Walter Gregor

Revd. Walter Gregor MA
File:Gregor, Walter.jpg
Born	1825
Died	1897
Residence	Macduff, Banff [1863] Pitsligo Manse, Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire [1864]
Occupation	church
Society Membership membership ASL, AI ordinary fellow ASL Foundation Fellow left 1881.04 last listed elected_AI 1863 elected_ASL 1863 clubs New Spalding Club societies Folklore Society Scottish Text Society

Notes

Notes From Elsewhere

Rev Walter Gregor was a Church of Scotland minister from Pitsligo near Banff. Whilst his ministry was a success and he was greatly respected by his congregation, he pursued other interests at the same time. Indeed, he served as curator of Banff museum for a while. Subsequently, Gregor achieved a degree of fame as a folklorist and ethnologist. He wrote an account of Banffshire dialect, which highlighted some curiosities of the Scots language of the region. Many of these were terms pertaining to plants and animals, and in translating these, Gregor demonstrated that he was well acquainted with scientific Latin terminology. However, his most accomplished work was possibly the research he carried out into the folklore of North East Scotland. Certainly his work was unmarred by hypocritical puritanism: as his morbid tales of kelpies and the ghoulish 'yaird swine' show. Perhaps even more surprising than his ability to write about dark myths was his ability to write down some of the earthier folk-traditions, such as cats emitting semen if they jump over food. Many of the more puritanical members of his flock must have been somewhat taken aback by his unembarassed recordings of such things

Publications

External Publications

He wrote an account of Banffshire dialect

The Folk-Lore Of The North-East Of Scotland
By Walter Gregor

Children's Amusements (Folklore History Series)
Walter Gregor

Counting-Out Rhymes of Children
Author Gregor Walter