Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St Fillan's Chair, Comrie
Grid reference
NN 708 232 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
270800 723200
Latitude
56.38349022451271
Longitude
-4.092730122041412
Altitude (metres)
160
County
Perthshire
Nearby places
St Fillan's Well, Comrie (0 miles)
St Fillan's Hill, Comrie (0.06 miles)
St Fillan's Chapel, Comrie (0.36 miles)
St Fillans, settlement Comrie (0.95 miles)
Dalchonzie, settlement Comrie (2.16 miles)
Object Classification
Other
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
NMRS records the complex here and the ritual practice: 'The spring of St Fillan, at the W end of Strathearne is at the foot of a rock, a quarter of a mile south of Dun-Fhaolain (St Fillan's Hill - NN 7023). It is still visited by invalids especially on 1st May and the 1st August. A white stone is thrown on the saint's cairn and rags are left. A rock on the summit of the hill formed a chair for saint. At the foot of the hill there is a basin made by the saint, on the top of a large stone. OSA 1794.' Mackinlay (1893, 81): 'Here, according to tradition, the saint sat and gave his blessing to the country around. Towards the end of the last century, and doubtless even later, this chair was associated with a superstitious remedy for rheumatism in the back. The person to be cured sat in the chair, and then, lying on his back, was dragged down the hill be the legs. The influence of the saint lingering about the spot was believed to insure recovery.'
Relationships with other parishes
Within Comrie, parish
Relationships with other places
Adjacent St Fillan's Chapel, Comrie
Adjacent St Fillan's Hill, Comrie
Adjacent St Fillan's Well, Comrie
Names
1 head-name linked to this place ?St Fillan's Chair
Head name
St Fillan's Chair
Place
St Fillan's Chair, Comrie
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
St Fillan's Chair 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formSt Fillan's Chair Head nameSt Fillan's Chair PlaceSt Fillan's Chair, Comrie Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Saints in this place-name
Fáelán, Fillan (ns) (certain)
Fillan of Strathfillan (probable)
Fáelán m. Oengusa (probable)