Review: Glasgow's Early Episcopalians

Roger Edwards' new book, Love and Loyalty: Looking for Glasgow's Early Episcopalians does far more than fill a useful gap in Scottish Episcopal History (which it does). It sets new standards for the semi-scholarly historical writing typical of Scottish Episcopalian history.

The first new standard is in the imaginative unearthing and use of very scarce sources. These are used not only to piece together a narrative but to challenge assumptions about episcopalian social history, for example, that 'not all episcopalians were wealthy and male' (p.21). Where national events impinge on the narrative, such as the coronation of George I, the battle of Sherriffmuir, or the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie's army after the '45, these are never shoehorned in from standard narratives, but told as the Glaswegians at the time would have heard about them, through locally-current ballads or descriptions of local responses.

The second, related new standard is Edwards' talent for historical visualisation, which takes the reader into the story with novelistic skill, while carefully adhering to the evidence. We are genteel worshippers being shuffled, terrified, in small groups out of the church into an angry mob throwing snowballs and threatening serious violence. We are small boys giggling and chasing after William Cockburn shouting 'Amen! Amen!'. We are Bonnie Prince Charlie, having to pass under the imposing equestrian statue of William of Orange as we go about the unfriendly city. There is nothing dry about this account. Ken Shaw's original illustrations of the churches add to this quality.

I found all kinds of interesting things in this book. Perhaps the most interesting was the clarification of what the much-used phrase 'high church' meant in Scotland. This included what now seems a bizarre enthusiasm for the feast of King Charles the Martyr, and the insistence on celebrating Christmas. It did not involve, for example, liturgical worship (the English Prayer Book was known as the 'English Mass') or a prominent communion table (dangerously superstitious). It was a long way removed from later Tractarian or Ritualist ideas, for all their insistence that they were reviving old Scots religion.

Roger Edwards promises a second edition (on-demand publication makes this easy), featuring the scholarly apparatus of references and index. This will certainly enhance the scholarly value of the work. I would also suggest its accessibility to the general reader would be enhanced by a dramatic personae with names, dates, occupations and relationships, to help us navigate the large cast of characters. A map would also be very useful especially for the non-Glaswegian reader.

But let the second edition not lose the best feature of this sort of history book: the infectious enthusiasm of the local tour-guide. 'I can recommend an excursion to the Auld Kirk at Kilbirnie'. Come on, let's pack the picnic!

Roger Edwards, Love and Loyalty: Looking for Glasgow's Early Episcopalians (2015) is available for £8 from lulu.com.

Eleanor Harris