THE SHELLS OF ST. MARY
A local civil engineering firm called Bailey’s were given the contract in 1922 to excavate the area around the central pillars in the Quire part of St. Mary’s parish church in order to fill the excavation with concrete as the pillars were in need of support due to the length of time the building had been without a roof.
When the excavation had reached a fair depth, the workers discovered tons of seashells, cockles, scallops, etc. The consensus at the time was that the shells had been used in the building of the church in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was thought that the shells were placed on the building stones and crushed down by the next layer for levelling purposes. I have never heard of such a theory myself but I cannot just dismiss it. I looked around for some other reason for the shells.
When I became a church guide in 1999, I learnt about the history of the church and was interested in the story of the pilgrims from Haddington between 1410 A.D. – 1500 A.D. who visited the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain at least three times. The pilgrims would follow the east coast all the way down to the south where they would cross to France and follow the French coast all the way round to Spain. Then they would follow the coast of Spain until they came to the area of the shrine and then they would have to go inland. Apparently, the shrine was only a short distance from the beach and before the pilgrims left for the shrine, they would pick up big scallop shells which had a dual purpose as they were ideal for scooping up drinking water and as a badge of the pilgrimage which they could wear in their hats, and to this day you will find the shape of a scallop shell imprinted into one of the main pillars inside St. Mary’s church.
My theory was that these scallop shells, which had been taken back to Haddington all those years ago, were the same ones found under St. Mary’s but my theory was found wanting when I discovered more about the pilgrimages, the fact that most of the pilgrims had their shells engraved at Compo Stella and were kept as souvenirs. So it is highly unlikely that the workmen who unearthed the shells in 1922 wouldn’t have noticed that the shells were engraved.
I searched around for another reason for the shells and it struck me that if it was a good place to build St. Mary’s where it is then the most obvious reason for the shells could be a shell midden from a Mesolithic settlement when the people were hunters and gatherers around 6,500 B.C. It is more than that there was a settlement here whether temporary or permanent, after all it’s an excellent sheltered valley next to a river and the sea would be much closer than it is now I believe.
If the shell midden had been found during the building of the original church or the present one in the 14th century, it probably wouldn’t have meant much to the builders or churchmen of that time as historians didn’t give much credence to pre-historic ages until the 18th century, besides, the church thought the world only began 3,000 years before.
David Motherwell 2002
If any reader has another explanation about the origins of St Mary's shells,
the editorial committee would be delighted to hear from them.
TALES OF THE RIVERBANK
The river was very low in January last year because there was a lack of rain or snow but by the end of the month, it had it’s first spate due to snowmelt in the hills, there was another spate in early February. Over the year, there were 3 moderate spates and 3 smaller ones.
In March, two adult swans were stuck in the ice at the east haugh, and again on December 31st, three young swans were also stuck as the Tyne was freezing over but they managed to free themselves when a man in waders started breaking the ice towards them. On 21st March, the swans laid their first egg. Since the swan’s island broke up last year, they had again built on the low bank at Tyne Court which is susceptible to flooding. By 5th April, they had laid 5 eggs and on the 9th of May, they had hatched 4 cygnets with one egg infertile.
On the 21st of April, a host of the first swallows were swooping over the river feeding. Next day, there were none, obviously they had quite a bit further north to go. On the 21st of April, myself and other members of the Community Council were inspecting the route of the new path along the north bank of the Tyne opposite the golf course. It will run from Artillery Park to Abbey Bridge and is due to be constructed next year.
In July, there were several water voles on the swan’s island at the Nungate Bridge, and a little later in the same month, I surprised three deer on the riverbank above the Abbey Bridge. There were two adults and a yearling and were feeding on Amisfield Farm’s young kale.
There was a good run of sea trout in August, they generally run at night but when there is a shortage or higher than normal water, they will run through the day as well. I watched them come up at the Victoria Weir.
On the 8th of October, I saw 2 female mallards each with several newly hatched ducklings. This is far too late in the breeding season for the youngsters to survive. Lots of strange ducks too on the river this winter besides Goldeneye, Dabchick, Shag and Goosander. I saw seven Great Northern Divers as if they were a family. It is more usual to see Divers in ones or twos.
In August, there was a big brown duck with a white chest and later four big brown ducks about twice the size of the mallard. They have since long gone but now three of the same kind have returned, two big ones and a smaller one, which is perhaps a female. The point is I have no idea what they are, I can’t find any of them in my books on birds.
A tree was blown down in the January storm and it is blocking the river about 100 yards upstream from Waterloo Bridge.
Tip: If you have never seen Greenfinch, Bullfinch or Blackcap in the wild, just hang a container of nuts in your garden in winter and you will see all of them and more.
Late News: Seen three Otters at the Abbey Bridge on the 9th of March. Seemed like three adults but more likely two adults and a well-grown youngster. When they saw me, they swam off downstream and then floated down three loads of rapids, most of the time with their heads up out of the water like seals do.
David Motherwell 2002