Alexander Peden, a Scottish preacher born in 1626, became a notable figure of defiance against the British government after being ousted fro...
Alexander Peden, a Scottish preacher born in 1626, became a notable figure of defiance against the British government after being ousted from his ministry in 1662. He preached boldly in fields, evaded capture with a mask, and spent years imprisoned. Peden’s legacy as a symbol of faith and resistance grew even after his death in…
17th century Scotland, Alexander Peden, Bass Rock, Charles II, Covenanters, field preaching, Glenwherry, historical biography, Irish Covenanters, masked minister, masked preacher, Presbyterian history, religious freedom, religious persecution, resistance to tyranny, Sandy Peden, Scotland, Scottish Covenanters, Scottish history, Scottish legends, Scottish ministers, Solemn League and Covenant
Alexander Peden: The Moonlighting Masked Outlaw Preacher
From Pulpit to Persecution
After attending Glasgow University, Peden took up a quiet life as a minister in New Luce in 1659. But peace and quiet don’t make legends, let alone interesting articles for Commonplace Fun Facts. Thankfully, for both reasons, Peden’s life took a sharp turn in 1662. When Charles II restored the monarchy, about 300 ministers—including Peden—were booted out of their churches. Rather than politely fading into obscurity, Peden grabbed his Bible, marched into the great outdoors, and started preaching in fields across Southern and Central Scotland.
The fields became his pulpit, and his sermons drew huge crowds. Understandably, defying the king didn’t exactly offer him job security, even if he had become a household name. Peden soon found himself on Scotland’s most-wanted list, a dubious honor that led him to adopt a rather unique disguise.
The Masked Preacher
To avoid capture, Peden took to wearing a mask while traveling. Imagine it: a firebrand preacher, dodging government troops, all while rocking what was likely one of the earliest versions of a ski mask.
Even the mask wasn’t enough to keep him safe forever. By 1670, Peden decided that discretion was the better part of valor and fled to Ireland.
In Ireland, Peden continued his field-preaching ways, shaking up the Presbyterian establishment by condemning ministers who, in his view, weren’t doing enough to fight the good fight. He didn’t just preach to Irish Covenanters—he inspired them to organize into their own society meetings, keeping the spirit of the Solemn League and Covenant alive.
Prisoner on the Bass Rock
By 1673, Sandy Peden was back in Scotland, where he promptly got himself arrested. He spent the next four years imprisoned on Bass Rock, a desolate island in the Firth of Forth that served as a makeshift prison for Covenanters. Sharing the rocky outcrop with forty other detainees, Peden endured harsh conditions, but his spirit remained unbroken.
When he finally gained his freedom in 1677, Peden wasted no time in stirring up more trouble—or, as he saw it, doing God’s work. He returned briefly to Ireland, where he criticized Presbyterian ministers yet again, this time for condemning the Covenanters’ recent uprising at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. Clearly, Peden wasn’t interested in making friends in high places—or even moderately elevated ones.
The Praying Farmhand
In 1682, Peden went back to Ireland, this time under the guise of a humble farm worker. He took a job with a farmer named William Steel and his wife in Glenwherry, near Ballymena. By day, Peden labored in the fields and slept in the barn alongside the Steel’s young servant boy. But the boy soon noticed something unusual: this “farmhand” never actually slept. Instead, he spent the night praying by name for persecuted members of the Scottish Church.
Peden stayed in Glenwherry until 1685, when he returned to Scotland for what would be his final chapter.
A Life of Defiance, Even in Death
In 1686, Peden delivered his last sermon and passed away in January. But his story doesn’t end there. Forty days after his death, government troops exhumed his body, carted it two miles away, and reburied it out of spite. If their goal was to tarnish his legacy, they failed spectacularly. Instead, their actions only cemented Peden’s status as a symbol of resistance and faith.
The Legacy of Sandy Peden
Alexander Peden’s life reads like a script Hollywood forgot to greenlight. From field preacher to masked fugitive, from prison cell to barn loft, his unwavering dedication to his faith and his people made him a legend in his own time. Though his enemies tried to erase him—literally—they only succeeded in amplifying his story.
Peden reminds us that sometimes, the most powerful sermons aren’t delivered from behind a pulpit but from the fields, the prisons, and even the barns where courage and conviction refuse to be silenced.
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