Scottish Ancestral Visitation in the Lothianshires

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I leave the Highlands after passing Kilchurn Castle in my previous blog at Scottish Ancestral Visitations in the Scottish Highlands. This fourth and final blog of my ancestral visitations to castles in Scotland covers my visits to the Lothians.


31 Aug 2022 Wednesday. My next stop of the day is Doune Castle which was originally constructed on the site of a Roman fort in the 1200's, but restored to its current structure by Sir Robert Stewart, 3rd Duke of Albany (17^th ggf), the younger son of King Robert II of Scotland (18^th ggf). His ascendancy continued when his elder brother, Sir John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (17th ggf), gained the throne as Robert III (the name change was to avoid connection with the earlier English appointed King John Balliol). However, King Robert III "The Lame" suffered a debilitating injury from a horse kick and the death of a key ally, James Douglas, Earl of Douglas (17th ggf), which led to a power vacuum that was ultimately exploited by Sir Robert. By 1386 he was appointed as Regent (due to James I young age) and Guardian of Scotland (essentially serving as king) and was elevated to Duke of Albany in 1398. As mentioned in a previous blog, as Guardian of Scotland, Sir Robert was accused of lackluster efforts to free James Stewart, heir to the Scottish throne, who had been captured by English pirates and handed over to Henry IV of England. While Sir Robert allegedly struggled to find the money to release James I from captivity, there were ample funds for the construction and fitting out of Doune Castle. Sir Robert died in 1420 and was succeeded by his son, Murdoch. However in 1424 James was released after 18 years in captivity in England and was crowned as King James I of Scotland (17th ggf). He sought revenge on these he perceived as having been slow to secure his release. Murdoch was executed in 1425 on the grounds of ‘unconstitutional violence’ and Doune Castle taken into Crown ownership. Doune Castle was garrisoned by Government troops during the 1689 and 1715 Jacobite rebellions. After the Battle of Culloden, the castle was abandoned.

The castle was used as a film location for the movies "Ivanhoe" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and "The Outlaw King," and the miniseries Game of Thrones (Winterfell) and Outlander (Castle Leoch – home to Colum MacKenzie and his clan)

I then drove to Linlithgow Palace, a royal residence of the Stewart monarchs and the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. I was able to drive to the handicap parking if I left before the wedding was finished in the chapel. The strategic location of Linlithgow meant it was used as a logistical base by the English during the War of Scottish Independence. In 1298 King Edward I of England had camped his army at Burgh Muir, just to the east of Linlithgow, on his way to defeat William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk. He clearly spotted the potential of the site for he commissioned the construction of a fortress on the site. In 1313 King Robert I the Bruce destroyed the fortress. By 1343 a castle was built by King David II. Following a major fire in 1424, King James I who was married to Queen Consort Joan Beaufort (17th ggps) started building the Palace as a grand residence for Scottish royalty. He was assassinated in 1437, and his successor to the throne, King James II, who was married to Queen Consort Mary of Egmond and Guelders (16th ggps) took little interest in the palace. However, King James III, who was married to Queen Consort Margaret of Oldenburg (15th ggps), continued adding wings to the palace which was completed by his son, King James IV (14th ggf). Once the Stewart kings moved to London in 1603 as Kings of England and Scotland, the palace was rarely used as their residence.

In 1650 Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland in order to overthrow King Charles II who had claimed the throne following the execution of his father King Charles I. Cromwell defeated Scottish forces at the second Battle of Dunbar (1650) and Linlithgow was occupied by Cromwell's troops. Linlithgow Palace was embroiled in the events surrounding the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. In September 1745 it was briefly visited by Bonnie Prince Charles. On 31 January 1746 William, Duke of Cumberland's forces camped at Linlithgow. On their departure, either through accident or deliberate arson, the palace was gutted by fire. It was never restored.

The Palace was the setting for "The Outlaw King" and Wentworth prison in "Outlanders."

My next stop was Blackness Castle, a mighty 15th century fortification that "looks like a ship that never sailed." The castle itself was built around 1444 by Sir George Crichton, Earl of Caithness, Admiral of Scotland and Sheriff of Linlithgow who was married to Lady Janet Borthwick (16th ggps). Sir George Crichton had a fractious relationship with his son, James, and made strenuous efforts to ensure he did not inherit his land and title. Outraged James imprisoned his father in Blackness Castle and only released him following intervention by the king. A compromise was agreed with the castle passing to the Crown upon Sir George’s death. He passed away in August 1454 with Blackness remaining a Royal castle ever since. Blackness was attacked by Oliver Cromwell. Extensive damage was done from both sea and land based artillery which left the structure in ruins. It was repaired following the Restoration of Charles II.

Blackness Castle served as Fort William in the miniseries "Outlander." Scenes from the films "Mary Queen of Scots" and "The Outlaw King" were also filmed here.


I stayed that evening at the Carberry Tower Mansion House. I didn't realize we had an ancestral connection to Sir Alexander, 1st Lord Elphinstone, who built the castle in 1480, but the name sounded strangely familiar. I searched my family tree and found out that Sir Alexander was married to Lady Elizabeth Barlow, a Lady in Waiting to Queen Consort Margaret Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII. Consort Queen Margaret was married to King James IV, parents of King James V. Their daughter Euphemia Elphinstone was the mistress of King James V (nothing like having an affair with the daughter of your mother's lady in waiting!), and their illegitimate son was Sir Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Strathearn and Orkney (Linda's 14th grandparents), half brother to Mary, Queen of Scots. I had a pleasant dinner talking to the wait staff as there were few other diners.

1 Sep 2022 Thursday. I started the day at Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh's second castle on the southern outskirts of the city. There I met up with good friends Robin and Rhona who I knew from my days working at NATO. My knee was too sore to climb the many stairs, but Robin and Rhona explored the interior and discovered that they also had ancestors connected with the castle. My ancestors were the Prestons who were the first lairds of the castle for over three hundred years. They were first granted land in the area by King David II in 1342. The Prestons held office as sheriffs or provosts of Edinburgh for many years. King Robert II gave the rest of the lands to Sir Simon Preston, Sheriff of Midlothian in 1374. We are related to the Prestons through Sir John Preston, Baron of Craigmillar and Sheriff of Edinburgh and Berwick who was married to Lady Christian Cockburn (17th ggps) through my mother's family tree, which is very English.

In 1567 the castle became embroiled in the events surrounding the murder of Sir Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, husband and consort to Mary, Queen of Scots. The Earls of Argyll, Bothwell and Huntly resolved to murder Darnley. He was invited to visit Craigmillar where the conspirators planned to execute their plan. Perhaps sensing danger, Darnley opted to stay in his town house within Edinburgh. On the night of 9 February 1567, this townhouse was blown up. Darnley seemingly survived the explosion but was found strangled outside the burning building. Mary's subsequent marriage to Bothwell, one of the leading conspirators, destabilized her regime. The Confederated Lords, a group of Protestant Scottish nobles, rose in rebellion against her and on 15 June 1567 at Carberry Hill, where Carberry Tower is located, she surrendered to her opponents. She was taken to the aforementioned Lochleven Castle where she was forced to abdicate in favor of her infant son, James VI.

Craigmillar was the location of Ardsmuir Prison in "Outlander" and "the Outlaw King."


We then visited the nearby villages where Rhona's parents and grandparents lived. I think that my visit inspired Robin and Rhona to further explore their own ancestry.

We moved on to nearby Tantallon Castle. Sir William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas and Mar who was married to Lady Margaret, Countess of Mar (18th ggps) built Tantallon Castle in 1358. Sir William died in 1384 leaving a legitimate heir, Sir James, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar who was married to Princess Isabella Stewart (17th ggps), daughter or King Robert II and Queen Consort Elizabeth Mure (18th ggps) and an illegitimate son, George, whose mother was Lady Margaret Stewart, Countess of Angus (18th ggm). James inherited the entire Douglas estates, but was killed four years later at the Battle of Otterburn (1388). Lady Margaret, Countess of Angus, now sought to promote her son George's claim with the result that the Douglas family divided into two factions with James' heir, Sir Archibald "the Grim" Douglas who was married to Lady Janet Moray, Heiress of Bothwell (16th ggps) leading the Black Douglases with Sir George, now the 1st Earl of Angus, who was married to Lady Margaret Stewart, 1st Countess of Angus (17th ggps) leading the Red Douglases. Tantallon Castle was held by the latter.

In 1455 the Black Douglases were defeated by Sir George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus who was married to Lady Isabel Sibbald (15th ggps), who was then granted all the Black Douglas's lands and castles. The end came for Tantallon Castle in 1650, then owned by his great great grandson, Sir Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (14th great uncle) (who had married the aforementioned Queen Margaret Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII and the widow of King James IV). Cromwell ordered General George Monck to destroy. He commenced an artillery bombardment, smashing a breach and took the castle. The damage was so extensive the castle was never rebuilt.

Just a bit further down the coast, we came to Dunbar Castle. Situated on a rocky outcrop projecting into the Firth of Forth, there has been a fortification on the site since at least Roman times. In AD 849 it is recorded as owned by Kenneth MacAlpin (33rd ggf). In the middle of the 11th century, Sir Maldred mac Crínán, Earl of Dunbar and of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria who married Aelgdyth of Northumbria (29th ggps), constructed Dunbar Castle. The castle continued to be developed over the subsequent centuries and became a substantial fortification that comfortably withstood an attempted assault by King John of England in 1214.

Dunbar Castle was the scene of the Battle of Dunbar, the first major battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 28 April 1296 the castle was taken over by King Edward I. It was recaptured by the Scots. When the English tried to recapture the castle in 1333, Lady Agnes "Black Agnes" Randolph, while her husband Sir Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar (20th ggps) was off fighting elsewhere, successfully withstood a five month siege. Between 1550 and 1560 Queen Consort Marie de Guise, widow of King James V, extensively upgraded the castle. These upgrades restored the castle to a first rate fortification and accordingly her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, made regular use of the site during her reign. In April 1567 she arrived there with Sir James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell before being transferred as a prisoner to the aforementioned Lochleven Castle. It spelled the end for her regime with key magnates rising in rebellion, and the castle was reduced to its present condition.

From here we returned to Edinburgh and returned my rental car. I stayed that night at Motel One, very near Edinburgh Castle.

2 Sep 2022 Friday. Today I devoted to touring Edinburgh. I started at Edinburgh Castle where I had a 10 AM reservation. Edinburgh Castle, built by King David I (25th ggf), was used as a royal residence until 1633. As my knee was still hurting, I took a taxi right to the main gate of the castle at the upper end of the Esplanade. There they recognized that I needed assistance so provided me with a car and driver Adam who took me through a tunnel to the very top courtyard. There I was taken to a secret location with an elevator to the Crown Room where the Honors of Scotland (the Crown, Scepter, the Sword of State, and the Stone of Scone/Destiny) are on display. When the elevator doors opened I was on one side of the Honors and everyone else was one the other side. I was a bit embarrassed with the crowd wondering who I was to get such special treatment. Next I visited King James IV Hall and then Saint Margaret's (Margaret, wife of King Malcolm III (26th ggps)) Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh. It reminded me of my ancestor, Sir Galfridus de Northcote's chapel in Devonshire (see Solving a Mystery In My Devon Ancestry). After seeing the Mons Meg, a large cannon, and the view of the city, I used the service of Adam and his car to return to the castle gate, and the Esplanade where Linda's 14th great grandmother, Lady Janet Douglas, wife of Sir John Lyon, 6th Lord of Glamis, was burned at the stake for being a witch on 17 July 1537, after having been unsuccessfully tried for the murder of her husband and for being a traitor.

Besides being related to a saint, Linda is also related to a slut. Princess Margaret Stewart, 3rd Baroness Crichton, another of Linda's 14th great grandmothers, who had been debauched by Sir William Crichton, 3rd Lord Crichton in return for the king having raped his wife. She became Sir William's mistress and eventually married Sir William, who agreed to marry her in return for King James III's pardon. It was also rumored that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother, King James III. Princesses did not become mistresses or commit incest. The slutty daughter of King James II, died at Edinburgh Castle in 1513. So Edinburgh Castle brings together the good, the bad, and the ugly of Linda's ancestors.

Continuing down the Royal Mile I stopped at St. Giles Cathedral where John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation and father of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, was pastor. I had a noon appointment with Robin and Rhona at the Royal Museum of Scotland, where an original copy of the National Covenant, a petition for religious freedom signed in 1638, is on display. Many copies were made and distributed across Scotland so many could sign it. Those who did sign were henceforth identified as Covenantors. We had coffee and conversation, including with Robin's sister, before they had to leave for another appointment. I then went to see the Covenant.

I then crossed the street to have a picture taken with Greyfriars Bobby, who laid on his masters grave for many years before passing away himself. One cannot see the movie "Greyfriars Bobby" without sobbing. I had lunch at the Greyfriars Bobby pub, and then visited the Greyfriars cemetery with 18,000 Covenantors' deaths are memorialized. I then caught the Hop On/Hop Off bus to tour the city including Holyrood Palace. I have been there before, so didn't get off the bus as I had a 5 PM appointment back at the hotel where my cousin Tiffany would pick me up. I would stay with her, Chris, and daughter Abigail for the next two nights. Chris is a doctor, so he works late. We picked up Thai food for a late dinner and had great conversation.

3 Sep 2022 Saturday.

Today was the first day with rainy weather, but it cleared up by early afternoon. Imagine having 11 days straight of perfect weather in Scotland. I was truly blessed! We spent the afternoon visiting Midlothian. Our first stop was Rosslyn Chapel, which was built as the family chapel by Sir William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and Chancellor of Scotland who was married to Lady Marjory Sutherland (15th ggps). The intention was to build a cruciform layout, only half of the original design was constructed. The chapel is probably best known for its interior carvings which took forty years to complete.

One story concerns the Apprentice Pillar. A legend involves the master mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice mason. According to the legend, the master mason was away and upon his return, he was enraged to find that the apprentice had completed the column by himself. In a fit of jealous anger, the master mason took his mallet and struck the apprentice on the head, killing him. The legend concludes that as punishment for his crime, the master mason's face was carved into the opposite corner to forever gaze upon his apprentice's pillar. Another more recent "legend" is from the "DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown which posits that the Sinclair family were Knights Templars who hid the Holy Grail (Mary Magdalene, the wife of Jesus) in the chapel crypt. Of course, this is pure fiction, but when the Catholic Church banned the book, it became a bestseller.

I was able to trace our family tree back to where the Sinclair name originated. Sir Waldron Saint-Clair (27th ggf) was born in the village of Saint-Clair-sur-l'Elle, Manche, Lower Normandy, France in 1005. He died in Barnstable, Devon, very near where my ancestor Sir Galfridus Fitz William de Northcote, both descendants of the Dukes of Normandy, lived. Their ancestors go back to the Jngling Dynasty of Sweden and Norway. Abigail was particularly interested in the history of Rosslyn Chapel and now wants to find her ancestors.

We only had time to visit one more castle is the surrounding area so chose nearby Borthwick Castle, which was built by Sir William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick who married Lady Margaret Hay, Heiress of Lockerwort (18th ggps). It is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval fortifications. King James I gave Sir William a large part of the adjacent Locherwort estate from Sir William Hay, 1st Earl of Errol, 2nd Lord Hay, Constable of Scotland who married Lady Beatrix Douglas (17th ggps), who was resentful of this and jealous of his neighbor's castle, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

On 15 May 1567, Mary Queen of Scots married Sir James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, and in June they came to Borthwick where they were besieged in the castle. Mary escaped the siege by disguising herself as a male page. However, the queen was soon arrested and taken to Lochleven Castle, as mentioned in my earlier blog, where she was held in captivity and renounced the throne. Bothwell fled to Orkney and Shetland, and from there escaped to Norway, which at the time was under Danish rule. The king of Denmark kept him in prison where he died insane. In 1650 the castle was attacked by Oliver Cromwell's forces, and was surrendered after only a few cannon shots. The damage to the walls from this attack is still visible.Today it has been restored and is available as a wedding venue. We were allowed to walk around the grounds, but not enter the castle as there was an event in progress.

We returned home for dinner and conversation. I had such a good time!

The next morning Chris, Tiffany, and Abigail dropped me off at the Edinburgh Airport for my flight to Sweden, which is covered by my next blog. Other than the narrow roads and a manual transmission in my rental car, I thoroughly enjoyed the people and castles of Scotland.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Doune Castle
As I was reading the name was familiar and then you mentioned Monty Python. Dave loved that movie and had me photo and video him at the castle saying, " go away or I'll taunt you a second time" and or other lines from the movie. He had fun there. Your dive into these locations in deeper than ours was. We've been to the Shetlands but would like to return for the Orkney's... we should be like Bothwell and flee to the Orkney's.

[Home and Away]

I wish I had time to visit the Orkneys.
Maybe I can visit the Orkneys and Shetland in conjunction with a Norwegian fjord cruise.

[Ake Och Emma]

Castles of Stockholm
It's nice to read your blogs. I guess you very much focused on castels and palaces on this trip. If so, I totally understand the point of doing that. I could do the same thing, and I would love it. We have written a few what we call theme blogs over the years. One of those was about palaces and castles in and around Stockholm. We published that in 2013 in case you wanty to hunt it down and have a look. /Ake

[Home and Away]

Thanks.
I will read those blogs!

[alex waring]

Castles and Fine Days
I continue to be impressed by the amount of castles you visited on this Scotland trip Bob! I didn't realise Scotland had so many. Dunbar Castle looks familiar from my own visit there last year. I think I'm even more impressed that you had 11 days in a row in Scotland without rain! That's quite something, lol!