Robert Paterson (stonemason)
Encyclopedia
Robert Paterson was a Scottish
stonemason, who suggested to Sir Walter Scott
the character of "Old Mortality
".
in 1715. Through the patronage of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, whose cook he had married, he obtained the lease of a quarry at Gatelawbridge
, but in 1745 his house was plundered by the retreating Jacobites
, and Paterson himself, a pronounced Cameronian
, was carried off a prisoner.
He subsequently devoted his life to cutting and erecting stones for the graves of the Covenanters, for 40 years wandering from place to place in the lowlands. He died in poverty at Caerlaverock
in 1801, and a stone to his memory was erected by Scott's publishers in 1869 in the churchyard. There is also a memorial in Balmaclellan
churchyard where Paterson lived for many years.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
stonemason, who suggested to Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
the character of "Old Mortality
Old Mortality
Old Mortality is a novel by Sir Walter Scott set in the period 1679–89 in south west Scotland. It forms, along with The Black Dwarf, the 1st series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord. The two novels were published together in 1816...
".
Biography
Paterson was born near HawickHawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
in 1715. Through the patronage of Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, whose cook he had married, he obtained the lease of a quarry at Gatelawbridge
Gatelawbridge
Gatelawbridge is a hamlet in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, two and a half miles east of Thornhill and near the gorge Crichope Linn. The origin of the name is unknown though in the past the locals called it Gateley Bridge, so perhaps it takes its name from a type of bridge over the...
, but in 1745 his house was plundered by the retreating Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
, and Paterson himself, a pronounced Cameronian
Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
, was carried off a prisoner.
He subsequently devoted his life to cutting and erecting stones for the graves of the Covenanters, for 40 years wandering from place to place in the lowlands. He died in poverty at Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock is an area to the south of Dumfries and to the west of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Caerlaverock NNR is a National Nature Reserve in the care of Scottish Natural Heritage....
in 1801, and a stone to his memory was erected by Scott's publishers in 1869 in the churchyard. There is also a memorial in Balmaclellan
Balmaclellan
Balmaclellan is a small hillside village of stone houses with slate roofs in a fold of the Galloway hills in south-west Scotland...
churchyard where Paterson lived for many years.