Execution by drowning was a method specifically prescribed for women Covenanters. Some events that we hear of may be the result of the oral tradition such as that concerning Janet Smith and her grandchild Nanny Nivison who resided near the Frith of Cree. This particular tale comes from "Tales and Sketches of the Covenanters, a selection of Narratives", which was published in 1880.

The father of Nanny Nivison, John Nivison, was shot on the Galloway Hills and her brother Thomas had fled to America. But Thomas' ship was wrecked off the Isle of Arran and his return was betrayed to the authorities by a smuggler.

When the soldiers came looking for Thomas, Nanny and her grandmother resolutely refused to tell of his whereabouts. The women were stripped and tied to stakes at the flood mark and questioned by an officer on a horse as the tide crept in. The grandmother drowned first, but Nanny it seems remained steadfast and she too died, "not drowned but chilled to death."

In all the persecutions of Presbyterians one of the most brutish and clearly documented incident was that of a young woman, Margaret Wilson. At only 18 years of age and with her entire life before her, she and Margaret Lachlan aged 63, a widow who had little save her faith, were tied to a stake in the sea and executed by drowning.

Their crime was that they were followers of James Renwick , a Presbyterian preacher. When challenged, both Margarets refused to deny their faith or take an "Abjuration Oath" rejecting a Declaration of Faith that Renwick had recently distributed in the area.

Margaret Wilson was the daughter of Gilbert Wilson, a farmer in Glenvernock, Dumfries. The elder Wilson was an Episcopalian but his children, Margaret aged 18, Thomas aged 16 and 13 year-old Agnes refused to adopt the creed of the parents and to take the Abjuration Oath.

As a result the children were outlawed, their friends were forbidden to help them; farmers and shepherds were required to pursue them. They were compelled to leave their comfortable home in February, 1685, to hide in the caves and moors of the surrounding countryside.

While Thomas continued to hide in the hills, the downfall of Margaret and Agnes was to try and find food and warmth in Wigtown. They were, however, recognised, seized and cast into prison in the "Thieves' Hole" amongst the very worst of criminal society. Here they remained for some six or seven weeks, without any privacy, subject to the rigours and privations of the common felons and banned by law from receiving succour and help from their friends.

In April, 1685, they were charged with being supporters of the battles at Bothwell Brig and Ayrsmoss and for refusing to take the Abjuration Oath. It is pertinent that only a few weeks prior to their conviction, on April 13th, the Privy Council had ruled that while a man who did not disown James Renwick's Declaration was to be hung, a woman who "had been active in the said courses in a signal manner" was to be drowned in loch or stream or sea.

Thus the minutes of Penningham Kirk record that the judge sentenced them to be "ty`d to palisados fixed in the sand, within the flood mark, and there to stand till the flood overflowed them and drowned them".

Agnes was saved from execution by her father travelling to Edinburgh and making a payment of £100 but there was no timely reprieve for Margaret who steadfastly resisted all attempts to get her to recant her faith and the detestable Oath. Despite representations and documents allegedly recanting their deeds and a reprieve granted by the Privy Council on April 30 - which was misdirected to Edinburgh - Margaret Lachlan and Margaret Wilson were led to the sea on May 11, 1685.

It is supposition that the execution party led by Robert Grierson of Lag and Major Winram still hoped the women would yield . The women were tied to stakes some distance apart, Margaret Wilson being nearer to the safety of sandbanks. Perhaps they hoped that the sight of the approaching tide taking Margaret Lachlan would make the young girl take the Oath, but it was not to be and both women perished.

Years after, so the tale goes, an old man was seen wandering the streets of Wigtown, afflicted by a terrible thirst, and always carrying with him a large jar of water. The local people believed his affliction was punishment, for he was the Town Officer of Wigtown who - it was alleged - had pushed Margaret Wilson's head under the foam with his halbert, saying, "Tak` anither drink, hinny!" thus he was reaping the harvest of his evil doings.

Over three hundred years later, in 1992, Margaret Wilson was again at the centre of a dispute, this time over a statue of her tied to a stake. The statue had been donated to the Presbyterian Knox College in Toronto, Canada in 1938 On this occasion the blight and predjudice of political correctness deemed the beautiful marble statue to promote bondage and violence against women. In a knee-jerk reaction the statue was removed from the public rotunda of the college to a private board room.

A prolonged battle by the Session at Knox, Waterdown, through the formal channels of the Presbyterian Church to the ultimate authority of the General Assembly finally achieved an order to return the statue to the public area. Even then, dissenters sought to appeal to the following annual General Assembly and a Special Commission was appointed to investigate the matter. After a battle of some four years, the statue was returned to its public space. An interpretative plaque informs the ignorant of the reason for it being there.

How sad that the commemoration of an historical event of great import which displayed the highest dedication to faith, should be considered unfit for the common person to see. The removal of the statue in such circumstances seems to confirm an absence of knowledge and understanding of the facts. In my view, the whole affair was fueled by crass bigotry.

Yes, Margaret Wilson was dishevelled after living rough on the moors, then incarcerated for some eight weeks in a 17th century prison, with all help and succour banned by law.

Yes, she was bound to a post - for execution by drowning by order of the court and the earlier direction of the highest court of Appeal in the land, the Privy Council.

Yes, she was a victim of cruel and brutal men who were responsible for carrying out the court's judgement.

Yes, Margaret Wilson gained her diadem through a steadfastness and dedication to her faith that is an example to behold.

Yes, she was so nearly lost for a second time upon the altar of prejudice.

Rest peacefully both Margarets, and all others who suffered in this way; your strength and spirit lies in the safe-keeping of the common people of the kirk who understand and revere your sacrifice.

A Postscript

It is strange that the story of Margaret Wilson should again come to the fore with an article in the Liverpool Daily Post on February 24, 2000, reporting on a painting of her by Sir John Everett Millais, called the " Martyr of the Solway " .

On this occasion it was to tell that an X- ray examination of the painting revealed that originally it was of a partially-clad Margaret. It seems that the person commissioning the painting about 1871 , George Holt, a Liverpool shipping magnate, was a staunch churchman who may have objected to the half clad figure and a pink blouse was added. Given the mores of the 1870s, it is understandable that an addition was made to the painting, moreover, if that was what the client wanted then who was to argue.

The story also ran in the "Daily Telegraph" (London, England) and Canada's "National Post" where it was seen by a member of the Knox congregation who knew of their own local difficulty over Margaret's statue.

See The Original Painting and Send A Post-Card to a Friend!

I live only 20 miles from the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, where the painting is currently on display, and I can say that it is a beautiful painting of a beautiful young woman. At the end of the day I do not think it matters one jot whether or not Margaret went to her death clothed or unclothed, the fact to be remembered is that she died for her faith - as did a partially-clad Jesus Christ.

Meet the Author, Brian Orr, Researcher with The Guild of One Name Studies

Back to The Covenanters, Main Page

Part One: The Covenanters: Who Were They?
Part Two : The Kirk and its Impact on the People
Part Three : Tales of the Covenanters
Part Four : What's in a Name?
Part Five : The Sanquhar Declaration
Part Six : Covenanter Ships: The Eaglewing, The Crown and Henry & Francis
Part Seven : Female Covenanters: Execution by Drowning
Part Eight : Covenanter Prisons: Bass Rock and Dunnattor Castle
Part Nine : Greyfriars Kirk and the National Covenant
Part Ten : Battle of Rullion Green
Part Eleven : Rev. James Renwick, Martyr
Part Twelve : Presbyterians in Ireland
Part Thirteen: The Final Word on the Solway Martyrs
Part Fourteen: The Margaret Wilson Statue
Part Fifteen: After the National Covenant