the remains of the warrior now appear in the most
humiliating condition--reduced to a hard, dry bony skeleton deprived of
legs and thighs, with the singular appearance of the skull having been
cloven (most likely) by a battle-axe, the skull being held together by
some plate or substance and rude stitching. The body is said to have
been originally embalmed, and enclosed in a lead coffin, which was
barbarously torn off some forty years ago, as sinks for fishing nets.
The building, tomb, and vault, taken altogether, present perhaps one of
the finest specimens of this species of architecture in Scotland, and
are additionally curious from the cone roof of the building being highly
ornamented with descriptive paintings in a tolerable state of
preservation. It is understood that some historical notices of the whole
have been privately printed by a Scotch antiquarian, of which some of
your learned readers may be aware, and may furnish more ample details
than the foregoing.