The Diaries of Dean Charles Fyvie, 1829 and 1839-1841

Edited by Robert Preece (Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness, Inverness, 2013)

 

 

 

 

Dean Charles Fyvie was the minister of St John’s Episcopal Church in Church Street, Inverness, from 1819 until his death in 1849. At first he was appointed to serve solely in St John’s, but in 1839 he also became Dean of the Diocese of Moray (possibly Moray, Ross and Argyle) in what is now known as the Scottish Episcopal Church.

He left a notebook with a Sunday diary for part of 1829, and a daily diary for the years 1839 to 1841. This not only describes his clerical duties, but provides an account of middle-class life in and around Inverness at this period. In 1839, through his exertions he oversaw the opening of a new Church in Church Street, close to its present junction with Union Street. This replaced the smaller Church near to the north-east end of the street.

In 1922, extracts from these diaries were first published with some explanatory comment, but this booklet is now almost impossible to locate other than through specialist libraries. This new edition has copied the explanatory text from the 1922 edition, with corrections where necessary, but has the full text of the diaries. For the modern reader, notes identify many of the people mentioned and explain various events. Illustrations of the church and some key personalities have been added.

Robert Preece was for many years Principal Teacher of Geography at Inverness Royal Academy, and also a teacher of Media Studies. He has written the definitive history of the Academy, published in 2011, and also has produced an illustrated account of the history of the Scout Movement in its first hundred years in and around Inverness.

£6 from bookshops, or by post from:

Robert Preece, 10 Heatherley Crescent, Inverness, IV2 4AW

£5 for direct sales

Cheques payable to: Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness

ISBN: 978-1-905787-89-0

Printing and binding by For the Right Reasons, Printers and Publishers, 60 Grant Street, Inverness, IV3 8BN

Any surplus from sales of this book will be used to fund archive work in the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness  (Scottish Charity No. SC004655)