Neil McVicar (1672–1747) was a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. Fluent in both Gaelic and English, McVicar began his ministry in Fort William before moving to Edinburgh's West Kirk in 1707. McVicar was a strong supporter of the

Hanoverian succession The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

against waves of Jacobite rebellion throughout the 18th century. He also ministered to Edinburgh's growing Gaelic-speaking population. McVicar remained at the West Kirk until his death in 1747.

Life

McVicar was born in 1672; his family name literally means "son of the vicar". He was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of Fort William in the late 17th century. In this role, he served both the English-speaking troops in the fort plus the local Gaelic-speaking locals and was fluent in each. In May 1707 he became minister of Edinburgh's West Kirk: one of the oldest and most important charges in Scotland. This appointment followed the death of

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in 1706, who had previously held the senior charge. McVicar took over from Thomas Paterson, who had moved from the Collegiate charge (McVicar's role) to the first charge. McVicar stayed in his role for over 40 years with several ministers passing through the first charge during his ministry, most notably

George Wishart George Wishart (also Wisehart; c. 15131 March 1546) was a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. George Wishart was the son of James and brother of Sir John of Pitarrow ...

. He was then the only Gaelic-speaking minister in the city and so was charged with providing extra services in Gaelic to the highland inhabitants of the city who could not speak English.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 1; by Hew Scott McVicar was strongly anti- Jacobite and also refused the Oath of Abjuration in 1712. In 1729 he was given the formal title of

Almoner An almoner () is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used f ...

to George II in Scotland. Although a "traditionalist" he opposed the Law of Patronage along with the majority of Scottish ministers of the period. During their occupation of Edinburgh during the

Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fightin ...

, the Jacobites restricted worship within the city churches yet worship continued in St Cuthbert's as usual. McVicar avoided the proclamation to pray for

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

.Stephenson, Marigold H.; Hunter, Ailsa B. J.; Thow, Jean (1994). ''The Kirk below the Castle''. St Cuthbert's Parish Church, p. 14. McVicar instead offered the prayer: "Bless the King. Thou knowest what King I mean. As for the man that is come among us seeking an earthly crown, we beseech Thee in mercy to take him to Thyself, and give him a crown of glory." In 1746 Sir James Campbell of Auchinbreck presented him to the congregation of

Knapdale Knapdale (, ) forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale. ...

but McVicar declined the post. He died in Edinburgh on 29 January 1747 aged 74 and is buried in the churchyard of St Cuthberts.

Family

He was married twice, firstly in July 1705 to Lillias Dunbar (1686-1732), daughter of Alexander Dunbar WS. Their thirteen children included: *Hugh McVicar, minister of

Dalziel Dalziel, Dalzell, Dezell, or Dalyell ( ) is a Scottish surname. Pronunciation The unintuitive spelling of the name is due to it being an anglicisation of Scottish Gaelic , meaning 'bright dale'. The sound now spelled with a or is historically ...

*Alexander McVicar, merchant in Edinburgh *Neil McVicar, merchant in Edinburgh *Jean McVicar, married Rev David Black of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

*Marion *Patrick McVicar WS *Catherine, Ann, Rachel, Archibald, Lilias, Mary and an unnamed child who died the dy he was born. Secondly in 1737 he married Bridget Balfour (d.1764), sister of James Balfour of Pilrig.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVicar, Neil 1672 births 1747 deaths People of the Jacobite rising of 1745 17th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers