| Administrative History | St Fergus was a companion of the great master St Drostán, along with St Colm and St Medan. He was active both in the area of Buchan (near to Drostán's foundation at Deer) and in the province of the Pictish tribe of the Ce (now known as Caithness). He is said to have been a Pict by birth and is sometimes known as St Fergus the Pict.
His foundations are not numerous but they are important. Indeed, parts of the land near the coastline are still named after him, including St Fergus' Moss and the village of St Fergus itself with its little church, near Kirkton Head, which was founded by the great man himself
St Fergus was patron saint of Wick. His church there is believed to have stood in pre-Reformation times near the east end of the town, at a place called Mount Halie. A stone image of him existed in the burgh till 1613, but was then destroyed by the Rev Dr Richard Merchiston of Bower, who was noted for his zeal in abolishing "Popish" survivals. It is said that the local people were so enraged at the iconoclasm of the minister that they drowned him in the river of Wick as he was on his way home! The report went abroad that St Fergus himself did the drowning, and was seen astride of the minister holding him down in the water! A local fair held on the 24th November was from ancient times known as Fergusmas.
In the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fergus is said to have been an Irish bishop of the early 8th century whose festival is held on 27th November. |