Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1708, 1827-1874, 1985
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BELL-HOUSE, -HOOSE, n. Any erection containing a bell, including the belfry of a church. In fishermen's sea-taboo usage: a church (Sc. 1950 P. Anson Sc. Fisherfolk 36, e.g. in describing landmarks).Sc. 1708 Records Conv. Burghs (1880) 465:
The convention appointed the burghe of Kirkalde and Kinghorn to visit the harbour and bellhouse.ne.Sc. 1874 W. Gregor Echo of Olden Time 64:
He had recourse to a circumlocution and called . . . the kirk, the bell-hoose.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 48:
For in his bell-house, David Barclay Ne'er flourished his tow mair starkly.Fif. 1985 Christopher Rush A Twelvemonth and a Day 244:
... kirks were bellhouses (the bells muffled during the herring season in case they scared away the fish), the minister was the man in black or the queer fellow ...
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"Bell-house n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bellhouse>
