Town haunted by fears of curse as crypt to be opened

SHE was a member of one of the biggest landowning families in Scotland – but more than a century after her death her name is said with fear, not reverence.

Talk of Lady Anne Speirs still sends shivers down the spines of the people of Linwood, who blame her "curse" for 30 years of economic misfortune.

And now superstitious locals are warning that soon-to-be-approved plans to move the remains of five people from a mausoleum and reunite them with their descendents in North Berwick will bring tragedy to the Renfrewshire town.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Linwood legend maintains that Lady Anne Speirs pledged a curse on anyone who disturbs the crypt.

That is unlikely to stop supermarket giant Tesco however, which is planning to move the remains to the East Lothian town to make way for a new supermarket and community facilities which it believes could regenerate the area.

The origin of the curse is shrouded in mystery, but the "wrath" of Lady Anne was first said to have been incurred in the early 1980s with the closure of the nearby Rootes Car Plant, Linwood's main employer. The plant ceased operations in 1981.

The crypt was recently rediscovered by contractors working for Tesco.

It immediately moved to have the bodies disinterred, but a court order stalled the development after a judge ruled that the supermarket chain must wait 42 days for representations to be received from the local community.

Some locals said it is further evidence the remains should not be removed.

Iain Wilson, secretary of Linwood Community Council, said of the curse:

"It's a bit of a joke for most people but there are those that do believe it, and are keen to ascribe all sorts of misfortune to it."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, historians have now debunked the "curse" as the product of mistaken identity.

Renfrewshire historian Derek Parker said: "The remains are definitely not of Lady Anne Speirs, who is buried in Houston Cemetery.

"Either way, the Speirs family were God-fearing people, devout Presbyterians who also gave a lot of support to the Houston and Killellan Church of Scotland, and probably wouldn't have been inclined to put a curse on anyone."

The genealogist discovered that the mausoleum contains the remains of the Speir family of Burnbrae House, no apparent relation to Lady Anne Speirs, whose stately home was situated in the grounds.

The Speir family later moved out of Linwood and their descendents are now scattered around the world.

However, the family now regard North Berwick as their main ancestral home. Eight members of the family are buried in Whitekirk churchyard.

A Tesco spokesman said: "We are concluding a lengthy and sensitive legal process and have no further comment at this stage."