5 minute
Podcasts
You can cram a lot of Scotland’s Forgotten History into 5 minutes!
Trembling for the Gospel More than Prison – Edmund Calamy – SFH061
What message should you give when you will be imprisoned for preaching? A giant of the Westminster Assembly—helping to prepare the Catechism—Edmund Calamy lived to see days of peril for the gospel. Preaching illegally would put him in prison, but he had an urgent...
Wise Words in a Time of Trouble – Archibald Skeldie, Edinburgh – SFH060
As war and pestilence marched unstoppably towards Edinburgh in 1645, there was every reason to fear. It needed the courage of the blind preacher, Archibald Skeldie to speak wise and timely words in this critical moment. What could he say that would strengthen and...
The Tragedy of James Tinto – Temple, Midlothian – SFH059
The pretty village of Temple and its surrounding farms provided another centre of Covenanter activity in Midlothian. We know rather little about the Covenanters of this parish, their experiences and backgrounds. In a few cases we only have a name but we are in fact...
“One of the best and ablest men in Britain” – Interview about James Durham – SFH058
C H Spurgeon said, “If I had lived in Durham’s time, I should never, I think, have wanted to hear any other preacher; I would have sat, both by night and day, to receive the sweet droppings of his honeyed lips.” Who was James Durham and why did he deserve such high...
Forgotten Riches from Rutherford’s ‘Christ Dying’ – Interview with Rob McCurley – SFH057
Even many who love to read Samuel Rutherford's spiritually rich devotional letters have never heard of or read some of his other books. One forgotten book that exalts the glory of the Redeemer in a way that readers of the letters will recognise is called Christ Dying...
A Hidden Hotbed of Covenanter Activity – Carrington, Midlothian – SFH056
Carrington is a tiny, sleepy village in Midlothian. It's not the sort of place known for Covenanter connections, but Scotland's Forgotten History can be found in surprising places. In fact, when you dig deeper you find that it was a hotbed of conventicles and...
How the Plague Transformed a Community – Ayr – SFH055
William Adair led the community of Ayr in a spiritual response to the outbreak of plague there in 1647. They could never be the same again. Find out what happens when an entire community and all its officials engage in public confession of sin. To dig deeper, visit...
John Nisbet – An Interview with Rev. Robert McCurley – SFH054
Rev Robert McCurley of Greenville Presbyterian Church in South Carolina joins Matthew Vogan on this specially extended interview episode to talk about some of the lessons we can learn from the Covenanter martyr, John Nisbet of Hardhill. To dig deeper, visit...
The Blind Minister and the Plague – Edinburgh – SFH053
The plague epidemic reached Edinburgh in 1645. At the end of 1644, before it reached the town, the blind minister Archibald Skeldie preached a sermon that still has many insights for facing pandemic diseases today. One of these...
Thomas Watson – St Stephen’s Walbrook, London – SFH052
Thomas Watson was the vicar of St. Stephen’s Walbrook in the city of London. He showed strong Presbyterian views during the English civil war and was ejected from his parish for Nonconformity. But what is his relationship to Scotland's Forgotten History? Matthew...
Rev Thomas Hogg of Kiltearn – Evanton, nr Dingwall – SFH051
The Rev Thomas Hogg of Kiltearn was born in Tain in 1628. He was ordained minister of Kiltearn in 1654; deposed as a Protester in 1661 and ejected from his church in 1662. He was a noted field preacher, who ended up being imprisoned several times, including on the...
Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh – The Apothecary & The Plague – John Livingstone’s Tombstone – SFH050
"Mors Patet, Hora Latet." So reads the Latin inscription on a small mausoleum wall at 1 Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh. "Death is sure, the hour is obscure." It's the mausoleum of an apothecary called John Livingstone (The crest on the gravestone is the Livingstone...
Alexander Brodie of Lethen and the Ardclach Bell Tower, Nairn – SFH049
Alexander Brodie of Lethen was a Covenanter from the North of Scotland. Matthew Vogan records this episode at the Ardclach Bell Tower, less than 10 miles south east of Nairn. Built in 1655, probably as a watchtower, after Brodie's estates had been attacked by...
Samuel Rutherford & St Antholin’s Church, London – SFH048
Samuel Rutherford was able to lift his own and the eyes of believers above difficult events that troubled them. He pointed them to the majestic heavenly glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Vogan relates details of some of the sermons Samuel Rutherford preached...
Sir William Bruce & Kinross House – SFH047
Sir William Bruce of Kinross was the Scottish 'Sir Christopher Wren'. This great architect designed some of the finest classical buildings in Scotland like Holyrood Palace, Thirlestane Castle and Prestonfield House. Yet the story of his own magnificent home on the...
The Covenanters’ Prison, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh – SFH046
Matthew Vogan explains a little of the history of two of the buildings in Greyfriars Kirkyard; the Covenanters' Prison and the mausoleum for George Mackenzie. "Bluidy Mackenzie," as the Lord Advocate during the rule of Charles II, was responsible for much of the...
John Law on the Bass Rock – Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh – SFH045
In Greyfriars Kiryard in Edinburgh, there's a memorial to a little known minister called John Law and his wife, Isabella Cuninghame. The inscription reads: "To the memory of his most excellent parents Mr JOHN LAW, a most prudent and vigilant pastor of the Church at...
Magdalen Chapel, Edinburgh
One of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh, the Magdalen Chapel was built in 1541 and has the oldest surviving stained glass in Scotland. It was the location for the first ever General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the building played a significant, if somewhat...
James Renwick and The Grassmarket, Edinburgh – SFH043
James Renwick was the last of the Presbyterian Covenanters to be martyred in 1688. Matthew Vogan is at the location of the gallows in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh to tell us more. To dig deeper visit ScotlandsForgottenHistory.com
James Guthrie and the Old Mercat Cross, Edinburgh – SFH042
Many Covenanters were executed by the State at the Tolbooth in Edinburgh. Matthew Vogan is on the Royal Mile to tell us about James Guthrie, the second person to be executed at the Tolbooth in Edinburgh on the 1st June 1661, only 5 days after Archibald Campbell, the...