Bypass Art

 

We are a group called Bypass Art and our aim is to site a piece of public art, a landmark on the new Dalry Bypass. We would like to see Bessie
Dunlop (Witch of Dalry) on the Bypass providing a historical gateway to this
part of Ayrshire.

 

Bessie Dunlop

Bessie Dunlop was an ordinary woman living in the 16th century in the

Lynn Glen area of Dalry. She was a skeelywife (midwife) with a knowledge
of traditional remedies as well as charms and superstitions which she used
to help those around her in times of sickness and disease.She also gained
the reputation of being a spaewife and people began to seek her help in
finding lost and stolen items, and that’s when things started to go terribly
wrong for Bessie.She may have lived to a ripe old age had her apparent
skills in locating missing items not interfered with the activities of corrupt
officials. (case of stolen plough irons and a sheriff officer was bribed not to
find them) Or being asked by William Kyle burgess of Irvine to locate a
cloak belonging to Hew Scott another burgess of Irvine. Bessie says the
cloak won’t be found because it has been made into kirtle by Mally Boyd (a
town limmer) revealing that Hew Scott a married man, a man of high moral
standing in the community has been associating with a prostitute!

SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS WOMAN.

Bessie is accused of being a witch, found guilty of witchcraft and burnt at

the stake on November 8th 1576. In her confession she claimed to have
got most of her information from a Thomas Reid, a man who had been
killed at the Battle Of Pinkie in 1547.To admit to being able to speak to a
man who had died 30 years previous was admitting to dabbling in the
occult and her fate was sealed.

Bessie Dunlop on the Dalry Bypass will provide a unique opportunity to

highlight her story, the public art will be seen by thousands of people
everyday.She will be a beacon for the Garnock valley, highlighting our
culture,heritage and our landscape. Telling Bessie’s story allows us to
describe what it was like to live in the 16th century when the church wanted
to rid people of their pagan beliefs, and how the witchcraft act was a
powerful and convenient tool that enabled them to do so. Scotland was
mainly a peasant population, weak, starving and suffering one epidemic
after another - life was hard.

We can explore Cleeves Cove or the Elfhouse or Elfhame a cave on the

Dusk Water which also has connections to Bessie Dunlop and Tam Reid
and was also used as a refuge for the local Covenanters during times of
persecution by the government of Charles11.

We can explore the Lynn Glen and Monkcastle woods, where Bessie

Dunlop gathered flowers and herbs to make her remedies, the glen was a
pharmacy of sorts !

Today the paths of the Lynn Glen are being cleared and restored by DCDH
so that we can enjoy and appreciate its beauty once again. There are many
things of interest within the glen:
Peden’s Point or Pinnioch Point
Lynn Spout on the Caaf Water
Rock-cut basins in the Caaf Water
Liverwort on rocks in the Caaf Water
The ruins of Craig Mill
The Husband and Wife Tree

The Garnock Valley used to be known for its mills, mines and factories it

was a place of industry, this identity has gone but by recognising and
promoting our landscape and our local heritage we may have found a
replacement.

Bessie Dunlop and the Lynn Glen are an example of a connection between
our heritage and our landscape and they make an excellent partnership.