Jules Verne holidays in Saline Parish

by John Crane

Well-maybe the title to this article is a little tongue in-cheek. It is, nevertheless, true that in 1859, the famous French novelist did set foot within the boundaries of Saline parish. Let me explain…..

Verne had a considerable, almost obsessive, affection for Scotland and in fact claimed descent from a Scottish ancestor.

His mother, Sophie de la Fuÿe, was descended from a Scottish archer who was in the Louis XI guards. He was ennobled in 1462 and assumed the title de la Fuÿe. Verne also revelled in the writings of Sir Walter Scott and read widely Scottish history and literature.

Verne’s first visit to Scotland took place in 1859. He arrived at Liverpool and took the Caledonian Railway to Edinburgh.

Having explored the city, Verne and a companion boarded the SS Price of Wales at Granton Pier and sailed up the Forth stopping frequently at the numerous villages along the Fife coast before disembarking at Crombie Point.

They were met there by a Reverend Smith who walked with them to Inzievar House in Oakley. This house at that time had only recently been built and was owned by Mr Archibald Smith-Sligo, a wealthy landed gentleman who owned coalmines and the Forth Ironworks at Oakley.

An account of this visit to Scotland and England are recorded in Verne’s first manuscript, Voyage à Reculons en Angleterre et l’Ecosse, published posthumously and relatively speaking, quite recently, in 1989.

Well; how did Vernes visit the parish of Saline? The truth is that until 1891, a detached section of Saline parish, that included the Inzievar estate, lay to the southwest of Carnock parish.

This anomaly was rectified by the Boundary Commission who ordered that after 1st January 1891, this detached section of land should be transferred from Saline parish to the adjacent parish of Torryburn.

It is therefore an historical fact that the famous French author did technically spend a part of his holiday visiting the parish of Saline during his first visit to Scotland in 1859.