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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Exploring smaller archive holdings





Front cover of the Noetic Society's The Start magazine.
Front cover of the Noetic Society's The Start magazine.

Throughout May, we are focusing on all things related to spirituality, faith and belief over on our social media pages, so here we are looking at two smaller collections at the Highland Archive Centre that caught our eye.

The first is a collection of handwritten journals of the Noetic Society of Inverness, dated 1866-69.

In philosophy, Noetics is a branch of metaphysics concerned with the study of mind as well as intellect.

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (founded in 1973) defines noetic sciences as how beliefs, thoughts, and intentions affect the physical world.

The word noetic comes from the Greek noētikos, meaning “intellectual”, from the verb noein, “to think”, and from the noun “nous”, meaning “mind”.

If we go further down this etymological rabbit hole this also gives us the noun “paranoia”.

The journal of the Noetic Society of Inverness was published monthly and was called The Star. The content is an assortment of short essays and poems, both esoteric and prosaic.

The pages are handwritten, with occasional drawings and cuttings fixed inside, rather like a latter-day “fanzine”.

The subject matter in one of the magazines includes an essay titled Public Worship & Instrumental Music, which poses the question: “Is it right and necessary to meet in Public for the Worship of God?”

Another essay discusses whether music should form a legitimate part of Christian worship and a poem titled The Better Land, a piece of what could be legitimately described as doggerel, urging the reader to look beyond the physical to the afterlife.

At the back of the July 1869 edition there is a List of Readers.

Toc H Invergordon group's service of thanksgiving.
Toc H Invergordon group's service of thanksgiving.

Names include a Revd Ross of King Street, Hugh Fraser of the (Inverness) Advertiser, J Stewart of 61 Tomnahurich Street, and Peter Clunas of 24 Castle Street. A fitter and a saddler are also on this list, which suggests that the notions of intellect and the mind were intended for those from manual trades as well as the higher professions.

Our second collection is the Toc H, Inverness Group Records.

A note on the foundation of the Toc H Inverness group.
A note on the foundation of the Toc H Inverness group.

Toc H is a Christian organisation which works to promote a fairer society through community friendships and service.

The organisation was founded in 1915 and has branches throughout the Commonwealth and Europe, with the Inverness group being founded in 1929.

The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, “Toc” signifying the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers’ rest and recreation centre, Talbot House was founded in December 1915 at Poperinghe, Belgium.

It aimed to promote Christianity and was named in memory of Gilbert, son of Lavinia and Edward Talbot, then Bishop of Winchester, who had been killed at Hooge, Belgium in July 1915. Talbot House was styled as a club for “Everyman” where all soldiers were welcome, regardless of rank.

There is a handwritten card attached to the frontispiece of one of the scrapbooks within the collection which reads: “Toc H in Inverness came into being in April 1932 through the efforts of Colin McPherson, District Pilot, Edinburgh. First meeting held in rooms of Carruthers Ballantyne, Architect, in Queensgate, afterwards meeting in St John’s Church Hall, YMCA and Soldiers and Sailors House, until permanent rooms were secured in the Raining House.”


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