The Skelmorlie Aisle
16 June
The ornate tomb in the Skelmorlie Aisle was built by Sir Robert Montgomerie of Skelmorlie, as a resting place and memorial to his beautiful wife Margaret Douglas, killed in a riding accident; kicked by her horse, following a fall in public at the Colm Fair.
Her presence was said to haunt Skelmorlie Castle, but reputedly the presence left after the fire of 1959. Sir Robert is also interred at the aisle in a lead coffin. A third coffin within the tomb is said to be that of Sir Hugh Montgomerie of Eaglesham, a hero of the Battle of Otterburn.
Sir Robert is said to have carried out many acts of charity and mortification of his person following a change of character following his wife's death. He spent many nights praying for his salvation in the vault. His lead coffin carries the inscription (translated from the Latin)- ''I was dead before myself; I anticipated my proper funeral; alone, of all mortals, following the example of Caesar. This Caesar was Charles V who had his obsequies carried out before his death. This unusual inscriptions may be explained by his habit of praying alone in the burial vault for excessively long periods of time, as if he was already 'dead' and occupying his tomb.
A story is told of a local warlock bringing the Devil along with him to do a mischief to Sir Robert, however the laird was deep in prayer as usual and the Devil was forced to give up on his evil intent. A stylised view of Skelmorlie Castle is seen in one of the painted panels on the ceiling of the aisle.
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