DOWRIES FOR BRIDES

Southland Times, Issue 21331, 27 February 1931, Page 3

DOWRIES FOR BRIDES

QUAINT SCOTTISH CUSTOM. A quaint and romantic custom brought in the New Year at the little village of St. Cyrus, on the borders of the Scottish counties of Angus and Kincardine. Dowries were distributed to the tallest, shortest, youngest and oldest brides belonging to the parish who had been married in the parish church during the year then closing. Residents may have a rough idea, al to who the successful claimants will be, but, as a rule, their actual selection is kept a secret until New Year’s Day, when the awards are made by the parish minister.

The origin of these dowries is a romantic one. Nearly 90 years ago the Laird of Bridgeton, an estate near St. Cyrus, looked out from his window and saw a ploughman and his bride tramping through a snowstorm on their way to be married in the church on New Year’s Day. The Laird—Mr John Orr, a retired Indian Army Paymaster-General—wondered if the couple were as well equipped to battle through life as through the stprm, and <he resolved to provide a fund to assist young married couples, which he did in his will.

The original bequest of £lOOO now stands at well over £l5OO, and from the annual interest, dowries of £7 or £8 each are paid.