Patrick Scougal
Very Rev Patrick Scougal was a 17th-century Scottish churchman.Life
He was born in Haddington, East Lothian, a cousin of the painter John Scougal, in 1624 he graduated from the University of Edinburgh as Master of Arts. In 1636, he became a minister of Dairsie parish, Fife, moving on to Leuchars in 1645 and then to Saltoun, near Edinburgh, in 1659. He refused an offer to become Professor of Divinity at Edinburgh University in 1662.
In this period, Scougal showed himself to be an extremely religious ideologue, preaching against papists and playing a leading role in the national witchhunt of the 1660s. However, his views on episcopacy became clear when in early 1664 he was offered and accepted the post of Bishop of Aberdeen. Perhaps because of his known and well-established religious fervour, hostility to Scougal's newly shown pro-episcopacy sentiments was comparatively muted. In the same year, Scougal became Chancellor of King's College, Aberdeen.
Scougal took an active role in the suppression of Quakerism and was part of a prosecution of James Gordon, the parson of Banchory-Devenick, who had written the Catholic-leaning theological tract called The Reformed Bishop. Scougal was also charitable, and undertook many charitable deeds, including raising money for two Polish Protestant students. When he died of asthma on 16 February 1682, he left much of his wealth to the hospital of Old Aberdeen, King's College Library and Aberdeen Cathedral.
Bishop Scougall was interred in St. Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen. His monument, a large 3-dimensional tomb in the south-west corner of the nave, is a notable example of 17th century Scottish neo-classical design, including a 'portrait' of Scougal, and a rich array of symbolic ornament, including Scougal and his wife naked, united ny "king death".Life
Scougal married firstly, Margaret Wemyss, and by her had five children, including the famous minister Henry Scougal. His second wife was Anna, daughter of William Congalton of that Ilk, widow of Robert Lauder of Gunsgreen.
