The Student: The Curious Mind of James Fraser

Phopachy House lies less than five miles west of Inverness, alongside the A862 road as it meanders past the shore-side settlement of Bunchrew. In the mid- to late-seventeenth century, this spot by the Beauly Firth fizzed with intellectual activity. It was where Highland scholar, James Fraser, was born, a home which allowed him to move easily between his local parish in Kirkhill and his nearest burgh of Inverness. Beyond that, lay a broader ‘firthlands’ environment, Aberdeen, and from there, the rest of Scotland, and also England and Europe. This chapter positions Fraser, geographically and intellectually, as an outstanding, outward-looking scholar, part of a vibrant north Highland intellectual culture. Fraser’s elementary education, secondary schooling, then his university years in Aberdeen are vital to understanding his travels and later life as a minister.