Relatives of a Fife magistrate whose 200-year-old remains were targeted by vandals have paid homage to their ancestor.
The eight descendents of Stephen Williamson, a local shipowner and farmer who died in 1816, gathered in 15th-Century Kilrenny Church, near Anstruther, to pay their respects as the bones were re-buried.
Some travelled from as far as Australia for the service, which was also attended by 17 East Neuk residents.
The “macabre” desecration earlier this month was described as like a “21st-Century act of Burke and Hare”.
A spade was used to dig down five feet, where Mr Williamson’s skeletal remains, and those of his wife Mary, who died in 1828, were then cut through and fragments of bone dumped in soil on the surface.
Initially it was feared Mr Williamson’s skull could not be found and may have been stolen but it was later found the skull remained in place.
Coincidentally, the re-interment took place at the same time as the service to mark the reburial of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral.
The Rev Arthur Christie, minister for Anstruther, Cellardyke and Kilrenny, told the congregation: “We don’t have the ancient liturgies that are being used in another part of Britain today as the remains of Richard III are being reinterred but as part of the early Presbyterian Church the Williamsons would have been familiar with the word of God and the dignity and simplicity of Church of Scotland worship.”
He said the service was to “bring peace and healing” to a situation that has caused hurt and distress to descendants and the community.
He said: “None of us understood what might be gained by the desecration of a grave in this violent and callous manner and we remain stunned and mystified to this moment.”
In keeping with the style of the church in the early 1800s, when the tradition was to sing unaccompanied and mostly the Psalms, those attending sang the 23rd Psalm, The Lord’s My Shepherd, without organ backing.
Before the reburial of the bones, placed in a specially-made small casket, Mr Christie gave a Celtic blessing.
The casket was then carried to the churchyard where, in pleasant spring sunshine and to the sound of birdsong, the remains were reinterred by family.
Anita de Lotbiniere, a great-great-granddaughter of Mr and Mrs Williamson, who travelled from London for the ceremony, told The Courier: “It was such a shock when this happened. We only found about it when a cousin in America circulated a copy of the original Courier article.
“I think it’s great we’ve been able to respectfully lay to rest the remains. There has been so much support from the local community. We thank them.”
Geordie Williamson, 42, from near Sydney, Australia, said: “If they thought they were going to find valuables in there, they would have been disappointed.”
Police have again appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.