At Invergowrie, west of Dundee, there were two stones sitting in the shallows of Invergowrie Bay known as the Goors or Gows of Invergowrie. Some say that they were called by other names and others say that there was only one stone which fell into the river when the Devil threw his burden from the opposite shore in Fife. Either way the object or objects have a peculiar power and are said to have been creeping slowly back to land. And when they reached the shore it would herald the end of the world.
The legends of these stones on the Perthshire-Angus border give clues about the early history and significance of the local area and call out for detailed study. The folklore here may in fact be the most important of any which are associated with Angus. I have theorised widely about these objects in this article due to their importance. The folklore was first published in the 19th century and there has been much written about the stones since that date. If a lot of this is repetition or contrary information, this is no different from many other popular tales which mutate over the course of time.
The story of these stones had first come to widespread attention in the 1826 first edition of Robert Chambers' classic folklore compilation The Popular Rhymes of Scotland and included in all subsequent editions:
The legends of these stones on the Perthshire-Angus border give clues about the early history and significance of the local area and call out for detailed study. The folklore here may in fact be the most important of any which are associated with Angus. I have theorised widely about these objects in this article due to their importance. The folklore was first published in the 19th century and there has been much written about the stones since that date. If a lot of this is repetition or contrary information, this is no different from many other popular tales which mutate over the course of time.
The story of these stones had first come to widespread attention in the 1826 first edition of Robert Chambers' classic folklore compilation The Popular Rhymes of Scotland and included in all subsequent editions:
THE EWES OF GOWRIE
A slightly later account of the stones was written by the eminent Angus antiquarian Andrew Jervise. He states of the stones - 'the most popular antiquities of the district' - known to him as the Goors of Gowrie: 'These are two unembellished boulders, each about two tons weight, which lie upon the shore of the Tay, immediately to the east of the kirkyard of Invergowrie.' (Jervise 1855, pp. 444-5).When the Yowes o' Gowrie come to land,The day o' judgment 's near at hand.A prophecy prevalent in the Carse of Gowrie and in Forfarshire. The Ewes of Gowrie are two large blocks of stone, situated within high-water mark, on the northern shore of the Firth of Tay, at the small village of Invergowrie. The prophecy obtains universal credit among the country-people. In consequence of the deposition of silt on that shore of the Firth, the stones are gradually approaching the land, and there is no doubt will ultimately be beyond flood-mark. It is the popular belief that they move an inch nearer to the shore every year. The expected fulfilment of the prophecy has deprived many an old woman of her sleep; and it is a common practice among the weavers and bonnet-makers of Dundee to walk out to Invergowrie on Sunday afternoons, simply to see what progress the Yowes are making! (Chambers 1870, pp. 256-7)
He then gives a version of a rhyme which was current in the locality about the stones:
When the Goors o' Gowry come to land,The warld's end is near at hand.
The rhyme was believed to be the work of the late 13th century seer True Thomas of Erceldoune and involved the belief that the stones in the river would one day return to dry land and when that happened it would signal the end of the world. It is interesting that Chambers neither attributes the verse to Thomas nor attempts to give an explanation about how the stones first came to be deposited in the River Tay. Later writers tapped into a common folklore motif which stated that Satan was furious that a Christian Church was being built north of the Tay. Standing near the Fife shore he hurled three massive boulders at the building. Two of these fell short and fell into the river. A third stone was also wayward, flew way past the kirk and landed almost a mile to the north, where it still rests. Tales of this type are common throughout the British Isles, used to explain prominent monoliths, regarded as being somehow uncanny in the landscape, and the agent responsible is usually Satan, though sometimes a flying witch or an angry giant is blamed. (Tales of Satan taking aim at Christian edifices are also not uncommon. He threw stones at one church from the peak of Bennachie in Aberdeenshire.)
The Satan story at Invergowrie is usually repeated without further geographical detail. In some printed versions of the tale only one stone lands in the Tay, not two. The Rev Philip (1895, p. 48) suggests that there was an associated legend when the Devil was afterwards travelling from Kirkcaldy to the Carse of Gowrie carrying a load of stones he meant to place as stepping stones in the Tay. But he stumbled as he passed over Benarty Hill in Kinross, which explains the boulders strewn about that place.
Can we attempt to find a meaning behind the story of the stones here? Seeking definitive 'truth' from folklore is probably a fool's errand. But various suppositions can be made. If we discount a natural process which stranded the stones in the River Tay it would be tempting to say that the stones ended up in the water because someone placed them there on purpose. Might we suggest that agents of the first Christian church removed pagan objects of local veneration and that the story of them returning to dry land reflects a fear that the old religion might one day return, signalling the end of the world, at least to devout Christians?
Various other stones in Britain are reputed to be either humans or animals petrified. If we suppose that Yowes = Ewes as one of the traditional names of the stones, we can look elsewhere for standing stones associated with sheep. There are not many. The Strathclyde saint Kentigern had a ram which was turned into a stone and there was a stone in Devon which was worshipped with the daily sacrifice of a sheep. There are several accounts of stones which move. Stones which slowly move closer to land from a watery position almost seems unique to Invergowrie. True Thomas also reputedly visited Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire where he threw several stones in the River Ythan. If they every returned to the castle, it would spell misfortune.
The Satan story at Invergowrie is usually repeated without further geographical detail. In some printed versions of the tale only one stone lands in the Tay, not two. The Rev Philip (1895, p. 48) suggests that there was an associated legend when the Devil was afterwards travelling from Kirkcaldy to the Carse of Gowrie carrying a load of stones he meant to place as stepping stones in the Tay. But he stumbled as he passed over Benarty Hill in Kinross, which explains the boulders strewn about that place.
Can we attempt to find a meaning behind the story of the stones here? Seeking definitive 'truth' from folklore is probably a fool's errand. But various suppositions can be made. If we discount a natural process which stranded the stones in the River Tay it would be tempting to say that the stones ended up in the water because someone placed them there on purpose. Might we suggest that agents of the first Christian church removed pagan objects of local veneration and that the story of them returning to dry land reflects a fear that the old religion might one day return, signalling the end of the world, at least to devout Christians?
Various other stones in Britain are reputed to be either humans or animals petrified. If we suppose that Yowes = Ewes as one of the traditional names of the stones, we can look elsewhere for standing stones associated with sheep. There are not many. The Strathclyde saint Kentigern had a ram which was turned into a stone and there was a stone in Devon which was worshipped with the daily sacrifice of a sheep. There are several accounts of stones which move. Stones which slowly move closer to land from a watery position almost seems unique to Invergowrie. True Thomas also reputedly visited Fyvie Castle in Aberdeenshire where he threw several stones in the River Ythan. If they every returned to the castle, it would spell misfortune.
Analysis of traditional tales can obviously lead to connections being seen everywhere, even when the evidence is thin. There is some supposition later on in this article which hopefully does not stray too far from reason. But consider the following as a cautionary example. Very close by the site of the ancient church at Invergowrie was a supposed Roman marching camp which was known locally as Catter Milley. This is supposed by some to be a corruption of Cathair Melin, the 'Fort of Melin'. We find the name of the hero Melin in the Highlands at Loch Broom where he is remembered for throwing a great stone across that loch. It landed at a place afterwards called Leckmelm, the 'Stone of Melin' . Is there a connection with the Devil throwing the stones at Invergowrie? Probably not.
The Third Stone
The stone which flew past the church and came to rest about about half a mile to the north and was called by various names, including the Paddock Stane and the Deil's or Devil's Stane. It is described by the First Report by the Committee on Boulders as a 'mica schist boulder, 8 x 6 x 4 feet'. The boulder stands in the perimeter of the mansion which was once named after it, Greystone House. D. M. Watson, the owner of the estate in the 19th century, was also the proprietor of nearby Bullionfield Paper Works and he had the boulder enclosed in an iron railing so that people could see it from outside. The great house was later turned into a hotel, formerly The Greystane Hotel, The Swallow Hotel, and now The Landmark Hotel. (The map reference for the stone is NO346310.) The claim on the current Wikepedia page about Invergowrie (which can be read here) that the stone by the mansion is called the Deil's Stane and that the Paddock Stone (or Fairy Stone) is another monolith on Waterside Road, Invergowrie is not substantiated in any other source I can find.
There may be some traditional significance in groups of three rocks in ancient times. The Tripartite Life of St Patrick mentions an enormous stone which stood in the path of the saint. When he spat on it, the stone was split into three parts.
Deil's Stane
The stone has an enduring reputation for being uncanny. During my early childhood in the early 1970s I visited the stone with a friend and mocked his remark that you had to spit on the stone to prevent Satan appearing there and then. He did so, but I held off until I was some way up the road, then shamefully and fearfully returned to complete the act. This probably says more about myself than the particular power of folklore at this site. If I were to hazard a guess at the origin of this 'tradition' I might be inclined to believe it was linked to the custom, attested at other stones, of placing offerings there to appease whatever otherworldly force was resident therein. Tradition states that each morning at cock crow the stone spins around three times. Exactly the same thing is said about another Angus stone, The Cauld Stane of Carmyllie which sat on the boundary of the parishes of St Vigeans and Carmyllie. It was also dropped by the Devil (or a flying witch).
The stone's setting is undoubtedly significant. I discuss below the ancient significance of stones on boundaries, but even in the modern age they were used to mark important local borders. The Paddock Stone is said to have sat at the intersection of three roads before the building of Greystane House. In Angus the famous Girdle Stane of Dunnichen is significant in this respect. A huge, marked boulder, it sits on the meeting place of the parishes of Dunnichen and Rescobie and also at the intersection of the lands of Dunnichen and Ochterlony. It was said to have been dropped into its location by a witch flying overhead (Warden 1882, p. 190). Close by the boulder stone coffins, containing rude clay urns and human bones have been recovered.
The stone's setting is undoubtedly significant. I discuss below the ancient significance of stones on boundaries, but even in the modern age they were used to mark important local borders. The Paddock Stone is said to have sat at the intersection of three roads before the building of Greystane House. In Angus the famous Girdle Stane of Dunnichen is significant in this respect. A huge, marked boulder, it sits on the meeting place of the parishes of Dunnichen and Rescobie and also at the intersection of the lands of Dunnichen and Ochterlony. It was said to have been dropped into its location by a witch flying overhead (Warden 1882, p. 190). Close by the boulder stone coffins, containing rude clay urns and human bones have been recovered.
Other Stones and the Ritual Landscape
There is a tradition that another was hurled by Satan and that this one also missed its target. Alexander Hutcheson insists that there was only one enormous stone and that it exploded in mid-air, dividing itself into four separate boulders (Hutcheson 1927, p. 12). Whatever the truth of it, this other stone landed on the high ground some distance to the east of Invergowrie, on the high ground now covered by the housing estate on the western side of Dundee named Menzieshill. When the land was open country this stone, set on a mound, was surrounded by a knoll of trees known locally as The Dark Stane Roundie. The name was either reference to the reputation or the spot or because of the dark Scots fir trees clustered there. The anonymous author of A Series of Excursions (p. 113) noted that the top of this standing stone had been 'shivered off by lightning' and the broken piece was lying nearby. Hutcheson also confirms this and states that the site was destroyed in 1884. The Roundie was used as a weekend resort by card playing gangs of roughs, so the tree were grubbed up and the ancient monument was smashed into pieces which were used in the construction of nearby roads. The site was then ploughed over (Hutcheson 1927, p. 12. Elliot 1911, p. 206, says the stone was broken up in 1888 and some bones were found on the site.) . Eighty yards south-east of the Roundie is Invergowrie House, possibly on the site of an earlier baronial power centre, though another clump of trees in the locality was also identified as the earlier site (Myles 1850, p. 113).
Some distance to the north-east of the Paddock Stone is the remains of a stone circle at Balgarthno. It is nothing to look at now and sits forlornly at the western fringe of the Dundee suburb of Charlestown near Myrekirk Road. It was described as comprising of 9 large and 4 small stones in the mid 20th century (Melville 1975, p. 178). A more recent description states that the circle was about 20 feet in diameter and consists of 9 stones, only one of which was still upright (Coutts 1970, p. 18). The map reference is NO 353316.) These prehistoric monuments may all be related to each other as part of an ancient ritual landscape. Another stone which should be noted is the 16 feet upright stone which served as a slab bridge over the burn near the Dargie Kirk. It was re-erected in modern times, although its ancient position is unknown (Hutcheson 1927, p. 2).
Alexander Hutcheson writes of another important large ancient monument in the vicinity. He states this is 'practically within the area of the Goors,' but does not directly identify the site. He describes the Stone Circle of Invergowrie as follows:
Some distance to the north-east of the Paddock Stone is the remains of a stone circle at Balgarthno. It is nothing to look at now and sits forlornly at the western fringe of the Dundee suburb of Charlestown near Myrekirk Road. It was described as comprising of 9 large and 4 small stones in the mid 20th century (Melville 1975, p. 178). A more recent description states that the circle was about 20 feet in diameter and consists of 9 stones, only one of which was still upright (Coutts 1970, p. 18). The map reference is NO 353316.) These prehistoric monuments may all be related to each other as part of an ancient ritual landscape. Another stone which should be noted is the 16 feet upright stone which served as a slab bridge over the burn near the Dargie Kirk. It was re-erected in modern times, although its ancient position is unknown (Hutcheson 1927, p. 2).
Alexander Hutcheson writes of another important large ancient monument in the vicinity. He states this is 'practically within the area of the Goors,' but does not directly identify the site. He describes the Stone Circle of Invergowrie as follows:
The Invergowrie Circle measures about 40 feet in diameter. It consists of nine stones, with a tenth one not set up in the circle with the others; it may be the sole survivor of a inner circle, or it may have been moved out of place in 1856, when the circle was explored. Only one stone remains upright, and that is about 5 feet high. One of the recumbent stones has a hollow on its upper surface, and is known as 'The Deil's Cradle'. (Hutcheson 1927, p. 13).
This circle is obviously not identical with the Balgarthno one, but seems to refer to a site at Mylefield (NO334301). This lies south-west of the Paddock Stane and west of the Dargie Kirk and near the current Dundee-Perth road, just inside Perthshire. It is also significantly close to the supposed Roman marching camp in the area. Unfortunately the site no longer exists. Strangely a modern archaeological evaluation of the vicinity of Mylnefield House (Cachart 2009) has not found any ancient remains. Yet there is corroboration published in 1911 that the stone circle here did exist, albeit with a different count of the stones there: 'The location at Mylnefield was eliptical in form, and consisted of six large boulders—three at the east, three at the west, with a gap between capable of containing an equal number of stones' (Elliot 1911, p. 204). What happened to this large archaeological site remains a mystery.
Beyond the prehistoric and Roman periods, this vicinity remained significant into the Early Medieval era. In a previous article I wrote about the significance of the location of the Dargie kirk at Invergowrie. The ancient church is reputed to stand on the site of a foundation made by a saint possibly called Curetán or Boniface who was associated with the 8th century Northumbrian Roman mission to the land of the Picts. (That original post can be read here.) There was a Roman camp nearby and also possibly a Pictish power centre. Invergowrie stands on the border of the modern counties of Angus and Perthshire, and more precisely the districts of Gowrie and Angus. The church was on the left hand of the Invergowrie Burn, Gowrie side, and the later settlement of Invergowrie was within Angus on the east side of the burn. It is likely that this represents the ancient frontier between two Pictish provinces. Borders were places of some significance to ancient peoples in these islands. Treaties were often agreed at the intersection of tribal zones and there may have been a ritual significance to such places.
There were Pictish stones erected at Dargie/Invergowrie itself and also prominently at Benvie, the Angus parish to the north-west. The Invergowrie area has also shown evidence of souterrains and there is early medieval archaeology persent in the shape of square barrow crop marks and long cist burials.
Beyond the prehistoric and Roman periods, this vicinity remained significant into the Early Medieval era. In a previous article I wrote about the significance of the location of the Dargie kirk at Invergowrie. The ancient church is reputed to stand on the site of a foundation made by a saint possibly called Curetán or Boniface who was associated with the 8th century Northumbrian Roman mission to the land of the Picts. (That original post can be read here.) There was a Roman camp nearby and also possibly a Pictish power centre. Invergowrie stands on the border of the modern counties of Angus and Perthshire, and more precisely the districts of Gowrie and Angus. The church was on the left hand of the Invergowrie Burn, Gowrie side, and the later settlement of Invergowrie was within Angus on the east side of the burn. It is likely that this represents the ancient frontier between two Pictish provinces. Borders were places of some significance to ancient peoples in these islands. Treaties were often agreed at the intersection of tribal zones and there may have been a ritual significance to such places.
There were Pictish stones erected at Dargie/Invergowrie itself and also prominently at Benvie, the Angus parish to the north-west. The Invergowrie area has also shown evidence of souterrains and there is early medieval archaeology persent in the shape of square barrow crop marks and long cist burials.
The Names of the Stones
There is no definitive agreement about what the Invergowrie Bay stones are called. The following phonetically similar terms are used: The Goors, Gows, Yowes, Ewes. The latter two names, Scots and English synonyms, may suggest that there was a belief that the two river stones were transformed animals and this may also be linked with the notion that the boulders were capable of movement. The words goor and gow are less easy to comprehend. Goor has connotations of slime or dirt according to the Dictionary of The Scottish Language (https://dsl.ac.uk/), which may accord with their location in the shallows of Invergowrie Bay. None of the various meanings of gow would seem remotely applicable to a large boulder. There is a possibility that the name mundanely comes from the Scots version of the word gull because the rocks were frequented by those seabirds (First Report by the Committee on Boulders,1871-72, p. 17), but this seems rather unsatisfactory.
Alexander Hutcheson noted the occurrence of gow in a piece of 15th century Scottish prophetic poetry: 'In a Gow of Gowrie, by a gray stane, he shall tulzie wi the Tod' (Hutcheson 1927, p. 4), though the meaning is not clear. Hutcheson (c. 1842-1917), a native of Broughty Ferry on the other side of Dundee, was an architect, antiquarian and expert in ancient song. He is the most important source of information about the stones in the 20th century. Some of his conjectures may be wide of the mark, though they remain interesting. From the quoted verse he wondered whether it referred to a fight with Satan in the guise of some strange beast in the vicinity. 'Tod' is the Scots for fox - so we might have the Goors and/or Paddock Stone being either seagulls, foxes or sheep! Hutcheson also pondered whether the original defeated Satanic beast was a dragon as there is a prominent legend of a dragon affixed to a Pictish stone at Strathmartine, not many miles to the north-east. Using oral information from older residents at Invergowie who could remember as far back as the beginning of the 19th century, Hutcheson remarks on the correct names for the Tay stones:
Alexander Hutcheson noted the occurrence of gow in a piece of 15th century Scottish prophetic poetry: 'In a Gow of Gowrie, by a gray stane, he shall tulzie wi the Tod' (Hutcheson 1927, p. 4), though the meaning is not clear. Hutcheson (c. 1842-1917), a native of Broughty Ferry on the other side of Dundee, was an architect, antiquarian and expert in ancient song. He is the most important source of information about the stones in the 20th century. Some of his conjectures may be wide of the mark, though they remain interesting. From the quoted verse he wondered whether it referred to a fight with Satan in the guise of some strange beast in the vicinity. 'Tod' is the Scots for fox - so we might have the Goors and/or Paddock Stone being either seagulls, foxes or sheep! Hutcheson also pondered whether the original defeated Satanic beast was a dragon as there is a prominent legend of a dragon affixed to a Pictish stone at Strathmartine, not many miles to the north-east. Using oral information from older residents at Invergowie who could remember as far back as the beginning of the 19th century, Hutcheson remarks on the correct names for the Tay stones:
...the general consensus [of] the name given to the stones was 'goors'...None had ever heard the name 'yowes' applied to the stones. A few had heard the name 'gows.' but still agreed that the correct term was 'goors.' That the form 'gow' did, however, exist, we have the evidence of [Thomas's] prophecy... (Hutcheson 1927, p. 20).
The Gows was the name given to a nearby house in Invergowrie, In the late 19th century this house was owned by Mr James Henderson (Philip, 1895, p. 62). The site of the large house, a mid 19th century edifice, is now incorporated in Invergowrie Technology Park, some distance north-east of the Dargie Kirk and the Tay shoreline. Its Victorian origins suggest that the house was named after the famous and legendary stones in the river just as Greystane House was named after the other monolith.
Detail from map of James Knox, published in 1831. Angus/Perthshire border marked in pink/yellow. Invergowrie marked as Dergo (for Dargie). Note the Roman camp of Cater Milley seems to be misplaced. The marked location approximates Menzieshill, site of the fourth stone.
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, https://maps.nls.uk/index.html
What Happened to the Stones?
Where where the stones in the 19th century when writers first noticed them and where are they now? The answers are no clear cut. Andrew Jervise noted in his day (1855, p. 445) that the stones were nearer to the land at Invergowrie than they previously been and inferred that this was because the railway line from Perth to Dundee was built here on reclaimed land. The anonymous compiler of A Series of Excursions Around Dundee (p. 45) noted in 1900 that, 'A footpath on the left-hand side of the road and skirting the east side of the [Invergowrie] burn leads to the kirkyard and the ruins, and between the [Dargie] kirkyard and the railway are the " Gows"...'
The consensus of writers seems to be either that the stones were situated within the floodmark or that they were displaced by the railway works. Gershom Cumming (1843, p. 3) states that they lay immediately in front of the church, and within the flood-mark. This was confirmed too by Myles in 1850 (p. 112). William Marshall stated that in his time (1875, p. 47), 'The making of the Dundee and Perth Railway has rather rudely discredited the prophecy. That line runs some distance outside of the "Goors," and has brought them to land...' The liminal area between high and low water marks is a recognised spiritual no man's land, being neither fully land no water, where strange things where sometimes reckoned to occur.
There was uncertainty in 20th century reports about the fate of the stones. The Dundee Courier reported on 23rd January, 1929, that a rubbish dump had developed near the shore on the Angus-Perthshire border near the burn and at least one of the stones was buried beneath this. Domestic refuse 'on a spectacular scale' was being brought in from Dundee. But, although the details are vague, the article hints that something was visible regarding the stones:
About two months ago a couple of visitors arrived at Invergowrie Station with the express intention of seeing the historical stones. They left by the earliest possible train, but what they did see impressed them greatly.
Further reporting in 1950 seems to confirm that one boulder at least was buried in the landfill or rubbish dump near the shore. The Ordnance Survey inspected the site in April 1958 noted briefly that the stones had disappeared and their site was occupied by a scrapyard. Intrepid antiquarians who like a challenge might do worse than search out the Goors and the large missing stone circle at Mylnfield.
Invergowrie from the north, with the Devil haunted slopes of Fife in the background.
Further Theories
It would not be amiss to begin the theories about the stones with an observation which may indeed be valid. The Paddock Stone, with its aura of awe and importance, may have served as a boundary stone quite far back in time and another theoretical function may have been as a place of judgement. We know of other standing stones which were employed by local barons as meeting places where justice could be dispensed and proclamations issued. At Little Dunkeld in Perthshire there is Clach a mhoid, and in Ayrshire there is a boulder at Killochan named The Stone of Judgement. Many other examples of baronial meetings at solitary monoliths or stone circles in Scotland could be given.
In the Welsh poem The Gododdin, which details the doomed heroics of a band of British elite in the late 6th century, there is mention of a Pictish hero Llif son of Cian who came from a place termed Maen Gwyngwn, the Stone of the Venicones. (A mischievous writer might suggest that there is a connection between the name of this hero and the Angus parish of Liff, immediately north of Invergowrie. However, the name of Liff most likely relates to the local topography (according to Dorward 2004, p. 81.) The historian Andrew Breeze states that the proto-Pictish tribe of the Venicones resided north of the Tay. If that is the case, their prominent tribal stone may still be in situ, unidentified in its landscape. I am not stating that it is the Paddock Stone, but there is a fair case to be made that it may be.
A Roman list from the 3rd-4th century names eight British loca, which were meeting-places of tribes under Roman protection and possibly places for trade. Some of these places are unidentified, but we can confidently claim that Maponi is probably the boulder known as the Clochmabenstane near the Solway. Mavani is likely Clackmannan, another iconic stone. There was another named Taba which is related to the Tay. A strong contender for this site would be the monument known as Macduff's Cross which stone on the border between Perthshire and Fife. It was a place of sanctuary strongly linked with the wider kindred of Macduff, Earl of Fife, and may have been a place of ancient importance also. I would hazard a guess that it was Taba. If this is the case, then the Invergowrie stone may have been another tribal place of importance whose earlier name has been forgotten, unless it is indeed Maen Gwyngwn.
In the Welsh poem The Gododdin, which details the doomed heroics of a band of British elite in the late 6th century, there is mention of a Pictish hero Llif son of Cian who came from a place termed Maen Gwyngwn, the Stone of the Venicones. (A mischievous writer might suggest that there is a connection between the name of this hero and the Angus parish of Liff, immediately north of Invergowrie. However, the name of Liff most likely relates to the local topography (according to Dorward 2004, p. 81.) The historian Andrew Breeze states that the proto-Pictish tribe of the Venicones resided north of the Tay. If that is the case, their prominent tribal stone may still be in situ, unidentified in its landscape. I am not stating that it is the Paddock Stone, but there is a fair case to be made that it may be.
A Roman list from the 3rd-4th century names eight British loca, which were meeting-places of tribes under Roman protection and possibly places for trade. Some of these places are unidentified, but we can confidently claim that Maponi is probably the boulder known as the Clochmabenstane near the Solway. Mavani is likely Clackmannan, another iconic stone. There was another named Taba which is related to the Tay. A strong contender for this site would be the monument known as Macduff's Cross which stone on the border between Perthshire and Fife. It was a place of sanctuary strongly linked with the wider kindred of Macduff, Earl of Fife, and may have been a place of ancient importance also. I would hazard a guess that it was Taba. If this is the case, then the Invergowrie stone may have been another tribal place of importance whose earlier name has been forgotten, unless it is indeed Maen Gwyngwn.
Other Angus Stones Associated with Satan
There are several tales of large stones being dropped into conspicuous places in the Angus landscape. Most of these were the result of actions by witches or giants. One stone sits in a watery situation which may be pertinent to note for this enquiry. This is The Devil's Stone at Cortachy. In the bed of the river South Esk in this village the stone lies. It landed here after Satan vengefully threw a stone at the kirk from a distance of 8 miles after the minister broke up one of his gatherings (Newman, pp. 17-18). Luckily the minister touched the boulder with a cross as it left the Devil's hand and this was enough to divert the stone away from the church and into the water. We can compare the tale also with another further south, from Fife. Standing on the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, Satan threw a stone at the kirk of Crail. The boulder split as it flew at one part fell short of the church, while the other flew past and landed at Balcomie Sands. The half near the kirk is known as The Blue Stone of Crail.
Modern Verse on the Stones
The following verse was stumbled across in the New Zealand newspaper The Otago Witness (Issue 2631, 17 August 1904, p. 71). Its author was probably a Scottish exile, though unfortunately I can't make out the name at the bottom.
Works Consulted
Anonymous, A Series of Excursions by Road and Rail, for Twenty Miles Around Dundee (Dundee, 1900).
Cachart, R. (2009). Mylnefield House, Invergowrie. Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust Ltd. https://doi.org/10.5284/1005239
Robert Chambers, The Popular Rhymes of Scotland (4th ed., Edinburgh, 1870).
Herbert Coutts, Ancient Monuments of Tayside (Dundee, 1970).
Gershom Cumming, Forfarshire Illustrated (Dundee, 1843).
The Dundee Courier, 'Judgement Day Prophecy. Thomas the Rhymer's Hint to Invergowrie. Rubbish Dump Swallows Up Noted Landmark' (23rd January, 1929).
David Dorward, The Sidlaw Hills (Balgavies, 2004).
Alexander Elliot, Lochee As It Was and Is (Dundee, 1911).
Geoff Holder, Paranormal Dundee (Stroud, 2010).
Alexander Hutcheson, Old Stories in Stones and Other Papers (Dundee, 1927).
Andrew Jervise, 'Notices descriptive of the localities of certain Sculptured Stone Monuments in Forfarshire, viz., - Benvie, and Invergowrie; Strathmartin, and Balutheran; Monifieth; Cross of Camus, and Arbirlot. Part III', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 2 (3) (1855), pp. 442-450.
William Marshall, Historic Scenes in Forfarshire (Edinburgh, 1875).
Lawrence Melville, The Fair Land of Gowrie (1939, reprinted Coupar Angus, 1975).
James Myles, Rambles in Forfarshire, or Sketches in Town and Country (Edinburgh, 1850).
Patrick Newman, 'The Devil's Stone,' in Glen Folk, Celebrating Life in Angus Glens (2000), pp. 17-18.
Rev. Adam Philip, Songs and Sayings of Gowrie (Edinburgh and London, 1901).
Rev. Adam Philip, The Parish of Longforgan (Edinburgh, 1895).
James Stuart, Historical Sketches of the Church and Parish of Fowlis Easter (Dundee, 1865).
Alexander J. Warden, Angus or Forfarshire (volume 3, Dundee, 1882).
