- 'i 
 
 II 
 
 m 
 
FRAGILE DOES NOT 
 CIRCULATE 
 
 Oi in 
 
 + 
 
 DA 
 556 
 A5 
 
 18<>| 
 
 ■*■ ''*' ' •' 'M 
 
 /tfV>HNM.V. 
 OLIN jgl 
 [LIBRARY?/ 
 
 FHAGILE PAPER 
 Please handle this book 
 with care, as the paper 
 is fragile. A decision 
 on replacement is pend- 
 ing. 
 
 THE ROBERT CAMPBELL MAC C. AULD 
 
 COLLECTION 
 
 NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE LIBRARY 
 
L 
 
 JERAGILE DOES NOT 
 CIRCULATFt 
 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 063 146 280 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924063146280 
 
.v.:.^ss 
 

 eraurials ai%^as mJsfytl^tmw, 
 
 BEING AN ACCOUNT, 
 
 HISTORICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, AND' TRADITIONARY, 
 
 OF THE / N^ 
 
 CASTLES AND TOWNS VISITED BY EDWARD I., 
 
 AND OP THE A Jj JL, 
 
 •BARONS, CfcEBGT, AND OTHERS, 
 
 WHO SWORE FEALTY TO ENGLAND IN 1291-6; 
 
 ALSO, OF 
 
 2tfje utiles of dupar, anu tije $riorg of Eostinotlr. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 AN APPENDIX OF OEIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 
 
 , "yr\- 
 
 229529 
 
 BY ANDEEW JERJISE, 
 
 CORRESPONDING- MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 
 AUTHOR OF THE " LAND OF THE LINDSAYS," ETC. 
 
 THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 
 MECHANICS AND TRADESMEN 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 FREE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 EDINBURGH: ADAM & CHARLES BLACK. 
 
 HDCCCLXI. 
 
A BIRD EEN : 
 PKINTED BY JOHN AVERT, 
 
 ST. CATHERINE'S WYND. 
 
TO THE EIGHT HONORABLE 
 
 FOX, EAKL OF MLHOUSIE, 
 
 BARON RAMSAY OP MELROSE, AND BARON RAMSAY OF KER1NGTON ; 
 
 BARON PANMURE OF BRECHIN AND NAVAR ; 
 
 K.T., G.C.B., A PRIVY COUNCILLOR, LORD PRIVY SEAL FOR SCOTLAND, 
 LORD-LIEUTENANT OP FORFARSHIRE, ETC., 
 
 THIS VOLUME, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 agistors? anSJ Antiquities of Angus anJJ tlje me am©, 
 
 18, 
 
 BY PERMISSION, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 NOT SO MUCH FROM THE HIGH POSITION WHICH HIS LORDSHIP SO DESERVEDLY HOLDS IN 
 HER MAJESTY'S COUNCILS, AND IN THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS NATIVE COUNTY, 
 
 * AS, FROM 
 
 A SINCERE SENSE OF GRATITUDE BY, 
 HIS LORDSHIP'S MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
Hm 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface, 
 
 PAET FIRST. 
 
 INTRODUCTION — Outline op the Eaelt History and Antiquities 
 
 op Angus and the Mearns *3-*32 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 CASTLES AND TOWNS VISITED BY EDWARD I., a.d. 1296. 
 
 Chapter I. — The Cas.tles and Town of Forfar, . . . 3-34 
 
 II. — Farnell Castle, and Kinnaird, .... 35-45 
 
 III. — Castle, Convent, and Town of Montrose, -. . . . 46-81 
 
 tlV. — .Castles of Kincardine, G/lenbervie, and Durris, . . 82-105 
 
 fV— The Round Tower, Cathedral, Castle, and Town of Brechin, 106-145 
 
 VI.— The Abbey, and Town of Aberbrothoc, . < . . . 146-176 
 
 VII.— The Church, Convents, Castle, and Town of Dundee, 177-230 
 
 PART THIRD. 
 
 THE BARONS WHO SWORE FEALTY TO EDWARD I., 
 
 a.d. 1291-2, 233-281 
 
 PART FOURTH. 
 
 THE BARONS OF ANGUS WHO SWORE FEALTY TO 
 
 EDWARD I., a.d. 1296 ,^285^352 
 
 PART FIFTH. 
 
 THE BARONS OF THE MEARNS WHO SWORE FEALTY 
 
 TO EDWARD I., a.d. 1296, 355-389 
 
 PART SIXTH. 
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR, AND THE PRIORY OF ROSTINOTH. 
 
 Chapter I.— The Abbey of Cupar 393-411 
 
 . „ II.— The Priory of Rostinoth 412-421 
 
 | Misprinted V. and VI. respectively. 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAET SEVENTH. 
 
 THE CLERGY OF ANGUS AND THE MEARNS WHO SWORE FEALTY 
 TO EDWARD I., a.d. 1296; also, THE TEMPLARS, HOSPITALLERS, 
 LADIES OP DECEASED BARONS, AND OTHERS. 
 Chapter I. — The Churches of Dunlappy, Idviee,' Kinettlee, and Logie, 
 
 in Angus, 425-435. 
 
 „ II. — The Churches of Garvock, Kinneff.and Dunottar, in 
 
 the Mearns, 436-447 
 
 „ III. — Knights Templars, and Hospitallers of St John, the 
 
 Holy Trinity, and St Germans, ^ . 448-451 
 
 IV.— The Ladies of Deceased Barons, a.d. 1296-1306, 452-457 
 
 „ V. — Homages of Barons, a.d. 1306, .... 458 
 
 Appendix .... . 461-483 
 
 Additions and Corrections, . . 484-486 
 
 General Index, 489 
 
 Tim following to he added to page 475 : — 
 
 19. o. View of a bridge and town from the water, a boat on the right with a sail. 
 "MareDitat." Ex. "1797." 
 r. A woman spinning. " Sure are the rewards of industry." Ex. " Mon- 
 trose." 
 e. " London, Liverpool, or Montrose." 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 In compiling this volume, the Author may state that the chief 
 objects' he had in view were — first, to give an account, historical 
 and traditionary, of the different Towns and Castles in Angus 
 and the Mearns at which King Edward I. resided when on his 
 subjugating tour through Scotland in 1296 ; and, secondly, 
 notices of the families and possessions of such of the Barons, 
 Churchmen, and others, as recognised the supremacy of England 
 as well during that year, as in 1291, and subsequently in 1303. a 
 
 During the period of the disputed monarchy, when Scotland 
 was prostrated under the sway of King Edward, and when every 
 person of note had sworn allegiance to England — Sir William 
 Wallace alone excepted — nearly a hundred of the chief men 
 of Angus and the Mearns are recorded among the rest ; the 
 history, and even the names of the greater part of whom have 
 been hitherto unknown to ordinary readers. Still, as they had 
 all a greater or a lesser share in the achievement of our National 
 
 1 Among the many authorities regarding these times, the following are the 
 chief: — 
 
 (1.) "A Diary of Edward the First [his] Journey into Scotland, in 'the time of 
 John Kinge of Scottis. A" Regni 24, 1296." This is printed in NormanfFrench 
 and English, with Introduction and Notes, by P. F. Tytler, Esq., in the Bannatyne 
 Club Miscdlany, rol. i. In the Archceologia, vol. xxi., an English version is printed, 
 with Introduction and Notes, by Sir N. Harris Nicolas. 
 
 (2.) "The History of King John, King Henry III., and the most Illustrious 
 King Edward the I." by William Prynne, Keeper of the Records in the Tower of 
 London, 1308 pp.fol., 1670. 
 
 (3.) Rymer's "Foedera.'' The 3rd edition (Hague, 1745) of this celebrated 
 work has been used in the compilation of this vol. 
 
 (4.) "Instrumenta Publica sive processus super Fidelitatibus et Homagiis 
 Scotorum Domino Regi Auglise factis, a.d. MCCXCI— MGCXCVI.," or " Rag- 
 man Rolls." Printed by the Bannatyne Club, 4to, 1834. 
 
 5.) "Documents and Records illustrating the History of Scotland, and the" 
 Transactions between the Crowns of Scotland and England, preserved in the 
 Treasury of Her Majesty's Exchequer," with Introduction by Sir Francis Pal- 
 grave, K.H., Keeper of the Records. Printed by Royal Command, royal 8vo, 1837. 
 
VUl PEEPACE. 
 
 Independence, the Author trusts that the notices of them and 
 their estates, which occupy so much of the present volume, may 
 not only be read with interest, but be looked upon as an humble 
 attempt to supply a deficiency in our local annals during one of 
 the most important periods of the national history. 
 
 The volume was at first intended merely to embrace compa- 
 ratively short accounts of persons and places, and a history of the 
 period of the Interregnum; but, on second thoughts, the Author, 
 considering that so much had already been written regarding 
 the Wars of the Independence, believed that the work would be 
 of much more value and interest were it exclusively devoted to 
 a collection of particulars regarding personal and territorial his- 
 tory, rather than that any part of it should be a repetition of 
 facts which could neither be improved upon, nor added to with 
 safety. This change of plan, it need scarcely be said, incurred 
 a vast amount of labour and research beyond what was at first 
 contemplated — so much so, that with other unavoidable causes 
 of delay, it has not only been 1 the means of retarding the publi- 
 cation of the volume, but has nearly doubled its size. 
 
 To shew how far these remarks are applicable, it need only be 
 stated, that instead of a few pages being allotted to the history of 
 each of the towns and castles, as was at first proposed, this por- 
 tion of the work alone extends to about 230 pages, embracing 
 an account of all that is most interesting, trust worthy, and rare 
 regarding each place (in most cases to the exclusion of matter 
 generally known), extending from the most remote down to the 
 latest times. 
 
 From the length of time which has unavoidably elapsed be- 
 tween the printing, and the publication of certain portions of the 
 volume, as well as from a desire to take advantage of informa- 
 tion which sometimes came under the Author's notice after the 
 MS, was prepared for press, a sameness in style and expression 
 will not infrequently be noticed. For these, and other short- 
 comings (of many of which the Author is but too sensible), he 
 craves the indulgence of the reader, trusting that they may be 
 
PKEFACE. IX 
 
 outweighed, to some extent at least, by the mass of facts which 
 has been collected together, and which he has done his best, by 
 the occasional introduction of traditions, to make as readable and 
 as attractive as possible. 
 
 The Author must not forget to. mention that during the pro- 
 gress of the work, he has been indebted to literary friends and 
 others for some important communications, which will be found 
 acknowledged in their proper places. In an especial man- 
 ner, he begs to acknowledge the deep obligations under which 
 he lies to Joseph Eobertson, Esq., Superintendent of Searches 
 in the Literary and Antiquarian Department of the General 
 Eegister-House, Edinburgh, not only for the trouble which Mr 
 Robertson has so kindly taken in revising the sheets before going 
 to press, but for many valuable suggestions and additions, for 
 which his extensive acquaintance with the literary and anti- 
 quarian history of Scotland renders him so well qualified. 
 
 The Author has also to express his gratitude to the Right 
 Honorable the Earl of Dalhousie, for the kind and courteous 
 manner in which his Lordship granted the use of many valuable 
 family and other MSS., in which, as is well-known, the Pan- 
 mure library is peculiarly rich. To John Inglis Chalmers, Esq. 
 of Aldbar, the Author is likewise greatly indebted for the use 
 of his large and excellent library, as well as of many of the valu- 
 able MSS. of his late lamented brother, by whose death the 
 science of Scottish Archaeology lost one of its best patrons, and 
 its students one of the warmest friends. The Author has also to 
 thank Mr Chalmers for kindly presenting the plate of the " Map 
 of Old Angus and Mearns." To Albert Way, Esq. of Wonham 
 Manor, Surrey, Secretary to the Archaeological Institute of Great 
 Britain, he has to tender his best thanks for the important addi- 
 tion of the sectional drawing of the Round Tower of Brechin. 
 
 To the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the Author is 
 obliged for the use of some valuable wood-cuts^ among which 
 are those of the beautiful seal of the Chapter of the Cathedral of 
 Brechin. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 Iii conclusion, the Author conceives that some apology may 
 he necessary for the numerous attempts which have heen made 
 throughout the volume to interpret the Gaelic names of places. 
 Probably no branch of Archaelogical study is more interesting 
 than that of etymology, while, on the other hand, none is more 
 unsatisfactory in its results ; foi^it very frequently happens that 
 accomplished Gaelic scholars give very different interpretations 
 of the meaning of the same word. The Author, therefore, begs 
 that t^e reader will attach no undue weight to such attempts as 
 appear here, although the greater part of them have met the 
 approval' of some eminent teachers of the language, and natives 
 of the land of Ossian. 
 
 ANDEEW JEKVISE. 
 
 Bbechbt, January, 1861. 
 
MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 PAET FIRST. 
 
 INTRODUCTION— OUTLINE OP THE EARLY HISTORY 
 AND ANTIQUITIES OF ANGUS AND THE MEARNS. 
 
 (c) 
 
THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 
 MECHANICS AND TRADESMEN 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 FREE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 PAET FIKST. 
 
 INTRODUCTION— OUTLINE OF THE EAELY HISTORY AND 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ANGUS AND THE MEARNS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 229529 
 
 Principal Rivers — Lakes — Ancient and Modern Towns — Origin of Towns — Chiefs, or 
 Maormors — Origin of Sheriffdoms and Sheriffs — Hereditary Sheriffs — Lists of 
 Sheriffs Principal — Royal Hunting Forests — Origin of Thanedoms and Thanes 
 — Local Thanedoms. 
 
 Angus and the Meakns, or the shires of Forfar and Kincardine, 
 are situated in the north-east of Scotland, between the rivers 
 Tay and Dee. 
 
 The principal rivers are the North Esk and the South Esk 
 — the Tina and Esica of Roman geography. Both rivers rise 
 in Angus. The first forms the boundary between that county 
 and the Mearns for a distance of several miles, commencing near 
 Dooly in Glenesk, and terminating at Kinaber; near Montrose; 
 while the latter traverses the whole length of Angus, passing 
 the city and castle of Brechin, and joining the sea at Montrose. 
 The chief tributaries of the North Esk are the Mark and the 
 Tarf, the Dye, or the West Water, the Cruick, and the Luther, 
 the last of which rises in the Mearns ; while those of the South 
 Esk are the Prosen, the Carity, the Lemno, the Noran, and the 
 Pow. There are good waterfalls on the Noran, in Glen Ogil ; 
 and the North Esk is remarkable for its picturesque scenery, 
 and richness in geological and botanical peculiarities, particu- 
 larly between the burn of Murran on the west, and Arnhall on 
 the east. 
 
 Next in importance to the Esks is the river Isla, which rises 
 in the pastoral district of Glenisla, and joins the Tay near Kin- 
 claven in Perthshire. The waterfalls of Reeky Linn, and Slugs 
 of Auchranny are upon the Isla, and it receives in its course the 
 waters of the Melgam and the Dean. The first of these rises in 
 
4* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Lintrathen parish ; the latter flows from the loch of Forfar, and 
 is joined in its course by the Kerbet. 
 
 The lesser rivers are the Dichty, the Lunan, and the Elliot. 
 The first issues from the lochs of Lundie, the second from those 
 of Bescobie and Balgavies, and the third from Dilty Moss, in 
 Carmyllie. The Elliot joins the sea to the west of Arbroath, 
 the Lunan at Redcastle, and the Dichty falls into the Tay near 
 Monifieth village. 
 
 Besides the Luther, which has its |ource among the hills in 
 Fordoun, and traverses the Mearns for a distance of 12 or 15 
 miles, the waters of Bervy, Carron, and Cowy are all considerable 
 streams, which rise in more northern parts of the shire, and join 
 the sea — the first at Inverbervy, the others at Stonehaven. The 
 Cowy passes in its course the mansion houses of Bickarton 
 and Ury, and the Carron the old church of Fetteresso — one of 
 the most romantic spots in the district. This church was dedi- 
 cated to St Caran, bishop, whose feast-day is variously stated as 
 the 21st December, and the 10th of the kalends of January. 3 
 
 Through Strachan run the Dye, the Aaen, and the Feugh. 
 The first are tributaries to the latter, which falls into the Dee at 
 Banchory-Ternan, where the channel, wild and rocky, shaded 
 by mountain pine, birch, and copsewood, presents a singularly 
 romantic appearance. 
 
 Although the more important of the Angus rivers have their 
 origin in lakes or lochs, many of the smaller and some of the 
 larger of the lochs have been almost completely drained within 
 the last sixty or eighty years, among which have been those of 
 Hyndcastle, Baikie, and Kostinoth in Angus, and Leys in the 
 Mearns. Leys seems to have been the most considerable of the 
 lakes in the Mearns ; and, from the fact that it contained one of 
 those singular works called crannoges, or artificial islands, of 
 which there are still some interesting specimens in Ireland, it had 
 doubtless been a place of note in old times. The greater portion 
 of the island still remains, and some curious bronze pots, in good 
 preservation, and other relics of antiquity, have been found in its 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 a Collect, on Aberd. and Banff, 550 ; Reg. Ep. Aberd., i. pref. 86 ; Proceed, of 
 So. of Antiq. of Scot., ii. 272. 
 
INTRODUCTION — LAKES, OR LOCHS. *0 
 
 The principal lochs in Angus are those of Forfar (of which 
 some account will be found in the next chapter), Lintrathen, 
 Lundie, Eescobie, and Balgavies. Tradition says that the cele- 
 brated Alan Durward had castles near the lochs of Lintrathen 
 and Lundie ; and those of Eescobie and Balgavies are supposed 
 to have been within the boundary of the old hunting forest of 
 Drimmie. 
 
 The loch of Feithie, near Forfar, and that of Kinordy, near 
 Kirriemuir, present some interesting points. The geological 
 features of the first, according to Sir Charles Lyell, are unique, 
 for although it contains neither springs nor shell-marl, it is sur- 
 rounded by calcareous deposits, and is otherwise favorably 
 situated for the presence of the one, and the production of the 
 other. The latter lake abounds in peat and shell-marl, and about 
 forty years ago an ancient canoe was found embedded among 
 the peat-moss. 
 
 But whether for its extent, grandeur of natural scenery, or 
 historical interest, the lake or loch of Lee, in Angus — the chief 
 source of the North Esk — is probably the most remarkable. It 
 is nearly two miles long by about half a mile broad, and is sur- 
 rounded by almost perpendicular rocks. At the north or upper 
 end it receives the waters of the Unich and the Lee, also those of 
 the interesting little lake of Carlochy, which lies in the bosom 
 of the rugged rock of Craigmaskeldy, somewhat resembling that 
 of Lochnagar. At the east or lower end are the old parish 
 church and churchyard, and the picturesque tower of Invermark, 
 in which were enacted some interesting feats by " the lichtsome 
 Lindsays," ancient lords of the district; while, in pleasing con- 
 trast to this hoary ruin, perched upon the side of a grassy moun- 
 tain on the north, surrounded by natural birch and pine, stands 
 the modern shooting lodge of Lord Panmure, commanding a 
 varied and extensive view of the valley of the Esk. It was by 
 the side of this romantic loch, when Christianity was in its in- 
 fancy in Scotland, that St Drostan planted a church. Near the 
 same spot, in modern times, the author of " The Fortunate 
 Shepherdess," taught the youth of the parish, and preserved, by 
 his writings, much of the old Doric language of his native 
 country which otherwise would have been lost. 
 
6* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. ' 
 
 Little is recorded of the ancient towns of the district. Brechin 
 appears to have been a considerable place towards the close of 
 the reign of Kenneth III. ; and a few years later, when the 
 country was invaded by the Danes, we are told that they burned 
 the towns of Brechin and Montrose. It is much more certain, 
 however, that Montrose, Forfar, and Dundee were places of some 
 trade in the time of Malcolm the Maiden, since that prince made 
 grants from the revenues of these towns towards the support of 
 the Priory of Rostinoth. 
 
 It was around the seats of kings, bishops, and abbots that 
 towns and villages were originally planted. The first were ac- 
 counted royal burghs, the others burghs of bishops and abbots 
 respectively. Of the first class were Forfar and Montrose — pro- 
 bably also Kincardine, of the next Brechin, and of the third 
 Cupar and Arbroath. Brechin, from having been the seat of a 
 cathedral and bishop, has the style of a city. 
 
 Besides numerous populous villages in Angus, the chief seats 
 of commerce now-a-days are much the same as they were in 
 ancient times. From earliest record Dundee appears to have 
 been the largest town; then Montrose, Brechin, Forfar, and 
 Arbroath. But the position of the four last-named burghs is 
 now altered: Arbroath, according to the number of its inha- 
 bitants, ranks next to Dundee ; then Montrose, Forfar, and 
 Brechin, to which ought to be added the comparatively modern 
 but thriving town of Kirriemuir, of which the old Earls of Angus 
 were superiors. Kirriemuir (anciently Kil-marie), is a burgh of 
 barony, as are Edzell, Grlamis, and some other villages. 
 
 Forfar is the chief seat of the sheriff courts of Angus, and 
 Stonehaven of those of the Mearns. Inverbervy is the only 
 royal burgh in the latter shire ; and the towns of Stonehaven, 
 Laurencekirk, Fettercairn, and Auchinblae, are the larger places, 
 which, with some lesser hamlets, were erected into burghs of 
 barony at different times, and are held of different proprietors. 
 
 Like other districts in Scotland, Angus and the Mearns are 
 said to have been governed in old times by hereditary Maormors, 
 or Earls. Dubican, the son of Indrechtaig, together with his 
 son, Maolbride, and Cunecht, the father of Lady Finella, are said 
 to have been Maormors of Angus during the greater part of 
 
INTRODUCTION — SHERIFFS PRINCIPAL OF ANGUS. *7 
 
 the tenth century. Finella, who is believed to have been the 
 cause of the death of Kenneth III., is described as the wife of 
 the Maormor of the Meams ; and Malpender, or Maolpeder, the 
 Maormor of the period, is said to have assassinated King Duncan 
 in 1094. 
 
 It is supposed that sheriffs were first appointed by David I. ; but 
 it was not until the time of David II., that the office became 
 hereditary in Scotland. The heritable sheriffship of Angus 
 appears to have been conferred first upon Ramsay of Auchter- 
 house, from whom, through a female, it was carried to the 
 Ogilvys. On the resignation of the office by a female descendant 
 of that family, it was acquired by David, Earl of Crawford, 
 afterwards Duke of Montrose ; but from the part which he took 
 in favor of James III. against the rising of his son at Blackness, 
 he was deprived of the office on the succession of James IV. It 
 was then given to the family of Gray, with whom it continued 
 down to the early part of the reign of Charles I., when it appears 
 to have been abolished as a hereditary right. The Keith-Maris- 
 chals were probably hereditary sheriffs of the Mearns — at least 
 they appear to have held the office from much about the same 
 time as the Ramsays. ( 
 
 Though very incomplete, it is believed that the following lists 
 of the Sheriffs Principal of Angus and the Mearns — which extend 
 over a period of more than five hundred years — may be perused 
 with interest by the representatives of the older families of those 
 shires, if not by the general reader. 
 
 Sheriff* of &ngu*. 
 
 William Cumyn, justiciary of Scotland, was sheriff of Forfar, in 
 
 1209.— Doug. Peer., i. 161. 
 Hugh Cambrun, 1214-25. — Reg. Up. Brechin., ii. 3 ; infra, 293. 
 Thomas of Malherbe (of Rossy), 1227.— Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 163 ; 
 
 Acta Pari., i. 81. 
 William of Hwuctyruus (Auchterhouse), 1245. — Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 
 
 200. 
 E. and W. Montealt (of Feme), 1264.— Chamb. Rolls, i. 11,* 41.* 
 R. of Montealt, quondam sheriff, 1266. — Ibid., 54.* 
 John of Fenton (of Baikie), sheriff, 1266.— Chamb. Rolls, i. 34.* 
 
8* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Sir William Maule of Panmure was sheriff in 1286, and at the death 
 of Alex. III.— Doug. Peer., ii. 350. 
 
 David of Betun (of Ethiebeaton), knight, 1290.— Ohcml. Rolls., 79* 
 
 William of Herth (?Akth), appointed by King Edward I., 1305.— 
 Acta Pari., i. 15. 
 
 John of Trequer was sheriff, 9th June 1328. — Chamb. Bolls, i. 12. 
 
 Hugh of Ross, and William, Earl of Ross, sheriffs and bailies of For- 
 far, 1347.— Miscell. Aldbar., MS., 208. 
 
 Robert of Ramsay (of- Auchterhouse), sheriff, 9th April 1359.— 
 Chamb. Bolls, i. 342. , 
 
 John of Ramsay, collector of one of the Quarters of Angus, 
 1359.— Ibid., 355. 
 
 Robert of Ramsay, sheriff, 1359-62.— Ibid., 352-98. 
 
 Malcolm of Ramsay, 1365. — Beg. Mag Sigill, 42, 116. He was alive 
 in 1407. — Beg. Ep. Brechin., xxi. 
 
 Sir Walter of Ogilvy, temporary sheriff, 31st Oct. 1380. — Antiq. of 
 the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, ii 43. 
 
 Alexander of Ogilvy, 1388-90. — Beg. Ep. Brechin., xxi. 
 
 Walter of Ogilvy, lord of Achterhouse, 1390.— i%. Mag. Sigill, 193, 2. 
 Slain at Glasklune, 1392. — Wyntowris Cron., ii. 369. 
 
 Alexander of Ogilvy, 1405-7. — Chamb. Bolls, ii. 634; Beg. Mag. 
 Sigill., 243-2. 
 
 Alexander of Ogilvy, 1420. — Chamb. Bolls, iii. 103. 
 
 Sir Patrick of Ogilvy, knight, 2nd May 1425.— Panmure Coll., MS. 
 
 Margaret Ogilvy of Auchterhouse, afterwards Countess of Buchan, 
 resigned the sheriffship of Angus, about 1464. — Spalding Club 
 Miscell, v. 286. 
 
 David, Earl of Crawford, afterwards Duke of Montrose, appointed 
 hereditary sheriff of Angus, by James III., 19th Oct. 1466. 
 Compelled to resign the office by James IV., 29th Oct. 1488. — 
 Lord Lindsay's Beport on the Montrose Claim, 519, 524. Pro- 
 bably Lord Innermeath, and Alexander Guthrie of that Ilk, were 
 deputes to the Earl ef Crawford. The first appears in 1478, the 
 latter in 1481. — Acta Aud., 64, 95. 
 Andrew Lord Gray, appointed hereditary sheriff, on the resignation of 
 the Duke of Montrose, 6th Nov. 1488.— Montrose Claim, 524. The 
 office was held by the Lords Gray until Charles the First's time, 
 when the 8th Lord Gray resigned, on che promise of receiving 
 50,000 merks.— Doug. Peer., i. 672. 
 
 While the hereditary sheriffship was in the hands of the Grays, 
 
INTRODUCTION — SHERIFFS PRINCIPAL OF THE MEARNS *9 
 
 their deputes probably -were, in 1494, .William Monorgond 
 of that Ilk, and Alexander Boyis (Acta And., 206) ; in 
 1514, Henry Lovell of Ballumby, knight, and William 
 Ouchterlowny of Kelly (Miscell. Aldbar., MS., 47) ; in 
 1516, Gilbert Middleton of that Ilk (Doug. Peer., ii. 
 230); in 1541, John Stewart, Lord Innermeath (Accownt 
 of Senators of the College of Justice, 82) ; in 1560 and 1 578, 
 Ninian Guthrye of Kingenny (Reg. de Panmure, MS., i. , 
 422 ; Crawford Case, 178.) 
 Sir Patrick Maule, afterwards Earl of Panmure, was created " sheriff 
 principal of the shire of Forfar," by charter under the Great 
 Seal, dated at Holyrood, 5th Sept. 1632. — Beg. de Panmure, 
 MS., ii. 53. He died in Dec. 1661. 
 
 Archibald Piersone of Chapelton, sheriff depute, 7th January 
 1642.— Crawford Case, 131. 
 James, 2nd Earl of Southesk, d. sheriff, 1669. — Doug. Peer., ii. 515. b 
 John Lindsay of Edzell, sheriff, d. 1671. — Lives of the Lindsays. 
 Patrick, 3rd Earl of Kinghorn, who died 15th May 1695, was ap- 
 pointed sheriff, 1694. — Family papers at Glamis. 
 David, 4th Earl of Northesk, sheriff, 1702.— Doug. Peer., ii. 323. 
 
 j&fjcriffss of tfie jiHearns. 
 John of Hastinkes (lord of Dun in Angus), was sheriff and forester 
 
 of the Mearns, 1163-78.— Spald. CM) Miscell.,??. 210; infra, 457. 
 Robert Senescald, sheriff of the Mearns, 1214-25. — Reg. Ep. Brechin., 
 
 ii. 3. 
 Philip of Maleville (of Mondynes), 1222-40.—.%. Vet. de Aberb., 88-9. c 
 Robert le Chein, 1263-6.— Chamb. Rolls, i. 20.* 
 Reginald le Chein, 1266.— Ibid., 32 ;* infra, 453. 
 Richard of Dummor, appointed by King Edward I., 1305. — Acta 
 
 Pari., i. 15. 
 Alexander of Stratoun (of Lauriston), sheriff, 9th June 1328. — Chamb. 
 
 Rolls, i. 12. 
 Robert of Keith, marischal of Scotland, 11th August 1348-58. d — 
 
 Ibid., 289-300. 
 
 b The first Earl of Southesk, who died in Feb. 1658, is also said to have been 
 high sheriff of Forfar. — Doug. Peer., ii. 515. 
 
 c Although the story of a Melville having been sheriff of the Mearns, and 
 boiled iu a cauldron at Garvock, is common, and given below (p. 94), tho above is the 
 only authentic notice I have seen of the Melvilles as sheriffs of the district. 
 
 d Douglas (Peerage ii. 187), says that Eobert Keith, , marischal of Scotland, 
 fell at Durham, 17th Oct. 1346 ; but this is probably a mistake, since there was no 
 other Robert in the family until long subsequent to 1358. 
 (d) 
 
10* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 William of Keith, 1359, and on 15th March 1391.— Chamb. Bolls, 
 
 i. 338 ; ii. 175. 
 Robert Keith, knight, lord of Troup, 12th March 1406-7. — Beg. Mag. 
 
 Sigiil., 223. 
 Sir William Keith, sheriff, 20th May 1442 (d. 1476.)— Doug. Peer., 
 
 ii. 189. 
 Patrick Barclay, sheriff depute, 1st April 1448. — Beg. Ep. 
 Breehin., i. 113. 
 William (?2nd) Earl Marischal, about 1483. — Nisbets Heraldry, ii. 
 
 Appx. 238. » 
 
 William, 3rd Earl Marischal, 7th July 1492. — Acta Dom. Concil., 243. 
 William, 4th Earl Marischal, 22nd April 1525, (d. 1581.)— Doug. 
 
 Peer., ii. 191. 
 William, Lord Keith, 1621, (d. 1635.)— Acta Pari., iv. 630. 
 
 It would appear from the list of sheriffs of the Mearns, that the 
 offices of sheriff and forester were sometimes united. The royal 
 forester had jurisdiction in offences against the forest laws, and 
 had certain payments or privileges allowed for keeping or super- 
 intending these sporting fields, of which Cowy, Durris, and the 
 Month, were the more important in the Mearns ; and those of 
 Montreathmont, Kingenny, Drimmie, Plater, and Kilgary, in 
 Angus. 
 
 Apart from sheriffdoms, there were districts called thanedoms, 
 and their possessors assumed the title of Thane. Thanes, origi- 
 nally stewards over king's lands, ultimately became hereditary 
 tenants of the king, and the title and lands descended accordingly. 
 The fine paid by a thane was a hundred cows, being the same 
 number as that payable by an Earl's son. 
 
 Probably these divisions were more numerous in this district 
 than in most other parts of Scotland, there being at least nine 
 of them in Angus, and seven in the Mearns : — 
 
 ©haiuoomjs in Slngujs. 
 
 A charter of bounding infeftment of the thanedom of Abbeklenoche, 
 or Aberlemno, was granted by Robert the Bruce to William 
 Blunt, a cadet of an old Dumfriesshire family. 6 
 
 Sir Alexander Lindsay, knight, had the thanage of Dotjney, or 
 Downie, from Robert II. in 1331.' 
 
 « Kobertson's Index, 18. ' Ibid., 96. 
 
INTRODUCTION — THANEDOMS AND THANES. *11 
 
 Join de Logy (probably the father of Margaret Logy, Queen of 
 David II.), had the reversion of the thanedom of Glamts and 
 Tannadice from King David in 1363. The reddendo of the 
 first was a red falcon, to be delivered yearly at the feast of Pente- 
 cost, and that of the second a sparrow-hawk. Both thanedoms 
 were afterwards given to Sir John Lyon, ancestor of the Earls 
 of Strathmore, in dowry with his wife, Jane, daughter of 
 Eobert II.* 
 
 Robert II., with consent of his eldest son, John, Earl of Oarrick, gave 
 Walter Ogilvy an annual rent out of the " thanedom of Kin- 
 galtvy." This probably refers to Kinalty in the parish of 
 Tannadice, near the castle of Cortachy, since the lands of Kin- 
 alty, in the parish of Airlie, are described, in a nearly contem- 
 porary charter, as being in the barony of Rethy, or Reidie. h 
 
 In the year 1220, Malcolm, Earl of Angus, grandson of Gilchrist,, 
 gave Nicholas, the priest of Kirriemuir, and his heirs, the ab- 
 thein lands op Moktifieth. "Patricius capitalus medico," had a 
 charter of the lands of Ballegillachie, or Balgillo, in the thane- 
 dom of Monifieth, from Robert I.' 
 
 Gyles, thane of Edevyh, Edevy, or Idvies, flourished about the 
 year 1219." 
 
 In 1360, Andrew Dempster of Auchterless and Careston, and William 
 and John Collace of Balnamoon, granted confirmation of an 
 annual payment to the Priory of Rostinoth, out of the thanedom 
 of Menmuir. 1 
 
 In 1365, David II. gave Sir Alexander Lindsay of Crawford, father of 
 the first Lindsay of Glenesk, "all the 'king's lands in the thane- 
 dom of Newdosk."™ These lands lie in the Mearns portion 
 of the parish of Edzell, 
 
 EbancDomg in tfte JKrarns. 
 
 The thanedom of Abekbothnet, or Aebuthnott was granted by 
 Robert I. to John Fraser, a cadet of the Saltoun family." 
 
 Charters of the reversion of the thanedoms of Abekluthnot [Mary- 
 kirk,] Kincardine, and Fettercairn, were granted from William, 
 Earl of Sutherland, by David II. to Walter Lesley." 
 
 t Willis' Current Notes for July 1854 ; Eeg. Mag. Sigill., pp. 32, 90. 
 h Robertson's Index, 132, 137. 
 
 ■ Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 330 ; Eobertson's Index, 18. k Infra, 428. 
 
 1 Ibid., 415. ™ Eobertson's Index, 79. " Eobertson's Index, 18. 
 
 « Ibid., 65, 89 ; infra, 85. 
 
12* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 William Fraser, and his spouse, Margaret Murray, had the thanedcms 
 of Golly, or CowlE, and Durkis, from David II., the first of 
 which had previously belonged to Eraser's father. Robert, son 
 of William Keith, Marischal, had a charter from Robert II. of 
 the forests of Cowy and the Month, the lands of Ferachy, Glas- 
 tolach, Oragy, and Clochnahill, " which of old "was in the thane- 
 dome of Cowie." Long before this, however, in 1281, Thomas, 
 son of the Thane of Kplly, is witness to a deed regarding the 
 division of the lands of Nigg. p 
 
 David II. granted John Gray five chalders of victual, and David 
 Fleming, an annual, out of the thanage of Meikle Moephie.' 1 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Castles : Eedcastle, and its siege by Gray of Duninald — Black Jack— Origin of the 
 present Castle of Glamis, and of the Paintings in the Chapel — Guthrie Castle 
 — Affleck — Inverquharity, and a Eoyal License to Fortify the Castle — Broughty 
 — Dimottar — Forter — Braikie — Newtyle— Balfour — Colliston — Ballantyne — 
 Crathes— Balbegno — Careston — Inglismaldie — Muchals, &c . 
 
 With perhaps the exception of the ruins of the ancient castle at 
 Kincardine, in the Mearns, there is no certain trace of any 
 stronghold which' existed in either county before the fifteenth 
 century, during which period, it is supposed, the square tower 
 of three or four vaulted storeys was introduced into Scotland. 
 
 Although a few of the castles present interesting architec- 
 tural peculiarities, and have been the scene of historical events, 
 our limits will not allow us to enlarge upon these particulars 
 here. This, however, is the less to be regretted, since notices 
 will be found of the more important of them in different parts 
 of the volume, with the exception of those of Eedcastle and 
 G-lamis. As little has been hitherto written regarding Eedcastle, 
 while on the other hand, much fable has been circulated as to the 
 age and origin of Glamis, a few facts respecting them may add 
 somewhat to the interest of the one, and place the history of the 
 other in its true, and not less agreeable light. 
 
 ■ Robertson's Index, 60, 65, 117 ; infra, 103 ; Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 164. 
 i Robertson's Index, 32. 
 
INTRODUCTION — EEDCASTLE. *13 
 
 The ruins of Redcastle, which are among the oldest in Angus, 
 occupy a rising ground on the west side of Lunan Bay, about a 
 mile east of the parish kirk of Inverkeillor. They consist of 
 little more than a roofless square tower, much dilapidated. The 
 lands of Inverkeillor and the manor of Eedcastle were given by 
 King William the Lion to his chamberlain, Walter of Berke- 
 ley, from whom, by a female, they were carried by marriage to 
 Ingleram of Baliol, ancestor of King John. A descendant 
 of Baliol married an Englishman of the name of Fishburn, whose 
 son possessed Redcastle in 1306. Subsequently it was given by 
 Robert the'* Bruce to Donald Campbell, on the forfeiture of 
 Henry Bercy and Ingleram of Umphraville. r On the resigna- 
 tion of Sir Andrew Campbell, in 1366-7, the barony was 
 acquired by Sir Robert Stewart of Innermeath, father of the first 
 Lord Lorn. The tower of the castle was probably built by one 
 of the Lords Innermeath — at least the family were in possession 
 of the lands from the last-named date, and occupied the house 
 down to about the close of the sixteenth century. 
 
 It was in the spring of 1579, during the widowhood and old 
 age of Lady Innermeath, that Andrew Cray, son of Patrick, 
 Lord Gray, proprietor of the adjoining estate of Duninald, along 
 with a number of his followers, attacked the house of Redcastle, 
 for the purpose of plundering and burning it, and killing the 
 inmates.. It was then occupied by Lady Innermeath, along with 
 a son and daughter, the latter of whom, wife of Lindsay of 
 Vayne, is recorded to have been pregnant at the time ; s and 
 
 * Crawford's Off. of State, 253 ; Robertson's Index, 18. 
 
 • I have to thank P. Arkley, Esq. of Duninald, for the following interesting 
 notices of the occupiers of Redcastle at the time of Gray's attack : — " The Lady of 
 Innermeath was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Betoun of Creich, and widow of 
 John Stewart, Lord Innermeath, to whom she was imarried about 1530. Before 
 then she had born a, daughter to James V. , This daughter was the well-known 
 Jean, Countess of Argyle, who was sitting with Queen Mary when the murderers 
 of Rizzio rushed in upon their victim ; and, in Dec. 1567, the General Assembly 
 subjected her to stringent discipline because she had acted as proxy, for Queen 
 Elizabeth at the baptism of James VI., which was performed according to the 
 Roman Catholic manner. — (Booh of the Universal Kirk, p. 90.) It is stated by 
 many writers, that the mother of the Countess of Argyle was Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Sir John Carmichael (afterwards wife of Sir John Somerville of Cambusnethan), who 
 was mother, by James V., of John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham. But this is 
 an error, as it is expressly stated in the Countess's legitimation, under the Great 
 Seal, 18th October 1580, which I have examined in the Register House, that 
 she was the . daughter of Elizabeth Betoun. Douglas (Peerage, i. 92, 139), with 
 his usual inaccuracy, in one place calls the Countess the daughter of Elizabeth 
 
14* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Gray, having succeeded in getting possession of the whole build- 
 ings, except the tower of the castle, in which the inmates took 
 refuge, he burned down the rest, and, so it is stated, caused Lady 
 Vayne, almost suffocated with smoke, to miscarry. 
 
 Notwithstanding that royal mandates were specially addressed 
 to Gray, ordering him to desist from his heartless, and, so far as 
 now known, unprovoked attack, he paid no heed to them, but 
 continued his "cruel invasion of said castle and persons" from 
 the 27th February till the 2nd March following, when matters 
 had assumed so serious an aspect that Hie provost and bailies of 
 Dundee were ordered by the King to join Erskine of Dun, in an 
 attempt to relieve the inmates. This appears to have had, for a 
 time at least, the desired effect, for on seeing the approach of 
 Erskine and his followers, it is stated that Gray and his accom- 
 plices abandoned the siege, and betook themselves to Gray's 
 " locum de Dunenald, alias Blak Jack," carrying great spoil 
 along with them. 
 
 This secession of hostilities, however, appears to have been 
 only temporary, and Gray, watching an opportunity for further 
 revenge, made a second attack on 3rd February 1581, during 
 the absence of the family. He was then accompanied by seventy 
 followers, and the house being in charge only of two men and 
 one woman (all of whom he confined in the stocks or prison for 
 twenty days), he had no difficulty in making himself master of 
 the place, including the tower. At this time he burned and 
 destroyed a great part of the building, both within and without 
 the fortifications, and after having kept possession for some 
 weeks, returned home with the plunder. 
 
 A messenger was forthwith sent to serve an indictment upon 
 Gray at his house of Duninald ; but the messenger quaintly de- 
 clares that although Gray spoke to him " our the wall of Dun- 
 enald and out of the windois thairof, he causit hade the zett and 
 durris fast and wald not latt me in, [so] I deliuerit ane coppie of 
 this sumondis to the said Androis spous, and that eftir I hade 
 
 Carraichael, and in another of Elizabeth Betoun. John Stewart, who was in Ked- 
 castle along with his mother, was the 2nd son of Lord Innermeath. A charter of the 
 lands of Latheris, in Aberdeenshire, was given to his father and himself in 1561. 
 Marjory Stewart, the daughter of Lady Innermeath, must have been the wife of one 
 of the Lindsays of Vayne." 
 
INTRODUCTION — GLAMIS CASTLE. *15 
 
 knokit nyne knokis at the zett of the said place."' Gray hav- 
 ing failed to answer to the charge preferred against him, his 
 lands and goods were confiscated to the Crown, and he himself 
 outlawed. 11 Still, he seems to have got quit hy some means of 
 the sentence of outlawry, for in 1586, he was one of the assize 
 on the trial of Archibald Douglas, parson of Glasgow, who was 
 accused of being concerned in the murder of Darnley. T 
 
 Nothing else of interest is recorded of Kedcastle. The house 
 is said to have been roofed, and in pretty good repair down to 
 about 1770 ; and the barony became the property of Ruthven of 
 Gardyne before the middle of the seventeenth century. It was 
 subsequently in the hands of the Earls of Northesk; and has 
 formed a portion of the Panmure estates since the time of the 
 last Earl. 
 
 The castle of Black Jack was in old times the residence of the 
 lairds of Duninald. It occupied the top of a perpendicular rock 
 which rises 200 or 300 feet above the level of the sea, near a 
 place called Boddin Point. The foundations are still visible 
 upon the rock, which is reached by a narrow neck of land, where 
 there are also traces of a foss or ditch. The Grays were in 
 possession of Duninald down to at least the year 1608. It was 
 afterwards in the hands of the Erskines of Dun, from whom it 
 passed to James Allardyce, in part payment of his wife's por- 
 tion/" More lately it belonged to the descendants of an old 
 burgess family of Montrose, of the name of Scott ; and is now the 
 property of Patrick Arkley, Esq., one of the sheriffs of Edin- 
 burgh, whose father built the present mansion house, which is 
 in the English baronial style, and was designed by the late 
 Mr Gillespie Graham. 
 
 Although there was a royal residence at Glamis from a re- 
 mote date, and record shews that the noble family of Lyon were 
 settled there about the middle of the fourteenth century, it would 
 not appear that the present castle was begun to be built until the 
 time of the first Earl of Kinghorn, who succeeded his father in 
 1578. This Earl, who also built Castle Lyon, now Castle Huntly, 
 
 1 In Spalding Club Miscell., iv. 60-68-9, Gray's name is given as James, not 
 Andrew. 
 
 " Acta Pari., iii. 206-10. * Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, i. 148. 
 
 " Inq. Spec. Forfar., No. 60 ; Spalding Club Miscell., iv. pref. lxxix. 
 
16* MEMORIALS OF ANQUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 in the Carse of Gowry, unfortunately, did not live to finish the 
 work ; and the justly-admired ceiling of the great hall was not 
 completed until 1620 — at least such is the date it bears ; and 
 the initials, in monogram, of John, second Earl of Kinghorn, 
 and his Countess, Margaret Erskine, third daughter of the 
 Earl of Marr, correspond with that period. The fine iron 
 railing was put round the tap of the centre tower in 1682, 
 and the paintings on the walls and ceiling of the chapel were 
 executed in 1688, by Jacob De Witt, the Dutchman who, 
 in 1684-6, painted the Kings in the*Picture Gallery of Holy- 
 rood Palace. It was agreed between the Earl of Kinghorn and 
 the artist, that, each of the fifteen large panels in the roof of 
 the chapel should contain " a full and distinct storie of Our 
 Blessed Saviour, conforme to the cutts in a bible here in the 
 house, or the service book." The lesser panels were to be 
 filled "with the angels as in the side, and such other things 
 as he (De Witt) shall invent, and be esteemed proper for the 
 work." The crucifixion was to form the altar piece, and "the 
 doore piece the ascenscione." In the panels around the chapel 
 our "Saviour was to be painted, and his twelve apostles, "in als 
 full stature as the panels will permitt," also "King Charles the 
 Martyr," and St Paul and St Stephen, all conform to <the cuts 
 in the books referred to. Each picture was to have the same 
 name painted above, and " at the foot a scroll containing the 
 same words as are exprest in the cutt." 
 
 The agreement between De Witt and the Earl came to be dis- 
 puted; and instead of the claim of 200 'inerks which the artist 
 made, the Earl writes, "I would give now, after full deliberation, 
 for the roofe of the chapel, £15 sterling.: For Our Saviour, the 
 12 Apostles, the King's father, the 2 Martyrs, St Paul, and 
 Stephen, the altar and door pieces, £20 sterling."* Such are 
 some of the interesting facts relating to the building and decora- 
 tion of this fine chateau, which the Chevalier de St George, who 
 spent a night there in January 1715, is said to have declared to 
 be the finest he had anywhere seen. 
 
 It need only be added that, since 1620, many alterations and 
 
 „ Papers at Glamis. — 'The scrolls and letterB were executed by 
 William 'Bennie, a painter in Daildee. 
 
INTRODUCTION — INVEEQUHAEITY. CASTLE. *17 
 
 additions have from time to time been made upon the castle, 
 the latest being the work of the present Earl of Strathmore. 
 Apart from the paintings in the chapel, other objects of interest 
 adorn the interior, such as historical portraits, and pieces of fine 
 tapestry ; and among the curiosities is an excellent specimen of 
 the dress of the domestic fool or jester, to the cap and other 
 parts of which the bells are yet attached. 
 
 To much the same age as Redcastle, probably belongs the 
 tower or older portion of Guthrie. Sir David Guthrie, who was 
 son to the laird of Kincaldrum, and Treasurer to James III., 
 bought the barony of Guthrie from the Earl of Crawford, about 
 the year 1465, and became founder of the family of that Ilk.? 
 
 The castles of Affleck, or Auchenleck, in the parish of Monikie/ 
 and of Inverquharity, on the banks of the Prosen, near Kirrie- 
 muir, are among the best and most entire in Angus. They 
 are fine ashler buildings, and at both the old iron gates or 
 yetts are preserved, which were so needful for the protection of 
 life and property in feudal times, and for the erection of which 
 special licenses were granted by the king. One of these docu- 
 ments is preserved in the archives of the family of Ogilvy of In- 
 verquharity, and being somewhat rare, is here given from the 
 original, kindly communicated, on a previous occasion, by Sir 
 John Ogilvy." The date of the deed, which was granted by 
 James II., corresponds to the year 1444 : — 
 
 Rex — A Licence be tie King to Al. Ogilvy of Inercarity to 
 fortifie his house and put ane Iron yet therein. 
 
 JAMES be the grace of God Kinge of Scottis. To all and sindry 
 oure liegies and subdits to qwhais knawlage thir oure letterz sail 
 cum gretinge. Wit yhe vs to haue gevin ande-grauntit full fredome 
 facultez and spe[cia]le licence to oure loued familiare sqwier Alex, of 
 Ogilby of Inuerquharady for to fortifie his house and to strenth it with 
 ane Irne yhet. Quharfor we straitly bid and comaunds that na man 
 take on hande to make him impediment stoppinge na distroublance in 
 the makiuge raisinge hynginge and vpsetting of the saide yhet in his 
 said house vndir all payne and charge at eftir may folow. Gevin 
 vndir oure signet at Streviline the xxv° day of September ande of oure 
 Regne the sevint yhere. [Signet.] 
 
 y Land of the Lindsays, 295. « Infra, 331. * Land of the Lindsays, 275. 
 
18* MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 The older portions of the castles of Airlyand Brechin, and 
 some others, possibly also belong to much the same period as 
 those previously noticed, as well as the interesting keep of 
 Broughty (which is now being restored), the tower of Dunottar, 
 in the Mearns, probably erected by Sir William Keith, and that 
 of Lauriston, by the Straitons, together with the ruins of Ma- 
 thers, in the parish of St Cyrus, and the tower of Benholm, with 
 its thick walls and broad massive battlements and turrets. 
 
 Of a subsequent date to the . castles just named, varying pro- 
 bably from about the middle of the sixteenth to the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century, are the Lindsay castles of EdzolL and 
 Finhaven, and Farnell, which was a residence of the Bishops of 
 Brechin, and Aldbar, which was built by Sir Thomas Lyon. 
 Powrie castle, near Dundee, was built by the Fothringhams, and 
 Forter, in Glenisla, by the Ogilvys. Forter and Airly were 
 both burned by the Earl of Argyle in 1640, and it was from the 
 former that Lady Ogilvy, in the absence o£ her lord, was expelled 
 by Argyle, an incident which gave rise to the fine old ballad re- 
 garding the burning of "the Bonny House o' Airly." Melgund 
 castle is believed to have been erected by Cardinal Beaton, and 
 Mains by the Grahams of Fintry. Hatton of Newtyle was erected 
 by the Oliphants, and Pitcur by the Hallyburtons. Braikie, built 
 by Fraser, a cadet of Lovat, bears the date of 1581, and Claypotts, 
 built by a descendant of Strachan of Carmyllie, has two dates, 
 the one 1569, the other 1588. The older portion of the castle 
 of Gardyne was built by the family of that name ; and the 
 castle of Kelly, near Arbroath — one of the best specimens of 
 its kind in Angus — was probably erected by an Ochterlony. 
 Balgavies, destroyed by order of James VI. in 1593, so that 
 some arches and foundations only remain, together with Vayne 
 and Invermark, were built by Lindsays. Possibly the old gate- 
 way of Dun — the only remaining portion of the castle where 
 Knox, Melville, and others, so often met with Erskine to consult 
 respecting the best means of promoting the Reformation — belongs 
 to the early part of the sixteenth century. Balfour castle, in 
 Kingoldrum, now in ruins, is said to have been built by Cardinal 
 Beaton. This, however, appears to be a popular error: Balfour, 
 which was held of the Abbots of Arbroath, was possessed by 
 
INTRODUCTION — BALBEaNO CASTLE. *19 
 
 Ogilvys from at least 1478, and the castle may have been the 
 work of Beaton's contemporary, Walter Ogilvy, third son of 
 Lord Airly, and brother of Marion Ogilvy, mother of Cardinal 
 Beaton's children. The castle of Colliston, near Arbroath (ap- 
 parently one of the latest examples of the age referred to), is 
 also said to have been erected by the Cardinal. This notion 
 seems to have originated in much the same way as that re- 
 garding Balfour castle, for the lands of Colliston were also held 
 under the superiority of the Abbey of Arbroath ; and, during 
 the Abbotship of the future Cardinal, they belonged to his re- 
 lative, Beaton of Creich. 
 
 Probably the castle of Ballantyne at Newtyle, was erected, or at 
 least enlarged, by Lord Ballantyne, or Bannatyne, there being a 
 contract extant " for building a house at Newtyle, betwixt Lord 
 Ballantyne and John Myle, and George Thomson," dated 1589. b 
 Lord Ballantyne was the elder brother of George Bannatyne, 
 the famous collector of the early poetry of Scotland, whose 
 name has been adopted by a well-known Scottish literary club. 
 Local story says that it was in the turret, on the north-east 
 corner of the house that Bannatyne compiled his MSS., and that 
 he came here to escape the plague which raged in Edinburgh 
 in the autumn of 1568. But had the contract in question been 
 executed (a supposition which the style of the building rather 
 tends to favor), the most interesting part of this story is neces- 
 sarily groundless. Lord Ballantyne's father was, a writer in 
 Edinburgh, and proprietor of the lands of Kirkton of Newtyle, 
 in which he was succeeded by his eldest son. This interesting 
 little castle is still inhabited. 
 
 But the finest examples of this period are the chateau of 
 Glamis, already noticed, and Crathes castle in the Mearns, 
 the latter of which was erected by one of the Burnetts, the firgt 
 of whom had charters of Crathes from Robert I. In the same 
 county, the older portions of Thornton bear date in the earlier 
 part of the sixteenth century ; and those of Hallgreen, Arbuth- 
 nott,'Tilwhilly, and Balbegno, of the latter part. Tilwhilly was 
 built by a Douglas ; and Balbegno, with arched hall, and medal- 
 lion portraits round the bartisan, was erected by a cadet of the 
 b Note from the late D. Sill, Esq., per B. Thomas, Esq. 
 
20* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MBARNS. 
 
 knightly house of Bonington, in Angus — the date, "ano 1569," 
 and the names of the erector, "i. wod," and his wife, "e. irvein," 
 being carved near one of the upper windows. This latter pro- 
 perty, situated in the regality of Kirriemuir, belonged of old to 
 the Earls of Angus. 
 
 Of the castles of the seventeenth century so many exist,, either 
 in whole or in part, bath in Angus and the Mearns, that it would 
 be superfluous to enumerate the whole of them — a few of the 
 more important need only be named. Careston, built by one of 
 the Lindsays ; Eithie, by an ancestor of the Earls of Northesk ; 
 Craig, by a cadet of the noble house of Southesk ; and Dudhope, 
 perhaps by Scrymgeour, Earl of Dundee. In the 'Mearns are 
 Inglismaldie, built by Carnegie of Northesk ; Fiddes, by one of 
 the Arbuthnotts ; Monboddo, by an Irvine ; Allardice, by a 
 member of that family ; and Muchals, by one of the Burnetts of 
 Leys. The first and last named of these are probably the most 
 interesting :. Careston contains some pieces of curious orna- 
 mental carvings in armorial bearings, and other insignia; and 
 the hall at Muchals has a fine stucco ceiling, containing portraits 
 of heroes famous in Old Testament and Koman history, with the 
 royal arms of Scotland over the chimney. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Battles of Dumrichen, a.d. 685 — Pitalpin, a.d. 730 — Aberlemno, a.d. 697, and 
 a.d. 1012— Barry, a.d. 1012— Rostinoth, a.d. 833-6 — Murder of Malcolm I.— 
 Kenneth III. — Duncan II. — Death of Donald Bane, and King Edgar- 
 Alexander I. surprised at Invergowrie— Battle of Stracathro, a.d. 1130 — 
 Sepulchral Remains found in these Districts — Notes regarding the Wars of the 
 Independence, and those of subsequent periods. 
 
 Apart from the invasion of the Bomans, which occurred about 
 the year 84, when, as conjectured by some writers, the celebrated 
 battle of the Grampians was fought in Angus,, and by others in 
 the Mearns (for neither of which notions,, however, is there any 
 conclusive evidence) j it is recorded that on 20th May, 685, 
 Egfrid, King of Northumbria, and Bridei, King of the Picts, 
 fought in the neighbourhood of Dunnichen, when the former was 
 
INTRODUCTION— BATTLES. *21 
 
 slain. This conflict is called Cath-Duin-Nechtan, or* the battle of 
 Nechtan's fort, because, it is said, Nechtan, who reigned King of 
 the Picts from 710 to 725, occupied a fort on the adjoining hill. c 
 A swamp, or lake, in the neighbourhood, called Nechtan's Mere, 
 was only finally drained by the late Mr George Dempster. 
 Traces of ancient sepulture have been got in the neighbourhood, 
 and in a field called the Cashel, or Castle Park, a well-known 
 sculptured stone monument was found, below which was a stone 
 cist containing bones. 
 
 It was ift the year 730, that Aengus defeated Elpin, King of 
 Scots, in the parish of Liff, near Dundee. According to Boyce, 
 the latter was beheaded upon the stone on which he raised his 
 standard. The stone is still called the " King's cross ;" and 
 " Pit Alpin," the name of the mound upon which it stands, may 
 imply that the King was buried there. Some years ago, a human 
 skeleton was found about 18 inches below the surface. Towards 
 the close of last century, eight or ten graves, constructed of rude 
 flag-stones, were got in the same locality ; and a fine " snake- 
 bracelet," now in the National Museum of the Society of Anti- 
 quaries of Scotland, was found there in 1732. d ' 
 
 According to the Annals of Ulster, a battle was fought at 
 Aberlemno, in the year 697, in which " Conquar MacEcha 
 M'Maldwin, and Aod, the tall king of Daleriaid," were slain ; e 
 and subsequently Malcolm II. defeated the Danes in the same 
 neighbourhood. On that occasion one portion of the Northmen 
 is said to have landed in the South Esk, at Montrose, another at 
 Lunan Bay, and a third at Barry. Apart from the slaughter at 
 Aberlemno, another is said to have taken place near Barry, in 
 
 c Johnstone's Extracts from Annals of Ulster, 59 ; Caledonia, i. 210. 
 
 d Caled., i. 211 ; Proceedings of So. of Antiquaries, vol. ii. 
 
 e Johnstone's Extracts, 59. Prohably, it may he found that the district was 
 the scene of the battles of Moncarno and Drumderg-Blathmig, both of which are said 
 to have been fought in the- year 728 or 729. In the former fell Ferach M'Monet, 
 and his son Fingan M'Drostan, and in the latter, Drust, or Drostau, King of the 
 Picts. The first happened at a place described as " Mon-na-curna, near Loch 
 Loga," or " Month-curno, near the lake of Leogdae (Leogdye)," and the latter at 
 
 "Drom-dearg-blathug," or " Druim-derg Blathmig." A place called Moncur, or 
 
 Monquhirr, is in the parish of Carmyllie, and near it Lochlair, and a farm called 
 Dustydrum, (? Drustydrnm). Near Arbroath is the ridge, or rising ground, of Kin- 
 blethmont, the soil of which is of a peculiarly red nature. In Caledonia (vol. i. p. 
 2 1 1) , it is conjectured that the battle of Moncur was fought near Inchture, and that of 
 Drumderg-Blathmig on the west side of the Isla : Others have suggested that O 'rn- 
 o'-Mount, and Glendye, in the Mearns, may be meant by the Irish Annalist. 
 
22* MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 ■which Camus, the reputed leader of the Northmen, was killed. 
 Tradition avers that the slaughter was so great here that a 
 neighbouring burn ran threeidays with human blood, as is com- 
 memorated in an old local rhyme : — 
 
 " Lochty, Lochty, is red, red, red, 
 For it Has run three days wi' bluid." 
 
 Be the cause what it may, it is certain that in no part of 
 Angus have there been found so many traces of ancient sepul- 
 ture, and tumuli, as in the districts of Carnoustie and Aberlemno ; 
 and below the cruciform sculptured ston* at Camuston, where the 
 leader of the Danes is said to have been buried, Commissary 
 Maule is reported to have found a large skeleton, with a part of 
 the skull cut away ; also a rude clay urn, and a thin bracelet of 
 gold. The two latter relics are preserved at Brechin Castle, and 
 are here represented. 
 
 It ought to be noticed (although there is no ground for such a 
 belief) that local tradition uniformly avers that the sculptured 
 stone monuments had their origin in the defeat of the Danes by 
 King Malcolm.' The peasantry also believe that the curious 
 symbols engraved upon the stones are a species of hieroglyphics, 
 and that those at Aberlemno were once read by a Danish soldier ! 
 This tale has long been common, and the interpretation of the 
 figures is preserved in these rude couplets : — 
 
 " Here lies tie King o' Denmark's son, 
 Wi' twenty thousand o' his horse and men ;" 
 
 ' For farther accounts of the sculptured stones of Angus, see Mr Chalmers' 
 work on the subject, and Mr Stuart's. In the latter will be found notices of sepul- 
 chral remains which have been discovered at some of them, as well, as at siDgle un- 
 embellished boulders, and circles of Btones. Notices of similar discoveries in Angus 
 and the Mearns will also he found in the " Proceedings of the Society of Anti- 
 quaries of Scotland." 
 
INTRODUCTION — BATTLES. *23 
 
 And— 
 
 " Here lies the King o' Denmark sleepin' ; 
 Naebody can pass by this without weepin'." 
 
 About a mile south-east of the church of Aberlemno, in a hillock 
 upon the estate of Pitkennedy, was lately found a rudely con- 
 structed stone coffin, containing a clay urn. Near the urn were 
 scattered a number of beads, composed of jet or cannel coal, 
 of which upwards of a hundred were recovered. With the ex- 
 ception of four pieces of a square shape, and two of a triangular 
 form, the rest were oblong, and pierced laterally, the square 
 pieces being each pierced with four holes, and in the same way ; 
 but the triangular bits were pierced obliquely. The square and 
 triangular pieces are variegated on one side by a dotted ornament 
 resembling a lace pattern, very much the same as those found in 
 a barrow near Assynt, in floss-shire, only that the spots of those, 
 unlike the ones found at Pitkennedy, are said to have been 
 studded with gold. The Pitkennedy necklace is probably the 
 most complete hitherto found in Scotland, and is in the posses-_ 
 sion of John Inglis Chalmers, Esquire of Aldbar, proprietor of 
 the lands upon which it was discovered. 
 
 But it is not with the transactions of the years 697 and 1012, 
 that the district of Aberlemno had alone to do, for Hector Boyce 
 tells us that, between 833 and 836, the Picts and Scots had a 
 great battle near Rostinoth, three or four miles to the westward. 
 In this encounter, in which both armies are said to have " fought 
 right fiercely so long as any day light was on the skie," Ferideth, 
 King of the Picts, is said to have been slain and his army de- 
 feated.e With this affair the two large unembellished obelisks at 
 the Blackgate of Pitscandly, are locally associated ; and on one 
 of them being blown over some years ago, a clay urn was found 
 containing burned ashes. 
 
 It is related by old writers that Malcolm I. fell at Fetteresso, 
 in the Mearns, in the year 953, in a contest with a band 
 of Morayshire men whom he met on their way south to revenge 
 the death of their Maormor, or chief, whom King Malcolm 
 is said to have killed. h Traces of ancient burial are also common 
 in the district of Fetteresso ; and Professor Stuart says that in 
 * Infra, 420. ' Caledonia, i. 390. 
 
24* MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 a gravel hillock near the new manse, fragments of a human 
 skeleton were found imbedded in a vegetable substance. Over 
 the skeleton was a covering of beautifully executed net-work, and 
 around it a number of small black balls, of the form of acorns. 
 Bemains of hair, of an auburn colour, were also got, and pieces 
 of an oval shaped, and elegantly carved box lay upon the breast. 1 
 
 Most historians relate, that it was near Fettercairn that Ken- 
 neth III. came by his death; others, that it was near Stracathro ; 
 but all agree in attributing the cause of it to Einella, wife of the 
 chief, or Maoraor, of the Mearns. k 
 
 Duncan II. is said to have been slain at Mondynes, in that 
 shire, by Maolpeder, the Maormor of the Mearns. A rude un- 
 embellished boulder, near Mondynes, called the Coort Stone, 
 about 7| feet high, is supposed by Professor Stuart to have been 
 the place of his burial. 1 It is much more certain, however, that 
 the name implies that the stone had been used as the site of the 
 barony courts of Mondynes, the lands of which were gifted by 
 "William the Lion to one of his Anglo-Norman followers. 
 
 Donald Bane — from whom King Duncan had wrested the 
 government — being a second time overthrown, was finally im- 
 prisoned by King Edgar in the castle of Eescobie, in Angus, 
 where he died, having previously, according to the barbarous 
 custom of the times, had his eyes put out by red hot irons." 1 
 Towards the south-west end of the Loch of Eescobie, there is a 
 long ridge or hillock, which, it is affirmed, was surrounded by 
 water in old times and joined to the land by a causeway. Here, 
 without, however, any apparent foundation, some have fixed the 
 site of the castle of Eescobie. On the summit of the adjoining 
 hill of Turin, there are traces of a building called " the castle," 
 but neither history nor tradition preserve any record of the 
 house or its occupiers. • 
 
 Some say that King Edgar, the nephew and torturer of 
 Donald Bane, died at Dundee ; and it is recorded that his suc- 
 cessor, Alexander L, was surprised in his castle of Invergowrie 
 in 1107, by a band of rebels from Morayshire and the Mearns. n 
 This castle is said to. have occupied a tongue of land, formed by 
 
 ' Essays, 103. k Infra, 84. l Caledonia, i. 423 ; Essays, 115. 
 m Caledonia, i. 424, " Wyntown's Cron., i. 282 ; 284. 
 
INTRODUCTION— BATTLES. *25 
 
 the junction of two burns, near the church of Liff, at a place 
 called Hurley Hawkin. The foundations of an old circular build- 
 ing were lately discovered here, among which were pieces of 
 human and animal bones, and rings of iron and bronze. 
 
 In the year 1130, King David I. defeated Angus, Earl of 
 Moray, in a battle at Stracathro, in which, it is said, the Earl and 
 nearly all his followers were killed. Quantities of stone cipts 
 have been found in this neighbourhood ; and when the Re or Rye 
 Hillock, near the church of Stracathro, was being reduced some 
 years ago, a carefully constructed grave was found about two 
 feet below the surface, in which were human remains. Accord- 
 ing to local story, the grave contained the figure of a fish made 
 of gold, from 4 to 5 inches in length. ' 
 
 Notices of the occasional residence in Angus and the Mearns 
 of the four immediate successors of David I., and their favor 
 for these districts, will be found in various parts of this volume, 
 as well as of the important transactions which occurred there 
 during the Wars of the Independence, such as the progress of 
 King Edward I. — the preparations at the castle of Kincardine 
 for King John Baliol's resignation of the crown — his imploring 
 mercy of King Edward in the churchyard of Stracathro, and his 
 final resignation of the kingdom at Brechin — also of the cap- 
 ture and recapture of the various garrisons and strongholds by 
 the Scots and their enemies, during the same period. 
 
 The only warlike transactions of note which occurred in the 
 district during subsequent centuries, were the defeat of Lord 
 Montfort, near Panmure, by the Earls of Fife and March, in 
 1336-7 ; and the battles of Arbroath and Brechin about a hundred 
 years later. p The siege of the castle of Glenbervy by Adam 
 Gordon of Auchendown in 1571, and the "bourd of Brechin," 
 where it is said Regent Lennox had " 32 suddarts hangit," were 
 perhaps the most serious local affrays of the time of Queen Mary ;i 
 while the burning and besieging of the town of Dundee — the first 
 by the Marquis of Montrose, and the latter by General Monk — 
 were the more remarkable incidents which occurred in the dis- 
 trict during the Civil Wars. r 
 
 Hailes' Annals, i. 76. 
 
 » Abercromby's Wara, ii. 70 ; Guthrie's Soot., ii. 395 ; infra, 127, 171. 
 
 « Lamonts' Diary, 227. ' Infra, 208-12. 
 
 (f) -o- 
 
26* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Introduction of Christianity— SS. Palladius, Drostan, and Boniface — The Culdees 
 — Religious Houses Founded— Origin of Parishes— Ancient and Modem Ec- 
 clesiastical Divisions — Examples of Ancient Church Architecture at Brechin, 
 Rostinoth, Arbroath, Dundee, Cowy, and Arbuthnott — Tomb of Hew le Blund 
 — Arbuthnott Family Mausoleum — Sepulchral Slabs at Dundee, Finhaven,&c. 
 
 Although it is said that Christianity was introduced into the 
 Mearns by St Palladius, who settled at Fordoun during the fifth 
 century, and that St Drostan and St Boniface planted churches 
 in different parts of Angus during the two succeeding centuries,* 
 little can be relied upon relating to the true ecclesiastical history 
 of the country till a much later date — not untilj at least, the ninth 
 century. 
 
 It was then that the Culdees were introduced into Scotland, 
 and among their houses appear to have been Abernethy in 
 Perthshire, and Brechin in Angus. They were a sort of canons, 
 and the principal officer of the convent bore the title of Abbot, 
 which appears to have been afterwards assumed by their descen- 
 dants as a surname.*' At least, such was the case with the Abbots 
 of Brechin, who became lay lords or proprietors of the abbacy, 
 which they had before held in trust for the church. 
 
 Brechin had doubtless been a place of ecclesiastical note in the 
 year 990, when King Kenneth is said to have given the town to 
 the Lord ; but apart from this, and the facts before adverted to, 
 little is known, as previously remarked,* of the true state of the 
 church here, or in any part of Scotland until the time of David I. 
 His liberality in building and in endowing ^religious houses is 
 well authenticated, and among these were the Cathedral of 
 Brechin— probably also the Priory of Kostinoth. His successor, 
 Malcolm the Maiden, founded the Abbey of Cupar, and King 
 William the Lion that of Arbroath. 
 
 It seems also to have been in King David's time that Scotland 
 
 was divided into parochial districts ; and, from about that period 
 
 down to the Reformation, there were eighty-one churches and 
 
 chapels in Angus and the Mearns. Of these, fifty-two belonged 
 
 " Butler's Lives of the Saints, ' Registers of Arbroath and Brechin. 
 
INTRODUCTION — ECCLESIASTICAL REMAINS. *27 
 
 to the diocese of St Andrews, twenty-three to that of Brechin, 
 four to that of Dunkeld, and two to that of Aberdeen." The 
 bishops of the different dioceses still adhere to this arrangement ; 
 while, under presbyterial rule, there are, besides quoad sacra, and 
 other recent ecclesiastical divisions, fifty-five separate parishes, 
 and four presbyteries in Angus — or, more properly, five presby- 
 teries, since only three of the fourteen parishes which constitute 
 the presbytery of Meigle belong to the county of Perth. In the 
 Mearns there are nineteen parishes and one presbytery, and the 
 six parishes situated on Deeside, belong to the presbyteries of 
 Aberdeen and Kincardine O'Neil. - 
 
 It was while the religious houses of the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries were being reared that the Anglo-Saxon and Anglo- 
 Norman families came to Scotland; of the lineage and possession 
 of the most of such as were in Angus and the Mearns, some ac- 
 count will be found in this volume, and whose liberality, com- 
 bined with that of the different sovereigns, tended so much to 
 increase the wealth and influence of the cburch. 
 
 It was also during the same period that the First Pointed, or 
 Early English style of architecture prevailed, of which some good 
 specimens are to be seen about the Cathedral and the Hospital, 
 or Maisondieu of Brechin, the Priory of Rostinoth, and the Abbey 
 of Arbroath. With the exception of a portion of the west front 
 of that Abbey, which shews traces of the Romanesque or the 
 Norman, or that style which is supposed to have preceded the 
 First Pointed, no other example of the kind is known in the 
 district; but the Bound Tower of Brechin, which belongs to a 
 period anterior to the Norman style of building — probably to the 
 eleventh century — is yet in fine preservation, and a good example 
 of the high state of art in early times. 
 
 No such remains of ancient architecture as those in Angus are 
 to be met with in the Mearns ; indeed, with the exception of the 
 mere mention of a Priory, which is recorded to have stood 
 at Ecclesgreig, or St Cyrus, and to have been ancient in the 
 days of King William the Lion, T there is no trace, even in 
 history, of any convent in the Mearns, if we except that of the 
 
 ' Registers of Arbroath and Brechin ; Archseologia, xvii. 
 T Reg. Prior. S. Ajidree, 27, 
 
28* MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Carmelite Friars at Inverbervy, regarding the time of the 
 foundation of which, and the style of its architecture, nothing is 
 known. w 
 
 In specimens of the architecture of a later period, both Angus 
 and the Mearns are comparatively meagre. Still, the bell- 
 towers of Dundee and Brechin contain some interesting ex- 
 amples, more particularly the first-named tower, of the Decorated, 
 or Second Pointed style. The old churches of Auchterhouse in 
 Angus, and of Arbuthnott in the Mearns, both of which have 
 been unfortunately long since demolished, had, so far as can be 
 gleaned from stray window mullions and other pieces of hewn 
 work, possessed more than ordinary interest for the student of 
 ancient church architecture. To these ought to be added the 
 picturesquely situated ruins of the chapel of St Mary of Cowy, 
 in the Mearns. 
 
 The belfry of the church of Arbuthnott (from an ill executed 
 drawing of which a late eminent English antiquary was so far 
 misled as to suggest a resemblance betwixt it and the old round 
 towers)* is still a curious, if not unique object, while the ad- 
 joining burial aisle of the family is the only structure in the dis- 
 trict entitled to the name of a mausoleum. It is in the Gothic 
 style of architecture, about 50 feet in height, and was built by 
 Alexander Arbuthnott, son of the laird of Pitcarles, afterwards 
 Principal of King's College, Aberdeen. The upper storey was 
 set apart as a library, which the Principal bequeathed at his 
 death to the clergy of the Mearns ; but the books have long since 
 disappeared, and the ancient bier of the parish occupies their 
 place. In the lower part is the family burial place, and a recum- 
 bent effigy, shewn as that of Sir Hugh le Blund, the reputed 
 founder of the Arbuthnotts. Fable says that he received large 
 additions to his estates in consequence of having killed some wild 
 animal that frequented the Den of Pitcarles, greatly to the danger 
 of the neighbourhood ; and a cannon ball, preserved in a niche of 
 the wall of the aisle, is shown as the stone with which Sir Hugh 
 killed the animal ! 
 
 Sir Hugh's tom'b is ornamented with certain armorial bearings, 
 which some heraldic writers have strangely interpreted, for it 
 * Infra, 441. * Pinkerton's Literary Cdrrespondence, ii. 420. 
 
INTRODUCTION — SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. *29 
 
 is certain that, if the Bhield ever existed, which is said to have 
 been charged with three chevrons (upon which has been founded 
 the idea that Sir Hugh's wife was of the old family of De More- 
 ville, constable of Scotland), it is not now to be seen, there being 
 only the Arbuthnott, the Durham, and the Lindsay coats. The 
 effigy, of which there are others of the same type at Maryculter 
 and Cupar-Angus, seems to be of an age with the mausoleum ; 
 and it is much more probable that the coffin-slab, which lies be- 
 side that effigy, embellished with a cross, two shields, and a 
 sword, had been the tombstone of le Blund. Its style, at least, 
 corresponds more with that of the funereal monuments of the 
 thirteenth century, during which he flourished. 
 
 Of this class of monuments, though by no means common, 
 there are several good examples in Scotland, and probably the 
 best are at Dundee. Their chief feature is that of a cross, some- 
 times of exquisite design, and generally carved the whole leDgth 
 of the stone. Along with the cross are the more ordinary repre- 
 sentations of swords and hunting horns, compasses and squares — 
 doubtless indicating the favourite pursuits and occupations of 
 the persons over whom they were reared. One of the slabs at 
 Dundee bears the figure of a ship, a ship-carpenter's hatchet, 
 and other interesting objects. Two of them are inscribed — one 
 contains a shield, charged with the Hay arms, and these words 
 are carved perpendicularly on the stone : — 
 
 + ?&ic . iacet . Joannes . fiU&ss . $&ilfcppi . rissgotfe. 
 
 The other, adorned with a pair of scissors and a bodkin, contains 
 this pious legend — 
 
 + ©rate : pro : anim : JWattto : filfaM : ©&oma[>] : 
 
 The specimen (No. 1) here figured, of which the original is 
 
 (No. 1.) 
 only about three feet long, is from a stone in the old kirkyard of 
 Finhaven. This church, of which no trace remains, is situated 
 
30* 
 
 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 near the junction of the fivers Lemno and South Esk. It appears 
 to have been an early foundation, probably dedicated to the Nine 
 
 " J — y\ Maidens. It was re 
 
 built in 1380,, and 
 granted by Sir Alex* 
 ander Lindsay of 
 Glenesk, to the ca- 
 thedral of Brechin, 
 of which it was a 
 prebend. 
 
 Of the sepulchral 
 monuments of a suc- 
 ceeding age r or those 
 of the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth centuries, 
 tha,t here represent- 
 ed (No. 2), is also 
 from the kirkyard of 
 Finhaven. This 
 slab, which so clearly 
 indicates the status 
 and character of the 
 person it commemo- 
 rates, is rudely in- 
 cised, and carved in 
 much the same style 
 as one at Cupar- 
 Angus, in memory 
 of a monk of that 
 place, dated 1400. 
 
 (No. 2.) 
 
 On the margin, left blank in the woodcut, in old English charac- 
 ters, commencing above the head of the figure, is the following 
 inscription : — 
 -f ?ljic . iacet . fionobrabilig . bit . ting . rer&crO' .fat ... . bicaribs . Be 
 
 fintjtbgn . qbt ■ olnit ■ «° ■ tie 
 The stone has been much broken, and unfortunately that part 
 containing the last letters of the surname is defaced and partly 
 Wanting, and what may be deemed singular, neither the month 
 
INTRODUCTION — SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 
 
 •31 
 
 or year appears to have been chiselled to record his decease. 
 The arms on the shield at the feet of the effigy appear to be a rude 
 representation of those of the Bruce family, a conjecture based on 
 an old monument belonging to William Bruce of Earlshall, at 
 Leuchars, in Fifeshire, which has the same arms, with a fleur-de- 
 lis in chief for a difference. Bruce was possibly the name of the 
 vicar to whom this tomb was erected. 
 
 Before closing these brief introductory remarks, it may be added 
 that, differing in style both from the ancient sculptured stones 
 
 of the Aberlemno and 
 Meigle type, and from 
 those just noticed, a 
 peculiarly interesting 
 example of an early 
 Christian monument is 
 preserved at the Manse 
 of Arbirlot, in Angus.? 
 This stone, which is 
 here represented, was 
 discovered in the foun- 
 dations of the old parish 
 kirk of Arbirlot, some 
 twenty -five years ago. 
 It is about 5| feet high r 
 by about 2| feet broad, 
 bears the representa- 
 tion of a cross (probably 
 of the pattee" sort) near 
 the top and bottom of 
 the stone, of two open books, and a small circle. One of the 
 volumes has a clasp, and probably the line which connects the 
 upper book with the cross below, is intended to represent a rope 
 or chain, thereby shewing that the custom of thus preserving the 
 sacred writings and works of the Fathers had been in use at 
 the time this stone was erected, but that period is, of course, 
 unknown. 
 
 Probably this is the monument of some old ecclesiastic of 
 7 Proceed, of So. of Antiquaries of Scot., ii. 449, 
 
32* MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Arbrilot, or Abereloth, as the name was anciently written, the 
 first recorded of whom is William of Eglisham, who flourished in 
 the time of Robert the Bruce. The church was in the diocese 
 of St Andrews, and dedicated to St Ninian. 
 
 During the thirteenth century, a person called " Maurice 
 Abbe de Abireloth," witnessed grants to the monastery of Ar- 
 broath, both by King William the Lion, and the Earl of Angus; 
 and in consequence of the surname Abhi being assumed by 
 ancient owners of properties in tbis apd other parts of the country, 
 some antiquarians are of opinion, as before shewn, that those who 
 bore this name were either hereditary lay Abbots, or descended 
 from the principal ruler of some Culdee establishment, such as 
 were the Abbes of Edale, or Edzell, and of Brechin. 
 
THE GENERM SOCIETY OF 
 KlBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 THE HISTOEY AND TRADITIONS OF THE 
 
 ©otons anli (ffasstUs 
 
 VISITED BY KING EDWARD THE FIEST, 
 A.D. 1296. 
 
PAET SECOND. 
 
 CASTLES AND TOWNS VISITED BY EDWARD L, A.D. 1296. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. «^95S9 
 
 &fje ©astUsf ana Coton of jpotfar. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Record of Two Castles — Queen Margaret's Inch — Parliaments — William I. — Alex- 
 ander II. and III. — GardenerB of Forfar and Menmnir — Expenses of the Royal 
 Household — Castle Surrendered to Edward I. — Edward's Visit — Castle Cap- 
 tured and Destroyed by Brace — Ancient Armour, Bronze Celts, &c. — The 
 Constable's House — Tenures of Old Farms — King's Falconer, &c. 
 
 The history both of the Castle and of the Town of Forfar is lost 
 in the mists of antiquity. Hector Boyce says that Forfar had a 
 castle at the time of the Roman invasion under Agricola — an 
 assertion, it need not he remarked, which is altogether apocry- 
 phal ; while, on the other hand, Tradition, together with the 
 names of certain adjacent places, have hitherto been considered 
 as the only ground for the idea of a castle having existed there 
 during the reign of Malcolm Canmore. 1 But this latter point 
 may now be considered pretty well established, since, within a 
 hundred and fifty years after the death of that King, record 
 shews that Eobert de Quincy made over to Eoger de Argenten 
 what he terms " my place of the old castle of Forfar, which our 
 lord King William gave to me in lieu of a toft, to be held of 
 me and my heirs by him and his heirs, well and peacefully, freely 
 and quietly." b 
 
 This, the only charter evidence of an old castle at Forfar in 
 the time of William the Lion, is of much value, not only be- 
 cause it proves that two castles were there at one and the same 
 
 * i.e. King's Muir, Palace Dykes, Queen's Well, Queen's Manor, Court Road, 
 King's Bum, King's Seat, Wolf Law, &c. i Reg. Prioratus S. Andree, 354. 
 
4 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 time ; but because it shews that, although the authority of 
 Boyce is often questionable, he is sometimes more accurate than 
 is supposed; for, in regard to this point he says, Forfar was 
 " strengthened with two roiall castles, as (he continues), the ruins 
 doo yet declare."" 
 
 Probably the old castle given over by De Quincy was that of 
 King Malcolm. Perhaps it stood upon an island on the north 
 side of the Loch, called Queen Margarets Inch, for foundations 
 of an extensive building are still visible there, among which, till 
 of late, was " an oven almost quite entire." 3 This was an arti- 
 ficial island, composed, as is yet apparent, of large piles of oak 
 and loose stones, with layers of earth above. Although now 
 accessible from the land, it is said to have been reached of old by 
 a draw-bridge ; and it may be inferred, with much plausibility — 
 particularly since it is believed that fortifications of this sort were 
 introduced into Scotland soon after the Norman Conquest — that 
 the reputed castle of King Malcolm, who flourished subsequently 
 to that time, and whose Queen was born and educated in Eng- 
 land, had stood upon the Inch, while the more recent fort occu- 
 pied the Castlehill. That hill is a conical mound on the north- 
 east of the town, upon which also were the remains of a castle. 
 The mound is about fifty feet in height, had at one time been 
 moated, and upon it was placed, some years ago, a picturesque 
 tower of modern masonry. 
 
 Assuming, therefore, that the old castle of Forfar stood upon 
 Queen Margaret's Inch, it had been there, according to Boyce 
 and others, that King Malcolm held his first parliament, insti- 
 tuted titles of distinction, restored the children of those that 
 Macbeth had forfeited, and abolished the marcheta mulierum law 
 of the fabulous Evenus III., which apparently was nothing else 
 than a mere money payment on the marriage of a vassal. 
 There too, with still more probability, were enacted by Queen 
 Margaret many of those holy deeds for which her life was so re- 
 markable, and whose history tradition has linked so closely with 
 the town and neighbourhood of Forfar. e 
 
 It is not, however, until late in the reign of William the Lion, 
 
 e Hollinshed's Chron., i. 11. " Brawn's Eoyal Palaces of Soot., 266. 
 
 * Hailes' Annals, Appendix, No. I., and a.d. 1093. Butler's Saints, June 10. 
 
FOEFAE — THE CASTLE A EOYAL EESIDENCE. 5 
 
 that there is any record of a Court having been held at Forfar 
 — indeed, not until between 1202-7, about which time King 
 William was present and held an Assembly there. It is also 
 well authenticated that Forfar was a favourite residence of the 
 two last Alexanders, and that, in 1225, the first of these monarch3 
 held a parliament there in person. Another Assembly took place 
 on the 14th of January 1227, but from that the King was absent.' 
 Several charters of the same prince are dated from Forfar to- 
 wards the close of his reign.s 
 
 But it was during the time of the last Alexander, while the 
 commerce of the kingdom, its agriculture, and even its horticul- 
 ture, were in a state of considerable advancement, that Forfar 
 was most patronised by royalty ; and, but for a passing notice 
 relative to the King's gardeners at Forfar and Menmuir, the 
 interesting fact of the art of horticulture having been known and 
 cultivated in Scotland in those days, would have been little else 
 than matter of conjecture. The gardeners of Forfar and Men- 
 muir are the only gardeners mentioned at the period ; and it is 
 probable that both places were resorted to by Royalty in sum- 
 mer, while fruits and flowers were in season. The yearly wage 
 of the gardener of Forfar was five marks, while the gardener of 
 Menmuir had only one mark h — a fact which perhaps indicates 
 the smallness of the labours of the gardener at Menmuir com- 
 pared with those of him of Forfar. 
 
 It is in 1263-4 that those interesting notices occur, when 
 Alexander III. was but fourteen years of age, 1 and the accounts 
 of the two Montealts, ancient lords of Feme, and sheriffs of the 
 county, furnish some interesting particulars regarding the items 
 of rent received from the royal manors or demesnes of Forfar and 
 Glamis. During the year 1264, the return is 24 cows from 
 Forfar, and 13^ from Glamis, exclusive of an arrear of 21, mak- 
 ing a total of 58 \ cows. 48 of these were expended in the King's 
 service, and Montealt acknowledged himself 'debtor for 10£ cows. 
 Out of 75 hogs received from the two manors, 25 were spent in 
 the King's service. 
 
 These interesting accounts also abound with items of cheese, 
 
 ' Acta Pari., i. 58, 59. * Illust. of Aberd. and Banff, ii. 109. 
 
 * Chamb. Bollo, i. *13. » Ibid., *12, *13. 
 
6 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 butter, hens, and malt, which were in the same year received from 
 the demesnes of Forfar and Glamis. It appears that 4 chalders 
 and 10 bolls of barley meal were used in feeding seven whelps 
 and their dam for purposes of the chase. William of Hamyll, 
 hunting at Forfar with the King's hawks, had, for the space of 
 29 weeks and two days, in the year 1263, 8J chalders, with 
 three parts of a boll of grain, together with £8 12s. 6d. in money. 
 During the same time, the King's horses hunting at Forfar had 
 14 chalders and 6 bolls of grain, and the grooms, besides being 
 found in forage, had £4 7s. in wages. Still further, the carriage 
 ef 16 pipes of wine from Dundee to the Castle of Forfar, a dis- 
 tance of twelve miles, cost £4 8s., and at Easter, 30 sheep were 
 brought from Barry, valued at 25s., and 40 from the Grange of 
 Strathylif, now Glenisla, computed at 33s. 4d. k 
 
 Such are a few of the glimpses which the industry and intel- 
 ligence of learned antiquaries have given of the old value of 
 eertain commodities, and the economy and mode of living adopted 
 by our ancient sovereigns. Unfortunately, however, from the 
 above date until the year 1291, when King Edward demanded 
 and was refused seisin of the castle of Forfar, nothing is recorded 
 of its history. We have already seen it was then held for the 
 Estates of the kingdom by Umphraville, Earl of Angus, and 
 that, together with the castle of Dundee, it was surrendered by 
 him into the hands of the English only on receiving a formal 
 letter of indemnity, guaranteeing him from all blame. 
 
 Soon after this, on Tuesday, the 3d of July 1296, King 
 Edward and his suite visited Forfar, and took up their abode in 
 the castle, where they resided until Friday the 6th. At that 
 time Forfar was, as now, the chief or county town, and, as 
 already noticed, the King of England, accompanied by Anthony 
 Beck, the celebrated Bishop of Durham, and others, came thither 
 from the secluded stronghold of Inverqueich, in Perthshire, a 
 distance of about twelve miles. During King Edward's stay at 
 Forfar, two churchmen and four barons, from different and dis- 
 tant parts of the kingdom, went there and owned his superiority 
 over Scotland. 1 
 
 k Chamberlain Bolls, i. *11-15. 
 1 Bagman Bolls, 77:80; Prynne, 650 ; Palgrave, 162-5. 
 
FORFAK — THE CASTLE. 7 
 
 The castle had probably been then entire ; but in the follow- 
 ing year, while it was held by Brian Fitzadam, a retainer of Ed- 
 ward, it is said (upon what authority is not apparent), that it 
 was captured by Sir William Wallace. If so, it had soon again 
 fallen into the hands of the English, who long afterwards kept 
 possession of it,- for towards the close of the year 1308, King 
 Edward granted a mandate to John of Weston, " constable of 
 our castle of Forfare," to supply it with the necessary provisions 
 and fortifications ; m but soon after this notice it yielded to the 
 conquering arms of Bruce. 
 
 The merit of its capture on that occasion, is said to rest with 
 Philip, forester of the forest of Platane or Plater, near Finhaven, 
 and the manner in which he accomplished the deed is thus 
 quaintly described by Barbour : — 
 
 " The castell of Forfar was then 
 Stuffit all with Inglismen , 
 But Philip the forestar of Platane 
 Has of his frendis with him tane, 
 And with ledderis all prevely 
 Till the castell he can him hy, 
 And clam out our the wall of stane, 
 And sagat has the castell tane 
 Throu fait of wach with litill pane, 
 And syn all that he fand has slane : 
 Syn yhald the castell to the King 
 That mad him richt gude rewarding, 
 And syn gert brek doun the wall, 
 And fordid the castell all."" 
 
 The castle thus destroyed, — 
 
 " And all the towris tumlit war 
 Down till the erd" — 
 
 was never rebuilt, and when the court visited the neighbour- 
 hood afterwards, it resided either at Glamis castle, or at the 
 Priory of Rostinoth, from both of which places charters were 
 granted in presence of royalty. But during the visit of king 
 James in 1617, while enjoying the sports of the chace in Mon- 
 treuthmont muir, he lived at Kinnaird castle with Lord Carnegie. 
 Tradition affirms that the murderers of Malcolm II. while 
 flying from Glamis, the reputed scene of the regicide, were 
 
 ■ Eotul. Scot., i. 61. ° Barbour's Bros, 203. 
 
 ° Beg. Mag. Sig., p. 116 ; Beg. Bp. Brechin., i. 29. 
 
8 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 drowned in the Loch of Forfar, and pieces of chain and plate ar- 
 mour, less or more entire, together with several other warlike 
 remains, including swords, battle-axes, and bronze celts, as also a 
 bronze cabinet ornament, have at various times been found while 
 excavating in and about the drained parts of the Loch, and near 
 the Castlehill. The celts and cabinet ornament -are preserved in 
 the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland;! 1 and 
 the armour, some of which is at Glamis castle, is said to have 
 been that of the regicides, but the story of their fate being alto- 
 gether apocryphal, and given only by Boyce, it may be assumed 
 with greater probability that the armour had rather belonged to 
 soldiers who fell at the capture of the castle of Forfar in 1308. 
 
 Of the size or appearance either of the older castle mentioned 
 in De Quincy's charter, or of the more modern one which Bruce 
 destroyed, it were idle to conjecture. It is true that the armorial 
 bearings of the town, and also the 
 ornament which formed the top of 
 the cross of the burgh, erected in 
 1684 (here engraved), are said to be 
 representations of one or other of 
 these strongholds. Probably the ruins 
 of the two castles to which Boyce 
 alludes had not long survived his 
 time ; for within half a century after 
 the publication of his History, an 
 anonymous writer is altogether silent on the matter of the Castle> 
 and only condescends upon the Constable's house:— "In Foir- 
 far," he says, " I saw tua durs chekis, with ane myd trie be- 
 tuene the durris maid verray clenely and verray substantious, 
 quhairin the constabill of Foirfair Castell duelt in the tyme of 
 King Malcolme Kanmore : thay ar of blak aik, and appeirandlie 
 as thai war not maid v. zeir of eild."* 
 
 Perhaps there, is reason to conclude, by the time the last- 
 quoted writer visited Forfar, both castles were heaps of ruins, 
 otherwise he would have noticed them. It is certain that in 
 1674, which is the next mention I have seen of the castle, it is 
 declared to have been "now long time ruinous." About ten 
 » Proceed, of So. of Antiq., ii. 64. ? (1569) Extracts e Cron. Scocie, 250. 
 
FORFAR — CHAPEL ON THE ISLAND — ROYAL FARMS. 9 
 
 years later, Mr Ochterlony says, the ruins of Canmore's castle 
 " are yet to be seen;" while another writer, who visited the town 
 about five years afterwards, observes that " Forfar had once the 
 King's Palace, though now we scarce see the ruins of it." r 
 
 But it ought to have been before mentioned, that whether the 
 island in the Loch of Forfar was wholly, or only partly artificial, 
 or whether it was the scene of some of Queen Margaret's good 
 deeds, or the site of King Malcolm's castle, it is certain that a 
 religious house was established upon it by Alexander II. in 
 1234, and that, besides money and other privileges, he gave the 
 two officiating monks pasture for six cows and a horse on his 
 lands of Tyrbeg." 
 
 With the exception of the traces of the building on the Island 
 before referred to, nothing remains there or on the Castlehill to 
 shew that either had been occupied by strongholds, while the 
 constable's residence is now unknown. The hereditary con- 
 stableship of the king's house itself, which ultimately merged into 
 that of the burgh — long held by the noble family of Gray, and 
 more recently by that of Strathmore — was abrogated in 1748, 
 on the abolition of heritable jurisdictions.' 
 
 Still, it is interesting to find that record has preserved some 
 of the curious tenures by which certain of the royal farms were 
 held in old times, the same, doubtless, as were in use when the 
 palace was occupied by King William the Lion and the two 
 Alexanders. In the year 1372 it appears that the middle 
 lands of Kerringtonfields, now Ferridanfields, were held " pro 
 seruiciis debitis et consuetis manerio nostro de Forfar ;" u while 
 Tyrbeg, or Torbeg (the place of "little hillocks"), and Balnash- 
 annar ("the high hill of the town"), were held upon the reddendo 
 of furnishing the royal household with three hundred cartloads 
 of peats from the muirs of these lands, when the Court should 
 have residence at Forfar — a holding which was subsequently 
 
 ' Pwper in Archives of Bwgh; Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 321 ; Morer's Acot. of 
 Scot., 104. Monipennie (1612) gives this random description— " The towne of For- 
 farre, with an old castle, with a loch and an isle therein, with a tower." — Miscell. 
 Scot., i. 163. " Brev. Antiq. Beg. de Owgro in Anegus. 
 
 * It may be noticed that Walter, Lord Aston, was created Baron Forfar, by 
 Charles I. in 1627 ; and Archibald Douglas, second Earl of Ormond, was created 
 Earl of Forfar, by Charles II. in 1661. The first of these titles became extinct in 
 1845; the latter in 1715. u Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 89. 
 
 C* 
 
10 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 changed (whether owing to a scarcity of peats, or other cause, is 
 not stated), to the furnishing of a sufficient quantity of fuel in 
 general. 7 Tradition also avers that the neighbouring lands of 
 Heatherstacks (a name of which I have found no earlier trace 
 than towards the close of the fifteenth century) , w were held under 
 a similar tenure in regard to the furnishing and winnowing of 
 heather for the use of the royal kitchen, an idea, in the absence 
 of charter evidence, which the name may be held to corroborate. 
 
 As an instance of the manner in which fact and fiction are 
 sometimes comingled, it may be mentioned that among the officers 
 which belonged to the household of King Malcolm at Forfar, 
 tradition speaks of & falconer who was buried at Kirriemuir, upon 
 Whose tombstone, it is said, were the figure of a plover, and an 
 inscription to the effect that the stone marked the grave of a 
 fowler to that king, who dwelt at Pluckerston. It is further 
 stated, that Pluckerston, which is in the neighbourhood, had its 
 name because the feathers were there plucked off the birds which 
 were killed fey the royal sportsmen. So much for tradition : It 
 appears that in old writings the name is written Loearstoun, or 
 Lockartstoun ; x and, although the gravestone referred to is said 
 to have disappeared, probably the curiously carved figures upon 
 the old sculptured stones in the churchyard (which, but lately, 
 were brought under notice), had given rise to the idea of the 
 plover, as one of them bears allegorical or other representations 
 of figures with birds heads/ 
 
 It is quite certain that falconers were attached to the house- 
 holds of the Kings who resided at Forfar, apart from the menials 
 that kept the hawks. In the year 1327, King Robert I. granted 
 and confirmed to Geoffrey of Foullertonne and Agnes his wife, 
 the lands of Foullertoune in Forfarshire, with the office of King's 
 falconer within the shire of Forfar, and lenteittaimmtent in the 
 King's house at Forfar (when the -King sojourned there.) for the 
 Falconer himself, a servant, a boy, and two horses. 2 
 
 T Chamberlain Bolls, i. 343 ; B$g. Mag. Sig., p. 116. " Acta Dom. Con,, 332. 
 1 Acta Pari., ii. 379-82. * Sculp. Stones of ^Scot., plate xliii. 
 
 * Radington's Collection of Charters, MS. Adv. IAh. Mdinb. 
 
FORFAR— ECCLESIASTICAL NOTICES. 11 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Ecclesiastical notices of Rostinoth-Forfar — Change of Glebe lands — Inscriptions on 
 the Church bells— Funereal monuments — Episcopacy — Declaration against the 
 Solemn League and Covenant — Dr John JamieBon. 
 
 Notwithstanding that Forfar had a royal palace, and was of 
 considerable antiquity as a town, it was of late erection as a se- 
 parate parochial district, being at first a portion of the old parish 
 of Eostinoth, and as such called Rostinoth-Forfar? In the an- 
 cient taxatio the church of Rostinoth and the chapel of Forfar 
 are rated together at the small sum of 24 merks, and both were 
 granted by David, bishop of St Andrews, during the reign of 
 Alexander II., to the Abbot and Canons of Jedburgh, Rostinoth 
 being the mother church, and the chapel of Forfar, which was 
 dedicated to St James the Great, dependent thereon. b Both 
 were in the diocese of St Andrews ; and, so far as ascertained, 
 the names of John andDyonisius, who were deacons, and Simon, 
 who was clerk, are the only traces that remain of the old ecclesi- 
 astics. 
 
 In 1567, the churches of Forfar, Rostinoth, and Aberlemno, 
 were served by one and the same minister, who had a salary 
 of £200 Scots, and in 1570, the reader of Forfar had the sum of 
 £20. But, from that time, down to 1643, when an alteration took 
 place in the situation of the glebe, there is no record of the clergy 
 of the town, with the single exception of Mr James Elliot, who 
 entered upon the office of the ministry in 1593, and as minister 
 of Forfar sat in the general assembly at Glasgow in 1610. d 
 
 Until the year 1643, the glebe of Rostinoth-Forfar was situated 
 within the parish of Rostinoth ; and being fully a mile distant 
 from the kirk of Forfar-^fhe original parish church of Rostinoth 
 having been previously suppressed— Mr Thomas Pierson, the 
 clergyman at the period, succeeded in getting it removed nearer 
 to the town, and, in lieu of the " gleib allottit to him furth of the 
 landsofRestennett,belongingto JamesFletcher," hebad "All and 
 
 * The etymology of the name is doubtful — Feur-fuw, means " cold pasture," 
 — harr-fuar, " a cold point, a height." [? Tor-fuar, " the cold hillocks."] 
 
 b See notice of Rostimoth, below, part vi. 
 
 c Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 31, 115, 93, 263 ; Reg. Prioratus S. Andree, 346 ; Reg. 
 Ep. Brechin., 7. d Booke of the Kirk, 804, 1086. 
 
12 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 heall that croft of arrabill land callit the Bread croft lyand within 
 the territorie of the said burgh of Forfar, betuix the lands of 
 William Scott at ye wast, The lands of Jhon Morgoun on the 
 east, The Ferritoun fields on the south, and the Kings gait ledand 
 to Dundie at the north pairts, Extending to four ackers of arrabill 
 land or thairby, To be holden in frie burgage and heretage for ye 
 yeirlie payment of the Kings meall and wthers common anuells 
 and debbit furth yrof of befoir, by the said Mr. Thomas Pierson, 
 and his successors, ministers [of Forfar]* serueing the kirk and 
 cuire y r of, as a constant gleib to him and them in all time com- 
 ing." 6 
 
 The kirk of Rostinoth had been suppressed sometime between 
 1576 and the date of the above deed, and the lands within the 
 burgh of Forfar, " great and small," belonged to the town from 
 time immemorial. They were confirmed to it by the charter of 
 Charles II., together with those of the greater part of the parish 
 of Forfar-Rostinoth, and also the patronage of the kirk of For- 
 far, which had been previously disponed to the town by Sir 
 George Fletcher, to whom, and his brother James, the patronage 
 of the same belonged/ 
 
 It ought to be observed that Forfar is only a single ecclesias- 
 tical charge, but in 1836, the western portion was created into a 
 quoad sacra parish, called St James'. Both churches are plain 
 buildings, and the old kirk, erected in 1791, is conspicuously situ- 
 ated upon a rising ground on the south side of the town; The 
 interior is fitted up with galleries on all sides excepting the south, 
 and prior to the building of the present handsome steeple in 1814, 
 a short old tower with battlements and spire occupied its place, 
 which had added little to the beauty either of the kirk or the 
 town.s 
 
 The date of the erection of that crazy tower is unknown ; but 
 in 1657, through the liberality of Robert and William Strang, 
 merchants in Stockholm, and natives of the burgh of Forfar, of 
 which their father was long provost, it received the addition of 
 t hree bells, all of which are still in use. The largest of these is 
 singularly handsome and profusely ornamented, bearing upon the 
 
 ' Taper (1643), in, Archives of Burgh. ' Acta Pari,, vii, 615. 
 
 8 Sinclair's Stat. Acct. of Scot., vi. 523. 
 
FOBFAB — CHUECH BELLS. 13 
 
 west side the armorial bearings of the family of Strang, and these 
 words, — 
 
 " THIS BELL IS PERFECTED AND AUGMENTED BY 
 WILLIAM STRANG AND HIS WYFE MARGRET PATTILLO IN STOCKHOLM. . 
 ANNO 1656." 
 
 Upon the east side is inscribed, — 
 
 " FOR THE GLORY OF GOD 
 
 AND LOWE HE DID BEARE TO HIS NATIWE TOUNE 
 
 HATHE VMQ' ROBERT STRANG FRIELY GIFFTED THIS BELL 
 
 TO THE CHURCHE OF THE BURGHE OF FORFAR, 
 
 WHO DECEASED IN THE LORD IN STOCKHOLM THE 21 DAY OF AFRILL. 
 
 ANNO 1651." 
 
 Surrounding the rim of the bell, at top and bottom respectively, 
 are these quotations from the Evangelist and the Psalmist, h — 
 
 "GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO 
 ET IN TERRA PAX HOMINIBOS BONA VOLUNTAS. ANNO 1656." 
 
 "LAETATOS SUM IN HIS QUiE DICTA SUNT MIHI IN DOMUM DOMINI 
 
 IBIMUS STANTES ERANT PEDES NOSTRI IN ATRIIS TUIS JERUSALEM. 
 
 ME FECIT GEROT MEYER. 1656." 
 
 Until the establishment of a cemetery some years ago, which 
 is elegantly laid out, and ornamented by a handsome monument 
 to the memory of Sir Kobert Peel, the first, it is believed, that 
 was erected in Scotland to that eminent and patriotic statesman, 
 the limited space of ground which surrounds the old kirk was the 
 only public place of burial in the parish. Although the tomb- 
 stones there are numerous, the inscriptions possess little general 
 interest, and the oldest is in memory of a " cordiner and burgess" 
 called Wood, with a carving of the arms of that old family, 
 and date 1607. There are, however, some neat marble tablets 
 within the church — three of these relate to the Carnegys of Lour, 
 cadets of the noble family of Northesk — one to the late Provost 
 Kerr, and another to quarter-master John Allan of the 46th 
 regiment, who died in his native town while on a visit to it in 
 quest of health. This monument is one of those fine specimens 
 of " a soldier's gratitude" — so characteristic of the benevolence 
 of the British warrior — being " erected by Colonel Garret and 
 
 k Luke, ii. 14 ; Psalms, cxxii. 1-2. See also Appendix, No. I. 
 
14 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 the officers of the regiment in testimony of their esteem and re- 
 gard for their deceased brother officer, and in commemoration of 
 his services in the army for nearly thirty-five years, twenty-three 
 of which he served abroad with his regiment in the East and 
 West Indies, Gibraltar, and North America." 
 
 Besides the Established church, the Free, Episcopal, and other 
 dissenting bodies are highly respectable and influential, and some 
 of the recently erected churches are in ttsteful styles of architec- 
 ture. The new Episcopal church contains a fine stained glass win- 
 dow, put up at the expense of, and thus inscribed by the present 
 laird of Guthrie :— " fin Honorem Dei, et Memoriam Joannis 
 Gvthrie, de Gvthrie, Arm : Qui Obiit, 12. Nov. 1845. ^Etatis 
 svae 82. Atqve in Memoriam Annas Dovglas, Conjvgis ejvs, 
 Qva3 Obiit, 2 Deer. 1845, ^Etatis svse 75:" Forfar has been 
 long a stronghold of Episcopacy, and during the time of Charles 
 II. the magistrates and council were staunch adherents of that 
 church, for at that time they declared openly against the lega- 
 lity both of the National and of the Solemn League and Co- 
 venant, and in the following firm and remarkable terms treated 
 the oaths and obligations which had been taken to maintain these 
 leagues as frivolous and unimportant :— 
 
 " Wee Prowest, Baillies, and counsellors of the burghe of 
 Forfar under subscryvand, and evry ane of ws Doe sincerly af- 
 firme and declaire That we judge it wnlawfull To subjects 1 vpon 
 pretence of reformatione or other pretence whatsoever, To enter 
 into Leagues and Covenants, or to take vp armes aganest the King 
 or theise commissionated by him : And that all theise gatherings, 
 conwocationes, petitiones, protestationes, and erecting and keip- 
 ing of counsell tables, that were used in the beginning, and for 
 careing on of the late troubles, Wer wnlawfull and seditious, And 
 particularlie that these oathes wherof the one wes comonlie called 
 The Nationall Covenant (as it wes sworne and explained in the 
 yearj m vj c and thirtie eight, and therefter), and the vther enti- 
 tuled A solemne League and Covenant, Wer and are in themselfes 
 unlawfull oathes, and wer taken by, and imposed vpone, the svb- 
 jects of this Kingdome aganest the fundamentale Lawes and Li- 
 
F0EFAB— OEIGIN OP JAMIESON'S SCOTTISH DICTIONARY. 15 
 
 fcerties of the same : And that the* lyeth no obligations vpone 
 ws or any of the subjects from the saids oathes, or aither of them, 
 to endeavoure any change or alteratione of the government, 
 aither in churche or state, as it is now established by the Lawes 
 of this Kingdom : In witnes wheroff wee put owr handis heirto 
 att Forfar this Tuentie one day of December j m TJ° thriescore thrie 
 yeares. 
 
 Charles Dickeson, prouest 
 
 T. Gutheie, bailie James Benny, counsellor 
 
 Chaeles thoentoune, balzie Jhone Moegan 
 A. Scott, counseller Th. Benny, Copsvler 
 
 Da. Dickson, counseller Mr William SuTTiE,cownceller 
 
 James Benney, counseller H. Cuthbeet, coonceller 
 Eo. Hood, Counsellar Johne Aieth Js. Bboune, jr 
 
 John Cook Jhon beandore."' 
 
 Df John Jamieson, the well-known antiquary, and compiler of 
 the " Scottish Dictionary,'' was pastor of the Anti-burgher con- 
 gregation of this place from 1780 to 1797, when he left for 
 Edinburgh. He laboured at Forfar for the small sum of £50 
 a-year, and before leaving for the metropolis had made him- 
 self popular by the publication of # Sermons on the Heart,'' 
 il Reply to Dr Priestly," and other works. 
 
 While at Forfar he had the good fortune to become acquainted 
 with George Dempster of Dunnichen, at whose table he was a 
 frequent guest, and it was there that the happy idea of the 
 Scottish Dictionary was first suggested to him. This originated 
 jwith (Grim Thorkelin, the learned professor of antiquities at 
 Copenhagen, before meeting with whom, Jamieson had looked 
 upon the Scottish language merely as a species of jargon, or at 
 most a corrupt dialect of the English and Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 The Professor having spent a few months in Scotland before 
 meeting with Mr Jamieson, had noted some hundreds of purely 
 Gothic words then in common ,use in the shires of Forfar and 
 ■Sutherland. These, he believed, were unknown to the Anglo- 
 Saxon, though familiar Jo the Icelandic tongue'; and it was this 
 hint which induced Jamieson to collect the more singular words 
 * ■Original Document in Archives of Bwgh. 
 
16 MEMORIALS OF ANOUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 and expressions of the inhabitants of Angus, and gave rise to 
 his Scottish Dictionary — one of the most remarkable monuments 
 of industry and learning, as well as of utility, of which any 
 country or age can boasU 
 
 — o — 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Forfar, a Royal Burgh — Early Burgesses— Its place among Royal Burghs — Roger 
 Cementarius de Forfar — Brogue, or ShoenfekerB — Johnstone's Panegyric — 
 Drummond's Satire — Provost Strang's Defence of Charles I. — Refusal of 
 Nobles to Subscribe the Convent and Stent the Lieges. 
 
 That the town of Forfar had a subsequent origin to the castle, 
 and arose under its protection, can hardly be doubted, but the 
 time of its erection into a burgh of royalty is unknown. Like 
 most Scotch burghs in the same position, it is believed to have 
 been so created by David I. It was certainly a recognised burgh 
 in 1261, k and as one of the " steddis of warranty in Scotlande," 
 it dates as far back as the days of "William the Lion. 1 Before 
 1244 it was a place of considerable size, and in that year was, 
 almost totally destroyed by accidental fire ; m but by the time of 
 the visit of Edward I., it had so far recovered from the accident 
 as to receive the appellation of " bone ville" in the Diary of the 
 journey of that King, which was far from flattering in its expres- 
 sions either towards the towns or the people of Scotland. 
 
 Among the earliest notices of the burgesses and magistrates of 
 Forfar, which occurs in 1372, are the names of Patrick of Eynd 
 (perhaps one of the Carse family), who was alderman, and he, along 
 with five other burgesses, named respectively William Adamson ; 
 John Williamson ; William Rede ; Simon Armurer, and Hugh 
 Flesher, are parties to an indenture or agreement with the inhabi- 
 tants of Montrose regarding the freedbm of both burghs. n Sub- 
 sequently, betwixt 1395 and 1434, the bailies were Philip Freck, 
 
 > Dr Jamieson's son, Robert, an Eminent lawyer, to 'whose memory the Faculty 
 of Advocates erected a fine monument in St Cuthbert's churchyard, Edinburgh, was 
 born at Forfar. [David Don, sometime Professor of Botany, King's College, London, 
 was also a native of that town, being born there on the 21st Dec, 1799. His father 
 was a "watchmaker and botanist." — Forfar Parish Seffister.] 
 
 k Chamb. Rolls, i. *14. » Acta Pari., i. 51. 
 
 ■»■ Fordun, b. ix. 61. » Miscell. Aldbar.,M.S„ 90. 
 
FORFAR — EARLY BURGESSES AND TRADES. 17 
 
 William Young ; John Wricht, and Alexander of Guthrie— 
 the three last of which are common surnames in the town and 
 neighbourhood at this day. 
 
 The King had the disposal of the burgh duties and mails, and 
 from these, it is said, " be vertew of ane antient gift, dated 
 the 20th of February 1299," the minister of Finhaven had a small 
 annuity,? and in 1376, Robert II. granted 10 merks out of the 
 same to Alexander of Lindsay. Among the missing charters of 
 Robert III. there is one to the town of Forfar for £8, 13s. 4d. 
 Scots of feu ;i while, at a much earlier period William the Lion 
 and Alexander II. gifted both lands and money therefrom towards 
 the support of the Abbey of Arbroath. r 
 
 The population of the burgh is unknown at the early period 
 under review, but by contrasting the payments made to the King's 
 chamberlain by the bailies of Forfar and those of the other burghs 
 of the county, it appears that the payments of Forfar were least 
 of all. Nor does the town appear to have advanced much dur- 
 ing the half century which followed ; for, by the modified burgh 
 tax of 1483, it is charged little more than a fourth part of the 
 amount allotted to Montrose and Brechin. 8 
 
 The only glimpse which we get of the trades carried on at 
 Forfar in early times is perhaps in the names of the burgesses 
 already noticed. In Simon Armurer, for example, the name may 
 be traced to the occupation of a manufacturer of defensive wea- 
 pons, and Hugh Flesher, to that of a dealer in animal food ; but, 
 long prior to the date at which these parties flourished — con- 
 temporary even with William the Lion — are found in connection 
 with the town the still more interesting personages Roger Ce- 
 mentarius de Forfar, and his son William, in whom, perhaps, 
 may be recognised the chief builders or superintendents of King 
 William's palace at Forfar, and of Ingelram de Baliol's stronghold 
 of Redcastle in Lunan Bay, for both occur as witnesses to char- 
 ters by that baron, confirming the grant of the kirk of Inverkeillor 
 to the monastery of Arbroath.' Whether these were the builders 
 of the castles of Forfar and Redcastle, which is not improbable, 
 
 Chamb. Rolls, ii- and iii. vm. p Paper im, Archives of Bv/rgh. 
 ' Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 110 ; Robertson's Index, p 144. 
 
 • Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 7, 53, 201 ; Nig., 85. 
 
 1 Spalding Miscellany, v. 27. * Reg. Vet. de Aberb , 39. 
 
 D 
 
18 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 it is more certain that in Roger and his son, we have in a Latin- 
 ised form, the now common surname of Mason, which had ori- 
 ginated in that important business. 
 
 But from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century no trace is 
 found of the occupation of the inhabitants of the old county town. 
 Doubtless the trades carried on were as varied in character as the 
 necessities of the community required, and the exports must have 
 been limited. The first incorporation of trades took place in 1653, 
 and these were four in number — shoemakers, tailors, glovers, 
 and wabsters the first being the most ancient and wealthy. The 
 deacons of all the crafts were ex-officio councillors of the burgh. u 
 
 Forfar is chiefly famous in the old annals of commerce for the 
 manufacture of shoes, and these were of a peculiar kind called 
 " brogues," from the Gaelic word brog, literally " a shoe." 
 Light and coarse, made of horse leather instead ofnolt, they were 
 admirably adapted for travelling among the hills, and were a type 
 of the shoes worn by the old inhabitants of Scotland, which, in 
 more modern times, were denominated rough ruffians, and dif- 
 fered from these only that the hair was taken off the brogues. 
 
 At what time the manufacture of brogues was introduced into 
 Forfar is quite uncertain ; and, it will be seen by the following 
 translation of a fanciful epigram (in which a fabulous antiquity is 
 assigned to the trade), by the learned Arthur Johnstone, that we 
 are not made any the wiser upon the point ; but the town being 
 proverbially associated with it in Johnstone's time, it could not 
 have been introduced later than the sixteenth century : — 
 
 " The mines of a Palace thee deoore, 
 A fruitfull Lake, and fruitfull Land much more, 
 Thy Precincts (it's confest) much straitened be, 
 Yet Ancient Scotland did give Power to thee : 
 Angus and other places of the Land, 
 Yeeld to thy Jurisdiction and Command. 
 Nobles unto the People Laws do give, 
 By Handy-Crafts the Vulgar-sort do live. 
 They pull off Bullocks-hydes and make them meet 
 When tann'd, to cover handsome Virgins feet : 
 From thee are Sandals to light Umbrians sent, 
 And soIIb with latchets to BopeClimbers lent : 
 
 * By the old Sett of the burgh of Forfar, the town was governed by a provost, 
 two bailies, a treasurer, and 15 councillors. There are now a provost, three bailies, 
 a treasuer, and 1 councillors. 
 
FORFAR — PROVOST STRANG. 19 
 
 And Bullions wherewith the Bowrs do go 
 
 To keep their feet unhurt with Yce and Snow. 
 
 The ancient Greeks their Boots from this Town brought 
 
 As also hence their Ladies slippers sought. 
 
 This the Tragedians did with Buskings fit, 
 
 And the Commedian-shooes invented it. 
 
 Let not Rome henceforth of its Puissance boast 
 
 Nor Spartans vaunt much of their warlick-host : 
 They laid their Yoak on necks of other Lands 
 Farfar doth tye their feet and leggs with bands."' 
 
 There is a tradition that, during the summer of 1645, while 
 Drummond of Hawfhornden, the celebrated historian and poet, was 
 journeying through Scotland he visited Forfar, and was refused 
 shelter for the night, a mark of inhospitality to be accounted for, 
 probably from a fear on the part of the inhabitants that he might 
 communicate the plague, which was then raging in many parts 
 of Scotland. Be the reason what it may, Drummond found a 
 hearty welcome in the adjoining town of Kirriemuir, and learning 
 that a feud pended betwixt the inhabitants of those two places 
 regarding the commonty of Muir Moss, he determined to play off 
 a joke upon the magistrates of Forfar, by addressing a letter to 
 the Provost on the day following. The Estates of Parliament 
 were then sitting at St Andrews, and believing the communica- 
 tion to be from that body, the chief magistrate had the council 
 and clergyman of the burgh convened, to hear and deliberate upon 
 the contents of the letter which, much to their astonishment and 
 chagrin, they found to consist in the following reproachful rhyme 
 upon themselves, in -which it will be seen there is a pointed al- 
 lusion to the brogue makers : — 
 
 " The Kirriemarians an' the Forfarians met at Muir Moss, 
 The Kirriemarians beat the Forfarians back to the Cross ; 
 Sutors ye are, an' Sutors ye'H 'be— 
 Fye upo' Forfar, Kirriemuir bearB the gree ! " 
 
 The town of Forfar, famous in old times for the number of 
 s&ut&rs or shoemakers, had among these craftsmen persons of 
 the highest integrity and independence of character — one in par- 
 ticular, who, in the face of the assembled parliament of the king- 
 dom, stood almost alone and single-handed, and boldly denounced 
 the sale of Charles I. to his English enemies — a fact thus quaintly 
 * See Appendix, No. II. (a.) 
 
20 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 noticed by Sir Henry Spottiswoode in his poem of The Rebell 
 
 States : — 
 
 " Neither did all that Parliament agree 
 To this abhorred act of treaoherie. 
 Witness that still to he renowned sutor, 
 Forfar's commissioner, and the State's tutor 
 In loyaltie ; who being asked his vote, 
 Did with a tongue most resolutely denote 
 In loyal heart, in pithie words, tho' few — 
 ' I disagree, as honest men should doo.' " 
 
 — This noble minded " sutor " was Alexander Strang, provost 
 and commissioner of the burgh of Forfar to the parliament 
 of 1647, " in respect of whose faithfull testimony and dissent 
 against the passing of the Act concerning his Majestie's persone T 
 and for diverse other good causes and considerations," Charles 
 II. ratified the ancient, and granted some new privileges, to the 
 burgh. w 
 
 Before this, however, in the memorable year 1639, the inha- 
 bitants of Forfar had a good example of loyalty set them by a 
 number of the nobles who there convened in Committee for the 
 purpose of having the Covenant subscribed which it was intended 
 should abjure Episcopacy, for stenting the lieges, and numbering 
 and arming the men — projects which completely failed owing 
 chiefly to the great firmness displayed by the Earl of Southesk, x 
 who boldly confronted his own son-in-law, the future Marquis 
 of Montrose, then on the side of the Covenant. 
 
 Subsequently, in 1644, Committees of the loyalists were held 
 daily at Forfar ; and in the following year, while General Baillie 
 was in pursuit of the Marquis of Montrose (now an Anti-Cove- 
 nanter), he encamped there with his army/ the night before his 
 ineffectual pursuit after Montrose, who, upon that occasion, ac- 
 complished his celebrated retreat, and took refuge among the 
 Grampians. 2 
 
 w Acta Pari., vii. 615. In Spottiswoode Miscel., i. Pref. p. iv., and 184, th& 
 name of the Commissioner is erroneously given as Himter. The only other burgh 
 Commissioners that voted against the sale of King Charles were those of Brechin, 
 Tain, and Eoss. There were also six peers and four commoners, making in all four- 
 
 teen. — Bishop Guthry's Memoirs, 237. 
 1 Spalding's Trubles, i. 135. ' Ibid., ii. 
 
 347. * Land of the Lindsays, 237. 
 
FOEFAE — TOWN PILLAGED. 21 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Imprisonment of an English Spy — his Release — Destruction of the Burgh Records — 
 Glamis Castle garrisoned — Conduct of Mackay's troops — Introduction of Linen 
 Trade — General Improvement of the Town — County Hall and its Paintings — 
 Markets — Disputes concerning the Customs of St James' Fair — Notices of the 
 Town during the 1 7th century — Date of Ochterlony's " Account of the Shyre 
 of Forfar" ascertained. 
 
 It was during the wars of the Commonwealth that the town 
 suffered most at the hands of the soldiery, and this arose from a 
 wish on the part of the inhabitants to support the deposed mon- 
 arch. Ever ready in the cause of their unfortunate King, and in 
 the punishment of his enemies, the magistrates in 1651 discovered 
 Captain Buchan " an intelligencer, and [one who] did keep cor- 
 respondence with the English his Majestie's enemies," and had 
 him secured in their tolbooth. But before they had time to 
 come to a decision respecting his conduct, the English had cap- 
 tured the neighbouring town of Dundee, and Colonel Ocky, hear- 
 ing of Buchan's imprisonment, marched from thence to Forfar, 
 " with a considerable body of horse and dragoons," and not only 
 liberated Buchan, but pillaged and harrassed the town; and 
 breaking open the charter room, " took forth all their rights and 
 records, and cancelled and destroyed the same." 3 Hence the 
 want of early records relative to the burgh of Forfar — the oldest 
 extant bearing the late date of 1660. 
 
 Within four years from the time the burgh was pillaged by 
 Ocky, and its old records destroyed, a part of the army of the 
 Commonwealth were quartered at Glamis castle, during which the 
 bakers of Forfar were bound to supply them with " fower dussen 
 of wheate breade for each day in the weeke," and the fleshers 
 " beefe, mutton or lambe, each Munday and Wedensday," under 
 pain of the same being forcibly exacted. b 
 
 The stay of the garrison at Glamis was short however, and so 
 sfar as can be gleaned from the few remaining documents of the 
 period, little occurred for manyyears worthy of record, beyond what 
 has been alreadynoticed — not until after the battle of Killiecrankie 
 when a detachment of the forces of William and Mary were sta- 
 ■ Paper in Archives of Bwrgh — 1674. b (1654)— Appendix, No. III. 
 
22 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 tioned at Forfar to watch the movements of the rebels that were 
 constantly passing along the front of the Grampians between 
 Brechin and Dunkeld, plundering as they went. But so far as 
 regarded honesty and decorum, the conduct of the royalists was 
 much on a par with that of the rebels, for during the short time 
 the former were stationed at Forfar they had "eattin and de- 
 stroyed " all kinds of victual to the value of £8000— forced horses 
 and carts, and free lodgings from the inhabitants to the extent of 
 an additional £2000 — left the tolbooth attd schoolhouse in a state 
 of ruin, and were guilty of other oppressive conduct, so that many 
 of the people altogether deserted the town. 
 
 Forfar does not appear to have borne a more conspicuous part 
 in either of the rebellions of 1715 or '45 than some other burghs 
 in the county. It is true that the accidental murder of the Earl 
 of Strafhmore during day and on the open street {an interesting 
 local incident which I have elsewhere noticed), 4 had its rise in the 
 first of these transactions. It is also certain that the number of 
 rebels in Forfar at the latter rising was great, and, as in the 
 curious case of Councillor Binny, they sometimes resorted to 
 strange plans for enforcing their purpose ; e still, oddly enough, 
 the town was selected as the place for confining the rebel lairds 
 of Pitrichie and Echt. f This was in January 1746, and within a 
 month thereafter, when the Duke of Cumberland's army rested at 
 Glamis, the Forfarians displayed their favor for the exiled family 
 by cutting the girths of the horses Under night, so that the Duke's 
 progress northward might be retarded as much as possible. 
 
 The town may be said to have been then without rulers, it 
 being only after the return of peace that the council and magis- 
 trates found themselves safe to take the oaths of allegiance, being 
 prevented from doing so at the time of their election by " the in- 
 fluence of a military force, and also by the numbers of rebels." 
 Soon afterwards, however, Forfar began to flourish ; and it is 
 curious to observe that previously to that date, even so late as the 
 beginning of last century, the number of business men was so 
 few that it Was feared " a penury of fitt persons for representing 
 the magistracy may happen," and in consequence the council re- 
 
 '• Bwrgh Records, 1689-90. d Land of the Lindsays, 162. 
 * Appendix, No. TV. ' Spalding Miscai., i. &69. 
 
FORFAR — MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 23 
 
 solved to continue the same persons as magistrates for two or 
 three consecutive years instead of one year as the law provided. 8 
 After the last rebellion, however, the population of the town and 
 parish rapidly increased, and within the past hundred years it 
 has received an addition of more than 7000 souls. 
 
 This increase has arisen chiefly from the introduction of linen 
 manufactures, which followed the rebellion of 1 745. The linen made 
 here is of a coarse peculiar sort called osnahurgh, for the superi- 
 ority of which Forfar has acquired considerable celebrity, a state 
 of matters amply exhibited in the opulence of many masters, and 
 the comfortable condition of their servants. It is also apparent in 
 the recently much improved state of the town, both in regard to 
 its public and private buildings. Many of the shops are spacious 
 and elegant, and some of the modern churches are built in taste- 
 ful and varied styles of architecture. 
 
 The town and county buildings, situated near the middle of 
 the High Street, are substantial and commodious,, and the in- 
 terior of the county-hall is embellished with excellent portraits of 
 the noble hero of Camperdown ; Dempster of Dunnichen ; Scott 
 of Dunninald ; and the famous Henry Dundas, Lord Melville. 
 The first of these was painted by Opie, the last by Sir H. Eae- 
 burn. Soon after Melville's picture was hung up a county din- 
 ner took place in the hall, at which the late Lord Panmure, then 
 the Honourable Mr Maule, was present, and Dundas being, as is 
 well known, an equally staunch supporter of the Tory party as 
 Maule was of the Whig, the latter, in an after dinner frolic, put 
 a lighted taper to Melville's portrait. The picture was but little 
 injured ; and the Honourable Miss Wortley, a daughter of a 
 house of the same politics as Dundas, having heard of the circum- 
 stance, wrote the following verse upon the subject : — 
 
 " To Tent his spleen on Melville's patriot name, 
 Maule gave his picture to the ruthless flame ; 
 Nor knew that this was Melville's fame to raiser- 
 Censure from Maule is Melville's greatest praise." 1 * 
 
 The weekly and other statutory fairs or markets, which ought 
 
 * Sets of Boyal Burghs of Scot., 41. 
 
 h Copied hy the late P. Chalmers, Esq. of Aldbar, from a paper at Dunnichen, 
 in the handwriting of G. Dempster, Esq. 
 
24 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 to have been before noticed, have long contributed to the interests 
 of the community. The first of these, as in other ancient towns, 
 coeval with the rise of the town itself, was held on Sunday, a 
 custom which originated at a very remote period ; and from the 
 long time the practice continued, it had doubtless been found con- 
 venient both for exposer and purchaser. Indeed the same course 
 was carried on even after the Reformation ; and it was not until 
 the year 1593, that Parliament thought of legislating upon the 
 point, when an Act was passed " to ^discharge, remove, aDd 
 put away all fairis and marcattis haldin on Sondayis ;"' but the 
 people were so much prejudiced in favour of the custom that 
 nearly a century elapsed before the terms of the Act were even 
 generally complied with. 
 
 During the 3ame year the burgh of Forfar had a special grant 
 of Parliament changing its weekly market from " Sondaie to 
 Fridaie with the like priviledges and freedomes " as before ; and 
 subsequently, notwithstanding that an Act had been previously 
 passed prohibiting the holding of fairs on Saturdays and Sundays, 
 upon the plea of their interfering with the sanctity of the Sab- 
 bath, and "under the paine of ane hundredth merks,"J the 
 market-day of Forfar was again altered to Saturday, upon which 
 day the principal weekly market is now held. 
 
 The other statutory fairs are those of St Valentine ; All 
 Saints ; St Peter, probably held at one time near the Priory of 
 Rostinoth, to which saiDt that church was dedicated ; St James, 
 so named in honour of the patron of the old chapel of Forfar ; 
 and St Trodline, properly St Triduana, which fair is said to have 
 been held originally at the kirk style of Roscobie, and removed 
 to Forfar soon after the Earl of Kinghorn, superior of the regality 
 and patron of the kirk of Roscobie, succeeded to the office of con- 
 stable of Forfar. There was also the fair of St Margaret, in 
 honour of the Queen of Malcolm Canmore ; and St Ethernan, to 
 whom some chapel in the neighbourhood had probably been in- 
 scribed. 
 
 St James's, however, has long been the chief market of the dis- 
 trict, and is continued over three days, but in old times it lasted 
 from the 20th to the 30th of July; and the magistrates were 
 
 1 Acta Pari , iv. 16. J Ibid., iv. 39 ; vii. 481. 
 
FORFAR— RIOT AT ST JAMES' FAIR. 25 
 
 empowered " to arme with halberts twenty foure men duering the 
 time of the faire, for keeping the peace, and collecting the cus- 
 tomes thereof." k Although the terms of the Act of Charles II., 
 already alluded to, seem to exclude the probability of the cus- 
 toms belonging to other than the burgh of Forfar, the right to them 
 was sometimes claimed by the Constable, a proceeding which 
 produced much bad feeling in the community. 
 
 Shortly before 1672 a serious dispute took place between the 
 town and Constable in consequence of the market being proclaimed 
 by William Gray of Invereichty, hereditary constable, " in his 
 Majestie's name and his owen, without mentioning the town of 
 Forfar ;" and, it would appear by the magistrates' account of the 
 matter, that Gray conducted the affair in a truly bold and arbi- 
 trary style. Not contented with going through the mere formula 
 of proclaiming and " ryding " the market (a custom which was 
 long kept up in Scotland, and had its origin in the same principle 
 on which the King rode on horseback in procession to parliament), 
 Gray convocated together about eighty persons, and " invaded and 
 assaulted the magistrats and burgesses, and committed severall 
 deeds of outrage, by fyreing of pistolls, beating of them with 
 drawen swords, and tradeing their baillies under foot." The 
 matter was brought under review of the Privy Council, and 
 they, favouring the pretensions of Gray, took as evidence against 
 the burgh, the testimony of several of his own tenants, some of 
 whom accompanied him upon the occasion complained of, and 
 " fyred the first pistolls, and drew the first swords." 1 How this 
 matter was settled, we are left to conjecture ; but it is certain, al- 
 though the issue is also doubtful, that in the course of another year 
 or two the Earl of Kinghorn — following up the object which 
 Gray had begun — also laid claim to the customs of the fairs as 
 Constable of the burgh, to which office he had been recently ap- 
 pointed. Lord Kinghorn's claim was denied upon the narrative 
 set forth in the Charter of 1660, and on the ground that the " Con- 
 stabulary of Forfar imported no more but the keeping of the 
 King's house in Forfar while the same stood."™ 
 
 Such is a. brief notice of the past and present state of Forfar. 
 
 k Orig. Warrant by Balph Cobbett, 1652, m Archives of Bivrgh. 
 
 1 Paper, 1672, in Archives of Burgh. ™ Paper, 1674, ibid. 
 
 E 
 
26 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 With the exception of the notices in the Old and New Statistical 
 Accounts of Scotland, written the former in 1793 and the latter in 
 1843, both of which are meagre in regard to the ancient history of 
 the place, I am not aware that any other history of it exists, and 
 these have been abridged for the numerous gazetteers since pub- 
 lished. It is true that Boyce speaks of it as having been " in 
 time past a notable citie, though now [1526] it is brought to little 
 more than a countrie village, replenished with simple cottages ;" 
 while a local writer towards the close «f the century which fol- 
 lowed, passes over all notice of the town, merely remarking in 
 reference to the lakes of the county, that " the principal are those 
 of Dodd and Forfar, where there is a chain of them adorned with 
 fishing boats and wears." 11 But Mr Ochterlony of Guynd, who 
 wrote a few years later, shews more discrimination ; and in his 
 brief account says, " Forfar is a considerable little toune, and 
 hath some little trade of cremerie ware [small goods sold to ped- 
 lars], and linen cloath, and such lyke. It is pretty well built, 
 many good stane houses sklaited therein, and are presently build- 
 ing a very stately Cross ; hath a large church and steeple well 
 plenished with bells ; they have some public revenue, and a good 
 deal of mortifications to their poor, doled by the bountie of some 
 of their toun's men, who going abroad became rich; they have a 
 good tolbuith, with' a bell in it ; they have four great faires yearly, 
 and a weekly mercat. The Shieref keeps his courts there ; and 
 all publick and private meetings of the shyre, both in tyme of 
 peace and war are kept there." Soon after the period to which 
 these remarks refer, the town of Forfar was visited by a Scotch 
 regiment of the line, and the English chaplain, in his published 
 notes of the towns he visited, describes it as "a place of no 
 great noise, saving that it is a county-town, a royal borough, 
 and anciently the seat of several Parliaments, "p 
 
 Upon these, the only printed notices of Forfar in early times 
 (excepting a worthless and burlesqued story by Captain Franck), 
 little remark need be made. Its fast growing importance as a 
 town and burgh has already been adverted to, and there is no 
 doubt but the old writers just! quoted, have given faithful ac- 
 
 " Edward's Descrip. of Angus, 19. • Spottiswoode Miscellany, i. 321. 
 p Morer's Aoot. of Scot.. 104. 
 
FOEFAB — NOTICES OP WITCHES. 27 
 
 counts of the place. With regard to the " stately Cross," which 
 was being erected in Ochterlony's time, it ought to be remarked 
 that the peculiar way in which he mentions the subject, com- 
 pared with that in the burgh records, settles the exact date of his 
 valuable "Account of the Shyre of Forfar," which has hitherto 
 been matter of guess. It is given as being written circa 1682, 
 and as the treasurer's accounts of the burgh, towards the close 
 of 1684, contain several entries regarding the construction of 
 the Cross, such as the hewing of the stones, and the carriage of 
 the chief or top stone which was got from Glamis quarry, it is 
 clear that Mr Ochterlony's pamphlet could not have been written 
 before the end of 1684, and was perhaps written early in 1685.1 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Notices of Witches — their treatment and trials — Kinked, witch pricker, made an 
 honorary burgess of Forfar — Feuds between the Farquharsons and the M'Comies 
 of Grlenisla. • 
 
 The trial and execution of Witches is a dark subject with which 
 not only the town of Forfar, but the whole British islands, and 
 many other countries, had unfortunately too much to do, and by 
 which a vast number of human lives were sacrificed to the cre- 
 dulity and ignorance of the times. That deplorable state of 
 matters evidently arose from a narrow and misconceived notion 
 of the words in Exodus — " thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" 
 — and the literal manner in which that passage was interpreted, 
 and its injunction enforced, leaves a stigma upon the old legisla- 
 ture of Great Britain, both civil and sacred, which can never be 
 effaced from her history. 
 
 The evils attendant upon the passing of the celebrated statute 
 of James VI. for the punishment of witches, and his work on Der 
 monology and Sorcery, are well known, and have been often al- 
 luded to. Suffice it to say that the last execution for witchcraft 
 in Scotland took place at Dornoch in Sutherland, in virtue of the 
 no less heartless than illegal decision of Captain David Boss 
 
 i Appendix, No. V. 
 
28 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 of Littledean, then sheriff-substitute. The victim upon that oc- 
 casion was a poor insane woman — so crazed that she gloried in be- 
 holding the fire that was kindled to consume her person ; and, 
 although, by that time, the obnoxious law upon which she was 
 condemned was erased from the statute book, no proceedings ap- 
 pear to have been entered against the illegality of the sentence. 1 
 
 I am not aware that any executions for witchcraft took place 
 at Forfar later than the year 1662 ; but during the preceding 
 half-century they were numerous in this, and in every other town 
 of the county. Indeed, there is scarcely a presbytery or session 
 book of contemporary date that does not bear record of these de- 
 plorable proceedings, either in the form of precognitions and exa- 
 minations, or in the significant intimation of the ministers of rural 
 parishes being present in the chief town of their neighbourhood 
 " at the tryal of witches and charmers," instead of attending to 
 their parochial duties. 
 
 Records of the declarations, and the details of the trials of some 
 of those unfortunate creatures, are extant in the archives of the 
 burgh ; and, however absurd these would appear now-a-days, were 
 they collected and printed, they would form a curious and not alto- 
 gether uninstructive chapter in the history of the district during 
 that really dark age. Meantime the minutiae of those trials shall 
 be allowed to repose in their native mustiness, since they are best 
 suited for a separate publication ; but, as some entries regarding 
 the treatment of " witches," and the care with which they were 
 sought after and watched by the authorities, occur in the records 
 of the burgh, we shall content ourselves with some of these no- 
 tices, convinced that, while they lack the sad disclosures of human 
 depravity contained in the more formal records of the trials, they 
 are sufficiently curious to be read with some degree of interest 
 by all. 
 
 It appears that in 1661, the town of Forfar was divided into 
 eight districts, with a councillor in each district, " for setting and 
 changing the gairds for the witches." It was also decreed that 
 " persones jmprisoned for witchcraft shall have no watch with 
 them jn ther prisones, nor fyre nor candle, but that sex men 
 nightly and dayly attend and watch them jn the vper tolbooth, 
 and that the quarter-master shall order the watchmen to wisit 
 * Scott's Letters on Demonolgy and Witchcraft, 382. 
 
FOEPAE— NOTICES OP WITCHES. 29 
 
 them at evry three houres end night and day." It appears that, 
 for the sin of looking out at the window of the prison, two of these 
 unfortunate women were ordered to be " put jn the stockes," or to 
 have the window of their chamber nailed up. In such an arbitrary 
 state of matters it will not appear very wonderful to find the 
 council, with all due solemnity, approving of the " care and dili- 
 gence" of Alexander Heigh, a dealer in " aquavitie" (from whom, 
 as appears in evidence, much of the liquor was got that " the 
 devill" gave to the unfortunate dupes whom he met periodically 
 in the churchyard), " for his bringing over Johne Kinked, for 
 trying of the prisoners suspect of witchcraft." Nay, so exceed- 
 ingly well pleased were the council with the manner in which 
 Kinked performed his disgusting husiness, that within ten days 
 after Keith of Caldhame, sheriff-depute of the county of Forfar, 
 and a cadet of the noble family of Keith-Marischal, had heen 
 admitted a burgess and freeman of the burgh, the same honour 
 was conferred by the same magistrates upon "Johne Kinked, 
 pricker of the witches in Trennent" ! 
 
 About that time, the council appears to have had some diffi- 
 culty in procuring an executioner, and the magistrates of Perth 
 sent their hangman to administer the extreme penalty of the law 
 upon two unfortunate prisoners. Having more criminals in view 
 who were to undergo the like awful punishment, a deputation of 
 the council were appointed to " speak with David Soutar to be 
 their executioner," to which was to be added the equally extra- 
 ordinary and heartless office of " scourger of the poore" ! By 
 giving a free interpretation to this singular entry, it would appear 
 that, in those days, the sin of being poor was sufficient ground 
 for being scourged and whipped ; but, it is clear, that if Soutar 
 found himself honoured by the distinction which the council pro- 
 posed to confer upon him, he did not long retain the office, for 
 in the course of a few months, one of the burgesses had to whip 
 or scourge his own maid servant " throw the towne," under pain 
 of being himself banished the same ! a 
 
 Numerous other instances of the strange doings of the period 
 could be added from the same unerring record. Suffice it to say 
 
 ■ Burgh Records of Forfar, vd. The office of "scourger of the poor," was 
 perhaps synonymous with that of " rung the beggars," — a petty policeman. 
 
30 memorials op angus and mearns. 
 
 that the men and women of Forfar who were so unfortunate as to 
 incur the petty spleen and envy of persons more opulent in circum- 
 stances than themselves — and that the great majority of those who 
 were convicted of witchcraft and suffered accordingly, owed their 
 misery to one or other of these heartless passions, there is too 
 much reason to suspect — were executed and buried near the 
 present public washing green. The site of the gallows, where 
 human bones have been found in great quantities, is now occu- 
 pied by a saw-mill and other works of industry, all adding their 
 mite to the growing importance of the town. The branks, 
 or bridle — a well known instrument of punishment for scolds, 
 and those suspected of witchcraft — is still preserved, among other 
 curiosities, in the county hall at Forfar. It is made of various 
 pieces of iron, united by hinges, and surrounds the head of the 
 delinquent, while a large dart-shaped piece is placed in the 
 mouth, to prevent the accused from speaking. 
 
 In little more than ten years after the last witch-burning at 
 Forfar, the immediate neighbourhood of the town was the scene 
 of a raid or foray between two Highland clans, which, as was the 
 case in most of these skirmishes, had a fatal termination. The con- 
 flicting parties were the Farquharsons and the M'Comies. The 
 former, owners of Brochdarg in Glenshee, and Westmill and 
 Downey in Glenisla, were ancestors of the lairds of Baldovie in 
 Kingoldrum ; and the latter possessed the barony of Forther in 
 Glenisla, and the lands of Finnygand in Glenshee, of which last 
 an ancestor had a charter as " John M'Comy-Moir" (the big or 
 great M'Comie), 9th September 1571.' M'Oomy-More's family 
 are said at that date to have been ah antiquo " tenants and pos- 
 sessors" of Finnygand, and under the name of Clan M'Thomas, 
 they are specially mentioned in the Roll of the clans and broken 
 men, both in 1587, and in 1594. u 
 
 M'Comie having acquired a wadset of the barony of Forther 
 from the Earl of Airlie, he built a mansion house at Crandart, 
 about a mile to the north of the fine old castle of Forther. He 
 also appears to have received a right of forestry in the adjoining 
 forest of Glascorie, of which Airlie afterwards granted a tack to 
 
 1 Orig. Charter in Ohwrter Chest of Miss Sattray of Dalruhion. 
 ■ Acta Pari., iii., 467 ; iy. 71. MThomaB is the same as M'Cpmie, and meanB 
 " the son of Thomas." 
 
FORFAR— FEUD OF HIGHLAND CLANS. 31 
 
 Farquharson of Brochdarg, upon some real or supposed right, 
 most probably with the view of curtailing M'Comie's influence 
 in the district, for he is described as " haveing great power with 
 the late Vsurpers as their intelligencer and favorite." 7 M'Comie 
 denied the plea of reservation, upon which Lord Airlie appears 
 to have made the grant to Farquharson. Hence perhaps the 
 more immediate cause of quarrel, for it seems that Farquharson 
 had seized some of M'Comie's property in that forest. 
 
 M'Comie, opposing Airlie's proceedings, raised an action of 
 spulzie against Farquharson, before the Sheriff of Forfar, and 
 succeeded in obtaining letters of caption. This, however, was a 
 much easier matter than the seizure of Brochdarg himself, which 
 was attempted often and vainly, for he had sworn that " no mes- 
 senger" should take him alive. After some little time, however, 
 the M'Comies, learning that he and several retainers were in the 
 neighbourhood of Forfar, mustered, along with followers, to the 
 number of eight, and proceeding thither, got Alexander Strachan, 
 " the messenger of the burgh," put upon the alert, and they ulti- 
 mately met with Farquharson and his friends near the muir of 
 Forfar, on the 28th of January 1673. As was to be expected 
 Brochdarg refused " to lay aside his arms and become prisoner," 
 upon which Strachan craved the assistance of the M'Comies, and 
 John, the elder brother, accordingly seized and held Farquhar- 
 son so firmly " that he was not able to do any present hurt." 
 Upon this the Farquharsons fired and wounded M'Comie, who 
 fell disabled to the ground, the same shot killing his brother Bo- 
 bert, and they ultimately despatched John " with their durks and 
 swords." Brochdarg had fled across the moss, but the M'Co- 
 mies running after him, he was soon overtaken, and there killed 
 in cold blood ; after which, the prevaricating messenger, who was 
 ultimately deprived of his office and imprisoned, quaintly depones 
 that " he broke his wand of peace against them all." 
 
 Both parties had their retainers with them — the Farquharsons 
 had eight, numbering altogether twelve, and the M'Comies had 
 only four besides themselves. Brochdarg and his son Robert were 
 both killed, and two of the four M'Comies shared the same fate, 
 their father not having been engaged in the affair. 
 ' Acta Pari., vii., 193-4. 
 
32 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Mutual prosecutions were soon afterwards raised by the sur- 
 viving relatives, which ended in the dyet being deserted against 
 both parties, while the sons of the Farquharsons and the M'Co- 
 mies, as well as the adherents of each party present at the fight, 
 were all outlawed. The subsequent fate of the Farquharsons is 
 not quite known ; but one of the M'Comies went to the south 
 country, and another, Donald, settling in the Highlands of Aber- 
 deenshire, became ancestor of the M'Combies of Easter Skene 
 and Tillyfour, and died (as intimated*by his gravestone), at 
 Mains of Tonley, in the parish of Tough, July 9, 1714. 
 
 The feuds between the Farquharsons and the M'Comies were 
 of long standing. The first mentioned in the process occurred on 
 the 1st of January 1669, when the former with fifty or sixty ac- 
 complices, went to Crandart " under cloud and silence of night, 
 bodin in fear of war," and there lay in ambush " until, or near 
 the break of the day," that old M'Comie went abroad, when they 
 seized and carried him off to Brochdarg, and kept him there until 
 night. They then took him " to a certain place in a wildernesse 
 and desert called Tombeg in Glenshie," and kept him several days 
 and nights there, as also five of his sons who had gone to inter- 
 pose for his liberty, which was granted only on obtaining a bond 
 for 1700 merks. Ere long, however, the M'Comies resented 
 this injury in much the same way, and lying in wait for Broch- 
 darg, in the forest of Glascorie, they " pervaded and pur- 
 sued him" on one occasion; but "by God's providence, he es- 
 caped at that time." They afterwards searched for him in the 
 house of Tombeg, by stabbing " the beds and other places with 
 their durks and swords" where they supposed he might be lurk- 
 ing ; and continued to hunt him down until they traced him to 
 the neighbourhood of Forfar on the day of the fatal occurrence. 
 
 Some striking instances of the insatiable nature of Highland 
 revenge are brought out respecting the elder M'Comie in course 
 of the evidence in this affair. On one occassion his servants had 
 met with Brochdarg in the forest of Glengarnie, and on talking 
 over the matter at Crandart, old M'Comie got into a great pas- 
 sion, and upbraided them for not bringing to him " ane legg, ane 
 arm, or the lyfe" of Farquharson, declaring that " he should have 
 been their warrant" had they done so ; and to obtain him " dead 
 
FOEFAE — M'COMIE OF FOETHER. 33 
 
 or alive" he swore that he would " ware two of his best sons in 
 the quarrel ;"adding in the strain of a bold undaunted Highlander, 
 and bidding defiance to all law, " Who would or durst speir after 
 it" ! Angus M'Comie, who is charged as the chief party that 
 hounded out his kinsmen against the Farquharsons, appears to 
 have had much the same revengeful and savage feeling as his fa- 
 ther, for, " when his sister was lamenting the loss of -her two 
 brothers that had fallen in the scuffle," he coolly replied, " that 
 she had no reason to lament for them, since they had got the life 
 they were asking" ! — meaning that of Brochdarg. w 
 
 Stories of " the scuffle" at Forfar, and of the great personal 
 strength and gallantry of the M'Comies, are nearly as plentiful in 
 Grlenisla and CHenshee even now, as they were a century ago. 
 There are also remains of M'Comie's house at Crandart, upon the 
 chimney lintel of which is the date 1660, and the initials of the 
 founder and his wife Catherine Campbell, a daughter of the laird 
 of Denhead, near Cupar Angus, and these words — " the • loed • 
 depend • this • familie • " Upon another stone, which was taken 
 from Crandart, and built into a house near by, is the same date, 
 and the following sentence, the first part of which may relate to 
 the animosity of the Farquharsons — " i ■ shall • oveecom ■ invy 
 VITH • GODS • HELP : TO * GOD • BE • AL • PEAIS " HONOVE ' AND 
 GLOEIE." 
 
 The elder M'Comie, who died about 1676, was of great sta- 
 ture and strength. As was the case with most Highlanders of 
 that period, he was naturally superstitious, and like the more 
 celebrated Rob Roy Macgregor, considered that the chief part of 
 the education of his sons ought to lie in wielding the claymore, 
 or in feats of strength and daring ; and, both in regard to his cre- 
 dulity, and the novel manner he took to develope the latter par- 
 ticular in his family, some interesting stories still live in the High- 
 lands. 
 
 By the time alluded to, " the big M'Comie" had attained a 
 good old age. He had seven sons. The eldest of these pos- 
 sessed, as he supposed, least of the courageous spirit of his ances- 
 tors, and for the purpose of testing his prowess, the old man 
 waylaid him one dark night, at a large stone in the solitude of 
 
 " Justiciary Bee. Books of Adjournal, in M. M. Gen. Beg. Ho., xiii. 
 F 
 
34 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Grlembaynie, known at this day as M' Cornie's chair, and pounc- 
 ing upon him unawares, a dreadful tulzie took place betwixt 
 the father and the son. The father, finding his son's strength 
 and courage fully a match for his own, at length discovered him- 
 self, upon which his astonished son is said to have allowed the 
 sword to drop insensibly from his hand. 
 
 Camlochan, or " the crooked loch," a romantic and secluded 
 part of M'Comie's property in Glenisla, was a favourite place of 
 resort for this old Highlander. There he often joined his tenants 
 and servants in the well-known game of strength called " the put- 
 ting stone," and two round stones, each of great weight, which 
 he is said to have thrown far beyond any of his companions, still 
 lie there, and bear his name. There> also, he is said to have had 
 frequent interviews with a Mermaid, who revealed some wonder- 
 ful stories to him, and. on one occasion, like " witch Maggie" with 
 Tarn o' Shanter, it is told that she took advantage of his horse in 
 a trip down Glenisla, by leaping on behind him ! Among other 
 prophecies, she warned him that he would die with his head upon 
 a certain stone which projected from the craig above his house of 
 Grandart, and believing in the weird tale, and afraid he might 
 come by an untimely end, he had the stone removed, and laid 
 under the bed where he slept, and in which he died ! x 
 
 1 The death of " big M'Comie," was looked upon by the Cateran, whom he al- 
 ways kept in check, as a great and fortunate event ; and it is popularly recorded 
 that one of their number returning from the Lowlands at the time, joyously exclaimed, 
 in answer to the question — " Ciod an sgeul?" " Sgeul ! agus deagh sgeul.! 
 Beannaichte gu robh an Oighe Muire ! Cha bheo Ma'cOmie mor am braigh na 
 macharach, — ge'd bu mhor agus bu laidir e !" i.e., "What news!" "News! and 
 good news ! Blessed be the virgin Mary ! The great M'Comie in the head of the 
 Lowlands is dead, for as big and strong as he was !" 
 
FARNELL — KING EDWARD'S VISIT. 35 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 jFarnell fflastle, an* Hinnairti. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Sting Edward at Farnell Castle — Duncan of Fernevel— Castle of Farnell a " palace," 
 and the lands a Grange of the Bishops of Brechin — Dispute regarding the 
 Muir — mode of declaring sentence by a Doomster — Farnell alienated hy Bi- 
 shop Alexander Campbell to the Earl of Argyll— Acquired by the first Earl of 
 Southesk — State of the Lands, and character of Tenants in 1729— the present 
 and improved state of both. 
 
 So far as known the fact of King Edward having visited the 
 Castle of Farnell, when on his victorious march throughout 
 Scotland, is the only old historical incident of any importance re- 
 lating to the district. It was on the 7th of July that the King 
 rode from Forfar to Arbroath, and from thence he went to Far- 
 nell, or " Fernovell castell," as it is written in the Diary, a dis- 
 tance of about twelve miles. During his stay at Farnell, which 
 could not have exceeded an hour or two, for he went forward to 
 Montrose on the same day, he received the homage of William 
 Fraser, who is designed son of the late Alexander Fraser, a indi- 
 viduals who cannot now, it would seem, be certainly identified. 
 
 From earliest record the lands of Farnell belonged to the See of 
 Brechin, and the castle was a grange or residence of the Bishop. 
 Whether the Episcopal chair was vacant at the time of Edward's 
 visit, or filled by Bishops William or John, is uncertain, there 
 being no record of a contemporary bishop ; and although long 
 prior to that period the bishop had vassals that assumed their sur- 
 name from these lands, it is also uncertain whether they sub- 
 sisted down to that date, the only individual of the name, Duncan 
 of Fernevel, being a witness to charters of the old Earl of Angus 
 as early as 1214 and 1227. b 
 
 The castle of Farnell, as it now stands, is a plain building 
 * Bag. Eolls, 82 ; Palgrave, 165 ; Prynne, 650. " Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 34, &c. 
 
36 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of three stories in height, with a circular staircase on the south 
 side or front. It is kept in good repair, having long been ap- 
 propriated by the noble family of Southesk as an asylum for 
 aged female paupers. It is pleasantly situated upon the north 
 bank of the pretty den of Farnell, surrounded by some fine old 
 trees, and a park or lawn which the tenant has judiciously kept 
 under grass for many years, pastured by sheep and cattle of the 
 most approved kinds. The south-west or oldest part of the 
 castle seems to have been built durin| the sixteenth century, 
 and two skew-put stones, on the north or back part of the house, 
 bear carvings of shields, charged respectively with the figures 
 here represented. The first of these, 
 being less wasted than the other, is 
 perhaps the more modern of the two ? 
 and bears the sacred monogram l{jg, 
 (Jesus Hominum Salvator), orna- 
 mented by a cross ; while the second 
 presents a crown in chief, with a heart-shaped figure in base. 
 This figure is rather puzzling, and may be construed either into an 
 ill-shaped mitre, or a kind of buckle, which were variously 
 formed in old times, or it may be the initial §H, If it is the 
 last-named object, it may be considered as referring to the time 
 of Bishop Meldrum, who succeeded to the See about the year 
 1490, and either died or resigned the office, 1512-17. Perhaps 
 the idea of its belonging to Meldrum — whether the figure repre- 
 sented be the initial 0L. or a bishop's mitre — is strengthened by 
 the fact that he was the only bishop of the diocese who bore a sur- 
 name commencing with §&., and the only one that conferred 
 the dignified name of a Palace upon the castle of Farnell. A 
 charter by him, granted in 1512, bears to be given " Apud pa- 
 latium nostrum de Fernevel." Meldrum had three Roman Ca- 
 tholic successors in oflice, of whom John Hepburn, of the noble 
 family of JSothwell, was the first as well as longest lived, having 
 died in 1558. 4 
 
 * Eeg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 169. 
 • a A somewhat similar figure to that upon -the Farnell shield, is upon the hase 
 of the seal of Hepburn, Bishop of Moray, 1523, and is described by Mr Laing as " a 
 heart-shaped buckle." — Scottish Seeds, p. 157, PI. 19, fig. 5. This Bishop was 
 uncle to Bishop Hepburn of Brechin, and to the latter it might alBO be supposed, 
 the figure on the shield at Farnell helonged. There were other shields upon the 
 
FARNELL — LANDS ALIENATED. 37 
 
 It has already been shewn that the lands of Farnell belonged 
 in property to the Bishoprick of Brechin, and it appears that in 
 1410 the joint lairds of Kinnaird — a domain which had been car- 
 ried by the marriage of three co-heiresses to the parties under- 
 named — laid claim to the " moir lyand to the Manyss of 
 Fernwell," a proceeding which Bishop Walter successfully 
 resisted in the courts of law. The case was tried at the county 
 town of Forfar before the Duke of Albany, " vpon the law 
 day eftir Yuill," and it is worthy of remark, that in the 
 passing of judgment in the case, which was done through the 
 dempster or doomster, we have one of the clearest notices 
 of the mode of declaring sentence through that ancient function- 
 ary. " Rouine of Deere," for such was the doomster's name, is 
 graphically described as briefly giving " dome in this forme saynd, 
 that the bischop of Brechineis borrowi3 foirsaid is of wertu and 
 force, and Dauid Panter, Dutho of Carnegy, and William of 
 Crammond in sic amerciament as thai aw to tyn into this court 
 for the wranguss recontreyng of the said broch [surety] , fundyne 
 throu the bischop." e 
 
 This sentence put an end to all further encroachments on the 
 privileges of bishops in this quarter — at least there is no further 
 notice of any, and until 1566, the lands of Farnell were held as be- 
 fore. But at that date Bishop Alexander Campbell, brother to the 
 laird of Ardkinglass, comptroller of Scotland, unfortunately ac- 
 quired the power to dispose of all the benefices within the diocese, 
 and of that privilege he took full advantage. So far as concerned 
 Farnell he disposed of all the church property there, for he 
 not only resigned the lands, towers, fortalice, manor and mains 
 of Farnell, with four acres of land adjoining the church — now 
 occupied as the glebe — together with the Croftheads, and the 
 whole lands of Maryton, with the salmon fishings, and the lands 
 of Esauxtoun, but also made over the office of bailie of the. whole 
 lands belonging to, or under the jurisdiction of the bishop, to 
 his relative the Earl of Argyle. The rental of the property thus 
 alienated amounted to £357, 10s. 8d. Scots. f It was through the 
 interest of Argyle that Campbell received the bishoprick ; and, 
 
 same building, but these, unfortunately are effaced. I have to express my obliga- 
 tions to the Earl of Southesk, in kin illy giving me casts of those curious stones, from 
 which the engravings are made. e Beg- Ep. Brechin., i. 29. ' Ibid., ii. 43, 205. 
 
38 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 seeing the precarious state of ecclesiastical matters, and desirous 
 at the same time to augment their own private resources, both 
 united their energies to reduce the wealth of the church, and con- 
 tinued to rob her coffers, until barely so much of the once exten- 
 sive revenue of Brechin was left as would maintain an ordinary 
 minister.? 
 
 It was in this way that the castle and lands of Farnell became 
 the property of the Earl of Argyle, who, sometime before 
 1568, had granted them — upon what grtrund is not apparent — 
 to his own relative, Catherine, Countess of Crawford, for in that 
 year she gave " the demesne lands of Fernwel " to her younger 
 sons. h The Ogilvys of Airly are said to have had an interest in 
 these lands ; but that is a popular error, contrary to all evidence. 
 The first Earl of Southesk, whose wife was grand-daughter to_ 
 Catherine, Countess of Crawford, was the first Carnegie of 
 Farnell. In the hands of that family these lands have ever since 
 continued, with the exception of the time they were under the 
 bann of forfeiture, in consequence of the fifth Earl having es- 
 poused the cause of the Chevalier de St George. 
 
 From that time until 1764 these estates were possessed by the 
 York Buildings' Company, by whom a lease or tack of them 
 was given in 1729 to Grant of Monimusk and Garden of Troup. 
 The lessees, aware that almost every one of the tenantry was in 
 arrear of rent, investigated narrowly into their individual circum- 
 stances, and unhesitatingly reported upon each, in regard to his 
 financial and more private matters. In consequence of this a sad 
 picture is presented of the state of the agricultural tenantry of 
 the period, whether in respect of their poverty or their lack of a 
 sense of honourable and straightforward dealing. Some of these 
 memorandums are extremely quaint and curious : — Mains and 
 Mill of Farnell were then tenanted by a widow who declared 
 herself incapable to pay up any arrears ; but farther enquiry 
 brought out the bad features of her character, and it is accord- 
 ingly recorded — e ' 'Tis uncertain what she may be able to pay, 
 but should by no means be spared, for she is a very cheeping 
 [plaintive or murmuring] woman, and can do better than she lets 
 on [admits], her being of a very strange temper, and conveys her 
 
 » Panmure Catalogue of Bishops, MS., 110. " Crawford Peerage Case, 219. 
 
FAKNELL— THE. TENANTRY OP 1729. 39 
 
 effects to her children, in order to defraud the heritor." The 
 tenant of Tillysoil adjoining was ground officer or bailiff over the 
 property. "With a view of getting quit of his arrears he dis- 
 poned his effects to a neighbour, and he is described as "not 
 only poor, but also houseless and graceless, and [one] who cer- 
 tainly should be removed from being officer, and made of what 
 can be." The farm of Egypt was then occupied by a father and 
 son ; the first is called " ane old sickly man, who may pay up 
 anything that is resting," and the latter, " a poor silly fellow, 
 good for nothing." 
 
 But it must not be inferred from this roll of delinquents that 
 the old Southesk tenantry were altogether bad, there being a few 
 well spoken of. The farmer of Greenlaw, for example, is de- 
 scribed as " a very honest like man, and has undertaken to pay 
 all : however," adds the writer (who, be it told to his honor, never 
 fails to speak favourably of the deserving), " 'tis alleged he is 
 fully as frank [desirous] as able at the bottom." The tenant of 
 Gateside is called " very mean [poor] and cannot pay much, and 
 his wife is melancholy ;" while John Lyall, ancester of the pre- 
 sent factor on the estate of Southesk, then farming a part of 
 Meikle Carcary,'is recorded as " a good tenant, and may pay 
 anything that is resting." 1 
 
 These curious entries might be multiplied, for there are similar 
 notices regarding the Panmure and Marischal tenantry, but enough 
 has been given to shew the miserable condition of the country dur- 
 ing these unsettled times, when the husbandman could neither sow 
 nor reap in safety the little he had at stake. It is curious to con- 
 trast these with the present times. Tile draining, and the re- 
 claiming of marshes and other waste land, though as well known 
 to the Romans more than 2000 years ago, as in Scotland at the 
 present time, had fallen into disuse, and only a dry gravel 
 hillock, or a patch on the margin of a burn or river, was now and 
 thenbr ought under the plough. The bank arC rig system was 
 in full force, by which one half of the ground — good or bad it 
 signified not — was rendered useful only for depositing stones and 
 the larger weeds. Fences were considered cumberers of the 
 ground, and the time of able-bodied men and women loitered 
 
 1 York Build. Go's Mem. Booh, the property of Lord Panmure. 
 
40 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 away in keeping a few ill-starred oxen from trespassing among a 
 sorry crop of grain, was deemed well spent. The cultivation of 
 green crop was but little, and foreign and artificial manures, 
 not at all heard of, while half a dozen of what were then consi- 
 dered large farms, would scarcely satisfy a modern farmer of 
 even humble ambition. 
 
 Between the housing of the husbandman and his cattle there was 
 then little difference : In the former the only light was admitted 
 by the same aperture in the roof of the dwelling as that by which 
 the smoke ascended. But now-a-days, through the philanthro- 
 phy of the minister of Oathlaw and others, and the kindness of 
 many landlords, farm labourers are lodged much more com- 
 fortably than were the great majority of masters within the 
 past hundred years, while the employer in his turn enjoys a 
 better residence and more personal comfort than did the great 
 mass of Scottish proprietors down till past the " forty-five." 
 
 It is only fair to add that in the improvement of agricultural 
 dwellings, as well as in that of the too much neglected school- 
 master, and also the parish church, the noble proprietor of Earnell 
 has shewn an example which cannot be too much nor too soon 
 followed throughout the country, whether in respect to the per- 
 sonal comfort of the labourers, or the chaste style of the archi- 
 tecture of their cottages, elements which cannot fail to have a 
 salutary influence on the morals and habits of the people. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Origin of the name of Farnell — the Kirk — Ancient Sculptured Monument — Kirk of 
 Cuikstone — its removal to Kinnaird — Old Portioners of Cuikstone — Pottery 
 Work — Story of Young Eeiden — Easter Fithie — Account of the Carnegies of 
 Kinnaird — Creation, Forfeiture, and Eestoration of the Earldom of Southesk — 
 the new Castle, and Deer Park, &o. 
 
 The Kirk of Earn ell is picturesquely situated upon a rising 
 ground nearly opposite the castle. Upon the north side is the 
 burn, and finely wooded den of Farnell, upon the south the stream 
 of the Pow,both of which are profusely ornamented by arn or alder 
 trees, particularly in the vicinity of the kirk, and as the Gaelic 
 
FARNELL — KIRK OF KUIKSTONE. 41 
 
 words Fern-n-ald, or alt, signifies " the stream or burn of arns," 
 the name of the parish may have thus originated. 
 
 William Herwart is the earliest known vicar of the parish -j 
 but the saint to whom the kirk was inscribed is unknown. Per- 
 haps the fine sculptured stone monument found there some years 
 ago, upon which are represented a beautifully interlaced cross, 
 Adam and Eve at the forbidden tree, and other objects of more 
 doubtful interpretation, may have marked the grave of an old 
 ecclesiastic. k 
 
 In Episcopal times the vicar of Farnell held the office of Dean 
 of the church of Brechin, and in the old taxatio the kirk is rated 
 at 20 merks. As now constituted Farnell is made up of two ec- 
 clesiastical districts, for anciently there was a chapel at Cuik- 
 stone or Quygstone. The names of two of the rectors of it have 
 been preserved, 1 and the site is about a mile north of the pre- 
 sent parish church, near a mound called Hume's cross, a name, 
 which although now of doubtful origin, perhaps refers to the 
 patron saint of the kirk. 
 
 The kirk of Cuikstone was supported by the teinds of the lands 
 of Kinnaird ; Balnamoon on the Southesk ; Pantaskal, near Bal- 
 birnie mill ; Over Dalgetty ; and by the vicarage and small teinds 
 of Middledrums, Greenden, and others ; and having, towards the 
 close of the sixteenth century, become " altogidder ruynous and 
 decayit," m it was rebuilt by Carnegie of Kinnaird about half a mile 
 to the eastward, and in front of his own castle. From that time 
 the name of the kirk and parish were changed to Kinnaird, and 
 served by a separate clergyman until 1787 when the kirk was 
 suppressed. The northwest portion of the parish was then added 
 to Brechin, and the rest to Farnell. 
 
 The site of the manse of Kinnaird is yet traceable, about three 
 hundred yards north of the kirk, and the road betwixt the two 
 places is known as the Manse Bide. There was no schoolmaster's 
 house there in 1729 — perhaps no teacher was required, — and the 
 kirk and kirkyard dykes appear to have then stood sadly in need 
 of repair. 11 The foundations of the kirk are yet to be seen, sur- 
 
 ' Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 67. k Sculpd. Stones of Scot., plate lxxxvi. 
 
 1 Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 72.— Robert Wyschart (1435) ; Andrew Walter (1452.) 
 ™ Acta Pari., iv. 358. 
 " York Build. Co.'s Inventory Booh MS., the property of Lord Panmure. 
 
42 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 rounded by several well sculptured gravestones, and an adjoining 
 spring called Pader, or Pater Well, is noticed in an old rhyme 
 regarding the love story of a young lady of Kinnaird. 
 
 The lands of Cuikstone or Quygstone, like those of Farnell, 
 were held of the Bishop of Brechin. Being divided into se- 
 veral portions, they were occupied in 1410 by parties called 
 John Williamson, Robert Adyson, John Alexanderson (Saun- 
 derson), and Nicholas Speid. The last named was ancestor to 
 George Speid, who had the lands qf Auchdovie, or Ardovie, 
 from Robert Carnegie of Kinnaird, in exchange for his part of 
 Cuikstone in 1549, p and from that date the Speids have continued 
 to possess Ardovie. Cuikstone was a pretty considerable hamlet 
 in old times, and had a brick or pottery work from at least 
 the middle of the seventeenth century ,« down to within the re- 
 collection of some old neighbours ; and it is a fact worthy of 
 notice, that a number of the cinerary urns, found in ancient stone 
 coffins in this quarter, are composed of the same sort of clay as 
 is got in the neighbourhood of Cuikstone. 
 
 Although Farnell is a place of considerable antiquity, it is poor 
 in traditionary lore. At Bed Den, on the west side of the parish, 
 where curious traces of early sepulture have been found, the fine 
 spring, called Beiden's Well, is locally described as the scene of 
 the tragedy of " Young Reiden," celebrated in the fine old bal- 
 lad of that name. This idea, with the exception of the opening 
 stanza of the ballad, as rehearsed by the old people of Farnell, is 
 not borne out by the context, and the notion had merely 
 originated in the peculiarity of the name, and in the freak of 
 some local rhymster, who (although he preserves " Clyde water" 
 and other associations of the older ballad), makes his version open 
 prosily thus : — 
 
 " Young Reiden was a gentleman, 
 A gentleman of fame ; 
 An' he's awa' to East FUhie, 
 To see his comely dame." 
 
 The lands of Fithie gave surname to a family that held a re- 
 
 Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 84. Besides these individuals, I" have somewhere 
 Been Duthac of Carnegy, who fell at Harlaw, designed of Kuilcstone. 
 r Orig. Charter in Ardovie Charter Chest. 
 ' (1646) — Presbytery Records of Brechin. 
 
FARNELL— CARNEGIES OF KINNAIRD. 43 
 
 spectable position in the county from about the middle of the 
 thirteenth century, until within these two hundred years. 1 These 
 lands also paid feu to the Bishop of Brechin, and probably the De 
 Fithies were vassals of the Bishops down to 1457, at which time 
 Lesly of Rothes had a grant of Easter Fithies ; but in little more 
 than a century afterwards the property came into the hands of 
 Sir Robert Carnegie of Kinnaird. 8 Once upon a day Fithie 
 could also boast of a castle, the last remains of which form the back 
 ■Wall of a cottar house ; and upon an adjoining knoll to the east, 
 popular story avers that the "lady fair" was burnt for the murder 
 of young Reiden ! 
 
 But of all these proprietors the Carnegies have been longest 
 settled in Farnell, and there they are still represented by their 
 chief, the .Earl of Southesk. Their original surname was Be 
 Balindard, assumed from the small property of Balandard, or 
 Balanard, locally called Bonhard, in the parish of Arbirlot.* 
 Martin Of Clermont says the first of the " Carnegies was con- 
 stable to the king's house at Fettercairn in William the Lion's 
 time, for which service he got the lands of Fesdow, and the 
 lands of Pitnemoone."™ As Balindard they may have held 
 that office, but not certainly as Carnegie, the surname appar- 
 ently being then unknown. 
 
 The earliest notice of the De Balindard family occurs about 
 the year 1230, when Gocelyn witnesses several charters to con- 
 temporary monasteries both in Angus and Fife. Jocelyn being 
 a common Norman name, perhaps the first of the family was 
 among the Norman settlers under David I. ; but John de Balin- 
 dard, the real progenitor of the Southesk branch, died about the 
 year 1280, and his property, which lay in the middle of the lord- 
 ship of Panmure, was exchanged by his great-grandson for the 
 lands of Carnegie in the parish of Carmyllie, which he had from 
 Sir Walter de Maule about 1350. From these lands, as appears 
 by the charter/ the progenitors of Carnegie of Kinnaird first 
 assumed the surname, and designation " of that ilk." 
 
 Having elsewhere given an account of this ancient and noble 
 
 ' Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 322. " Douglas' Peerage, ii. 425, 512. 
 
 ' Balrcm-ard in Gaelic, means " the town on a height," — Kvrtrord, a " high point, 
 or head." The names are quite descriptive of the position of both places. 
 u Macfwrlame, 's CoUec, Adv. Lib., Mdm/r. T Land of the Lindsays, 194. 
 
44 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 family , w it is superfluous to recount their lineage here, especially 
 as it was lately so satisfactorily proven before the House of Lords. 
 Suffice it to say that Duthoc of Carnegie, a son of the laird " of 
 that ilk," married one of three co-heiresses of the last male des- 
 cendent of the old family De Kinnaird, and thus acquired a settle- 
 ment there about 1409. Duthoc fell at Harlaw in 1411, and Sir 
 David Carnegie, sixth in lineal succession from Duthoc, being an 
 eminent lawyer and statesman, was elevated to the peerage, first 
 in 1616, as Lord Carnegie, and next in 1633, as Earl of Southesk. 
 He had four successors in the Earldom, all noblemen of tried and 
 approved loyalty ; but in consequence of the part taken by the 
 last of them against the Government in 1715, their titles, and 
 also their estates, which were scattered over seven counties, were 
 forfeited, and the Earl died an exile in France in 1729. 
 
 In 1764 the York Buildings' Company becoming insolvent, 
 the Southesk estates were bought back by Sir James Carnegie of 
 Pitarrow, great-grandfather of the present Earl of Southesk. 
 The Earl succeeded his father as seventh baronet of Pitarrow in 
 1849, and prosecuting the claim to the Earldom of Southesk, pre- 
 viously raised by his father, the Committee of Privileges of the 
 House of Lords, on Tuesday, the 24th July 1855, finding " the 
 claim proved in a very satisfactory manner," were pleased to 
 allow him, his heirs male, and lineal successors, the dignity and 
 title of Earl of Southesk, Baron Leuchars, in the peerage of Scot- 
 land, which were forfeited hf James fifth Earl in 1716.* The 
 brothers and sisters of the restored Earl were at the same time 
 placed in the rank of an Earl's children. Unfortunately, however, 
 these honours came too late to be shared in by his Lordship's 
 esteemed lady, and mother of his family — three daughters and a 
 son — the relentless arm of death having, only a few months be- 
 fore, closed her earthly career at the early age of twenty-five. 
 
 The present castle of Kinnaird, which, from its elevated posi- 
 tion, overlooks a great part of the surrounding country — including 
 the eastern portion of the fertile valley of Southesk, the town and 
 
 w Land of the Lindsays, 193-200. An omission having been inadvertently 
 made in the notice of this family in Land of the Lindsays, p. 195, line 29, read, and 
 insert thus, — Sir David Carnegie married, first, Elizabeth Ramsay, heiress of Col- 
 luthie and Leuchars, by whom he had two daughters- By his second wife, daughter 
 to Sir James Wemyss of Brogie, he had four sons and three daughters. The eldest 
 son, Sir David, held many high offices, &c. * Published Report of the Case. 
 
FARNELL — KINNAIRD CASTTiE. 45 
 
 basin of Montrose — is supposed to occupy much the same place as 
 the castle which the Earl of Crawford burned down in 1452. 
 Nearly two hundred years ago, Kinnaird and Farnell were 
 quaintly described as "without competition the fynest place, tak- 
 ing altogether, in the shyre;" and as regards the castle and park 
 of Kinnaird at least, the description is not inapplicable even now. 
 
 Since the accession of the present noble owner, the castle and 
 neighbourhood have undergone a complete change. The park- 
 wall has been rebuilt and greatly extended, so as to enclose 1500 
 acres within its bounds, and arrangements are in progress by 
 which the deer-park (at present comprising half this area, and 
 containing several hundred fallow deer of the old Kinnaird breed), 
 will ultimately occupy more than a thousand acres imperial. 
 
 The Castle has been remodelled, after the design of Mr Bryce 
 of Edinburgh, in the style of architecture which prevailed through- 
 out France towards the beginning of the 16th century, and which 
 differs from the usual Scottish development of the same type, in 
 its larger openings, its higher and heavier roofs, its freer use of 
 Italian and classical forms, and its generally more ornate charac- 
 ter. The present building is nearly square. The west and prin- 
 cipal front looks towards the deer-park from which it is separated 
 by a balustraded terrace wall, and a stone balcony of similar 
 character, with a double flight of steps at the centre, traverses 
 the greater part of its length, which altogether is 208 feet. The 
 carriage entrance is on the north side ; on the south is the con- 
 servatory and flower garden. 
 
 From the ground to the vane on the highest turret the height 
 is 115 feet ; but the platform upon the central tower, which nearly 
 ranges with the tops of the corner towers, is 30 feet lower. The 
 interior is furnished with a well-selected library, and a still more 
 valuable collection of paintings adorn the walls. Among these 
 pictures are some choice originals by Filippo Lippi, the Carracci, 
 Dominichino, Poussin, 'Vandyke, Teniers, Lely, and Jamesone 
 of Aberdeen, several curious historical portraits, and also numer- 
 ous engravings by well-known ancient and modern masters. 
 
46 .MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 oraatle, OTonbent, an* &oton of #lontto*e. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Castle of Montrose — Gatekeeper appointed by William I. — visited by Edward I. — 
 destroyed by Wallace — Tenures of Ae lands of Inyaney, Bonnyton, Kinnaird, 
 &o. — Bailie and Burgesses did homage to Edward I. at Berwick-— Convent of 
 Dominican Friars founded by Alan Durward — Eempved nearer the town by 
 Panter of Newmanswalls— Discontent of the Friars — their lands of Caregownie 
 plundered by the Earl of Crawford. 
 
 The Castle of Montrose had a commanding position upon, or 
 near to the Forthill, about a mile above the fall of the South Esk 
 into the sea. The time of its erection is unknown ; but in the 
 year 980, the Danes are said to have obtained anchorage in that 
 river, and to have begun their predatory incursions in Scotland, 
 which were ultimately checked by Kenneth III. at Luncarty, by 
 destroying both the town and castle of Montrose, and putting 
 the citizens to the sword. a 
 
 But the real history of the castle dates from the time of William 
 the Lion. He made it an occasional residence, dated charters 
 from it between the years 1178 and 1198, 11 and also appointed 
 a person named Crane to be its gatekeeper. For that office 
 Crane had the heritable fee of the lands of Inyaney, on the south 
 side of the river, and was succeeded by his son Swayne, and 
 grandson Simon, the last of whom died without male issue, leav- 
 ing five daughters. On the death of their father these daughters 
 made a joint claim to Inyaney, and their right being questioned, 
 the matter came before the courts of law. An inquest was ac- 
 cordingly instituted in 1261-2, and the assize, consisting of 
 eighteen of the chief barons of the county, gave decision in favour 
 of the five co-heiresses. c 
 
 * Abercromby's Martial Atchievements, i. 179. * Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., ii. 86. 
 c Acta Pari., i. 90. See Appendix, No. VI. 
 
MONTROSE — THE CASTLE, 47 
 
 From that time, until the Wars of the Independence, no trace 
 is found of the castle. It was captured and destroyed by Wal- 
 lace in 1297. In the previous year Edward and his retinue went 
 there from Forfar, by Arbroath and Farnell, on the 7th of July, 
 and remained until the 12th of the same month. During that 
 sojourn the English King received the homage of a great number 
 of barons and clergy from all parts of the kingdom, including some 
 from the immediate neighbourhood. 11 He also received the sub- 
 mission of King John Baliol, who, as quaintly remarked by the 
 writer of the Diary of Edward's expedition, " did render quietly 
 the realme of Scotland, as he that had done amiss." e 
 
 By that record, and several others, Baliol's submission is re- 
 presented as having occurred at Montrose ; but this account is 
 at variance with the instrument of resignation itself, which plainly 
 declares that the humiliating scene took place " apud Brichin," 
 on the 10th of July, in presence of the King, and the bishop of 
 Durham. f Edward visited Brechin at that time, solely to receive 
 Baliol's submission, as had been previously arranged, and returned 
 to Montrose on the same day, a fact, which had doubtless caused 
 the writers alluded to, to lay that scene at the latter place. 
 
 Although David II. was frequently at Montrose towards the 
 
 close of his reign,s no further mention occurs of the castle after 
 
 the visit of Sir William Wallace, save the casual notice of it in 
 
 the patent of the original Dukedom ©f Montrose. That patent was 
 
 granted by James III. to David Lindsay, Earl of Crawford, in 
 
 1488, for his loyal services at the battle of Blackness, and it is 
 
 therein stated that along with " the greater and loftier title " of 
 
 Duke of Montrose, Crawford had hereditarily the capital messuage 
 
 and castlestead of Montrose, the burgh and town, with the great 
 
 and small customs of its ports, harbours, and fisheries, &c. h The 
 
 words of the patent — " castri de Montrose, vulgariter nuncu- 
 
 patum le Castelsted " — implies that the castle was then decayed 
 
 and that nothing remained excepting its site, or at most, the 
 
 ruins, the word stead being used in Scotland merely to signify 
 
 the area or marks of a building. Probably the castle had not 
 
 been rebuilt after Wallace's time ; but, as already shewn, it was 
 
 d Ragman Rolls, 89-92 ; Prynne, 651 ; Palgrave, 167-73. 
 
 c Bannatyne Miscel., i. 277. ' Prynne, 647. 
 
 e Reg. Mag. Sig., pp. 43-70. h Report on the Montrose Claim, 376. 
 
48 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 a place of much importance during, and for long after the reign 
 of William L, and some estates in the vicinity were held under 
 tenures of certain services to the King's court at Montrose. 
 
 Besides Inyaney or Aneny, now called Ananias} which Crane 
 and his descendants held as heritable gatekeepers, the adjoining 
 lands of Bonnyton were held for supplying fresh fish to the royal 
 table;' Kinnaird, Carcary, and some others, for keeping the 
 King's ale cellar ; k and Muirmills, a little to the westward went 
 with the keepership of the royal hunting fofest of Montreuthmont, 
 with which the forester had fourpence for each spade casting 
 peats in that niuir, 1 — all of which ancient properties, together 
 with a portion of Montreuthmont muir, belongs to the lordship of 
 Southesk. 
 
 Soon after Edward returned to Berwick in August 1296, no 
 fewer than twelve of the burgesses of Montrose went there and 
 took the oaths of allegiance to England, for themselves and the 
 community of the town. m This, it ought to be observed, is the 
 only instance of burgesses owning the superiority of Edward, 
 so far as regards the towns of Angus, though those of almost 
 every other principal burgh in the kingdom did so at the place 
 where the King held court — a fact which goes far to shew that 
 perhaps no other town in the county had King's burgesses at the 
 same early date — or, in other words, were not royal burghs. 
 
 The names of those burgesses, given below, shew a mixed 
 lineage of Anglo-French, Saxon, and Scotch, and some persons, 
 bearing similar surnames are still in Montrose. 
 
 flljjomag ©uffocfe, and SDam ffiolO, the latter of whom was bailie 
 of the burgh. Of the first of these surnames I have found 
 no other instance — that of Gold is still common in Forfar- 
 shire, and is, doubtless, synonymous with Goold and Guild. 
 
 1 The orthography of this name is various — Annand, Annane, Annanie, Inyaney, 
 Inieneny, Inyoney, Inyanee, Inneane, and Inianey. J£an-an4, in Gael., means " the 
 island of birds." ' Inf. from the late P. Chalmers, Esq., of Aldhar. 
 
 k Charter by Jas. VI. to Sir John Camegy of Kinnaird, Oct. 14, 1592. 
 
 1 Inq. Speoiales, Eorfarsh., No. 374. I am told by John I. Chalmers, Esq., of 
 Aldbar, who is proprietor of a portion of this muir, that he has seen the name spelled 
 Monroymonth, which would not inaptly signify " the royal moss on the high ground." 
 The common pronounciation, Monrwmon, is not very dissimilar to this. 
 
 m Prynne (653), gives Patrick, Abbot of Menros, &c. ; Eagman Rolls (117), 
 Mewros ; but as the name appears in the same deed with those of the Abbots of 
 Jedburgh, Dryburgh and Kelso, it doubtless refers to the Abbot of Melrose, which 
 is still popularly called Mewrose. 
 
MONTROSE — BURGESSES OF 1296. 49 
 
 i^tnrg *>e ¥^a6dj), probably a local or territorial name. 
 3So&n fit? &tiam, ptto U fit? JWaufcelom, and gjo&n le fit? &Iegn, or 
 John Adamson, Hugh Malcolmson or MacMalcolm, and John 
 Alanson, or MacAlan, all personal or paternal names. 
 ^fjilfp Dc HogDir, a well known territorial name, famous in 
 ancient history, and modern literature, assumed, perhaps 
 from the neighbouring territory of Logy-Montrose. 
 3)oJn tie lEjjorneton, also a local or territorial name, and perhaps 
 
 a cadet of the family of that ilk in the Mearns. 
 Wiahex le JWercer, of which name there was also Stephen, a 
 burgess of Berwick that did homage to King Edward in 1291, 
 and Austin, and Bernard, respectively burgesses of Roxburgh 
 and Perth, who did the same service about the same time as 
 Walter of Montrose," and from the burgess of Perth, the old 
 family of Mercer of Aldie claim their descent. 
 ^Salter J)e idogsSg, doubtless a scion of the family of that Ilk, 
 near Montrose, who had an early settlement there as vassals 
 of the old Norman family De Malherb, and in consequence 
 assumed their surname from these lands. The remaining 
 burgesses were 
 ZSKilltam Strong, and SJoJm ®rot, names now unknown in the 
 
 district.? To these ought to be added 
 BTjlomass le porter tie i|Munros. q This individual, recorded by 
 Palgrave only, had perhaps been connected in some way 
 with the castle; but of his history nothing farther is known, 
 although the surname is not uncommon even now. 
 Such are the few remaining traces of the old castle and burgesses 
 of Montrose, and it is to be regretted that those of its Convent 
 are even still more obscure — the very site of the original founda- 
 tion being matter of conjecture. It was " biggit and foundit," 
 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in 1230, by Alan the Dur- 
 ward or Hostiarius, the most daring and powerful Scotch mag- 
 nate of his time, and the last male representative of a family 
 surnamed De Lundin, who had footing in- Scotland under David 
 I., from whom or Malcolm IV., an ancestor obtained the lands of 
 Lundie in Angus. 1 The Monks, of the order of St Dominic, 
 were, in consequence of the colour of their habit, commonly called 
 
 ■■ Rag. Bolls, 12 ; 121, 122. " Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 42. 
 
 ? Prynne, 654 ; Bag. Bolls, 124. i Palgrave, 197. r Cbalmers' Caled., i. 533. 
 H 
 
50 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Black Friars, also Fratres Prcedieatores, because they were allowed 
 to go abroad and preach, and beg their living, Alexander IT. 
 introduced them into Scotland, where they had fifteen Con- 
 vents ; and Spottiswood quaintlyre marks that though " they pro- 
 fessed great poverty, yet when their nests were pulled down they 
 were found too rich for mendicants." 3 
 
 But although the site of Durward's foundation is not known 
 with certainty, we may conjecture that it stood on that portion of 
 the common links of Montrose which still bears the name of St 
 Mary, patroness of the Convent, situated a little to the eastward of 
 Victoria Bridge.' This is mere supposition, however, for beyond 
 incidental notices in 1245 and 1370, of certain annuities which 
 the convent received out of the lands of Kossie, and others, 11 no 
 farther record of it exists until the late period of 1516, when the 
 celebrated Patrick Panter, of the Newmanwalls family, and Abbot 
 of Cambuskenneth, had liberty from Parliament to remove the 
 house to the immediate vicinity of the town. For the better 
 maintenance of " the new place," as it is called, Panter made a 
 grant to it of the teinds of Spittleschelis and Denside in Garvock, 
 and a payment from Balandro in Benholm, also the teinds of 
 Newmanis Wallis, and croft at Balkilly (Balkeelie, in Craig?); 
 and those of Claysched and Saundhaueh, and the fishings of the 
 nett of the Virgin in the North Esk, called " Marynett." To 
 these he further added twenty merks Scots from the lands of Dun- 
 hasny (Dalhesney), Dabley (Dooly), Skannach (Shanno), and Cor- 
 niscorun (Corneskcorn) , in the lordship of Glenesk, which were 
 alienated by John, Earl of Crawford ; fifty merks out of the 
 barony of Feme ; six merks out of the lands of Cukestoun, in the 
 barony of Roskoby, and parish of Farnell ; and six merks from 
 the lands of Ballindoch and pertinents* at Inverkeillor — reserving 
 to himself and heirs the patronage of the hospital, and a burial 
 place in the northern part of the choir/ 
 
 1 Hist, of Religious Houses, 487. 
 
 * This bridge, which crosses the railway, had its name in consequence of Queen 
 Victoria having landed there en route from. Balmoral to London, Sept. 28, 1848. 
 
 » Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 337 ; Chamb. Rolls, i. 541-5. 
 
 T Acta Pari., ii. 389-91. Sir John Erskine of Dun resigned the lands of Spit- 
 talschiells in favour of the Hospital of Montrose, because the Master wished to build 
 a new church from the foundation, the lands being rather a loss to Erskine than 
 otherwise. — Spaldmig Miscel., iv. p. x. John Adamson, afterwards Provincial of the 
 order of St Dominic in Scotland, was Abbot of the Convent of. Montrose in 1516. — 
 -Records Univ. of Glasgow, p. xxxv. 
 
MONTEOSE— THE CONVENT. 51 
 
 Notwithstanding those additional revenues, it appears from 
 the moment the Convent was removed, that discontent reigned 
 within its walls, and in the course of a few years the Friars, dis- 
 satisfied with the locality, craved Parliament to allow them to 
 return to their old ahode. Their chief ground of complaint 
 was the nearness of the Convent to the public thoroughfare, by 
 which they were continually disturbed in their devotions by the 
 noise and traffic of horses and currocks to and from the town. w 
 Whether the prayer of this memorial was granted is uncertain, 
 for barring the authority of Spottiswood, who says they " were 
 brought back to their former dwelling by an allowance of Parlia- 
 ment in the year 1524," I have found no notice of the matter. 
 
 Remains of the hospital founded by Panter were visible at no 
 distant date. These stood in the Sandhaugh above-mentioned, 
 about a mile nearer the town than the field of St Mary, before 
 alluded to, and within the garden ground upon the west side of 
 Murray Street; but of the character of the architecture of the 
 fabric nothing is preserved. There is little doubt, however, that 
 if it had had any peculiar excellence in its style that had not been 
 allowed long to survive the Reformation, and evidence remains 
 to shew that previously, certain lands belonging to the Convent 
 did not escape the ravages of the notorious David Lindsay, eighth 
 Earl of Crawford, who, in his common deeds of oppression over 
 all classes of society in the shire, persecuted among others the 
 poor friars of Montrose in every manner of way, and by " master- 
 ful ejection " deprived them of their crops and "thair aught pairts 
 of the lands of Carsegowny," for which a decree was passed 
 against Crawford at the instance of Friar Patrick Pillane and the 
 rest of the Convent/ 
 
 When these lands, which are situated in the parish of Aber- 
 lemno and barony of Finhaven, were sold, the right of a day's 
 shooting, and the use of the kitchen of the house, were reserved 
 in favour of the trustees of the hospital, as well as a small annual 
 payment. In virtue of that reservation the civic authorities of 
 Montrose, as trustees of that fund, occasionally take advantage 
 of their old right, without being restricted, we presume, either to 
 the " aught pairts of the lands," or to the kitchen of the house 
 of Carsegownie. 
 
 w Acta Pari., ii. 395. * Crawford Peerage Case, 10. 
 
52 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Old Church and Altarages — Notices of the Reformation— Erskine of Dun establishes 
 a teacher of Greek — Wishart and Methven — Rev. John Duray — Inhabitants of 
 Tayook petition the Presbytery — a second Minister appointed — Old Steeple — 
 Hearse gifted to the Kirk by Admiral Clark — Episcopal and other churches — 
 Grammar School— grant to it by Robert I. — Medals, &c. — Eminent natives. 
 
 The parish church of Montrose, dedicated to St John the Evan- 
 gelist, was in the diocese of Brechin, and rated in the ancient 
 taxatio at £20 Scots. 1 From the year 1214, that a person hearing 
 the christian name of Henry, subscribes himself " Chaplain of 
 Munros," to a deed of that period, no further mention is found of 
 any of the old churchmen until the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century . b There were several altarages in the church, but the 
 names of two only survive — the Holyrood, raised in celebra- 
 tion of the exaltation of our Saviour's Cross, and the altar of 
 the Blessed Trinity, the latter of which was founded by Elisco and 
 Thomas Falconer, burgesses of Montrose, and supported by the 
 rents of certain lands in the vicinity . e 
 
 But, although the ecclesiastical history of Montrose is thus 
 meagre in the time of Romanism, it becomes more interesting 
 during the stirring period of the Beformation, the inhabitants 
 being among the first in Scotland to embrace the cause and pro- 
 pagate its principles. This may be attributed to two sources, 
 — first, the influence that was brought to bear upon them by 
 Erskine of Dun ; and, next, the direct intercourse which their 
 chief merchants had with the Continent, from whence they 
 brought copies of the holy scriptures, then strictly prohibited from 
 being read or circulated in this country. 
 
 As will be shewn in a subsequent Section, down almost to the 
 very year that the future Superintendent returned from abroad, 
 where he imbibed the spirit of religious liberty, a series of bitter 
 feuds subsisted betwixt the family of Dun and the inhabitants. 
 Old differences were then forgotten, and Erskine shewed his fa- 
 vor for Montrose by establishing and maintaining at his own 
 expense, a teacher of the Greek language, until which time that 
 
 * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 241. b Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 261. " Ibid., 39. 
 
MONTEOSE — THE REFORMATION. 53 
 
 tongue was little known, and perhaps not publicly taught in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Upon the death or retirement of M. Marsilliers, the first teacher 
 of Greek at Montrose, he was succeeded by his pupil the cele- 
 brated George Wishart, who taught and circulated the Greek 
 New Testament among his scholars so openly, that Bishop Hep- 
 burn of Brechin, found it necessary to summon him upon a charge 
 of heresy ; and deeming it more advisable to leave the country 
 than appear before Hepburu, Wishart fled to England, where he 
 remained nearly six years. He returned to Scotland in July 
 1543, and immediately thereafter commenced to preach publicly 
 " in Montr ois within a private house next unto the church except 
 one." After this he went to Dundee for a short season, but again 
 returned to Montrose, and on that occasion administered the com- 
 munion at Dun. d From these parts he was soon again expelled, 
 and the people, in consequence of the increased oppression and 
 tyranny which were being constantly manifested towards them, 
 became doubly eager in the cause of the Reformation, and a 
 preacher of the name of Paul Methven, originally a baker in 
 Dundee (who although by no means a person of unexceptionable 
 character, appears to have been pretty well suited for the 
 times), was invited to Montrose, and having administered the sa- 
 crament " to several of the lieges in a manner far different from 
 the divine and laudable use of the faithful Catholic church, he was 
 denounced rebel and put to the horn as fugitive, " e while the com- 
 munity themselves were commanded to attend mass, and parti- 
 cipate in the rites of the Roman church at Easter. f 
 
 It is needless to say that these injunctions, so opposite to the 
 conscience and feelings of the great body of the people of Scot- 
 land, were but tardily complied with ; and, by shewing a deter- 
 mined resistence to those arbitrary measures, within ten years 
 from the date of the last mentioned occurrence, the pulpits of 
 most of the churches were filled by reformed clergymen. The first 
 reformed minister at Montrose, was Mr Thomas Anderson, who 
 was assisted by Mr John Beatie, reader, the former of whom had 
 a salary of 28 merks, and the latter £60 Scots.s Both these gen- 
 
 d Wodrow's Biog. Coll., i. 431. " Pitcaim's Trials, i. *406. 
 
 ' Tytler's Hist, of Soot., vi. 96. t Keg. of Ministers, 14. 
 
54 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 tlemen are worthy of notice, in consequence of the kind attention 
 they bestowed upon the more celebrated James Melville, during 
 his school boy days. Melville describes the former as " a man 
 of mean gifts, bot of singular guid lyff;" and the latter, as " a 
 godly honest man, wha read the Scripture distinctlie, and with a 
 religious and devot feilling, wherof," continues the truly excel- 
 lent Melville, " I fand my selff movit to giff guid eare, and lern 
 the Stories of Scripture, also to takplesure in the Psalmes, quhilk 
 he haid almost all by hart, in prose." 11 It was also at Montrose, 
 and under Mr Anderson, that Melville, at the early age of thir- 
 teen, became a communicant of that church, of which, at a fu- 
 ture period, he was so great an ornament. 
 
 Perhaps Anderson was succeeded by Mr John Duray, father- 
 in-law to James Melville. Like most of his reforming brethren, 
 Duray was educated in the Eomish faith, and his own brother, the 
 Abbot of Dumfermline, was his preceptor. Expelled that con- 
 vent for heresy, he was imprisoned at Edinburgh for some time, 
 and then sent "to ward" in Montrose in 1583, a time when ec- 
 clesiastical matters were obtaining a more liberal footing, when 
 in the course of ten years the King— with what degree of sincerity 
 is questionable — gave the country to believe that he was so sen- 
 sible of the value of the preaching of the true gospel, and to the 
 sacrifices that had been made by reforming ministers that he 
 granted £140 a year to this same Mr Duray, who had long suf- 
 fered persecution. Duray died in 1600, and perhaps no greater 
 honor could be paid to the memory of any man than that set forth 
 in the simple narrative of the grant of his pension. We shall al- 
 low it to tell its own graphic story, according to which the grant 
 was made by the King in consideration of " the greit lang and 
 ernest travellis and labouris' sustenit be his louit orator Johnne 
 Dury, minister of Groddis word at Montr ois in the trew preaching 
 of Goddis word, besydes the greit chargis and expenses maid be 
 him thir motley zeirs bygane in avancing the publict affayres of the 
 kirk — thairwithall remembring the greit househald and famelie 
 of barnis quhairwith he is burdynit," which pension was granted 
 in favour of Duray, his wife and son, and " the lang est levair 
 of thame thre." 1 
 
 k Melville's Diary, 22. ' Acta Pari., iii. 551. 
 
MONTROSE — SPIRITUAL NEGLECT OF TAYOCK. 55 
 
 It does not appear that any of Mr Duray's successors in the 
 ministry at Montrose made themselves conspicuous in the subse- 
 quent: struggles of the church; indeed they seem to have been lax 
 even in their parochial duties, and down;to the close of the year 
 1642, the ecclesiastical boundaries of the parish were so ill defined, 
 and the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants so little cared for, 
 that the people resident upon the lands of Tayock, Newbigging, 
 and Pugiston, were not aware whether they belonged *to the kirk 
 of Brechin or to that of Montrose, as they were never visited by 
 any minister, nor called upon to attend any church. Nor did the 
 presbytery seem to know themselves to which of these churches 
 the people belonged, for when requested to decide in the matter, 
 they, without settling the question of right, merely declared that 
 the petitioners " may be mor commodiouslie served at the kirk off 
 Montrose nor at the-kirk. off Brecheine,"J in the latter of which 
 parishes the lands and town of Tayock (however strange it may 
 appear now-a-days)j were in reality situated. k 
 
 But this deliverance proved unsatisfactory, and about thirty 
 years afterwards, the same people, if not in much the same dilemma 
 as to the parish of their domicile, were in an equally deplorable 
 position in regard to spiritual superintendance, for they again 
 complained that they " wer not looked after nor owned as parish- 
 ioners by any minister, whereupon the presbiterie determined that 
 the inhabitants of Tayock should be parishioners of Montrose, 
 there to hear the Word and to be catechised, and to receive the 
 benefit of baptisme and marriage, and there to communicat* when 
 the occasion served." 1 
 
 Thus far the dubiety of the parochial district of Tayock was 
 settled, but not permanently, for these lands and some others to 
 the west of the burn were afterwards disjoined from Montrose and 
 added to the parish of Dun, as had been previously the kirk and 
 emoluments of Egglisjohn (now Langley Park), which was "of 
 auld ane chappell erectit for pilgrimage."" 1 
 
 Hitherto we have been speaking of Montrose as a single ecclesi- 
 astical charge, for it was not until towards the close of the seven- 
 teenth century, during the time of the last Episcopal minister, 
 
 i Brechin Presb. Sec., MS. k Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 239. 
 
 1 (1674)— Ibid. <° Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 343. 
 
56 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 that it became collegiate. It was so incorporated by special 
 grant of Parliament, upon petition of the inhabitants, who craved 
 Government to allow them to tax themselves for the support of 
 a second minister 11 — a proceeding which has since led to much 
 disagreeable feeling both in Montrose and Edinburgh, these being 
 the only towns in Scotland where the inhabitants are chargeable 
 with what is called annuity tax. 
 
 A Mr David Lyell was then parochial minister, and a Mr Neill 
 was the first second or burgh minister. Of the latter I have 
 learned nothing ; but the former, originally a presbyterian, was 
 ordained at Aberdeen while Mr Andrew Cant was moderator of 
 that presbytery, and becoming afterwards an episcopalian, he 
 intimated the sentence of deposition upon his old friend Cant. 
 The latter, being in the church at the time, stood up and gave 
 utterance to the characteristic exclamation — " Davie ! Davie ! I 
 kent ay you wad doe this since the day I lyed my hands on your 
 head 1" Lyell " was a thundering preacher," and the same au- 
 thority says " that some days before his death, as he was walking 
 in the Links about the twilight, at a pretty distance from the 
 town, he espyed as it wer a woman, all in white, standing not far 
 from him, who immediately disappeared, and he coming up 
 presently to the place, saw nae person there, though the Links be 
 very plain. Only casting his eye on the place where shee stood, 
 he saw tuo words drawn or written as it had been with a staff 
 upon the sand—' sentenced and condemned ! ' — upon which 
 he came home pensive and melancholy, and in a little sickens 
 and dyes." 
 
 Prfor to the erection of the present parish church, which is a 
 large plain house with two sets of galleries, the building was in 
 the Gothic style of architecture " originally venerable and well 
 proportioned," but latterly " rendered very gloomy and irregular, 
 by large additions to the galleries, and to the building itself."? 
 The present kirk was built in 1791, and the old square tower, 
 with octagonal spire, which stood at the west gable, gave place 
 in 1843 to the handsome Gothic steeple, now so great an orna- 
 ment to the town. It ought to be remarked, that the old steeple 
 
 " Acta Pari., ix. 188. 
 
 Wodrow (Analecta, i. 107), had thin story from Mr J. Guild, Minr. of Pert. 
 
 » Old Stat. Acot. of Scot., v. 32. 
 
MONTROSE — CHANDELIER OF THE KIRK. 57 
 
 was not only an object of unknown antiquity, but also of some 
 historical note. It was from that " stiple head " that " the fyre 
 of joy " blazed in June 1566, when the news of the birth of King 
 James were announced; 1 and, upon a previous occasion, it was 
 the scene of the murder of a young priest, an incident which will 
 be subsequently referred to. 
 
 The chandelier, suspended from the roof of the church, is the 
 oldest existing relic of the kirk of Montrose. The candlestick 
 or hearse is an article of great antiquity in churches, and pos- 
 sibly originated in tapers being lighted in memory of deceased 
 persons in Roman Catholic times. They received the Latin 
 name, arbores, in consequence of their similarity to trees, the 
 lights being placed on the projecting branches ; — the earliest 
 were made of wood, and when metal came to be used, they were 
 variously and elegantly designed. The hearse at Montrose is 
 made of brass, about four feet in height, and consists of a large 
 globe and shaft, surmounted by an elegant moulding of an angel 
 with uplifted hands and outstretched wings, resting on a dolphin. 
 The chandelier has sixteen branches divided into two rows of 
 eight each, the lower row projecting beyond the upper. The 
 figures of Justice, and of St George and the Dragon, with the 
 armorial insignia of the gallant donor and his wife, Christina 
 Lamb, are engraved upon the four sides of the globe, and these 
 words are around the base : — 
 
 "RICHARDVS CLARK MONTROSE NATVS 
 
 NVNC AVTEM VICE-ADMIRALIS REGIS SVEDI^E 
 
 CHRISTIANS FIDEI TESTIMONiO HVIVS TEMPLI ORNAMENTO 
 
 COGNATIS SV1S CSTERISQVE 
 
 HVIVS VRBIS INCOLIS PRISTINI ET INTEGRI AMORIS PIGNOKI 
 
 ffl^VM HOC CANDELABRVM HIC ERIGI 
 
 FECIT ANNO MDCXXIII." 
 
 This candlestick, as intimated by the inscription, was presented 
 to the kirk by Admiral Clark, of the Swedish fleet, a native of 
 Montrose; but so little was it respected by his fellow-citizens 
 that upon the introduction of gas into the church, it was thrown 
 aside as useless, and being altogether lost for a time, was 
 ultimately discovered in a blacksmith's shop denuded of its 
 branches. A worthy citizen had it repaired and replaced in its 
 
 ' Melvill's Diary, 18. 
 I 
 
58 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 old position, and it was clumsily fitted up for gas, in the autumn 
 of 1854. The gift is celebrated in verse by a local poet, who 
 thus speaks of it in the opening stanza of his poem : — 
 
 " The bless of .Heivin be on thie hedde, 
 Thou pious, gude, and nobille Swede, 
 
 For gift so fair and kind ! 
 I trow, before we got thy licht, 
 "We sate in darkness Hack as nioht 
 
 And wanderit like the blind." r 
 
 The old burial ground, in which lie, the remains of Maitland 
 the historian, and many of the old notable citizens of the place, 
 surrounds the kirk. It is over-crowded by monuments, some 
 of which are handsome, and a few of the older stones contain 
 quaint inscriptions, the more ancient of which were published in 
 Monteith's Theater of Mortality, during the first half of last cen- 
 tury. The Houff of Kinnaber, near the North Water Bridge, 
 Rosehill Cemetery, and the burial ground of St Peter's Episcopal 
 Chapel, are the only other places of interment in the parish. 
 
 St Peter's, founded in 1722, is an English Episcopal Chapel, 
 and until lately, when it fell a prey to accidental fire, was the 
 same house which Dr Johnson describes in his Journey to the 
 Western Islands, as " clean to a degree unknown in any other 
 part of Scotland, with commodious galleries, and what was less 
 expected, with an organ." This interesting edifice had been 
 greatly extended and repaired in 1856 at a cost of nearly £3000, 
 and was re-opened for Divine service on the 21st of December 
 of that year, and upon the evening of the 7th of February 
 following, by overheating the flues of the stove, as is supposed, 
 the building unfortunately caught fire, and the flames spreading 
 rapidly, the internal furnishings, including the fine organ, and the 
 altar piece of Moses and Aaron, were consumed, and within a few 
 hours, little remained save the smouldering ruins. The Scottish 
 Episcopal Chapel, the quoad sacra, or Melville Church, and more 
 particularly Free St John's, are tasteful buildings. 
 
 Apropos to the churches are the public schools. These have 
 long been famous as places of rudimentary education, as is suffi- 
 ciently attested by the superior character and number of scholars 
 that have been there educated, it being a remarkable fact that 
 
 ' Bowiok's Characters and Sketches, p. 67, 8vo., Montrose, 1827. 
 
MONTROSE — GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 59 
 
 at one and the same time, no fewer than four of them were 
 Fellows of the Royal Society of London. 8 We have already 
 seen that Montrose was the cradle of the Greek language in 
 Scotland ; but it is not so generally known that so early as the 
 days of The Bruce, the seminaries had acquired so much celebrity 
 that he granted the sum of 20s. out of the public revenue to- 
 wards their support* — a fact which proves that even in those so- 
 called days of ignorance, the legislature of Scotland took an in- 
 terest in the great and now engrossing cause of education. 
 
 That grant is only once mentioned, but in more recent times 
 the grammar school has received many important benefactions. 
 A valuable library of the classics was long since gifted to it, and 
 besides the medals and book prizes of the Angus Club, which are 
 common to all the more important schools in the shire, special 
 medals have been given by Sir James Duke, M.P., and by a 
 Masonic Lodge in Bombay, the latter in honor of Sir James 
 Burnes, long Grandmaster of the Scotch Lodge in India. Besides 
 these the interest of £100 was also left by the late Sir Alexander 
 Burnes, to be distributed in prizes to the most proficient of the 
 classical scholars. 
 
 The names of the early masters of the academy are unknown ; 
 but apart from Monsieur Marsilliers, the first Greek master, and 
 George Wishart, who became his successor, the grammar school 
 had the honor of being taught by David Lindsay, son to the 
 laird of Edzell. Lindsay was afterwards bishop, first of Brechin, 
 and then of Edinburgh, and it was at his head that Jeanie 
 Geddes flung the stool when he began to read the Book of Com- 
 mon Prayer in the High Church of Edinburgh, in July 1637. u 
 
 " These were Joseph Hume ; Sir William Burnett, M.D. ; Sir James, and the 
 late Sir Alexander Burnes. Besides these, Montrose has given birth to many other 
 eminent men, among whom are John Leech, an old Latin Poet (Land of the 
 Lindsays, 252) ; Dr Geo. Keith, author of the " Farmer's Ha','' horn 1749 ; Dr Wm. 
 Hunter, Sec to the Asiatic Society ; David Buchanan, an eminent classical scholar 
 and printer; Wm. and Thos. Christie, the one compiler of a Latin Grammar, and the 
 other author of several Philosophical and other works To these ought to he added, 
 Alexander Smart, one of the most meritorious of the living Scottish Poets, author of 
 "Rambling Rhymes," in which are preserved many old reminiscences of his 
 native town. 
 
 ' Tytler's Hist, of Scot., ii. 296. 
 
 u There was also a teacher of vocal music appointed at Montrose, early in the 
 18th century, the art of singing not being then taught nearer Montrose than 
 Edinburgh. — Burgh Records. 
 
60 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Salork, and its Kirk — Harbour of Stronnay — Inch Braoch — Basin — Drainer's Dyke 
 — Origin of names of Montrose, and Aid Montrose — Town Burned — a King's 
 burgh — Trading Privileges — the Alderman an hostage for David II. — landing 
 of Sir William Wallace from France — Eoyal grants to Burgh — Earl of Crawford 
 created Duke of Montrose — Burgh Customs — Fairs. 
 
 Boyce says that Montrose was first known by the name of 
 Gelurca, and without enquiring into the accuracy of the assertion, 
 future writers have advanced the same theory. The truth is, 
 Montrose and Salork were two totally different, though contiguous 
 places, and the earliest charter evidence of both shews that 
 Malcolm IV. gave at one and the same time, certain tithes out of 
 both districts, to the Priory of Eostinoth ; as also that Salork had 
 a church of its own, and that Montrose was even then a consider- 
 able place with some trade. 
 
 The next, and only other notice of Salork occurs in the time of 
 William I. It is given in the very same order as in the charter 
 of Malcolm IV., and, in enumerating the grants to Rostinoth, 
 these charters both say that the Abbots and Canons shall have 
 " 10s. out of Kinnaber, the whole teinds of the King's rent of 
 Salork, and 20s. for the light of the church of Salork itself, 
 as also the teinds of the King's rents of Montrose and Eossy." v 
 No such place as Salork is now known in the neighbourhood of 
 Montrose, but I am inclined to believe, from the position which 
 the name has in both of these charters — between Kinnaber and 
 Montrose — that the well-known lands and hamlet, now called 
 Tayock (the situation of which tallies with that of Salork in the 
 charters), is a corruption of the ancient Salork; and, the church 
 may have stood in an adjoining part of the Links. 
 
 A charter in the archives of the burgh, which, if not altogether 
 of doubtful character, hears better evidence of the time of David 
 II. than that of David I., to whom it i3 commonly attributed, de- 
 scribes the lands of Salork as " lying and situated nigh to the 
 haven of Stronnay towards the south, measuring in extent four 
 
 T • • • : " x solidos de Kyneber, et totam decimam firme mee de Sa- 
 lorch. Et xx solidos ad lumen ipsius Ecol. de eadem Saloroh. Et decimam firme 
 me de Munros et de Rossin."— Orig. in Saltoun Charter Chest, copy in Mi&cell 
 Aldbar. 
 
MONTEOSE — HABBOUE OP STBONNAY. 61 
 
 carucates of land and a-half," or as much as four and a-half teams 
 could plough in one year. But the site of the harbour or haven 
 of Stronnay is now unknown, although so late as the fifteenth 
 century the collectors of customs specify ships to have been 
 freighted there. w Perhaps, since Stron-i, signifies " the nose or 
 projecting part of an island," it may refer to some point of the 
 island of Inchbrayock, which is situated in the middle of the 
 South Esk, immediately south of the Forthill and town of Mon- 
 trose. That island, separated from Montrose only by an arm of 
 the river, and joined to the town by the suspension bridge, now 
 forms part of the parish of Craig, but in old times was an inde- 
 pendent cure, and the church, dedicated in honour of St Braoch, 
 gave name to the district." 
 
 It ought to be mentioned, however, that the Island of St 
 Braoch is nearly two miles to the south-west of Tayock, the sup- 
 posed site of the ancient Salork ; and that tradition (relying per- 
 haps upon certain points in Slezer's view of the town), says there 
 was a jetty or harbour in the Basin of the South Esk, near the 
 Forthill. Such may have been the case ; but the long piled 
 erection shewn in that engraving, as stretching across the Basin 
 from the back of the Forthill, is clearly the Drainer s or Dronner's 
 Dyke, which was erected shortly before Captain Slezer visited 
 Montrose. That dyke was raised with a view to drain and make 
 arable land of about two thousand acres of the Basin which 
 belonged in property to Erskine of Dun, who disposed of it 
 to certain parties who formed themselves into a co-partnery, of 
 whom the Earl of Kinghorn was one. Unfortunately, however, 
 the speculation turned out to be unsuccessful, for " the embank- 
 ment had been scarcely accomplished when, by a sudden storm, 
 it was thrown down," and in consequence several of the projec- 
 tors were rendered bankrupt/ At low tides the Drainer's Dyke 
 is yet partially visible ; and so far as relates to the beauty of the 
 Basin, its destruction is not to be regretted, as the Basin forms, 
 particularly at full tides, one of the grandest natural objects of 
 
 w Chamb. Bolls, iii. 222. 
 
 1 Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 339. A curiously sculptured stone monument, now 
 preserved at the parish kirk of Craig, is figured in the ScuVpd. Mortis, of Scot. The 
 same magnificent volume also contains some conjectures regarding St. Braoch. 
 
 7 (1670) Extr.from the pleadings of J. Erskine of Dun m the Stake-net Case, 
 in possession of Adam Burnes, Esq., writer, Montrose. 
 
62 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 which any town in the kingdom can boast, being a fine sheet of 
 water, nearly circular, and about three miles in diameter. 
 
 Apart from the Basin, the leading topographical features of 
 Munros, now Montrose, were of old three hills, called respectively 
 the Fort, the Horologe, and Windmill hills ; but these, with the 
 exception of the first named, have given way to the improvements 
 of modern times. The town stands between the North and 
 South Esk rivers, upon a tongue of land bounded on the south and 
 west by the last named of these streams, and by the German 
 Ocean on the east, and as the Gaelic word ros, signifies "the 
 point, or promontory between two waters," whether that point be 
 high or low, and moine, " a moss," the name most likely signifies 
 the " mossy," or, it maybe, the " hilly " point, for monadh means 
 " hills." The first is the more frequent rendering, and had per- 
 haps not been inappropriate to the site of the town, as it had also 
 been to the nearly adjacent lands of Aid, or Old Montrose, the 
 true etymology of which is perhaps Alt-moine-ros — " the burn of 
 the mossy point " — for a rivulet, known as the burn of Aid Mon- 
 trose, traverses that estate, and falls into the Basin of the 
 South Esk a little to the south-east of the Mansion House. The 
 transition from the Gaelic Aid or Alt, to the Scottish " Auld," 
 and the English " Old," is easy and natural, and may account 
 for the fable of the town of Montrose being situated at that place 
 before the rise of the present burgh. 
 
 It has already been seen that Montrose is said to have been a 
 town in the tenth century, and that the inhabitants were then mas- 
 sacred by the Danes, but it can be affirmed with more certainty 
 that in the time of Malcolm IV. it possessed both mills and salt 
 pans. In 1244 the town was consumed by accidental fire ; and 
 the learned Camden, who follows Boyce in his theory of Celurca 
 being the original name of Montrose, perhaps alludes to this con- 
 flagration when he says " the town is built out of the ruins of 
 another of the same name." 3 
 
 Although the period of its erection into a burgh of royalty is 
 
 unknown, it had burgesses in 1261-2, and in 1296, a bailie, and 
 
 several burgesses, as previously stated, did homage to King 
 
 Edward. Like many other royal burghs of doubtful origin, its 
 
 ' Hailes' Annals, i. 332. - Britannia, Abridg., i. 31. 
 
MONTROSE — TRADING BOUNDARIES. 63 
 
 creation is attributed to the time of David I. ; but that could 
 hardly have been, since the earliest charters to burghs in Scotland 
 were not granted until the time of William the Lion, and these 
 were not charters, properly so called, but merely protective 
 writings, confirming certain privileges to communities held under 
 the superiority of the King, and the inhabitants were consequently 
 called burgenses regis. It ought also to be borne in mind that 
 such towns as possessed a royal residence, were called King's 
 -burghs, and Montrose was one of these, from at least the time of 
 King William. 
 
 In later times, when it was found necessary to grant bona fide 
 charters to burghs, these were either confirmations of the privi- 
 leges set forth in the writs of earlier monarchs, frequently con- 
 taining certain additions, proportionately great to the impor- 
 tance of the community of the place ; and of this sort the doubt- 
 ful charter of Montrose, just alluded to, may be taken as an ex- 
 ample. After confirming to the burgesses the prior grant of "the 
 whole lands of Salork," which were to be held for ever by them in 
 " free burgh," the charter not only narrates that they shall have 
 " all the rights of buying and selling lawfully pertaining to the 
 business and ofiice of burgesses and merchants," but it also de- 
 scribes the boundaries of their trading privileges as extending 
 " from the water of Thawhoke as far as Findoune, and from 
 Findoune through the north parts as far as the water of Garudy, 
 and so descending through the south part as far as the water of 
 Deychty, as it runs in Drumtay." b 
 
 During the year 1369, King David was himself in Montrose 
 on two different occasions, in the months of October and Decem- 
 ber respectively. But previously, in 1352 (according to the 
 charter just cited), he confirmed the reputed grants of David I. 
 It is evident that in the course of the year 1369, he granted 
 certain privileges to the burgesses, consisting of cruive and net 
 fishings in the North and South Esks, common pasturages, and a 
 right to mill multures, and customs, &c., d which were confirmed 
 and ratified by subsequent kings ; but no mention is made by 
 them of the charter of 1352, nor of any such grants as those 
 attributed to David I. There had been older undoubted grants 
 
 ■ Charter inPanmure MM., MS., i. 5. c Eeg. Mag. Sig., p. 70. d lb., p. 66. 
 
64 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 to Montrose than that of 1369, although these are now lost, for 
 the town was in such a flourishing condition, even in 1357, that 
 John Clark, then alderman of the town, was chosen as one of the 
 hostages for the ransom of King David, and it had at that time 
 the middle position among the seventeen chief hurghs of the king- 
 dom. 13 In a parliament, held ten years later, it was represented 
 by two burgesses, being the same number as was allowed to Edin- 
 burgh, Aberdeen, and other principal towns.' 
 
 A great part of the early trade of Montrose had consisted in 
 shipments, for which it was rather famous from an early date, 
 although the common notion of its having been the port from 
 whence the good Sir James Douglas set sail for the Holy Land 
 with the heart of The Bruce, is contrary to the averments of 
 some of our best historians.^ It is pretty clear, however, that Sir 
 William Wallace landed there in 1303, when solicited to return 
 from France to oppose the haughty arms of King Edward, and 
 being rather an important point in the life of the Great Patriot, 
 and locally interesting from the allusions made to certain persons 
 and places of the county, the passage which sets forth that fact, 
 is here given in full, and in the quaint language of the poet : — 
 
 " Na ma with him he hrooht off that cuntre, 
 Bot his awn men, and Schyr Thomas the knycht. 
 In Flawndrys land thai past with all thar mycht. 
 Guthreis barg was at the Slus left styll ; 
 To se thai went wyth ane fnll egyr wyll. 
 Bath Forth and Tay thai left and passyt by 
 On the north cost, [gud] Guthre was thar gy. 
 In Mumross havyyn thai brocht hym to the land ; 
 Till trew Soottis it was a Myth tithand. 
 Sohyr Jhon Bamsay, that worthi was and wyoht, 
 Frae Ochtyrhouss the way he chesyt rycht, 
 To meite "Wallace with men off armes Strang ; 
 Off his duellyng thai had thocht wondyr lang. 
 The trew Buwan come als with outyn baid ; 
 In Barnan wod he had his lugying maid. 
 Barklay be that to Wallace semblyt fast ; 
 With thre hundreth to Ochtyrhouss he past." 11 
 
 • Acta Pari., i. 157. 
 
 1 Tytler's Hist, of Scot., ii. 234. It appears that in modern times female bur- 
 gesses were recognised at Montrose, for on 7th Dec. 1751, Ladies Jean, Mary, and 
 Marjory, daughters of Lord Falconer of Halkerstone, were, along with their father 
 and uncle, approved of as burgesses !— Burgh Records. 
 
 * Barbour's Brus, 414. h Blind Harry's Wallace, 243. 
 
MONTROSE — ANCIENT PRIVILEGES. 65 
 
 The shoredues and customs of the harbour of Montrose, except- 
 ing such portions as were granted to Lindsay, Duke of Montrose, 
 were collected on behalf of the King until the early part of the 
 reign of James IV., when the magistrates had the power of 
 levying the same, with anchorage and other payments for the 
 maintenance of the harbour — exactions which Charles II. per- 
 mitted to be doubled. James VI. also allowed them to tax 
 liquours " brewen and vented" in the burgh, to assist in build- 
 ing and repairing the harbour ; and, at a prior date, the same 
 King, in renewing certain privileges, gave the town an annuity 
 from the lands which had belonged to the Carmelite friars at 
 Inverbervie. 1 
 
 As before remarked, the town and port of Montrose had the 
 honour of giving title of Duke to David Lindsay, fifth Earl of 
 Crawford, and along with that dignity he had a confirmation of 
 a previous grant which the family had enjoyed out of the great 
 customs of the burgh, together with another gift of the smaller 
 customs, and he also assumed the armorial bearings of the town 
 as a part of his coat. At that time the town possessed consider- 
 able powers, having the privilege or jurisdiction of a sheriffdom 
 or county, and although the customs were of little intrinsic value 
 to the Duke, they were essential in retaining the title, it being a 
 feudal custom to create titles by a grant of land or other heritable 
 privileges.' 
 
 The trading boundaries of Montrose, as set forth in the reputed 
 charter of David I., appear to have been afterwards curtailed, for 
 in 1641, the Earl Marischal had a tack from the King of " the 
 customs of all portis, harberies, and creikis alonge the coiste syde 
 frae the North Watter of the towne of Montrose to the watter 
 mouth of Spey," and during the same year Erskine of Dun had 
 also a tack of the customs of the " port and burgh of Muntrois 
 and vthir portis, heberies and creiks along the coast syde" from 
 the North to the South Esk. k But long prior to this, the Erskine3 
 had a tack of the customs from David Earl of Crawford, who in- 
 herited them through his uncle, the Duke of Montrose. The 
 Earl granted a precept of infeftment to Dun and his heirs in 1525, 1 
 
 1 Acta Pari., iii. 504 ; vii. App., 84 ; x. 145. 
 
 * Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 223 ; Report on Montrose Claim, 512. 
 
 k Acta Pari,, v. 565; 592. ' Spalding Miacell., W. 22. 
 
 K 
 
66 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 and of this right the charter above mentioned seems to be a con- 
 firmation, the Erskines having previously obtained that right 
 by purchase about the time thattiie fortunes of the Lindsays be- 
 gan to decline. 
 
 Apart from the old weekly markets of Montrose, for the 
 advancement of which the " Staplehand " Markets at Brechin 
 and Fordoun were inhibited by David II., m the principal annual 
 fair was held upon theKood Day (the third of May), from which 
 it had the name of Ruidfair ; n an d upon petition of the magistrates 
 another market was granted to be held within the burgh in the 
 month of July, which was to " continue for the space.of ffour dayes 
 yearly." A weekly market was also allowed " upon ilk Thursday" 
 from October to December "ffor selling and buying of horse, 
 nolt, sheep, and all in an er of cattle yearlie," and of that the 
 magistrates had power to uplift the customs, &c. q But all. these 
 fairs, excepting a weekly market which is held upon Friday, are 
 now abolished, and the chief, markets of the year are those at 
 Martinmas and Whitsunday, when the bireing of farm servants, 
 male and female, is the chief business of,, the day. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Montrose in the 17th century — Arthur Johnstone's Epigram — modern Improvements 
 — Increase of Trade — Town Hall — Charitahle Grants — Infirmary — Lunatic 
 Asylum — North Water Bridge — Suspension Bridge, &c. 
 
 About the time that Parliament allowed the fairs to be estab- 
 lished, which have just been referred to, Montrose was, as it still 
 is, rather a pretty town ; and, with the exception of Dundee, the 
 largest and most important in the county. Mr Ochterlony, who 
 gives the earliest account of it, describes it as "a very handsome 
 well built toune, of considerable trade in all places abroad ; good 
 houses all of stone, excellent large streets, a good tolbuith and 
 church, good shipping of their own, a good shore at the toune j a 
 myle within the river of South Esk ; but the entrie is very dan- 
 
 m Keg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 380. 
 
 n This fair is celebrated in Smart's Bambliy,g Rhymes, p. 90. See also Geo. 
 Beattie's humourous poem olJohp, d Arnha'. ° Acta Pari., vii. 443. 
 
MONTROSE IN OLD TIMES. 67 
 
 gerous for strangers that know it not, by reason of a great b'ank 
 of sand that lyeth before the mouth of the entrie, called Long 
 Ennell, but that defect is supplied by getting pilots from the 
 neighbouring fisher-towns of Ulishavene or Ferredene, who know 
 it so well that they cannot mistake. It is a very cheap place of 
 all things necessary except house rent, which is dear, by reason of 
 the great ; distance they are from stones, and makes their building 
 very dear ; yet, notwithstanding, they are constantly building 
 both in the toune, and suburbs, which are at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the toune, in the Links, where are their malthouses, 
 and kills, and granaries for comes, of thrie storeys high, and 
 some more, and are increased to such a number, that in a short 
 tyme it is thought they will equall, if not exceed, the toune in 
 greatness. They are well appointed of flesches and fishes, which 
 are extraordinare cheap in that place, and have them in great 
 abundance of all sorts. They have a good public revenue, two 
 wind-milnes, ane hospitale, with some mortificationes belonging 
 to it ; they are mighty fyne burgesses, and delicate and painfull 
 merchants. There have been men of great substance in that 
 toune of a long time, and yet are, who have and are purchasing 
 good estates in the countrey. The generalitie of the burgesses 
 and merchants do very far exceed these in any other toune in the 
 shyre."P 
 
 The more celebrated Daniel de Foe, who made a tour through 
 Great Britain during the first decades of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, speaks in much the same terms of the town and the in- 
 habitants as Ochterlony. It " is a pretty sea port town," he 
 says, " and one street very good ; the houses well built, and the 
 town well pav'd : The inhabitants here, as at Dundee, are very 
 genteel, and- have more the- air of gentlemen than merchants." 
 
 Prior to the date of either of these notices, however, Montrose 
 had its praises heralded in Latin verse by John, and Dr Arthur 
 Johnstone, both of whom follow Boyce in reference to the an- 
 cient name Celurca,- and begin by calling the town " the Mount 
 of Roses," in allusion to the popular notion that the name was 
 assumed from the ' Latin Mons Rosarum. The Links, or com- 
 
 » Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 383. Monipennie (1612) Bays, " Montrosse ; a com- 
 modious harborough for shipping ; this toune is all builded with stone, and populous, 
 aboundant with all kinde of fishes." — JUiscill. Scot, i. 163. 
 
68 MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARHS. 
 
 mon, alluded to in Arthur Johnstone's Epigram (of which an old 
 quaint translation is given below), are among the finest in the 
 kingdom, and the ancient exercise of the bow, noticed by him, 
 for which new butts were erected at the expense of the town 
 about the beginning of last century, 9 was lately revived, the Cor- 
 poration of the burgh having, in 1850, presented a fine silver arrow r 
 of the value of ten guineas, to the Royal Company of Archers 
 of Scotland, which has been twice shot for upon the Links, but 
 the old butts have long since disappeared. The amusements of 
 bowling and golf, particularly the latter, are also carried on with 
 great spirit, as are the more recently introduced pastimes of 
 cricket and curling, for the practice of all of which delightful re- 
 creations the Links are well adapted. 
 
 "The Noble Town from Bosie-Mount doth claim 
 Its Present, as from Heaven its Ancient Name : 
 Near it's a Hill by -which a river glydes, 
 Both which to it Delicious Tare provyds ; 
 The Hill doth Flocks, Salmon the Flood brings forth. 
 Or what in Nero's Ponds was of more worth. 
 The Lillies on the Banks refresh the night, 
 The Eoses on the Hills afford delight. 
 Towards the East the Seas themselves do spread, 
 "Which with a thousand Ships are covered. 
 A large Field by the Sea is stretched forth, 
 Begirt with waters both at South and North. 
 Some Youths traiu Horses here, some use the Bow, 
 And some their Strength in rolling Great Stons shew, 
 Some Wrestle, some at Pennie-stones do play, 
 The rolling Balls with Clubs some drive away. 
 
 Should Jove or Venus view this Town, sure He 
 
 His Capitoll, Her Ida leave would She."' 
 
 In equally lauditory, but still more lucid terms, although in 
 the less attractive style of prose, Montrose is called " a beauty 
 that lies concealed, as it were, in the bosom of Scotland ; most 
 delicately dressed up, and adorned with excellent buildings, 
 whose foundations are laid with polished stone, and her ports all 
 washed with silver streams, that trickle down from the famous 
 Ask " ! So wrote the pedantic Captain Franck in 1657-8. 9 But, 
 according to popular story these laudatory effusions will be of 
 little avail in preserving the town of Montrose, for, as will be seen 
 
 ' Bwrgh Records, 1704. T Appendix, No. II. (b.) • Northern Memoirs, 233. 
 
MONTROSE IN OLD TIMES. 69 
 
 by the following verse, which is a reputed prophecy of Sir Thomas 
 the Rhymer, it is doomed to destruction, like the more opulent 
 town of Dundee, while the lesser burghs of Brechin and Forfar 
 are prophecied to survive and flourish, when every vestige of the 
 first two are swept away ! — 
 
 " Bonny Munross will be a mosa, 
 When Brechin's a borough town ; 
 An' Forfar will be Forfar still, 
 When Dundee's a' dung down ! " 
 
 But to return. The shore of Ochterlony's time was of wood, 
 and it so remained until about the middle of last century, when 
 the present " old stone port " was erected. This last was a great 
 work for the period, and extended from the bridge along the 
 north side of the river, a distance of about 650 feet. It was re- 
 cently much enlarged and improved by the addition of wet and 
 dry docks, but the Ennell or Ennet, still forms a dangerous 
 barrier at the mouth of the river. 
 
 Although the burgh of Montrose has less claim now-a-days to 
 the high rank assigned to it among the other burghs of the 
 county than it had either in Ochterlony or De Foe's time, the 
 population and shipping have been more than doubled since 1793. 
 Its yarn manufacture, which may be considered the staple trade, 
 has been more than trebbled, notwithstanding that since the intro- 
 duction of the railway, shipping has been rather on the decrease ; 
 but the loss of revenue in the latter department has been more than 
 compensated from sources not previously contemplated. 
 
 If the town was worthy of commendation in old times for its 
 buildings and general appearance, it is more so now, the want of 
 water — one of the greatest drawbacks upon domestic comfort — 
 having been completely overcome ;' and, as it was in the time 
 of Ochterlony, so is it still the resort of families of independ- 
 ent fortune. Burns the poet, who visited his cousin, Mr Burnes 
 there in 1787, calls it " a finely situated handsome town ;" and 
 the broad High Street, which lately contained a number of old- 
 fashioned houses with picturesque wooden gables projecting 
 
 ' Water was first brought from Glenskenno to the town in 1741 at a cost of 
 £1300. — Bwrgh Records. The works for the present supply, from the Haughs of Kin- 
 naber, on the North EbIc, which is calculated to be sufficient for all the domestic and 
 commercial wants of the town, cost about £8,800. 
 
70 MEMOEIALS OF ■ ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 towards the street, such as. are yet to be seen in many parts of 
 England, now displays a series of substantial dwelling houses and 
 shops ■ elegant in design beyond those of most provincial towns. 
 These wooden-gabled houses were prohibited from being erected 
 in 1739, u and the only remaining examples are in- Castle Street. 
 One stone house, on the north side of that street, with the legend, 
 [d]ominvs • peovide[bit] S : upon the lintel of one of the upper 
 windows, is perhaps the oldest house in town. There is another 
 old house, at the top of Bridge Street, with monograms over the 
 windows and date' 1688. A few years ag*o there was also an old 
 door lintel in Apple Wynd, but on looking for it some months 
 since, I was told that the date and letters which it bore,' had 
 been effaced, as the proprietor " cou'dna be bothered wi' queer folk 
 gaun to look at them " ! 
 
 The " good tolbuith," spoken of by- Guynd, which stood in 
 the middle , and south end of the High Street, is now re- 
 moved, and the site occupied with- good effect by a fine colossal 
 statue of Sir Robert Peel. The town hall, a large building of 
 four stories, with arcade below, and balustrade round the top, 
 decorated in front by the armorial bearings of the ;burgh, T is a 
 handsome fabric, projecting into the street. The council chamber 
 is adorned by some good .portraits* the best of which are those of 
 the late Joseph Hume, and a. full length of Sir James Duke, 
 robed as Lord Mayor of London, and presented by him to his 
 native town. 
 
 It ought also to be remarked that Montrose contains a museum 
 of natural and antiquarian ■ curiositiesr^perhaps one of the best 
 collections in the provinces. There are •also two public libra- 
 ries, each containing large and valuable collections of books 
 in all classes of literature. Besides these facilities for intellectual 
 improvement, few towns of a like size have so many charitable 
 institutions, or so large an amount of benefactions to the poor. 
 These have been left by natives and others, and nearly the. half 
 of the money, which amounts to about £11,000 sterling, was 
 granted by a cadet of Erskine of Dun, and the whole is applied 
 
 " Bwrgfo Records. 
 . * On a shield, arg. a rose seeded and barbed ; supp. two mermaids proper ; crest, 
 a sinister band issuing out of clouds holding a branch of laurel; motto, mabe ditat, 
 
 KOSA DECOEAT. 
 
MONTEOSE — BRIDGES. 71 
 
 for educational purposes, and for alleviating the wants of the dis- 
 tressed. 
 
 Dorward's Seminary, and House of Eefuge, were' founded and 
 liberally endowed by a late wealthy merchant of that name for 
 the (education . and protection of orphan children, as well as an 
 asylum for aged men and 1 women. The Infirmary and Lunatic 
 Asylum were reared by public subscription. The last named es- 
 tablishment, which has long been' considered one of the best con- 
 ducted in the kingdom (founded in 1779, and incorporated by 
 royal charter in 1810), was the first of the sort in Scotland, and 
 owed' its origin to the philanthropy and enterprise of the late Mrs 
 Carnegy of Pitarrow. A portion of this building was lately pur- 
 chased by the counties of Forfar and Kincardine for Militia depot 
 barracks, and a new asylum, on the most approved principles, is 
 in course of erection at Sunnyside, two or three miles north of the 
 town, from which' there is- a fine view of" flood and field." 
 
 But of all the improvements connected with Montrose, the 
 bridges across the North and South Esks, both of which rivers 
 were previously crossed by boats, must be reckoned as those of 
 the greatest public utility. The former, a fine stone bridge of eight 
 arches, projected by Thomas Christie, provost of Montrose, a 
 gentleman of shrewd business habits, and of a literary taste, was 
 finished in 1775, after a lapse of five years, and while his son was 
 chief magistrate. 
 
 In consequence of the. island of Inchbrayock being in the 
 middle of the South Esk, the river is there separated into two 
 channels, the more northerly being about 430 feet wide, while 
 the southern channel is barely 90. Towards the close of last 
 century a wooden bridge was erected over the northern course 
 of the river, but within thirty years it was deemed unsafe, as 
 the water threatened to sweep away the piers ; and a suspension 
 bridge having been resolved upon, the foundation stone was laid 
 in September 1829, and the whole completed in December 
 1830, at a cost of about £23,000. It was designed by Captain 
 Samuel Brown, E.N., and is one of the finest structures of the 
 sort any where to be seen ; but, unfortunately, it received severe 
 damage at two different times. These accidents both occurred 
 in the year 1838. The first was caused by a crowd of persons, who 
 
72 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 had assembled to witness a boat race, making a sudden rush to 
 the east end of the bridge, when one of the upper chains gave 
 way, and falling upon the lower one, several individuals were 
 caught between the chains and killed upon the spot. The bridge 
 was soon repaired ; but upon the 11th of October following, a 
 fearful gale of wind tore up and destroyed about two-thirds of 
 the roadway and iron work. The principal chains were fortun- 
 ately uninjured at that time, and at an outlay of some £3,000, 
 the damage was repaired, and a roadway formed on a new and 
 more approved principled 
 
 On the erection of the suspension bridge, the middle of the 
 arch of the stone bridge across the southern or narrow channel of 
 the Esk was also removed and supplanted by a revolving draw- 
 bridge, by which means vessels pass up and down the Basin to a 
 small port at Aid Montrose, where at one time goods were fre- 
 quently shipped and delivered, but since the introduction of the 
 railway that harbour is more rarely used. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Feuds between the Inhabitants and the Erskines of Dun — a Priest killed in the bell 
 tower — reconciliation of John Erskine with the inhabitants — his defence of the 
 Town against the English — General Assembly at Montrose — Andrew Melville — 
 Wars of the Covenant — Town invaded by Irvine of Drum — Dun plundered by 
 the Marquis of Montrose — Chevalier de St George embarks for France — rebels 
 of 1745 possess Montrose — Captain Ferrier captures the Hazard sloop of war 
 — Admiral Bing sinks a French Ship at the Ennet — visit of the Duke of Cum- 
 berland. 
 
 The close proximity of Dun to the town of Montrose naturally 
 brought the Erskines and the inhabitants into close and frequent 
 contact with one another ; and it has already been shewn that the 
 constabulary of the burgh Ultimately became vested in that 
 family. Calderwood, and others say, upon what authority I have 
 failed to discover, that the Erskines were provosts of Montrose in 
 old times, and also represented the shire of Forfar in parliament. 
 In neither capacity have I found any one of the family mentioned 
 in the public records. It is true, that in 1569, " Dominus Dun 
 
 w See the local newspapers of that period. 
 
MONTROSE — FEUDS WITH THE EESKINES OF DUN. 73 
 
 pro Montrose " appears in the parliament held at Edinburgh on 
 the 17th of November of that year. x 
 
 It is certain the family were no favourites at Montrose towards 
 the close of the fifteenth century, for the laird of that period and 
 the inhabitants were at open war. The cause was trivial : In 
 1491-2, the younger Erskine, as tutor for his relative, Henry 
 Graham of Morphie, took possession of certain cruives and fishings 
 in the North Esk against the will of the magistrates, who carried 
 the affair to a court of law, and upon the case going to proof, 
 Erskine was declared to have done " na wrang," and so kept pos- 
 session of the property . y 
 
 It was in the month of June 1493 that young Dun obtained 
 this decision in his favor, and almost immediately afterwards, he 
 began a series of reprisals upon the inhabitants, which afford a 
 striking picture of the rude character of the period. He had 
 previously rendered himself so obnoxious to the officials of the 
 burgh, that Stirling and Scott — two of the chief citizens — pro- 
 cured lawborrows against him, whereby they " salbe harmeles 
 and scathles of him, vnder the pain of two hundred pounds." 2 
 Heedless of the law, and emboldened by gaining the suit over 
 the Montrosians, young Erskine, accompanied by his father and 
 three brothers, with several followers, resumed his work of spoli- 
 ation and insult, and as it is quaintly described in the complaint 
 of the citizens of Montrose, he destroyed " ande ete all oure corne 
 that grew apone our comone lande, and this beande done onder 
 cilence of nycht, come bodyn with speris and bovis to youre saide 
 burgh, and bostit [threatened] oure alderman, he beande in his 
 bed, sayand thai suld pul done his houss abuf his hede." a 
 
 The alderman and burgesses, however, preferred keeping their 
 beds to an unequal trial of strength, and the marauders quietly 
 returned home. Still, " dayley ande nychtly " they invaded the 
 town looking " quhare thai may get vs at opin to stryk vs done," 
 and on St Ninian's day [16th September] of the same year the 
 Erskines attacked " oure fyschars, thier wyffis, and seruandis 
 
 1 Acta Pari., iii. 57. t Acta Dom. Con., 27», 179. 
 
 1 Acta And., 161. — George Stirling is the first named commissioner to the 
 Parliament for the burgh of Montrose, March 11, 1503. — Acta Pari., ii. 239. 
 
 a " Walter Ogilby, alderman of Montrose, and Maister George Sterueling, pro- 
 curators of the toun of Montrose," &c. — Ada Dom. Con., 355. 
 
74 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 [while] gaderynde thair bate to thir lynis, in youre watter, ande 
 spuylzeit thaim of thair claithis." b 
 
 A messenger was despatched with a complaint regarding these 
 untoward proceedings, to Lindsay, Duke of Montrose, hut the 
 messenger being overtaken and slain by the Erskines while on 
 his way to the Duke, another party was sent to the King at 
 Stirling, under an escort of armed men. The petition bad the 
 desired effect, and the defenders were summoned to appear at the 
 next Justiceair at Dundee under certain pains and penalties ; but 
 the result is not recorded. 
 
 These outrages upon the inhabitants of Montrose, which (if 
 judged of by the decision given in the first case), may be attributed 
 partly to inadvertence of their rulers, were scarcely forgotten until 
 another act of a most sacrilegious and fatal nature was perpetrated 
 within the precincts of the parish church by the future Superinten- 
 dent himself, who, in early life, appears to have exhibited much 
 of the proud domineering spirit of his ancestors. It is needless to 
 say that, trained up in the Komish faith, he was long a staunch sup- 
 porter of that church ; but the details of the sad occurrence al- 
 luded to, which, until lately was an unknown feature in the cha- 
 racter of Erskine, are uncertain. Still, it appears that, whether 
 out of revenge, or in the heat of passion, he killed Sir Thomas 
 Froster, a priest of Montrose, within the campanile or bell tower 
 of that place, and in consequence, as was the fashion of the period, 
 Erskine granted a bond of assythment or blood money for the 
 offence, to Eroster's father, who was a burgess of the town. 
 
 Erskine was little beyond twenty years of age at the time of 
 this unfortunate affair, and perhaps it may have had an effect in 
 bringing about the change which took place in his religious 
 opinions, and future life. Whether he had been doomed to 
 undergo a penance for the crime by the church of Kome, and 
 thereby taken a distaste to her principles, is matter of conjec- 
 ture ; but it is certain that he left Scotland for the Continent 
 soon after the murder, and upon returning home in the course of 
 three or four years, he began to shew favor for church reform ; 
 and, as before more fully stated, brought along with him a teacher 
 
 b Berwick's Life of Erskine, 144; Wodrow's Biog. Coll., 422-25. 
 c Spalding Miscell, iv. 27. See Appendix, No. VII. 
 
MONTROSE — MEETING OP GENERAL ASSEMBLY 75 
 
 of the Greek language, whom he settled and maintained at Mon- 
 trose. 
 
 From that time, the Erskines and the inhabitants continued 
 good friends, and in 1548, when the English attempted to land 
 their fleet in the South Esk, Erskine, at the head of a number of 
 the inhabitants and others, vigorously defended the town and pre- 
 vented their landing. The loss of the enemy is variously stated 
 at eight and five hundred, and the reader is referred to Buchanan 
 for a detailed account of the transaction, who, it is supposed, had 
 the particulars from Erskine himself/ 1 
 
 Beyond the incidents already noticed relative to the Kefor- 
 mation, little of much moment appears to have taken place in 
 Montrose from the period just mentioned, until the year 1600, 
 when a General Assembly was held there, in presence of King 
 James. This was an Assembly of considerable importance, it 
 being intended to decide the fate of Presbytery ; and the presence 
 of royalty was expected to strengthen the King in his wish to es- 
 tablish prelacy and himself as the head of the church in Scotland, 
 as was virtually the case in England. But the attempt failed, 
 notwithstanding that some of the more influential of the clergy 
 were appointed to vacant bishopricks. Mr James Melville, who 
 was present at the Assembly, quaintly says that Mr Blackburn, 
 the moderator, who had the see of Aberdeen, " delyverit verie 
 guid doctrine befor noone, bot he was brought in effect to recant 
 it at the efter noone befor the haill Assemblie, to the grait greiff of 
 guid breithring, a grait stepe from a preceise honest Minister to 
 a Bischope of this new strak, quhilk he becam theyeir efter," e 
 
 The defeat of the King's party was owing, in a great measure, 
 to the power and influence of Andrew Melville, whom the King 
 sharply rebuked for being present at the Assembly; and per- 
 haps no better picture exists in the annals of any civilized country, 
 of the independence and self-possession of a subject in the pre- 
 sence of a king, than the stories related of Melville's conferences 
 with James, more particularly the scene which occurred at Mon- 
 trose upon this occasion. The sturdy reformer, for Melville was 
 then in the prime of life, retiring from the presence of the King, 
 taking himself at the same time by the throat, replied — " Sir, tak 
 d Buchanan's Hist, of Scot, by Aikman, ii. 374. " Melvill's Diaiy, 469. 
 
76 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 yow this head, and gar cut it af, gif yie will ; yie sail sooner get it, 
 or I hetray the cause of Chryst ! And sa," continues his nephew, 
 " he remeanit in the town all the whyll, and furnisit arguments to 
 the brethering, and mightilie strynthned and incuragit tham." f 
 
 King James being at this time foiled in his wish, no sooner 
 entered upon the throne of England — and was backed in his 
 wishes by the churchmen of that country — than he tried to gain 
 his purpose in another way in Scotland, by having Melville, and 
 some of the other leaders of the church, removed to distant coun- 
 tries, under pretence of having them employed in preaching the 
 gospel. Though these plans were partially successful, they were 
 by no means so much so as the King could have wished, and not- 
 withstanding his partiality for his fellow-countrymen, he strained 
 every nerve to have the church subjected to his will. 
 
 It need hardly be said, that a desire to carry out these arrogant 
 and compulsory measures, led to the sad consequences which 
 followed during the reign of his unfortunate son and successor 
 Charles I. Regardless alike of those statutes whereby Presbytery 
 was established as the religion of the kingdom, and of the opinions 
 of the majority of his Scottish subjects, Charles vainly attempted 
 to thrust a liturgy upon the country, similar to that used in Eng- 
 land. This was a form of religion to which Scotland in general 
 had a great abhorrence at the time, and the King persisting in 
 his views, and the people in theirs, they subscribed a Covenant in 
 May 1638, by which they bound themselves to maintain that faith 
 which had been so dearly bought by the lives of some of the 
 most talented and pious of their forefathers. 
 
 The history of that important period — eventful alike in the an- 
 nals of Scotland and England — is well known and need not be 
 here dwelt upon. Suffice it to say, that the vacillating and stub- 
 born conduct of the King rendered it necessary to take strong 
 measures to oppose him, and a party, composed of the more 
 influential noblemen, barons, and burgesses of the kingdom, 
 united themselves into a body for the government and protection 
 of the realm. They were commonly called Covenanters, more 
 properly the Estates of Parliament, and their army, which was 
 large, was placed under the chief command of the Marquis of Ar- 
 J Malvill's Diary, 485. Andrew Melville died at Sedan, in 1622, aged 77. 
 
MONTROSE — INVADED BY THE KOYAL1STS. 77 
 
 gyle and General Leslie, while the royalists were led latterly by 
 the Marquis of Montrose, and the Earl of Crawford. 
 
 In those important proceedings the town of Montrose bore some 
 little part. A committee of the Covenanters met there in 1639, 
 when an abortive attempt was made by the royalists to seize some 
 pieces of ordnance which had been placed for the defence of 
 the town. In the following year,' a ship landed from Hol- 
 land carrying ammunition and arms for the Covenanters.^ It was 
 not, however, until the month of April 1644, that the town and 
 its lieges were seriously endangered. This arose from a desire 
 on the part of the royalists to obtain possession of " tua brassin 
 cartowis," or small cannon, and, headed by young Irvine of Drum, 
 about three hundred soldiers, horse and foot, entered Montrose 
 with sounding trumpets, and drawn swords, about two o'clock in 
 the morning. The inhabitants, who had been apprised of the in- 
 vasion, alarmed the neighbourhood, by kindling fires upon the 
 steeple and ringing the bells, whilst they themselves stood in 
 arms. " Bot all was for nocht," as quaintly remarked by Spalding, 
 who further says, that the royalists " dang the toune's people fra 
 the calsey to thair houssis, and out of the foirstaires thay schot 
 desperatlie, bot thay war forssit to yeild by many feirfull schotes 
 schot aganes thame ; quhair vnhappellie Alexander Peirsone, ane 
 of thair balleis, wes slayne." 
 
 For a brief period Montrose was occupied by the royalists, 
 but fortunately for the town, an Aberdonian of the name of Bur- 
 net resided there, who, though " an anti-Covenanter," so far be- 
 trayed the cause as to allow the provost of the burgh, and many 
 others, with the " tua brassin cartowis," to be quietly taken on 
 board the very ship which he promised to place at the service of 
 the royalists. To this piece of treachery Drum and his friends 
 were strangers, and upon nearing the shore, the deception became 
 too palpable, for, instead of stepping on board the vessel as they 
 expected to do, and getting possession of the cannon, the " schip 
 schot fyve or six peice of ordinans disperatlie amongis thame, with 
 about fourtie mvscattis, quhair by the gryte providens of God 
 thair wes bot onlie tuo men killit, and sum hurt." 
 
 Drum now wreaked his vengeance upon the wheels of the can- 
 * Spalding's Trubles, i. 148, 285. 
 
78 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 non, by breaking them to pieces and throwing them irito the 
 water ; and returning to the town, the infuriated soldiers broke 
 up and plundered the houses and shops of the more important 
 merchants, and slaked their thirst from "apype of Spanish wyne" 
 which they " drank haitfullie." Having thus sacked the town, 
 they also carried off two of the principal citizens, both of whom 
 were subsequently released, 11 and leaving about two in the after- 
 noon, they marched to Cortachy that night in hopes of being re- 
 ceived by the Earl of Airiie ; but the approach of the Marquis of 
 Argyle being announced, they returned to Aberdeen. 1 
 
 The inhabitants of Montrose, afraid of being again invaded by 
 the enemy, had the more valuable of their goods removed to the 
 house of Dun, the laird being a friend to the Covenant ; but the 
 fact becoming known to the Marquis of Montrose, he, on march- 
 ing from Atholl through Angus soon afterwards, attacked and 
 plundered Dun of its contents, amongst which were several 
 fire arms, and " four feild brassin peices" which the Covenanters 
 had captured from the Marquis of Huntly at the affair of the 
 Bridge of Dee in 1639.J 
 
 From the time just mentioned, the town of Montrose remained 
 in a pretty tranquil state ; and although it had little to do with 
 the stirring times of Charles II., beyond most other towns, it was 
 not so fortunate in regard to the rebellions which occurred during 
 the following century, particularly that of the " forty-five." 
 With the first of these affairs Montrose had but slight connection, 
 it being mostly confined to the fact of the Chevalier de St George, 
 after a brief sojourn of six weeks in Scotland, stopping a night 
 there, and re-embarking for France on the following evening. 
 The house in which he spent the last night of his ill-fated pilgrim- 
 age to Scotland is long since removed, and a new one built on its 
 site ; but the passage through which the Prince and the Earl of 
 Mar went by the garden of the house to the river, where the 
 vessel lay in waiting, is still pointed ' out, and had been, in every 
 respect, most fitting for the occasion. k Eor ought the fact to be 
 omitted, that it was in this house, on the 4th of February 1716, 
 while waiting an opportunity to escape to the vessel, that the 
 
 h Spalding's Trilbies, ii. 352, 360. ' IUd„ 347-8. ' Tbid., 419. 
 
 " This house and garden, situated at the south end of the High Street, are now 
 the property of George Smart, Esq., corii-merchant. 
 
MONTROSE — REBELLIONS OF 1715-45. 79 
 
 Chevalier wrote his admirable letter to the Duke of Argyle, in- 
 timating that he had consigned a sum of money to certain magis- 
 trates to he expended in repairing, to some extent, the loss which 
 the country had sustained in the course qf the rebellion, by the 
 burning of several villages. 1 
 
 Although now-a-days there would seem to have, been little hope 
 of /the jptuarts succeeding'to the throne after this unfortunate at- 
 tempt, both the King of France, and their friends in Britain appear 
 to have thought otherwise, and accordingly, in 1745, when the 
 Chevalier's son, Prince Charles Edward, had attained his twenty- 
 fifth year,, the question of the Stuart succession was revived, even 
 with considerably more power and tact than upon the previous 
 occasion. But the evil day was at no great distance, and the 
 transient success which attended the arms of the Pretender, by the 
 victories of Prestonpans and Falkirk, were blasted for ever by 
 their defeat at Culloden. 
 
 The progress of Prince Charles in Scotland is so well known 
 that it were idle to trace it here. Unlike that of his father, 
 which was a series of disappointments from the time he landed 
 in Scotland until the hour he left it, Charles's was a mixture of 
 sunshine and cloud — victorious one day, and defeated the next — 
 holding levees in the palace of Holyrood attended by all the 
 pomp and equipage of royalty, then wandering a lonely outcast 
 over trackless paths, and clothed in the meanest apparel, sleeping 
 in desolate caves by the seashore, and subsisting on the humblest 
 fare, until chance favoured his escape to France, where the 
 Stuarts ever found a welcome and hospitable asylum in the 
 many dangers and difficulties with which they had the misfortune 
 to be surrounded. 
 
 For a brief period, Montrose was made the head quarters of 
 the royalists during the rebellion of 1745. From this position 
 they had probably been driven by the rebels, whose great strength 
 and influence lay mostly in Angus, and who subsequently selected 
 the town as their chief rendezvous. The royalists, aware of 
 the favourable character of the position they had lost, attempted 
 to regain it, and for that purpose sent thither a sloop of war 
 called the Hazard, which was anchored in the river, opposite the 
 1 This letter is printed in Chambers' Selellions, 312. 
 
80 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 village of Ferryden. That vessel mounted sixteen guns and 
 some swivels, and contained a crew of eighty men, commanded 
 by Captain Hill. 
 
 Prior to Prince Charles going into England, he had, through 
 the solicitation of Captain Erskine of Dun, appointed David 
 Ferrier, one of Lord Ogilvy's men, to be deputy governor of 
 Brechin and the neighbourhood, a post for which Ferrier proved 
 himself admirably well qualified, and which he faithfully main- 
 tained. 111 Aware that the Hazard sloop, which had kept up an 
 occasional fire for three days and three nights, was sent chiefly 
 to prevent his party from entering Montrose, he "formed the 
 design of capturing the vessel by raising a battery at the en- 
 trance of the river, and thereby to prevent her getting out to sea. 
 In pursuance of this plan he entered Montrose one night, and pos- 
 sessed himself of the island [Inchbrayock], on the south side of the 
 town, opposite to where the Hazard lay. Next day the Hazard 
 attempted to dislodge the party from the isle by her fire, but 
 without success. In the afternoon of the following day a vessel 
 carrying French colours was observed at sea, standing in towards 
 the river, which turned out to be a transport from France, with a 
 party of Lord John Drummond's regiment, some Irish piquets, and 
 six pieces of artillery. On observing this vessel, the Hazard fired 
 a gun to leeward as a decoy ; but, upon a signal from the party 
 on the island, the commander of the French vessel ran her on 
 shore out of reach of the Hazard's guns. The crew then landed 
 the six guns, and a fire was opened from them upon the Hazard 
 next morning from both sides of the river, on each of which three 
 of the pieces had been planted. With the exception, however, of 
 having some of her rigging cut, she sustained no damage. Be- 
 fore the arrival of Ferrier's party, Captain Hill, the commander 
 of the Hazard, had taken four six-pounders, and two four- 
 pounders, belonging to the town, which he had put on board a 
 vessel in the harbour ; but, by oversight, he left his vessel at the 
 quay, and the consequence was, that she fell into the hands of the 
 insurgents. This circumstance was fatal to the Hazard; for, 
 finding that the guns lately landed were not sufficient to force the 
 
 m Ferrier, who is supposed to have died in Spain, was farmer of Unthank, near 
 Brechin, and a merchant in that town. 
 
MONTROSE — REBELLION OP 1745. 81 
 
 Hazard to surrender, Captain Ferrier carried tlie four six-pounders 
 to the Dial-hill [Horolege], from which he fired upon the Hazard; 
 and her commander, seeing escape hopeless, after hoisting a flag 
 of truce, and making an ineffectual attempt for permission to 
 leave the river, surrendered." 11 
 
 The capture of this fine vessel, afterwards named Prince 
 Charles, was one of the best and most timely successes that could 
 have attended the rebels, as they not only obtained possession of 
 the vessel and its valuable contents, but were enabled to land 
 troops with impunity for some days to come. But Admiral Byng, 
 determined to cripple as far as possible the resources of the rebels, 
 and to revenge the loss of the Hazard, gave chase to a French 
 gun ship, which he descried near the water mouth, and sunk her 
 long boat full of men, the corpses of whom were afterwards 
 washed ashore ; yet, heedless of the loss thus sustained, the 
 Roman Catholics are said to have quietly heard mass in the 
 town on the same day that the disaster occurred. 
 
 These transactions took place towards the close of the year 
 1745 ; and, in the month of May following, the Duke of Cumber- 
 land re-visited the town, where he found the spirit of Jacobitism 
 reigning as strongly as before ; for, on the 10th of June (the 
 Pretender's birth-day), a contemporary Diarist says that " the 
 Jacobite gentlewomen }n Montrose got on white gowns and white 
 roses, and made a procession through the streets, where the young 
 boys had put on bonfires." This the officers of the army considered 
 an affront, but overlooked the matter in consideration that the 
 ladies were engaged in it. Cumberland, however, was less 
 lenient, and had the commanding officer broken in consequence, 
 and threatened, "because the inhabitants are nourishing up their 
 children to rebellion, to cause them to be whipped at the cross, 
 to frighten them from their bonfires."? 
 
 n Browne's Hist, of the Highlands, iii. 221. The statement of the Chevalier 
 Johnstone, that the Hazard was boarded by the Highlanders, is quite erroneous. 
 » Spald. Miscall., i. 357-«, 360. v Ibid., 397. 
 
 — o- 
 
 M 
 
82 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 CASTLES 0E KINCAEDINE, GLENBERYIE, AND DUEEIS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ftincartiitte, an* j^oriroun. 
 
 Castle of Kincardine — occupied by William I. and Alexander III. — twice -visited 1 by- 
 Edward I. — Scroll of Baliol's resignation prepared there — Murder of Kenneth 
 III. — Proprietary history of the lands;— old Hostelry — Kincardine made jibe 
 County Town — its Decline — St Palladius — his Chapel — town of Fordoun — Dr 
 Beattie — Auchinblae — Glenfarquhar — Friars' Glen. 
 
 The earliest authentic notices of the Castle of Kincardine occur 
 in the reigns of William L, and Alexander III., both of whom oc- 
 casionally resided there.* During the time of the first of these 
 monarchs, it was a place of considerable importance, to which 
 were attached all the officers common to a royal household of the 
 period. The remote progenitor of the noble family of Kintore, was 
 chief falconer or hawksman, in virtue of which he held the lands 
 of Hawkerstown in the immediate neighbourhood, and adopted 
 the name of Falconer? It is also told, but on much less reliable 
 authority, that an early member of the noble house of Southesk 
 was Constable of the castle, and for that service, held certain 
 lands in the barony of Kincardine. 
 
 The only other traces of the ancient greatness of the place are 
 the names of adjacent fields, such as the King's and Chancellor's 
 Parks ; the Chancellor's and the Dean's Croft ; the Deer, or 
 Hunting Park ; the Countess' Croft, and the Earl's Inns, as also 
 the Lorimer's, the Archer's, and the Palfreyman's Croft. d These 
 
 " Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 70, 95; Chamberlain Bolls, i. *1& These Soils contain 
 accounts of rents received from the lands of the royal manor of Kincardine during 
 the time of Alexander III., pretty similar to, although not so considerable as those- 
 of Forfar and Glamis. 
 
 b Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 100. « Ut &wp., p. 43. 
 
 _ d For these significant old names which occur in the charters of the Fettep- 
 eaiirn estates, I am indebted to. the kindness of Sir John Stuart Forbes^ Bart. 
 
KINCARDINE — THE CASTLE. 83 
 
 names, it will be seen, differ from the Duray, Bakehouse, Brew- 
 house, Gardener's, Hen, and other Crofts, which are common in 
 the vicinity of baronial establishments (but which are also to be 
 found at Kincardine) ; and, as the greater part of those places are 
 described as marohing with lands belonging to some of the 
 more ancient and potent lords of the Mearns, these may have 
 filled certain offices in connection with the Court, as indicated by 
 the different names. 
 
 The castle was picturesquely situated upon a natural hillock in 
 the gorge or opening of the valley, descending from the Cairn-o'- 
 Mount, and on the east side of the parish of Fordoun. Three 
 sides of the castle were inhabited, and the chief entrance was on 
 the south-east, between two round towers, with another gate on the 
 west. " The sides of the great fire-place of the hall were, not 
 long ago, entire, and the lower steps of a staircase, leading to an 
 upper flat." No part of the ruin stands more than five or six feet 
 high, and the whole structure measures about a hundred and 
 thirty feet square. There was also a narrow entrance on the north, 
 on each side of which were two apartments, the one about fourteen 
 by fifty feet in size, and the other fourteen by thirty-five feet. 
 Two apartments on the east side measure respectively twenty- 
 two by sixty feet, and twenty-two by fourteen, the door to the 
 first being quite visible. 
 
 Record and tradition are alike silent as to the time the castle 
 became ruinous. It was probably during the Wars of the Inde- 
 pendence, after which it may have never been rebuilt, for subse- 
 quently to King Edward's visit in 1296, all history is silent re- 
 garding it. It was one of the national fortresses of which he 
 had seisin prior to the settlement of the disputed monarchy, and 
 was governed for him by a person named John of Gildeford. e 
 
 Edward I. visited " King Carden" on the 11th, or as some say 
 the 12th day of July in the above-named year. It was his first 
 stage after leaving Montrose, a distance of upwards of thirteen 
 miles, and is described in the Diary of his journey as " a farour," 
 or more distant, " manour." f He received no homages upon that 
 occasion, but on returning southward, he there spent, according 
 to pne account, the 2d and 3d days of August, and according to 
 
 c Kymer, ii. 590 ; Eotuli Scot., i. 11. ' Bannatyiie Misoell., i. 277. 
 
84 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 another, the 4th of the same month, and received the hom- 
 age of Kanulph of Kynnard, chief of the nohle family of that 
 surname and title in Perthshire.^ It was in this castle also that 
 the scroll of King John Band's resignation of the crown of Scot- 
 land was written out, dated the 2d day of July of the same year, h 
 which day Edward was himself at the castle of Inverqueich in 
 Perthshire. 
 
 Tradition assigns a remote antiquity to the castle of Kincar- 
 dine, describing it as the scene of the assassination of Kenneth 
 III., by the stratagem of Finella, wife of the chief of the Mearns. 1 
 Finella, it is said, was daughter of Conquhare, the Celtic Earl 
 or Maormor of Angus, and her son being convicted of treason was 
 put to death by order of Kenneth. Out of revenge she had 
 the King murdered within the walls of Kincardine, her reputed 
 residence, she having treacherously invited him into her castle 
 while he was on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Palladius at 
 Fordoun. 
 
 Such is the story of Boyce, who relates the circumstances at- 
 tending the murder with all the minuteness of an eye-witness ; 
 but less fanciful historians, such as Tytler, are of opinion that the 
 King was waylaid or lured into a hunting match, and thus came 
 unwittingly by his death, not within the castle of Kincardine, or 
 by the poisoned darts of a brazen effigy, as related by Boyce, 
 but by the swords of a band of hired assassins. Wyntown, allud- 
 ing to Finella's personal inability to put an end to the King, 
 says that 
 
 . . scho couth noeht do that be mycht 
 Scho made thame traytouris be hyr slyoht ; 
 
 while, in the following quaint lines, he points to the members of 
 the King's own court as the perpetrators of the deed, and says that 
 it was done at Fettercairn ; but others believe he was killed in 
 the neighbourhood of Stracathro : — 
 
 " As throw the Mernys on a day 
 The Kyng was rydan hys hey way, 
 
 e Bannatyne Miseell., 279 ; Bag. Bolls, 112 ; Prynne, 651 ; Palgrave, 196. 
 
 h Eymer, i. pt. iii. 161. 
 
 1 A small British fort, on the western slope of Strathfinella hill, now planted, is 
 also called Mnella's Castle ; and the vitrified site of Green Cairn, near Balbegao, is 
 similarly named. 
 
KINCARDINE — PROPRIETARY HISTORY. 85 
 
 Of hys awyn Curt al suddanly 
 
 Agayne hym ras a oumpany 
 
 Into the Towne of Fethyrkerne : 
 
 To fooht wyth hym thai ware sa yherne, 
 
 And he agayne thame faucht sa fast ; 
 
 Bot he thare slayne was at the last." 1 
 
 The first mention of any portion of the barony of Kincardine 
 belonging to a subject, occurs in the time of The Bruce, when 
 Sir William Oliphant had confirmation charters of the lands of 
 Morehouse in Edinburghshire, in exchange for the " clausura 
 parci de Kyncardin in le Mernis." k The same King, in 1323, 
 granted to his brother-in-law Sir Alexander Fraser, six acres of 
 arable land in the tenement of Auchincairnie beside the King's 
 manor of Kincardine, bounded on the east by the old cart road of 
 the town of Auchincairny, on the west by a new ditch, on the 
 north by the burn of Vethi, and on the south by the moor of 
 Cambou. The land was to be held in one free hostilage, with 
 common pasturage in the King's thanage of Kincardine, for two 
 horses, ten oxen, twelve cows, and a hundred sheep, with their 
 followers till these should be a year old, and with freedom to dig 
 peats and turves within the same thanage of Kincardine. 10 ' 
 
 During the following reign it appears that the thanedoms of 
 Kincardine and Fettercairn, with that of Aberluthnot, or Mary- 
 kirk, and the park and castle of Kincardine, belonged to William 
 Earl of Sutherland, who married Margaret, sister of King David, 1 
 whose issue, it is said, David had a wish to prefer to the throne 
 rather than The Steward, although he was the nearest heir, in 
 right of his mother, the daughter and only child of The Bruce by 
 his first marriage. 
 
 The Earl of Sutherland survived till about 1388 ; but long be- 
 fore his death he had exchanged these lands with David II. for the 
 barony of Urquhard in Inverness-shire ; m and, in 1367, Kincar- 
 dine is mentioned as held by Sir Walter of Lesley of Rothes, 11 
 who married Euphemia Countess of Boss. In course of time the 
 male succession of Boss failed, and the grand-daughter of the 
 last named Lesley having taken the veil, her aunt, the wife of 
 Donald of the Isles, became her successor. For the purpose of 
 
 1 Wyntown's Cronykle, i. 182-3. k Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 12. 
 
 kk Hadington's Coll. of Chart. M.S., Adv. Lib. Edimh. 
 
 1 Chamberlain Rolls, i. 333. ™ Robertson's Index, 49. " Ibid , 87. 
 
 Douglas Peerage, ii. 414-15. 
 
86 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 enforcing immediate possession of the vast estates ofi Koss, and 
 with the view of obtaining a still higher position in the nation, 
 Donald raised a powerful army in the Hebrides, and marching 
 southward, was checked in his premature and lawless enterprise 
 on the fatal field of Harlaw, but unfortunately, not until a great 
 part of the flower of Scottish chivalry were slain. 
 
 The Nun-Countess resigned the estates into the hands of the 
 crown, about the year 1415, and the destination of the charter 
 which was then granted having failed, the lands ultimately be- 
 came a royal fief, much to the gratification of James I., the object 
 of whose life, and the ultimate cause of whose ruin, lay in a fool- 
 ish desire to crush the Scottish aristocracy. 
 
 During Lesley's time David II. twice visited Kincardine : 
 He presided at a jury court there in December 1375 ; and 
 there, in January 1383, he gave, among other grants, a confirma- 
 tion charter of the lands of Uris in the Mearns, to his shield- 
 bearer, Thomas of E,ait. p 
 
 Little is known with certainty of the proprietary history of the 
 barony of Kincardine from 1383, until a late date. It appears 
 to have been broken up into several sections, and of these the 
 Earls Marischal and the old family of Strachan of Thornton, had 
 the principal parts. The last named had the castelsted and park, 
 and the greater part of the adjoining crofts which bear the signi- 
 ficant names already noticed ; while the Earls Marischal had 
 other crofts, together with the advowson of the Chapel of St 
 Catherine, and the liberties, &c, of the burgh of Kincardine,^ in 
 virtue of which, in 1473, Earl William gave the toft of Auch- 
 cairnie to John Spalding, dean of Brechin, to be held by him for 
 the keeping of a free hostelry, or inn ; and, as the charter goes 
 on at length to state, he had the power and liberty of brewing, 
 baking, buying and selling loaves, and all and sundry other things, 
 with fuel and pasture within the commonty of Kincardine. 1 But 
 most of these lands and privileges were subsequently held by the 
 Earls of Middleton ; and the property of Kincardine, upon which 
 stand the ruins of the ancient palace, was bought soon after the 
 fall of the Middletons by an ancestor of the present proprietor. 
 
 - Dong. Peer., ii. 119 ; Beg. Mag. Sig., p. 161-2. Perhaps James V. was at 
 Kincardine in 1526. — Acta Fwl., ii. 315. 
 1 1nq, Speoiales, Kinoardinesh., Nos. 18, 70. ' Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 384. 
 
KINCAKDINE — ST PALLADIUS. 87 
 
 It was in 1531-2 that the fourth Earl Marischal obtained a 
 charter for making the town of Kincardine " the principal and 
 capital burgh of the county." 3 How shortly and sorrily it main- 
 tained that position is proved by the Acts ot Parliament ; for 
 these show that in less than eighty years after it was made the 
 county town, the sheriff and his deputes petitioned for the removal 
 of the courts to Stonehaven, in consequence of the extreme 
 poverty of the accommodation at Kincardine, there being neither 
 a tolbooth, nor any house for " parties to ludge into for thair 
 intertenement," in which state, it is said, matters had continued 
 " mony zeiris,'" — the free hostelry having been long previously 
 abolished. 
 
 The town of Kincardine had probably been in a poor state 
 even when the Earl Marischal obtained the charter, although 
 a late writer supposes it was once a great place, extending 
 " from the ground at the foot of the castle to near Fettercairn 
 House, " u a distance of at least an English mile. That idea had 
 been assumed in consequence of foundations of cottages being 
 often turned up in that line of road, which was the old highway 
 from Kincardine to Fettercairn ; but the real extent of the town 
 in that direction had only been from the East to the West Ports, 
 a distance of about two hundred yards. 
 
 Although no house remains to shew where the town of Kin- 
 cardine stood, the site of both ports, and also that of the market 
 cross, are still pointed out, and the old burial-ground of St Ca- 
 therine is laudably preserved, surrounded by a rude stone wall, 
 and overshadowed by a few trees. It ought to observed that the 
 Cross, now preserved at the village of Fettercairn, is a memo- 
 rial of late date, having been erected by the celebrated John, 
 Earl of Middleton, and gifted by him to the town of Kincardine. 
 He was born near that place, and latterly assumed his titles from 
 lands which he held in the same neighbourhood, and the Cross 
 bears his own arms and initials, with the Scottish lion, and the 
 date of 1670. 
 
 Apart from the stone circle on the hill of Herscha, the Roman 
 Camps at Fordoun and Clattering Brigs, T and some other ancient 
 
 " Douglas' Peerage, ii. 192. ' Acta Pari., iv. 374. 
 
 u New 8tat. Acct., 84. In 1790 Kincardine contained only 70 or 80 souls. 
 
 * See an engraving of the camp at Clattering Brigs in Chalmers' Caled.,i. 178. 
 
88 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 traces, the parish of Fordoun is remarkable as having been one 
 of the earliest seats of the Christian faith in Scotland. St 
 Palladius is said to have settled there in the fifth century, and 
 his church occupied the same romantic site as the parish kirk of 
 the present day, while a copious well at the same place still pre- 
 serves his name, as does also an annual market in the neighbour- 
 hood, vulgarly called Paddy fair. 
 
 St Palladius died and was buried at Fordoun, and, as tradi- 
 tion relates, many great personages made long and arduous pil- 
 grimages to his shrine. Among these were Kenneth III., whose 
 tragical death has already been alluded to, and Archbishop 
 Shevez of St Andrews, the latter of whom collected together 
 the bones of Palladius, which appear to have been then scattered 
 about, and had them put into a new shrine made of silver, or, 
 according to Butler, he had the old shrine " enriched with gold 
 and precious stones." w Palladius' relics, however, soon lost their 
 virtue, for the Reformation followed within fifty years, and 
 Wishart of Pittarrow, the selfish and sacrilegious Comptroller of 
 James V., is said to have enriched his own coffers by seizing the 
 holy casket, and scattering, its still more revered contents to the 
 winds ; from which time, says an old writer, the family " never 
 prospered." 
 
 The older part of the edifice in the churchyard, known as St Pal- 
 ladius' Chapel, was perhaps built by Archbishop Shevez, but its 
 architectural peculiarities are so few that the age cannot well be 
 ascertained. The east gable, is obviously the oldest portion. It 
 is ornamented by a small mutilated piscina, terminating in a rude 
 pointed arch, hewn out of a single stone ; and there also, within 
 an arch now built up, the ashes of Palladius are said to have re- 
 posed. The old families of Halkerton and Monboddo bury in the 
 vault beneath this chapel, to one of the latter of whom there is a 
 monument, with a quaint Latin inscription ; and there also stands 
 the curiously sculptured stone which local story associates with 
 the murder of King Kenneth.* 
 
 The parish church of Fordoun, adjoining St Palladius' Chapel, 
 rebuilt upwards of twenty years ago, is a handsome structure 
 with a square Gothic tower, and the churchyard contains some 
 
 w Lives of the Saints (Palladius), July 6. x Sculpd. Stones of Soot. 
 
FORDOUN, AUCHINBLAE, AND GLENFARQUHAR. 89 
 
 respectable monuments, the most conspicuous of which is a pillar 
 of Aberdeen granite lately raised to the memory of George Wish- 
 art, the reformer and martyr, who was a cadet of the old family of 
 Pitarrow. These, together with the manse, the school, and the 
 new and old schoolhouses — in the latter of which the celebrated 
 author of the "Minstrel" lived several years, and taught the 
 youth of the parish, previous to his elevation to the chair of 
 Moral Philosophy at Aberdeen — and an old hostelry, constitute 
 what is now termed the town, or village of Fordoun. xx The 
 stream of the Luther washes the base of the rock upon which 
 the kirk stands, and the whole forms an enchanting and romantic 
 spot. Here, it is believed, in the dell between the church and 
 the rising ground opposite (the solitude of which has since been 
 broken by a public road), Dr Beattie composed the greater part 
 of the Minstrel, and he thus beautifully describes the immediate 
 locality in his Ode to Retirement : — 
 
 " Thy shades, thy silence, now be mine, 
 Thy charms my only theme ; 
 My haunt the hollow cliff, whose pine 
 Waves o'er the gloomy stream, 
 Whence the soared owl, on pinions grey, 
 Breaks from the rustling boughs, 
 And down the lone vale sails away 
 To more profound repose." 
 
 Apart from the fact of the quiet of this part of the vale of the 
 Luther not being then broken by a common highway, the village 
 of Auchinblae, on the east side of that stream, was then also of 
 small importance. Now-a-days, however, matters are different : 
 a considerable trade in linen manufactures and general mer- 
 chandise is carried on in the village, which contains a neat Free 
 Church and manse, a post-office, branch banks, a gas work, and 
 several inns, with a population of about 600 persons. 
 
 The pretty pastoral district of Glenfarquhar, to the north of 
 
 Auchinblae — now studded with comfortable farm houses and 
 
 cottages — long furnished the old monks of Arbroath with sheal- 
 
 ing and pasture for their herds of cattle and swine.? In later 
 
 times an embattled fortalice of the Burnets and the Falconers 
 
 11 John de Fordun, the celebrated author of the Scoticlwonicon, is supposed to 
 have been born at, and to lave assumed his name from, the village of Fordoun, 
 about the year 1350. t Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 60. 
 
 N 
 
90 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 stood there, sheltered by a cluster of trees, amidst the scanty re- 
 mains of which are the foundations of the birth place of Falconer, 
 Lord President of the Court of Session. 
 
 A little to the north west lies Drumtochty, and the beautifully 
 romantic gorge of the Bow Glen, separated from the valley of 
 Strathmore by the hill of Strath-finella, so named, it is conjec- 
 tured, from the reputed murderess of Kenneth III. Near the 
 middle of the valley, and on the lands of Glensaugh, a short dis- 
 tance off the road, is the Friars' Glen, or Hermitage, surrounded 
 on all sides by mountains, and watered %y. a transparent brook. 
 The remains of the dwelling house, barn, and byre, of the last 
 occupant stand in a corner of the glen, and these the writer of 
 the old Statistical Account calk " the ruins of a small friary," — a 
 mistake, which had originated from the feet that in 1402, Fraser 
 of Frendraught granted the property to the Carmelite or White 
 Friars of Aberdeen, who continued to draw the revenues of it 
 down to the Reformation. 2 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 (ffastle, anir Utrft of <£lenfarbg. 
 
 Edward I. at Glenbervy Castle — Submission of the Baron, and the Parson of the Kirk 
 — Kirkyard — Drumlithie — Chapel burned — Curious epitaph on the Hassas, Oli- 
 fards, Melvilles, Auchlecks, and Douglases — Account of the Melville {Family— the 
 Sheriff boiled at Garvock — the 9th Earl of Angus — his successors in Glenbervy, 
 and failure of that line of the Douglases — Stuarts of Inchbreck — Ancestry of 
 Burns the Poet — Burneses of Montrose. 
 
 When Edward I. left the Castle of Kincardine, he passed to 
 " the mountagne of Glowberwy," a or Glenbervy, the parish ad- 
 joining Fordoun on the east, and <ihere he remained for the 
 night. History and tradition both corroborate the fact of a 
 castle having been at Glenbervy from a very remote period, and 
 there is no doubt but the King made it his residence upon the 
 occasion referred to, although the silence of the writer of the 
 royal Diary on that particular point, might lead those unac- 
 * Beg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 386. • Bannatyne Miscell., i. 277. 
 
GLENBERVY — ECCLESIASTICAL NOTICES. 91 
 
 quainted with the locality to infer that the party had rather en- 
 camped among the mountains ; the designation " mountagne " 
 heing merely descriptive of the topographical appearance of the 
 district. 
 
 The old castle of Glenbervy is believed to have occupied nearly 
 the same site, on the banks of the Bervy water, as the present neat 
 mansion house ; and at the time of the King's visit it belonged 
 to a branch of the old family of Melville. Many barons of that 
 name did homage to Edward, and among these was the laird of 
 Glenbervy. His submission took place at Lumphanan, in Aber- 
 deenshire, on the 21st of July ; and, from the writs printed by 
 Sir Francis Palgrave, it appears that John of Stowe, parson of 
 the kirk of Glenbervy, performed the same service at the same 
 time and place. 1 " Subsequently, after the King had returned 
 southward to Berwick-upon-Tweed, the same churchman repaired 
 thither, and again took the oath of allegiance;" but nothing 
 further is known of his history. 
 
 The old kirk stood within the present burial ground, opposite 
 to the mansion house. A new church was lately erected in a 
 bleak field by the road side. The name of the patron saint is 
 lost, and but a mere fragment of the old kirk remains. It ad- 
 joins the burial aisle of the Douglases, which is wholly covered 
 with ivy and shaded by a few good specimens of the yew — a 
 beautiful tree, much too rare in Scottish graveyards. 
 
 The church, which belonged to the diocese of Brechin, is rated 
 in the ancient taxatio at £20 Scots. A chapel, situated at Drum- 
 lithie, was dependent upon the kirk of Glenbervy, the patron- 
 age of both of which livings went along with the estates. 4 The 
 first recorded parson is described as " Henricus persona de 
 Glenberuin," in a grant of the lands of Bractullo, in Kirkden, by 
 Randulph of Strathechyn, to the Cathedral of Brechin, about the 
 year 1222 ; e but, from the time of Stowe until nearly the middle 
 of the fifteenth century, there are few notices of much moment 
 either of the kirk or its vicars. Some of the vicars, as then 
 frequently happened, were nearly related to the chief heritor or 
 patron. Towards the close of the century just named, while the 
 
 k Palgrave, 177. c Bagman Kolls, 142 ; Prynne, 657 ; Rymer, i , pt. iii. 163. 
 d Beg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 348. • Ibid., 3. 
 
92 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 property belonged to the family of Auchinleck, and during the 
 wardship or minority of the heir apparent, an action was raised by 
 the King against Sir John Auchinleck of that Ilk for "the wrang- 
 wis vsing and disponyng apon the samyn kirk," which was " a 
 sequele and pertinentis of the said landis," first " to vmquhile 
 Maister William Auchinlek his brother, and thereafter to Maister 
 Johne of Auchinlek his sone," f — a dispute of which the issue is 
 not recorded. 
 
 Drumlithie has been the village of the parish from a remote 
 period, notwithstanding that the Douglases had the Kirkton of 
 Grlenbervy erected into a barony. That village still keeps its old 
 position, and has a small trade in linen and other manufactures ; 
 and the parochial school, the Episcopal and Free Churches are 
 situated there. The former sect of Christians have been esta- 
 blished at Drumlithie ever since Episcopacy was introduced into 
 this country; and in 1746, when the Duke of Cumberland and his 
 forces were annihilating the Jacobites in this quarter, he not only 
 burned down the chapel, but subsequently had its parson seized 
 as a non-juror, and imprisoned in the county jail, because he 
 persisted in his ministry, and " did not pray for his Majesty 
 hy name, his heirs, and successors, and all the royal family.''^ 
 
 Although none of the monuments in the kirkyard of Glen- 
 bervy has any pretensions to beauty of design, few rural grave- 
 yards contain so many memorials of the ancestors of those who 
 have rendered themselves famous in the annals of their country. 
 The most interesting to the historian and antiquary are those 
 within the Douglas aisle — the one a mural tablet, and the other 
 chest-shaped: the first need only be here noticed, the latter 
 being interesting only in so far as it contains the ashes of the 
 ninth Earl of Angus, and those of his lady iEgidia Graham of 
 the old family of Morphie. The first is a renewed monument of 
 date 1680, with some curious mortuary ornaments, and the 
 armorial bearings of the ancient families of Hassa, Olifart, 
 Melville, Auchleck, and Douglas. The inscription, which is in 
 old contracted Latin, narrates the valorous actions, and the 
 matrimonial alliances, of the lairds and ladies of Glenbervy, from 
 the remote period of A.D. 730. About that time (according to 
 
 ' (1493)— Acta And., ii. 180. ' Black Book of KincardinesL, 41-9. 
 
GLENBERVY — FAMILY OP DE MELVILLE. 93 
 
 the inscription), Hew Hassa, a German by birth, came to 
 this country and married Germunda Dervise, the heiress of 
 Glenbervy, the last of whose male descendants fell at the 
 battle of Barrie in 1012, while attempting to expel the Danes 
 from Scotland. Helen, the last of the Hassas, married Duncan 
 Oliphart, a captain or soldier of the Mearns (Mernice DecurioJ, 
 and from Margaret, his great-grand-daughter, sprung the present 
 family of Arbuthnot. Walter Oliphart, the son of Helen Hassa, 
 had by Matilda, daughter of Sinel, thane of Angus, an only son 
 called Osbert, who fell in the Holy Wars with Godfrey of Bou- 
 logne, whose only daughter married James Melville, an Hun- 
 garian noble, and his son Hew married Gernarda, daughter of 
 Macpender, the thane of the Mearns, who murdered Duncan II., 
 in 1095. 
 
 Although little reliance need be placed upon any portion 
 of this sculptured narrative, which is one of the most singular of 
 its kind extant (its perpetuation of the sobriquet of the fifth Earl 
 of Angus, he being there designed " Bell the Cat," being perhaps 
 not the least curious of its features), the lands of Glenbervy 
 were in possession of a baron in the twelfth century, whose sur- 
 name probably was Melville, it being a common name in the 
 district at that period. h 
 
 The Melvilles came to Scotland with David I., under whom 
 they had a settlement in the Lothians, and their progenitor is said 
 to have borne the name of Male, and so called his lands Male- 
 ville. 1 Chalmers holds that they were of Anglo Norman lineage, 
 while Crawford asserts, perhaps following the tablet in the burial 
 vault of Glenbervy, that they were from Hungary, where, he adds, 
 some families bear the same name and arms.) The family had 
 settlements both in Angus and Mearns in William the Lion's time, 
 for in 1189, Blchard of Melville made over part of the lands of 
 Kinblethmont, and the patronage of the chapel of St Lawrence 
 on that estate, to the Abbey of Arbroath. k Nothing is re- 
 corded of the parentage of Eichard ; but Philip, the founder of 
 the Mearns-shire branch, is called the son of Galfrid of Melville, 
 who was eminent during the reigns of David I., and the two suc- 
 
 " Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 63. ' '< Chalmers' Caledonia, i. 524. 
 
 i Crawford's Peerage, 324. k Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 99. 
 
94 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 ceeding monarchs. 1 Some time before the year 1200, Philip of 
 Melville, married Eva, daughter of Walter the son of Sibbald, 
 with whom he received the lands of Monethyn or Mondynes in 
 the parish of Fordoun, m which were previously owned by Rich- 
 ard of Freuill." His son, also called Philip, was sheriff of Aber- 
 deen in 1222, and subsequently sheriff of the Mearns. After- 
 wards, in 1241, he was joint justiciary of Scotland proper, along 
 with Richard of Montealt, and from him was descended the 
 knight who did homage to Edward I. at Lumphanan. 
 
 Another of the Melvilles was sheriff of Kincardineshire in the 
 time of James I., and of his horrible death by boiling in a caldron 
 on the hill of Garvock, Sir Walter Scott, in noticing the similar 
 fate of Lord Soulis, says — " The tradition regarding the death of 
 Lord Soulis, however singular, is not without a parallel in the real 
 history of Scotland. The same extraordinary mode of cookery 
 was actually practised (hdrresco referensj, upon the body of a 
 Sheriff of the Mearns. This person, whose name was Melville of 
 Glenbervy, bore his faculties so harshly that he became detested 
 by the barons of the county. Reiterated complaints of his con- 
 duct having been made to James I. (or, as others say, to the Duke 
 of Albany), the monarch answered, in a moment of unguarded 
 impatience, ' Sorrow gin the Sheriff were sodden and supped 
 in broo !' The complainers retired perfectly satisfied. Shortly 
 after, the lairds of Arbuthnot, Mathers, Lauriston, and Pitarrow, 
 decoyed Melville to the top of the hill of Garvock, under pretence 
 of a grand hunting party. Upon this place, still called the 
 Sheriff's Pot, the barons had prepared a fire and a boiling cal- 
 dron, into which they plunged the unlucky Sheriff. After he was 
 ' sodden,' as the King termed it, for a sufficient time, the savages, 
 that they might literally observe the royal mandate, concluded 
 the scene of abomination, by actually partaking of the hell-broth. 
 The three lairds were outlawed for the offence, and Barclay, one 
 of their number, to screen himself from justice, .erected the Kaim 
 (*. e., the fortress) of Mathers, which stands upon a rocky and 
 almost inaccessible peninsula overhanging the German Ocean. 
 The Laird of Arbuthnot is said to have eluded the Royal ven- 
 
 Douglas' Peerage, ii. 110. 
 » Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 64. ° Ibid., 62. ° Douglas' Peerage, ii., 110. 
 
GLENBEKVY— THE DOUGLASES. 95 
 
 geance, by claiming the benefit of the law of the clan Macduff. 
 A pardon, or perhaps a deed of replegiation, founded on that law, 
 is said to be still extant among the records of the Viscount of Ar- 
 buthnot."? 
 
 Of the Angus-shire branch of the.Melvilles, were the cele- 
 brated Andrew and James Melville of the Reformation, sons of 
 the lairds of Baldovie and Dysart, near Montrose ; but the origi- 
 nal or Mearns-shire branch, survived in the male line only until 
 1468, when Alexander Melville's sole daughter and heiress, 
 Elizabeth, was married to Sir Alexander Auchinleck of that Ilk 
 in Ayrshire. A grand-daughter of Elizabeth Melville in 1492, 
 married Sir William Douglas of Braidwood, second son of 
 Archibald Earl of Angus, and by her he had the barony of Grlen- 
 bervy. These last were the grandfather and grandmother of 
 Sir William Douglas, afterwards ninth Earl of Angus, from 
 whom were descended the Dukes of Hamilton and Douglas, and 
 many other noble houses.' 
 
 The lands of Glenbervy passed to Robert, second son of the 
 ninth Earl of Angus, and a Nova Scotia baronetcy was created 
 in the family in 1625. There were seven baronets in lineal suc- 
 cesion, and the sixth, Sir Robert, was compiler of the Peerage and 
 Baronage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his only son, Alex- 
 ander, the seventh and last baronet in the male line, who became 
 physician to his Majesty's forces in Scotland, and married Bar- 
 bara, daughter of Carnegy of Finhaven, but left no surviving 
 issue, his only son, Robert, having predeceased him in 1780. 
 The baronetcy was restored in 1831, to Kenneth Mackenzie of 
 Kilcoy, in Ross-shire, nephew of Sir Alexander Douglas, by his 
 only sister Janet, whose descendents continue to enjoy it, but 
 the estates have long since passed to other hands. 
 
 Here also is the burial place of the Stuarts of Inchbreck, where 
 a brass plate affixed to a part of the ruins of the old kirk com- 
 memorates the names of the various lairds from the year 1550. 
 Prior to the middle of the sixteenth century, these lands formed 
 part of the Glenbervy estate, and were then granted by Sir 
 Archibald Douglas to David Stuart, out of gratitude for his care 
 
 r Border Minstrelsy, 462. [The " Sheriff's Pot," on the hill of Garvock, is popu- 
 arly called Brownie's Kettle.] *> Douglas' Peerage, ii. 110. 
 
96 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of the granter while he lay wounded upon the field of Pinkie. 
 Stuart subsequently took part with Queen Mary's forces at the 
 battle of Corrichie, and, according to the ballad, he killed the cor- 
 pulent Earl of Huntly with his own hand — 
 
 " The Murray cried tak the auld Gordone, 
 An' mony ane ran wi' speid, 
 Bat Stua/rt o' Inchbraick had him Btickit, 
 And out gushit this fat lurdane's bleid." 
 
 Inchbreck, and the properties of Eedmyre, and Castleton, 
 which had been acquired by marriage, passed, in uninter- 
 rupted succession, from father to son until about the close of 
 last century, when the late Mr John Stuart, W.S., succeeded his 
 grandfather, and disposed of the whole. Kair had been previ- 
 ously sold, and Eedmyre and Castleton had passed to other fami- 
 lies ; but Mr Stuart's uncle, Professor Stuart of Aberdeen, a na- 
 tive of the adjoining parish of Fordoun, and an industrious 
 antiquary, purchased the patrimonial estate of Inchbreck. In 
 that he was succeeded by his elder son George-Andrew, who be- 
 queathed it to his surviving brother and sister. 
 
 The first Stuart of Inchbreck was a younger son of the then 
 laird of Johnston or Laurencekirk, and a lineal descendant of the 
 old family of Stuart of Morphie. 1 The succeeding members of 
 the house of Inchbreck continued for many generations to exhibit 
 that martial spirit, at home and abroad, which characterised their 
 founder. Captain James, after serving some time in Holland, re- 
 turned to Scotland in the memorable " forty-five," and enlisted 
 in the cause of the Pretender under Lord Ogilvy. He was pre- 
 sent at the carnage of Culloden, and from that time until his 
 escape to France, he shared in the privations and calamities of 
 his proscribed associates. Of this interesting period of his life, he 
 kept a Diary, which is printed in the first volume of the Spalding 
 Club Miscellany. This soldier was created a knight of St Louis 
 of France, and died in 1776. 
 
 But, although last, it may not be of the least importance to 
 
 the general reader to know, that the parish of Glenbervy was 
 
 the "fatherland" of the Scottish Poet — Eobeet Buens — and 
 
 within its humble graveyard lie the ashes of many of his sires. 
 
 * Prof. Stuart'a Essays, p. xi. 
 
GLENBEEVY — ANCESTRY OF THE POET BUENS. 97 
 
 Four of the old tombstones record the death of various members 
 of this interesting race, a brief sketch of whose family and name 
 may neither be uninteresting nor out of place in this volume. 
 William Burnes, father of the Poet, was the third son of Robert 
 Burnes, farmer, first of Kinmonth, in his native parish of Glenber- 
 vy, and then of Clochnahill, in Dunottar. The Poet's father, it is 
 well known, left his native county when about nineteen years of 
 age, " upon which occasion, as he used to tell his children, he 
 took a sorrowful farewell of his brother on the summit of the 
 last hill from which the roof of their lowly dwelling could be 
 descried." He first went to the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, 
 and was employed as a gardener, but soon afterwards went to 
 Ayrshire, where he married in 1757, and his illustrious son 
 Robert, was born near Alloway, on the 25th of January 1759. 
 
 Of uncles and aunts the Poet had no lack, his grandfather 
 having had no fewer than four sons and six daughters, most of 
 whom arrived at maturity. We have not learned, however, 
 that either they or their offspring have materially departed from 
 the " noiseless tenor of their way," save some of the descendants 
 of James, the eldest son, who, while his brother William went to 
 the west country, settled himself in Montrose, of which place he 
 was a burgess and town councillor, and where he died in 1761. 
 His son, who died in 1837, and grandson, who died at Edinburgh 
 in 1852, were both notaries public in Montrose, and the latter 
 was long its chief magistrate, and a Justice of Peace for the 
 county. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Provost Glegg of 
 that burgh, and by her was father of the late Sir Alexander and 
 Lieutenant Charles Burnes, whose tragic and melancholy fate 
 at Cabool in 1841 is now matter of history, to which of late 
 there have been unfortunately too many painful parallels in the 
 same ill-fated region. Mr Burnes had also an older son (still 
 surviving), now Sir James Burnes, Physician-General of the 
 Bombay army, who, alike with his late lamented brother Sir 
 Alexander, has not only gained the frequent thanks of the Indian 
 Government for professional and diplomatic services, but has' 
 written various important works upon the geography and man- 
 ners of the East." 
 
 ** Adam Burnes, Esq., writer, Montrose, is the second, and only other surviving 
 brother, of the late Sir Alexander Burnes. 
 
 
98 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Although the Poet is now best known by the name of Burns, 
 it may be proper to remark that his father always signed Bur- 
 nes, as well as did the Poet himself, down to within the last ten 
 years of his brief and eventful life, when, about 1786, 8 because of 
 the name being pronounced in Ayrshire, as if written Burns, he 
 and his brothers " consulted together and agreed to drop Burnes 
 and assume Burns." 4 Such is the family account of the change of 
 the name, which, as adopted by the Poet and his brothers, has no 
 claim to antiquity. Not so with the name they rejected, which can 
 be traced from remote times, through the records of both king- 
 doms, in all the varieties of spelling that individual caprice, or the 
 peculiarities of ages could suggest. " The name of Burnes," says 
 Sir J. B. Burke, Ulster King of Arms, " is of great antiquity. 
 Godric de Burnes appears in the Domesday book as the lord of 
 ample domains in Kent, in the time of Edward the Confessor ; 
 Raoul de Burnes made gifts to the Abbey of St Acheuil, in France, 
 in 1189 ; and G-odeholt and Eustace de Burnes and others of the 
 same name are mentioned in the registers of the curia regis 
 of Richard I., and John, and in the rolls of knights' fees of 
 Henry III., and Edward I. In 1290, John de Burnes miles, was 
 Edward's envoy to Rome, and in a charter of Edward II., 
 Willielmus de Burnes is included amongst the benefactors to St 
 Thomas's hospital at Canterbury. In the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries the name is again prominent in Staffordshire, 
 where John Burnes of Aldershaw was of high consideration at 
 Lichfield, early in Elizabeth's reign, and his grandson of the 
 same name, an active parliament-man and magistrate under 
 Cromwell. The name is supposed to have been carried into 
 Scotland, either by some of the followers of Edgar Atheling, in 
 1066, or during the time of Edward I. About 1500, the ances- 
 tors of Sir Alexander Burnes were settled as leaseholders of Bra- 
 linmuir of Inchbreck, in Kincardineshire."" 
 
 It is certain that Edward I. had followers of the name in 
 
 Scotland as certainly as that he was in the parish of Glen- 
 
 bervy. T Bernes appears there as the name of a place }1 in two 
 
 charters of Robert I., in which the word is variously spelled 
 
 8 Letter to Mr Aitken, dated Mossgiel, 3d April, 1786. 
 1 Scottish Journal of Topography, &c, Nov. 6, 1847. 
 " Burke's Visitation of Seats and Arms. v Bagman Bolls, 147. 
 
GLENBERVY — ANCESTRY OF THE POET BURNS. 99 
 
 Bernis and Bernes, and the lands are described as lying " within 
 the thanedom of Aberhothnoth." The same lands, it is believed, 
 were afterwards known as Burnhous of Kair, in the barony of 
 Mondynes. w 
 
 It was close to this spot, that the present family of Burnes 
 are discovered in the early part of the sixteenth century as 
 leaseholders of the lands of Bralinmuir and Bogjorgan, which 
 form the estate of Inchbreck, in the parish of Glenbervy. The 
 late Professor Stuart of Inchbreck, a man of considerable anti- i 
 quarian research, who died at the age of 76, in 1827, averred 
 that his ancestors had found them there in the reign of Queen 
 Mary, x and some of them remained there till 1807 ; thus show- 
 ing an unbroken connection with the lands for about three cen- 
 turies. This is confirmed by the tombstones at Glenbervy, 
 and also by a deed of the Earl of Traquair, Lord High Trea- 
 surer of Scotland, to Alexander Straitown, dated 5th April 1637, 
 which is signed by John Burnes, residing at Thornetoun, in the 
 same locality. 
 
 Of the four tombstones which belong to the Burneses, the 
 most notable are those of James Burnes of Bralinmuir, and 
 his wife Margaret Falconer, who were the great-grand-parents 
 of the poet Robert Burns ; and of William Burnes, of Bog- 
 jorgan, and his wife Christian Fotheringham, the great-grand- 
 parents of John Burness,y author of the popular poetical tales 
 of Thrummy Cap, The Ghaist o' Garron Ha', &c. There were 
 two younger brothers of the same family, of whom one, 
 Robert, settled in the parish of Benholm, while the other, Colonel 
 John Burnes, was included in the Act of Parliament of William 
 and Mary, " rescinding the forefaulters and fynes since the year 
 1665," as having been a partisan of the House of Stuart/ 
 
 The family of William Burnes continued, in the persons of 
 three successive Williams, to occupy Bogjorgan till 1784, when 
 John, the above-named poet, and son to the last William, quitted 
 that place for Stonehaven, near which, after a life of penury and 
 
 " Bobertson's Index, 17, 23. 
 
 r Ancestry of Burns, Edinburgh Cowant, April 26, 1851. 
 
 T The name like Forbes lias frequently, but not generally (so far as I have seen), 
 been spelt with a double a. The Poet received the single e from his father ; then 
 adopted the double a, and finally ended by shortening the name to Burns. 
 
 * Acta Pari., ix. 166. 
 
100 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 J 
 hardship he perished in a snow stonn in 1826, and his remains 
 
 were interred in the Spittal graveyard of Aberdeen. 
 
 The descendants of{JamesVBurnes and Margaret Falconer can 
 be more clearly t/aVed)%y-tne records of the Lord Lyon's Court. 
 Besides two dai/gbfers, they had five sons, WjJKam, Ulobert, 
 Georgei^amesAand Thomas. The eldest and youngest died 
 early, 'andHhe-rormer having left no issue, was succeeded at Bra- 
 linmuir by his brother James, whose son only relinquished it in 
 1807. The second and third sons became leaseholders on the 
 domains of the Keiths Marischal, at Clochnahill of Dunottar,, and 
 Elfbill of Fetteresso, and it is to them that Robert Burns, the 
 grandson of the former, particularly alludes when he says, " my 
 ancestors, rented lands of the noble Keiths Marischal, and had the 
 honour of sharing their fate. I mention this because it threw my 
 father on the world at large. They followed boldly where their 
 leaders led, and welcomed ruin and shook hands with infamy, for 
 what they believed to be the cause of their God and their king." 21 
 The Earl Marischal, it is well known, proclaimed the Chevalier 
 King of Great Britain at the head of his retainers, on the 28th 
 September 1715, at the market cross of the neighbouring city of 
 Aberdeen, and again, after the battle of Sheriffmuir, at the gate 
 of his own house of Fetteresso, in presence of the unfortunate Prince 
 himself, and his general, the Earl of Mar. Under such circum- 
 stances it is obvious that the parochial tenantry, even if they 
 wished, could not altogether escape the treason ; and although it 
 is said that they lost their all in the misfortunes which overtook 
 and scattered them, yet the dignity of their moral worth was not 
 subdued. 
 
 Robert Burnes married Isobel Keith (a circumstance which has 
 probably led the Ettrick Shepherd to call the family cadets of the 
 Earls Marischal), and besides daughters, he was the father of three 
 sons, James, Robert, and William. As before noticed, the two 
 last named sons went to the south country, where William mar- 
 ried Agnes Brown, by whom he had his son Robert Burns the 
 poet. James, the eldest, settled at Montrose, and there died 
 in 1761, aged forty-four, leaving by his wife Margaret Grub, 
 an only son and daughter, the former of whom is the gentleman 
 " Letter to Dr Moore, 2d August 1787. 
 
THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 
 MECHANICS AND TRADESMEN 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 ^EE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 DURRIS — VISIT OP EDWARD I. 101 
 
 that all the Poets' biographers applaud, for having responded so 
 readily to the necessitous appeal of his then neglected but now 
 honoured kinsman. It was he also who met Burns by appoint- 
 ment at Stonehaven in 1787, when the poet and his friend Mr 
 Ainslie were on a northern tour, and conducted him into the circle 
 of his paternal kindred.* 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 OTastle of Jiorcs, or Hums. 
 
 Route, and Visit of Edward I. to Durris — story of Hog of Blairydryne, &o. — Castle 
 of Durris — visited by Alexander III. — Thanedom gifted to Sir Alexander 
 Fraser — sold to Hay of Errol — Lands herried, and Castle burned — subsequent 
 Proprietary History — Red Beard's Well — the Kirk. 
 
 The Castle of Dores stood on the south bank of the Dee, upon a 
 rising ground, or rather a conical knoll, which in Gaelic would 
 be written and pronounced Torr, — hence probably the real origin 
 of the name of the parish or district. The site is about twelve 
 miles south-west of the city of Aberdeen, the place to which 
 King Edward next repaired, and little more than the same dis- 
 tance north-east of the castle of Grlenbervy. 
 
 In going from Glenbervy to Durris, Edward crossed by the 
 mountains of that parish, through a swampy pass, dreary even at 
 this day, called the Cryne Corse, and alighted upon the castle of 
 Dores or Durris, which his Diarist describes as " a manour in 
 the Downes, amange the mountayns," b — Dowries being either a 
 misnomer, or descriptive of the flat aspect of the country in the 
 neighbourhood of the castle compared with that through which 
 the royal party had been travelling some days previously. By 
 the route just named King Edward had passed the Stone House 
 of Mergie, crossed the Blackburn and water of Cowy at pretty 
 romantic spots, and on ascending the hill of Cairnmonearn, would 
 be in view of the sea, and the ancient town of Aberdeen. In the 
 
 * See Burns' letter to his brother Gilbert, Sept. 17th, 1789, and Lockhart's Life. 
 b Bannatyne Miscell., i. 278. 
 
102 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 swamp on the east, and almost at his feet, lay a trackless wild, 
 traversed now-a-days hy the Slug road, by which Her Most Gra- 
 cious Majesty has passed frequently to and from her Highland 
 retreat of Balmoral, via Stonehaven. 
 
 One of the places on Edward's route through these mountains 
 is called Eshintillie Regis," to distinguish it from another Esh- 
 intillie which belonged to a subject. It is said that James V. 
 travelled there incognito, and from the kindness shewn to him by 
 a person named Hog, then farmer of Blairydryne, the Earl Maris- 
 chal, who had a proprietary interest in Dores, gifted that farm to 
 Hog, oue of whose descendants married the heiress of Skene of 
 Raemoir, in a neighbouring parish. 4 The family of Hog have 
 long since died out, but the name ,is preserved in the district 
 by a eharity which was left by a parishioner so called for edu- 
 cational and other purposes, among which, with a kindly re- 
 membrance of the pleasures and scenes of his boyhood, was a 
 payment to the cattle herds on the hill of Cairnshee, upon which 
 he himself had tended sheep and cattle, for the purpose of raising 
 a midsummer fire. e 
 
 The site of the castle of Dores, which the agricultural improve- 
 ments of the present century has greatly reduced in size, appears 
 to have been moated in old times, and the castle itself was burned 
 by the Marquis of Montrose, but no record or tradition of it re- 
 mains in the district, except the significant name of " the Castle- 
 hill." It was occupied as a residence by Alexander III., and the 
 earliest mention of it occurs in the Chamberlain Rolls of that 
 period, when certain sums of money were paid for repairs to the 
 houses of Collyn [Cowy], and the vessels and bridge at the house 
 of Durres, f but whether the bridge was of stone or wood is not 
 recorded — it may have been a draw bridge for the castle. 
 
 The visit of King Edward occurred on the 13th of July 1296 ; 
 
 but of the subsequent history of the castle little has been learned. 
 
 In 1373, King Robert II. granted to John Fraser, son of the 
 
 deceased Sir William Fraser, knight, the land of Wester Essyn- 
 
 toly (which John of Dalgarnok had resigned), for the blench ferme 
 
 of a silver penny yearly at the castle hill of Durris — " apud castri 
 
 c Acta Pari., vii. 591 ; Inq. Spec. Kincardinesh., No. 69. 
 
 d Coll. in Aberdeen, &c, 638 ; Inq. Spec. Kincardinesh., No. 135. 
 
 ' New Stat. Account, 177. ' Chamberlain Rolls, i. *34. 
 
DUEBIS — HEEEIED BY THE EOYALISTS. 103 
 
 montem de Durrys."s The lands of the Castletown of Dores, 
 which lie but a short distance from Maryculter, where the 
 Knights Templars had a residence, and which barony belonged 
 entirely to them, are called " the Templarie lands ;" h but Durris 
 proper was anciently a thanedom, and the collectors of the rents 
 of the King's lands take credit for payment of these. 1 
 
 Sir Alexander Fraser, who was Chamberlain, and brother-in- 
 law to The Bruce, was the first baron of Durris, and received 
 that thanedom, and the old royal hunting forest of Cowy, and 
 many other lands from the King for his services as a soldier and 
 statesman. These lands continued in possession of the Erasers 
 till about the end of the fifteenth century, although in 1413, 
 the pecuniary affairs of the knight of the period became so em- 
 barrassed that, reserving only the life rent interest of his mother- 
 in-law, he agreed to sell the whole property "for euirmare," 
 to Hay of Errol, Constable of Scotland, for, as the disposition 
 quaintly bears, " a sowme off sylure before hand in my mykyle 
 mistre [great necessity], to me payit."J Still, the estates did not 
 pass out of the family, for long subsequently in 1494, one of 
 the Frasers held an interest in them, for the bishop of Brechin 
 then raised an action before the Lords of Council setting forth 
 that William Fresale withheld from him and the kirk of Brechin 
 " the secund teynd of his relief of the landis of Durris," which 
 was claimed as belonging to that bishoprick. k 
 
 During Montrose's wars the castle of Durris was occupied by 
 Forbes of Leslie, whom Spalding describes as " a gryte cove- 
 nanter," and fearing that his house might be plundered by the 
 royalists, he had the greater part of his effects hidden, or carried 
 away to a place of greater safety. As anticipated, the castle was 
 soon afterwards assailed by the Gordons, who, in the absence of 
 better fare, regaled themselves upon "beir and aill," and "bruk 
 up girnellis and book [baked] bannokis at good fyres, and drank 
 mirrellie vpone the lairdis best drink, syne careit away with thame 
 alss mekill victuall as thay could beir, whilk thay culd not get 
 eitin and distroyit." 1 This was in 1639, and in 1644, the place 
 
 e Keg. Mag. Sig. p. 99. ' h Acta Pari., vii. 591 ; Templaria. 
 
 1 Chamberlain Bolls, v. y. ' Antiq. of Shires of Aberb. and Banff, iij. 364. 
 " Acta Dom. Con., 355; Antiq. of Shires of Aberb. and Banff, iii. 365-367. 
 1 Spalding's Trubles, i. 188. 
 
104 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 was subjected to a similar raid, and the house garrisoned by "ten 
 soldiouris" under command of Robert Irvine, for the purpose of 
 preserving the girnells or granaries which were well stocked with 
 grain, during which " thay leivit upone [Lord Fraser's] nolt 
 and scheip and vther commodeteis." m But it was upon Sunday 
 the 17th of March, in the following year, that Durris suffered 
 most severely, for the Marquis of Montrose, then on his march 
 southward to Dundee, plundering and burning the lands and 
 houses of such of the Covenanters as lay in his route, set fire to 
 " the place, lauche bigging, and haill cornes [of Durris] , and spolzeit 
 the haill ground of horss, nolt, scheip, and other goodis."" 
 
 In the year 1669, Sir Alexander Fraser, who was many years 
 royal physician, had a charter of confirmation of Durris from 
 Charles II., upon the resignation of Lord Fraser. On the 2nd 
 of December of the same year we find John Burnett served heir 
 to his father Andrew Burnett " of Dooris, merchant burgess of 
 Aberdeen," in these lands,? over which it is probable he held a 
 mortgage. 
 
 Sir Alexander Fraser was twice married, and by his first wife 
 he had two sons and a daughter, the younger of whom Charles, 
 translated Plutarch's Lives, and is supposed to have been author 
 of the Turkish Spy. By his second marriage he had a son and 
 daughter, the former of whom became Sir Peter, and was the 
 last Fraser of Durris. Sir Peter's daughter Carey, a maid of 
 honor to Catherine, Queen of Charles II., married the celebrated 
 General, the Earl of Monmouth, by whom she had an only daugh- 
 ter Henrietta Mordaunt, who became the wife of Alexander, 
 second Duke of Gordon, by which means the estate of Durris 
 was carried to that Ducal house.i 
 
 The mansion house, built by a lessee of the Duke of Gordon, 
 is pleasantly situated near the Dee, and the entail being trans- 
 ferred to property in the neighbourhood of Gordon Castle, the 
 
 ■" Spalding's Trubles, ii. 338. " Ibid., 458. ° Acta Pari., vii. 591. 
 
 " Inq. Spec, Kincardinesh., No. 115. 
 
 i Thia lady had four sons and seven daughters. The eldest son succeeded as 
 3d Duke of Gordon ; the 2d died a Captain ; the 3d was " Lord Lewis Gordon," fa- 
 mous in Jacobite Minstrelsy ; and the 4th, Lord Adam, was Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Forces in Scotland, and builder of the house of The Burn, near Fettercairn. 
 The 3d and 6th daughters were married respectively to the Earls of Aberdeen and 
 Wemyss, all of whom were educated by their mother in the Protestant religion, for 
 which Bhe had a pension from George II. of £1000 a-year. — Doug. Peer., i. 654. 
 
DUEEIS — THE KIRK. 105 
 
 lands of Durris were sold under the provisions of an Act of Par- 
 liament in 1837, to the late Anthony Macteir, who was a success- 
 ful merchant in India, and by whose enterprise the estate has 
 been greatly increased in value. 
 
 The parish is meagre both in antiquarian remains and in 
 traditionary lore. The few pre-historic traces that have been 
 found are noticed in the New Statistical Account, and consist of 
 several tumuli, one of which, by the side of the Dee, contained 
 stone coffins with human remains. At the 'Spital Croft, a re- 
 puted seat of the Knight Templars, which lies to the south-east 
 of the church, an old bronze pot was found some years ago, now 
 preserved at the house of Durris. It holds about a half gallon, 
 is similar in form to the old-fashioned broth or "hail-pots of Scot- 
 land, having three feet to rest upon, and two ears for fixing 
 the bow or handle to. 
 
 The chief tradition of the parish is one regarding a freebooter 
 called Red Beard, who is said to have lived in a cave on the hill 
 of Cairnmoneam, where a spring-well preserves his name; but 
 beyond his dexterity in lifting cattle and the like, nothing is 
 recorded of him. 
 
 The kirk, which is first mentioned in 1249, is rated in the 
 ancient taxatio at ten merks ; and the second teinds of the relief 
 of the, lands of Durris belonged to the Bishop and church of 
 Brechin. r The church of Durris was in the diocese of St 
 Andrews ; but the names of the early pastors are unrecorded, 
 with the exception of Mr William Crychtoune, who was ap- 
 pointed to the parish church, by the Archbishop, in 1487. 9 
 
 The kirk, erected in 1822, is a plain building : it stands by the 
 side of the Dee, near the foot of the romantic burn of Shiach, 
 and two burial aisles are attached to it — one is called Innes' 
 aisle, the other Fraser's. The first has its name from a lessee 
 of the estate, and the latter bears a rough carving of the Fraser 
 arms, and the initials, T. F. 
 
 ' Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 169, 240 ; Acta Dom. Conoil., 355. 
 ■ Antiq. of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff, iii. 360 . 
 
106 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 &$t Mountr &otoer, (Katfjetiral, CTastle, ano 
 ©oton of Bmtyin. 
 
 SECTION I. * 
 
 First Notice of Brechin — The Culdees — The Bound Tower — Pagan and Eastern 
 Origin Befuted — Christian Symbols, &c, on Doorway — Supposed Date, and 
 Purpose of Erection — General Description — Saved from Destruction — Satirical 
 Poem suggesting the joining of the Tower to the Church. 
 
 The name of Brechin is first met with towards the close of the 
 reign of Kenneth III., and at that time it appears to have been 
 a place of some consequence. It is next mentioned about the 
 year 1012, soon after Malcolm II. defeated the Danes at Aber- 
 lemno, in honour of which victory he is said to have erected a 
 monastery at Brechin, which he inscribed to the Blessed Virgin,* 
 but no trace of it now remains. 
 
 This was probably a Culdee establishment — a system of priest- 
 hood which was then but recently introduced, for, contrary to 
 popular belief, the Culdees are not mentioned in Irish history till 
 the ninth century, about which time also they first appeared in 
 Scotland. From what is recorded of them it is plain that they 
 were secular canons, whose system became common in various 
 Christian countries in the ninth century, and for whose govern- 
 ment a great body of rules was drawn up by the Council of Aix- 
 la-Chapelle, in the year 816. Why they should have acquired 
 the name of Culdees both in Scotland and in Ireland is not cer- 
 tain ; but that they had the same constitutions, and performed 
 the same functions as the secular canons of other countries, is 
 now well established. b 
 
 a Butler's Lives of the Saints (Motoo), June 25. [An account of the Bound 
 Tower at Brechin, with illustrations, will be found in Proceedings of the Society of 
 Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. iii.] 
 
 * In our Scotch charters they are called " Canonici qui Keldei dicuntur" — 
 "Keldei qui se Canonicos gerunt" — "Keldei sive canonici." 
 
AT 
 
 111CII 
 
 IT.& A K. Johnston,, Ut)ildui r 
 
 The' Cfocwch /int done +ro*n 
 
 ri-im 
 
 EAST ELEVATION 
 
 SECTIO N 
 frarmy IZtist to Wesi7. 
 
 jo J~ o 
 
 T-rTTT I I I I I I 
 
 60 
 
 ZJ~Z 
 
 Jf.T}. The Jttme JTOmJTU/ of ' tfix. de>o-r and' tJ%es two 
 
 •sltLbs arts ej^iTver side arc of' red -sandstone- , W/rile ■ 
 Che' walls of-tfies To-Her is of dccrk.' ipr-ey. 
 
 Plan at e e 
 
 indusJZ, 60 I & 3 
 
 I ■ n " 1 11ml 1 1 I 
 
 -*• J~ fi /eery. 
 
 Flan at d-d 
 
 r^m. 
 
 > V 
 
 EIU.ARCE0 ORftWINC OF DOOR 
 
 Measured 0ct?M6> 
 William. OrmutmV 
 
BRECHIN — THE BOUND TOWER. 107 
 
 The Culdees were also at York, and in the history of the 
 foundation of the Hospital of St Leonard of that city, it is stated 
 that when King Athelstan was on his way northwards to fight 
 the Scots, he came to the church of St Peter's at York " where 
 the ministers of that church were as yet called Culdees," and on 
 his return after a victory he conferred on them valuable rights. 
 
 Two of the best known seats of the Culdees in Scotland were at 
 Abernethy, near Perth, and at Brechin, at both of which places 
 chapters of them survived down to the reign of Alexander II. 
 The most unequivocal traces of them now remaining either in 
 Scotland or in Ireland (in the last of which countries they exist- 
 ed at Armagh until the seventeenth century), are their Eound 
 Towers and Churches. So far as relates to Scotland, the round 
 towers of Abernethy and Brechin still remain, but the colleges 
 or churches of both places exist only in name, although ruins of 
 the houses were visible at Brechin in the time of Maiflandthe 
 historian, who was a native of that place, and those of Abernethy 
 are engraved by Captain Grose. d 
 
 These round towers were long said to have had a Pagan and 
 Eastern origin, and some writers, even of our own day, disregard- 
 ing the mass of evidence which has been accumulated to sub- 
 stantiate their Christian origin, still cling to that idea, without 
 the least shadow of proof. They also ascribe, without any better 
 reason, our ancient sculptured stones with their mysterious sym- 
 bols, to a colony of Bhuddists, who, strange to say, erected no 
 similar stones in their own country, nor left any in the countries 
 through which they passed on their way to Scotland. In the 
 same way the Eastern Pagans, who are said to have erected the 
 round towers in Christian times in Ireland, have not left similar 
 memorials of themselves in their own country, for although we 
 are told of some round towers in the east, they do not conform 
 in character to those in Ireland. 15 
 
 The architecture of the round towers of Ireland agrees with 
 
 that of ancient churches erected there from the fifth to the twelfth 
 
 centuries. In one case a round tower is placed on a church as at 
 
 Grlendalough. In another the tower is built into the walls of 
 
 c Dugdale's Monastioon, vi. 608. d Antiquities of Soot., ii. 251. 
 
 As an example of this, see the round tower of Bhaugulpore, engraved in Lord 
 Valmtia's Tra/eeU, i. 85. 
 
108 
 
 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 the church as at Koscrea. At Donoughmore, and Antrim, as at 
 Brechin, the towers have well-known Christian symbols, yet differ 
 in no respect in plan from those more numerous examples which 
 are destitute of ,symbols. f ■ 
 
 Apart from the representation of Christ upon the Cross, which 
 surmounts the door-way of the Brechin tower, two ecclesiastical 
 "\ figures, are sculptured near the middle of 
 the imposts of the door. These are consi- 
 derably mutilated, and, as a diversity of 
 opinion exists regarding their appearance 
 — Mr Cough supposing them to represent 
 the Virgin and St John, and Dr Wilson, 
 St Serf and St Columbas — (conjectures for 
 which there is no foundation), they are here 
 represented as they now appear. It will 
 be seen that both are habited in loose gar- 
 ments: the figure on the left grasps a crozier 
 or pastoral staff with both hands, while that 
 on tbe right has a cross-headed staff on which 
 rests an open book held by the left hand. 
 These figures, which are cut out of the same stones as form the side 
 lintels of the door, are in bold relief, resting upon pedestals which 
 project about four inches, and each of the figures are about eigh- 
 teen inches high. Both appear to have had beards, and some- 
 thing like a nimbus or glory had perhaps surrounded the head of 
 the figure on the right, which is altogether of a more portly mould 
 than its fellow. There are two unembellished blocks in the tower, 
 one on each side of the crucifixion, but outside the sculptured part 
 of the doorway, upon which it may have been intended to en- 
 grave some incident, perhaps illustrative of the life of the founder 
 of the tower, whoever that had been. 
 
 There is also a diamond or lozenge-shaped figure, cut in low 
 relief, on the front and middle of the door sill of the tower, bear- 
 ing an illegible centre ornament, from which possibly a fleur-de-lis 
 had issued, in four points, as one point of it is faintly visible in 
 the north-east angle of the diamond. The two recumbent ani- 
 
 ' There are no peculiar symbols on the Abernethy tower, but the four upper 
 windows present traces of Norman architecture. 
 
 e Archseologia, ii. 85 ; Prehistoric Annals, 597 ; also Pennant's Tour, 162. 
 
BRECHIN — THE ROUND TOWER. 
 
 109 
 
 mals by the sides of the door sill, which have also been variously 
 described, are much worn, 
 and here engraved. Wood- 
 cut No. 1, which represents, 
 that under the left-hand fi- 
 gure, has (despite the laugh- 
 ter that Mr Gough's averred 
 credulity has furnished to 
 succeeding writers) much of 
 the form of the skull and No. l. 
 
 proboscis of an elephant, certainly not " a fish in the animal's 
 mouth," as suggested by Dr Wilson, while the head and fore- 
 quarters of the object (No. 2), 
 have much the appearance of a 
 horse. But it is idle to specu- }A 
 
 late on the sort of animals which . <i 
 these represent — most probably, 
 they are only objects of the ar- 
 tist's own creation, and there can - No. • 
 be no doubt that No. 1, which is on the north side of the door, 
 has feet and claws pretty similar to those of the nondescript ani- 
 mal figured upon a stone built into the west and outer gable of 
 Meigle church. h 
 
 A button-shaped border surrounds the door-way (a part of 
 which is also figured, along with the two animals), and resembles 
 that upon some of the ancient sculptured monuments, particularly 
 that on the Farnell stone, and the fragment which was found in a 
 garden within the old boundary of the kirkyard of Brechin, upon 
 the latter of which are the Virgin and Child, and St Peter, and 
 allegorical representations of the Four Evangelists. These, how- 
 ever, are greatly inferior in execution to those upon the door- 
 way of the tower, for in these a good knowledge is shewn of pro- 
 portion, and of the joints and extremities, both in the human and 
 animal figures, while the others are the squat and unshapely pro- 
 ductions of untutored genius. 1 
 
 Whether the old sculptured stone monuments and the round 
 towers of Scotland are coeval I shall not attempt to determine, 
 
 * Sculpd. Stones of Scotland. 
 
 > Hid. 
 
110 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 the age of the former being as uncertain as that of the lat- 
 ter ; but it appears to me that both the towers and the monu- 
 ments had not only a common origin but also a common use. 
 The analogy of the architecture of the towers in Ireland to those 
 in Scotland goes far to prove this point, and some of the mys- 
 tical and Christian symbols on the sculptured stones of both na- 
 tions are quite alike. As the round towers are peculiar to Scot- 
 land and Ireland, so also are those monumental stone crosses; 
 
 The clergy, called Culdees, were, with the exceptions of 
 England and Wales, peculiar to Scotland and Ireland, and they 
 first appeared in the latter eountry and then passed over to the 
 former. These facts lead me still more firmly to believe that both 
 the Scottish round towers and the sculptured stone crosses were 
 the work of native artists who had been educated in convents 
 under the eye of the primitive abbots and canons who came 
 from Ireland to instruct the youth in the useful and ornamental 
 arts, among which, doubtless,, had been that of building, and 
 carving in stone. 
 
 These secular canons, as before shewn, are first recorded in 
 the ninth century ; but written evidence shews that some of the 
 Irish towers have a mueh more remote antiquity. Dr Petrie 
 supposes that the Brechin tower was built some time about 1020,J 
 or during the reign of Malcolm II. Such may be the fact, and 
 without presuming to fix any period as the date of its erection, 
 we may be allowed to remark that thirty years prior to that date, 
 and only four years before the murder of Kenneth III., that 
 King is recorded to have given the great city of Brechin to the 
 Lord. k May it not therefore be feasible to suppose, that in doing 
 so he had commanded some lasting and stately memorial to be 
 erected at the place for which he shewed so great favor ? No- 
 thing could have been better devised for that purpose than the 
 erection of a Eound Tower, which tie Culdees, who had re- 
 ceived this favour from the King, would naturally suggest, in 
 imitation of the monuments in their mother country. 
 
 Within the tower of Abernethy, 1 and most of the Irish towers, 
 
 ' Round Towers of Ireland, i. 406. 
 i k " Hie est qui tribuit magnam civitatem Brechne Domino." — Iwrwi Orit. Ms- 
 say, 788. 
 
 1 Small's Roman Antiquities in Fife, App. p. 12. [Mr Small supposes that 
 " the Pictish race of Kings were buried within the Abernethy tower. This is not 
 
BRECHIN — THE ROUND TOWER. Ill 
 
 sepulchral remains have been discovered," 1 and in some cases, as 
 in that of Kilkenny, round towers have been erected in church- 
 yards after they had been Christian cemeteries, thereby shewing 
 that the round towers were generally used as places of interment. 
 But although the tower of Brechin was searched in 1842, and 
 excavated down to the original soil, no such remains were found 
 there. Some believe that these towers were erected as belfreys. 
 It is certain many of them have been used as such, including 
 those of Brechin and Abernethy. 
 
 The tower of Brechin is a spiral building, eighty-six feet nine 
 inches high, and the stones are neatly dressed and joined into one 
 another, in some parts resembling the twistings of a screw. It 
 gradually tapers from an external diameter of about fifteen feet 
 two inches at the base or sill of the door, to twelve feet eight and 
 a-half inches at the four top windows of the tower. The walls are 
 three feet eight inches thick at the door sill, and two feet five 
 and a-half inches at the upper windows. It is divided into seven 
 unequal apartments (exclusive of the spire or upper portion) , by 
 corbels of hewn stone, which project five or six inches, and on 
 these the wooden floors and ladders are rested, by which the top 
 is reached. The fourth and fifth stories are each lighted by a 
 small aperture on the east and south respectively, and the seventh 
 by four apertures, or windows, facing the four cardinal points. 
 A comparatively modern octagonal spire of about fifteen feet in 
 height covers the top n (in which there are four angular-headed 
 windows), making a total elevation of about one hundred and one 
 feet nine inches. The entrance door has an arched top, is six 
 feet two and a-half inches high. The sill of the door is six feet 
 eight inches from the ground. 
 
 Local story says that this tower vibrates in high winds, an idea 
 which had originated in the fact of the lime or cement frequently 
 giving way, by which it is bound to the corner of the church to 
 the height of about thirty feet. It is also told, that with a view 
 of testing the truth of its movement in stormy days, parties have 
 
 so certain as the fact that there were hereditary lay Abbots of the Culdees at Aber- 
 nethy, who were also lords of the manor of Abernethy. — Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 256.] 
 
 m Betham's Etruria-Celtica, ii. 211-24. 
 
 n "The head of the Litl Steeple, blowen ower," 5th November 1683, was im- 
 mediately restored. — Brechin Session, Becords. 
 
112 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 put knives into these fissures, and had them snapt across by the 
 tower suddenly reverting to its old position. These, although 
 stories of mere hearsay, may not be altogether unfounded ; but 
 it can with much greater truth be affirmed, that in 1807, when 
 it was proposed to make the present unshapely alterations upon 
 the cathedral, an Edinburgh architect, who submitted plans for 
 that purpose, gravely suggested that the Eound Tower be de- 
 molished, and the stones used to assist in building the new walls! 
 
 It is difficult to say what would have been the consequence of 
 this monstrous suggestion, but for the prompt interference of the 
 late Lord Panmure and the late eccentric Mr Skene of Caraldston, 
 who both felt so indignant at the spirit which dictated this out- 
 rage, that they not only rejected the plans of the architect, but 
 vowed to hang the first man from the top, that dared to remove 
 a stone of the tower ! 
 
 The following Pharos loquitur, written about 1807, satirizing 
 the joining of the Tower to the church, suggests an improvement 
 which might yet be acted upon with good effect : — 
 
 " In ages dark, when men had light, 
 
 I rear'd my head on high, 
 And when they yiew'd me, to the sight, 
 
 I seem'd to reach the sky ! 
 In lighten'd times, when men were blind, 
 
 And priest-craft rul'd the roast, 
 A kirk they tuckl'd to behind, 
 
 And made me like a post ! 
 
 In modern days, if men be wise, 
 
 Alone again I'll stand, 
 And long be deem'd by curious eyes, 
 
 The wonder of the land ! 
 What tho' I shake in stormy days, 
 
 I'm hale and sound ye see, 
 While terra firma'a at my base, 
 
 There's little fear of me !"• 
 
 In Old Stat. Acct., v. 461 (xxi. 128) ; the tower "is said to bend like a willow 
 in high winds, so as almost to touch the steeple !" The tower is about thirty-four 
 feet south of the steeple. 
 
BRECHIN — THE CATHEDRAL. 113 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Foundation of the Cathedral — the Culdees — the Chapter of the Cathedral — Seal of 
 the Chapter — Roman Catholic Bishops — Gifts by Bishop Carnock — Extent and 
 Revenues of the Bishoprick — Reformed Bishops — the Cathedral — West Door and 
 Window — Modern alterations — the Steeple — Bishop's Palace — Canons' Houses 
 — Foundation of the Hospital or Maisondieu — Dispute regarding the Patronage 
 of it — the Rents granted by the Earl of Panmure to the Master of the Grammar 
 School — Ruins of the Hospital — Public Schools — Eminent men, &c. 
 
 The cathedral church of Brechin was founded by David I. pro- 
 bably about the year 1150. The Culdees were then in a transi- 
 tion state, and the Chapter was composed, in whole or in part, of 
 those canons who, by their opponents the subsequent bishops, were 
 spoken of with affection, as " Keldei nostri," and the names of two 
 of whom still survive. These were Brice and Mallebryde : the 
 first flourished a.d. 1178-98, and the latter a.d. 1202-22.4 After 
 the Culdees disappear, the Chapter of the cathedral was some- 
 what differently constituted, eleven of the old benefices being 
 erected into canonries, as were those of Fothnewyen (Finhaven), 
 and Lethnot which were subsequently added, the first by Sir 
 Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk, and the other by his son Sir 
 David, afterwards Earl of Crawford, thus making a Chapter of 
 thirteen, exclusive of the Bishop, who sat as rector of the parish. 
 This state of matters continued with but little change, down to 
 the Reformation. 
 
 It was some time during the thirteenth century, before the 
 additions made by the Lindsays of Glenesk, that the beau- 
 tiful brass matrix was executed for the Seal of the Chapter. 
 It is one of the best examples of the art of seal engraving of 
 the early period to which it belongs, and " represents the Trinity 
 under a Gothic canopy. The Father seated, supports between his 
 knees the Son extended on the Cross. Over the head of the 
 former is inscribed, on the under edge of the trefoil arch, the word 
 Pater : on the arms of the Cross, the word Fil : and between 
 them, over the head of the Son, is the Sacred Dove, with the de- 
 signation, s. sps. The legend is : + s. capituli • sancte • trini- 
 
 « Reg. Ep. Brechin, ii. 255-69. 
 Q 
 
114 
 
 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 TATIS • D • BRECHIN." This beautiful seal is represented in the 
 woodcut No. 1 : the reverse side, as shewn in woodcut No. 2, is 
 richly ornamented with scroll work. 1 
 
 No. i. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 According to Keith, the first known Bishop of the diocese 
 flourished about A.D. 1155-6, and is designated by the initial T. s 
 Subsequently, in various charters granted by Bishop Bobert of 
 St Andrews, who died in 1159, " Samsone Episcopus de Brechin," 
 appears as a witness ;* and although the succession of the Bishops 
 to this see is not so clear as could be wished, it is evident that 
 Samson had at least twenty -one successors in office down to the 
 period of the Beformation. u Some of these were of noble birth, 
 and eminent in their day, such as Bishops Leuchars and Shores- 
 
 r Proceed, of Society ofAnUqs., i. 1 89. [This matrix, and also those of the seals 
 of the Official of the Provincial of the Dominicans or Friars Preachers ef Perth, and 
 Bishop David Strachan, were found in the office of Messrs W. & C. Anderson, 
 writers, Brechin, and presented by them to the Society of Antiquaries through the 
 late P. Chalmers, Esq. Perhaps these seals had been at one time in the possession 
 of a family surnamed Spence, who held the office of Commissary Clerk of Brechin, 
 from 1634 till 1815.] 
 
 A brass matrix, of the 15th century, beautifully executed, shows the front head 
 of a mitred Bishop, probably St Ternan. Below is a bunting horn stringed, the 
 bapk ground being diapered. The legend is: Sigillum • curie ' officialis bre- 
 oihensis. This was found in the Links of Montrose in 1848. — Ibid., 73. 
 
 ■ Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, 1,56. 
 Reg. Prioratus S. Andree, 128. 
 
 * A list of the Bishops is given in Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. vi.-xvi. 
 
BKECHIN — THE CATHEDEAL. 115 
 
 wood, both of whom were Chamberlains of the kingdom, the one 
 in the reign of David II., the other in that of James IIL T 
 
 Shoreswood's immediate predecessor, Bishop Carnock, was also 
 deeply engaged in State matters, and accompanied Princess Mar- 
 garet to her luckless marriage with the Dauphin of France. Car- 
 nock is the only one of the old Bishops of whose gifts to the church 
 there is any notice, and these consisted of two silver candlesticks 
 and seven silver cups. The cover of one of the cups is described 
 as having the rays of the sun spread over it (cum radiis solis 
 super), and it is ordered to be kept for the special use of the 
 Dean and Canons at the ordinary festivals. w Of these vessels 
 themselves which are minutely described, even to the colour of the 
 leather in which they were wrapped, there is now no trace ; and 
 valuable as they had been they do not seem either to have pre- 
 served the donor from the assaults of the members of his Chapter, 
 or to have inculcated a thorough system of morality amongst 
 them, for soon afterwards Bishop Carnock found cause to excom- 
 municate the Archdeacon for laying violent hands upon him, 
 and to threaten pains and penalties against the Dean for main- 
 taining a concubine in his house.* 
 
 The cathedral of Brechin had twenty-three churches and chapels 
 attached to it, all situated within Angus and Mearns, and so 
 curiously scattered over different parts of both shires, that the 
 diocese may be likened to a piece of patchwork, for in every cor- 
 ner of the bishoprick — even to the very ports of the burgh — 
 parts of other dioceses intervene — a peculiarity in the capricious 
 disposition of ecclesiastical territory, which in Scotland has only 
 an analogy in that of the older diocese of DunkeldJ The annual 
 revenue or income amounted in 1561, to £1850 Scots, exclusive 
 of payments in kind, which consisted of about 188 chalders of 
 
 J Crawford's Off. of State, 20, 36. [A stone with Bishop Shoreswood's armorial 
 bearings upon it — (1 and 4, three lions' faces, 2 and 3, lion rampant ; crest (per- 
 haps) a wreath of thorns), — is built into the outer wall at the west gate of the kirk- 
 yard of Brechin. J 
 
 w Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 61. * Ibid., 124. 
 
 y St Michael's Mount,* within the enclosures of Brechin Castle, opposite Beare- 
 hill gate, was in the diocese of Dunkeld, and there the Bishop held consistorial 
 courts. — Inf. from the late P. Chalmers, Esq. The Archdeacon's Barns, a curiously 
 moated place with ditches, and walls, on the farm of West Drums, and estate of 
 Aldbar, is surrounded on all sides, by the diocese of St Andrews. John, Arch- 
 deacon of Brechin, did homage to King Edward I. of England at Berwick-upon- 
 Tweed, in August 1296.— Bag. Bolls, 164. 
 
 ' * The hollow adjoining St Michael's Mount is called Miihael I 
 
116 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 grain and meal, together with a quantity of salmon, capons, 
 poultry, and geese. z 
 
 Down to the episcopate of Alexander Campbell, who, through 
 the intrigues of his kinsman the Earl of Argyle, was raised to the 
 see while yet a youth, the property of the church of Brechin was 
 of much the same extent as during its best days. But, out of 
 regard to the extraordinary part which Argyle played at the Re- 
 formation, he succeeded in obtaining for Bishop Campbell the 
 unlimited power of disposing of all the benefices within the dio- 
 cese, a right which, as already pretty fully shown, the Bishop 
 unscrupulously exercised in favor of Argyle, and other relatives. 
 Campbell died Bishop in 1606, after having held the office up- 
 wards of forty years. After a lapse of four years he was suc- 
 ceeded by Andrew Lamb, minister of Burntisland, who was one 
 of three bishops who received Episcopal consecration in England 
 by order of the King. He was translated to the see of Galloway 
 in 1619, and four years previously he gifted the beautiful brass 
 hearse, or chandelier, which still ornaments the church. This 
 and the horologe or clock, which was given by Bishop Strachan, 
 and continued to warn the inhabitants of the ceaseless " course of 
 time " till nearly the close of last century, are all the recorded 
 gifts which the bishops of post-reformation times made to the 
 church , a of whom, inclusive of Alexander Campbell, there were 
 eleven down to the Revolution, and ten subsequently, including 
 the present bishop, who is a son of the late Lord Medwyn. 
 
 The Cathedral, now used as the parish church, was dedicated 
 to the Holy Trinity, and down to the beginning of the present 
 century, presented much the same appearance as it did during 
 the Middle Ages. It was a stately fabric, partly in the Early Eng- 
 lish, partly in the Decorated styles of Gothic architecture, with 
 nave, side aisles, and chancel. The nave, as it now stands, is a hun- 
 dred and fourteen feet long by fifty-eight feet broad, the roof being 
 supported by a row of six pillars and five arches on each side. At 
 the late period alluded to, the aisles were demolished, the carved 
 capitals of the pillars plastered over, and new walls built on both 
 sides, from which couples were laid to the top of the arches. b 
 The windows and mouldings of the clear-storey were thus hid 
 
 » Eeg. Ep. Brechin, ii. 417. » Appendix, No. VIII. 
 
 b An engraving of the kirk, prior to these alterations, is given in Grose's An- 
 tiquitiei of Scot., ii. 261. 
 
BEECHIN — THE CATHEDEAL. 
 
 117 
 
 entirely from view, and gave place to an unseemly roof, which 
 has not been inaptly designated " a quarry of slates." 
 
 The west door of the church, although much decayed, still pre- 
 sents some beautiful 
 pieces of carved work, 
 among which are tra- 
 ces of an almost unique 
 figure in Gothic archi- 
 tecture, called the reed 
 pattern, the only other 
 example of which, so 
 far as I know, is on the 
 north doorway of the 
 splendid cathedral of 
 Ely, in Cambridgeshire. 
 The large west window 
 over the doorway (here 
 represented) with grace- 
 ful mullions and flam- 
 boyant tracery, is still 
 pretty entire ; and, al- 
 though little exists of 
 the east end or chancel 
 of the church, the re- 
 maining portion is a 
 fine specimen of the 
 Early English style of architecture, being decorated by the bay- 
 leaf and dog's-tooth enrichment." 
 
 Some suppose that the church had originally extended further 
 towards the east, and in digging graves in that direction founda- 
 tions of walls have frequently been found, and in these stone 
 coffins, hewn out of single slabs. 4 Some part of the building is 
 also said to have been destroyed at the Reformation, which is 
 
 ' The west door and chancel (with details), are engraved in Beg. JEp. Brechin. 
 
 i The remains of some of these coffins, one of which is pretty entire, and the 
 curiously ornamented top of a sarcophagus, lie in the kirkyard. The latter is en- 
 graved in Mr Chalmers' ScuVpd. Stone Monuments, plate xiii. It had at one time 
 been used as a gravestone : the remains of an inscription • • • • peaked ' god • and 
 escheved ' ill ■ and ■ depaikted ... are on the reverse of the stone, cut in charac- 
 ters of the 17th century. 
 
118 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 by no means improbable, and others believe that the structure 
 never was finished. But these ideas are merely conjectural. 
 Better evidence remains to shew that in 1617, "the bischop 
 and haill sessione" thought " it good that all the pictours be de- 
 stroyit off the loftis ;" e and also, that the alterations which took 
 place at the beginning of the present century did more to rob it 
 of its ancient appearance than anything that had been done pre- 
 viously. The pictours alluded to were perhaps the figures of 
 saints and other insignia of the different trades, but if these latter 
 were removed at that time they had dgain been restored, for 
 down to 1807-8 some such decorations were in existence. 
 
 Although a great want of taste is displayed in the alterations 
 which were made upon the kirk at that time, it had been previ- 
 ously an ill-cared for and comfortless place of worship. In the 
 north porch the incorporated trades met for the despatch of busi- 
 ness, and the aisles (ironically called the horse market, in conse- 
 quence of children being allowed to amuse themselves in them 
 during divine service), were filled with all sorts of lumber, and 
 made a woodyard by the carpenters of the town. f The cold damp 
 earth formed the floor of the nave or area of the church, and loose 
 unseemly joistings of oak supported a shattered and leaky roof. 
 The graveyard was enclosed by a low ruinous dry stone dyke, 
 and the ground on the north side of the church, now over-crowded 
 by graves and tombstones, was a common thoroughfare, occu- 
 pied by saw-pits and dunghills. 
 
 The square tower or belfrey is at the north-west eomer of the 
 church, and with its octagonal spire, is a beautifully propor- 
 tioned and imposing object of a hundred and twenty-eight feet in 
 height. An octagonal staircase at the north-east angle leads to 
 the bartizan, from which there is an extensive and interesting 
 view. A fine floral moulding runs along the base of the barti- 
 zan on the west, and on the battlement, on the east side of the 
 bartizan, is the date 1642. This tower may be said to be divided 
 
 6 Brechin Session Becotds. 
 
 1 The parish ministers and many of the heritors were buried in the south aisle, 
 and there also lie the ashes of the celebrated Mr W. Guthrie of Fenwick, author of 
 the Christian's Great Interest. He was born at Pitforthie, near Brechin, in 1620, 
 and died, Oct. 10, 1655. Mr Darid Blair, first minister of the parish, was also buried 
 in the south aisle, and according to the inscription on his tombstone, he instituted 
 at Brechin, about 1760, the first Sabbath School that was opened in Scotland. 
 
BRECHIN — THE STEEPLE. 
 
 119 
 
 into several compartments, and the lowermost, in which the pres- 
 bytery and kirk session meetings are held, has a groined roof, with 
 arches springing from sculptured corbels, terminating in a plain 
 circle. The great and two smaller bells are placed in the upper 
 compartment, from which springs the base of the spire of the tower. 
 
 The four corbels on which 
 the base rests, bear beautiful 
 carvings in high relief. These 
 sculptures are about seven in- 
 ches in height, and from ten to 
 twelve inches in length. Three 
 of the ornaments are floral, and 
 bear no marked peculiarity, ex- 
 cepting the broad and effective 
 manner in which they are exe- 
 cuted ; but the fourth, here represented, is more remarkable. It 
 abuts from the north-east corner of the tower, and, as will be 
 seen, represents a whimsical freak in design, of a dog with its 
 tail strangely turned over its back, picking a bone, and supported 
 by a ram's head and horns. 
 
 The date of the erection of this tower is not ascertained, but 
 probably it was built during the episcopate of Bishop Leuchars, 
 1354-73. This may be inferred from the fact that, upon an in- 
 quiry being made at an after period regarding the non-payment 
 of an annual rent from the kirk of Lethnot, which was due to the 
 cathedral, the debt was declared to have been partly defrayed in 
 the time of that Bishop, by the debtor having given the use of 
 a white horse and cart to lead stones to the building of the cam- 
 panile or belfry of the church.? Doubtless, also, at the same time, 
 the spire had been placed upon the Round Tower. 
 
 The Bishop's Palace, of which no trace is now left, except a 
 very small portion of the arch of the gateway (on the inner and 
 south side of the Bishop's Close), stood near the site of the old 
 manse. h The ruins both of this edifice and of the Canons' houses 
 
 e Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 74. 
 
 h When the old manae was taken down in 1850, a mutilated door or window 
 lintel (now preserved in the garden wall of the new manse), was found, with the ini- 
 tials M. W. B. (Mr Wm. Bait — v. Appendix, No. VIII.), dated 1644, and these words : 
 
 . . . CKVX ' SEERATA ' MIHI ' INSIGNE ' EST ' CBV . . . 
 . . STS ' SIT " TVTELA ' MIHI • CBTXQVE " COKONA ' T . . . . 
 
120 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 were to be seen towards the close of the seventeenth century, 
 and also, in all probability, remains of Bishop Carnock's tower, 
 which formed part of the old city wall. The mere localities of 
 the residences of the treasurer, and some of the other members of 
 the Chapter, which adjoined the cathedral, occupying the space 
 from the Bishop's Close westward to the Chanonry Wynd, are 
 traceable only through the ancient writs of the church ; and in 
 the garden of the old treasurer (now the property of Mr Prain, 
 parochial schoolmaster), is a carving in stone of a female dressed 
 in Roman costume, with a drawn sword in her hand. It ought 
 also to be noticed that in 1848, while workmen were digging the 
 foundations for a house, on the east side of the High Street, 
 nearly opposite to the Bishop's Close, the fragment of a carving 
 of the crucifixion, executed in rather a superior style, was found 
 several feet below the ground. Rumour avers that the house 
 in which this relic was got belonged at one time to the church, 
 and was possessed by some member of the Chapter, and also that 
 by the accidental discovery of an image in the wall of the more 
 ancient house, which is popularly described as a little Jesus in gold, 
 the owner, previously poor, became wealthy and independent ! 
 
 The names of many of the altarages of the cathedral are lost, 
 and so little remains relating to the chapels in the neighbourhood, 
 that notices of all these foundations are reserved for the Ap- 
 pendix, 1 with the exception of the Hospital or Maisondieu which 
 was the more important of these institutions, and from which 
 sprung the grammar school. The ancient hospital, founded in 
 1264, by Sir William of Brechin, grandson of David Earl of 
 Huntingdon and Garioch, lord of Brechin and Inverbervie, bro- 
 ther of King William the Lion, was supported by the revenues 
 of certain lands in the parish, as described in the foundation char- 
 ter, and for which the " chaplain and poor of the said house, 
 were not to pay anything except only due and devout prayers 
 and orisons." The Knight of Brechin bound himself, his heirs, 
 and successors in the lordship, to protect all the lands, and other 
 rights, which he had given to the hospital, reserving to them 
 the sole power of presenting the master to the house, the bishop 
 having " the care of spiritual things only." k A charter by which 
 1 Appendix, No. IX. v Eeg. Bp. Brechin., i. 4r-8. 
 
BRECHIN — THE HOSPITAL, OR MAISONDIEU. 121 
 
 an " isch and entry was given of a road thirty feet broad from 
 the chapel towards the town of Brechin, " was granted to the 
 hospital in July 1267, from which time until about the close of 
 the fifteenth century, when a dispute arose betwixt two parties, 
 regarding the mastership of the house, nothing interesting is 
 recorded of it. At that time the lordship of Brechin, previously 
 in possession of the Crown, 1 was held by the Duke of Ross, son 
 of James III., in virtue of which he had the right of presenta- 
 tion to the hospital. 
 
 This he appears to have exercised in favour of an Archibald 
 Pattonsoun, and in opposition to him, James, son of George 
 Ramsay of Foxtoun, claimed the office of master " to pertene to 
 him be presentacioun of our souerane lord that last decest ; " but 
 the Duke of Ross being found "vndoutable patroune of the 
 semmyn," Pattonsoun was not only declared to have the proper 
 right to the emoluments arising from it, but Ramsay was also 
 ordered to restore those which he had uplifted from the time 
 of Pattonsoun's appointment. Besides, the " king's liegis " were 
 warned " that nain of thaim tak apone hand to mak ony maner 
 of persecucioune, or folowing of the said mater at the court of 
 Rome, sen it pertenis to laud patronage, under the panis con- 
 enit in the act of parliament proscripcioun and bannysing." m 
 
 The farther history of this foundation is obscure until about the 
 time that the lordship of Brechin became the property of the family 
 of Panmure, when, during the preceptorship of Alexander .Nbrrie, 
 the chapel underwent considerable repairs at Nome's private 
 expense. These he agreed to waive on consideration that Sir 
 Patrick Maule, afterwards Earl of Panmure, was to " apply the 
 fruits and rents" of the preceptory " to the maintenance of the 
 schoolmaster of Brechin, and of ane second minister there," to 
 which he added the more selfish clause, " upon expectation of the 
 said laird of Panmure his favour." Immediately after this, 
 Robert Norrie, his son, had a presentation to the office of 
 preceptor of Maisondieu, upon condition that he and " his suc- 
 cessors shall serve the cure of an actuall and ordinar minister 
 within the Chapell of the said Preceptory ; and also, should teach 
 the youth of the city of Brechin in grammar, and exercise the 
 
 1 Acta Pari., ii. 42.. "> Acta Pom. Con., 103, 128. 
 
 R 
 
122 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS: 
 
 place and charge of an master of the grammar school within the 
 samyne." n 
 
 The right of presentation continued with the Earls of Panmure 
 down to the forfeiture of 1716, when their property was annexed 
 to the crown ; and the revenues of the hospital, in terms of the 
 original grant, belong to the rector of the grammar school, who 
 is officially designated Prceceptor Domus Dei. 
 
 Part of the front and east walls of the hospital still stands in 
 the Vennel (a lane in the Timber Market), presenting several fine, 
 though decayed points of Early English architecture, with piscina 
 and ambry, and the original mason-marks are still visible on 
 many of the stones. It had never been a building of great extent, 
 and probably these are the ruins of the chapel which was erected 
 by Sir William of Brechin. At a late period, it was appro- 
 priated to the humble use of a stable, during which a fire broke 
 out in it, whether by accident or otherwise is unknown, but the 
 wood work, and one or two horses, were burned to ashes. 
 
 As the hospital or Maisondieu was the parent of the grammar 
 school of Brechin, it may be well to remark, before closing this 
 portion of our notice, that an Alexander Hog, who also held 
 a chaplaincy in the cathedral church in 1485, is the first indi- 
 vidual on record who assumed the title of rector of that school, p 
 The designation occurs frequently afterwards, and, as shown by 
 the presbytery and session records, the rectorship-was often a pre- 
 liminary to church preferment. 
 
 Several persons who have obtained distinction in science and 
 literature have been born in Brechin, and educated at the public 
 schools ;' but the Angus Club prizes are the only rewards which 
 
 " Begistrvm de JPaamwe, MS., ii. 85, 2 vols, fol., — the property of Lord Pan- 
 mure, to whose kindness and liberality I am indebted for the use of this, and many 
 other valuable MSS. and books. 
 
 Detailed engravings of these ruins are in Beg. Ep. Brechmensis. In Archce- 
 ologia (xxxiv. 36, plate III), the mason-marks on the Hospital, Round Tower, and 
 Steeples of Brechin, &c, are engraved in connection with an excellent paper " On 
 the use of Mason-marks in Scotland," by the late P. Chalmers, Esq. of Aldbar. 
 
 p Eeg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 119, 121. 
 
 i Among these were the Bev. William Guthrie of Fenwick, already noticed ; 
 John Glendy, Dean of Cashel, and Prebend of St Michael's of Dublin (see Appehdix, 
 No. Till.) ; William Maitland, historian of Edinburgh and London ; William Gu- 
 thrie, compiler of the Geographical Grammar ; Dr John Gillies, historian of Greece, 
 and his brother Adam (Lord Gillies), a Senator of the College of Justice ; and Alex. 
 Laing, author of Scottish Poems and Songs. The Rev. Dr Thomas Guthrie of 
 Edinburgh, and Dr J. P. Nicbol, author of the '" Architecture of the Heavens," are 
 among the more eminent of living natives. 
 
BRECHIN — THE CASTLE. 123 
 
 the scholars have to compete for. As now constituted, these 
 schools are divided into three departments, taught respectively by 
 a rector, and by the parochial and burgh teachers. But, like 
 most of the established schools of Scotland, the fees and emolu- 
 ments are much too small to be at all remunerative ; and al- 
 though, as yet, these schools have maintained their popularity, 
 it is to be feared that unless better encouragement is given, they, 
 and the great bulk of the parochial and burgh schools in the 
 country, will sink into insignificance. The day, it is hoped, is 
 not far distant, when the mastership of parochial schools will 
 be opened to all denominations of professing Christians, and the 
 salary and status of the teacher put more upon an equality with 
 those of the preacher. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Earl David of Huntingdon Lord of Brechin — Family of Brechin — Sir David of 
 Brechin — his homage to Edward I. — services to England — Sir David of Brechin 
 executed — Sir David Barclay — the Earl of Athole — -Edward I. at Breohin 
 Castle — surrender of King John Baliol — Sir Thomas Maule's defence of the 
 Castle — Burned by Edward I. — its Past and Present State— Battle of Brechin — 
 the Castle beseiged by Regent Lennox, and Gordon of Auchindown. 
 
 AlthouOtH there is no record of a castle at Brechin until the days 
 of Henry of Brechin, son of David Earl of Huntingdon, it is pro- 
 bable there was a fort there when the Danes are said to have 
 burned the town, about the year 1012, and perhaps even at an 
 earlier period. 
 
 The lordship of Brechin was part of the appanage which Wil- 
 liam the Lion granted to his brother, the Earl of Huntingdon, 
 and the Earl would appear to have transferred it to his natural 
 son Henry, who assumed the surname Brechin, which his descen- 
 dants afterwards bore. As Henry, son of Earl David, he wit- 
 nessed a grant by his father to the Canons of St Andrews, of the 
 kane, conveth, and service of the lands of Eglesgirg (Ecclesgreig, 
 or St Cyrus, in the Mearns) ;« and, in Stephen of Kinardley's 
 charter of Pitmengartenach (Pittengarden, in Fordoun), dated 
 1221, he is similarly designed. 1 
 
 i Keg. Prior. S. Andree, 238. ' Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 179. 
 
124 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Edward I. is the first king, so far as recorded, who honored the 
 castle with his presence. It then belonged to David of Brechin, 
 who subsequently did homage at two different times to that prince 
 — first at Berwick-upob-Tweed in August 1296, and then at Mac- 
 clesfield, in Cheshire, in May of the following year. 8 David of 
 Brechin, although brother-in-law to The Bruce, entered into the 
 service of England, and for many years fought against the in- 
 terests of his native country, and took Sir Simon Fraser, one of 
 the Scottish patriots, prisoner at the battle of Methven, in 1306. 
 He was long a favorite with King Edward, but ultimately made 
 his peace with King Robert, and joined the Scots. 
 
 This Sir David was the third in succession from Henry, the 
 first (of that race) lord of Brechin, and it was his son Sir William, 
 the fourth lord, who founded the hospital or Maisondieu at that 
 place, and became one of the most influential baron3 of his time. 
 He married a daughter of Alexander Comyn Earl of Buchan, and 
 by her he had Sir David, the baron who did homage, and was so 
 serviceable to, Edward I. This last Knight had two sons and 
 a daughter, and the eldest son, also Sir David, commonly called 
 the " flower of Scottish chivalry," succeeded to the estate of 
 Brechin. The second son became Thomas of Lumquhat in Fife, 
 and the daughter was married to Sir David Barclay. 
 
 The last named Sir David distinguished himself in the Holy 
 Wars, asserted the Independence of Scotland as a Kingdom in 
 1320, and was otherwise one of the staunchest of Bruce's friends. 
 But having been made privy to the plot of William of Soulis 
 and others against the life of the king (beyond which Brechin 
 had no concern in the matter), Soulis having previously obtained 
 an oath of secrecy from Brechin which he unfortunately main- 
 tained, he was executed as a traitor, along with his brother of 
 Lumquhat, only four months after he had subscribed the letter to 
 the Pope at Arbroath. Sir David Brechin was "jugit till hang 
 and draw," then a common death for traitors, and it appears by 
 the following lines, that his death was much regretted — 
 
 " And, as tha drew him for till hiug, 
 The pepill ferly fast can thring 
 fiim and his imschef for to se, 
 That till behald was gret piite." 
 ■ Ragman Bolls, 126 ; Prynne, 654 ; Palgrave, 193. ' Barbour's Brus, 440. 
 
BRECHIN — THE CASTLE. 125 
 
 Upon this unfortunate occurrence, The Bruee, having implicit 
 confidence in Sir David Barclay, the husband of Margaret of 
 Breohin, gave him the greater bulk of these estates. Barclay was 
 slain at Aberdeen in 1350, and was succeeded by an only son. 
 That son died in 1364 leaving an only daughter, who became 
 the wife of Walter Stewart, Earl of Athole and Caithness, second 
 son of Robert II., and Stewart being the chief actor in the 
 murder of James I., "was beheaded at Edinburgh in 1437, his 
 hoary head fixed on a spear, encircled with a crown of iron, and 
 his titles and extensive estates forfeited." It was on this occa- 
 sion, as will be more fully noticed in an after page, that Sir 
 Thomas Maule of Panmure laid claim to the estates of Brechin, 
 in right of his mother Marion Fleming, daughter of Jean, sister 
 to the last Barclay of Brechin. In consequence of these alliances, 
 the family arms of Maule of Panmure are quartered with those 
 of the ancient lords, Breohin and Barclay. 
 
 Sir David of Brechin, who did homage to Edward I., had his 
 castle garrisoned by the English in 1296. King Edward, while 
 marching towards the south, after having been as far north as 
 Elgin, reached " the cytye of Breghan," on Saturday the 4th of 
 August in the same year.™ There he abode for the night, but 
 neither upon that nor the former occasion did he receive any 
 homages, with the single exception of that of King John Baliol, 
 who, as clearly shewn by the deed of resignation, there sur- 
 rendered the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland into the hands of 
 the King of England on the 10th of July. 7 
 
 " Bathe Scepter, Swerd, Crowne, and Ryng, 
 Fra this Jhon, that he made Kyng, 
 Halyly fra hym he tuk thare, 
 And made hym of the Kynryk hare." 
 
 In the following year, while Sir William Wallace proceeded 
 towards the south, leading a powerful army, he drove the enemy 
 from this castle and took temporary possession of it, but history 
 is silent as to the length of time the Scots then held it. It was 
 certainly possessed by them in 1303, for Sir Thomas Maule, 
 younger brother of Sir William of Panmure, then governed it 
 for the Scottish interest. 
 
 u Bannatyne MiseeH., i. 278. T Prynne, 647 ; wt awp., 47. 
 
126 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Edward I. is supposed to have placed his besieging engines in 
 the field betwixt the river and Bufherkill, on the south side of 
 the castle. The engine used on that occasion was called the war 
 wolf (Iwpi guerre), the same kind of instrument which Edward 
 subsequently employed at the siege of Stirling, and which was 
 capable of discharging stones of two or three hundred weight. 
 It is worthy of notice, that stone coffins have been found in the 
 field alluded to, and a few years ago, while it was being ploughed, 
 a rounded free stone, of about the weight here noticed, was dis- 
 covered some inches below the surface. It appears to have been 
 fashioned by a hammer or some similar instrument, and is pro- 
 bably one of the stones which the English had intended to use 
 at the siege of the castle. 
 
 Although the garrison of Brechin was small, and the force was 
 great which Edward brought to bear against it, Maule remained 
 undaunted, and held the enemy at defiance for the long space of 
 twenty days, wiping away the rubbish with his handkerchief, as 
 did Black Agnes of Dunbar a few years afterwards — until a 
 missile, thrown from the enemy's engine, struck Mm on the breast. 
 He survived the blow only until the evening of the day upon 
 which he received it ; and, notwithstanding the favourable terms 
 upon which the English offered to treat for a surrender, he dis- 
 dained to capitulate so long as life remained. As if to emu- 
 late their fallen general in bravery, the noble little band held out 
 until next day, but unable longer to maintain their position, 
 they were forced to let down the bridges and to throw the gates 
 open to the invaders. 
 
 This noble and solitary resistance which the English arms re- 
 ceived in Scotland at that time, had perhaps occurred in July or 
 August, immediately after which the castle appears to have been 
 destroyed by the English, for during the last-named month a pay- 
 ment of 3s. was made by King Edward's Chamberlain to Gerard 
 Dor and John de la Moille " for sulphur for burning the castle 
 of Breghyn." Prior to that, however, care was taken to ensure 
 the safety of the charters and other writings, and for these a 
 " wooden coffer" was made at a cost of 2s. 6d. w The castle had 
 been soon again restored, perhaps by Sir David of Brechin, for 
 " Beg. Bp. Brechin., xxi. 
 
BRECHIN— THE CASTLE. 127 
 
 he took refuge in it a few years afterwards, when pursued by 
 Bruce, whose service he then entered. 
 
 The bravery of Sir Thomas Maule is extolled by all historians. 
 Even Matthew of Westminster, who is slow to acknowledge any- 
 thing good or patriotic of the Scots, says that " Maule was a 
 soldier of undaunted boldness and resolution of mind, that the 
 vigour and strength of his body were very great, and that he did 
 not fear to hold out the small fortress committed to his charge 
 against a royal enemy. " x 
 
 The mostancient fortress of Brechin had occupied much the same 
 romantic spot as the present castle, which stands upon a rock, 
 about eighty feet in height, overhanging the South Esk. It was 
 surrounded by water in old times, and on the north and east was 
 a natural foss, which separated the castle from the town, through 
 which the Skinner's burn still runs. The Esk formed the 
 southern defence ; and, as represented in Captain Slezer's view, 
 there was a ditch on the west, whether natural or artificial can- 
 not now be said/ The river has encroached considerably upon 
 the rock on which the castle stands, for at one time there was a 
 cart road along the base of it, which existed in the form of a foot- 
 path down to within these eighty years. Probably the western 
 foss had been filled up by the forfeited Earl, who, in 1711, made 
 large additions to the house, and gave it a new front, upon which 
 are fine carvings of the Vallognes and Maule arms. The latter 
 are upon a separate shield, quartered with those of the ducal 
 house of Hamilton, the forfeited Earl having married Margaret, 
 third daughter of the fourth Duke of that title. The castle was still 
 farther enlarged by the late Lord Panmure near the close of last 
 century ; and since his death, under the direction of his second 
 son, the late Colonel Lauderdale Maule, both the interior and ex- 
 terior were much improved. It is now the favourite residence 
 of the noble representative of the family, who was born there on 
 the 22nd of April 1801. 
 
 From the time that Edward I. besieged the castle, neither it 
 
 nor the district became the scene of any warlike deed of much 
 
 moment until about the middle of the following century, when 
 
 the battle of Brechin was fought betwixt the Earl of Crawford 
 
 1 Lord Hailes' Annals, i. 302-3. r Theatrum Sootise, plate 53. 
 
128 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 and the King's forces, an event which I have detailed in a pre- 
 viously published volume. It need only he here remarked that 
 this was a struggle between the Douglas party and the King, 
 and the tide of battle was luckily turned in favour of royalty, 
 chiefly in consequence of Earl Beardie refusing to grant Collace 
 of Balnamoon some favour which he demanded from him when 
 on the battlefield, upon which Collace turned his arms against 
 Crawford, and so enabled Huntly to gain the day. This battle 
 was fought at the Harecairn, in the parish of Stracathro, about 
 two miles north-east of the town of Brechin, and a farm in the 
 immediate locality bears the name of JETuntUpMQ., in honor of the 
 leader of the royalists.' 
 
 The next, and indeed the only other affair of note which 
 took place at Brechin (with the exception of some skirmishing 
 during the Wars of the Covenant, and certain incidents in the 
 rebellions of the following century — not very dissimilar to those 
 already noticed of other towns in the shire at the same period), 
 relates to the times of the unfortunate Queen Mary and the Regent 
 Lennox, during which the town and castle were both captured 
 by the Earl of Huntly "in the Queines name and behalff." 
 
 Upon this Huntly gave the castle in keeping to Captains 
 Gouts and Muir, and proceeded northwards himself for the pur- 
 pose of raising a larger army, and Lennox, taking advantage of 
 Huntly's absence, besieged and captured the castle, and hanged 
 the two captains, and a number of their soldiers in front of it. a 
 This was in 1570, and in the following year Earl Huntly's 
 brother, Sir Adam Gordon of Auchindown, also took Brechin, 
 and, in direct opposition to Lennox's brutality, displayed one of 
 the finest traits of humanity and chivalry on record, having, after 
 his defeat of the Earl of Buchan, dismissed nearly two hundred 
 prisoners, most of them gentlemen, without ransome or ex- 
 change. 1 " 
 
 z Land of the Lindsays, 146-50. 
 
 * Gordon's Genealogy of the Earldom of Sutherland, 155. 
 
 k Tytler's Hist, of Soot., vii. 280, 301. 
 
BRECHIN — EARLY NOTICES. 129 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Brechin in 990, &o. — the Town three times Burned — Boyal Grants-^Weekly, and 
 Trinity muir Markets — First represented in Parliament — Disputes between the 
 Bishop and the Earl of Panmure — Election of Magistrates — the Bishop Provost 
 — the Earl of Panmure hereditary Justiciary — the Bishop's power in civil mat- 
 ters annulled — Usurpation of power by the Church — Incorporation of Trades — 
 Hereditary Blacksmiths, &c. 
 
 Like many other old towns, a remote and dubious antiquity, and 
 unauthenticated dignity is often ascribed to Brechin. c Not con- 
 tent with calling it the chief seat of Druidism benorth the Forth, 
 and the Pictish capital, tradition also affirms that it was anciently 
 the county town. As already seen it is first mentioned in the 
 year A.D. 990, being the earliest authentic notice of any of the 
 towns in Angus, and at that time it is described as a large city. 
 It was then a considerable seat of the Culdees, and being sub- 
 sequently the residence of a Bishop, he appears to have been 
 chief magistrate or ruler of the burgh down to a pretty late date. 
 Chalmers classes Brechin among the burghs royal of David 
 II., and in the charter of Charles I. it is stated to have been a 
 "frie burgh royall" when James III. granted a charter for levy- 
 ing petty customs in 1488. a The first mention of a, provost oc- 
 curs in the same act, but no person is specially named as holding 
 that office until the year 1695. 
 
 The town was burned at three different times — first, it is said, 
 by the Danes in 1012; next in 1645 by the Marquis of Montrose, 
 when about sixty houses were destroyed ; and the third time in 
 1672. The origin of the last fire is unknown ; but, as was then 
 customary, collections were made throughout the country in be- 
 half of the sufferers, and a considerable sum was raised for their 
 relief. e 
 
 It was a market place in at lea3t the reign of David I., and in 
 an early grant by King William, the Bishop and Culdees had a 
 renewal of David's charter, which empowered them to hold a free 
 
 e The Gaelic Braigh-ehein, signifies " a hilly brae," and is quite descriptive 
 of the situation of the town of Brechin. 
 
 d Caledonia, i. 776 ; Acta Pari., v. 631. . 
 
 e Spalding's Trubles, ii. 461 ; Brechin Hess. Becorda. 
 
 S 
 
130 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 market on. Sundays, in villa of Brechin,' a term which seems 
 rather at variance with that of dvitas in the Pictish Chronicle 
 already quoted ; but the name city was, and still is given to cathe- 
 dral towns, or those governed by Bishops. 
 
 This charter of right of market, and that regarding the trad- 
 ing privileges of the town, were confirmed by subsequent mon- 
 archs ; and upon the provisions of the latter charter, the inhabi- 
 tants continued to trade in various parts of the county, and to 
 carry merchandise to and from the waters of South Esk and 
 Tay, which were the most convenient {places for shipments, with- 
 out interruption, until towards the close of the reign of David II. 
 At that time the burgesses of Montrose, proceeding on the narra- 
 tive of their doubtful charter of trading privileges before notic- 
 ed, questioned the right of the merchants of Brechin to traffic 
 with ships lying at their port, and a like objection was raised 
 against them by the people of Dundee in regard to their harbour 
 on the Tay. These difficulties were soon overcome, however, and 
 in 1372, Robert II. not only confirmed the ancient privileges of 
 the burgh, but provided that the bishop and merchants of Bre- 
 chin should receive the protection of the King's officers if the 
 people of Montrose or Dundee disturbed them in these matters 
 at any future time.s 
 
 In 1483, the modified burgh tax of Brechin amounted to £4 
 Scots, being somewhat less than that of Montrose, and. consider- 
 ably more than either Forfar or Arbroath ; h but now the popu- 
 lation and revenue of both these towns greatly exceeds that of 
 Brechin. Still, notwithstanding the apparent wealth of Brechin 
 at the above date, its revenues appear to have been quite inade- 
 quate to meet the expenditure, for in 1488, King James III., in 
 consideration of the poverty, and (at the same time) the loyalty, 
 of the burgh, empowered the citizens to levy a small payment, 
 (unum obolumj, as custom on all sorts of goods brought into the 
 town, and to employ collectors of the same. 1 This is the first and 
 only time that mention is made of a royal grant concerning the 
 customs of the burgh ; and, in virtue of that charter, the petty 
 customs are still levied. So far as ascertained, the customs were 
 
 ' Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 3 ; ut sup., 124. 
 b Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 65-6 ; Reg.Ep. Br., ii, 314, 380. 
 * Spalding Club Miscellany, v. 27. 
 
 1 Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 122. [Unum obohm, or dboivs, is Is. Scots, or Id. ster- 
 ling, — Ruddimaris Tocdb., 114.| 
 
BRECHIN — MARKETS. 131 
 
 first let in 1580, at the annual rent of £60 Scots,J since which 
 time they have naturally increased in value, and now afford the 
 town a pretty considerable income. 
 
 The weekly markets were held on Sundays until the year 1466, 
 when they were altered to Monday. In 1640 the day was again 
 changed to Wednesday. Subsequently (perhaps about 1647), it 
 was altered a third time to Tuesday (now the weekly market-day) : 
 at least the kirk-session and magistrates convened together that 
 year to consult regarding such a change. k Besides the ordinary 
 weekly market, there were and still are other fairs held within the 
 parish, particularly that of the Trinity , so named in honor of the 
 Deity to whom the cathedral is supposed to have been dedicated. 
 This fair, established by act of Parliament in 1695, 1 but held in the 
 town prior to that date, now stands upon a common about a mile 
 to the north. In old times it lasted for the space of eight days, 
 but is now reduced to three, which are respectively devoted to 
 the sale of sheep, cattle, and horses. From time immemorial, 
 and until lately, the magistrates, who are superiors of the market, 
 and attend it in a judicial capacity, went there in procession, 
 preceded by a guard of two free members from each of the 
 incorporated trades of the burgh, armed with halberts of various 
 devices, who had precedence in the procession according to 
 the dates of their respective incorporation. But the marching 
 of the guard, as well as the custom of " taking in the market," 
 at which there appears to have been a good deal of amusement, 
 may now be said to be obsolete." 1 
 
 Brechin had no lay representative in Parliament until 1585 ; n 
 but they often occur after that period ; and the 'town's commis- 
 sioner to the celebrated Parliament of 1647, when Charles I. was 
 sold to the English, was one of the four commissioners of Scotch 
 burghs who voted against that transaction. This had perhaps 
 been owing chiefly to the influence of the Earl of Panmure, who 
 was one of Bang Charles' firmest friends, for there was no bishop at 
 that date, the Scotch bishops not having been then restored from 
 the time of their deposition in 1638 ; but so soon as they were 
 
 ' Mm. of Bailie Covirt of Brechin. 
 
 k Acta Pari., v. 301 ; Brechin Seas. Records. ' Acta Pari, ix 499 
 
 " Old Stat. Acct., xxi. 124 ; Hist, of Brechin, 102. 
 
 " Acta Pari., iii. 374. » TJt. tvp,, 20. 
 
132 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 reinstated, the magistrates of Brechin, as had been previously the 
 case, were greatly influenced in their doings by the bishop and 
 his court. The bishop, not only sat as of old in the capacity of 
 provost or chief magistrate, but had at the same time the power of 
 electing one of three bailies, and so had little difficulty in carry- 
 ing matters according to his wish. Another of the bailies was 
 elected by the community of the town, and in that too the bishop 
 is believed to have had a considerable hand ; while the appoint- 
 ment of the third lay with the proprietor of the lordship of Bre- 
 chin and Navar. 
 
 Soon after Sir Patrick Maule of Panmure bought these estates, 
 a misunderstanding took place between him and the bishop, and 
 the elections became a source of great annoyance to the public, 
 being frequently attended by "ryot and bluid." With a view 
 of putting a stop to this untoward state of matters, the King 
 appointed a commission to enquire into the subject, and to ad- 
 just differences ; when it was recommended that the bishop and 
 the Earl of Panmure should mutually concur in making choice of 
 bailies, and that the latter should also " give ane deputation " 
 of his hereditary office of Justiciary " to the person qwhome he 
 names to be Baillie of the toun."f 
 
 If this recommendation was at all acted upon, it had been only 
 for a very short time, for soon afterwards it became necessary to 
 pass a special act of Parliament, whereby the power of the bishop 
 in civil matters was annulled. It was likewise declared that Sir 
 Patrick Maule should continue as before to elect one bailie, and 
 that the community only should have the power of electing the 
 remaining magistracy and council. From the bishop to the magis- 
 trates was also transferred, at the same time, the power of granting 
 charters over church and other lands in the town and neighbour- 
 hood, thus depriving the kirk of all power in the civil jurisdiction 
 and management of the affairs of the burgh.i Still, with that 
 tenacity which has characterised the church in all ages, she clung 
 to her ancient powers, and, despite the prohibition of Parlia- 
 ment, successive bishops continued to sit in the councils of the 
 burgh, and to elect a bailie down even to the abolition of Epis- 
 
 p Beg. de Pamnwe, MS., ii. 81. [The Earls of Crawford, and Mar, had been 
 previously Justiciaries of Brechin.] i Acta Pari., t. 631. 
 
BEECHIN — THE TRADES. 133 
 
 copacy. It is needless to say that the Panmure family only ceased 
 to exercise their right of hereditary Justiciary, and the election 
 of a magistrate, on the occurrence of the unfortunate attainder 
 of 1716. r 
 
 Although the trades were not incorporated until the year 
 1600, nor a guildry formed until 1629, there appears to 
 have been a considerable and varied traffic long previously 
 carried on ; and so early as 1580, a standard price was set 
 upon candles, and a committee was appointed " to prove flesh 
 meat." Both were enactments by the Bailie Court; 6 and al- 
 though there is no record of the special excellence of any of the 
 trades of Brechin in early times, it may be presumed, from the 
 fact that a load of " quhyt breid " was sent from Brechin to 
 Aberdeen in 1603-4, "to try the baxteris witht," and that, 
 at a later date the community of the same city were charged 
 for " ane calsie maker," who went there from Brechin, " for 
 wndertaking the bigging of the tounes commoun calsies " — that 
 those trades, at least were in good repute.' The first still stands 
 deservedly high, but the latter is now little known in Brechin, 
 the old causeways of the town having, several years ago, given 
 place to the plan of Macadam, when, as if to verify the reputed 
 prophecy of Thomas the Rhymer — that the streets would one 
 day be turned over by the plough — the boulders were removed 
 by that means. 
 
 The guildry incorporation still exists in Brechin, and together 
 with the six trades (hammermen, glovers, bakers, shoemakers, 
 weavers, and tailors), forms a numerous and influential body. 
 The glover trade has long ceased to be practiced. That of weav- 
 ing, or the linen manufacture, now the staple trade of the burgh, 
 is rapidly on the increase. The hammermen was the first incor- 
 porated of the trades, and the office of common blacksmith to the 
 
 * Subsequent to the last rebellion tbe town-council consisted, as at present, of 
 13 members, including a provost, 2 bailies, dean of guild, treasurer, and hospital 
 master. According to the Report of Grievances of Royal Burghs, the affairs of 
 Brechin, like those of too many places, appear to have been shamefully managed, it 
 being shewn that the provost and others " possessed themselves of large tracts of 
 the public territory " which at one time extended to " several thousand acres, and 
 that now (1789), it is not possessed of an hundred," for which the town received an 
 annual feu of £15 ! 
 
 • Minutes of the Bailie Court of Brechin, hound up with the Minutes of the 
 Hammermen, MS., tbe property of the Hammermen Trade. 
 
 1 Spalding Club Miscellany, v. 74, 144. 
 
134 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 lordship of Brechin had long existed under the bishops. It was 
 hereditary in the family of Lindsay, who held the appointment 
 for many ages until about 1616 ; and for the making and mend- 
 ing of ploughs and sheep shears, they had certain annual pay- 
 ments in meal and wool from various farms in the lordship, and 
 - pasture for two cows and a horse at Haughmuir. u The minute 
 book of the Hammermen, which begins on 2nd February 1579, 
 contains some curious entries, but the want of space precludes us 
 from quoting some of these, as originally intended, as well as 
 from giving extracts from the records of the kirk-session, both 
 of which throw considerable light upon the ancient manners and 
 customs of the district. 
 
 — o- 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Almshouse established by James VI. — Increase of Beggars — Prohibited from appear- 
 ing during the King's visit — Privileged Beggars — BadgeB made for them, &c. 
 — The Plague — The PreBbytery meets on Buthirkill hill (Burghill) — People 
 leave the town and live in huts — Mnrlingden — Weekly Markets held at Kin- 
 trooket. 
 
 Apart from the hospital or Maisondieu already mentioned, there 
 was also a bede house in the town, which was established by 
 James VI., 1572-87, and supported by the annual rents paid to 
 prebendaries and chaplains of the church prior to the Reformation. 
 These the King decreed should go in future towards the support 
 of an hospital or asylum for the accommodation of the destitute 
 and helpless of all ages, whether men, women, or children/ But 
 this act of royal beneficence does not appear to have taken 
 effect until the beginning of the following century, it being 
 only then that the magistrates of the burgh, whom the King 
 constituted patrons of the hospital, found themselves at li- 
 berty to purchase a house for the purpose. "Wnderstand- 
 ing," as the deed goes on to narrate, "that our Souerane 
 Lord hes erectit within thair citie ane hospitalitie for the ease 
 and sustentatioune off the edgit and puir placit and to be placit 
 » Land of the Lindsays, 269. T Eeg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 224. 
 
BRECHIN — ALMSHOUSE. 135 
 
 thairine, and for thair intertinement hes dottit and gewine to 
 thame dyuerss rentis and benifices, and thai [the bailies and 
 council], being cairfull to haiff ane speciall niansioun and residence 
 to the saidis puir in all tyme cumming," resolved to purchase the 
 " mansionis " of the chantor and the chancellor of the church. 
 
 These stood near the present manse of the second minister of 
 the parish, and were bought in 1608 ; w but in less than eighty 
 years from that date, on account of the house being " neither 
 wind nor water tight," the inmates had to leave the building, 
 and were boarded in various parts of the town. Since that time 
 there has been no hospital, properly so called, in Brechin ; and 
 the rents belonging to that foundation are annually dispensed 
 among such of the poor as have a claim to them, the Hospital 
 Master being a member of the town-council. 
 
 As is still customary in many such foundations, the inmates 
 of the hospital of Brechin had to wear a peculiar habit; and at 
 one period, when a debauched member of the tailor craft applied 
 for admission to the house, the kirk-session granted his request 
 upon the wary provision "that he be not fund a drunkard quhair- 
 unto he is suspect to be given ; as also that he keip the houss 
 and wear the habit suitable, and behave himselff modestlie and 
 soberlie thairin."y 
 
 About this time, the number of beggars, both local and ge- 
 neral, appears to have been greatly on the increase, and to 
 have made the church doors' their chief place of resort, becom- 
 ing so obstreperous in their behaviour on Sundays, that it was 
 found " vnpossible for men to open thair pursis to serve the 
 broddis " at the kirk door, without being " violentlie " attacked 
 by them ; while the collectors of the alms were unable to perform 
 their duty " becaus off the manie beggaris that ouer hauled both 
 thame and the people." Still, anxious to make every person and 
 thing appear as feasible to royalty as possible, when the King 
 came to the town in 1617 (who, it appears was expected to 
 visit the church, if he did not actually attend worship jn it, for 
 the King's loft is mentioned in the records soon after that date), 
 the officer, who had a new "sout off blew as his livray" for the 
 occasion, had strict orders to " suffer neither uncouth nor couth 
 
 w Eeg. Bp. Brechin., ii., 236. r (1618)— /Session Records. 
 
136 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 beggers to resort aither to the kirk-yaird or streitt," while the 
 King was in town. 
 
 It was during the early part of the same year that a list 
 of the really poor was made up, and a pewterer instructed " to 
 mak ane number off badges to be marks to the puir off the 
 paroch," it being declared that no other person shall have " liber- 
 tie to begg but those that haue these marks." This was the 
 origin of the staff of privileged beggars, which, down to the first 
 change in the Poor-law in 1845, perambulated the streets in a 
 body upon Thursdays, on which day tjjey paid a visit to the 
 merchants' shops, and to the houses of the more opulent inhabi- 
 tants, preceded by a gaunt crippled veteran, with a shining blazon 
 dangling from his coat, 
 
 " Whose spacious scrip, and boundless conscience bore 
 A double alms from many a bounteous door." 
 
 Soon after the year 1617, we find the kirk-session busying 
 themselves as to the propriety of " bigging ane hous to lodge 
 puir young vnes" — perhaps the children of wandering beggars ; 
 and some years later, an " ordinance" having been passed by the 
 Justices of the Peace, prohibiting the poor from being allowed to 
 zander abroad in the streets, they again met to consider the best 
 means of complying with the order, and.ultimately resolved upon 
 settling " the puir within honest menis housses." 
 
 In little more than twenty years from the date of the last of 
 these minutes, in 1645^48, Scotland was visited by a dreadful 
 pestilence, which is said to have carried off more than half the 
 population of the country. Like other parts of the kingdom 
 Brechin also suffered from that awful scourge, and, according 
 to an inscribed tablet in the churchyard, it appears that no fewer 
 than six hundred of the inhabitants fell victims to it in the short 
 space of four months. Labour of all sorts was suspended for a 
 time, the very streets are said to have been grown over with 
 grass, and no meeting took place of the people at church, or of 
 the kirk>session, from the month of April to November. Nor did 
 the presbytery sit from the first of these dates until the 25th of 
 July ; and even then, fearing to meet in the town, they are re- 
 corded to have convened upon "Buthergill hill," on which occasion 
 they elected a ruling elder to the famous General Assembly of 
 
BKECHIN — THE PLAGUE. 137 
 
 that year, it being their first meeting as a body " because of the 
 pestilence." It was upon the 20th of January 1648, that the 
 presbytery first met together in the town, and on that occasion, 
 Mr David Carnegy, minister of Farnell, preached ( ' a sermon of 
 thanksgieving for the merciful delyverance quhilk the Lord did 
 grant to the city of Brechin from the pestilence," choosing for 
 his text the striking words of the Psalmist — " Fools, because 
 of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities, are 
 afliicted." z 
 
 Every precaution was used, both in the town and landward 
 parts of the parish, to prevent the pestilence from spreading ; and 
 parties, who acted as cleansers during the ravages of the same 
 contagion in Edinburgh, were brought to fumigate, or otherwise 
 purify the dwelling houses. In this work of cleansing the poor 
 not unfrequently lost their household furniture, which it was 
 sometimes deemed advisable to burn ; and after the severity 
 of the pestilence had abated, collections were made throughout 
 the country to replace the lost articles, as in the case of a poor 
 woman at the Craigend of Aldbar. Among the inhabitants who 
 perished at that time were the wife and two daughters of David 
 Donaldson, a bailie of the town, and commissioner to Parliament 
 for the burgh in 1644 ; a also, a person of the name of Erskine, 
 to whose memory a stone is said to have been erected bearing 
 this rude verse : — 
 
 " Here lies John Ebskine, 
 Who died of the affliction.; 
 No one must disturb his hones 
 Until the Eesurrection." 
 
 It is said that the piece of ground on the north side of the 
 church, known as the fore kirk-yard, was set apart for the burial 
 of those who died of the pestilence ; and from a superstitious be- 
 lief that the plague itself was interred in the graves of those who 
 died of it, and that upon these graves being opened it would re- 
 appear in the form of a bluish mist or vapour, and spread over 
 
 a Acta Pari., vi. 96. A tombstone, still extant, thus records the death of the 
 Donaldsons — " Heir lyes Bessie Watt, spovs to David Donaldsone, bailzie of Brechin, 
 and Elspet Donaldsone, and lean Donaldsone, their dochters. — 1647." According 
 to the kirk-session records, David Donaldson and Betsy or Elizabeth Watt, were 
 married in 1620. 
 T 
 
138 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 the country with as much severity as hefore, that place was not 
 used for general hurial until the spell was broken by the inter- 
 ment of Mr Patrick Bowie of Keithock, in 1809. 
 
 Although there is no account of the population of Brechin in 
 1647-8, the great number of persons who are recorded to have 
 died there in so short a space of time, goes far to confirm the 
 striking record of the ravages which the malady made in Leith, 
 where the number of the dead was believed to be greater than 
 that of the living. b Tradition asserts that the more deeply 
 afflicted of the town's people were sent to the common muir, 
 where huts were prepared for them, and there they were allowed 
 to die unheeded, and buried by their surviving fellow-sufferers. 
 The latter part of this story, however much it may savour of inhu- 
 manity, is by no means improbable, and the first portion is corro- 
 borated by fact, for both in the months of January and October 
 1648, payments were made by the kirk-session to several parties 
 who are described as "lying in the seikness in the hwtts," — points 
 which but too clearly shew that many of the poor and plague- 
 smitten took refuge in the fields, during the most inclement sea- 
 son of the year. 
 
 Record is silent as to the precise place of the exile of these 
 unfortunate creatures, but tradition affirms that the small estate 
 of Murlingden, which was feued off the common muir, and situ- 
 ated about two miles north of the town, received its name in 
 consequence, and was known of old as Mourning den. A burn 
 runs through that den towards Cruick water, and the sides of the 
 den are here and there studded with artificial works about six 
 feet square, surrounded by low walls of mud or turf, but whether 
 they contain human remains, I have not ascertained. Tradition 
 also says, that instead of the weekly markets being held in the 
 town at the time, they stood upon the estate of Kintrockat, about 
 two miles to the westward, also that a cauldron was used for 
 purifying the money which was exchanged on these occasions. 
 In commemoration of that event, a late proprietor is said to have 
 had a mound raised upon the site of the reputed market place. 
 b Robertson's Antiquities of Leith, 84. c Appendix, No. X. 
 
BRECHIN— FINDOWRIE's LODGING 139 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Brechin in the 17th century — Johnston's Panegyric — Ochteriony's Account — The 
 Bridge — Mismanagement of Burgh Affairs — Mechanics' Institution — Smith's 
 Schools — Episcopal Church and Library— East Free Church — Cemetery — 
 Modern Improvements — the Den, &c. 
 
 In the preceding sections, we have attempted to give an epi- 
 tome of some of the more important incidents in the history of 
 the town of Brechin from remote antiquity. Those desirous of 
 making themselves better acquainted with the more minute state 
 of the church and the burgh in old times, are referred to the 
 recently published Registrum Episcopatus BrecMnensis — so fre- 
 quently referred to in these pages — the last literary effort of the 
 late estimable and lamented Mr Chalmers of Aldbar, one of the 
 most indefatigable and accurate of Scottish antiquaries ; d while 
 details of the more modern history and progress of the burgh 
 will be found in Mr Black's interesting History. e Particulars of 
 the modern history of Brechin are not intended to be given here, 
 and this chapter will be concluded by brief quotations regarding 
 the state of the town from trustworthy writers of the seventeenth 
 century, and a few general remarks on its present condition. 
 
 Of ancient Brechin, apart from what has been already noticed, 
 very little remains. A large three storey house, on the north side 
 of the Nether Wynd, is perhaps the oldest dwelling house in 
 town. Tradition says it was at one time the town residence of 
 the Earls of Crawford, and a spring-well in an adjoining garden 
 is called Beardie's Well. At a later date, during the memorable 
 Wars of the Covenant, it was the " ludging" of the laird of Fin- 
 dowrie, a great friend to the Covenant, and representative elder 
 for the presbytery of Brechin to the General Assembly. In 
 consequence, the Marquis of Montrose burned and plundered this 
 house, and the stables which adjoined, in 1646, at the same time 
 that he set fire to the town. f But it is from Captain Slezer's view, 
 taken towards the close of the seventeenth century, that we can 
 
 d This invaluable local work — the second contribution of its talented Editor to 
 le Bannatyne Club — is in 2 vols. 4to. See notice of Mr Chalmers, below, part iv. 
 ' History of Brechin, by David D. Black, town clerk, fp. 8vo. 1839. 
 ' Land of the Lindsays, 270, 337. 
 
140 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS ANEf MEAENS. 
 
 form the best idea of the appearance of the town in old times. 
 No vestige remains either of the city cross, its walls, or its ports, 
 nor of the Catis cross, which stood near the South Port.s The 
 south side of the Castle, as seen in Slezer's day, had, as before 
 remarked, much the same appearance as at present, but neither 
 the bridge nor cruives are shewn in his print. The ruins of the 
 Bishop's Palace, however, and the Little and Meikle Mills, with 
 several houses along the line of road called the Cadger Wynd and 
 Upper Tenements, are indicated, as are also the farm house of 
 Pitfortby, and the Grampians in the background, with the open- 
 ing to the" valley and mountains of Glenesk. 
 
 Arthur Johnstone is the only old poet who has celebrated the 
 praises of Brechin, and it will be seen by the following transla- 
 tion of his poem, that it is characterised by the same fancy as the 
 rest of his Epigrams, particularly in regard to the Routid Tower. 
 Among other points he alludes to the defeat of the Danes, which 
 is said to have taken place at Aberlemno ; and also mentions the 
 Bishop's Palace, the Bridge of Brechin, and the Bridge over 
 the North Esk at Logie Pert, the latter of which is believed to 
 have been built by Superintendent Erskine of Dun : — 
 
 " This fertile Tdwn doth 'twixt two Rivers stand, 
 One to the North, one to the Southward hand : 
 The Watters down betwixt the Bocks do glyde, 
 Both Bridges have, and many Foords beside. 
 The Vict'rie of the Northern Ktng doth much- 
 Commend this 1 City, since its men were such 
 As stood, and by their Valour vanquished, 
 When as their Neighbours treacherously fled. 
 Here is a Bishop's Hoase, and near to it 
 A Tower seems built by Phidias' Art and Wit. 
 Its bulk so little, and its top bo high, 
 That it almost doth reach unto the sky : 
 Its Structure's round, look to it from afar. 
 Tou would imagine It a Needle were : 
 Its built so strong, It fears no Wind or Rain, 
 And Jove's three-forked-Darts it doth disdain. 
 
 Compare the Fabricks ; Bkechis's Tower exceeds 
 
 (Proud Egypt) all thy stately Pyramids." 11 
 
 Camden mentions little else than the mere name of Brechin ; 
 but Ochterlony describes the town as lying "verypleasantlie up- 
 on the north syde of the water of Southesk, which runneth by the 
 * Reg. Bp. Brechin, ii. 113. * Appendix, No. II. (c.) 
 
BRECHIN— THE BRIDGE. 141 
 
 walls. The toune is tollerablie well built, and hath a considerable 
 trade, by reason of their vicinity to Montross, being fyve [eight 
 English] myles distant from it ; but that which most enriches the 
 place is their frequent faires and mercats, which occasion a great 
 concourse of people from all places of the countrey, having a 
 great fair of cattle, horse, and sheep, the whole week after Whyt- 
 sunday, and the Tuesday thereafter a great mercat in the toune ; 
 they having a weekly mercat every Tuesday throughout the 
 yeare, where there is a great resort of Highland men with timber, 
 peats, and heather, and abundance of muirfoull, and extraordi- 
 narie good wool in its seasone." 1 
 
 Apart from the antiquities of the round tower, the church, and 
 the castle, Brechin has few attractions for the stranger, except- 
 ing the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and in that particu- 
 lar, especially when viewed from the south side of the river, as 
 thus advised by an anonymous rhymer, it has few rivals in the 
 
 county — 
 
 " The finest view of Brechin may be got 
 
 From a soft rising ground beyond the bridge, 
 
 Where you may see the country every spot, 
 And the town rising up a sudden ridge ; 
 
 The castle, old cathedral, and what not, 
 
 And Hie spire's griffin 'minished to a midge.'' 
 
 The bridge is the same " stately fabric" which is lauded by 
 Ochterlony and Slezer, though much too narrow for the increased 
 traffic of modern times; and the southern arch (the northern 
 having been re-built towards the end of the last century), is, so 
 far as known, the same that existed during the thirteenth century, 
 when a payment was made for the support of the bridge out of 
 the rents of Drumsleid in the Mearns. k Until within these eighty 
 years, the highway, which lead from the south to the north of 
 Scotland, passed along the ridge, and sloped down the Burghill 
 hill, to the bridge, which was the only stone bridge on the South 
 Esk until 1796, when another was erected at Finhaven. 1 
 
 In 1789, the Committee of Burghs, in enumerating certain 
 grievances connected with Brechin, declared that, although the 
 " revenue of the burgh is not inconsiderable, it had no public 
 
 1 Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 335-7. _ k Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 184. 
 
 1 Besides the suspension and revolving bridges at Montrose, there are stone 
 bridges on the South Esk at Cortachy, Justinhaugh, Sheilhill, Finhaven, Stannochy, 
 Brechin, and Dun. 
 
142 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 works either of ornament or utility. "lis true," they continue, 
 "that water has been brought into town, and the streets paved, 
 but the water was brought in almost wholly at the expence of 
 Lord Panmure, and at present they are assessed for keeping wells 
 and fountains in repair. They were also assessed in nearly £200 
 before the streets were repaired." At same time the cess of the 
 burgh was levied at £80 a-year ; but, says the Committee quaintly, 
 " let not the enormity of the fact prevent it from being believed 
 that the amount paid into Exchequer does not exceed £40 "! m 
 
 Such were some of the evils connected with the rotten burgh 
 system, which prevailed in Scotland, to a greater or less degree, 
 down to the passing of the Keform Act in 1832, when, like other 
 Scottish burghs, Brechin had its councillors chosen by the inde- 
 pendent voice of the people, and its accounts annually exhibit- 
 ed to public scrutiny. Although several public works existed 
 prior to 1780, they were limited in extent, and caused but little 
 stir in the town ; for an English traveller of the period (who, 
 however, seems to have been inclined to find fault with every- 
 thing Scottish), says that Brechin " is a place which requires not 
 the obscurity of night to render it dismal." 11 Whatever truth 
 there may be in this laconical remark, it is clear that the Report 
 of the Grievance Committee held good even until a late date, so 
 far as the want of ornamental public buildings and works were 
 concerned. The public works, although not ornamental even at 
 this day (and such are scarcely to be looked for in provincial 
 towns), are now pretty extensive, and chiefly consist of linen 
 manufactories — a branch of trade, which, with some others, has 
 increased so much since 1790, that the population has been nearly 
 doubled. 
 
 But some ornamental buildings also grace the burgh, and the 
 earliest erected of these was the East, or quoad sacra church. 
 It is a neat cruciform building with a spire of 80 feet in height, 
 and, as a whole, is perhaps the neatest and most commodious place 
 of worship in town. It was certainly the least costly, for although 
 fitted up for 860 sittings, the total expense, including the spire, 
 was something less than £1000. It ought to have been before 
 -lentioned, that the parish of Brechin, apart from the quoad sacra 
 
 m Eeport of Grievances, &c, 72, 80. 
 " George Colman's Random Recollections, 1781. 
 
BEECHIN — MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 143 
 
 district, is a collegiate charge, and has been so since 1641, when 
 a second minister was appointed by Charles I. after " some of 
 the nobilitie and utheris" had made enquiry, and reported upon 
 the state of the church and the bishoprick. nn 
 
 The quoad sacra kirk was followed, within two years, by the 
 Mechanics' Institute and public schools. These were built and 
 endowed by the late Lord Panmure, who also had the lecture room 
 ornamented by a number of paintings, he and his successors in 
 the peerage being hereditary patrons of the Institntion. Lec- 
 tures are delivered to the members on various subjects during 
 the winter months, and a reading room, and a pretty extensive 
 library, belong to it. This building, as well as the one which falls 
 next to be mentioned, is in the Perpendicular Domestic style of 
 architecture, that of the Mechanics' Institute having a square 
 tower in the centre 80 feet in height, which is embellished with a 
 fine carving of the armorial bearings of the noble donor. Both 
 houses are after the designs of Mr Henderson of Edinburgh, who 
 is a native of Brechin. 
 
 The other educational building just referred to, is now being 
 erected in the lower, or Tenements district of the town. This 
 owes its rise to the generosity of Mr John Smith of Andover, 
 Massachusetts, who lately made the handsome gift of £1500 to- 
 wards the erecting and endowing of a school at Brechin, on 
 condition that other £500 should be raised by the voluntary 
 contribution of his fellow-townsmen within a given period. The 
 sum of £600 being speedily raised, Mr Smith, his brother, and 
 their partner in trade, Mr Dove, gave a further and joint dona- 
 tion of £600 for the purpose of giving the edifice an ornamental 
 character, whereby it will form a fine object in the otherwise 
 rather unattractive locality in which it is situated. 
 
 A school-room, schoolmaster's house, and library were recently 
 erected in connection with the Episcopal Church, to which it is 
 intended to add a Chapter House. The library, built at the sole 
 expense of Bishop Forbes, is fitted up with oak shelvings, and 
 lighted by a Gothic window, with armorial bearings in stained 
 glass. An oak cabinet contains, among other curiosities, a richly 
 illuminated copy of the Offices of the Virgin, executed on vellum 
 n ° Begister of Privy Cowteil Ijleal, ex. 56. 
 
144 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 by Nicholas Vivien, at Paris in 1515 ; also an antique back- 
 gammon board, beautifully inlaid with ivory, and which is said 
 to have belonged to Mary Queen of Scots. The library consists 
 of a large collection of early and rare editions of the Fathers of 
 the Church, and many other valuable books, which were gifted 
 chiefly by Dr Abernethy Drummond of Hawthornden, for the 
 use of the clergy of the dioceses of Brechin and Dunkeld, of the 
 first of which sees the donor was bishop for a brief period before 
 his translation to that of Edinburgh. Externally the Episcopal 
 Church itself has nothing to boast of in* the way of beauty, al- 
 though the interior is neat and comfortable. 
 
 But of all the new ecclesiastical buildings in town, that of 
 "the East Free Church is by far the most imposing, and, but for 
 certain peculiarities in the roof and the tower, would have had 
 an elegant appearance. It is in the Gothic style of architecture, 
 with a porch on the east side, and a spire on the south-west 140 
 feet in height. The principal doorway enters through the tower, 
 the basement of which forms the porch, and some good pieces of 
 carving ornament the doorway and other parts of the building. 
 The roof is constructed of plain heavy couples with open timbers, 
 and finished in dark staining. The north-west window, which 
 is filled with stained glass, is a good example of the Early Deco- 
 rated style in massive but elegant tracery, and, as a whole, the 
 fabric is highly creditable to the congregation. 
 
 The new cemetery, situated near the East Free Church, is ap- 
 proached by a stone bridge which spans the Den in a line with 
 Panmure Street, and has rather a pretty gateway, the top of the 
 arch of which is embellished by the appropriate figure of a phoenix, 
 and an emblem of silence on the keystone. The situation, conve- 
 nient for the town, yet completely separated from it, is in every 
 respect the best that could have been chosen, and no small credit 
 is due to the chief magistrate for the manner in which he com- 
 bated the numerous objections which were raised against it. 
 
 Such is a brief account of the more important of the public 
 
 buildings of Brechin. These, it is to be hoped, will have a greater 
 
 influence than hitherto in inciting the public to adopt a more 
 
 The first interment was made on 26th October 1857, and on the 12th Novem- 
 ber following (after no little noise), a portion of the cemetery was consecrated by the 
 Right Rev. the Bishop of Brechin. — See the local Newspapers of the period. 
 
BRECHIN— MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 145 
 
 tasteful style of building for domestic purposes, than the com- 
 mon and monotonous sort which has so long prevailed in Bre- 
 chin over that of neighbouring towns. But it must be admit- 
 ted that, although the inhabitants have been slow to adopt an or- 
 namental style of architecture in their dwellings, the streets and 
 lanes have been thoroughly repaired and improved. The sewer- 
 age of the town is now pretty good, and a larger supply of 
 water was recently introduced at comparatively little cost to the 
 public. 
 
 Little more than twenty years ago, the ground now occupied 
 by the substantial buildings in Panmure Street was the site of 
 the Croft or weekly cattle markets, and the depository of the 
 town's debris and rubbish. Southesk and Bank Streets had no 
 existence, and the only approach to the town in that direction 
 was by a narrow filthy footpath along the Denside. The Witch 
 Den, lately an impassible myre, is now the principal entrance 
 to the town from the south ; and the very place upon which the 
 fires are supposed to have been kindled which consumed the per- 
 sons of those unfortunate beings from whom the locality had its 
 name, is occupied by dwelling-houses.^ 
 
 The Latch, which was in an equally bad state, is now a clean 
 and favourite walk, decorated with villas and hedgerows ; and the 
 common Den — whither the freemen from an early to a late period 
 sent their cattle to graze under the charge of a common herds- 
 man, who warned the respective owners to turn out and take in 
 their hye, by the sonorous blast of a nowtis horn q — was converted 
 into a nursery about forty years ago. It teems with all that 
 is choice in trees and powers, for the superiority of which it has 
 long been locally esteemed, and is a welcome and favourite resort 
 for the well-disposed, as are also, the City Nursery grounds, which 
 are situated in another part of the town. 
 
 p The Witch branhs are still preserved in the archives of the burgh. The 
 Presbytery and Kirk Session books .contain several accounts of witch trials and burn- 
 ings, which took place at Brechin during' the 17th century. 
 
 i The Bailies and Council elected Walter Erskine to be common hyrd to their 
 nolt until Allhallowday next, and requested all concerned to deliver their nolt unto 
 him as use is. — Mins. of Bailie Covirt of Brechin, April 11, 1580. 
 
 U 
 
146 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 &te &fit)eg, anti &oton of &beri)rotf)oc. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Edward I. at Arbroath — Abbot Henry and the Convent did homage to Edward I. 
 at Berwick — Foundation of the Abbey — its Dedication to Thomas a Becket — 
 its situation — origin of Abbeys — state of Scotland during the Middle Ages — 
 Grants to, and Bevenues of, the Abbey — visited by Alexanders II. and III., 
 James V., &c. — Parliament held there in 1320 — Letter of the Barons to Pope 
 John XXII.— Abbot Bernard. 
 
 When Edward I. and his Court left Brechin, on the 5th of 
 August, they went to the Abbey of Aberbrothoc, which is mis- 
 written " Burbrodoche " in the diary of the King's journey. 3 
 This, it will be remembered, was King Edward's second visit to 
 the place, although his first is not recorded in his diary, for, as 
 before shewD, he travelled from Forfar to Arbroath, and from 
 Arbroath to Farnell, en route to Montrose, on the 7th of July pre- 
 viously. Upon that occasion four knights, together with Abbot 
 Henry and the whole Convent, performed homage to him ; but 
 Prynne is altogether silent in regard to the knights, although their 
 names are given in the Ragman Roll. b Both authorities agree, 
 however, that, on King Edward's second visit, a baron named 
 Mark of Clapham took the oaths of allegiance at Arbroath ; but 
 they differ in regard to the day upon which the paths were taken. 
 The first authority gives it as the 5th, and the latter as the 6th of 
 August, on the last of which days the King passed from Ar- 
 broath to Dundee. 
 
 It was Abbot Henry who placed King John Baliol's final re- 
 nunciation of the kingdom in the hands of Edward I., and his 
 being thus a person of mark and influence, had perhaps been 
 the cause of his previously acknowledging the power of Long- 
 shanks, which he did at Berwick-upon-Tweed so early as 1292. d 
 
 ■ Bannatyne Miscell., i. 280. " Eagman Bolls, 80 ; Prynne, 650. 
 
 « Ibid., 113 ; Ibid., 651. " Bagman Bolls, 20 ; Eymer, i. pt. iii. 105. 
 
ARBROATH — FOUNDATION OP THE ABBEY. 147 
 
 Henry, so far as known, was the tenth Abbot from the period 
 of the foundation of the monastery, and his name is preserved 
 only in consequence of the part he acted during the Wars of the 
 Independence, there . being no trace of it in the records of the 
 Abbey itself. If the writer of the royal progress is to be credited, 
 the King may have had cause to suspect Abbot Henry's loyalty, 
 for he appears to have held up the English nation to ridicule, 
 by insinuations of cowardice and effeminacy, making " the people 
 believe," as the diarist writes, " thatt ther were butt women and 
 noo men in England," an absurdity, it need hardly be said, which 
 was but too plainly disproved by the daring and martial spirit 
 displayed by the English during the period under review. 
 
 The Abbey of Arbroath, at which Edward I. rested while on 
 his subjugating tour through Scotland, was founded by William 
 the Lion in 1178. It was dedicated to St Thomas a Becket, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, who was slain at the altar of his own 
 cathedral on the 29th of December 1170, by four knights, who 
 committed this murder in order to deliver the King from a for- 
 midable and obnoxious enemy. This incident, it ought to be re- 
 marked, forms the device of the ancient seal of the Convent of 
 Arbroath. da 
 
 So far as I have ascertained, the name of Arbroath does not 
 occur in any form until the foundation of the Abbey. It is true 
 that Buchanan says its old name was Abrinca ; but this seems 
 doubtful, and is perhaps merely a pun or witticism, since it was 
 at the church of the ancient city of Avranches in Normandy, that 
 Henry II. did his first penance for the death of a Becket. e 
 
 Various surmises have been made as to the cause which in- 
 duced King William to inscribe the Abbey to that Saint, but no 
 satisfactory conclusion has been arrived at. Some suppose that he 
 and a Becket were personally acquainted, " when there was little 
 probability of the latter ever becoming a confessor, martyr, or 
 saint ; " and it is well known that the King invoked a Becket's 
 help when led captive to Richmond/ But, whatever was the 
 cause of the King's favour for St Thomas, or however various 
 the opinions may be upon that subject, only one idea can be en- 
 
 dd See engravings of the seal in Beg. Vet. de Aberhrothoa. 
 e The story of a mint having been here, and of coins being struck with the 
 word Abrinea is unfounded. ' Reg. Vet. de Aberb., p. xi. 
 
148 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS: 
 
 tertained of the impdslng situation of the Abbey, the ancient splen- 
 dour of its architecture, and the greatness of its revenues. 
 
 A fine view of Fifeshire and the Lothians, and of the country 
 more immediately surrounding- Arbroath, is obtained from the 
 site of the Convent. The Romans, among the earliest of their 
 visits to Scotland, had a small encampment in the vicinity, and 
 the Northern marauders were conquered, in the days of Malcolm 
 II., within a short distance of thesame place ; while, at the time the 
 Convent was founded, the neighbouring lands were possessed by 
 some of the more important of the Anglo-Norman families who 
 had acquired settlements under the two previous Kings ; and, ac- 
 cording to tradition, King William' himself had an occasional re- 
 sidence in the same locality. Apart from the old historical im- 
 portance of the district, it had many natural and acquired advan- 
 tages, such as its proximity to the sea, and the long period the 
 surrounding lands had been under cultivation. 
 
 Prior to the foundation of this Abbey, there was no similar 
 establishment on any part of the long and rugged coast of 
 Angus, nor within many miles of it, and the crazy huts which 
 were here and there scattered along the beach were ill adapted 
 for the reception of those whom natural and adventitious cir- 
 cumstances had destined to raise and improve the condition 
 of Scotland. It was, therefore, necessary that a proper asylum 
 should be planted in such a part of the country, so that travellers, 
 whether for devotional, commercial, or warlike purposes, should 
 have a place wherein to rest in peace and safety, and where 
 they could enjoy all the luxuries and necessaries of life, which 
 the intelligence and skill of the age could afford. 
 
 It was for these among other purposes that monasteries were 
 established, although at the present time many look upon the 
 whole system of monachism with suspicion and even horror, judg- 
 ing of it only from the polluted state into which it latterly fell. 
 But those who have studied the chartularies of the ancient 
 Abbeys, and the old history of the nation, will readily admit, that 
 when the Abbey of Arbroath was founded, and for long after- 
 wards, the monastic system was, perhaps, the best calculated of all 
 systems to meet the wants and intelligence of the people. Besides 
 the knowledge suitable for the different grades of offices in the 
 
ARBROATH— SCOTLAND DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 149 
 
 church, and in the government of the state, the youth of the 
 country were also trained hy the monks in the useful and mc 
 chanical arts ; and to those cloister-hred tradesmen, so to speak, 
 we owe most of the gorgeous, though now ruinous piles of religi- 
 ous buildings, which were erected in the country from the twelfth 
 to the fifteenth centuries. 
 
 Although the state of general intelligence, and the trafficking 
 interests of the country were at a very low ebb when the new, 
 or monastic scheme of religion became universal in Scotland 
 — that is during the period from David I., to the unfortunate 
 death of Alexander III.— the kingdom was making Rteady and 
 healthy progress in the arts of agriculture, commerce, and 
 architecture, and also in letters and the fine arts, as is amply 
 testified by the few remaining writings and illuminated missals 
 of the monks. Indeed, at that early epoch, it has been re- 
 marked by all historians, that Scotland was in a singularly 
 forward state : roads and stone bridges — the precursors of all 
 civilization — were then common throughout the country, and 
 everything seemed to be going forward as the best friends of 
 Scotland could wish ; but by the fatal divisions which followed, 
 improvements of all sort were suspended, and the peaceful arts 
 were forgotten in a long reign of war and bloodshed. An acute 
 literary antiquary has well remarked, that at no period of the 
 nation's existence, down to the Union in 1707, was it in a more 
 prosperous and civilized state than it was at the death of the 
 last Alexander. 
 
 The Convent of Arbroath was composed of Tyronensian 
 monks, so named from the first Abbey of the order at Tyron in 
 Le Perch. They were brought to Scotland in 1113 by David I., 
 who built for them the Abbey of Kelso. Keginald, a monk of 
 that house, was the first Abbot of Arbroath, but he died during 
 the first year of his incumbency.^ By the original constitution 
 of the Abbey, its independence was secured apart from that of 
 Kelso ; and the lands and revenues attached to it, by the founda- 
 tion charter ot King William, were so great, that with the grants 
 
 b There were six Convents of Tyronensian b in Scotland. Besides those of Kelso 
 and Arbroath, these were Lesmahago, in Clydesdale, founded hy David I., 1140; 
 Kilwinning, in Ayr, founded by Moreviile, Constable of Scotland, also in 1140 ; Lin- 
 dores, in Fife, founded by the Earl of Huntingdon, 1178; and Fyvie, in Aberdeenshire, 
 which was a cell of Arbroath, founded (it is supposed) by the Earl of Buchan, 1179 
 
150 " MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 that were made to it by the barons throughout the shires of 
 Angus, Mearns, Aberdeen, and elsewhere, it acquired a revenue 
 and influence exceeding that of any other monastic establish- 
 ment in the kingdom, St Andrews alone excepted. 
 
 King William himself gave the monks of Arbroath the terri- 
 tory of Ethie and Achinglas, the shires or parishes of Dunechtyn 
 and Kingoldrum, fishings on the Tay, and on the North Esk, a 
 salt work in the Carse of Stirling, with lands in Mondynes, and 
 a toft in each of the King's boroughs, with license to cut tim- 
 ber in his forests, and the^patronage of j\p fewer than twenty- 
 four churches. To these were added the custody of the con- 
 secrated banner of Brecbennach or St Columba, and a toft of 
 land in Forglen, which went with the office. This was one of 
 the most interesting of the Abbey's privileges, and underneath 
 that banner — the custody of which was held under the Abbot by 
 the Knights of Monymusk of that ilk, from whom it passed by 
 descent to the Urrys and Frasers, becoming vested, about the 
 year 1420, in the Irvines of Drum — the vassals of the Abbey 
 went forth to war. h 
 
 Next in importance to King William's donations, were those 
 of the old Earls of Angus, who gave it the patronage of four 
 churches, and various lands in the neighbourhood of Broughty 
 Ferry and Monifieth. The Countess of Buchan also gave the 
 church of Turriff ; Half le Naym, that of Inverugy ; the bishop 
 of St Andrews, Arbirlot ; and the De Berkeleys, Inverkeillor, 
 together with the lands of Balfeith in the Mearns. 
 
 Thomas of Lundyn the Durward, gave the church of Kinerny, 
 and the wood or forest of Trustach on the Dee ; and Robert of 
 Lundres, the King's bastard son, the kirk of Ruthven — to which 
 gifts most of the minor barons in Angus, and adjoining counties, 
 added lands, fishings, money, and other privileges. The church 
 of Abernethy was also granted by Laurence, son of Orm of Aber- 
 nethy, with half the tithes of the property belonging to himself 
 and his heirs, as hereditary abbot of the Culdees, and lord of the 
 lordship and manor of Abernethy. Among the more recent gifts to 
 the Abbey were the church and revenues of Kirkmahoe in Niths- 
 dale, which were given to it by King Bobert the Bruce. 1 
 
 h Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., pp. xv. xxiii. * Reg. Vet. de Aberb.. 213. 
 
AEBEOATH — PARLIAMENT OP 1320. 151 
 
 In 1561-2, the money revenue of the Abbey was about £3064, 
 with upwards of 422 chalders of victuals, 37 barrels of salmon, 
 besides services, kane, capons, and other perquisites. Still, 
 notwithstanding the largeness of these revenues, it appears 
 that in 1530, two years after King James' visit, when there 
 is no word of princes, or other great personages visiting the 
 convent, these payments in kind were not only insufficient for 
 the* maintenance of the Abbey and its visitors, but an extra pur- 
 chase was made of 800 wedders, 180 marts, 11 barrels of 
 salmon, and 1500 dried cod fish, and "52 chalders of victuals. 11 
 The reasons for this enormous excess of expenditure are not 
 very clearly accounted for by any document now extant. 
 
 Though the revenues of the Abbey were great, the demands 
 upon its hospitality were equally so. Even in the time of the 
 founder, while the buildings were in progress, he and his court 
 met there to grant charters, and for the disposal of other matters 
 which concerned the nation. His successors, Alexander II. and 
 III. met there for like purposes, and the former had pecuniary 
 aid from the monks while in difficulties, which he pledged himself 
 should not be to the disadvantage of them or their Convent. 1 
 
 During the interesting period of the Interregnum, Edward I. 
 and his suit, as already mentioned, passed a night here when on 
 their return southward. James V., familiarly designated " the 
 king of the poor," with his vast retinue, was two several times 
 entertained in the Abbey, in the year 1528; and Archbishop 
 Beaton of St Andrews, whose train was nearly as great as the 
 King's, also visited his nephew, then Abbot and the future cele- 
 brated Cardinal, no less than thrice in one season. 
 
 But by far the most important assemblage that ever graced 
 its walls was that which was held on the 6th of April 1320. 
 That assembly, which was presided over by King Robert the 
 Bruce, it need scarcely be said, had its origin in a secret nego- 
 tiation between Edward II. and the Papal Court, when that 
 King prevailed upon Pope John XXII. to despatch a nuncio, 
 threatening The Bruce, and the whole nation, with excommuni- 
 cation if they longer refused to own the superiority of the Eng- 
 lish King. 
 
 ' Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., Appendix. • (1229) Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 79. 
 
152 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 The Pope, however, miscalculated the character of the people 
 with whom he had to deal, and the message was met with all 
 the characteristic holdness of the surviving heroes of Bannock- 
 burn. The assembly consisted of thirty-eight of the more pow- 
 erful of the magnates and barons of the age, of whom nearly a 
 third part were connected with the shires of Angus and Mearns, 
 and, in name of the whole community of Scotland, they framed, 
 and despatched, a singularly spirited letter to the Pope, setting 
 forth the wrongs which the country had sustained at the hands 
 of Edward L, and maintaining the InSependence of Scotland as 
 a nation, declaring that they had been freed from their calamities 
 by the valour of Robert the Bruce, whom, with unanimous con- 
 sent, they had chosen to be their " chief and king. To him," 
 continues this remarkable letter, " in defence of our liberty we 
 are bound to adhere, as well of right, as by reason of his deserts, 
 and to him we will, in all things, adhere ; for through him sal- 
 vation has been wrought unto our people. Should he abandon 
 our cause, or aim at reducing us and our kingdom under the 
 dominion of the English, we will instantly strive to expel him as 
 a public enemy, and the subverter of our rights and his own, 
 and we will choose another King to rule and protect us; for, 
 while there exist a hundred of us, we will never submit to Eng- 
 land." m 
 
 This noble appeal, at the reading of which Pope John is said 
 to have trembled, set the unfortunate question of our national 
 independence at rest, and as no representative of the English 
 Court appeared to debate the matter, as was suggested by the 
 Pope, Scotland was left free to assert its ancient privileges. 
 
 Bernard of Linton, then chancellor of Scotland, and Abbot of 
 Arbroath, was the writer of that manifesto. He was perhaps 
 descended of a family who assumed their surname from the 
 parish of Linton, in Roxburghshire, several of which name and 
 county did homage to Edward I. in 1296, as did also Bernard 
 himself. n He was at that time parson of the kirk of Mording- 
 ton, in Berwickshire ; was appointed abbot of Arbroath in 1311, 
 and chancellor of the kingdom during the same year — both of 
 
 m Original printed and engraved in facsimile in Acta Pari. Scot., i. 114 ; 
 translated in Lord Hailes' AnmaU of Scotland, ii. 105-6. The original writing is 
 preserved in the Register House, Edinburgh. 
 
 » Bagman Rolls, 134-39-67-52. 
 
AEBEOATH — DEDICATION OF THE ABBEY. 153 
 
 which offices he held until the 30th of April 1328, when he 
 was promoted to the see of Sodor or the Isles, where he con- 
 tinued down to the time of his death, which occured in 1331-2.° 
 
 Combined with the highest qualifications as a diplomatist and 
 churchman, he also possessed those of a poet to no mean extent, 
 and celebrated the battle of Bannockburn in a heroic Latin poem, 
 a fragment of which has come down to our own times.? Al- 
 though Bernard ceased to have connection with the Abbey of Ar- 
 broath, it is pleasing to find that, by permission of the bishop of 
 St Andrews, he had an annuity or pension from certain lands be- 
 longing to the monastery over which he had so long presided q — 
 a fact which shews that, even in those days of reputed darkness 
 and bigotry, the services of the worthy were not allowed to go 
 unrewarded. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Abbey Church — Chapter or Charter-house — Armorial bearings of Abbot Pan- 
 ter — Supposed effigy of King William the Lion, and other Sepulchral Monu- 
 ments — Regality Tower — The Abbot's House — The Abbey burned by light- 
 ning — its Repair, and Contract of the Plumber — Notices of its history after the 
 Reformation — Altars — Chaplainries — Hospitalfield, &c. 
 
 Although the ancient grants to the Abbey, and some other 
 interesting circumstances relating to its history, can be traced 
 with much certainty, the names of many of its early Abbots 
 are lost, and little remains to shew by whom the different por- 
 tions of it were built ; still, it appears that the Abbey Church, 
 begun in 1178, was not finished until 1233, a period of fifty-five 
 years, when, on the 8th of the Ides of March, it was dedicated by 
 Balph de Lamley, who held the office of Abbot from 1226 to 
 1233. 1 From that period until the time of Abbot Panter, who is 
 believed to have erected or repaired what is now variously called 
 the Chapter and the Charter-house, there is no recorded trace of 
 the building of any part of the edifice, excepting that of a new 
 dormitory, which was being erected about 1470, during the time 
 
 • Keith's Catalogue of Scotch Bishops, 302. p Fordoun, ii. 248. 
 
 « Reg. Tet. de Aberb., p. 316. ' Chron. de Mailros, 143. 
 
 X 
 
154 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 of Abbots Brydy and Guthrie, in the construction of which it is 
 stipulated that Norwegian timber should be used. 8 
 
 The Abbey was built chiefly in the Early English or First- 
 Pointed style of Gothic architecture. The church was two 
 hundred and sixty-nine feet long, the nave and side aisles sixty- 
 five feet broad, and about sixty-seven feet high. Only portions 
 of the nave and choir, the east and west ends, and the south 
 transept, now remain. Small as these are, they present some 
 beautiful mouldings and details. The Abbey Gateway, upwards 
 of sixty feet long, which was only unrbofed about the beginning 
 of the present century, seems, with the exception of the Chapter- 
 House, to be the most recently erected portion of the building, and 
 shews a dawning of the Decorated or Second-Pointed style, which 
 followed that of the Early English, and prevailed down to the 
 reign of Eobert II.* 
 
 The so-called Chapter-House (for it is difficult to know for what 
 purpose the chamber was really used) is now made the depository 
 of such relics as are found among the ruins, and is by far the 
 most entire portion of the fabric, being two storeys high, with a 
 short spire at the south-west angle. The lower apartment mea- 
 sures about eighteen by twenty feet, and is surrounded on all sides, 
 except the north, by an arcade or ornamental dressing of arches, 
 which appear to have run round the whole edifice. The room 
 is about thirty-two feet high, and the groins of the roof spring 
 from four columns, two of the capitals of which are formed of 
 shields. Those on the south-east capital are wholly unembel- 
 lished; but the centre shield, or that on the north-west (as repre- 
 sented in woodcut No. 1), is charged 
 with the armorial bearings of the 
 old family of Panter of Newmans- 
 walls, near Montrose, of whom the 
 Abbot was a cadet. 11 The other two 
 No , i. shields, both charged as represented 
 in woodcut No. 2, appears to be composed of a crozier or 
 pastoral staff, and two old-fashioned keys formed into a St An- 
 
 • Reg. Nig. de Aberb., 163-7. 
 ' Rickman's Essay on Gothic Architecture, 381. 
 
 "Ona fess with three roundels, in chief, a crozier between two mullets, with a 
 rose in base, the latter figure perhaps for Montrose. 
 
ARBROATH — OLD SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 155 
 
 drew's cross, tied together in the middle, and united at the 
 bottom by a chain. A shield bearing the Panter arms is in 
 another part of this room; and the not improbable idea has been 
 advanced, that this portion of the Abbey was erected by Abbot 
 Panter, who held office from 1411 to 1473. The capitals of the 
 two remaining columns represent floral ornaments, and the fanci- 
 ful freak of birds sitting upon trees, picking at the branches. 
 
 The relics preserved here consist entirely of the remains of 
 ancient tombs. The most interesting is, perhaps, the fragment 
 of a recumbent effigy in a dark spotted kind of marble, called 
 madrepore. Although the head is gone, and the figure otherwise 
 mutilated, there is a grace and elegance in the disposition and 
 folds of the drapery, and a truthfulness in the remaining details 
 of the lion at the feet, that indicates the chisel of no mean sculp- 
 tor. All history agrees that William the Lion, the founder of 
 the Abbey, was buried before its high altar (ante, majus altare, 
 says Fordun), on the 4th of December 1214 ; and, from the fact 
 of this effigy having been found in the chancel of the church, im- 
 mediately in front of the supposed site of the high altar, and 
 covering a stone coffin, in which were the bones of a person of 
 goodly stature, the grave and statue were presumed to be those 
 of King William. Apart from the figure of the animal at^ the 
 feet (which is a common accompaniment to such effigies), a pouch 
 or purse is suspended from a belt on the left side which begirts 
 the waist ; and fragments of four armed Liliputian knights, with 
 spurs on their boots, are on various parts of the figure, as if in 
 the act of arranging or adjusting the dress. T 
 
 There is another mutilated statue, conjectured, on no very 
 plausible grounds, to be that of St Thomas a Becket. The 
 person represented is in a devotional attitude, habited in richly 
 carved sacredotal robes, executed in bluish sandstone. The folds 
 
 " This statue, and the one next noticed, are engraved in Beg. Vet. de Aber- 
 brothoc, and the supposed grave of King William is now covered by an old grave- 
 stone, bearing a monogram, embodying the four initial letters — T. P. H. C. — and a 
 shield charged with a crane, the armorial bearings of the old Forfarshire family, 
 surnamed Fithie. Perhaps the stone had belonged to a descendant of that race. 
 Near the same place were found three stone coffins, cut out of solid slabs, in one of 
 which was the skeleton of a female, sewed up in a leather shroud, similar to, but 
 not so entire, as that found in a stone coffin at the Abbey of Dunfermline, in 1849. 
 The latter discovery is described in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of 
 Scotland, ii. 75. 
 
156 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 of the drapery flow even more gracefully than those of the first- 
 mentioned fragment, while the ornamental parts of the dress 
 are carved with a delicacy and finish, unsurpassed, perhaps, by 
 any contemporary piece in Scotland. The effigy of an old priest, 
 very much similar to this, and nearly entire, the stole of the 
 robes being decorated by carvings of the sacred dove (?), lies in 
 the garden of Dun House, near Montrose, whither it was taken, 
 as one story says, from the Abbey of Arbroath, and according to 
 another, from the old kirk of Montrose. 
 
 Another sepulchral monument, with* an inscription round the 
 sides, now nearly effaced, is embellished with a full-length effigy, 
 in low relief, of one of the monies of the Abbey, as can be traced 
 from the remains of the legend. The name and date are illegible; 
 but there is a shield over the head, charged with two, or it may 
 be, three bendlets — doubtless the armorial bearings of the church- 
 man commemorated — and from which, it may be inferred that 
 the surname had been Alexanderson, or Sanderson, although 
 there is no trace in the chartulary of a monk having any such 
 name. w 
 
 The front of a mural tombstone, of a class commonly found 
 in old ecclesiastical buildings, somewhat resembling a chimney- 
 piece, is preserved in the same apartment. This fragment, 
 which was found near the site of the high altar, is divided into 
 four compartments, each of which contains a figure carved' in 
 bold relief. The first division is occupied by an angel, with 
 outstretched wings, holding a shield, which is placed upon a 
 crozier, and charged with the Panter arms. The figure in the 
 second compartment holds a pitcher, and the aspersory, or brush, 
 for sprinkling the holy water. The third bears what seems to be 
 the paten, and the fourth holds an open book with both hands. In 
 consequence of Panter's bearings being upon this stone, it had 
 most probably formed a portion of the tomb of that Abbot ; and 
 as the style in which this fragment is carved, is not very dis- 
 similar from that of the so-called statue of St Thomas a Becket, 
 that effigy may perhaps have represented Abbot Panter, and 
 may, at one time, have adorned this tomb. 
 
 ™ In 1486, a William Alexanderson held the fourth part of the lands of the 
 ■town of Dunnychthin (Dunnichen). under the Abbots of Arbroath. — Req. Nig. de 
 Merb.,249. 
 
AEBEOATH — THE ABBOT'S HOUSE. 157 
 
 The remains of another draped statue, and the elbow of a 
 mailed effigy, are the only other remaining relics of the ancient 
 sepulchral monuments of Arbroath, with the exception of three 
 stone slabs which lie in the graveyard, adorned with variously 
 designed crosses and swords, of a similar type to those found in 
 England and Wales/ These few traces of old monuments shew 
 that the destruction which had taken place at Arbroath about 
 the time of the Keformation had been great, for doubtless the 
 statues and other works of ancient art which had adorned that 
 magnificent place in its palmy days were much more numerous 
 than we have now the means of knowing. 
 
 But it ought to be added, that the Regality Tower and adjacent 
 buildings, with the stone arched roofs of the lower storey, pre- 
 sent works of considerable extent, and strength of workmanship. 
 The Abbot's house is still occupied, and the ground floor, which 
 is evidently the oldest portion, is peculiarly constructed, the part 
 called the kitchen having a strong pillar in the centre from which 
 spring the arches of a low groined roof. The upper portion of 
 this house is of much more recent date. Of the many pieces of 
 carved oak panellings which are said to have adorned it, even 
 down to a late period, two still remain. One of these repre- 
 sents the Annunciation, with the common attributes of the dove 
 descending on the sunbeam, and the cross-crosslet on the head 
 and breast of the angel. The figure holds a sceptre in the hand, 
 .without the scroll or ordinary legend, and kneels on a geometri- 
 cal pavement, supported by an ornamental pedestal, enclosed in a 
 Gothic archJ The other panel contains a carving of the Scottish 
 Thistle. 
 
 That the buildings of the Abbey suffered injuries from a va- 
 riety of causes long prior to the Reformation is matter of record, 
 and in these forays many of its earlier monuments had doubtless 
 perished. Although its position was favorable in many respects, 
 it was not so in others, for its proximity to the sea made it easy 
 of attack by foreign fleets, from which it frequently suffered, 
 
 1 See the Christian Monuments of England and Wales by the Eev. Charles 
 Boutell, in which numerous examples are engraved. Having found several simi- 
 larly carved slabs in Angus and Mearns, &c, I propose, should time and circum- 
 stances allow, to do myself the pleasure of publishing them at some after period. 
 
 i This panel is engraved in the Architect and Building Operative, vol. i., p. 
 289, Lond. 1849. 
 
158 MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 particularly by the English about the middle of the fourteenth 
 century, 2 and its elevated situation and towering spires rendered 
 it liable to be struck by lightning. From the last of these 
 causes it suffered no less than twice within the space of a hun- 
 dred years. The first accident occurred in the winter of 1272, a 
 year which seems to have been peculiarly disastrous to Scot- 
 land ; for Fordun, by whose chronicle alone this burning is 
 known to have occurred, says "the land was barren, the sea un- 
 productive, the air stormy, and sickness reigned among men, 
 and mortality among cattle." The storm on that occasion came 
 on upon a Saturday about midnight, with a violent wind blow- 
 ing from the north, accompanied by showers of hail, by which 
 many houses were blown down, smothering those that slept 
 within, and the lightning having set fire to the Abbey church of 
 Arbroath, it, and many others throughout the country, were de- 
 stroyed.* 
 
 On the next occasion, which was in 1380, the damage done to 
 the building was perhaps less serious, and chiefly confined to the 
 roof; still, the monks had to be sent to live in other establish- 
 ments for a time, and that the injury might be speedily repaired, 
 and the expenses discharged, the Abbot and his monks were en- 
 joined by the Bishop of St Andrews to relinquish much of their 
 ordinary comfort, and to practice economy in all things, until 
 the repairs were finished. b Touching this part of the Abbey's 
 history, a singularly interesting document is preserved in the 
 form of the contract with the plumber for " thekyn the mekil 
 quer wyth lede." This indenture shews that in those days, as 
 now, there were inspectors of works, and that penalties were 
 inflicted where the stipulations of a contract were not complied 
 with, and also that rewards were given when its terms were duly 
 fulfilled. The contractor, " Wilyam Plumer of Tweddale, burges 
 of the city of Andristoun " (St Andrews), was "to theke and 
 gutter the mekil quer wyth lede," for which he was to receive 
 thirty-five merks " at syndry termys as he is wyrkand," five merks 
 of which sum were to be kept in the Abbot's hands until the 
 works were finished, when these were to be given him, as also 
 " a gown with a hude til his reuarde." It was also provided 
 
 » Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 22. » Fordun, b. x., 30. b Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 35. 
 
AEBEOATH — DESTRUCTION OF THE ABBEY. 159 
 
 that " the quer be thekyt and alurryt (or parapeted) al abowyt 
 with stane, and qwhen it is alurryt he sal dycht it about wytht 
 lede suffyciandly as his craft askys." The plumber was to pro- 
 vide one man, and the Convent another, together with " al 
 maner of gratht that perteyns to that werk quhil it is wyrkande," 
 and the plumber was to have threepence, and " a stane of ilk 
 hyndyr that he fynys til his travel, and that day he wyrkis he 
 sal haf a penny til his noynsankys." 
 
 It is probable that the Abbey also suffered at the hands of the 
 Lindsays and the Ogilvies in 1445, when the battle of Arbroath 
 took place in consequence of the chiefs of these clans contesting the 
 office of bailie of the Abbey — a struggle which will be noticed in 
 another page. Of the destruction of the building at this time, 
 however, there is no record, neither is it known whether the plan 
 which was laid for a similar purpose, by Wishart and others, 
 in the subsequent century, was ever put in execution. This 
 attack which was to be made upon " the Abbey and Town of 
 Arbroath, in common with all the other Bishops and Abbots 
 houses on that side the water thereabouts," was to be the work 
 of several of the neighbouring barons, with the connivance of 
 Henry VIII. of England, out of revenge, it is said, for the 
 wrongs which Cardinal Beaton had inflicted on the Protestant 
 reformers ; and to that circumstance, perhaps, is to be attributed 
 the local tradition of Auchterlony of Kelly attempting to destroy 
 the Abbey about the same time. 4 But whether the demolition 
 of the Abbey and its relics is to be attributed to the attacks of 
 the barons, or to its having been made a quarry, out of which 
 many of the houses in the town were built (for which last 
 purpose, it is feared, there is but too good authority that it 
 was used), it certainly maintained its high position among the 
 other monasteries of the country, down to the Keformation. 
 
 In 1541 it was given in commendam to the second son of the 
 
 Kegent Arran, afterwards the first Marquis of Hamilton ; but on 
 
 the attainder of that family in 1579, the King bestowed it upon 
 
 his cousin, the Duke of Lennox. Lennox died in 1583. In 1600 
 
 the Abbacy was restored to the Hamiltons, and a few years after- 
 
 Keg. Nig. de Aberb., 42. 
 
 d The story of Auchterlony's attack will be found in Bremner's guide book — 
 The Abbey of Aberbrothoc, its Ruins, and Historical Associations. 
 
160 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 wards, upon the King and Parliament resolving to disjoin the 
 lands, patronage, and teinds, of the Abbey from the Crown, they 
 were erected into a temporal lordship in favour of the second 
 Marquis of Hamilton, with the title and dignity of a lord of 
 Parliament. Subsequently the Abbacy is said to have " belonged 
 to the Earl of Dysert, from whom Patrick Maule of Panmure, 
 gentleman of the bedchamber to King James VI., did purchase 
 it, with the right of patronage of thirty-four parish churches 
 belonging thereto," 15 and these the Panmure family continued to 
 hold until the forfeiture of 1716, when the whole reverted to the 
 Crown. The above grant, however, did not include either the 
 monastery itself, or " the houses, biggings, yeards, orchyeards, 
 and others within its precincts," for these, together with a yearly 
 revenue of "fyve thousand merks Scots money," were decreed 
 by King Charles I. in 1636, to be given, out of the first and 
 readiest of the revenues of his Majesty's Exchequer of Scotland, 
 to the bishop of Brechin and his successors in office — a grant 
 which was ratified soon after the Restoration,' but reverted to the 
 Crown at the Revolution. 
 
 Ever since the attainder of the Earl of Panmure in 1716, the 
 ruins of the Abbey have been owned by the Commissioners of 
 Woods and Forests ; but it was not until a century after the 
 forfeiture that Government paid any attention to their condition. 
 In 1815 the sum of £250 was granted towards their repair, at 
 which time the tower of St Thomas, a hundred and two feet 
 high, was partly rebuilt, and the rubbish or debris removed, which 
 had accumulated to such an extent, that it was nearly on a 
 level with the base of the windows of the south aisle. The ruins 
 were in that half buried state, and bodies were interred among 
 the rubbish, when the Abbey was visited by Dr Samuel Johnson 
 in 1773, who expressed himself so highly gratified with its 
 appearance, even in that state, as to say " he should scarcely 
 have regretted his journey [to Scotland], had it afforded nothing 
 more than the sight of Aberbrothock." The ruins have still a 
 very imposing appearance, and seem to be of much the same 
 extent as when sketched by Pennant, Grose, and Cardonnell, 
 the first of whom says that the year previous to his visit, " a part 
 
 e Spottiswoode's JReligious Houses, p. 446. ' Acta Pari., vi. 432. 
 
ARBROATH — THE ABBEY CHAPTER-HOUSE. 161 
 
 adjoining to the west end fell suddenly down, and destroyed 
 much of the beauty of the placet's 
 
 Several grants have been made by Government since that of 
 1815, for the further repair of the ruins ; and it is hoped, now 
 that they have survived so many chances and changes, that the 
 utmost care will be had for their preservation. The ground ad- 
 joining on the north-east, together with the aisles and other parts 
 within the walls of the ancient church, is used as a cemetery, and 
 is the only place of public burial in the town. The whole is 
 neatly kept, and ornamented by trees and shrubs, and contains 
 some interesting monuments with curious inscriptions. Henry 
 Edgar, of the family of Keithock, near Brechin, long Episcopal 
 clergyman of Arbroath, and Bishop of the diocese of Fife, was 
 buried in the south aisle ; and near to the high altar was an old 
 burial place of the family of Ochterlony of that Ilk, now marked 
 by a marble tablet. Adjoining is a stone, commemorating the 
 death of an old burgess of the name of Pierson. It is dated 1589, 
 and has a carving of the arms of that family which has been 
 connected with the town and neighbourhood of Arbroath, for 
 more than three hundred and fifty years. h The proprietor of 
 Balmadies and the Guynd is now its representative. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that there is no account of the ap- 
 pearance of the Abbey prior to the days of Mr Ochterlony, who 
 wrote about 1684-5 ; and the oldest known engraving is that by 
 Captain Slezer, taken much about the same time, by which it 
 appears that the ruins were in a half-buried state even then.' 
 Mr Ochterlony's notice is valuable, notwithstanding that he has 
 confounded the Charter, or Chapter-House as it is now called, 
 with the tomb of the royal founder, a mistake which had no 
 doubt arisen from its being then popularly believed to be the 
 real place of his interment. He describes the royal tomb as " a 
 very stately piece of work of thrie storie high. The whole 
 fabrick of the buriall-place," he continues, " is still entire as at 
 first, and if it be not thrown downe, may continue so for many 
 generations ; the laigh storey is the buriall-place, and the second 
 
 * Pennant's Tour in Soot., 1772, 134. _ ^ Reg. Nig. de Aberb., 361, &o. 
 
 1 Theatrum Scotise, plate 41. Engravings of the ruina of the Abbey of 
 Arbroath will also be found in Pennant's Tour ; Grose's Antiquities of Scotland ; 
 Cardonnell's Antiquities ; Billings' Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities, &c. 
 Y 
 
162 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 and third storeys were employed for keeping the chartours of the 
 Monastrie. There is one lodging remaining yet entire. It had a 
 most stately church, with two great steeples on the west end 
 thereof; most part of the church is ruined, but was the largest 
 both for breadth and length, it is thought, in Scotland. There 
 is much of the walls thereof as yet standing in many places ; the 
 tower thrie storie high is standing yet entire, and the roof on it. 
 There was ane excellent roume, called the fish-hall, standing, with 
 ane excellent oak roof; but that with much more of the building 
 by the avarice of the town's people about there, were all broken 
 down, and taken away." k 
 
 Besides the chief altar there were at least five others within 
 the Abbey church. These were dedicated to St Katherine, St 
 Peter, St Laurence, St James, St Nicholas, and the Virgin 
 Mary. 1 The chapel of St Ninian, bishop and confessor, long 
 since lost sight of, stood at Seaton Den, to the eastward of the 
 town ; m while that of Our Lady, in which were altars to St 
 Nicholas, and St Duthac, 11 occupied the site of the old harbour, 
 and was swept away about a century ago to make room for the 
 better accommodation of vessels. The Almory Chapel, or place 
 where the poor were relieved, was at Almeriecloss. It was 
 founded in honour of St Michael, and supported partly by 
 the rents of the lands of Hospitalfield. It was possessed in 
 the days of Mr Ochterlony of Guynd by James Philip, a gentle- 
 man of learning and poetical talent, who wrote a Latin poem in 
 praise of Viscount Dundee, entitled " Grameis," and two elegies, 
 one on the laird of Pitcur, and the other on Gilbert Ramsay, who 
 volunteered his services in favor of royalty, and fell .with his 
 leader at Killiecrankie. Mr Ochterlony says that the house of 
 Almeriecloss was built of the stones of the chapel, and had "all 
 the apartments belonging thereto. The fabrick was great and 
 excellent, having many fyne gardens and orchards, now converted 
 to arable ground, about which is a high stone wall." In addition 
 to those chapels, there were other two situated at Kinblethmont 
 and Back Boath, both dedicated to St Laurence,? and another at 
 
 k Spottiswoode Misoell., i. 343. ' Keg. Nig. de Aberb., 227, &o. 
 
 m Ibid., 271, 436. The locality of St Ninian's chapel is celebrated by Alex. 
 Balfour, in his poetical tale of Mary Scott of EdirirKnow. 
 
 • Eeg. Nig., 356, 483. ° Ibid., 448, 56. ' Keg. Vet., 99, 189 ; Nig., 165. 
 
ARBROATH— HOSPITALFIELD. 163 
 
 Whitefield of Boysack, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, all de- 
 pendant upon, and attached to, the Ahbey. 
 
 In connection with the Abbey was also an Hospital or infir- 
 mary, of much the same use as those of the present day. There 
 was attached to it a chapel, which appears, towards the close of 
 the fifteenth century, to have fallen into a state of great dilapida- 
 tion, and for the repair of which the rents of the lands of Aber- 
 nethy, and the chapel lands of Dron, were mostly appropriated. 11 
 The Hospital, dedicated to St John the Baptist, stood nearly 
 two miles north-west of the Abbey; and, in 1325, when the 
 lands are first recorded as being let by the Abbot, the tenants, 
 Keginald of Dunbranan, and Hugh Macpeesis, were bound to 
 build, during the first year of a five years' lease which they had of 
 the lands, a barn and byre, each forty feet in length, and which 
 they were to leave in good order at the expiry of their term. 1 
 Upon the site of this old byre and barn is erected the fine hall 
 recently added to the mansion-house of Hospitalfield ; and it is 
 believed that the agreement regarding the erection of the byre 
 and barn referred to furnished Sir Walter Scott (who, it ought 
 to be remarked, visited Hospitalfield at one time), with the 
 locality of Monkbarns, in his celebrated novel of the Antiquary. 
 
 As a part of the Abbacy of Arbroath, the lands of Hospital- 
 field, belonged to the Earls of Panmure down to the time of their 
 forfeiture, and were long held under them by Ochterlony of 
 Guynd. About the year 1664 they were acquired by James 
 Eraser, a cadet of the Philorth family, who had previously pur- 
 chased the adjoining lands of Kirkton, and from these, he and 
 his descendants long assumed their title. 
 
 Down to within the last few years, the mansion-house of 
 Hospitalfield had little pretensions to architectural beauty ; but 
 under the present laird it has assumed a fine castellated appear- 
 ance. Its principal internal feature is the great hall, which is in 
 the Scoto-Franco style of architecture ; and Mr Allan-Fraser 
 being himself an artist, has introduced in the spandrils of the 
 roof, carved medallion portraits of some of the more celebrated 
 of the ancient painters. The terminations of the hammer-beams 
 are ornamented by a variety of figures carved in wood, each 
 i Beg. Nig. de Aberb., 268. ' Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 309. 
 
164 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 bearing a shield charged with the armorial bearings of the 
 Frasers of Kirkton, the Parrotts of Hawkesbury Hall, in War- 
 wickshire, and those of the several houses to which they were 
 allied. It ought to be remarked that the present Mrs Allan- 
 Eraser is the last descendant of the old families of Fraser and 
 Parrott. 
 
 There is a fine oriel window in the west end of the hall. The 
 arch of it is decorated by carvings of the signs of the zodiac, 
 and the room contains a number of original paintings by per- 
 sonal friends of the proprietor, and a 'few by himself. There 
 are also some pieces of good sculpture in marble, and carvings in 
 wood of game, and flowers, &c, and a collection of original 
 drawings by Francis Place (an ancestor of Mrs Allan-Fraser), 
 and by Hollar, the celebrated engraver and painter. As a whole, 
 this is perhaps the most interesting modern hall in the county 
 of Forfar, and, should it be properly cared for by posterity, 
 Hospitalfield cannot fail to become, in after ages, a favourite 
 resort of the curious traveller. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Origin of name, and rise of Arbroath as a Town and Burgh — Early BurgesBes — 
 Customs — Grant by King John of England— Origin, and subsequent History 
 of the Harbour — Magistracy and Incorporations — Weaver's Toast — Progress 
 of Manufactures and Shipping — Modern Improvements— Church of St Vigeans, 
 and Ancient Sculptured Stones — Ecclesiastical notices of Arbroath. 
 
 The town of Aberbrothoc, known also by the modern name of 
 Arbroath, is situated upon the margin of the German Ocean, at 
 the point where the river Brothoc falls into the sea — hence the 
 origin of the name of the town. This stream rises in different 
 parts of the parishes of Inverkeillor and St Vigeans, and its tri- 
 butaries become united near the mansion house of New Grange, 
 in the latter parish, from whence it flows silently along a muddy 
 channel, skirting the old kirk of St Vigeans on the east, and 
 running through the town of Arbroath towards the sea. 
 
 The town of Arbroath had doubtless risen under the protection 
 
ARBROATH — ORIGIN OP THE HARBOUR. 165 
 
 of the Abbey, and it appears to have soon become a place of 
 importance, for it was a recognised burgh even in the time of its 
 royal benefactor King William the Lion, as several of his charters 
 are witnessed by parties who design themselves burgesses of 
 Arbroath. Some of their surnames, such as that of Roger of 
 Balcathin, 3 or Balcathie, seem to have been assumed from lands 
 in the neighbourhood of the town. 
 
 Like other burghs, Arbroath paid dues into the exchequer of 
 the kingdom, and these, in 1328, amounted only to 17s. 6d. Scots. 
 From 1392 to 1405, the customs of the port or harbour, which 
 were little more than £32 Scots, were uplifted by persons sur- 
 named Conon and Seton, the last of whom appears as sole 
 " customer" in 1425.' Probably the names of both of those 
 persons had been assumed from the lands of Conon and Seton, 
 and the parties themselves may have held these as vassals of the 
 Abbey. 
 
 In 1483, Arbroath contributed the sum of 40s. to the modified 
 burgh tax, and 55s. to the new levy of 1669. u Both these sums 
 were the smallest paid by any of the Angus burghs, Forfar alone 
 excepted, from which it may be inferred, notwithstanding the 
 advantages which Arbroath enjoyed from being the seat of a rich 
 Abbey, and the early grant that King John of England made to 
 the abbots and monks in allowing them to buy and sell goods 
 free of tax and custom in all parts of England, the City of 
 London only excepted v — that the trade of Arbroath had been 
 always inconsiderable. 
 
 It does not appear that there was any harbour, except a 
 natural one, until 1394. In that year, Abbot John Gedy, alive 
 to the advantages which the town and district would derive from 
 having a good harbour, entered into an agreement with the 
 burgesses, to erect one, binding his successors to make and 
 maintain it "in the best situation, according to the judgment 
 of men of skill, to which r and in which, ships may come 
 and lie and have quiet and safe mooring, notwithstanding the 
 ebb and flow of tides." The burgesses were also to contribute 
 to this work of common good, by clearing the place fixed urwn 
 
 " Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 40, &o. ' Chamb. EoIIb, i.12 ; ii. 224 ; Hi. 151. 
 
 ° Spalding Club Miscell., v. 27 ; Acta Pari., vii. 542. * Reg. Vet de Aberb., 330. 
 
166 MEMOKIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of stones and sand, and to find certain of the working tools, such 
 as spades and iron pinches. Over and above this they imposed 
 a voluntary tax upon themselves of three pennies sterling for 
 each rood of land within the burgh, in addition to the three 
 pennies which they already paid — the extra rent beginning so 
 soon as one ship took the harbour . w • 
 
 This haven, which was constructed of wood, was known as 
 " the Abbot's harbour," and stood at the mouth of the river 
 Brothoc, where, by being occasionally repaired, it long remained. 
 About 1654, it was either wholly renewed, or received extensive 
 repairs, as it appears that collections were then made through- 
 out the county "for helping to build the peir of Aberbrothoc ;"* 
 but, according to the Rev. Mr Edward of Murroes, who wrote in 
 1678, this harbour was then " not much liked by mariners." In 
 1725, the magistrates and merchants erected one of stone a little 
 to the westward ; and the difficulty complained of by Mr Edward 
 was still further obviated by the erection of a long pier in 1788, 
 which was put up as a guard between the ocean and the har- 
 bour. Although the bar, a ledge of rock which runs along the 
 front of the harbour, and thereby forms a barrier to large vessels 
 entering the port still exists, the access and safety of the port 
 have been much improved by late additions and alterations, con- 
 structed by Parliamentary Commissioners, and it is now found 
 pretty suitable to the growing importance of the burgh, and its 
 shipping interests. Although a dependency on the custom house 
 port of Montrose, and at one time a comparatively insignificant 
 adjunct, both the harbour revenue of Arbroath, and the number 
 of vessels which belong to it, exceed those of Montrose. 
 
 From the year 1579 the burgh of Arbroath was pretty con- 
 stantly represented by laymen in the Parliaments and Conven- 
 tions of Estates, and the Commissioner of the town, during the 
 time of Charles I. was a member of the Committee of Estates for 
 the north/ There is no mention of a provost until a late date ; 
 perhaps, the Abbot sat in the councils of the burgh as chief 
 magistrate, as did the Bishop in those of Brechin. It is certain 
 that by charter of James VI., the free burgesses and inhabitants 
 
 w Beg. Nig. de Aberb., 40 ; xviii., n. * Brechin Kirk Session Records 
 
 t Acta Pari., iii. 124 ; vi. 91, &o. 
 
ARBROATH — INTRODUCTION OF MANUFACTURES. 167 
 
 elected their councillors and magistrates until about the year 
 1700, when the system was changed, by which the Earl of Pan- 
 mure, as Lord of the Abbacy, had the power of choosing the 
 first bailie. That privilege was annulled by the forfeiture of 
 1716, and down to the passing of the Reform Bill, various 
 changes were made in the mode of appointing the civil rulers of 
 the burgh. " 
 
 Besides the guildry, which was incorporated in 1725, there 
 are seven incorporated trades — the hammermen, weavers, shoe- 
 makers, bakers, tailors, wrights, and glovers. Of these the first 
 is the most ancient, being incorporated in 1592, and the last has 
 long existed only in name. Although the weavers were an incor- 
 porate body in 1594, it was not until 1736 that the manufacture 
 of osnaburgh, or brown linen cloth was introduced into the town, 
 which has since become its staple trade. At convivial meet- 
 ings of the " wabster craft " the following comprehensive senti- 
 ment in rhyme, known as the Arbroath Weaver's Toast, is given 
 by the Deacon; and it is needless to say that in the prosperity of 
 the different points which it embraces, all countries, and classes 
 of men, are more or less interested : — 
 
 " The life o' man, the death o' fish ; 
 The shuttle, soil, and plough ; 
 Corn, horn, linen, yarn ; 
 Lint, an' tarry woo' ! " 
 
 From 1736 to 1772, when the town was visited by Mr Pen- 
 nant, the antiquary, it had advanced so much that he described 
 it as a "flourishing place, well built, and still increasing."" The 
 Abbot's house, before referred to, was the first depository of flax 
 in Arbroath ; and although the town at that comparatively late 
 period, had only a single street, and some lanes, and houses 
 thatched with turf or heather, it has progressed so rapidly since 
 then, as to take its place next to Dundee, in all the important 
 points of shipping, manufactures, and population. b 
 
 Unlike the rest of the Angus burghs, Arbroath has not had 
 its praises celebrated by Dr Arthur Johnstone, nor, so far as I 
 know, by any other old poet, and the only key that we have 
 
 ■ Sets of Royal Burghs of Scot., 1787, p. 51. * Tour in Soot., iii. 131. 
 
 b In 1755, the population of Arbroath was 2,098— in 1851, 17,008. 
 
168 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 either to its ancient appearance or state, is Slezer's view, and 
 Ochterlony's account of the town." " It is a pleasant and 
 sweet place," writes the latter, " and excellent good land about 
 it, built upon the east syd of the water of Brothock ; they have 
 a shore, some shipping, and a little small trade : it hath one long 
 large street, and some by streets ; it is tollerably well built, and 
 hath some very good houses in it." 
 
 The more recently erected manufactories are large and sub- 
 stantial. The streets' are generally narrow; and, as in most 
 places of trade and bustle, they are not remarkable for cleanli- 
 ness. Many of the shops, however, are spacious, and elegant, 
 and some of the private houses and villas in the town and 
 neighbourhood, are neat and tastefully designed; while the 
 public buildings, such as the town hall, the infirmary, and the 
 new market, would do credit to towns of greater pretensions. 4 
 
 The spire of the parish church, which is 160 feet high, took 
 the place of an old square tower in 1831. It is a well-propor- 
 tioned object, adding considerably to the appearance of the town, 
 and the kirk itself though a plain, is a commodious building. 
 Apart from the recently erected church of Inverbrothoc, and 
 that of the United Presbyterian congregation in Horner's Wynd, 
 the first of which is in the Grecian, and the latter in the De- 
 corated Gothic style of architecture ; few of the other places of 
 worship, with the exception of the Roman Catholic, and Epis- 
 copal Churches, have much pretensions to architectural beauty. 
 
 The Eoman Catholic chapel has rather a good Gothic front, 
 and a commanding position on the west or Dishlandton district 
 of the town. But the Episcopal Church of St Mary's, which 
 was consecrated in August 1854, is perhaps the finest structure 
 of the kind in the county, excepting only the Bishop's new 
 Church at Dundee. St Mary's is in the Decorated style of 
 Gothic architecture, consisting of nave and chancel with north 
 
 c Theatrum Seotiae, plate 40 ; Spottiswoode Misoell., i. 343. 
 
 " In the hall of this market place, on the 30th December 1856, the gentlemen 
 of the county of Forfar entertained their Lord Lieutenant, Lord Panmare, to a 
 splendid banquet, in testimony of their personal respect for him, and of his efficient 
 services as Minister of War, during the Russian campaign. The hall was 
 appropriately decorated for the occasion, and about 1000 persons were present, 
 presided over by Sir John Ogilvy, bart., M.P. — See reports of this Banquet in the 
 local newspapers of the period. 
 
ARBROATH— ECCLESIASTICAL NOTICES. 169 
 
 aisle, and a handsome spire at the north-west end 130 feet in 
 height. The principal doorway enters through the tower, and 
 besides its rich mouldings, it presents some uniqtie, and curious 
 carvings on the corbels. The chancel has a fine arched ceiling, 
 and the east window, which is a beautiful example of the De- 
 corated style, is filled with stained glass — itself a gem of art — 
 representing the Ascension in large figures, with five smaller 
 panels containing the five principal scenes between the Resurrec- 
 tion and the Ascension of our Saviour. 
 
 Prior to the erection of this fine building (which was designed 
 by Mr Henderson of Edinburgh; as was also the spire of the 
 parish church), the Scottish Episcopalians worshipped in a plain 
 unpretending house, which they left in the year 1806, when they 
 and the English Episcopalians became united. After this union 
 the old place of worship was used sometime as a theatre, next 
 converted into a dwelling house, and eventually purchased by 
 the heritors as a manse for the parish minister. 
 
 Episcopacy appears to have met with less opposition at 
 Arbroath than in some of the other towns in the county, arising 
 probably from the fact that a great majority of the proprietors 
 in the neighbourhood, and the principal inhabitants, were ad- 
 herents of that church. Still it appears that Mr Edgar x who 
 was pastor in 1745, and afterwards bishop of Fife, was charged 
 by the local authorities for having infringed the statute by either 
 praying for the Pretender, or omitting all mention of King 
 George. Mr Edgar, it may be added, was a very likely person 
 to be suspected for non-compliance in such matters, for the whole 
 of his family were uncompromising Jacobites, his elder brother 
 John being long private secretary to Prince Charles/ 
 
 It ought to have been before noticed, that Arbroath is the seat 
 of a presbytery ; and, that down to about the time of the Refor- 
 mation, it formed merely a portion of the parish of St Vigeans, 
 from which it was then disjoined. Within that parish, a- great 
 part of the population still live, and the extended royalty of the 
 burgh also stretches into it.s The first mention of Arbroath 
 
 c See a detailed account of this church, and its consecration, in the Arbroath 
 Okide newspaper, 2d Sept., 1854. ' Land of the Lindsays, 270-2. 
 
 * St Vigeans, one of the largest lowland parishes in Angus, has its name from 
 St Vigean, who is said by Hector Boyce to have flourished towards the end of the 
 Z 
 
170 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 after the Keformation, so far as relates to its church, occura in 
 1562, iu which year Superintendent Erskine of Dun intimated to 
 the Assembly that Robert Cumming, schoolmaster of Arbroath, 
 was " infecting the youth committed to his charge with ido- 
 latrie ;" h and the first of its clergymen that we have found, was 
 Mr Ninian Clemett, who had a stipend of 100 merks, while the 
 reader, Mr Thomas Lindsay, had 40. 1 Mr Clemett was probably 
 followed in the office of the ministry by Mr James Melville, 
 brother of the celebrated Andrew Melville. He held the cure in 
 1 574, and there resided for a considerable period, enjoying " the 
 vicaris gleibe and manse," as well as " the twa bolls ait meall" 
 which Thomas Ramsay of Kirkton bound himself to give for Mr 
 Melville's " awin eating," and to make as "guid and fyne as 
 ony gentill man sail eat in the country adjacent about him." 3 
 
 Little has been learned of Mr Melville's successors. Mr 
 Ferguson, the first Presbyterian minister of the parish, is chiefly 
 remembered by the eccentricity of his preaching, of which some 
 curious anecdotes are preserved. He had much of the sarcasm 
 and indifference of character which marked many of his contem- 
 poraries, and delighted to indulge in witticisms and personalities 
 even from the pulpit. He acquired, in consequence, considerable 
 local celebrity among a certain class, so much so that his church 
 often contained persons from neighbouring towns, who went to 
 listen to. his orations; but, from what is now related of them, they 
 not only appear to have been silly in themselves but altogether 
 unfitted for the pulpit. 
 
 But, since the days of Mr Ferguson, a great change has taken 
 place in the parochial superintendence of Arbroath. v In addi- 
 tion to a permanent assistant in the parish church, whose salary, 
 
 10th century. The teinds of St Vigeans were first gifted to the Abbey of Arbroath, 
 by Hugh, Bishop of St Andrews, who was sometime chaplain to William the Lion. 
 The church, which had a chapel belonging to it dedicated to St Sebastian {Beg. Nig. 
 de Aberb., 366), is built upon a natural hillock by the side of the river Brothoc. It 
 is in the Romanesque style of architecture, with nave, arches, and side aisles ; and 
 in the vaults below lie the remains of Sir Peter Young of Seaton, joint almoner with 
 George Buchanan to King James VI. In the churchyard are several ancient stone 
 crosses, engraved in the Stone Mbnwments of Scotland. One of these has an inscrip* 
 tion upon it, similar to those on the Irish crosses, which, according to Mr Skene (Pro- 
 ceed, of So. of Antiq. of 'Scot., i. 81-3), would be read in Irish — Oroith ar Feared et 
 for ocus) Fearchair. Prayers for Vered and Ferqubai-d, — being commemorative of 
 two individuals, one bearing the Pictish name of Voret or Veret, the other the 
 Gaelic name Fearchair. h Booke of the Kirk, 25. 
 
 ' (1567)— Wodrow Miscell., i. 354. ' M'Crie's Life of Andrew Melville. 
 
THE BATTLE OF ARBEOATH. 171 
 
 with the exception of a small annuity, and the emoluments aris- 
 ing from other offices, is dependent upon the will of the people, 
 there are three churches in connection with the establishment, 
 called Abbey, Ladyloan, and Inverbrothoc. There are also four 
 Free, and three United Presbyterian Churches, and other six of 
 different denominations, making in all seventeen, or a church to 
 nearly every thousand of the inhabitants. k 
 
 SECTION IV 
 
 Battle of Arbroath — Captain Fall's unsuccessful attempt to storm the Town — 
 History and Traditions of the Bell Book and Lighthouse. 
 
 Of battles or forays, the neighbourhood of Arbroath has had its 
 share. The most important was that between the Lindsays and 
 the Ogilvys in January 1445-6. Alexander Ogilvy of Inver- 
 quharity was chosen by the chapter of the convent to act as chief 
 Justiciar, or judge in civil affairs throughout their regality, in 
 place of the Master of Crawford, afterwards the celebrated " Earl 
 Beardie," whose extravagance had rendered a change necessary. 
 Crawford determined upon retaining the office of Justiciary, 
 and Ogilvy, equally bent upon asserting his right to it, it was 
 resolved to settle the contest by arms ; and " there can be little 
 doubt," says Mr Tytler (whose account of the battle we now 
 quote), " that the Ogilvys must have sunk under this threatened 
 attack, but that accident gave them a powerful ally in Sir 
 Alexander Seton of Gordon, afterwards Earl of Huntly, who, 
 as he returned from court, happened to lodge for the night at the 
 Castle of Ogilvy, at the moment when this baron was mustering 
 his forces against the meditated assault of Crawford. Seton, 
 although in no way personally interested in the quarrel, found 
 himself, it is said, compelled to assist the Ogilvys by a rude but 
 ancient custom, which bound the guest to take common part 
 with his host in all dangers which might occur so long as the 
 food eaten under his roof remained in his stomach. With the 
 small train of attendants and friends who accompanied him, he 
 
 k The six remaining denominations are Episcopalians ; Roman Catholics ; 
 Congregationalists ; Old Scottish Independents ; Wesleyans ; and Baptists. 
 
172 MEMOBIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 joined the forces of Inverquharity, and proceeding tp the town of 
 Arbroath, found the opposite party drawn up in great strength 
 on the outside of the gates. The families thus opposed in mortal 
 defiance to each other, could number among their adherents 
 many of the bravest and most opulent gentlemen in the county, 
 and the two armies exhibited an imposing appearance of armed 
 knights, barbed horses, and embroidered banners. As the com- 
 batents, however, approached each other, the Earl of Crawford, 
 who had received information of the intended combat, being 
 anxious to avert it, suddenly appeared«on the field, and galloping 
 up between the two lines, was mortally wounded by a soldier, 
 who was enraged at his interference, and ignorant of his rank. 
 The event naturally increased the bitterness of hostility, and the 
 Crawfords, who were assisted by a large party of the vassals of 
 Douglas, infuriated at the loss of their chief, attacked the Ogilvys 
 with a desperation which soon broke their ranks, and reduced 
 them to irreclaimable disorder. Such, however, was the gal- 
 lantry of their resistance, that they were almost entirely cut to 
 pieces ; and five hundred men, including many noble barons in 
 Forfar and Angus, were left dead upon the field. Seton himself 
 had nearly paid with his life the penalty of his adherence to the 
 rude usages of the times ; and John Forbes of Pitsligo, one of his 
 followers, was slain ; nor was the loss which, the Ogilvys sustained 
 in the field their worst misfortune ; for Lindsay, with his charac- 
 teristic ferocity, and protected by the authority of Douglas, let 
 loose his army upon their estates ; and the flames of their castles, 
 the slaughter of their vassals, the plunder of their property, and 
 the captivity of their wives and children, taught the remotest 
 adherents of the Justiciar of Arbroath how terrible was the ven- 
 geance which they had provoked." 1 
 
 The Earl of Crawford died at Finhaven " after a week of 
 lingering torture," and as the sentence of excommunication, 
 which had been previously passed upon him by Bishop Kennedy 
 of St Andrews, for having harried his lands, and burned his 
 granges, still hung over him, "no man durst earth him," until 
 it was withdrawn by order of the Bishop who pronounced it. 
 The laird of Inverquharity was taken prisoner and carried to the 
 1 Tytler's Hist, of Soot., iv. 49. 
 
AEBEOATH — CAPTAIN FALL'S ATTACK. 173 
 
 castle of his antagonist, where he also died of his wounds, or, 
 according to tradition, was smothered with a down pillow by his 
 own sister, the Countess of Crawford, out of revenge for the loss 
 of her husband. It is, perhaps, in reference to this foul transac- 
 tion, that the following couplet refers, embodying a well-known 
 pun on the surname of Ogilvy — 
 
 " Ugly you lived, and Ugly you die, 
 And now in an Ugly place you lie." 
 
 The Lindsay party are said to have burned the Conven- 
 tual church of Arbroath before they left the town ; and tradi- 
 tion points out a patch of ground to the north of the Abbey, as 
 " the yettis of Arbrothe," or the place where the battle began ; 
 while the tumulHn the neighbourhood are supposed to mark the 
 graves of those who fell on the occasion. The melSe was not 
 wholly confined to this point, however, for a detachment of the 
 Ogilvys fleeing in the direction of Leys, in the parish of Inver- 
 keillor, was surprised by the Lindsays, when the affray was re- 
 sumed with great violence. The remembrance of this battle 
 was long preserved in the measured strains of rude minstrelsy ; 
 but all trace of the rhyme is lost, with the exception of this 
 couplet, which refers to the latter part of the onset : — 
 
 " At the Loan o' the Leys the play began, 
 An' the Lindsays o'er the Ogilvys ran." m 
 
 From the period of this fatal engagement — barring the un- 
 successful attempt which Cromwell made to disembark troops at 
 Arbroath in July 1651, n when the inhabitants of the upper dis- 
 tricts of the shire went thither to prevent his army from landing 
 — no warlike transaction of much moment is known to have oc 
 curred at Arbroath beyond the occasional attacks made upon the 
 Abbey, as previously alluded to. One circumstance, however, 
 which occurred in the summer of the year 1781, is deserving 
 of notice. At that time the lives and property of the lieges 
 were threatened by the well-known Captain Fall, who, struck, 
 perhaps, by the smallness of the town, and its exposure to the 
 sea, hoped to carry by threats and a few shots, the feelings 
 of the people in favor of France. He accordingly cast anchor 
 opposite to the town, and sent a peremptory message to the 
 ™ Land of the Lindsays, 143-5. " Brechin Kvrh Session Record'. 
 
174 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 magistrates, informing them, that if they did not "bring to the 
 French colour in less than a quarter of an hour," he would "set 
 the town on fire directly." To this an evasive answer was sent, 
 requesting at same time to know what terms he desired. In the 
 interim a messenger had been despatched to Montrose for a com- 
 pany of soldiers, and such of the inhabitants as could bear arms 
 prepared to- resist any attempt that Fall might make to land. 
 In the evening he intimated his demand, which he stipulated at 
 " £30,000 sterling at least, and six of the chief men of the town 
 as hostages ;" adding, " be speedy, or I shoot your town away 
 directly, and I set it to fire"! 
 
 With a courage worthy the best of causes, the authorities sent 
 a verbal message to Fall, to the effect that he might shoot as 
 much as he pleased en the town, and the best would be done 
 to prevent him from setting it in flames. On this he opened 
 a heavy fire which continued several hours, without, however, 
 " doing farther damage than beating down a few chimney tops, 
 and going through the roofs of some houses." Remaining at 
 anchor all night, he renewed the attack by daybreak following ; 
 but, in course of the same morning he gave the inhabitants 
 another chance of coming "to terms," which they answered by 
 hoisting a flag of defiance. That was again followed by another 
 brisk fire from Fall's cutter; and although admitted to be better 
 aimed than that which preceded, no great harm was done. Find- 
 ing the inhabitants thus determined to give battle, and descrying 
 a ship in the offing, he weighed anchor and set sail. 
 
 Owing to the remarkable character of the Bell Rock Light- 
 house, and its proximity to Arbroath, from which it is about 
 twelve miles to the south by east, some notice of it may be ex- 
 pected here. That, however, will be brief. The dangerous 
 range of rocks upon which the lighthouse is built, is about 
 2000 feet long, by 300 feet broad. At high water the whole is 
 covered to a depth of about 12 feet, and at spring tide ebbs, a 
 space of about 427 feet by 230 is uncovered, and the rock visible 
 about 4 feet above the sea. It is then found to be covered with 
 fuci, and frequented by seals, gulls, shags, and cormorants. 
 
 On the appointment of a Lighthouse Board for Scotland, the 
 ° Appendix, No. XI. 
 
ARBROATH — THK BELL ROCK. 175 
 
 Commissioners contemplated the building of a lighthouse upon 
 this spot, and an Act of Parliament having been obtained, opera- 
 tions were begun in the year 1807, under the superintendence 
 of Mr Robert Stevenson, engineer to the Board. Commenced 
 on the 17th of August of that year, the work was finished in 
 October 1810, and the lights were first exhibited on the 1st 
 of February 1811. The lights are two in number — one is in- 
 tensely bright, and the other tinged by a red shade, both revolving 
 and shewing alternately every two minutes ; and in foggy weather 
 two large bells are tolled night and day, the sound of which is 
 heard at a great distance. Sir Walter Scott, who visited the 
 lighthouse on the 30th of July 1814, alludes to the colour and 
 revolving nature of the lights in the following Pharos loquitur, 
 which he wrote in the lighthouse album : — 
 
 "Far in the bosom of the deep, 
 O'er these wild shelves, my watch I keep ; 
 A ruddy gem of changeful light. 
 Bound on the dusky brow of night : 
 The seamen bids my lustre hail, 
 And scorns to strike his tim'rous sail." 
 
 The tower is circular, and solid to the height of 30 feet, the 
 outer casing being of Aberdeen granite, and the inner work of 
 Mylnefield stone, from near Dundee. From this height it is 
 divided into apartments for the keepers, and the top or lantern 
 room, which is made chiefly of cast iron, with a copper roof, is 
 15 feet high, glazed with strong plates of polished glass, and 
 protected by a cast iron rail of curiously wrought net work. 
 The tower gradually diminishes from a diameter of 42 feet at 
 the base to 13 feet at the point where the lantern rests. The 
 mean height of the lightluHise from the base to the top is 115 
 feet; the spray frequently rises 70 feet upon it, and in great 
 storms it has been known to rise upwards of 100 feet." 
 
 One horse, the property of James Craw, a labourer in Ar- 
 broath, is believed to have drawn the entire materials of the 
 building. This animal latterly became a, pensioner of the Light- 
 house Commissioners, and was sent by them to graze on the 
 Island of Inchkeith, where it died of old age in 1813. Dr John 
 
 » See Mr Stevenson's Account of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The total cost of 
 the building was £61,331 9s. 2d. 
 
176 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Barclay, the celebrated anatomist, had its bones collected and 
 arranged in his museum, which he bequeathed at his death to the 
 Royal College of Surgeons, and in their museum at Edinburgh 
 the skeleton of the Bell Bock horse may yet be seen. 
 
 According to tradition, this dangerous reef was well known 
 in old times, and one of the Abbots of Arbroath had a hell 
 fixed upon it, which was tolled by the action of the waves, 
 so as to warn the mariner of his impending danger. That bell, 
 it is added, was wantonly cut down by a Dutch pirate, who has 
 received the poetical name of Sir Ralph the Rover ; and as a re- 
 tribution for his deed, it is said that he and his lawless band after- 
 wards perished upon the rock. This tradition has formed the 
 subject of a popular drama, and also gave rise to Dr Southey's 
 beautiful ballad of the Inch-Cape Bell : — 
 
 " So thick a haze o'erspread the sty, 
 They could Dot see the sun on high 
 The wind had blown a gale all day ; 
 At evening it hath died away. 
 On deck the Rover takes his stand, 
 So dark it is they see no land. 
 Qnoth he, ' It will be brighter soon, 
 For there's the dawn of the rising moon.' 
 ' Canst hear,' said one, ' the breakers roar ? 
 For yonder, methinks, should be the shore. 
 Now, where we are, I cannot tell, — 
 I wish we heard the Inch-Cape bell !' 
 They hear no sound — the swell is strong, 
 Though the wind hath fallen they drift along, 
 Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock, 
 ' Oh, heavens ! it is the Inch-Cape rock !'"' 
 
 ' Balfour's Characters ommitted in Crable's Parish Register, with other Talesf 
 contains "the Legend of the Bell-Rock" and some other poems of local interest (itt 
 sup., p. 162 m.) Among these is the story of " the Piper of Dickmont-Law," a tale 
 illustrative of a tradition regarding a bagpiper who lost his way, and entered: the* 
 "Forbidden Cave," to the eastward of Arbroath, a,nd who was heard; playing his 
 pipes for some days, below the hearthstone of the kitchen of Dickmont-Law ! The 
 Caves on this part of the Coast are numerous, and interesting alike for their, geo- 
 logical and botanical peculiarities, and for their picturesque and singular perforations. 
 They are noticed in Edward's Description of Angus, a.d. 1678, in Lyell's Elements 
 of Geology, and in the Old and New Statistical Accounts of the Parish, of St 
 Vigeans ; also in Bremner's Guide to the Cliffs and Caves, near Arbroath. 
 
DUNDEE — DAVID, EARL OF HUNTINGDON. 177 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Etc <&fiurci), aionfaents, (EaatU, anii 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The sfories of tbe preservation of David, Earl of Btuntingdon, his landing at Dun- 
 dee, and founding a Church there — Notice of an Antique Qold Ring — Probable 
 age of the 'Steeple — Church gifted to the Abbey of Lindores — Gift of Vessels 
 and Ornaments of the Altar — The First recorded Priest of Dundee — Presenta- 
 tion to the Vicarage by Pope Calistus III. — The First Minister after the Re- 
 formation — Mr David Lindsay — Mr John Willison— Altars of St George and 
 All Saints, fqunded by Sir Dav}d Lindsay of Glenesk — Altar of St Salvator — 
 Altar of St Margaret, and Presentation to the Chaplaincy — The Churches — 
 Curious Inscriptions— ^Churches Burned — Rebuilt. 
 
 Although it is probable that Dundee was a place of import- 
 ance, both civil and ecclesiastical, long prior to existing record, 
 there is no authentic notice, even of the name, until the beginning 
 of the thirteenth century. As will be subsequently shown, it 
 was then a place of note ; and it is said that some years prior 
 to that date, David, Earl of Huntingdon and G-arioch, brother 
 of King William the Lion, founded and endowed a church there, 
 which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary. 
 
 Earl David, like many contemporary princes and barons, 
 joined Richard I. of England in the third and luckless crusade 
 to the Holy Land. This, it will be remembered, turned out an 
 unsuccessful enterprise ; and but few of those that were engaged 
 in it, had the .good fortune to return home. Earl David, how- 
 ever, was among those that survived, and his preservation seems 
 to have been almost miraculous, for, according to the quaint, 
 if not always trustworthy historian of the Holy War, he " was 
 by a tempest cast into Egypt, taken captive by the Turks, 
 bought by a Venetian, brought to Constantinople, there known 
 and redeemed by an English merchant, and at last safely ar- 
 AA 
 
178 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 rived at Alectum in Scotland; which Alectum he in memorie 
 and gratitude of his return, called Dundee, or Dei donum, God's 
 gift."* 
 
 Fuller gives the name of Alectum, as indeed the whole narra- 
 tive of Earl David's romantic adventure, and the reason of hia 
 building a church at Dundee, on the authority of Hector Boyce, 
 who was himself a native of that place, and during whose youth 
 the story had doubtless been generally told and believed in the 
 more minute manner in which it is related by that old historian. 
 We are also told by him that the Earl landed in Dundee at a 
 rock called St Nicholas' Craig, upon which there was then a 
 chapel, and that he built his church in a place near the town 
 termed "the wheat field;" while Mr Pennant again informs us 
 that Earl David, unable of himself to erect the church in ques- 
 tion, obtained a mandate from the Pope, recommending a col- 
 lection to be made throughout Christendom, to assist in the 
 building. b There is, however, nothing to 3hew that this man- 
 date was issued, if indeed it ever had existence. 
 
 In addition to these stories, Tradition not only gives the very 
 year in which the kirk and tower were finished, but also conde- 
 scends upon the name of the architect, and asserts that the work, 
 completed in 1198, so pleased King William the Lion, that he 
 presented Allan Dorward (for such is the reputed name of the 
 builder), with a gold ring, and Dorward, being afterwards at a 
 boar hunt in the Sparrow Muir, now the Hawkhill of Dundee, 
 there lost the ring, and offered a reward for its recovery, the 
 advertisement of which is said to be extant. 
 
 That a gold antique ring was found, about the year 1790, 
 while digging the foundations for Heathfield House, on the 
 Hawkhill, is matter of certainty. It is of pure gold, weighs 
 eight penny weight and seven grains, and is now in the posses- 
 sion of Mr Neish of Laws and Omachie, proprietor of Heathfield 
 House. It is ornamented by a beautifully engraved head, re- 
 presenting that of an old man, with a crown ; and on the breast 
 is a mullet or star of five points. It is impossible to say at what 
 time, or by whom the ring was worn and dropt ; but, in addition 
 to the story of its having belonged to an architect of William 
 
 - Fuller's Holy Warre (1640), 268. b Pennant's Tour, 1772, iii. 125, 
 
DUNDEE— CHUECH AND STEEPLE. 179 
 
 the Lion's reign, another version says it was that of the master 
 mason of King David II., and that he received it from that prince, 
 and lost it in the manner before related. 
 
 But of the truth of these, and several such stories, Tra- 
 dition, unfortunately, is the only voucher; and, so far as yet 
 known, there is no record to shew that Earl David ever, in the 
 literal sense of the word, founded a church at Dundee, and the 
 very name of St Mary's itself is not met with in any chartulary 
 or other writing until about the year 1406. d In short, it is only 
 certain that the church of Dundee was granted by Earl David, 
 about the year 1200, to the monastery which he founded at 
 Lindores in Fife, on the opposite bank of the Tay. e 
 
 If the Earl built a church at Dundee, no vestige of it exists — 
 one story indeed, says it was destroyed by Edward I. in 1303. 
 Be this as it may, it is much more certain that the old steeple is 
 not in the Early English, or First Pointed, style of architecture 
 which prevailed in Earl David's time, but in that of Decorated, 
 or Second Pointed, which was introduced in the reign of David 
 II., of which several good examples are yet extant, such as the 
 church of St Monans in Fife, of which Sir William Disschington 
 was architect or master mason. f It is also to this period, as be- 
 fore remarked, that the campanile or bell-tower of the Cathedral 
 of Brechin is supposed to belong ; and it is worthy of notice, that, 
 whether for architectural or other services in Forfarshire, Sir 
 William Disschington, in 1366, had a grant from David II. of 
 the mill of Aberlemno, and the adjoining lands of Tilly whand- 
 land and Balglassie, as also an annuity from those of Fleming- 
 ton.s But whether the steeples of Dundee and Brechin were the 
 work of DisschiDgton, is not so certain as the fact that the style 
 of both buildings corresponds, as before said, to that of the ar- 
 chitecture which was in use in his day. 
 
 The Steeple of Dundee is now, as it has been time out of 
 memory, used as the bell-tower. It is a square massive build- 
 ing, a hundred and fifty-six feet in height, and the walls are 
 
 c The late Mr Constable of "Wallace Craigie, told the late possessor of the ring 
 (Mr Webster of Heathfield House), that he found the advertisement alluded to in 
 one of the museums at Edinburgh. — Note from James Neish, Esq. of Laws. 
 
 d Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 24. • Liber S. Marie de Lundoris, 38. 
 
 ' Chamb. Rolls, i. 496, 524. t Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 44, 121. 
 
180 MEMORIALS OF AN&UiS AND MEAfeNS. 
 
 about eight feet thick. A fine Spiral staircase with an octagonal 
 top is on the north-east side of the tower; and a small slated 
 house, used at one time as a prison, gives rather an odd termi- 
 nation to this btherwise imposing and elegant, though much di- 
 lapidated structure. In old times the principal entrance to the 
 church was from the west, by the door of the Steeple. 
 
 In Virtue of the grant of Earl David, before referred to, the 
 Abbey Of Lindores was entitled to the tithes of the whole of the 
 church lands of Dundee, and bound to maintain a perpetual 
 vicar there ; as also to uphold the fabric of the choir of the 
 parish kirk. By diocesan and papal authority, it was afterwards 
 arranged that the vicar should receive the altarage, or the bap- 
 tismal, burial, and certain other dues, instead of the vicarage 
 teinds ; and subsequently, by consent of the bishop, the burgesses 
 bound themselves to maintain the choir and the church in gene- 
 ral, on receiving an annuity of five marks from the monastery 
 of Lindores. 
 
 The tOWn being 'thus responsible for the maintenance of the 
 church, the magistrates and council naturally became also the 
 custodiers of its donations, its plate, its vestments, and its books ; 
 and when gifts were made at any period subsequent to the last 
 named agreement, which took place in 1442, they were always 
 made to the magistrates. Several donations are upon record, 
 but the most considerable " adornement and honor" which the 
 church of St Mary is known to have received, was, in 1491, from 
 George Spalding, a wealthy burgess of the town. This gift ap- 
 pears to have consisted of some of the more important vessels 
 and ornaments of the altar, such as " ane Ewcaryst of syluer owr 
 gylt, ane gryt bell, ane syluer chalyss owr gylt, ane new mess 
 buyk," as also " ane new war stall to keip the vestianientis of 
 the hye altar in till, ane gryt kyst, and twenty schillihgis of 
 annuell rent," the custody of Which was vested as above, it being 
 expressly provided that the " buyk and chalyss" were only for 
 the service of " the Lady preyst." 
 
 The intrinsic value of the gift must have been considerable, 
 and that it had been viewed in this light, at the period, is ap- 
 parent from the honours Which the magistrates and council 
 agreed to confer upon the donor and his memory. The Lady 
 
DUNDEE — EAELY CLEEGT. 181 
 
 Priest was bound to exhort all the people to pray for Spalding, 
 "hys sawll, hys wyf, and for thar antecessowris and succes- 
 sowris " after his own and his wife's death, and to say psalms 
 and " kast haly watter on thar grawys." An annual mass was 
 also to be said in the choir of the kirk, with " diregeis and torchys 
 at the sawll mess," and they were to " gar ring thar bellis of the 
 kirk and the hand bell throu the tovne as efferis." Spalding and 
 his successors were also to have "larys" or graves "in the quer 
 of the kirk, under the farrast gree befor the hye altar." h 
 
 Although belonging in property to the Abbey of Lindores, the 
 church of Dundee was ecclesiastically subject to the Bishop of 
 Brechin, and rated in the ancient taxatio at forty pounds Scots. 
 The first recorded pastor was William of Kerneil, and as " per- 
 son de Dunde," he witnessed a charter by Ranulph, Bishop of 
 Brechin, to the Abbey of Arbroath, about 1214 ;' but beyond his 
 appearance at the time referred to, nothing is known either of 
 him or his family ; nor, from that early date, until towards the 
 middle of the fifteenth century, is there any other trace of the old 
 clergy; the vicar of the last named period being Richard Craig J 
 Craig appears to have died soon after, since, at St Peter's, at 
 Borne, on the 20th of April, 1455, Pope Calistus III. issued a bull 
 in favor of Gilbert Forster, archdeacon of Brechin, in yirtue of 
 which he was to receive (notwithstanding that he held the said 
 archdeaconry, and also a canonry and prebend in the church 
 of Moray, of the joint value of £60 sterling), the vicarage of the 
 parish church of Dundee, vacant by the decease of Craig, who 
 is described extra Romanam curiam — which grants had been 
 ordered to be conferred upon Forster, by the previous Pope, 
 Nicholas V., in the event of the death of Craig. k 
 
 The only other notice of the clergy prior to the Reformation 
 occurs about A. D. 1490-5, when a person named John Barry, 
 was vicar of Dundee. 1 The first minister, after the abolition of 
 Popery, was Mr William Christison, whom Melvill describes as 
 " a fathfull pastor," and a particular friend of his elder brother 
 Roger Melvill, who was a burgess of Dundee. Mr Christison 
 had a stipend of £160 Scots, which was payable out of the 
 
 h Eeg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 316. * Ibid., 261 ; Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 132. 
 
 ' Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 90. k Ibid., ii. 406. ' Ibid., 134. 
 
182 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAEN8. 
 
 thirds of the Abbey of Lindores, in Fife, and of " Scone, in 
 the baronye of Angus vndir the Bra," which probably refers to 
 the lands of Kinochtry, an isolated part of the parish of Scone, 
 situated within the parish of Kettins, in Angus. William Kyd, 
 the contemporary " reidare at Dundie," — an official who read 
 prayers or the Scriptures in the church, but could not preach — 
 had the small sum of £40 Scots. 
 
 Mr Christison probably died in or before the year 1603. Per- 
 haps his successor in office was Mr David Lindsay, master of the 
 Grammar School ; it is at least certain that Mr Lindsay held 
 both the offices of schoolmaster and minister in 1606, during 
 which year he resigned the former on the ground " that he wes 
 not habile to dischairge with ane guid conscience bayth the said 
 offices." As master of the Grammar School he had a salary of 
 250 merks a year. He had for some time the same salary as 
 minister ; but it was afterwards raised, for various specified 
 reasons, to the sum of 350 merks, £100 of which were paid out 
 of the Hospital Fund. Again in 1613, in consideration of his 
 great service '' als weill in the educatioun and mformatione of the 
 youth in letters and gude maneris as in the dischairge of his office 
 and calling of the ministrie," and the difficulty which he had in 
 recovering the portion of his stipend payable out of the lordship 
 of Lindores ; also, the burden " he bears in the sustentatione of 
 his wyiff, bairnis, and familie," the council resolved to pay him 
 or his heirs, betwixt and Whitsunday 1617, the sum of 500 merks 
 over and above his stipend." 1 Mr Lindsay, who was a cadet of 
 the Edzell family, remained at Dundee until 1619, when he 
 became Bishop of Brechin. 
 
 So far as known, the most eminent of Mr Lindsay's successors 
 in the ministry at Dundee was Mr John Willison, author of the 
 Afflicted Man's Companion, Balm of Gilead, and many other 
 works of a like admirable character, and household fame. He 
 was first ordained minister at Brechin in 1703, but left that 
 charge in the course of a few years. Ever attentive to the first 
 great duties of a minister of the Gospel — by visiting the sick at 
 all hours, day or night, by relieving the poor and distressed by 
 the free administration of spiritual and bodily comforts, by follow- 
 m Appendix of Documents — Mr. Innet' Report. Ui tup., 59. 
 
DUNDEE — ANCIENT ALTARAGES. 183 
 
 ing a uniform course in his walk and conversation towards the 
 rich and the poor — he has left a name and fame behind him, for 
 consistency of principle and purity of motives, which fall to the 
 lot of few. He was one of the most active and zealous of the 
 Evangelical party of the period, and one of three of a deputation 
 which the General Assembly appointed, in 1735, to go to Parlia- 
 ment with a view of having the Act of 1712 abolished, whereby 
 lay patronage was restored. It is needless to say that in this 
 they were unsuccessful, and that the existence of this Act in the 
 Statute book, still forms a source of contention. 11 
 
 The old churches themselves were partly in the Early English 
 and partly in the Decorated style, cruciform in shape, and 
 contained several altarages, the most important and ancient of 
 which seems to have been that of St George the Martyr. It 
 was founded by Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk, afterwards Earl 
 of Crawford, in gratitude for the victory which he obtained over 
 Lord Wells, in the celebrated " tourney" at London Bridge. 
 That tournament took place upon St George's day, 1390,. in pre- 
 sence of King .Richard II., and of a vast assemblage of English 
 lords and ladies, whither Lindsay went by safe conduct, 
 
 " With knights, squires, and other men 
 Of his awin retinue then ; 
 Where he and all his companie 
 Was well arrayed and daintilie." 
 
 The chantry of St George consisted of five priests; and the 
 Earl added another altar dedicated to All Saints, with two 
 officiating priests. These were amply endowed by the founder 
 and several of his successors, both out of their property within 
 the burgh of Dundee, and in other quarters, all of which grants 
 were confirmed by the Duke of Albany. 
 
 Apart from several foundations of regular religious bodies 
 which were within the burgh, and which will be noticed in an- 
 other page, there were a great many altarages, chaplainries, or 
 chantries, within the church of St Mary, besides those of St 
 George and All Saints; and also a number of chapels in different 
 
 " Dr Robert Small, author of the first Statistical Account of Dundee, and of 
 an Explanation of the Astronomical Theories of Kepler, was long minister of Dun- 
 dee, and a native of the neighbouring parish of Carmyllie. 
 
 • Beg. Mag. Sig., pp. 219-22. t Appendix, No. XII. 
 
184 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 parts of the town, endowed for secular clergy, either by fixed 
 annual rents, or by lands leased or feued.5 Little, however, is 
 known of the history of these, with the exception of the altars of 
 St Salvator, and of St Margaret, Queen of Malcolm Canmore. 
 The chaplain of St Salvator's altar had an annuity of £5 for 
 praying for the soul of the young Duke of Rothesay who was 
 starved to death at Falkland by Ms uncle the Duke of Albany, 
 and also the third part of the lands of Million of Cragy, and of 
 Westfield. The first of these grants was paid by exchequer, out 
 of the customs of the burgh of Dundee, and the lands were 
 granted by Patrick of Inverpeffer, a burgess of the town. 
 These grants were confirmed by Robert III. in 1391, who, at 
 same time, granted the patronage of the altar to the alderman 
 and twelve councillors. 11 
 
 The advowson of the altar of St Margaret belonged to Scrim- 
 geour of Dudhope, and during the Superintendentship of Erskine 
 of Dun (1562-1589), Scrimgeour made a presentation to him, as 
 " bischop and superintendent" of the district, of Robert Gray, son 
 of Patrick Gray of Baledgarno, on "the decess of vmquhle David 
 Lude, chaiplane, last possessour of the samyn." The deed which 
 confers this gift, describes Gray, in the quaint language of the 
 period, as a " scolar of gud ingine, liable to encress in liturature 
 and sciences, cuivile and diuine;" and also narrates the extent and 
 locality of the different pieces of property, as well as their value. 
 These, which included houses and gardens, were all situated 
 within the town of Dundee, and Gray was to enjoy the annuity 
 derivable from them during his lifetime, "to support his burding 
 and expenss at grammar scolis, and scolis of vniversities in his 
 minority, and to by his buiks to help his stude, to the fine, that 
 he may cum to perfectioun of knawledge, and be plantit in the 
 kirk of God, to maintenn the religioun, and set forth the gospel 
 of Jesus Christ."' Such was one of the many laudable purposes 
 — the education of poor and meritorious youths — to which the 
 revenues of the old Roman Catholic altarages were applied from 
 the time of the Reformation, down to nearly that of the Revo- 
 lution, after which they went chiefly to the sustenance of the 
 ministers. 
 
 ' Acta Pari., i. 215. « Crawford's Officers of State, 450-2. 
 
DUNDEE — THE TOWN CHURCHES. 185 
 
 The ancient church, as before remarked, was in the Early En- 
 glish and Decorated styles, with nave, choir, and transept, and 
 the chancel roof was supported by twelve pillars. At no distant 
 date each of these "five divisions was occupied' by separate con- 
 gregations : afterwards they were arranged to accommodate 
 four, but since the churches were rebuilt (1842-7) there have 
 been but three. 
 
 That portion of the old edifice called the north transept, after- 
 wards the' Cross church, is said to have been destroyed by 
 Edward' I. in 1303, arid to have lain in ruins down to 1588-90, 
 when the magistrates resolved to have it "buildit and repairit," 
 for which purpose a tax of 500 marks was imposed upon the in- 
 habitants, and private contributions made in the town and neigh- 
 bourhood. Of these last a roll was ordered to be kept,, and such 
 as gave largely to the repair of the kirk, and towards procuring 
 " ane knok," were allowed to have monuments erected to them- 
 selves within the church, intimating the extent of their liberality. 
 Some of these monuments were in existence down to 1841, the 
 most curious inscription, perhaps, being that upon the tombstone 
 of Captain Henry Lyell of Blackness, by which it appears the 
 merit of the whole matter was attributed to him — 
 
 " To Sol'mon's temple, king Hiram sent from Tyre, 
 Fine cedar-wood, but upon great desire ; 
 This church, thou Henby Lyell to repair, 
 Didst freely give all that was necessar ; 
 Tho' th' Tynan king gave Sol'mon towns twice ten, 
 Thou greater than these all, and best of men." r 
 
 It is said that this church was twice used as cavalry stables, 
 
 first by General Monk, during the Wars of the Commonwealth, 
 
 and next by the royalists, during the rebellion of " forty-five." 
 
 It was here that the chaplain and catechist of the Hospital 
 
 preached ; but it was not until after the year 1788, that either 
 
 this or the Steeple Church were erected into stipendiaries of the 
 
 establishment. 
 
 The south transept is said to have been roofed anew when the 
 
 north one was repaired, and tradition affirms that the roof of the 
 
 ' Many of these inscriptions are preserved, with carious translations of those in 
 Latin, in Monteith's Theater of Mortality, first printed at Edinburgh, the 1st 
 Part in 1704, the 2d Part in 1713; republished at Glasgow, in 1 vol., with addi- 
 tions, 1834. 
 BB 
 
186 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Abbey of Balmerino, in Fife, was taken off and used for that 
 purpose. Of this there is no good evidence. It is certain, how- 
 ever, that a great part of the structure was corporation and 
 private property; and the shoemakers were among the trades 
 that attended worship there, and had their seat marked out by 
 the significant words — " hir sitis ye cordnars." The ma- 
 gistrates had pews in this division also, as they had in the 
 chancel. The fleshers and bakers also sat here, and I am told 
 that the former had painted upon the front of their loft the 
 rather appropriate quotation from Scjjjpture — " man shall not 
 live by bread ALONE," an intimation which had stood in 
 humourous contrast to that of an equally applicable character 
 which was adopted by their neighbours the bakers — " bread is 
 
 THE STAFF OF LIFE." 
 
 The fabric of the Old, East, or Parish kirk, seems to have been 
 in a bad state of repair about the year 1564, and probably there 
 were no funds to improve it, for the magistrates not only or- 
 dered certain fines to be paid towards " the kirk wark," but also 
 had special collections made on Sundays " for gaddering of sup- 
 port to the reparatioun of the kirk decayit." They also gave 
 a " glasin wricht" a " maill-free" house or lodging, for having 
 repaired the " glass woundokis" and for agreeing to " uphold 
 the same haill during his lifetyme," — but the fulfilment of the 
 latter point appears to have been no easy matter, in consequence, 
 as quaintly remarked, of " bairnis reclesslie breking the glass." 
 At this time, and down to 1589, the " auld kirk" was in much 
 the same state as in the days of Romanism ; but, at the latter 
 date, it was agreed, for the better accommodation of the people, 
 to have it "repairit, and all impedimentis within the samin 
 removit, and loftis maid therein." It was then, in all probability, 
 that many of the quaint mottos and other ornaments were intro- 
 duced, which existed down to the burning in 1841. 
 
 This was the principal place of worship, and contained some 
 fine carvings in oak, the work of a native artist. Several of the 
 incorporated trades also sat in this portion of the building, and 
 their respective pews were decorated with armorial bearings, and 
 quaint mottos, such as those just referred to : the most curious 
 was perhaps that inscribed upon the wall adjoining the pew 
 
DUNDEE — THE TOWN CHURCHES. 187 
 
 of the bonnet-makers, which ran thus : — " this IS THE bonet- 
 MAKERS SET QVHA LIST TO SPEYE." 
 
 It was in this part of the church that King Charles II. heard 
 sermon shortly before the disastrous affair of Worcester, and in 
 memory of him, and the way by which he entered the kirk, a 
 broad clumsy outside stair ever after bore his name. But, un- 
 fortunately for Dundee, the ravages of accident, more than those 
 of time, have been ever and again destroying its memorials of 
 the past, and the sad conflagration of the churches on Sunday, 
 the 3d of January 1841, brought the work of destruction to a 
 crisis. It was then that every vestige of the old ecclesiastical 
 remains of Dundee was for ever lost, with the exception of the 
 venerable Steeple, which still forms the most prominent feature 
 of the town, notwithstanding the numerous rivals which the 
 growing wealth and population of the place have called into 
 existence. 
 
 The Steeple church, which escaped the fire of 1841, was built 
 so late as 1789, to afford additional accommodation to the in- 
 habitants of the town and parish. The site was that of the nave 
 of the original structure, which had long lain in ruins, and the 
 burned churches were supplanted, in due time, by two fine Gothic 
 buildings of an imposing effect externally, and commodious and 
 comfortable in the interior, after plans by Mr Burn, late of Edin- 
 burgh. The large window of the East church is in the Decorated 
 style, divided into three parts, and filled with stained glass. In 
 the centre division are the armorial bearings, and other emblems 
 of the town of Dundee. The arms of the masons, wrights, and 
 slaters, with the motto, " TEIA JVNCTA IN VNO," and those of the 
 malt-men occupy the southern part. On the north division is 
 inscribed — " fraternity of master seamen," with their arms 
 (a ship full rigged), and the " gvilde taodvnensis sigillvm." 
 The shield also bears a merchant's mark, differing only from 
 that represented in woodcut No. 8 (page 198), in so far as it 
 wants the initial on the perpendicular line, and the St Andrew's 
 Cross at the right of the horizontal line. 
 
188 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Convent of St Clare, or Franciscan Nuns — Trinity Friars — Hospital, or Maisondiew 
 — Black Friars — Grey Friars — National Assembly of 1309' — Destitution of the> 
 Grey Friars — Gift to the Friars, by the Countess of Errol — Value of Provisions, 
 in the deir ye&r, 1481 — The Burial Place ^he.Eads of Crawford — Destruction* 
 of the Convent. 
 
 As previously remarked, there were a number of other religious 
 houses in the town of Dundee, aparj from the church of St 
 Mary. The names and sites of most of them, however, are 
 little else than matter of conjecture ; lanes and streets of the 
 present day, such as St Clement's, St Paul's, and St Rogue's, 
 being supposed, with every probability, to indicate the situation 
 of churches or chapels which were dedicated to saints of those 
 names. 
 
 The Convent of St Clare, Franciscan Huns, or the Greysisters, 
 as they were variously termed, is, believed to have been situated 
 in the Overgate, and a large pile of building, at the top of the 
 Methodists' Closs, is said to be the old abode of the nuns. The 
 rooms of the house, now occupied by a number of poor families, 
 are large and lofty ; the ancient hinges, yet on some of the doors, 
 are of, pretty floral patterns; but a stone in the back of the 
 building bears the date of 1621, a period long subsequent to the 
 abolition of .monasteries in Scotland, and to that date the style of 
 the building corresponds. It is, therefore, more probable, that this 
 house had rather been built as the private residence either of a 
 country gentjeman or of a wealthy merchant. Perhaps the re- 
 mains of the monastery, if any such exist, are the four vaulted 
 apartments, on the east side of the same entry, supported by 
 rude, but not inelegant pillars. At the period of the Reforma- 
 tion, the rents of, this Convent amounted "to 28 shillings ; and a 
 patch of ground, on the west side of the town, was called the 
 Greysisters Acre.* 
 
 The Red or Trinity Friars, an order which is known chiefly in 
 connection with their Hospital, had also a Convent in Dundee. 
 About the year 1390, Sir James Lindsay of Crawford granted to, 
 ' Mr Innee' Beport. 
 
DUNDEE— THE HOSPITAL. 189 
 
 the brethren of the Holy Trinity, his house or tenement in the 
 town to be an Hospital, or Maisondieu, in which the old and 
 infirm might reside. In confirming this charter of Lindsay's 
 foundation of the Hospital, King Kobert III. enriched it with a 
 gift of the church of Kettins and its revenues. Subsequently, 
 several other donations were made to it by different parties ; and, 
 among others, it is stated that William Duncan, proprietor of 
 Templeton of Auchterhouse, granted the Master of the Hospital 
 a donation from these lands, by a deed which is said to be thus 
 attested — " Villiame.Duncane, with my hand twitching ye pen, 
 led be ye notar, becaus I can nocht vryte myself." 
 
 It need hardly be said, that long prior to the date of this re- 
 puted grant (a.d. 1582), the regular religious orders in Scotland 
 were scattered, and their convents mostly destroyed ; and among 
 other plans which government adopted to preserve the hospitals 
 and to relieve the poor, was that of appropriating the revenues 
 of the monastic establishments for these and similar purposes. 
 In this wise enactment the poor of Dundee, in common with 
 those in other parts of the kingdom, participated; and, the better 
 to carry out these objects, the council of the burgh, in 1563, 
 appointed "masters of the Alms-house;" but it was not until the 
 15th April 1567, that Queen Mary made a special grant of the 
 old kirklands of Dundee and their revenues to the magistrates. 
 This grant, according to the charter, was given for two specific 
 objects — first, to provide for the ministers of God's Word at 
 Dundee ; and next, for the preservation of hospitals within the 
 burgh for the accommodation of poor, mutilated, and miserable 
 persons and orphans. 7 
 
 This grant was confirmed by subsequent monarchs, and the 
 terms of the ratification charter of Charles I., dated 12th July 
 1661, are not less distinct than those of Queen Mary as to the 
 appropriation of the funds, for it declares that the rents are 
 to be uplifted and applied for the two-fold purpose of "inter- 
 taining of the poore within the Hospitall," and " for suste- 
 nance of the ministers serveing the cure at the kirk of Dundie," 
 
 " New Stat. Acck, 12 ; Thomson's Hist, of Dundee, 326. 
 > T Beport {July 20, 1855), by Mr C. limes, in causa The Presbytery of Dundee, 
 against The Magistrate! qf Dundee. 
 
190 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 excepting "the person" (that is the minister of the parish), who, it 
 is expressly declared, "shall have no parte of the forsaids viccar- 
 age, since he is otherwayes provided. " w The annual revenue of 
 this institution, known as the Hospital Fund, has, as a matter 
 of course, become very considerable, in consequence of a great 
 part of the lands situated within the burgh, being now feued 
 for building and other important purposes ; but by some unac- 
 countable means, that part of the provisions of the Act which re- 
 quires that a fair share of the funds be divided among the town- 
 - ministers has been long overlooked, and the money withheld by 
 the magistrates. For many years past some of the non-endowed 
 clergy of the establishment have, in consequence, been miser- 
 ably paid ; but the matter having been lately litigated before 
 the Court of Session, the ministers, evidently in strict accord- 
 ance with the provisions of the Act, have had a decision in their 
 favor, so that, in future, their stipends will receive considerable 
 augmentation from the rents of the properties which, as the 
 Act says, " belonged of befor to the Friers Predicants, Domi- 
 nicants, Minorits, and Franciscans, and other monkish friars, 
 chaplanes, and prebends." 
 
 The Hospital stood at the foot of South Tay Street, and was 
 burned in 1645, most probably by the Marquis of Montrose. In 
 1678, Mr Edward of Murroes, describes it as a large and splendid 
 hospital for old men ; and the cluster of houses, with the tower 
 in the centre, given in Slezer's views of the town, is supposed 
 to represent the building. In one of these prints it appears on 
 the left, and in the other on the right of the steeple/ In 1726, 
 it is described as a "handsome Hospital, with the Garden running 
 down to the River," and at that time the hall contained lists of 
 its benefactors/ In 1746, the house was vacated by the pen- 
 sioners ; but, in 1757-9, a party of French prisoners occupied it, 
 the town receiving a handsome rent. 
 
 It would seem that in old times, as now, it had required con- 
 siderable interest to get admission into these establishments, for 
 in 1581, perhaps in consequence of the interest which the Lind- 
 says had taken in the prosperity of the institution, a citizen of 
 
 w Acta Pari., vii. 351. * Theatrum Sootise, plates 38, 39. 
 
 ? De Foe's Journey through Soot., i. 97. 
 
DUNDEE — CONVENTS OF BLACK, AND GEET FEIAES. 191 
 
 Dundee, applied to Sir David of Edzell, requesting him to re- 
 commend to the magistrates and town-council, the admission of 
 a decayed burgess into the house, whom he describes as "ane 
 agit father of lxxiiii years, named Andro Michelsoun, wha is 
 your kinsman, his mother being ane dochter of the House of 
 Morphie — my Lord," continues the writer to Sir David, " your 
 father (the ninth Earl of Crawford), of guid memory, lovit him 
 weill ; he has been ane honest merchant in this town • but now 
 both agit and failzeit in substance." 2 It may be added that at 
 the time of the burning of the Hospital in 1645, there were nine 
 men in the house, and that from the earliest period on record 
 down to 1746, when it ceased to be used as a receptacle for the 
 pensioners of the fund, the number of inmates never appear to 
 have exceeded twelve. Since the latter date there has been no 
 Hospital for decayed burgesses ; but the allowance has been paid 
 to out-pensioners. 
 
 The monastery of the Black or Dominican Friars was perhaps 
 one of the latest foundations of the kind in Dundee. It was 
 erected by a burgess named Andrew Abercromby, a probably the 
 same person to whose widow Abbot David Beaton of Arbroath, 
 in 1525, leased the teinds of the kirk of Monifieth, and the fishings 
 of the Craig, for a period of eleven years. b Nothing further is 
 known of its history beyond the fact that the lands belonging to 
 it were included in Queen Mary's grant, and that its rent, after 
 the period of the Beformation, amounted to £6 3s. 4d. The 
 Convent stood on the west side of Barrarfc Street, of old called 
 Friars Wynd, nearly opposite to the west gate of the Howff. 
 
 If the Convent of the Black Friars was the latest religious 
 foundation of Boman Catholic times, it may be safely presumed 
 that that of the Grey or Franciscan Friars was one of the earliest 
 for it is said to have been founded by Devorgilla, grand-daugh- 
 ter of David Earl of Huntingdon, mother to King John Baliol 
 It was also the most important in the town, and occupied the site 
 .of the Howff, near which was St Francis' Well. This house was 
 remarkable as the place where the great National Assembly met 
 in 1309, when the members declared, that seeing the kingdom 
 
 ' Lives of the Lindsays, i. 337. " Spottiswood's Religious Houses, 492 
 
 b Reg. Nig. de Aberb., 450. 
 
192 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 betrayed and enslaved, they had assumed The* Bruce for theSr 
 King, and had willingly done homage to him as such. c 
 
 Although this Convent had a larger revenue than any of 
 the rest, it appears that towards the close of the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, the Friars were so impoverished that they were compelled 
 to part with their sacred vessels and their books to procure the 
 necessaries of life, and their house having fallen into ruin, they 
 were unable to repair it. It was at this unhappy juncture that 
 Beatrice Douglas, Dowager Countess of Errol, made the wel- 
 come donation to the house of a hundred*pounds Scots, for which 
 the Friars bound themselves and successors " till saye or synge a 
 dayly mass perpetually and for evir," for the welfare of the soul 
 of the Countess and those of her son and deceased husband. The 
 mass was to be performed at the high altar of the Convent " ay 
 and on to the tym it pleis the said Lady to big and reparal ane 
 altar in the said Kirk of the Three Kings of Colan, aftir the 
 whilk biggin the said mass to be done at the said altar of the 
 Three Kings, and to be callit the Countis mass perpetually." 
 
 It may be remarked that the " Three Kings of Colan," here 
 alluded to, were the Three Kings of Cologne — the shepherds or 
 wise men who came to visit the Infant Saviour in his cradle at 
 Bethlehem. The legends of the Dark and Middle Ages re- 
 garded them as Kings, and gave them the names of Melchior, 
 Graspar, and Balthasar. They were in great repute throughout 
 Christendom, and, being the patrons of Cologne Cathedral, were 
 popularly spoken of in Western Europe, as the Three Kings of 
 Cologne. There were altars to them in almost every large 
 church, and their names were used as spells, and inscribed on 
 charms. 4 It is uncertain whether this altar was ever raised by 
 the Countess of Errol ; but from the grateful record of the poor 
 Friars the more generally interesting facts are disclosed, that the 
 Countess made this gift in 1481, which is significantly charac- 
 terised as a "deir yeir," and that the Convent then consisted of at 
 least fourteen friars, and a warden, the names of whom are also 
 given. To the dearth and famine is perhaps to be attributed 
 the cause of the destitution which prevailed in the Convent, 
 
 * Hailes' Annals, iii. 221. 
 
 d Information kindly communicated by Joseph Bobertson, Esq., Miinbwrgh. 
 
DUNDEE — THE HOWFF. 193 
 
 for it appears that provisions were then uncommonly high 
 priced, it being shown by the deed already quoted that " meill 
 gives 24s. ; mawt, 30s.; beir, 11 merks; qwhyete, 32s.; a lytill 
 haddok, 7d. ; a kellin (large codfish), 30d. ; a gallon of hayll, 
 32d. etc." 6 
 
 A portion of the south wall of the Howff, is said to be part 
 of this monastery ; but all trace of the " gret aftir windows" 
 is now lost, the " mendyne " of which is specially noticed as a 
 portion of the Countess' donation. Even the tombs of the 
 noble family of Lindsay Crawford (for it ought not to be for- 
 gotten that this Convent was long their place of sepulture, and 
 that they were among its chief benefactors) were for ever 
 swept away by the infuriated zealots of the Reformation — in- 
 cluding those of the celebrated " Earl Beardie," and his still 
 more illustrious son, the original Duke of Montrose. At the 
 Reformation the rents of this Convent were stated at £25, be- 
 sides a chalder of bear. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Howff— Via Origin — Old Tombstones — Carious Epitaphs — Monograms, and 
 Merchants' Marks — New Cemeteries. 
 
 In the year 1564, Queen Mary granted the burgh a licence to 
 bury its dead in the yard or garden of the Convent of the Fran- 
 ciscan or Greyfriars, now called the Howff f but previous to that 
 time it had been used for interments, both by the Friars and 
 their benefactors. Perhaps it was indifferently, if at all, enclosed 
 until 1601, during which year collections were made at the kirk 
 doors for the purpose of fencing it with stone dykes, of which 
 the western portion is still partially entire. This part of the 
 wall was a piece of fine ashler work, upon which the tombs of 
 the more opulent merchants seem to have been raised. Some 
 of the earliest of them are yet to be seen, such as that of the 
 
 e Panmure Miscell, MS., iv. 133-5. 
 
 * Howff, houff, or Jioif, a hannt — a place of frequent resort. " Ki/rch-hof, area 
 ante templum, a churchyard." V. Jamieson's Scottish Diet., Hon?. 
 CC 
 
194 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 family of Mudie, which bears the initials of the erector and 
 his wife, and the words — in . MONVMENTVM . SEPVLTVRiE . FA- 
 MILY . MVDEORVM . EREXIT . IACOBVS . MVDEVS . ANNO . 1602. 
 
 The names . . . zemane . . . thomas . iacobvs . wedder- 
 
 BURN . . . MALCOM . . . IONET . PRASER . . . ALEXANDER 
 
 copping . . . gvthrie . . . with the legends — domino . con- 
 
 FIDO — SO . SAL . THE . LORD . BLIS . THE . IN . AL . THY 
 proceidingis .... are sculptured upon different parts of 
 the wall, and some of them had been once gilded. Several 
 were ornamented with armorial and mercantile emblems and 
 monograms, remains of which, as represented in the following 
 woodcuts, are still to be seen. The two first are upon the Mudie 
 monument, and the third upon that of Copping, who had been a 
 burgess and seaman : — 
 
 * 
 
 With the exception of the old Greyfriars' churchyard of Edin- 
 burgh, perhaps no other burial place in Scotland possesses 
 a greater number of generally interesting tombstones, whether 
 we regard their antiquity, their quaint inscriptions, or their 
 strange and elaborate carvings. Collections of epitaphs from 
 these stones have been frequently, but not always correctly 
 printed, such as that from the rather famous stone of Epity lye, 
 which is commonly rendered thus : — 
 
 "HERE LIE I, EPITY PIE, MY TWENTY BAIKNS, MY GUDEMAN AND I." 
 
 The inscription of which this purports to be a copy, although said 
 to have been effaced in 1819, B is still in existence, the monu- 
 ment being No. 613, in the register of gravestones. It lies across 
 one of the middle walks of the cemetery, is pretty entire, and 
 
 * In Dimdee Delineated (1822), p. 163, this stone is not only said to have been 
 effaced, but the name of the husband is given as " Walter Gourlay." There is 
 another stone (registered No. 214J, to such a person, also in existence, with this 
 inscription : — " Heir lyis ane honest man Walter Govblay, maltman and hvrgess 
 of Dvndee, qvha decessit in 28 day of Apryil 1628, of the je of 46 zeires, with hys 
 twentie bairnis." 
 
DUNDEE — THE HOWFF. 195 
 
 surely deserves a better place and fate than are now assigned to 
 it. The true reading of the inscription is as follows : — 
 
 HEIR LYIS ANE GODLIE AND HONEST MAN IOHNE ROCHE 
 
 BRABENER AND BVRGES OP DVNDIE QVHA DEPARTIT THIS LYFE 
 
 THE 10 OP FEBRVAR 1616 ZEIRS BEING OF AGE 43 ZEIRIS 
 
 VITH HIS SPOVS EVFIANE PYE 
 
 QVA HES CAVSIT THIS TO BE MADE IN REMEMBERANCE OF HIM 
 
 AND THAIR 14 BEARNES. 
 
 — The inscription is in raised Roman capitals, carved along the 
 margin and head of the stone, and some of the letters are in 
 the interlaced style common to the period. In the centre of the 
 stone are the armorial hearings of the families of Roche (Rough) 
 and Pyot. Above these are two rows of skulls and cross bones : 
 the first row contains two large skulls, and a small one between 
 them, to the latter of which wings are attached ; the second 
 row is closely set with seven small skulls. Another row, near 
 the foot of the stone had originally contained six skulls, the 
 centre two of which have been unluckily effaced, and a pair of 
 compasses and a barrel incised in their place. 
 
 Our limits will not permit examples of these inscriptions to 
 be given, but we may notice such of the more curious emblems 
 as may not have before been pointed out. It is needless to say 
 that here, as in other places, and from the earliest date, the 
 tombstones of many of the burgesses bear carvings of objects 
 illustrative of their crafts or trades. The scissors, or goose, is 
 found on the tomb of the tailor ; the glove, on that of the skin- 
 ner; the broad Scotch bonnet, on that of the bonnet-maker; 
 the hammer and crown, or anvil, on that of the blacksmith ; the 
 loom, or shuttle, on that of the weaver; the circular knife, on 
 that of the cordiner or shoemaker; the compasses and square, 
 on that of the mason ; the expanded compasses or saw, on that 
 of the wright ; the axe and knife, on that of the flesher ; the 
 crossed peels, on that of the baker ; the ship in full sail, on that 
 of the seaman ; the plough, culter, harrows, or yoke, on that of 
 the farmer ; the millstone, pick, and rynd, on that of the corn 
 miller ; the lancet, or other surgical instruments, on that of the 
 chirurgeon. To these distinguishing emblems it not unfrequently 
 
196 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 happens that accompanying mottos bear some quaint allusion, 
 such as the following at Dundee, of date 1628 : — 
 
 " Kynd Comarads heir Covfabs corps is layd, 
 Walteib by name, a tailzoyr of his trayde ; 
 Botbe kynd and trew, and stvt and honest hartit, 
 Condol vith me that he so sone depairtit, 
 For I avow, he never veyld a sheir, 
 Haid beter pairts nor he thats bvrid heir." 
 
 Apart from the mortuary emblems of the " passing bell" and 
 the hour glass, the scythe and dart* the mattock, spade and 
 shovel, the coffin, the skull and crossed bones, and sometimes 
 the terrific effigy of the grim messenger itself, which are in- 
 corporated with the representation of articles of every day life, 
 some of the older monuments present the more interesting figures 
 known as monograms and merchants' marks. 
 
 Both are objects of high antiquity, particularly the monogram 
 or cypher, which is formed of interlaced letters. These were 
 known among the ancient Greeks, and from the seventh and 
 eighth centuries the Roman Pontiffs and Continental Sovereigns 
 used them as signatures 1 .' < As signatures they were of compara- 
 tively recent introduction into Britain, one of the earliest being 
 that of King Henry V. h Marks and monograms had, however, 
 been long before used as the seals of private individuals, for in 
 >x. Scotland, so early as 1337, we find, as represented in 
 <l^ the accompanying woodcut, that the seal of Robert of 
 JlV Glen, a burgess of St Andrews, was composed of a 
 mark resembling a cross, under which were curiously entwined 
 the initials E. G. 1 
 
 Soon after the introduction of printing into England, both 
 monograms and merchants' marks were pretty generally adopted, 
 and placed by artists in the corners of paintings and engravings ; 
 by letterpress printers and publishers on the first and last pages 
 of the books which they issued ; and tradesmen in general used 
 them, not only as signs or distinguishing marks over the doors of 
 their shops — a practice which has been superseded by the nam- 
 ing of streets, and the numbering of houses — but as stamps or 
 
 h Fosbroke's Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, (new edit., Lond., 1843), 482. 
 '' Willis' Current Notes, Lond., Jan. 1857. 
 
DUNDEE — THE HOWFP : MONOGRAMS. 197 
 
 labels on the cloth or other goods In which they dealt.' This 
 custom had been long followed in the principal mercantile towns 
 on the Continent, before it was introduced into Britain ; and in 
 fashioning these marks after the initial letters or names of parties, 
 there is often great ingenuity displayed in the arrangement, as 
 well as delicacy in the execution. 
 
 These monograms and marks are now occasionally found upon 
 town houses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but more 
 commonly on contemporary gravestones; and from the similarity 
 in the design of the merchants' marks to the marks of the Free 
 Masons, both may possibly have had a common origin. 1 * Although 
 these marks are to be seen in different parts of the country, 
 perhaps no single place contains so many, and such oddly de- 
 signed specimens, as the Howff of Dundee. Of these — a species 
 of the minor antiquities of our country, which has not hitherto 
 been much noticed — a few examples are subjoined. No. 1, is 
 from the tombstone of a burgess, named Thomas Simson, dated 
 1579, in which quaint design his mark and initials may be 
 traced. The armorial bearings (on a fess, three crescents, a 
 mascle in base), are also carved upon the stone, with these 
 graphic and admonitory lines : — 
 
 " Man, tak hed to me, hov thov sal be, 
 
 Qvhan thov art dead : — 
 Drye as a trie, vermes sal eat ye — 
 
 Thy great bovti sal be lik lead. 
 Ye time hath bene, in my zovt grene, 
 
 That I ves clene of bodie as ye ar ; 
 Bvt for my eyen, nov tvo holes bene, 
 
 Of me is sene, bvt benes bare." 
 
 Woodcuts Nos. 2 and 3 are the marks of two burgesses, 
 named respectively John Garden and Robert Peblis, dated 1581 
 and 1582. The name is illegible on the stone from which mark 
 No. 4 is taken — the initials p. A. E. s. and date 1598, being only 
 
 ' Paper makers also used these sort of figures in their water marks. On the 
 waste paper of a copy of Bisschop's Signorvm Vetervm Icones [foolscap folio (158 
 plates) Hague, 1671], in my possession, a mark similar to No. 20 (p. 200), with 
 three circles ; £q instead of the letter M, hangs from the mark of the cap of the 
 king's fool, a quaint figure which gave name to this particular size of paper. The 
 binding of the book is English, and apparently of about the end of the 17th century. 
 
 k See engravings of Masons' marks in Archceohgia, xxiv. plates 3, 4; and in 
 "Wilson's Prehistoric Annals, p. 640. 
 
198 
 
 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 traceable ; and No. 5 gives the mark and initials of Thomas 
 Bover, skinner and burgess, 1603. The mark and initials of 
 
 yK 
 
 1 t 
 
 No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. 
 
 " Kobert Fairvedder," litster or wool-dyer, who died in 1609, 
 are represented in No. 6 ; and in No* 7, the oddly conjoined 
 initials, D. z., stand for the curious monogram of David Zemane, 
 or Yeaman, 1610, whose descendants were opulent, and long 
 exercised much influence in the affairs of the burgh. One of them 
 represented Dundee in the last Scottish Parliament, and the dis- 
 trict of burghs, in the first and second British Parliaments. The 
 Yeaman shore was named in honor of that gentleman ; and, till 
 lately, the family were landowners in the county. Upon Zemane's 
 stone is the following couplet, not uncommon in Dundee: — 
 " To honor ye sepvltor ve may be bald : 
 Ve lerne of Abraham ovr father avid." 
 
 Woodcut, No. 8, shews the pretty mark and monogram of 
 William Davidson, merchant and burgess, who died in 1617 ; 
 and Nos. 9 and 10 are the marks of John and James Goldman, 
 
 No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. 
 
 the father and son, dated respectively 1607 and 1632. The 
 Goldman family were, in their day, the " merchant princes " of 
 Dundee, and owners of considerable landed estate. One of them 
 is also said to have been a poet of merit ; but their race, and even 
 their name has become extinct, the last of them, a female, having 
 died some years ago, so reduced in circumstances as to be depen- 
 dent on the charity of a neighbouring kirk-session. In 1609, 
 John Goldman, above-mentioned, mortified the large sum of 800 
 merks " to the puir resident within the Hospitall ;" and subse- 
 
DUNDEE — THE HOWFF : MERCHANTS MARKS. 
 
 199 
 
 quently, another of them, named William, also gave 100 merks 
 to the same charity — facts, which form a strange contrast with 
 the fate of the last recorded of the family. 
 
 * I 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 No. 12. 
 
 No. 9. No. 10. 
 
 No. 11 is the monogram of Eobert Kandow, also a burgess ; 
 and No. 12 is upon a stone raised by William Chaplane in me- 
 mory of his wife, Agnes Dorward, who died in 1603. The arms 
 of the Chaplane and Dorward families are upon this stone, at the 
 foot of which is the quaint intimation — viliame cheplane vos 
 
 TE DOEIE OF TIS. 
 
 4 
 
 No. 13. 
 
 irC 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 No. 15. 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 The dates of Nos. 13, 14, and 15, are doubtful, but appear to 
 be of the early part of the seventeenth century. The first is on 
 a stone to the memory of a David Blair, and the second is from 
 that of one John Zoung or Young, who possibly was related to 
 Sir Peter Young of Seaton, co-tutor with Buchanan to King 
 James VI. Sir Peter's father was a burgess of Dundee, and died 
 there in 1583. The name and date on the stone, bearing mark 
 No. 15, are wholly illegible. 
 
 The stone from which No. 16 is taken, bears date 1617. No. 
 17 gives the mark and monogram of Kobert Mureson, 1637; and 
 a slab, built into the wall at the head of the stone, bears these 
 words — TO YE FAMILIE OP YE MVRESONS. The initials and 
 mark No. 18, are those of John Pierson, a burgess, and seaman, 
 who died in 1660 ; but nothing remains to show to whom the 
 mark, initials, and monogram No. 19 refer. No. 20 is the mark 
 
it 
 
 200 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 from a comparatively modern gravestone at the Cathedral of 
 Dunblane, in Perthshire, dated 1758, and is here given merely 
 
 4 4 4 
 
 No. 17. No. 18. No. 19. No. 20. 
 
 to shew the more common form in which these curious marks 
 are found throughout the country — those previously noticed be- 
 ing of much more rare occurrence. 
 
 It was during the year 1834 that the present walks were 
 made out in the Sowff, the handsome cast iron gates and rail- 
 ings erected, and the ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers 
 planted, which contribute so much to its beauty, and render it 
 an interesting and pleasant resort, both for the inhabitants of the 
 town and visitors from a distance. The ground was at the same 
 time levelled, the tombstones shifted and numbered, and placed in 
 lines. Many of the stones have unfortunately been renewed, and, 
 as may be supposed, none of them are of very old date ; indeed, 
 so far as I have seen, the monument of Thomas Simson, noted in 
 the previous page, is one of the most ancient, if we except the 
 fine coffin slabs which were got sometime ago in the foundations 
 of St Mary's, sculptured with variously and beautifully designed 
 crosses. These, which are still preserved at the old church, are 
 of the sort previously referred, to as common in England and 
 Wales, and are unquestionably the most ancient sepulchral re- 
 mains now known to exist in Dundee. 
 
 Although the Howff is the oldest place of burial in the town, 
 tradition says that' the most ancient were those of St Paul's, 
 between Murraygate and Seagate; St Roque's, at the east end of 
 the Cowgate ; and St Clement's, which occupied the site of the 
 present Town House. The church of St Clement, to which the 
 last-named place of burial was attached, seems to have been in 
 existence in the time of King James YI. It had a chaplainry 
 within it, dedicated to St Mary, to which was attached the third 
 part of the lands of Cragy. 
 
DUNDEE— THE CASTLE. 201 
 
 But of these burial places there is no trace save the names. 
 The older families still bitty in the Eowff, and the Constitution 
 Road, and Western Cemeteries, are more generally used. Both 
 are tastefully laid out and ornamented, and contain elegant 
 modern monuments; among the more generally interesting of 
 which, in- the latter place, is perhaps that of the unforturia'te 
 William Thorn, best known as "the Inverury Poet," Who cEeSA 
 at Dundee in 1848. 1 Previous to the formation of these new 
 cemeteries, the revenue derived from burials in the Hov}ff : was 
 an important item of the Hospital fund, yielding frequently from 
 .£300 to £400 a-year. 
 
 — o — 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Castle of Dundee — Governed by Umphraville, Earl of Angus — Obtained by' Edward 
 I.— King Edward there in 1296 and in 1303— At Baledgarno in 1296— Castle 
 of Dundee Captured and Destroyed by Wallace — Scrimgeour, Constable of 
 Dundee — Dudhope Castle — Dundee taken by King Edward I. and II. — Be- 
 taken by Bruce — Kansom for David II. — Preaching of Wishart— Vicar Wed- 
 derburn — Paul Methven— Provost Halyburton supports the Reformation— Slain 
 near Edinburgh — His Son denounced Rebel — Appointed a Lord of the Articles 
 — King's' Commissioner to the Assembly, &c. 
 
 The; Castle of Dundee is said to have had a prominent position 
 upon a rock at the head of Castle Street. The rock has been 
 almost completely removed, and the site is now occupied by St 
 Paul's Episcopal Church. The legend of Sir William Wallace 
 having killed the son of the English governor of the castle, when 
 both were schoolfellows at D&ndee, m is the first notice that occurs 
 of a stronghold at that place ; but it is not until the Wars of 
 the Independence that anything is known of the real history of 
 the castle, at which time it became the scene of some interesting 
 historical incidents. 
 
 In the year>1291, when King Edward I. received the kingdom* 
 from the four regents, the castles of Dundee and Forfar were 
 
 1 The other burial grounds are those at St Andrew's and St Peter's Churches ; 
 Rood Yards, on the road to Brought? Ferry (the supposed site of the chapel of 
 the 1 Holy Hood) ; and Logie, on the way td Lochee. 
 
 '" tfamieson's Blind Harry, 7. 
 DD 
 
202 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 both in the keeping of Umphraville, Earl of Angus, who held 
 them from the Regents of Scotland ; and, as has been before ad- 
 verted to, while the governors of other national strongholds un- 
 conditionally resigned their charge, Umphraville refused to give 
 up his until he received a letter of indemnity from the claimants 
 
 . to the Crown, and the guardians of the Kingdom. There being 
 little difficulty in obtaining such a guarantee, King Edward was 
 soon in possession of the keys of these fortresses, the care of 
 both of which he intrusted to an Englishman, named Brian Fitz- 
 Alan, who, about the same time, was also made one of the 
 governors of Scotland, the number of whom was thus increased 
 to five. 
 
 On Monday, the 6th of August, 1296, King Edward is first 
 recorded to have visited Dundee, he having landed there after 
 leaving the Abbey of Arbroath ; n and in the year 1303, when 
 he invaded and desolated Scotland, he again rested there on the 
 20th of October. Most probably he had also been there two or 
 three months earlier, perhaps when on his way from Perth to the 
 siege of the eastle of Brechin, which, as before noticed, took place 
 either in July or in August of that year.? 
 
 It does not appear that the King received any homages on 
 the occasion of his visit to Dundee in 1296, and his stay extended 
 only until the day following, when it is stated that he was " at 
 Baligernache," from which he went the day after to Perth. 
 This is clearly a place, now called Baledgarno, which, from a want 
 of local information, the editors of the Diary of Edward's Pro- 
 gress, have been unable to identify. It is situated in the Carse of 
 Gowrie and parish of Inchture, about ten miles west of Dundee. 
 There appears to have been a castle at it, which was most pro- 
 bably built of the deep red coloured sandstone peculiar to the 
 
 . district, for it is described in the Diary of the King's progress, as 
 " the redde castell."i The Castle law or hill is still shewn. 
 
 In little more than a year after the first visit of King Edward, 
 Sir William Wallace, taking advantage of the absence of the 
 King of England in Flanders, attempted to rescue the kingdom 
 
 - Bannatyne Misoell., i. 280. ° Prynne, 1015. » Ut sup., 126. 
 
 ' " Balygernatthe, the redde Castell." — Archceologia, xxii. 497. For a further 
 notice of Baledgarno, see below, Part iv. 
 
DUNDEE — SCRIMGEOURS OF DUDHOPE. 203 
 
 from his grasp, and succeeded in expelling the English fr«m the 
 castles of Forfar and Brechin, and at same time laid siege to that 
 of Dundee. Hearing, while there, that the enemy were on his 
 track, under the command of the Earl of Surrey, he left the 
 citizens to continue the siege themselves, while he and his 
 army marched towards Stirling ; and, in a few days after, having 
 succeeded in gaining the celebrated victory of that name, the 
 garrison of Dundee unconditionally surrendered to him. The 
 inhabitants also rewarded him with a handsome gift of money 
 and arms ; and, that the fortress might not afford shelter to the 
 invading army, Blind Harry says that Wallace had it imme- 
 diately destroyed — 
 
 " Masons, minouris, with Sorymgeour furth send, 
 Kest doun Dunde, and tharoff maid ane end." 
 
 Scrimgeour, the knight who is so worthily mentioned by the 
 blind poet, in connection both with the capture and destruction 
 of the castle, is said to have been descended from a baron who 
 rendered signal service to Alexander I., by pursuing and routing 
 a band of rebels who had attempted to take the King's life. 1 
 But it is in the person of the celebrated follower of Wallace 
 that we have the first authentic record of the family. Accord- 
 ing to tradition, King Alexander conferred upon it the office of 
 hereditary standard bearer of Scotland, at the time alluded to ; 
 and it is matter of record that, in consequence of the knight of the 
 period having carried the national banner before the armies of 
 Wallace, that great warrior, while governor of Scotland, con- 
 ferred upon Scrimgeour and his successors the office of Constable 
 of Dundee, along with certain lands and houses on the north and 
 west sides of the town. s This curious grant is dated at Tor- 
 phichen, on the 29th of March 1298, and the property of Dud- 
 hope is believed to be a portion of the lands conveyed by it. 
 
 The Scrimgeours erected a castle at Dudhope ; and, from 
 Slezer's view of the town' (c. 1680), it appears to have then had 
 a large square keep, resembling those of the castles of the fifteenth 
 century. The house now remaining, however, is a much more 
 recent work, and has been long used as military barracks, for 
 which it is well adapted, whether in respect of its commanding 
 
 ' Wyntown's Chronykil, i. 283. ■ Acta Pari , i. *97 ; iv. 90. ' Plate 38. 
 
204 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 position, or of ita healthy situation, being built on the south side 
 of the Law, overlooking the town. Here the Scrimgeours long 
 had their chief residence. The family were latterly ennobled, 
 first as Viscounts of Dudhope, in 16.41, and next as Earls of Dun- 
 dee, in 1661 ; but the Earl dying without issue, the title became 
 extinct, and Charles Maitland of Hatton, brother to the Earl of 
 Lauderdale, acquired the hereditary estates and honors upon, 
 it would seem, rather questionable grounds." 
 
 As. before remarked, King Edward recaptured Dundee in 
 13,03, and, according to tradition, committed great havock in 
 the town, by destroying and sacking the churches and other 
 public buildings, in the former of which the inhabitants are 
 said to have deposited the more valuable, of their goods. The 
 castle appears to have been rebuilt after its destruction by 
 Wallace, and was perhaps spared by Edward at the last-men- 
 tioned invasion. If not, it had been rebuilt a third time. It 
 was certainly in existence, and in the hands of the English in 
 1312, for the force which The Bruce brought against it was so 
 great, that Sir William of Monfitchet, the governor, found it ad- 
 visable to enter into a treaty of surrender with the Scots. This 
 so annoyed King Edward that he ordered the treaty to be vio- 
 lated, and at the same time commanded David of Brechin (who 
 had again left the ranks of his. uncle. King Robert), to assist 
 Monfitchet in his emergency, and act with him as a joint warden. 
 Thus refortified, as it were, it was not until the subsequent year, 
 while Bruce himself was engaged in an expedition against the 
 Isle of Man, and Ulster in Ireland, that his brother, Sir Edward, 
 succeeded in capturing the town and castle from the English/ 
 
 From that time little, in fact, nothing with much certainty, 
 is. known of it ; but it must not be supposed that, in conse- 
 quence,, the town or neighbourhood were long allowed to slumber 
 in, quietness. Dundee, as one of the four chief burghs in the 
 kingdom, became bound for the payment of £90^000 as a ran- 
 som for King David II., who was taken prisoner by the English, 
 at the battle of Durham ; and it was doubtless, also,, owing to the- 
 importance of the, place, that it was attacked, and as some ac- 
 counts say, burned, by the army of the unfortunate Richard II. 
 » Douglas' Peer., i. 462-8. * Ty tier's. Hist, of Soot , i. 25S. 
 
DUNDEE — THE REFORMATION. 205 
 
 of England, in 1385. w More lately, the deep rooted animosity 
 and jealousy which subsisted between it and the neighbouring 
 city of Perth, regarding the real or supposed infringement of 
 certain liberties, and the precedence of Dundee to Perth in the 
 royal processions, together with the tumults which took place be- 
 tween the Constable and the burgh, formed, from time to time, 
 good cause for retarding the progress of business, and not un- 
 frequently ended in scenes of riot and blood. 
 
 Apart from these forays, and the fact that it was off this port 
 that Admiral Wood, with only two ships, the Flower and the ; 
 Yellow Carvel, encountered a fleet of three English vessels, under 
 the command of Stephen Bull, in 1489, and that he captured and 
 carried them into the harbour of Dundee (exploits which form 
 the ground-work of Mr Grant's popular novel, entitled " The 
 Yellow Frigate"), and some of the skirmishes which took place 
 during the reign of Queen Mary — the only other hostile affrays 
 connected with Dundee may be said to relate to the times of the 
 Reformation and the Covenant, two of the most important epochs 
 in the more modern history of our country. 
 
 It is a well-known fact, that the Reformation was warmly 
 espoused at Dundee, and that the inhabitants were greatly incit- 
 ed in the cause by the ministrations of Wishart and others. It 
 is certain that the people, influenced by those preachings, de- 
 stroyed the houses of the Black and Grey Friars of Dundee, also 
 that they went to Perth, and overturned the fine sculptures in 
 the church of St John ; and the magistrates of Dundee, fearing 
 the occurrence of still greater evils, succeeded in prevailing upon 
 Wishart to leave the town. His absence was short, however, for 
 as soon as he heard that Dundee was afflicted by the plague, 
 he hastened back, and there preached and visited the sick with 
 all the devotion and energy of a friend and an enthusiast. 
 
 It is said that he preached from the top of the East Port, or 
 Cowgate, an ancient fabric which is laudably preserved in me- 
 mory of that event ; and there, as tradition informs us, the lame 
 and sick stood without the gate, and the hale and healthy within. 
 It is added that, on these occasions, Wishart was often in danger 
 of being murdered, and that he was always accompanied by a 
 w Acta Pari., i. 155 ; Froissart's Chron., ix. 147. 
 
206 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 strong guard of personal friends, one of whom was armed with a 
 two handed sword, which, it is said, was borne by John Knox 
 upon one occasion. Nor had these precautions been altogether 
 useless, for the Popish party were equally anxious to obtain the 
 life of Wishart, as it must be admitted the Reformers were to 
 obtain that of Beaton. It is told that one day while preaching, 
 Wishart observed a priest in the crowd with a dagger secreted 
 under his cloak, ready, whenever an opportunity afforded, to 
 strike him to the heart. Wishart himself is said to have wrested 
 the instrument from the priest, and then kindly shielded him 
 from the hands of the infuriated mob. 
 
 But this severity of conduct, and determination on the part of 
 the Papists, to stifle liberty of conscience, only subverted the 
 cause it was meant to foster, and produced, even in the town of 
 Dundee, many new advocates of the reformed doctrines. Among 
 these were the vicar, Wedderburn, and his two brothers, whose 
 writings of "godlie playis and ballatis," which were acted and 
 sung in many parts of Scotland, contributed greatly towards the 
 advancement of the cause ; and so deeply did these incur the dis- 
 pleasure of Cardinal Beaton and his party, that the Vicar had to 
 flee the country, to which he only returned after the Cardinal's 
 death. But a much more conspicuous propagator of the cause 
 was one Paul Methven. He was originally a baker to trade, and 
 not only was he destitute of almost the rudiments of an ordinary 
 education, but even after he had assumed the garb of a priest, 
 his conduct was far from circumspect;" still, possessed of an 
 extraordinary power of natural eloquence, and an intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the Holy Scriptures, he rendered so good service 
 to the Protestant cause, that he became obnoxious both to the pre- 
 lates and to the Secret Council, the latter ef whom not only issued 
 an order for his apprehension, but also forbade the people to 
 listen to his orations, or to harbour him in their houses.? Meth- 
 ven escaped apprehension only through the intrepidity of Provost 
 Hallyburton, who was one of the firmest, most politic, and cour- 
 ageous of the promoters of the Reformation ; and, to shew their 
 disappointment at the escape of Methven, the Secret Council 
 fined the town of Dundee in the sum of £2,000. 
 1 Booke of the Kirk, i. 31, &c. .Z Ut sap., 53 ; Pitoairn's Crim. Trials, i. *406. 
 
DUNDEE — THE PEOVOSTS HALLYBURTON. 207 
 
 Hallyburton was among the first to join the Protestant As- 
 sembly at St Andrews, in June 1559 ; in October following he 
 was appointed one of the Council of the Congregation for civil 
 affairs ; but, unfortunately, on the 5th of November thereafter, 
 while attempting, in company with the Earl of Arran and Lord 
 James Stewart, afterwards the Regent Moray, to route a party 
 of the French, near Leith, he and many of his followers were 
 slain in a marsh between Restalrig and Holyrood park. The 
 son of this brave man succeeded to the Provostship and proved 
 himself well worthy of the honor, being a keen and consistent 
 supporter of the cause for which his father fell. Within five 
 years from the time of his father's death, the Assembly appointed 
 him commissioner for the district of Angus. During the follow- 
 ing year he was denounced an enemy and rebel to the Queen ; 
 and, two years later, we find him one of the committee of the 
 Lords of the Articles, sanctioning the Queen's demission of the 
 crown, the .King's coronation, and the appointment of a regent. 2 
 He does not appear to have taken any part in the General Assem- 
 bly which was held at Dundee in 1580, by which the office of Bishop 
 was annulled, but in the following and subsequent years he was 
 appointed to the high office of King's commissioner to it ; and 
 down almost to the very day of his death, he took an active part 
 in the proceedings of that court, in which he appeared for the last 
 time, on the 6th of August 1588, as " the Tutor of Pitcur," a to 
 the head of which family he was uncle. 
 
 It was in " this mervelus yeir," as that of 1588 has been well 
 termed by Melvill, that this excellent man died at the ripe age 
 of seventy, having been thirty-three years Provost. Unluckily 
 the monument which perpetuated his name was one of those 
 which perished at the burning of the churches in 1841 ; but we 
 cannot help thinking that the town of Dundee would confer no 
 small honour on itself, as well as on its old Provosts Hallyburton, 
 by raising a monument in some conspicuous part of the town to 
 shew future generations that although those who gained for it 
 the enviable name of a second Geneva, and fell in attempting to 
 
 1 Booke of the Kirk, i. 47 ; Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, i. *467 ; Tytler's Hist, of 
 Soot., vii. 164. 
 
 » Melvill's Diary, 80 ; Booke of the Kirk, ii. 585-729. From 1580 to 1598, 
 there were four General Assemblies of the Church held at Dundee. 
 
208, MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 achieve the glorious cause of reljgious and social liberty, are 
 long since gone, such noble deeds are still appreciated, and 
 gratefully remembered. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Wars of the Covenant — A Eoyal Messenger Imprisoned — Dundee Soldiers at Bridge 
 of Dee — The Town Fined, and two of its Merchants Bobbed — Captured and 
 Burned by the Marquis of Montrose — Stormed^by General Monk — Inhabitants 
 and Soldiers Slaughtered — Hilltown Burned by Viscount Dundee — Chevalier 
 de St George — Prince Charles. 
 
 From the decided part which the inhabitants of Dundee took in 
 the Reformation, it may naturally be supposed that they also 
 became deeply engaged in the affair of the Covenant, and, not- 
 withstanding that the hereditary Constable of the burgh favored 
 the opposite side, the people contributed largely towards the 
 cause, both by supplying men and money. The first decisive 
 step which they appear to have taken was on the 5th of January; 
 1639, when a messenger came to intimate, at the cross of the 
 burgh, the proclamation of the King against the Acta of the cele- 
 brated General Assembly of the previous year, upon which two 
 of the. bailies not only protested, against the proclamation being 
 made, but violently seized the messenger, and had him put in 
 prison, " quhair," says Spalding, " he remainit a long tyme." 
 
 The Earl of Montrose was, at this period, a supporter of the 
 Presbyterians,, and, in the month of March of the same year, he? 
 led an army against the town of Aberdeen, and forced the in- 
 habitants to take the Covenant, very much against their will, 
 upon which occasion . Dundee mustered so strong that its soldiers 
 carried two of the five banners which were then borne by the, 
 army. Soon afterwards the same force was employed against 
 Lord Aboyne at the Bridge of Dee, whom they routed with great, 
 loss. It may be added that,, apart from other considerations, 
 Aboyne_ had incurred the vengeance of the Dundee portion of 
 the army, by carrying off some pieces of ordnance which 
 Montrose had sent for the protection of the town. b But it 
 b Spalding's Trubles, i. 128-200. 
 
DUNDEE — BESIEGED BT MONTROSE. 209 
 
 soon suffered for the part it took in this matter, for the in- 
 habitants were not only forced by the King's party to pay the 
 large sum of 10,000 merks ; but two of its merchants were way- 
 laid while travelling to St James' market at Elgin, and "reft 
 and spoibseit" of nearly as much again in money and goods. 
 
 Before the time of the last mentioned of these transactions, 
 the Earl of Montrose (notwithstanding the Presbytery of Brechin 
 had elected him one of their commissioners -to the General As- 
 sembly of 1639), d having deserted the cause of the Covenant, had 
 become one of its most violent enemies ; and, accordingly, as 
 a general in the King's army, be appeared before the town of 
 Dundee on the 6th day of September 1644, and commanded its 
 surrender. Being then strongly garrisoned, both by soldiers and 
 others, who had fled to it for protection, he was set at defiance ; 
 but, unfortunately, upon the occasion of his next visit, which 
 happened on Friday, the 4th of April following, it was altogether 
 defenceless ; and, chagrined, as is said, by the rebuff he re- 
 ceived on the previous occasion, Montrose forced an entrance 
 at four different points, and, overpowering the inhabitants, left 
 his soldiers to their own will. Infuriated by rage and intoxi- 
 cation, they committed all sorts of depredation and brutality ; 
 the Bonnet Hill, then a populous suburb, is said to have been 
 nearly reduced to ashes ; and several houses were fired in other 
 parts of the town. 
 
 While thus employed, Montrose was apprised of the approach 
 of the Covenanting army under the command of General Baillie ; 
 and so close, it is said, were they upon him, that before he could 
 muster his debauched followers to march out at the east end of 
 the town, his pursuers had entered at the west. But, by making 
 that dexterous movement, which is characterised by historians 
 and soldiers of all shades of politics, as one of the noblest speci- 
 mens of generalship upon record, he made a successful retreat, 
 and gained the fastnesses of the Grampians before the Covenan- 
 ters well knew the course he had taken , e 
 
 The walls of the town, which were demolished at this time. 
 
 c Spalding's Trubles, i. 339; ii. 392. 
 d Brechin Presbytery Records, July 18, 1639. 
 ' Spalding, ii. 404, 462. 
 EE 
 
210 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 were rebuilt soon after ; f but, in the course of three or four years, 
 they were again assailed by the soldiers of General Monk, who 
 were even more merciless in their conduct than were those of the 
 Marquis of Montrose. The burgh had, at this time, incurred the 
 vengeance of Cromwell, in consequence of having given shelter 
 to Charles II., after his coronation at Scone. This ceremony 
 took place on the 1st of January 1651, and, on the 7th of Sep- 
 tember following, after a brief siege, the town was entered by 
 the enemy, who followed up the capture in the most savage 
 manner, for it appears that, by Monk aitd his army, the slaughter 
 of innocent women and children was regarded more as a work 
 of delight than of horror. Tradition says that it was not until 
 the third day of the carnage, when the moving spectacle met 
 the eye of the general himself of a living child lying on the 
 street, sucking the cold breast of its murdered mother, that his 
 heart relented. 
 
 The local version of this assault, excepting several exaggera- 
 tions as to the length of. the siege, and the number of those 
 massacred, differs little from the fact. Altogether, the transaction 
 seems to have been a disgrace both to the inhabitants themselves 
 and to Monk ; for, by the undisguised narratives of contemporary 
 historians, it is evident that the former had been so intoxicated 
 by drink, as to be utterly unable to offer resistance to the latter, 
 whose conduct was inhuman and severe. " The tounesmen," 
 says Sir James Balfour, " did no dewtey in ther auen deffence, 
 but wer most of them all drunken, lyke so maney beasts ;" and 
 Dr Gumble remarks, that both the strangers and soldiers within 
 the walls took "such large Morning draughts, that before the 
 Twelfth (hour) they were most of them well drenched in their 
 Cups." The latter authority gives but few particulars regard- 
 ing the conduct of the English soldiers after the capture ; but 
 the former informs us that " Mouncke commandit all, of quhat- 
 sumeuer sex, to be putt to the edge of the suord," by which 
 about two hundred women and children perished, and about 
 eight hundred of the inhabitants and soldiers. Eobert Lumsden 
 of Montquhaney, governor of the town, although quarters were 
 
 ' "JEtebuilding walls demolished at siege of the town, &c, £162 10s."— Ac- 
 counts, 164547. 
 
DUNDEE — BESIEGED BY MONK. 211 
 
 at first granted him, also fell a victim to their cruelty ; and Sir 
 John Lesley of Newton and his servant, who were accidentally 
 in Dundee at the time, were both killed. Two of the clergymen, 
 who, it appears, had opposed " hollding out the toune, knowing 
 that such a drunken, debosht people could doe no good aganist so 
 wigilant and actiue ane enimey," were sent by sea, along with 
 some others, as prisoners to England ; and it is graphically told 
 that on one of them attempting to speak in his own defence, 
 Monk told him in a rage, that if he presumed to say a word, "he 
 wold scobe his moufhe."s 
 
 The plunder on this occasion was great. Balfour says it ex- 
 ceeded two and a-half millions Scots ; while Gumble affirms that, 
 in consequence of people going from Edinburgh and other un- 
 fortified places with their wealth, in hopes of being more safe, 
 among whom were many of the nobility and gentry of Scotland, 
 Dundee afforded "the best Plunder that was gotten in the Wars 
 throughout all the Three Nations." The same writer remarks, 
 that most of the spoil was shipped for Leith and England 
 " upon several Ships that were taken in the Harbour, and that 
 the Ships were cast away within sight of the Town, and the 
 great Wealth perished without any extraordinary storm" — a 
 circumstance upon which Gumble briefly comments, and closes 
 with the appropriate adage, "ill got; soon lost." 
 
 Monk appears to have remained sometime at Dundee after 
 capturing the town. It is certain that he was there on the 1 9th 
 of October following, as on that day he received a letter from the 
 Marquis of Argyll (whom the news of the massacre had reached at 
 his castle of Inverary), imploring that a meeting of the respon- 
 sible parties of both kingdoms might be held at some convenient 
 place, "as a meins to stope the sheding of more Christian blood." h 
 To this Monk refused to accede without an order from Parlia- 
 ment ; but soon after his army was withdrawn, and the garrison 
 occupied by a set of fresh soldiers from England, who appear to 
 have been well-behaved and humane in their conduct. 
 
 From this time until the unhappy reign of James VII., Dun- 
 is Balfour's Annals of Soot., iv. 315 ; Gumble's Life of Gen. Monk (1671), 42-4. 
 Dr Small (Stat. Acct., p. 21), gives an interesting account of the posthumous chil- 
 dren which were born at Dundee after this siege. 
 h Balfour's Annals, iv. 316. 
 
212 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 dee was comparatively tranquil. Any disaffection which arose 
 at that time appears to have been owing chiefly to Graham of 
 Claverhouse, who, in a determination to enforce certain real or 
 fancied rights by the strong arm of might, is said to have burned 
 the houses of that part of the town called the Hillton, and com- 
 mitted several other outrages upon the burgh. Probably this 
 was a means of bringing, the authorities into his views regarding 
 the establishment of Episcopacy, for, in 1678, they received the 
 thanks of the Privy Council for having dispersed a conventicle, 
 and imprisoned the preacher. It has been, said, that at that intole- 
 rant period no person was allowed to live in the town but such as 
 attended upon the ministrations of the Episcopalians, and family 
 worship, conducted in any other form, was strictly prohibited, 
 and the performers and abettors imprisoned. 1 
 
 Soon after this, the bluidy Clavers, as Viscount Dundee is 
 sometimes derisively termed, had a gift from King James of 
 the castle of Dudhope and constabulary of Dundee ; but, in the 
 course of four or five years afterwards, he and the cause of his 
 bigoted master ended with the famous battle of Killiecrankie, 
 fought on the 17th of January 1889, at which, as is well-known, 
 Dundee was mortally wounded. His body was buried in the 
 Athole family vault at the church of Blair- Athole ; but no stone 
 marks the spot — indeed, the site of the vault itself is now very 
 much a matter of conjecture. • 
 
 The events which followed this battle settled the crown firmly 
 on the heads of William and Mary of Orange, during whose reign, 
 as well as that of their successor, Queen Anne, the nation had 
 commenced to settle and prosper ; but soon after the death of 
 the latter, the peace of the country was broken by the Che- 
 valier de St George, eldest son of' King James VII., who set 
 up a claim to the throne of his ancestors. '. He landed at Peter- 
 head, from France, on the 22d of December 1714; and, although 
 guided by a more sincere, generous, and humane spirit than his 
 father, his success was equally hopeless. Travelling by easy 
 stages from the north, he reached Glamis Castle on the 5th of 
 January; and, next day, accompanied by the Earls of Mar, 
 Panmure, Marischal, Southesk, and a great many others, he 
 
 1 Wodrow's Sufferings of the Church (Bums' edit.), ii. 481 ; iii. 191 ; iv. 455. 
 
DUNDEE — THE CHEVALIER, AND PRINCE CHARLES. 213 
 
 made a grand entry into Dundee on horseback, where he was 
 heartily welcomed by the Jacobite magistrates. He remained 
 at the cross about an hour showing himself to the people ; after- 
 wards he held a court in a house adjoining the old Hospital^ and 
 then retired to the town-mansion of Stewart of Grandtully, where 
 he remained for the night, travelling next morning to the camp 
 at Perth. 
 
 While the magistrates and their friends were enthusiastic in 
 their reception of the Chevalier, the great mass of the inhabi- 
 tants are said to have looked on in silence ; and, contrary to the 
 will and proclamation of their rulers, they repaired without 
 the boundaries of the burgh on the 28th day of May thereafter, 
 and celebrated the birth-day of King George I. Next day the 
 magistrates celebrated the anniversary of the Restoration of King 
 Charles II. ; and, on the 10th of June, the Chevalier's birth- 
 day, the more zealous of the corporation went to the cross and 
 publicly drank to him as King James VIII. k 
 
 The connection which Dundee had with Prince Charles and 
 his cause was comparatively slight. He does not appear to have 
 been there personally ; but so soon as he landed at Perth, on the 
 evening of the 4th September 1745, he sent a party of the Mac- 
 donalds, commanded by the lairds of Keppoch and Clanranald, 
 to Dundee, when they captured two of the King's vessels, con- 
 taining ammunition and arms, which they sent to the army at 
 Perth. Some of the clergy were also ejected from their pulpits at 
 this time, because they refused "not to pray for King George-;" 
 and the town being in the possession of the rebels, many of their 
 " gentlemen prisoners" were sent there. 1 It is also told that 
 when the Prince received his first supplies from France, the 
 houses were illuminated, and such of the windows as did not 
 display the loyal taper were broken by the Jacobites. 
 
 1 De Foe's Journey, i. 97. k Aikman's Hist, of Soot., vi. 188. 
 
 1 Chambers' Hist, of the Rebellion, 58 ; Spalding Club Miscell., i. 367. 
 
214 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Supposed site of Ad Tavum — Law or Hill of Dundee, a vitrified site — Traditionary 
 Notices regarding the Town — Etymology of the Name — Destruction and Re- 
 newal of the Town's Records — Shipping — The Harbour — Linen Manufactures 
 — Population — Trades — Parliamentary Commissioners — The Town's Mason, 
 a.d. 1536-7 — His Wages — Hours of Labour — His Apprentice, &c. 
 
 The stories of Dundee being a town when the Romans invaded 
 Scotland under Agricola, and of its having once borne the name 
 of Alectum, seem to be supported by no better evidence than the 
 fancy of Hector Boyce — at least, no writer prior to the publica- 
 tion of his History of Scotland (1526), makes allusion to either 
 incident. It is true that the Roman station, Ad Tavum, is placed 
 by some writers at Broughty Ferry, about three miles to the 
 east of the town ; m while others, perhaps more correctly, suppose 
 it to have been at Invergowrie, about as far to the north-west, 
 and at the latter place the remains of a Roman camp, with high 
 ramparts and spacious ditches, were visible in Maitland's time. 11 
 
 As an additional proof of the early importance of the immediate 
 district, it may be added, that there is still evidence that the Law 
 or Hill of Dundee had been a vitrified site ; and, but for the 
 fact that both the Marquis of Montrose and General Monk occu- 
 pied and altered the surface of the ground to suit their own pur- 
 poses, remains of the vitrification would have been greater. 
 
 Boyce also states that Donald I. and his court visited Dundee, 
 a.d. 860; that Malcolm II. lodged his army there the night be- 
 fore he is said to have attacked the Danes at Barry, in 1012 ; 
 and also, that it was the scene of the death of King Edgar, in 
 1106. Some say that Edgar died at Edinburgh; but Wyntown 
 thus favors the claim of Dundee ° : — 
 
 " Edgare, oure nobil Kyng, 
 The dayis wyth honowre tuk endyng : 
 Be-north Tay intil Dunde 
 Tyl God the Spyryte than yhald he. 
 And in the Kyrk of Dwnfermlyne 
 Solemply he wes enteryd syne." 
 
 " Roy's Military Antiquities, 130. 
 
 " Maitland's Hist, of Scot. (1757), i. 215 ; Richard of Cirencester's Descrip. of 
 Britain, Lond. 1809, 136 (54) ; Chalmers' Caled., i. 123. 
 • Wyntown's Cron., i. 282 ; Balfour's Annals, i. 6. 
 
DUNDEE — OKIGIN OF NAME. 215 
 
 It need scarcely be said 'that these incidents are purely tradi- 
 tionary ; and it is a matter of certainty that the name of Dundee 
 does not at all occur, nor any other by which it can be identified, 
 until about the year 1200, when David, Earl of Huntingdon, 
 gifted a toft in the burgh to the Monastery of Arbroath, about 
 which time, as before seen, he also gave the parish church and 
 church lands to the Abbey of Lindores.P The name was then 
 spelled " Dunde" — the same form, it will be seen, which it still 
 retains — the other names and spellings, which tradition assign to 
 it, being altogether fanciful, and the invention of later times. 
 Like the ancient names of most places in Scotland, that of Dun- 
 dee had doubtless been given to the district by the Celtic, or 
 early inhabitants, as descriptive of its leading topographical 
 features, and had probably been conferred upon it either as 
 characteristic of the Law and its fort, or of the more modern 
 castle, which, as before noticed, stood upon what is said to have 
 been a high dark-coloured rock, at the head of Castle Street. 
 
 The Law, however, had been in old, as it is in modern times, 
 the most striking natural object in the district. It is an insolated 
 conical hill, rising about 525 feet above the level of the sea, im- 
 mediately behind the town. A magnificent and varied prospect 
 is obtained from it, not only of the north-eastern portion of 
 Angus, but of large tracts of the counties of Perth and Fife, 
 with the windings of the Tay; and no place, for many miles 
 round, had been so well adapted, either for the site of a fortifica- 
 tion, or for the lighting of sacrificial or beacon fires, which are 
 believed to have formed part of the early warlike and domestic 
 customs of the ancient inhabitants of Scotland. Although the 
 Law has now a verdant hue, in days of yore it must have had a 
 dark bleak aspect, when surmounted by the vitrified fort, and 
 clad with stunted heath, through which peered large masses of 
 the conglomerate rock, of which the hill is composed, and from 
 which — as the Gaelic words Dun-duVh, mean either the " black 
 fort" or the " black hill," or " law," for dun is applicable either 
 to a fort or a hill — the name had most probably originated, and 
 been transferred to the town or district. 4 
 
 r Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 95. 
 
 ' Durtrdeo (the hill or fort at the mouth of the river), is another, and not im- 
 
216 MEMOKIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 In consequence of the ravages to which the town was subjected 
 during the Wars of the Independence, the Covenant, and the 
 Commonwealth, the greater part of its ancient muniments and 
 charters were destroyed. The oldest of these papers appear to 
 have been lost during the first of these transactions, and seem to 
 have belonged to the reigns of Kings William the Lion and 
 Alexander III. These writs were subsequently renewed by 
 King Robert the Bruce, and added to by several of his succes- 
 sors ; and we are further informed that, during the siege of 1651, 
 these writs were also taken out of "the charter kist of the burgh 
 which wes broken vp by the English souldierg," when most of 
 them were " brunt and destroyed, and verie few of them gotten 
 bak." Fortunately, the ratification charter of Charles II., passed 
 in the year 1661, contains a recital of the honors and privileges 
 which the burgh had from the different monarchs, to the terms 
 of which it is needless to refer here. r Suffice it to say that Dun- 
 dee appears to have been made a burgh, but not a royal one, 
 much about the time that Earl David gifted the church to the 
 Abbey of Lindores. 
 
 Apart from the notices in the charter referred to, the oldest 
 records which relate to the burgh, are those in the Chamberlain 
 Rolls, from which it appears, as perhaps indicating the import- 
 ance of Dundee as a place of trade in early times, that, during 
 the residence of Alexander III. at Forfar, in 1264, a charge was 
 made for the transmission of sixteen pipes of wine from Dundee 
 to the county town. At that period there had doubtless been a 
 port or harbour at Dundee, although there is no reference made 
 to it in any public document until about a century afterwards, 
 when certain persons were appointed to collect shore dues ; and 
 
 probable origin which might be suggested, for I am told by good Gaelic scholars, 
 that the word deo, is a term applicable to the embouchure or place where a river 
 enters a lake or sea. The older cognomen, Alec, or Alec-twn, which is perhaps a 
 corruption of the Gaelic ailleach (beautiful or handsome), and the Saxon turn (a town), 
 (for the word Alectum has been translated " a beautiful place"), is said to have been 
 the name of Dundee in Agricola's time, but no such name is either in Kichard of 
 Cirencester's Iter, or in Tacitus. Dei-donum (God's gift), is its reputed name in 
 the Earl of Huntingdon's day, for which also there is no authority ; and Tao-dimum, 
 which has been rendered " the hill of Tay," was given to it by Buchanan. Dmi-tiqk 
 in Gaelic, signifies " the house fort, or hill," which, it will be seen, is not very dis- 
 similar to the rendering adopted in the text. All Highlanders with whom I have 
 spoken on the subject render tigh, tee, or tay, " a house ;" but the meaning of the 
 word, as applied to the river Tay, is more doubtful, 
 
 1 The charter is printed in Acta Pari., vii. 350-3 ; vide also iii. 44 ; v. 546. 
 
DUNDEE — NOTICES OF THE SHIPPING. 217 
 
 also the customs which arose from bread and animal food, the re- 
 venues of which, even then, were pretty considerable. 8 
 
 Notices of the shipping of Dundee frequently occur after the 
 date of these entries. It was a vessel of this port, called St Mary i 
 so named, probably, in honor of the patron Saint of the town, 
 which conveyed the Earl of Crawford and his suite to London, to 
 the celebrated tournament in 1390 ; and in 1491, another ship, 
 bearing the name of "Marie' of Dunde," appears to have been 
 owned by more than one individual.' It is also affirmed that in 
 1567, when a fleet was despatched in search of the Earl of 
 Bothwell, who had adopted the desperate life of a pirate on the 
 north coast, the three best vessels employed in that expedition 
 belonged to this port. 11 
 
 But there is no means of knowing the real state of the shipping 
 until 1652, at which time the record of the Seamen Fraternity 
 begins. It is said, but evidently erroneously, that about a 
 hundred ships belonged to_ Dundee prior to the capture of the 
 town by General Monk in 1651 ; and, although Dr Gumble says 
 that there were sixty vessels " of all sorts" in the harbour at 
 that time, the greater part of them had doubtless belonged to 
 other places, and been brought there by parties who then took 
 refuge at Dundee. It is certain that, in 1654, there were only 
 ten vessels belonging to the port ; and fifty-two years afterwards 
 there were twenty-two. In the course of twenty-five years that 
 number was more than doubled, and a similar result followed to- 
 wards the close of the last century. The number has continued 
 to increase ever since, and on 31st December 1858, there were 
 two hundred and seventy-five ships belonging to the port, in- 
 cluding nine steamers, of a registered tonnage of 51,200 tons, 
 manned by 2764 men/ 
 
 Of the state of the harbour in early times there is little record. 
 Monipennie briefly describes it, 1612, as " a commodious haven." 
 In October, 1668, in common with many other places, the har- 
 bour and shipping suffered severely from a violent storm, and 
 Parliament recommended a collection to be made throughout the 
 
 • Chamb. Bolls, i. *13 ; ii., iii., v.y. 
 
 ' Lives of the Lindsays, i. 88 ; Acta Aud., 154. 
 u Dr Small's Stat. Acct. of Dundee, 71. 
 
 * Note per Mr Neish of Laws, from Oapt. Trail of Dundee Marine Bowd. 
 FF 
 
218 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 kingdom to aid in the repair of the former. Ten years after 
 this disaster, Mr Edward of Murroes, says that " the harbour, by 
 great labour and expense, has been rendered a very safe and 
 agreeable station for vessels ; " while a few years later, Mr 
 Ochterlony describes it as "a good shore, well built with hewn 
 stone, with a key on both sydes, whereof they load and unload 
 their ships, with a great house on the shore called the Pack House, 
 where they lay up their merchant goods." An author, who 
 visited the place about 1728, says " it is rather a mole than a 
 harbour, having no backwater to clean^it ; and that there are three 
 entrances into it which may contain a hundred sail of ships, but 
 not of any great burthen."" 7 But since these days, the har- 
 bour has been entirely changed, and the " soft clay or slike," for 
 the removal of which " by flat-bottomed boats, as in Holland," 
 he says, there was then no revenue, is now carried off by the 
 most approved apparatus — the harbour being, as a whole, one of 
 the best in the kingdom, whether in respect of size or of safety. 
 
 As the chief seaport of the county, Dundee has also been, from 
 earliest record, the principal seat of its commerce. For upwards 
 of two centuries, the staple trade has consisted in the manufac- 
 ture of linen cloth, of which it is now the greatest and most 
 approved mart in Britain. Many of the manufactories and 
 warehouses are in elegant styles of architecture, and of great 
 extent. The population of the town and neighbourhood has 
 naturally increased with the growth of trade ; and, with the ex- 
 ception of Glasgow^ no other Scottish town has grown so rapidly. 
 In 1801, the population was 27,396 — since then it has been more 
 than trebled, amounting in 1859 to about 94,299, of whom it is 
 supposed that a fourth part are Boman Catholics from Ireland.* 
 
 A want of space will not allow us to give detailed accounts 
 either of the different trades that have been, or that still are, 
 carried on in Dundee, nor of the rise and progress of the popula- 
 tion. This is the less to be regretted, however, as detailed infor- 
 mation on this subject will be found in other publication. But it 
 may be remarked, that although there was a Lodge of Free- 
 
 w Journey through Soot., i. 96. This book is commonly attributed to De Foe, 
 but Lowndes says the author of it was John Maokay. 
 
 1 This includes Lochee, a populous manufacturing village, about a mile and a- 
 half N.W. of the town, but within the Parliamentary boundary. 
 
DUNDEE — COMMISSIONERS TO PARLIAMENT. 219 
 
 masons, at least during the early part of the sixteenth century, 
 it is probable that here, as in most other places, the weavers were 
 the earliest incorporated body. The date of the incorporation 
 of none of the trades is known with certainty, but is supposed to 
 vary from 1555 to about 1610/ 
 
 The exclusive privilege of trafficking in " wooll, skins, and 
 hides," which was granted to the town by David II., must have 
 added greatly to the prosperity of the burgh ; while the more 
 modern and peculiar departments of manufactures, such as those 
 of men's bonnets, which were made of worsted, and of buckles, 
 and more lately of thread, particularly the first mentioned, gave 
 the town a name which will not soon be forgotten. None of 
 these trades are practiced now-a-days ; but the Bucklemaker 
 Wynd, and the Bonnet Hill, are supposed to have been the places 
 where the manufacturers of these two articles chiefly resided. 2 
 
 It should have been previously observed, that it is not until 
 1467 that we meet with a commissioner of the town sitting in 
 Parliament ; but from that time, down to the Union, the burgh 
 was pretty constantly represented. The first commissioner 
 was named David Aberkerdour ; and in the Parliament held 
 at Edinburgh in 1560, when the proposition was made by the 
 Estates to the haughty Queen Elizabeth of England, "to June in 
 mariage with the Erll of Arrane," the representative of the burgh 
 (Mr Halyburton) subscribes himself "Prowest of Dundij." a 
 
 We have already seen that there were recognised provosts in 
 the time of Queen Mary, and even before that, for the designa- 
 tion occurs both in the confirmation charter of the guildry of 
 1527, and in the indenture or agreement between the town of 
 Dundee and its master mason in 1536-7, previous to which, as in 
 most other burghs, the chief magistrate bore the title of alder- 
 man. The first of these documents shows that there was also 
 a Dean of Guild, by whose sanction and advice only ships could 
 be freighted, and by whom freights were collected. 1 The other 
 
 y Thomson's Hist, of Dundee, 247. 
 
 * The following popular rhyme, which has reference to the BonnetmakerB, may 
 he taken as significant both of their dirty, and at the same time, of their industri- 
 ous habits : — 
 
 " Ulie byke — ulie bee ; — 
 The Bonnetmakers o' Dundee." 
 
 * Acta Pari., ii. 89, 606. 
 
220 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 document contains many interesting points not elsewhere to be 
 found, in regard to "the mason craft" of the period, such as 
 the mode of payment, the hours of labour during the two sea- 
 sons of summer and winter, provisions for the workman in case 
 of distress, the term of years of masons' apprentices, their wages, 
 and the like. 
 
 At the date of this deed, it appears that the box-master of "the 
 paroche kirk of Our Lady" was the "maister of warkis" for 
 the town, and under his superintendence "the mason" obliged 
 himself to " exerceiss the best and maist ingeniouss poyntis and 
 practikis of his craft," whether " at the kirk werk or commone 
 werkis of the said burgh, or at ony other werkis that the said 
 toun plesis best to command hym thairto oney tyme quhen neid 
 beis." His hours of labour, which were an hour and-a-half 
 longer each day than those now in use, were regulated accord- 
 ing to the " aid vss and consuetud of Owr Lady luge of Dunde." 
 He began work at five o'clock in the morning, and continued 
 until eight, when he had " ane haf hour to his disuine" or 
 breakfast ; from nine he wrought till half-past eleven, when he 
 probably had dinner ; then from one to four when he again had 
 " ane half hour to his none schankis," a meal which was per- 
 haps equivalent to that of tea (vulgarly ealled four-hours) ; and, 
 finally, resuming work at half-past four, he closed for the day at 
 seven." 
 
 In winter, which was calculated to begin and close at Hallow- 
 day and Lady-day respectively, he was bound to enter upon his 
 work " ilk day als sone as he ma se, and wirk as long as he may 
 se at eweyn," during which time he was to labour constantly, 
 having " na tyme of licence of dennar nor noneshankis, causs of 
 the shortnes of the* dais." He had few holidays. On " Fastryns 
 dayis" he worked till four o'clock, and on Christmas, Pask, 
 Whit, and Assumption days, he dropt work at twelve. His wage 
 was settled at £20 Scots yearly, payable by instalments every 
 six weeks. If employed at any time, by other parties than the 
 burgh, his wage was paid under deduction of that time; and, 
 
 " Thomson's Hist, of Dundee, 277-80. 
 
 c NbneschamJcis, or nonyaanks, has also heen said to signify " luncheon." — 
 Beg- Vet. de Aberb., xx. 
 
DUNDEE—LODGING OF THE ABBOTS OF ARBBOATH. 221 
 
 in the event of being unable, from ill health, to attend to his 
 work for a period of not more than forty consecutive days, he 
 was to receive his full wage ; but, if his illness exceeded that time, 
 his pay was stopt. The town allowed him an apprentice, who 
 was to be sufficiently big and strong for the business, and " nocht 
 ane small child," the term of whose apprenticeship was fixed for 
 seven years. During the first year the apprentice had no wages, 
 but the town agreed to pay him £10 Scots, or 16s. 8d. sterling 
 a-year, during the rest of his engagement, and he was also pro- 
 vided for in cases of sickness, in much the same manner as was 
 his master. 4 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Lodging, or Hostilage of the Abbots of Arbroath — Its Furnishings — Lodging of the 
 Earls of Crawford — Argyllgate and Port — Whitehall CIosb — Reputed Palace 
 — James VI. at Dundee — The Mint — Ancient Houses— The Cross — Johnston's 
 Panegyric — Old Notices of the Town — Town Hall — Public Seminaries — New 
 Improvements — Queen Victoria's Visit — Hoyal Triumphal Arch, &c. 
 
 Although little remains to be noticed regarding the history of 
 Dundee in old times, there are still a few additional traces both 
 in written record and in its buildings, which may be interesting. 
 The lodging or hostilage of the Abbot and Convent of Arbroath 
 was the abode of the Abbot and his followers, when on the 
 business of the Convent at Dundee, and, perhaps, stood upon 
 the toft which Earl David granted to the monastery at the time 
 of its foundation. 
 
 Prior to the year 1327, it was held of the Abbey by Stephen 
 Fairburn, a burgess of Berwick-upon-Tweed, who then made it 
 over to William of Irwyn, and Mariot his spouse, the charter 
 being confirmed by the celebrated Abbot Bernards This docu- 
 ment throws some interesting light upon the domestic man- 
 ners and customs of the period, and shows that, apart from a 
 small money rent, which the tenant paid to the superior, and 
 after the house had been provided by the Convent with kitchen 
 ■' Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 317-19. ' Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 315. 
 
222 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 utensils, which the occupiers were ever after bound to uphold, 
 they were obliged to furnish the Abbot and monks, according 
 to their respective ranks, when they visited Dundee, with a 
 hall plenished with tables, and trestles or stools, with white 
 tallow or Paris candles to burn in the evenings, and white 
 salt to use at table. Besides this, they were to have a spense, 
 with a buttery ; sleeping chambers, and a kitchen ; a stable ; and 
 also litter, which probably included straw and rushes. The 
 first was perhaps used chiefly for their horses, and the latter 
 for strewing upon the floors of the hall and bedchambers. This, 
 it may be added, was long previously the fashion, not only in 
 Britain and on the Continent, but also in the East, and con- 
 tinued in use in our own country, among princes and nobles, 
 down to the introduction of carpets. Shakspeare oftener than 
 once mentions the fact; and when the celebrated Thomas a Becket, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, had his apartments strewn daily with 
 fresh hay or straw, it was accounted one of the luxuries en- 
 joyed by that prelate. 
 
 Next in point of antiquity and importance to the lodging of the 
 Monks of Arbroath, was that of the Earls of Crawford. It is 
 probable that this house belonged, at one time, to the good Sir 
 James Lindsay, uncle to the first Earl of Crawford, and the great 
 benefactor of the Hospital. " It is variously described in ancient 
 records as the ' Palatium Comitis,' the ' Earl's Palace,' the ' Great 
 Lodging,' or the ' Earl's Lodging,' and formed a vast and an- 
 tique edifice, part of which was still standing about sixty years 
 ago, with the letters 3LivitJC88l}) embossed on the battlements. 
 It stood in what was formerly called the ' Fluckergait,' now the 
 Nethergate, west of the High Street or Market-place, occupying, 
 with its offices and ' viridarium,' or garden, the whole space be- 
 tween that street and the river. A chapel, or oratory, dedicated 
 to St Michael the Archangel, was attached to the palace, and 
 served for the daily devotions of the family. " f Many of the 
 Earls of Crawford were born in this town residence ; among 
 whom, it is believed were Earl Beardie, and his son, the original 
 Duke of Montrose. Here also, it is said, Archibald, fifth Earl 
 of Douglas and Duke of Touraine, was married to Lady Margaret, 
 ' Lives of the Lindsays, i. 110 ; i. 104. 
 
DUNDEE — WHITEHALL CLOSS. 223 
 
 eldest daughter of the first Earl of Crawford, "with sic pomp and 
 triumph," Pitscottie quaintly remarks, "that never the like was 
 seen at no man's marriage." 
 
 The old Earls of Argyll, it is said, had also a residence in 
 Dundee, but all trace of.it has long since disappeared. It stood 
 in the Overgate, and is supposed to have given the name of " Ar- 
 gilisgait," or " Ergaylisgat," to that street, which it bore from at 
 least the middle of the 15th century. At the west end of it there 
 was a Port or gate.e The site of the house is preserved only 
 by the name of Argyll Closs ; and, unlike that of the Earls of 
 Crawford, no description of it has been handed down. 
 
 In a house in Whitehall Closs, the Convention of Royal Burghs 
 met at one time, and Charles II. is also said to have lived there 
 during his short stay in Dundee. On a house fronting the 
 street, which, however, is of a date long posterior to King 
 Charles' time, there is a good carving of the royal arms, en- 
 circled by the legend — " honi soit qvi malt pence," with the 
 words " god save the king," and the royal initials c.e.g., 
 and date 1660. In all probability this shield had been put up 
 by the loyal owner of the house at the period of the " glorious 
 Kestoration," who perhaps named the closs at the same time. 
 
 In the same entry is a grotesque carving, in stone, of the 
 Fall of our First Parents, represented in the ordinary way, with 
 a serpent twisted round a tree, over which hovers the not un- 
 graceful figure of an angel. On the opposite side of the closs, 
 also built into a wall, is part of an old carved door or chimney 
 lintel, dated 1589, ornamented with the crown and royal lion of 
 Scotland, and bearing the following remains of a legend inscribed 
 upon a ribbon : — 
 
 OBAY - ZE ■ KING .... KINS . IAMB -6 IN . DB [fence] . .' 
 
 According to some writers there was once a palace of the 
 Scottish kings at Dundee. This idea had perhaps arisen from 
 the existence of the royal emblems just noticed, for otherwise 
 there is no evidence or record of it ; and when it is borne in 
 mind that it was fashionable for the more opulent burgesses and 
 merchants, as well as for private gentlemen in all parts of the 
 * Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 93, 185 ; ii. 353. 
 
224 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MBAENS. 
 
 kingdom, to have their houses decorated, both within and with- 
 out, with the national arms and loyal legends, it will be seen that 
 no faith need be placed in this popular rumour. 
 
 Although it is certain that King Robert the Bruce and his two 
 immediate successors on the throne were frequently in the town, 
 and that David II. held at least two state councils and one par- 
 liament there, h it is most probable that these monarchs not only 
 transacted business in the Monastery of the Greyfriars, but also 
 lived in it. 
 
 It is said that when King James VI. landed in Dundee, on the 
 21st of May 1617, he passed the night at Dudhope Castle, the 
 residence of Sir John Scrimgeour, hereditary constable of the 
 town. At that time the King only remained a night in the 
 neighbourhood^ having left early next morning for Kinnaird 
 Castle, near Brechin, the seat of his favourite Lord Carnegie. 1 
 The King returned from Kinnaird to Dundee after an absence of 
 ten days, when he gave audience to the magistrates and chief 
 men of the town and its vicinity ; and, the better to evince their 
 loyalty and attachment to him, it is said that they presented him 
 with two Latin poems, in celebration of his visit. 
 
 But although there is no good evidence of a royal palace hav- 
 ing been here, it is certain that Robert III. established a mint 
 at which groats were coined.^ The mint ceased with that King, 
 however, and was not again resumed until May 1585, when, 
 in consequence of the severity of the pestilence in Edinburgh, 
 the " cunyie house " was removed to Dundee. But it was 
 
 h Acta Pari., i. 100 ; 60 ; Keg. Mag. Sig,, v.y. 
 
 ' This has been mistaken by some for Kinnaird, in the Carse of Gowrie ; 
 but the Kirk Session Eecords of Brechin, &c, set the matter at rest. The King 
 seems to have spent much of his time in hunting with Lord Carnegie in Montreath- 
 mont Muir (Land of the Lindsays, p. 195), and he was oftener than once in the 
 town of Brechin, where preparations were kept up for his reception (ut swp., p. 135.) 
 He also held court both there and at Kinnaird, which was attended by the Pres- 
 bytery of Brechin. His last visit to that town appears to have been made on the 27th 
 May, and on the day following, being unable to visit the city of Aberdeen himself, 
 no fewer than twenty of the royal suite went there instead of the King, and all of 
 them, from Sir Thomas Gerard, bart., down to Archie Armestrang, the King's plea- 
 sant or fool, " wer creatt, maid, and admittit burgesses of gildi."— Burgh Sec. of 
 Aberdeen, Spalding Club. 
 
 ' Cardonnel's Numismata Scotice, 57. The front of the coin had the royal head, 
 with the sceptre before the face, surrounded by the words — hobeetvs dei gea. kex 
 scotokv., and the reverse bore a St Andrew's cross, with a spur rewel of five points 
 in the angle of the cross, and the legend — dns ptectob ms et hbatob ms vtlla 
 dvnde. 
 
DUNDEE — OLD BUILDINGS. 225 
 
 here only until the month of October following, when the in- 
 fection having broken out, the mint was removed to Perth. 
 During the short period referred to, gold, silver, and alloyed 
 pennies were coined, and the words oppidum Dundee, were 
 substituted on the coin for oppidum EDiNBURGl. k The mint is 
 said to have been in St Margaret's Closs, and a portion of it 
 was visible within the last hundred years. But, apart from the 
 regular coinage, it ought to be noticed that Dundee, like many 
 towns of less importance in Britain, had, towards the middle and 
 close of last century, an issue of local coins and medals, among 
 the former of which was the rather uncommon piece of a silver 
 shilling. These, as will be seen from the Appendix, contained 
 views of remarkable buildings in the town and neighbourhood, 
 such as Broughty Castle, the Cross of the burgh, the Churches, 
 the Tower, the Town House, and many other public edifices, to 
 the dates of the building, improvement, or destruction of some of 
 which, they form valuable keys. 1 
 
 The Mauehlin, or Mechlin Tower, supposed to have been a 
 part of the old wall which surrounded the town, stood a little 
 to the east of the narrow of the Murraygate, where an adjoining 
 Court still bears the name. Common story says that the Tower 
 was named from some unrecorded exploit of one of the Lords 
 Mauehlin; but it is more probable that the name had origin- 
 ated in consequence of the seamen and merchants of the 
 town of Mechlin, in Belgium, who visited the port, making 
 that locality a rendezvous. 
 
 The place in the Seagate where Girssal Jaflray was executed 
 for witchcraft, on the 11th of November 1669, is still pointed out. 
 Near it is the house in which the Pretender lodged in 1716, and 
 where the celebrated Admiral Duncan was born, fifteen years 
 afterwards. The Wishart Port stands near the east end of the 
 same street. The house in which General Monk had his resi- 
 dence, after capturing the town in 1651, occupies the foot of the 
 Overgate, nearly opposite to which are the so-called remains of 
 the Nunnery of the Greysisters. These, and the picturesque 
 building in the Green Market, once used as the custom house, 
 together with those in the adjoining street, and in the Vault, 
 
 k Chambers' Dom. Annals of Scot., i. 158, l Appehdix, No. XIII. 
 
 GO 
 
226 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 (popularly called the Howff), behind the Town House, in which 
 stands the stately tenement of "Strathmartin's Lodging," at one 
 time a residence of the lairds of that place, are perhaps the only 
 remaining traces of the ancient houses of Dundee, if we except 
 the old-fashioned buildings, with curiously plastered and wooden 
 gables, resembling those on the Continent, which are to be seen in 
 different parts of the streets and closes of the Overgate, Seagate, 
 and other portions of the town. The Cross of the burgh was taken 
 down in 1777, and is now preserved within the tower of the 
 church. It was surmounted by a carving of a unicorn, and 
 stood originally in front of the Town Hall, but latterly at the 
 door of the old steeple. The shaft of it bore a rude representa- 
 tion of the arms of the town, " the pot and the lily," (which is 
 the badge of the Virgin Mary), with the motto, DEI DONUM, 
 and date 1586. 
 
 Like some of the towns previously noticed, Dundee had a 
 Latin panegyric written in its praise by Dr Arthur Johnston of 
 Aberdeen, and another by John Johnston of St Andrews. Both 
 poems are mere curiosities in their way — for they throw no light 
 either on the antiquity or history of the place — and the following 
 quaint translation of the lines by the Aberdeen poet may suffice : 
 
 " An Ancient Town to which Tay'a entrie do 
 Willing obedience, and subjection shew. 
 The bones of conquer'd and slain Danes are fonnd 
 Here scattered, ill buried in the ground. 
 When Genoa thee views, it doth despise 
 Its marbles, nor doth barbarous Egypt pryse 
 Her Pyramids, and Gargara doth deem 
 Its Harvests to deserve but small esteem. 
 The Lyburne Land thinks not her veshells fair 
 When as she them doth with thy ships compare. 
 Venice her self in poverty thinks lost, 
 And Cnidus of her Fishes dare not boast. 
 The. Spartan Youth to equall thine doth fail ; 
 Home's Senators unto thy Consuls vail. 
 He as an Artless fool should branded be, 
 Who from Tay's-Gulph did beg a name to Thee ; 
 Since Thou by more than Human-Art are fram'd 
 Don-Dei the gift of GOD thou should be named."" 
 
 » Appehdix, No. n. (d.) The Panegyric by John Johnston is printed in 
 Slezer's Theatrum Scoticz, and a translation, with additions, will be found in Bun- 
 dee Delineated. 
 
DUNDEE IN OLD TIMES. 227 
 
 The notice of the town by Captain Franck, who, in his usual 
 pedantic and mysterious style, speaks of having been transported 
 from "the beautiful port of Dundee to the fragrant levels of 
 Fife," in a boat " steer'd by a compass of straw," is compara- 
 tively valueless, while the description of the town by Mr Edward, 
 though quaint and curious, is rather too long to quote in this 
 place." Mr, Ochterlony, the mo3t trustworthy and correct of the 
 local writers of the period, says Dundee " is a large and great 
 towne, very populous, and of a great trade, and hath many good 
 ships. The buildings are large and great, of thrie or four stories 
 high ; a large merkat place, with a very fyne tolbuith and cross ; 
 two great churches, with a very high steeple well furnished of 
 bells, as is also the tolbuith. They have thrie ministers, whereof 
 the towne presents two, and the Constable of Dundie one ; then- 
 Magistrates are a Provost, four Bailies, Dean of Gild, and others, 
 are shirreffs within their own bounds : they are joyned in noth- 
 ing to the shyre except the militia, whereunto they furnish 150 
 foot. It lyeth upon the water of Tay very pleasantlie, and hath 
 good yards and meadows about it. They have four great fairs 
 yearly, two mercat days everie week, and a great fish mercat 
 dayly. There is a great consumption there of all kynd of 
 victualls ; the excyse of malt there being little short of the whole 
 excyse of the shyre and burghs, besyd a great victuall mercat 
 twice a week for service of the towne, besydes great quantities 
 of all kinds of grain, coft by the merchants, and transported, by 
 which returnes they import all kynd of commoditie from Holland, 
 Norway, Denmark, and the east countrey. They export lyk- 
 wayes all other our native commodities," and import other things 
 necessary for the service of the countrey, which serves above 20 
 myles round about their towne." 
 
 Mr Morer, who visited the town, as chaplain to a Scottish 
 regiment, in 1689, observes that " the buildings are such as be- 
 speak the substance and riches of the place ;" and adds that 
 he and his companions were entertained by the corporation, and 
 
 = Franck's Northern Memoirs (o. 1669-70), 238-9; Edward's Descrip. of Angus, 
 1678, 21. In Acta Pari., ii. 486, the "ferryaris" charges between Dundee and New 
 Port, are thus stated — " gif ane man desyris ane boit be himself, to pay for his 
 portage, 4s. ; and euer ilk man and horss, 8d. ; and ilk man or woman be thame self, 
 4d." There is now hourly communication on this Ferry by steamers. 
 
 » Spottiswood Miscell., i. 326-7. 
 
228 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 made burgesses.? " The town is the best built of any I have yet 
 seen," says an English traveller in 1728, " except Edinburgh, 
 and hath a great face of trade : It is good two miles in cir- 
 cumference : its market place is almost as spacious as that of 
 Nottingham, and the town house, a stately venerable pile of free 
 stone, is a great ornament to the market. The City runs in four 
 large Streets, each from this Market Pkce." He also alludes 
 to the Church and the Tower, the latter of which, he says, is like 
 that of Wrexham in Wales ; also to the Hospital, the monu- 
 ments in the Howff, and to Dudhope Castle. But one of the 
 chief beauties of Dundee at that time appears to have been " a 
 pleasant walk" from the harbour to the town, " pav'd with Flag- 
 stones, and with Eows of Trees on each side," which^ he con- 
 tinues, " serves for an Exchange to the merchants and masters 
 of Ships." The restoration of such a walk in the neighbour- 
 hood of the harbour, and the introduction of trees about such 
 places as the New Exchange, the Meadows, and other parts 
 where they could be planted without interfering with public 
 thoroughfares, would, perhaps, be one of the most pleasing im- 
 provements that could be effected in the burgh. 
 
 It is only natural to infer, from the growing wealth of the 
 town, that the style of the houses and shops in the new streets, and 
 other buildings, public and private, correspond with the advance- 
 ment of the times, and with the increase of the trade and popula- 
 tion of the burgh. The Town Hall, erected in 1734, is a fine 
 specimen of the architectural genius of the elder Adam ; and the 
 Grammar School or Public Seminaries, at the top of Reform 
 Street, is a good example of the Grecian style of architecture. 
 These were built in 1833, and lately received additions in keep- 
 ing with the original plan, chiefly for the accommodation of the 
 recently established Government School of Design. 
 
 In speaking of this institution, it may be mentioned that the 
 schools of Dundee are of old date, and have long and justly 
 enjoyed celebrity as places of elementary education. Blind Harry 
 says that Sir William Wallace was taught there; but this is not 
 so certain as the fact before adverted to that the grammar school 
 had long for its rector the learned David Lindsay, afterwards 
 " Short Account of Scot., 105. 
 
DUNDEE — QUEEN VICTORIA'S VISIT. 229 
 
 Bishop, first of Brechin and them of Edinburgh, whose attempt to 
 introduce the Liturgy into the church, in 1637, contributed so 
 much to the overthrow of Episcopacy. 4 
 
 But it was not merely the departments of reading and writing 
 which were attended to at that early date ; for the delightful 
 and humanising art of music formed also an element in the edu- 
 cation of youth; and, contemporary with Mr Lindsay, in 1603, 
 was one John Williamson, who is designed " master of the sang 
 schole," for which, " within the burgh," he received a salary 
 from the magistrates of 16 marks yearly. 1 ' It is said that the 
 grammar school was held at one time in the nave of the old 
 church. Of this I have seen no record ; but it is certain that, so 
 early as 1435, which is the first authentic notice of the public 
 schools, a new school and school-house were built by Laurence 
 Lownan, then master, and that, in consequence of his having 
 erected the buildings without consulting the Bishop of the dio- 
 cese, he incurred his displeasure, and received the censure of the 
 church. 5 Prior to the erection of the present fine building, the 
 school was held near the town's churches. Many of the masters 
 have been men of first rate abilities, and the school has produced 
 a number of eminent scholars.' 
 
 It is not intended to describe the different public buildings, 
 more particularly as notices of them have been recently pub- 
 lished. 11 But it may be remarked that, unlike Edinburgh and 
 Glasgow, where there are statues and columns to perpetuate the 
 remembrance of eminent statesmen, warriors, and poets, Dundee 
 can boast of no such ornament, with the exception of the Victoria 
 Triumphal Arch, erected near the spot where Her Majesty the 
 Queen landed, and re-embarked, in the autumn of 1844, when 
 going to and from London to the Highlands of Perthshire. 
 Since the days of King Charles II., no crowned head, so far as 
 known, had visited Dundee ; and it is unnecessary to add, that 
 both at the landing and embarkation, the reception of the Royal 
 Family was enthusiastic and brilliant. 
 
 With a noble and characteristic spirit of loyalty, as yet un- 
 
 "- Lives of the Lindsays, ii. 16 ; Land of the Lindsays, 284; ut sitp., 59, 182. 
 
 * Appendix of Documents — Mr Innes' JSeport. 
 
 • Keg. Ep. Brechin., i. 62. ' Appendix, No. XIV. 
 
 * ■ See Maxwell's Guide to Dundee, with illustrations, 18mo. 
 
230 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 equalled in any other town in the kingdom, the merchants of 
 the burgh, along with the nobility and gentry of the shire, 
 wisely perpetuated that interesting event by erecting the Royal 
 Arch. It is a fine piece of Norman architecture, eighty-four 
 feet in height by eighty-two in breadth, with a spiral stair in the 
 east tower leading to the top, from which a fine and extensive 
 prospect is obtained. The arch is appropriately embellished with 
 the initials of Queen Victoria and Prinee Albert; and an electric 
 clock having been placed in the parapet between the towers, it 
 is thus rendered an object of utility, besides being a work of 
 ornamental and of historical interest. 
 
 FORPAB TOTOH BBAHXB V. PAOE 30. 
 
MEMOKIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 PART THIRD. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONARY NOTICES OF 
 
 &fje Barons 
 
 WHO SWORE FEALTY TO KING EDWAED THE FIRST, 
 A.D. 1291-2, 
 
 AND OF THEIR FAMILIES AND ESTATES. 
 
PAET THIRD. 
 
 THE BARONS WHO SWORE FEALTY TO EDWARD L, A.D. 1291-2. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 &f)e iWattUs of IJanmure. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Origin of the family of Maule — Epitaphs from the tombs of Pet* and Ansold at 
 Uttica — Deprived of their estates in France — Their settlement in England — 
 In Scotland — Acquires the lands of Easter Fowlis — Sir Peter marries Christian 
 Vallognes, heiress of Panmure — The Vallognes of Panmure — Sir William 
 Maule's submission to Edward I. — Gift and Suppression of the Chaplainry of 
 Boath — Church of Carmyllie founded — Sir Thomas killed at Harlaw — Death of 
 the Earl of Atholl — Sir Thomas Maule attempts to recover the Lordship of 
 Brechin — Chapel at Panmure — Sir Thomas killed at Flodden — Robert im- 
 prisoned at London — Commissary Maule — The Maules of Ireland, &c. 
 
 The early history of the Maules of Panmure, like that of most 
 ancient Scottish families, has been invested with much fable. 
 Hector Boyce, and some others affirm that they came from 
 Hungary, with the Queen of Malcolm Canmore, and afterwards 
 received charters of the lands of Panmure from King Edgar. 
 This, however, is contrary to the fact : The De Maules, or 
 Masculi, as the name was originally written, were of Norman 
 lineage, descended from the Maules of the Lordship of Maule, in 
 the Vexin Francois, eight leagues from Paris, a possession which 
 was owned by the family for the long period of four hundred 
 years. One of these, Ansold sire de Maule, and Hersende, his 
 wife, are recorded as benefactors to the Priory of St Martin-in- 
 the-Fields at Paris, about the year 1015, and their son, Peter of 
 Maule, also a friend to the church, died on the 12th of January, 
 in the year 1100. He was buried in the cloister of the church 
 of Uttica, to which he had granted various lands and patronages, 
 and where the following eulogy upon his tomb long perpetuated 
 his name and virtues : — 
 HH 
 
234 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 " Post annos Agni centum cum mille Superni 
 Flos procerum Peteus prope Jani deoidit Idus. 
 Dapsilis et loetus multum fuit atque facetus, 
 Plus epulis quam militiae studiosns agoni. 
 Summus apud proceres et nobilium fuit heres. 
 Vixit honoratus terra qua pausat bumatus, 
 Et dedit hanc Sedem Christi genetricis ad sedem : 
 Bis senus Jani sol nubibus cxtitit illi, 
 Sed sol Justitiae prsece fulgidus esto Marise. 
 Plangit Parisius, pangat super tunc Paradisus, 
 Per Sanotos, sedem quibus banc concessit et sedem." 
 
 Ansold, eldest son of Peter of Maule, took a prominent part in 
 
 the wars of Italy, and down to the year 1118, signalised himself 
 
 in several battles ; but about that time he assumed the habit of 
 
 a monk of St Bennet, and ended his life in the Monastery of 
 
 Uttica. He was interred beside his father, where an elegant 
 
 tablet was erected to his memory, bearing this inscription, by 
 
 Odo of Monstrewel : — 
 
 " Si quis erit qui scire velit dum vivus adesset, 
 Quis fuerit, quem tumba tegit, quod nomen haberet : 
 Ansoldi nomen fuit huic, et militia omen, 
 Quinta dies fit ei requies in fine Decembris. 
 Detur ei pietate Dei merces requiei. Amen." * 
 
 Ansold had seven sons, of whom Peter, the eldest, was in 
 every way a contrast to his father, being so arrogant and 
 haughty in his disposition, that he was deprived of his patri- 
 monial estates, and had his castle destroyed by order of Louis 
 VI. ; nor does it appear, although he followed that king against 
 Henry I. of England, that he ever received back his lands. 
 Probably to that circumstance is to be attributed the migration 
 of the family to Britain, for it is certain that Guarin, third son 
 of that turbulent baron, came to England in the train of William 
 the Conqueror, and settled in Yorkshire, 
 
 Robert Maule, son of Guarin, was the first of the family that 
 appeared in Scotland, to which country he came with David I., 
 but nothing farther is known of his history, except that he 
 witnessed a charter of Prince Henry, son of our King David. 
 William, son of Robert of Maule, was engaged in the battle of the 
 Standard, and for his services upon that occasion he had a grant 
 of the lands of Easter Fowlis in Perthshire. To the prior and 
 v * Begistrum de Panmure, MS., i. 23, 34. Afpehdix, No. XV. (1-2). 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMUKE. 235 
 
 canons of St Andrews, he gave the chapel of Fowlis, together 
 with pasture for eight oxen, ten cows, three horses, and a 
 hundred sheep, with an injunction that his body should be 
 buried in the cemetery of the canons. b William left three 
 daughters ; the two ' youngest of whom were respectively mar- 
 ried to Mortimer, afterwards of Fowlis, and to Walter Euthven, 
 ancestor of the Earls of Gowrie. About A.D. 1189-99, Koger 
 of Mortimer had a confirmation charter of the land of Fowlis 
 " que fuit" William of Maule's ; whilst Thomas, nephew of 
 William of Maule, became parson of the church of Fowlis, 
 which he had in pure and perpetual alms, on the .payment of a 
 merk yearly to the priory of St Andrews. 
 
 But it was Sir Peter, eldest son of Sir Bichard of Maule, 
 nephew of William of Fowlis, who was the direct ancestor of 
 the family of Panmure. Contrary to the notion of Boyce, that 
 estate came to the Maules by marriage, for, about the year 1224, 
 the last-mentioned Sir Peter married Christian of Vallognes, 
 daughter and heiress of Sir William of Vallognes, lord of Pan- 
 mure in Angus, and by her succeeded, not only to that estate, 
 but to those of . Benvie and Balruthrie ; also to several pro- 
 perties in England, on the death of Christian, Countess of Essex, 
 1234-5. 
 
 The Countess of Essex was daughter of Eobert and Guanora 
 of Vallognes, and Eobert was grandchild of Peter of Vallognes, 
 founder of the Benedictine Priory of Binham in Norfolk, re- 
 mains of the church of which are still standing. This Sir Peter 
 was also a Norman, and came to England with William the 
 Conqueror, from whom he had a grant of no fewer than fifty- 
 seven lordships or manors, scattered over six of the most im- 
 portant counties. d 
 
 According to the family Eegister of Panmure, Sir Peter de 
 Vallognes, founder of Biuham Priory, had a son called Eoger, 
 
 " Keg- Prioratus S. Andree, 264. 
 
 c Ibid., 41. The church of Fowlia Easter, which is said to have been built 
 by Sir Andrew Gray of Fowlis, 1437-60, is nearly a perfect specimen of the architec- 
 ture of the 15th century. It contains some curious paintings on panel, in good 
 preservation, and a fine ambry of hewn freestone. There is also an interesting 
 coffin slab in the kirk-yard, embellished with an ornamental ctobs, * sword, and 
 a hunting horn. 
 
 d Dugdale's Baronage of England, i. 441. 
 
236 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 who had six sons, of whom Philip of Vallognes- was the fifth, 
 and had a gift of Panmure and other lands in Forfarshire from 
 William the Lion. He was long High Chamberlain to that 
 monarch; and, dying in 1215, was buried at Melrose, as was 
 also his son William, " juxta sepulchrum patris sui." e He sur- 
 vived his father four years, and left an only child and heiress, 
 called Christina, who became the wife, as before remarked, of 
 Sir Peter of Maule. It was Sir William, the eldest son of this 
 marriage, who did homage to King Edward I., and Sir Thomas, 
 the younger son, fell defending the Castle of Brechin against the 
 English in 1303. 
 
 The first of these brothers is thus designed in the Ragman Eoll: 
 
 Bominus ffittlliclmug tie JWaule, miles. 
 
 He was then head or chief of the Maules of Panmure, also 
 sheriff of Forfarshire at the death of Alexander III., and a 
 favourite with King Edward, who reduced the relief or entry to 
 his Scottish estates from £122 10s. to £40, a sum which ever 
 afterwards became the extent or relief payable at the entry of 
 an heir to Panmure/ 
 
 This Knight's submission occurred at St Andrews, on the 22d 
 of July,& to which place the King had gone to consult with Bishop 
 Fraser regarding the settlement of the disputed monarchy. It 
 is uncertain whether Sir William Maule was alive at the time of 
 King Edward's second visit to Scotland in 1296 : most pro- 
 bably he was dead, for, as previously stated, not only did his 
 brother, Sir Thomas, defend the Castle of Brechin against the 
 English, but Sir William's son, Henry, was also so friendly to 
 the cause of the Independence, that The Bruce conferred the 
 honour of knighthood upon him. No person bearing the sur- 
 name of Maule appears in the Ragman Roll at that period; and, 
 from the fact of a late eminent local antiquary having seen a 
 document which shewed that the house of Panmure was leased 
 to Anthony Beck, the celebrated Bishop of Durham, it is pro- 
 
 e Chronica de Mailros, 121, 135. 
 
 1 Ruddiman's Introd. to Anderson's XKplomata Scotia, 225. The estate of 
 Panmure was held under the original charter of King William the Lion, for pro- 
 viding half a soldier whenever demanded. 
 
 f Eagman Rolls, 16. 
 
THE MAULES OP PANMUKE. 237 
 
 bable that the lands had been confiscated, and possessed for a 
 time by King Edward's favourite prelate. 
 
 Sir Walter Maule, eldest son of Sir Henry, son of Sir "William, 
 was governor of Kildrummy Castle in the time of King David 
 II., and, as has been seen, excambed the lands of Carnegie for 
 those of Ballinhard with " John of Ballindard," progenitor of the 
 Carnegies of Forfarshire, of whom the Earl of Southesk is the 
 chief. Sir Walter also granted the chaplainry of Boath to .the 
 Cathedral of Brechin ; but that chaplainry was suppressed about 
 the year 1510, when David Strachan of Carmyllie (an ancestor 
 of whom acquired these lands in dowry with his wife, only 
 daughter of Sir Henry Maule), erected a parish church there. 
 That church, which is believed to be the same edifice as is now 
 in use, is a strong substantial building of ashler. It is entirely 
 devoid of ornament, and -was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. 
 Strachan mortified certain lands adjoining the Milltown to its 
 support, with a garden, and common pasture for a specified 
 number of cattle and sheep, to Malcolm Strubble, then chaplain 
 of the church, and his successors in office, for which, as was the 
 fashion of the period, mass was to be said for the souls of the 
 donor, his wife, and other relatives. 11 
 
 Sir William, eldest son of Sir Walter Maule, married Marion, 
 only child of Fleming of Biggar, by Lady Jane, daughter of Sir 
 David Barclay of Brechin, and thus the Maules became related 
 to the ancient Lords of Brechin, descendants of David, Earl of 
 Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion. The eldest 
 son of this marriage was a brave man, and falling at the battle 
 of Harlaw, where he fought in defence of the Duke of Albany 
 against Donald of the Isles, he is thus eulogised in a well- 
 known ballad : — 
 
 " The Knicht of Panmure, as was sene, 
 A mortal man, in armour bricht ; 
 Sir Thomas Murray, stout and kene, 
 Left to the world their last gude-nioht." 
 
 By his wife, a daughter of Cray of Fowlis, Sir William Maule 
 had a posthumous son, Sir Thomas, who carried on the succes- 
 sion ; and, on the execution of Walter, Earl of Atholl, in 1436-7, 
 
 h Eeg. Ep. Breohin,„i. 223. 
 
238 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 the Earl having held the estates of Brechin merely in virtue of 
 his marriage with the heiress, Margaret Barclay, Sir Thomas 
 advanced his claim to these, and led proof to shew the validity of 
 his title. 1 Still, although he proved himself the undoubted heir 
 to the lordship, neither he nor his successors obtained possession 
 of it. Indeed, from the influence which was brought to bear 
 against Sir Thomas, he ultimately abandoned the claim, but not 
 until he received certain portions of the lands, such as those of 
 Leuchland, Hetherwick, Olaleck, Jackston, and Staddockmore, 
 the lordship itself being annexed to the* Crown, by whom it was 
 afterwards given to different parties at different times.J 
 
 In 1490, Sir Thomas Maule's son confirmed the ancient grants 
 of his predecessors of certain fishings at East Haven to the Ab- 
 bey of Cupar, and had a papal bull for erecting a chapel for di- 
 vine service in his house of Panmure, which he dedicated to the 
 Blessed Virgin, k while his grandson and successor, also Sir Tho- 
 mas, along with his wife and children, were " received in confra- 
 ternity with the monks for their prayers and messes." This, 
 however, availed Sir Thomas little, for, in common with but 
 too many of his countrymen, he fell at Flodden in 1513, where, 
 perhaps, also, fell his kinsman and vassal, Alexander Strachan of 
 Carmyllie, who, a few years before, on succeeding to his father, 
 granted a bond of manrent, or personal service and attendance, 
 in favor of his superior, by which he bound himself by the " holy 
 Evangils touchit, lelely and truely," to become " man and re- 
 tainer both in househald, and out with househald," on his own 
 expense, to Sir Thomas and his heirs, whenever he was ordered 
 " to ryd or gang," and to take part, as the deed goes on to say, 
 " with my said maister in all his actions, causes, and quarrells, 
 mowet or to be mowet be quhatsomevir person or persons." 1 
 
 On the fall of Sir Thomas at Flodden, he was succeeded- by 
 his son Eobert, who became remarkable for several acts of 
 bravery, and was one of those who attempted to rescue James V. 
 out of the hands of the Earl of Arran, for which he subsequently 
 had a remission, as he also had " for treasonably abiding from 
 
 1 Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 256. > Appendix, No. XVI. 
 k Beg. de Pammwre, MS., i. 319. 
 
 1 Ibid., 350. Sir Thomas had a similar bond from David Lydel of Panlathy, 
 who, it is probable, had also been at Flodden. 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMURE. 239 
 
 the army of Solway." m He opposed the marriage of Queen 
 Mary and Prince Edward, and was besieged in his house of 
 Panmure, which he gallantly defended against the English ; but 
 being severely wounded, he was captured and carried prisoner 
 to the Tower of London, where he was confined for about a 
 year. 
 
 No sooner had he returned from captivity than he engaged in 
 other broils ; and, along with a company of armed followers, he 
 went to Panlathy, and forcibly prevented a precept of ejectment 
 from being served against the tenants. The proceedings were 
 raised by Thomas Douglas and Elizabeth Liddale, who were 
 vassals of Maule, and he, favouring the tenantry, carried the 
 officer and witnesses " to the Place of Panmure, and detained 
 them in prison under captivity." For this outrage he and his 
 followers were summoned to Edinburgh ; and, having failed to 
 appear, they were denounced rebels and put to the horn. n 
 
 Robert Maule, who died in 1560, had only two years pre- 
 viously a grant of the "bailiery of Barry" from the Abbot and 
 Convent of Balmerino, for his own lifetime, and for nineteen 
 years afterwards to his heirs. He was twice married, first to a 
 daughter of Mercer of Aldie, and next to one of the Arbuthnotts. 
 By the first he had three sons and two daughters ; by the second, 
 three sons and one daughter ; and the eldest son of the last mar- 
 riage wa3 father of Henry Maule of Melgund, who was an anti- 
 quary, and reputed author of a " History of the Picts." The 
 eldest son, by his first lady, was a staunch loyalist, fought on the 
 King's side, was taken prisoner at the battle of Hadden-Rig, in 
 Teviotdale, in 1542, and kept in captivity until after the death 
 of James V. He was also at the battle of Pinkie — joined the 
 association in behalf of James VI. in 1567, and died in 1600, at 
 an advanced age. 
 
 He was twice married, first to Elizabeth, daughter of David 
 Earl of Crawford, by his wife Margaret Beaton ; and secondly, 
 to a daughter of Hallyburton of Pitcur. The fact of the first of 
 these marriages is doubted by some genealogists, but the con- 
 tract of it is still extant, dated at Balmerino, in Fife, 8th January 
 1526, and signed by the Earl of Crawford and Sir Robert Maule. 
 - Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, i. «256. " Ibid., *345. ° Reg. de Panmwe, MS., i. 420. 
 
240 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 By that document, it appears that the lady was to have £1000 
 " in tocher " from her father — a sum which was to be raised out 
 of the rents of the lands- of Stotfaulds, Fallhaws, Kirkhill, and 
 Gruildy, in the parish of Monikie ; and Sir Robert of Panmure 
 was to " put his son in the fee of all his lands present and to be 
 gottyn," with certain reservations to himself and his wife.? 
 
 He had a family of eight sons and three daughters, all by his 
 second wife. The eldest son, Thomas, succeeded to the estates, 
 and married Margaret, daughter of John Erskine of Dun, the 
 celebrated reformer, and by her had Patrick, who became the 
 first Earl of Panmure. Robert, the fourth son, Commissary 
 of St Andrews, was one of the ablest antiquaries of his day ; 
 and, in addition to a history of the family of Maule, wrote 
 a treatise in Latin, called De Antiquitate Gentis Bcotorurn, 
 being a stricture on certain misrepresentations which Camden 
 published in his Britannia. He was followed in this by works 
 of a like nature, from the pens of Hume of Godscroft, and by 
 Drummond of Hawfhornden, both of whom supported Mr Maule's 
 views. He left also a manuscript history of the Culdees ; and, 
 throughout all his writings he appears, in the language of the 
 learned Crawford, to have been " one of the most strenuous 
 asserters of the freedom and independency of Scotland." Thomas 
 Maule, the immediate younger brother of the Commissary of St 
 Andrews, married a daughter of the old family of Leighton of 
 IJsan, and had two sons. The eldest of these sons settled in 
 Ireland, and became Lieutenant-Colonel of the Marquis of Or- 
 mond's regiment. Many of his descendants, one of whom died 
 Bishop of Meath in 1758, have been, and still are, men of influ- 
 ence and genius in that country. 
 
 » Beg. de Pdrmure, MS., i. 383. 
 
THE MAULES OP PANMUEE. 241 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The first Earl of Panmure— Gifts from James VI. and Charles I.— Letter from 
 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia— The Earl's attachment to Charles I. and II. — 
 Acquires the Abbacy of Arbroath, the Lordship of Brechin and Navar, and 
 the Estates of the Earls of Kinghorn and Buchan — Letter from Charles II. — 
 The Earl, and his son, Lord Brechin, fined by Cromwell — The Earl's Death — 
 His Last Will — Curious Contract of Marriage, &c. 
 
 The first Earl of Panmure, who, as before shewn, was the eldest 
 son of Patrick Maule, by his wife, Margaret Erskine, may be said 
 to have been the first of his family who exceeded their predeces- 
 sors either in wealth or in influence. He inherited the noble 
 spirit of loyalty which had been all along their reigning principle, 
 and, being equally remarkable for humour and affability of dispo- 
 sition, he was beloved both by the King and by the Court. He 
 went to England with James VI. in 1603, and became one of- 
 the gentlemen of the bed-chamber ; and, in addition to his own 
 extensive patrimony, to which he succeeded in the year 1605, 
 his Majesty conferred upon him the Keeper ship of the Great Park 
 ofEltham. 
 
 Within two months from the accession of Charles I. he re- 
 ceived a charter of the lordship of Colleweston, in Northampton- 
 shire, worth about £2,200 a-year, and which he had expressly 
 " in consideration of his good and faithful services " to the late 
 King " of blessed memorie." With King James' daughter, 
 Princess Elizabeth, afterwards Queen of Bohemia, through whose 
 issue the reigning family of Great Britain succeeded to the 
 throne, Maule was also in favour, in proof of which, and in gra- 
 titude of the services he had rendered to her royal father, the 
 following letter, from the Queen to Mr Maule, is preserved 
 among the family muniments. It is dated from the Hague, 
 28th September 1628, and runs thus : — 
 
 " Good Me Maule, 
 
 " Those whom the King my Father, held worthy 
 
 of his Service, I always Esteem'd as most deserving of my Love ; 
 
 Especially, to me wards as you have done : Wherefor, with 
 
 Thanks for yours, I return you this in earnest of my Kind Ac- 
 
 I I 
 
242 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 ceptance, and Assurance of my ready will to perform any thing 
 that Grod shall enable me, whereby I may express myself your 
 most assured Friend, 
 
 " Elizabeth." 
 
 Mr Maule's friendship for King Charles was as remarkable as 
 it was for his royal father, 1 for he remained stedfastly by him, in 
 his troubles and difficulties, until compelled by Parliament to 
 leave him at Carisbrook Castle. In consequence of this intimacy 
 no one was better acquainted with the 'King's private life, and no 
 one knew more of his sad career than Lord Panmure ; and it is 
 believed that there are many valuable documents at Panmure 
 House relating to that interesting period, the publication of which 
 would throw much light upon its history. 
 
 In 1635, the King appointed Mr Maule, Sheriff of the county 
 of Forfar, and Depute of Admiralty " within the haill bounds, 
 ports, creiks, and harbouries, as well by sea as land, betwixt the 
 South Water and Bruchtie ;" and, on the 2d of August 1646, 
 during the King's sojourn at Newcastle, Mr Maule was created a 
 peer, by the title of Earl of Panmure, Lord Maule of Brechin 
 and Navar. 
 
 In consequence of the Earl's attachment to the King, and from 
 his son, Henry, Lord Brechin, having raised and commanded a 
 troop of horse in favour of that unhappy prince, they were both 
 fined by Cromwell in the united sum of £12,500, which, with 
 only one exception, was the largest fine imposed upon any of the 
 Scottish nobility of the period, and more than double that of any 
 of the others.! Although this fact proves that the Earl of Pan- 
 mure possessed great wealth, it may be added that, apart from 
 the immense estates of which he was the natural heir, and besides 
 those given to him by King Charles I. in England, he purchased 
 the lordship of Brechin and Navar in Angus, and also the Abbacy 
 of Arbroath. This latter possession alone included the right of 
 patronage to no fewer than thirty-two churches, and the su- 
 periority of the old lands of the Abbey, which were scattered 
 over a great number of the counties of Scotland. 
 
 Besides these extensive possessions, he also acquired "the 
 « Crawford's Officers of State, 457-8. 
 
THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 
 MECHANICS AND TRADESMEN 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 FREE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 THE MAULES OP PANMURE. 243 
 
 whole lands of the estates of the Earls of Kinghorn and Buchan," 
 in the counties of Forfar and Banff, the former of which, in 
 June 1653, "were duely and lawfully apprysed frae Patrick, 
 Earle of Kinghorn, and judicially sold, assigned, adjudged, and 
 disponed" to the Earl of Panmure, for the sum of 134,126 merks 
 Scots, as principal, and 6,700 merks of sheriffs' fee. " Sasine, 
 taken at the mannour place of Glames, was to be sufficient for 
 the whole lands, teinds, fishings, and others," which were to be 
 held " in fee and heretage for ever," by the Earl of Panmure 
 and his successors, on the provision that the Earl of Kinghorn, 
 or his heirs, should receive back the lands " how soon the whole 
 shall be redeemed by him or them." The Earl of Panmure dis- 
 poned the estates of Kinghorn and Buchan to his eldest son, 
 Lord Brechin, in March 1661 ; and, in January 1663, two years 
 afterwards, the latter having previously succeeded as second Earl 
 of Panmure, made over the former estates to his nephew, the 
 Earl of Kinghorn, in warrandice of the teinds of which Lord 
 Panmure was, at the same time, infeft in the lands of the Newton 
 of Glamis. r 
 
 After the first Earl of Panmure was dismissed from Oarisbrook 
 Castle, he retired to his country seat, and took little part in the 
 events which followed ; but, on the return of Charles II. from the 
 Hague, when an ineffectual attempt was made to restore him to 
 the throne, the Earl's services and interest were again solicited, 
 both by the Estates, and by royal letter, the latter of which was 
 dated from the camp at Stirling, 28th July 1651. After urging 
 the Earl to do his utmost in behalf of the Restoration in the 
 shire of Forfar, this interesting document says — " All is now at 
 the Stake, Religion, the Liberty of this Ancient Kingdome, our 
 Honour and person, your own particular fortune, and all that can 
 be dear to a Man of Honour : We expect at this time, That you 
 will bestir yourself, and That you will consider nothing but what 
 may sett up the Army again, and make it in a condition to pro- 
 tect the parts of the Kingdome that are yet free from the Enemy ; 
 and, with the blessing of God, To Recover the Rest from the 
 Slavery they now lye under : We are Confident you have so 
 much sense of the Credite of the Kingdome and of your own, 
 " Beg. de Parmwre, MS., ii. 119, &o. 
 
244 MEMOBIA.LS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 and will be so worthy of the Honour of your family, and what 
 you have Inherited from your predecessors, That we shall see 
 the effect of your diUigence and forwardness at this time, which 
 we will always remember very graciously." 
 
 Eight days previous to the date of the King's letter, Lord 
 Brechin was wounded at the engagement of Inverkeithing, and 
 "the most part of his regiment killed and dissipated;" having 
 before served at the equally luckless battle of Dunbar, at both of 
 which places the King's party were routed by General Monk. 
 The Earl himself was now nearly sesenty years of age, and 
 although he was not personally engaged in any of these trans- 
 actions, it is certain that he and his son continued staunch sup- 
 porters of royalty throughout their lives ; and it is pleasing to 
 know that the Earl himself survived to witness the overthrow of 
 a factious government, and to participate, though for a short 
 period, in the happy results of the Restoration. 
 
 This noble royalist died the year after that memorable event, 
 and, by his own desire, was buried in the family aisle at the 
 church of Panbride, " without pomp or solemnity," which, as he 
 remarks in his last will and testament, " is properer for the Liv- 
 ing than the Dead." He left 500 merks to the poor of the 
 parish of Panbride, strictly stating that it should be applied " as 
 his executors shall think fit, and not to be at the disposal of the 
 minister and kirk session." He also bound his son to build a 
 new house at Panmure, and to repair the family burial aisle; 8 
 but, in consequence of the intestine commotions which distracted 
 the country during the whole of his time, he was prevented from 
 complying with the requests of his father, and it was not until 
 after the succession of the third Earl, and sometime before the 
 year 1681, that these stipulations were fulfilled. 
 
 Earl Patrick was thrice married, first to Frances, " the dearly 
 beloved child of Sir Edward Stanhope of Grimston, in York- 
 shire, and of his wife Susan Marburie." His second wife was 
 Mary Waldrum, maid of honor to the Queen of Charles I., and 
 his third was Lady Mary Erskine, dowager Countess of Maris- 
 chal. Neither of the last named ladies left issue ; and it appears 
 that the Earl married his third wife soon after his eldest daughter 
 • Beg. de Panrnwre, MS., ii. 116. 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMUKE. 245 
 
 became Countess of Northesk. The marriage contract betwixt 
 him and the dowager Countess of Marischal is curious, and goes 
 on to state that their " resolution of marriage is without Worldly 
 ends, and meerlie from a religious affection, whereby that they 
 may live together to enjoy the Company and Conversation of each 
 other, and to witnes the same, seeing that either of them has 
 sufficient Estate and meines of their owne without being burthen- 
 some to one another." 
 
 They seem to have agreed to live a life of independence to- 
 gether, so far as pecuniary matters went, for each was to pay 
 an equal proportion of the ordinary expense of house-keeping, 
 whether in servants' wages or otherwise. They also agreed to 
 have a certain number of servants each ; and if it should happen 
 at any time that either of them exceeded the number agreed upon, 
 or if by that, or any other means, the difference of their indi- 
 vidual expense was " considerable," the party incurring the 
 expense, was bound to " contribute to the charge of the house 
 proportionally, without any consideration of their yearly fee 
 or wages."' 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Death of the second and third Earls of Panmure — The favor of the fourth Earl for 
 the Stuarts — Letter from James VII. — Letter from Louis XIV. of France — 
 The Battle of Sheriffinuir — Letter from the Chevalier de St George — The Earl 
 retires to the Continent — Letter from James VIII. conferring the Order of the 
 Thistle upon the Earl — Letter from Cardinal Gualter — The Earl's taste in 
 Literature — His Death. 
 
 The important part which George, Lord Brechin, afterwards 
 second Earl of Panmure, took in the cause of Charles II. has 
 been already adverted to. He married Lady Jane Campbell, 
 eldest daughter of the Earl of Loudon, by whom he had three 
 sons and a daughter. The two eldest sons succeeded as third 
 and fourth Earls respectively, and the third son was the brave 
 Harry Maule of Kelly. Earl George, having implicit confidence 
 in his Countess, not only left her " the use of the third of all his 
 
 ' Beg. de. Panmure, MS., ii. 88, &o. 
 
246 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 moveables in all his houses duering her widowity," hut also ap- 
 pointed her sole " tuterix of his children in pupillarity." u On 
 the death of her husband, Countess Jane took up her residence 
 at Ardeastie, in the parish of Monikie, where some of the carved 
 stones which ornamented her dwelling house still exist, among 
 which is a door or window lintel bearing her initials, c. I. c. p., 
 and date 1688. T 
 
 Countess Jane survived the death of her eldest son several 
 years, and lived to see her second son succeed to the estates and 
 titles of Panmure, as also his union with Lady Margaret, young- 
 est daughter of the Duke of Hamilton. The contract of this 
 marriage is dated at Holyrood Palace, 5th February 1687 ; and, 
 within a month afterwards, in consequence of the Earl's adher- 
 ence to the cause of Protestantism, he was " laid aside " from the 
 Privy Councils of James VII. W Still, notwithstanding this rash 
 step on the part of the King, Lord Panmure not only continued 
 to support James, but, on the coronation of William and Mary 
 refused to take the oath of allegiance, and never again sat in 
 Parliament. 
 
 Whatever had been the King's opinion of Lord Panmure's con- 
 duct, it appears to have been appreciated by his son and his support- 
 ers, as is shewn by the following letter which the young Prince, 
 the future Chevalier de St George, addressed to the Earl : — 
 
 "St Gebmains, June 24, 1706. 
 " The constant and singular prooffs you have given of your 
 Loyalty and fidelity to me, do well deserve to be remembred by 
 me. Haveing got a safe occasion of sending to my freinds where 
 you are, I make use of it to write you this note, to let you know 
 how sensible I am of all you have done and suffered on my 
 account. I say nothing to you of my own affairs, referring to 
 what I write to you and my other freinds, which will be com- 
 municated to you by the Countess of Erroll, And so, will say 
 no more now, but assure you of my kindness, and of the desire I 
 have to be in a condition of Rewarding you for all your services. 
 
 "James R." 
 
 u Beg. de Panmwe, MS., ii. 152. v Land of the Lindsays, 306. 
 w Beg. de Panmure, MS., ii. 179. 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMUEE. 247 
 
 Combined with a strong friendship for the Stuarts, the Earl of 
 Panmure entertained, along with many contemporary nobles, 
 an aversion to the Union of the kingdoms ; and, as may be sup- 
 posed, was in communication with the friends of the exiled family 
 on the Continent. So early as 1707, the Earl had a correspon- 
 dence with the King of France upon the subject, and the follow- 
 ing, in the handwriting of the celebrated Colbert, shews the 
 strong feeling which Louis entertained upon the matter, and the 
 confidence he reposed in the leaders of the rebellion : — 
 
 " A MON8IEUK LE COMTE DE PANMUYB. 
 
 " Monsieur le Comte de Panmuyr : Les preuves que vous avez 
 donne" de vostre zele et de votre fidelity ne me laissant aucun lieu 
 de douter de vos sentiments, & que vous n'appreniez avec 
 plaisir par le Colonel Hoock ceux que j'ay toujours eu pour vostre 
 nation, & Combien je desire de luy faire connoitre l'amitie que 
 j'ay pour elle, & le souvenir de ses anciennes alliances avec ma 
 Couronne. Je me remets a ce qu'il vous en dira encore plus 
 particulierement et aux assurances qu'il vous donnera de mon 
 estime & de mon affection. Sur ce je prie Dieu qu'il vous aigt 
 Monsieur le Comte de Panmuyr en sa sainte garde. Ecrit a 
 Marly le 9 Mars 1707. 
 
 " Lowis. 
 " Colbert."" 
 
 Ou the death of Queen Anne, which occurred suddenly on the 
 12th of August 1714, the time arrived for setting forward the 
 claim of the Stuarts, and although no opposition was publicly 
 shewn to the settlement by King George I., private negociations 
 were being made in favour of the Stuarts, by ascertaining the feel- 
 ings of the Highland chiefs, and the number of arms which each 
 party was likely to muster. As soon as affairs were supposed to 
 be in proper training, the Earl of Mar, then in the government, 
 paid court to King George on one day, and on the next went to 
 Scotland, and raised an army to dethrone him. Mar planted 
 the standard of rebellion at Castleton of Braemar, on the 6th 
 of September 1715 ; and although the Earl of Panmure was 
 1 Appendix, No. XV. (3.) 
 
248 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND ME.ARNS. 
 
 not there in person, he was far from idle in Angus. With a 
 view of strengthening the cause of the Stuarts, he bought the 
 lands of Edzell, Glenesk, and Lethnot, from " the last of the 
 Lindsays of Edzell ;"? and it was also through his influence, that 
 many of, the gentlemen in Forfarshire joined the Pretender, 
 whom the Earl himself proclaimed King at the market cross 
 of Brechin. 
 
 It were idle here to recount the incidents which took place in 
 the country between the breaking out of the rebellion and the 
 battle of Sheriffmuir ; with these- almost every reader is fami- 
 liar ; suffice it to say that the part which the Earl of Panmure 
 and his brother Harry Maule of Kelly took in that engage- 
 ment, was of a singularly brave, decided, and honourable cha- 
 racter. The Earl was severely wounded in the conflict, and, 
 but for the intrepidity of his brother, who discovered him lying 
 fainting and helpless in a field near the scene of battle, the Earl 
 would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. This incident 
 has been variously related, and is thus celebrated by the Jacobite 
 minstrel : — 
 
 " Brave Mar and Panmure 
 
 Were firm, I am sure ; 
 The latter was kidnapt awa' man, 
 
 With brisk men about, 
 
 Brave Harry retook 
 His brother, and laugh'd at them a', man." 
 
 The battle of Sheriffmuir being rather undecided in its issue, 
 and it being supposed that the presence of the Chevalier 
 would inspire the troops with fresh courage, he was advised to 
 appear in Scotland, where he landed from France on the 22d 
 of December, and passing from Peterhead to the south, he was 
 entertained by the Earl of Panmure at Brechin Castle, on the 
 2d of January 1716. The Chevalier joined the camp at Perth 
 a few days afterwards, and while there issued several edicts 
 and proclamations, among the rest one regarding his own coro- 
 nation, which he settled to take place at Scone on the 23d — a 
 ceremony, however, which was destined never to occur. Only 
 the day before this proposed ceremonial, the Prince wrote the 
 following letter to the Earl, which, for liberality of sentiment, 
 
 * Lives of the Lindsays ; Land of the Lindsays, v.p. 
 
THE MAULES OP PANMUKE. 249 
 
 manly feeling, and gratitude of heart, would do credit to any 
 prince of any age or country : — 
 
 " Scoon, 22 Janr. 1716. 
 " I receaved this day yours of the 19 by Mr Blair, who deliver- 
 ed your Commissions to me, and am truely sensible of the Zeal 
 you shew me therein. I hope you will always continue to give 
 me your advice and oppinion, which on all other occasions, I 
 shall take as kindly as I do now. I believe our Catholicks had no 
 thoughts of doing anything extraordinary next Thursday, But 
 my own modesty in these matters must and shall be their Rule, 
 as it ought to be a sufficient proof to all reasonable people, of the 
 emptiness of those apprehensions they may have been prepos- 
 sessed with in Relation to Religion. It is over the hearts of my 
 subjects, and not their consciences that I am desireous to reigne, 
 and if my moderation, and all the assurances they have receaved 
 on that head doe not meet with suitable returns, it may be my 
 misfortune, but can never be my fault : They may be now, if 
 they please, a free and happie People, and I am in Great hopes 
 they will at length open their Eyes, and put themselves an end 
 to all their misfortunes. The Enemie make all preparations for 
 marching, and we are preparing to receave them, but how the 
 weather will allow of any motion on either side, I doe not well 
 understand. However, in that particular we are on equal termes, 
 though not in others, but Courage and Zeal, I hope, will supply 
 the want of numbers. I shall be sure to consider of the other 
 points of your message. Pray remember me with all kindness 
 to Lady Panmure, and be assured both of you of my particular 
 Esteem and Kindness. 
 
 "James R." 
 
 The attack alluded to in this excellent letter never came off. 
 The inequality of the rebels in point of numbers, a fact, it will 
 be seen, which the Prince refers to with evident concern, and the 
 disaffection which reigned throughout the camp, rendered re- 
 treat unavoidable. Accordingly, on the 31st of January, the 
 army commenced a northward march, and the Chevalier, as has 
 been already more fully noticed, unknown to all save some of 
 the leaders, re-embarked for France, accompanied by Mar and 
 several others. 
 
 KK 
 
25Q MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 At this time the Earl of Panmure was in the prime of life, being 
 only forty-eight years of age; and, like many of those who fol- 
 lowed the same unfortunate cause, his estates were confiscated, and 
 he himself escaped abroad, since which period, it is said, the West 
 Gate, or old principal entrance to the grounds of Panmure, has 
 never been opened. It was while thus surrounded by misfortune, 
 and an exile from his native country, that the Earl received from 
 the Prince, for whose cause he had suffered, a graceful acknow- 
 ledgment of his services, in the following remarkable letter, con- 
 ferring upon him the ancient Order df a Knight of the Thistle, 
 which, while it could not fail to be gratifying to the feelings of the 
 nobleman to whom it was addressed, is perhaps one of the most 
 melancholy instances of the desire, yet inability of a Prince, to 
 confer honor upon a trusty follower, that is to be found : — 
 
 "James E. 
 
 " Whereas we are resolved to bestow on you our Eight 
 Trustie and right well-beloved Cousin and Councellour James 
 Earle of Panmure, The most Noble and most Ancient Order of 
 the Thistle, as a mark of our Eoyal favour for your Eminent 
 Services to us, particularly your continued firmness to the In- 
 terest of our dearest father, James the Second, of pious Memory, 
 and to us, since our accession to the Throne of our Ancestors ; 
 and also your Eemarkable signalizeing yourself of late in our 
 Service, by Levying a Eegiment of ffoot in Conjunction with 
 the Eest of our Loyall Subjects of our Ancient Kingdome of 
 Scotland, So gallantly behaveing yourself in the Batle of 
 Shirriffmure, To the great danger of your Life, by your danger- 
 ous wounds, and great effusion of Blood: And it being im- 
 possible in our present Situation, To Observe the Ordinary 
 Ceremony in the Election and Installation of the Knights of the 
 said order, We doe therefor, by these presents, Dispense for the 
 present with your being Elected and Installed : And doe hereby 
 Impower you, to wear all the Ensignes of the said Most Noble, 
 and Most Ancient Order of the Thistle, as if you had been 
 actually elected and Installed, with all the Ceremonys thereto 
 belonging. Given under our Eoyal hand and Signet (for want 
 of the Seall of the said Order) at our Court of Avignon, The 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMURE. 251 
 
 Eight day of Aprile, the year of our Lord 1716, and of our 
 Reign the 15th. By his Majesty's Command. 
 
 "MAE." 
 
 "To our Eight Trusty, and Eight well-beloved 
 Cousin and Counoellour, James Earle of Panmure, &c." 
 
 The exiled Earl went to the Continent, and being a person of 
 learning, and having a taste for literature, he enjoyed the friend- 
 ship and society of some of the most celebrated men of the 
 different countries in which he travelled. Of this no better 
 instance can be given than the following letter by Cardinal 
 Gualter, written on the occasion of his missing the Earl when at 
 Rome, at whose lodgings the Cardinal had called to bid Lord 
 Panmure farewell, prior to the departure of the latter for Urbina, 
 to which city the letter was addressed : — 
 
 "A Eome le 17 Jyttet 1717. 
 
 " Je suis dans une veritable Confusion Milord de vous devoir 
 faire mes tres humble actions des graces de toutes les Bontez que 
 vous avez eu pour moy pendant vastre sejour a Rome par cette 
 lettre, puisque j'avois souahite" de m' accquitter ce devoir en 
 personne. On m'avoit suppose" que vous ne partiriez de Rome 
 que Dimanche la nuit. Je me rendis ce mesme jour a vostre 
 porte mais J'euis la mortification d' apprendre que vous etiez deja 
 partij. Je vous supplie de recevoir en echange les protestations 
 sinceres que Je vous fais par celles icij de ma reconnoissance 
 & de mon attachment respectueuse et d'etre persuade" que per- 
 sonne ne vous honnore plus parfaitement & n'est a vous avec 
 plus de sincerity et de veneration Milord que, 
 
 " Le Cardinal Gualterio." 1 
 
 For a time the Earl had no fixed place of residence, but he 
 latterly settled in France. While there, among various pursuits 
 of a literary character, he made collections of charters and other 
 muniments relating to his predecessors, the Maule3 and the Val- 
 lognes of Normandy. These documents were afterwards arrang- 
 ed by Mr Crawford, author of the " Peerage," "Lives of the 
 Officers of State of Scotland," &c, and now form two volumes 
 folio, entitled Begistrum de Panmure. It is a most valuable and 
 1 Appehdix, No. XV. (4.) 
 
252 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 authentic family history, extending from 1066 to 1733, when the 
 MS. was completed. It is enriched by several beautiful heraldic 
 illuminations, and effigies from ancient family tombs, which were 
 executed in France, under the eye of the forfeited Earl. a 
 
 At the time of the forfeiture the rental of the estates of Pan- 
 mure, besides services, and the patronages of the Abbacy of Ar- 
 broath, amounted to £3,456 a-year, being the most valuable of the 
 confiscated properties of 1716. While mentioning this fact, it is 
 only fair to the government of the period to add, that the estates 
 were offered back to the Earl at two different times, provided 
 only he would return to Britain, and take the oath of allegiance 
 to the House of Hanover. That, however, he declined to do, 
 and remaining an exile for life, he died at Paris, on the 11th day 
 of April 1723. His Countess survived until 1731, having parti- 
 cipated in the provisions of the Act of 1717, by which she, and 
 the ladies of the other forfeited nobles, had a sum settled upon 
 them for life, the same as they would have enjoyed had their 
 husbands been naturally dead. In honour of his union with this 
 Lady, the Earl erected, near the House of Panmure, a fluted 
 column, about forty feet high, surmounted by a vase, and upon 
 the base of the column is the following simple inscription : — 
 
 "JAMES EAKLE OF PANMURE, 1694. 
 MARGARET COUNTES OF PANMURE, 1694." 
 
 SECTION rv. 
 
 Harry Maule of Kelly— His literary taste— Marriage of Lady Jane Maule to Lord 
 Kamsay of Dalhousie — The Hon. William Maule created Earl of Panmure — 
 Purchases back the Panmure Estates — His Will and Death — Succeeded by the 
 Earl of Dalhousie — Succession of the Hon. William Kamsay Maule — Created 
 a British Peer— His Family and Death — Succession of the Hon. Pox Maule — 
 Eestoration of Panmure House — Early Notices of it — Its Library, &c. 
 
 The feelings and sympathies of the Honourable Harry Maule 
 of Kelly, appear to have been very similar to those of his 
 
 * For the use of this valuable MS., and many others, of which I have taken 
 advantage in various parts of this volume, I am indebted to the kindness of Lord 
 Panmure. Prom these sources many interesting facts have been obtained, not only 
 regarding the history of the Family of Panmure, but of the County of Forfar in 
 general, which have not before been noticed. 
 
THE MAULES OP PANMURE. 253 
 
 brother, the forfeited Earl, and being a member of the Conven- 
 tion of Estates in 1689, he left the Assembly when they de- 
 termined to forfeit James VII. He had also a taste for the 
 study of Scottish antiquities and history, and to his friendship 
 with Mr George Crawford is to be attributed, in a great mea- 
 sure, the existence at Panmure of the celebrated Haddington 
 Collections, the Panmure Miscellanies, and a variety of other 
 MSS., well known to Scottish antiquaries, and which have been 
 so largely drawn upon by the Bannatyne, Spalding, and other 
 literary Clubs. 
 
 Mr Maule was twice married, first to Mary Fleming, daughter 
 to the Earl of Wigtoun, by whom he had three sons and two 
 daughters ; and next to Anne, second daughter of Lindsay- 
 Crawford of Kilbirney, who bore to him four sons and one 
 daughter. The whole of the second family died unmarried, as 
 did also the first, with the exception of the eldest daughter* 
 
 LADY JANE MAULE, 
 
 who became the wife of George, Lord Ramsay, eldest son of the 
 sixth Earl of Dalhousie, and from this marriage is descended the 
 present noble representative of the family of Panmure. Allan 
 Ramsay, the poet, claimed descent from Dalhousie ; and wrote 
 an Ode on the occasion of that marriage, in which he thus 
 alludes to the antiquity and loyalty of both families : — 
 
 "Both from the line of patriots rise, 
 Chiefs of Dalhousie and Panmube ; 
 Whose loyal fames shall stains despise, 
 While ocean flows and orbs endure." 
 
 William, youngest son of Harry Maule of Kelly by his first 
 marriage, and brother to Lady Ramsay, was an officer of distinc- 
 tion in the Flemish wars, and rose to the rank of a general. He 
 represented the county of Forfar in Parliament for the long period 
 of fifty-seven years ; and on the 6th of April 1743, was created 
 Earl Panmure of Forth, and Viscount Maule of Whitechurch, in 
 the Irish peerage, with remainder to heirs-male of his own body, 
 and to those of his brother, John Maule of Inverkeillor. The 
 Earl and his brother both died unmarried, and the titles became 
 extinct on the death of the former, 4th January 1782. 
 
 Earl William having acquired considerable riches, bought 
 
254 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 back the forfeited estates of his ancestors in 1764, for the sum 
 of £49,157 18s. 4d. sterling. He added to them several other 
 lands, and in 1775, executed a settlement of his landed property 
 in favour of his brother, John Maule (who predeceased him in 
 1781), and of his nephew, George, Earl of Dalhousie, in life rent, 
 and of the Earl's second and other sons, in fee. It was in virtue 
 of this entail that the late Hon. William Kamsay Maule, after- 
 wards Lord Panmure, as second son of the eighth Earl of 
 Dalhousie, and grandson of Lady Jane Maule, succeeded to the 
 estates of Panmure on the death of his father in 1787, at which 
 time he was only in the sixteenth year of his age. 
 
 Lord Panmure, who died at Brechin Castle, on the 3d of April 
 1852, was buried, by his own desire, in the parish churchyard of 
 Brechin. He was remarkable for liberality in politics, having 
 died " father of Reform in Scotland ; " and what between his 
 encouragement of the fine arts, his numerous private charities, 
 and his gifts to the public institutions of Forfarshire — his name 
 will long continue to be remembered. He represented that 
 county in Parliament from 1796 till 1831, when he was elevated 
 to the peerage of the United Kingdom by the title of Baron 
 Panmure of Brechin and Navar. By his late amiable lady, 
 Patricia-Heron, daughter of Gilbert Gordon of Halleaths, he had 
 three sons and seven daughters. Eour daughters still survive. 
 The eldest son, Fox, succeeded his father, and since that time, 
 few families have had occasion to mourn the loss, by death, of so 
 many near and dear relatives. On the 11th of November 1853, 
 Lady Panmure, grand-daughter of Sir Ralph Abercromby, died 
 suddenly at Pitfour Castle ; and his Lordship's elder brother, the 
 Hon. Colonel Lauderdale Maule, fell a victim to cholera, near 
 Varna, while in the service of his Queen and Country, on the 1st 
 August 1854. At the time of his death, he was Colonel of the 
 gallant 79th Highlanders, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, 
 and Assistant Adjutant-General of the Forces in the Crimea, in 
 which responsible offices he enjoyed the entire confidence of the 
 Commander-in-Chief, Lord Raglan, who, in lamenting his early 
 demise, warmly characterised him as "an estimable friend, and 
 an able officer." The third and only brother of Lord Panmure, 
 the Hon. William Maule, sometime attache* to the Diplomatic 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMUBE. 255 
 
 Embassy in Turkey, died at his seat of Maulesden, near Brechin, 
 on 17th February 1859. In 1844, he married Elizabeth, daugh- 
 ter and heiress of Thomas Binny of Feme, by whom he left a 
 family of four daughters — two sons having predeceased him. 
 
 The distinguished part which Fox, Lord Panmure, has taken 
 in politics, from the time he was returned by the Liberal party 
 for" the county of Perth in 1835, down to his elevation to the 
 House of Lords, has been warm, steady, and consistent. Since 
 his succession to the estates, in 1852, he has become still more 
 famous, and, as Secretary of War, from February 1855 to 
 February 1858, during the late Russian campaign, and the re- 
 volts in India, it has been universally acknowledged, that he 
 rendered signal service to the country. In consequence of the 
 many salutary measures which he introduced for the improvement 
 of the army, he has gained the enviable appellation of " the 
 soldiers' friend." 
 
 In appreciation of his Lordship's services in his offieial ca- 
 pacity — but more particularly from the respect with which he 
 is held in his native county, of whieh he is Lord-Lieutenant — it 
 may be added, that during his short stay there in 1856, he was 
 entertained to two different banquets, in the autumn of that 
 year. The first was given by a number of his Lordship's ten- 
 antry, the other by the freeholders and gentlemen of the shire. b 
 Both demonstrations were most spontaneous and hearty, the 
 latter, as may be supposed, being much more of a political 
 character than the first ; and without adverting farther to those 
 meetings, it need merely be remarked that in his Lordship's 
 reply to the toast of his health at the banquet of the tenantry, he 
 alluded to certain points in his career which will doubtless form 
 the source from which some of the earlier and more interesting 
 portions of his life will be gleaned by future writers. 
 
 During the period his Lordship held the office of War Minister, 
 
 b The first of these banquets was held, October 2, 1856, in a marquee, erected 
 within the Flower Garden at Edzell Castle. It was confined chiefly to the tenantry 
 of the Northern District of the Estate, which includes the parishes of Brechin, 
 Edzell, Lethnot and Navar, Lochlee, and Kinnell. There were about 200 persons 
 present, presided over by David Robertson, Esq., farmer, "Westside. The County 
 banquet waB held in the Hall of the Market-place, Arbroath, on 30th December 
 following. It was attended by about 1000 persons, Sir John Ogilvy, bait., M.P., 
 convener of the county, being chairman (ut sup., 168.) 
 
256 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Her Majesty appointed him a Knight of the Grand Cross of the 
 Bath. He had been elected, in 1853, a Knight of the Order of 
 the Thistle, and, soon afterwards, Keeper of the Privy Seal of 
 Scotland. While in the House of Commons he was appointed to 
 the important posts of a Privy Councillor, Under Secretary for 
 the Home Department, Secretary-at-War, and President of the 
 Board of Control. 
 
 As remarked in a previous Chapter, his Lordship's favourite 
 residence is Brechin Castle, which, prior to the death of his late 
 lamented brother, Colonel Maule, was occupied by him. Pan- 
 mure House, being the only other suitable place of residence 
 upon the estates, his Lordship had it remodelled in a superb and 
 imposing style of architecture, with a view of making it his own 
 principal seat. Whatever can contribute to comfort and luxury 
 is adopted in the plan* of the house ; while the surrounding 
 grounds, but more particularly the gardens, are laid out in a style 
 of grandeur scarcely surpassed in Scotland. 
 
 The old castle of Panmure stood near to the present house, 
 which, as before observed, was built by George, third Earl of 
 Panmure, about the year 1680-84, the offices having been erected 
 in 1664. Ruins of the older castle still remain, although no re- 
 cord exists of the time it was erected. The house built by Earl 
 George was in the Elizabethian style of architecture, and Mr 
 Ochterlony, who wrote about the time it was built, says it " is 
 thought by many, except Halyruidhouse, the best house in the 
 kingdome of Scotland." It had, continues the same authority, 
 " delicate gardens, with high stone walls, extraordinare much 
 planting, young and old ; many great parks about the new and 
 old house, with a great deal of planting about the old house ; 
 brave hay meadows well ditched and hedged; and, in a word, is a 
 most excellent, sweet, and delicate place." 1 Nor, nearly a century 
 afterwards, was the appearance of Panmure mentioned in less 
 laudatory terms, for Mr Pennant calls it " a large and excellent 
 house, surrounded by vast plantations." 6 But those planta- 
 tions, which were spoken of so favorably, are, unfortunately no 
 
 c For a detailed account, and an engraving of the present House of Panmure, 
 &c, see The Builder. 
 
 d Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 347. e Tour in Scotland, in 1762. 
 
THE MAULES OF PANMUBE. 257 
 
 more, and the neighbourhood of the house, compared with what 
 it was, is bleak and desolate. 
 
 Nor was the interior less attractive than the exterior. It con- 
 tained some excellent family paintings, the best of which have 
 been noticed by Mr Pennant; and it could also, at one time, boast 
 of one of the most valuable libraries in the north, formed by the 
 collections of several generations, principally, as before noticed, 
 through the influence of Commissary Maule of St Andrews, and 
 Harry Maule of Kelly. Besides the most approved editions of 
 the classics, and books on history and general literature, there 
 were many valuable manuscripts. In proof of the importance of 
 the library, and the taste of the family in literature, the follow- 
 ing remarks by Mr Thomas Innes need only be quoted. " No 
 private family," says that excellent authority, " hath shewn 
 greater zeal for retrieving the historical and other monuments 
 of their country, than that of Panmure ; which, besides an 
 ancient Scotichronicon, is in possession of the original chartu- 
 laries of St Andrews and of Brechin, and of copies of almost all 
 the other chartularies remaining, with a rare collection of origi- 
 nal writs of the abbeys and other valuable monuments."* 
 
 From this library, as before hinted, some of the most im- 
 portant of the Chartularies and Miscellanies of the Bannatyne, 
 Maitland, and Spalding Clubs have been printed ; besides which, 
 there are still a number of interesting MSS. which have not yet 
 seen the light. Since the accession of the present Peer, the 
 library has been enriched by the Inventory and Memorandum 
 Books of the York Buildings' Company, relating to the forfeited 
 estates of Panmure, Southesk, and Marischal, in 1729, &c, in 
 two volumes folio, MS. (from which several extracts have been 
 made, for the first time, in this work) ;s by complete sets of the 
 Bannatyne and Abbotsford Club-books, and also by Mr George 
 Thomson's corrected copy of the Songs of Burns, the Poet of 
 Scotland, containing numerous characteristic letters and poems 
 in the poet's hand-writing. 
 
 ' Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of Scot., 585. ' .Ut sup., 38. 
 
 L L 
 
258 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 ©fje Smpijrabilles; Eetgttons; jFftttons; 
 13eatons; antr ©rrafjams. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE'UMPHEAVILLES, EAELS OF ANGUS. 
 
 The Celtic Earls of Angus, and their Gifts to the Abbey of Arbroath — Countess 
 Maude — Her Marriage with Gilbert de Umphraville — Forfeiture of the Um- 
 phravilles — Sir John Stewart created Earl of Angus — The Douglases succeed 
 to the Titles and Estates — Castle of Mains — Old Kirkyard, &c. 
 
 It need scarcely be said that the Norman family of Umphra- 
 ville were of antiquity and power in England from an early 
 date. The first recorded of them, called Robert with the Beard, 
 was a kinsman of William the Conqueror, and obtained from 
 him a grant of the Lordship, "Valley, and Forest of Eiddesdale, 
 in Northumberland, which he held on the remarkable tenure 
 " of defending that part of the country for ever, from Enemies 
 and Wolves, with that Sword which King William had by his 
 side when he entered Northumberland." 8 From " Eobert with 
 the Beard," Gilbert, husband of Maude, or Matilda, Countess of 
 Angus, was the fifth in direct succession ; and her son, 
 
 Gilbert lie JKmfrauuUle, comes De &ncgos, 
 
 did homage to King Edward upon the green opposite to the 
 castle of Norham on the Tweed, on the 13th of June 1291, b and 
 from that time was a staunch supporter of the English. He 
 occasionally followed in the suite of the King, and accompanied 
 him to France in 1294, with a train of retainers, well fitted with 
 horse and armour." 
 
 " Dugdale's Baronage of England, ii. 504. " Eagman Eolls, 9. 
 
 c Ibid., 27-37 ; Dugdale's Baronage, i. 505. 
 
THE CELTIC EAKLS OF ANGUS. 259 
 
 At the time of the death of Margaret of Norway, Gilbert de 
 Umphraville, as before seen, was governor of the castles of Dun- 
 dee and Forfar, and of the whole territory of Angus, and was 
 the only person of note in Scotland who offered opposition to 
 King Edward's receiving seisin of the fortresses of the kingdom. 
 On being summoned to the parliament of England, in 1295, by 
 his Scottish title of Earl of Angus, the lawyers refused to acknow- 
 ledge him until he produced the King's writ. He died in 
 the first year of Edward II. ; and about seven years previously, 
 as was then customary, he founded a chantry for two priests to 
 celebrate a daily service in the Chapel of Our Lady, within his 
 Castle of Prudhow, towards the support of which he gave various 
 grants of land. He was succeeded in his titles and estates by 
 his son Robert, then about thirty years of age. 
 
 Robert of Umphraville was first appointed joint, then sole 
 guardian of Scotland, by Edward, and although he was subse- 
 quently forfeited by Bruce, he continued to bear the ancient title 
 of Angus, and was one of the Commissioners of England who 
 treated with Scotland for a truce. His eldest son and successor, 
 Gilbert, was among the disinherited barons who invaded Scot- 
 land in 1332, fought at the battle of Dupplin, and was one of 
 the chief in command at Durham in 1346. Neither Thomas, 
 his half-brother and successor, nor his nephew or grand-nephew 
 — the latter of whom was a Knight of the Garter, and died a 
 bachelor in 1436 — assumed the ancient title of Angus, but all of 
 them were lords of their original properties in England, and on 
 the death of the last-named, Walter of Talbois, grandson of 
 Robert of Umphraville, third Earl of Angus of that name, suc- 
 ceeded to those extensive possessions. 
 
 Of the history of the most ancient Earls of Angus, of whom 
 Countess Maude or Matilda, was a direct descendant, little is 
 to be relied upon until about the middle of the twelfth century, 
 when Earl Gillebride appears as a witness to charters by Robert, 
 Bishop of St Andrews, and by King Malcolm IV. a It is true 
 that, according to Chalmers, they were descended from the 
 old Celtic Marmors or Earls of the district, the first named of 
 whom was Dubican, son of Indrechtaig, who died in the year 
 d Keg. Priorat. S. Andree, 129-34. 
 
260 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 939. e As stated by Martin of Clermont, Gilchrist, Earl of 
 Angus, who flourished in the time of Malcolm Canmore, and 
 lived after 1120, married Finella, sister of the Thane of the 
 Mearns, by whom he had Gillebride, the contemporary of David 
 I. and Malcolm IV. 
 
 Earl Gillebride fought at the battle of the Standard in 1138, 
 and in 1174, he was one of those who agreed to the surrender 
 of the independence of the kingdom for the release of King 
 William — an act which proved so fatal to the interests of the , 
 nation at an after period. From the Chartulary of Arbroath, 
 the first volume of which affords evidence of five generations of 
 that family, we are enabled to correct, and add to, their pre- 
 viously printed genealogy. According to that authority, Gille- 
 bride was alive in 1187, and was succeeded by his eldest son 
 Gilchrist, whom we find, for the first time, in 1198,_assuming the 
 title of Earl of Angus.' 
 
 It ought to be remarked that during the lifetime of Gillebride, 
 his fourth son, Adam, in witnessing the gift of the church of 
 Fothmuref or Barry, by William the Lion to the Abbey of 
 Arbroath, is styled, during the lifetime both of his father and 
 elder brother, " Adam, comes de Anegus."s 
 
 It appears that Gillebride, sometime before the foundation of 
 the Abbey of Arbroath, contemplated erecting an hospital near 
 Broughty Ferry, for in his charter of the lands and fishings of 
 Portincraig to the monastery of Arbroath, mention is made to 
 that effect, though the idea does not seem ever to have gone 
 farther, owing, perhaps to the King's foundation at Arbroath. 11 
 It may be observed that, though the name of Portincraig is 
 now only given to the headland on the Fife side of the Tay, it 
 appears to have been then the name of Broughty in Angus and 
 the adjoining lands. 
 
 Earl Gillebride, who is said to have married a sister of 
 King William the Lion, had several sons, and between the 
 years 1200 and 1207, Earl Gilchrist, his successor, became one 
 of the chief donors to his uncle's favourite monastery, and, 
 among various other gifts to that house he made over the 
 
 e Chalmers' Caledonia, i. 452. 
 ' Beg. Vet de Aberb., 14 ; 103. « Ibid. 18 ; 62, 9. * Ibid., 34. 
 
MAUDE, COUNTESS OP ANGUS. 261 
 
 churches of Monifod, or Monifieth ; Muraus, or Murroes ; 
 Strathdechtyn-Comitis, or Mains, and Kerimor. To the charters 
 of the three first, Gilbert, brother of Earl Gilchrist, and his 
 son Duncan, are witnesses. 1 Earl Gilchrist died sometime be- 
 tween the years 1207 and 1211, as, about the latter date, Earl 
 Duncan confirmed the previous grant of Portincraig, to which 
 his brother Angus is a witness. k Earl Duncan appears to have 
 died before 1214, as, about that time, Earl Malcolm gave a 
 charter of lands in the territory of Kirriemuir to the monks 
 of Arbroath, which was witnessed by his brother Hugh, -of 
 whom no mention is made by genealogists, nor of Earl Mal- 
 colm's sons, Angus and Adam, both of whom are witnesses to 
 his confirmation of the lands of Portincraig and of the above- 
 mentioned kirks. 1 
 
 Earl Malcolm also granted the Abthein lands of Monifieth to 
 the monastery of Arbroath. By Mary, daughter and heiress of 
 Sir Humphry de Berkeley, knight, he had Matilda or Maude, 
 Countess of Angus, the wife of Gilbert of Umphraville. In 
 1242-3, Countess Maude confirmed the charters of all the churches 
 above-named, and also gave the monks a toft and croft of land 
 at Monifieth, which is described in the charter as the land to the 
 south of that church which "the Culdees held in her father's 
 time." m 
 
 Such, briefly, is an account of this ancient family, down to the 
 time of its failure iu the direct line with Countess Maude, and 
 of its revival and fall in the English family of Umphraville. 
 Subsequently to the latter period the succession to the titles and 
 estates of Angus, appears to have devolved on heirs-whatsoever ; 
 and, so late as 1251, which, however, is the latest trace of a 
 direct male descendant of the old family, we have Angus, son of 
 Gillebride, in the lifetime of Countess Maude, witnessing the 
 perambulation of the lands of Tarvays, which belonged to the 
 Abbot of Arbroath and the Countess of Buchan. n 
 
 Soon after the forfeiture of Robert of Umphraville as Earl of 
 
 1 Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 29-31. k Ibid., 36. ' Ibid., 37-34. 
 
 m Ibid., 37. Proceedings of So. of Antiquaries (ii. 68-9), contains an account 
 of the discovery of about 700 silver coins of Alex. III. and Edward I. arid II., 
 which was made in the churchyard of Monifieth, in Sep. 1854. ■ 
 
 " Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 162. 
 
262 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Angus, the title was conferred upon Sir John Stewart of Bonkyl, 
 grandson of the brave knight of that name who fell at the battle 
 of Falkirk. Sir John first appears under the title of Earl of 
 Angus in 1329, and in consequence of the failure of male issue 
 in his grandson Thomas, the third Earl, the title and estates de- 
 volved on his grand-daughter, Margaret, whose only son, by her 
 second marriage with the first Earl of Douglas, became, in her 
 right, Earl of Angus, about the year 1389, when he had a grant 
 of that Earldom to himself, and the heirs male of his body. He 
 had ten successors in the earldom, some* of whom, it is superfluous 
 to add, took a prominent part in the affairs of Scotland. 
 
 William, the eleventh Earl, was created a Marquis in 1633 — 
 the earldom and estates of Douglas having sometime before merged 
 into that of Angus. A Dukedom was also conferred upon Archi- 
 bald, the third Marquis, at whose death, in 1761, the title of Duke 
 of Douglas became extinct, and the Marquisate of Douglas, and 
 Earldom of Angus devolved upon the Duke of Hamilton, while 
 the Duke's real and personal property fell to Archibald Stewart, 
 son of the unfortunate Lady Jane Douglas, sister of the Duke. 
 This, one of the most remarkable cases on record, was decided 
 in favour of Stewart, by the House of Lords, on the 27th of 
 February 1771, and from him, who assumed the surname of 
 Douglas, and was created a British Peer, in 1790, by the title 
 of Baron Douglas of Douglas Castle, the present family are 
 directly descended. 
 
 The property of the old Earls of Angus was of great extent, 
 and at the time of the forfeiture of Robert of Umphraville, the 
 Angus, Elgin, and Forres portions were given, by Bobert the 
 Bruce, to William of Lindsay .5 The old Earls of Angus are 
 supposed to have had their residence at Mains, near Dundee, an 
 idea which is inferred from the fact of that district being known 
 in their day by the name of " Strathdychten-Comitis" or Earl- 
 Strathdichty. The situation of their castle, however, is un- 
 known, and the oldest part of the present edifice, which is 
 ruinous, and consists of a square tower and enclosed court, was 
 built during the last half of the sixteenth century, by an ances- 
 tor of the Viscounts Dundee. On one part is the date, 1562, and 
 " Douglas' Peerage, i. 432. ' Beg. Mag. Sig., p. 17. 
 
THE CASTLE AND KIEKYAED OF MAINS. 263 
 
 over a door in the east side of the building is this inscription, 
 prettily carved in ornamental letters — 
 
 "PATRM • ET • POSTEEIS • GRATIS • ET ■ AMICIS • 1582." 
 
 Malcolm Eamsay of Auchterhouse was proprietor of Mains 
 about the middle of the fourteenth century, and the Grahams ac- 
 quired it shortly before they built the castle. The neighbourhood 
 is singularly picturesque, and some of the trees around the castle 
 are large and venerable. A romantic den separates the castle 
 from the old kirkyard of the parish, in which is the burial vault 
 of the Grahams — a small unadorned grey building. In the den, 
 near the churchyard, a spring is known by the name of Sinivee 
 — probably a corruption of that of some old saint,' although 
 it is locally said to have been so called because the sun rarely 
 shines upon it ! There are a few quaint epitaphs in this grave- 
 yard, of which, perhaps, the following is the most curious. It is 
 upon a meal miller, who died in 1655, the stone being adorned 
 with carvings of a mill rynd, and a mill-stone pick : — 
 
 " Wilder this stone interd lyes he 
 Who 40 two zeers livd was ; 
 At miln and kil right honestlie, 
 And with his neighbours] dealt he thvs ; 
 Bvt death in Apryl 55, 
 Fro of the stage did him reove." 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE LEIGHTONS OP USAN. 
 
 Origin and Settlement of the Leightons at Usan — Subsequent Notices of the Family 
 — Abbot David of Arbroath — Murder of a Dowager Lady of Usan — The Suffer- 
 ings of Dr Alexander Leighton — Bishop Leighton — Origin of the Name, and 
 Proprietary Notices of Usan — The Churches and Chapels of St Braoch, St Skae, 
 St Fergus, and St Mary, &c. 
 
 The surname of Leigh-ton is said to be of Saxon origin, and to 
 
 signify a place or town of pasture. It is believed to have been 
 
 assumed from the barony of Leighton, in the county of Bedford, 
 
 ' [?StIvia, or Stive.] 
 
264 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 in England, where there were persons of the name even before 
 the Norman Conquest. Soon after that event, Sir Richard, son 
 of Sir Titus de Leighton, who was a co-founder of the Abbey of 
 Buldewas in Salop, made a grant to that monastery/ 
 
 The time and cause of the settlement of the Leightons in 
 North Britain is uncertain ; but they seem to have appeared first 
 in the county of Forfar, and in the neighbourhood of Montrose, 
 for so early as the year 1260, William of Lechton is witness to 
 a grant by Walter of Eossy, whose ancestors, vassals of the old 
 Norman family of Malherb, held the lands from which they 
 assumed their surname, and ako those of Usan, from at least 
 1245." Most probably the Leightons acquired the lands of Usan 
 from the lords of Rossy ; and perhaps 
 
 Uomimts S&ilUtlmu* De Ercj&tton, miles, ' 
 
 who performed homage to King Edward I. within the chapel of 
 Kinghom, in Fife, on the 19th of July 1291,' was the son of the 
 baron who witnessed the charter above referred to. From the 
 fact of the latter being designed a knight, he had doubtless done 
 good service to the country. 
 
 In 1337, Thomas of Lychton, probably a son of Sir William, 
 was clerk of the livery at Kildrummy Castle; and in 1342, a 
 person bearing the same name and surname is designed canon of 
 Moray, and collector of the customs of Inverness.™ Walter of 
 Lychton is witness to Patrick Forster's charter of the lands of 
 Innerdovat in Angus, in 1390 ; and in 1406, Walter Lychton is 
 described as the son of the late Walter Lychton. This latter 
 was the laird of Usan, who fell at the feud of Glenbrierachan, in 
 the Stormont, which took place in 1391, betwixt the first Earl 
 of Crawford, and his relative, the Wolf of Badenoch. Leighton 
 was half brother to Sir Walter Ogilvy, sheriff of Angus, who 
 also fell there, an incident, and relationship, which are thus 
 quaintly told by Wyntown : — 
 
 "Gud Schir Walter of Ogylwy, 
 That manly knycht and that worthy, 
 Scherrave that tyme of Angus, 
 Godlike wis, and vertcuous ; 
 
 * Dagdale's Monasticon. " Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 337. 
 
 ' Bagman Kolls, 16. » Chamb. Kolls, i. 245, 267, 283. 
 
THE LEIGHTONS OP USAN. 265 
 
 And a gud Sqwyer of gret renown, 
 His Bruthir Wat oald of Lichtoune ; 
 (To this gud Schirrave of Angus 
 Half Brothir he wes, and rycht famous ; 
 Of syndry Fadirs was thai twa, 
 Of lauohful bed ilkane of tha.)"* 
 
 The son of this unfortunate baron, in consequence, perhaps, of 
 his relationship to the Ogilvys, had a small annuity out of the 
 lands of Campsie in Lintrathen. Contemporary both with him 
 and his father was Duncan of Lichtoun, who, in 1391, is designed 
 "locumtenens vicecomitis de Forfar;" and, in 1409, is a witness to 
 Duthoc of Carnegy's charter of a part of the lands of Kinnaird." 
 In 1415, Alexander of Lichttoune is designated Prior of Tor- 
 phichen, and a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, 
 in a confirmation charter regarding the Temple lands of Keithock 
 and Dalgety near Brechin. x 
 
 On the death of William, Abbot of Arbroath, which took place 
 in 1483, the Convent being divided in opinion regarding the elec- 
 tion of a successor, agreed to entrust the settlement to the Prior of 
 Fyvie, who, it seems, made choice of Sir David of Lichtone, who 
 was of the Usan family, and at the time held the offices of clerk 
 of the King's treasury, and archdean of Ross. The appoint- 
 ment gave so great satisfaction that 3000 gold ducats were 
 voted by the Convent to defray the expenses of expediting 
 Leighton's bulls at Rome/ He held the office of Abbot down 
 to at least 1505 ; and during his Abbotship, a relative of his 
 own, Walter Lichton, son to the laird of Usan, acted as justiciary 
 of the regality of the Abbey. 2 Apart from Abbot David, several 
 of the family were churchmen, and some of them became con- 
 nected with the Chapter of the Cathedral of Brechin.* 
 
 Besides the lands of Usan, those of Capo in the Mearns, New- 
 lands, Athy, and Brunton (Bryanton), in Angus, were also posses- 
 sed by cadets of this house towards the close of the fifteenth century. 
 Duncan Lichton of Athy and Brunton is designed " armiger" or 
 esquire* — a title which had a very different meaning during that 
 
 ' Cronykil, ii. 369 ; Acta Pari., i. 217 ; Fordun, ii. 420. 
 w Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 201 ; Chamb. Eolls, ii. 181-3 ; Eeg. Mag. Sig., p. 228. 
 x Keg. Ep. Brechin., i. 37 ; ii. 18. 
 r Beg. Nig. de Aberb., 208-11. ■ Ibid., 217, &c. 
 
 * Beg. Ep. Brechin., pass. b Ibid., ii. 358 ; Nig. Aberb., 177, Sec. 
 
 M M 
 
266 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 period from what it has at present, when it is used, particularly 
 in Scotland, without regard either to birth or rank. 
 
 The laird of Usan, who flourished towards the middle of the 
 sixteenth century, married a lady named Helen Stirling. He 
 predeceased her, and she afterwards became the wife of James 
 Straton, perhaps a cadet of the old family of Lauriston, in the 
 Mearns. They lived at Dalladies in the same county, of which 
 Straton had probably been laird. By Leighton she had a son 
 named John, who succeeded his father, and who, from what cause 
 is not apparent, entertained a mortal Hatred to his mother ; and, 
 by his instigation, it appears that both she and her maid-servant 
 suffered violent deaths "within the Place of Dallady," where 
 they were murdered in cold blood during the night of the 24th 
 of April 1549, crimes which were aggravated in consequence of 
 both being pregnant at the time. 
 
 Persons named Waldy, Gracy, and Fothringhame were con- 
 victed and hanged for these murders ; and, subsequently, James 
 Shorewood found caution to appear for the same crime, while the 
 laird himself, making his escape before the day of trial, was 
 " denounced rebel and put to the horn." On the 1st of December 
 1561, Shorewood was brought before the Court, and James 
 Straton and James Lychtoun, the latter of whom was parson of 
 Dunlappy, appeared as prosecutors, when a protest was entered 
 against Lychtoun by the defenders, setting forth that " conform 
 to the lawis " the parson " suld tyne his benefice," by which it 
 would seem that, in those days, the clergy were not allowed to 
 prosecute in criminal cases. No farther record of this barbarous 
 murder is given ; but apart from that charge, it appears the 
 assassins were also accused of " breaking up the chests of the 
 said James Stratoun, and stealing and reiving furth of the said 
 Place and chests, all the goods and jewels contained therein." 
 
 This murder seems to have had a bad effect upon the fortunes 
 of the house of Usan. In course of the first half of the seventeenth 
 century, it is believed that the family ceased to have possession 
 of the estate, and John, who, in 1619, was served heir to his 
 father Eobert Leighton, in the south, or sunny side of the estate 
 — the north or shady side being then in other hands 3 — is the- last 
 * Pitcairn'e Crim. Trials, i. *344, *350, *411. « Inq;. Spec, Forfar, Nos. 118-22- 
 
THE LEIGHTONS OP tISAN. 267 
 
 of the family whom we have found mentioned in connection with 
 the estate. This Robert was nephew to the celebrated Dr Alex- 
 ander Leighton, who was so barbarously treated by the Star 
 Chamber, in the reign of King Charles I., for having written 
 a polimical pamphlet. A brief notice of Dr Leighton's case 
 and sufferings will suffice. The publication for which he was 
 convicted was entitled " An Appeal to the Parliament ; or a 
 Plea against Prelacy ;" and believing it to contain charges 
 against the King and the Bishops, Leighton's household furni- 
 ture, his books, and papers were destroyed, by order of the 
 government, and he himself committed to Newgate prison, where 
 he was confined for fifteen weeks in a damp loathsome cell, full 
 of vermin, without a bed to rest upon, and exposed to the in- 
 clemency of the weather. 
 
 The subsequent proceedings in this case are minutely given by 
 Mr Rushworth, who shews that Leighton confessed to writing 
 the book, but denied that it was done with any other motive than 
 merely to bring the consideration of certain grievances in the 
 Church and State under the notice of the Parliament. The 
 Court, however, were dissatisfied with the plea, and not only 
 sentenced him to be imprisoned in the Fleet during life, but also 
 had him fined £10,000, and referred his degradation to the High 
 Commission. " That done," says Rushworth, " to be brought to 
 the Pillory at Westminster (the court sitting), and there whip'd j 
 and after whipping, to be set in the pillory, have one of his 
 ears cut off, one side of his nose slit, and be branded on one 
 cheek with the letters S.S., for a ' Sower of Sedition ;' and an- 
 other day to be brought on a market-day to the pillory in Cheap- 
 side, there likewise whipt, and have his other ear cut off, and the 
 other side of his nose slit." 
 
 The first portion of this barbarous sentence was put in execu- 
 tion, and the evening before the day which was set apart for the 
 second, he escaped from prison ; but being soon afterwards 
 caught, and while the old wounds were yet unhealed, he under-, 
 went the rest of his punishment, while the parties who. aided him 
 in his escape were each fined £500, and ordered to be imprisoned 
 during the King's pleasure. 
 
 After being confined for the long period of eleven years in a 
 
268 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 dark and filthy dungeon, Leighton was released by the govern- 
 ment of the Commonwealth, but so deeply had he suffered that 
 he could neither walk, see, nor hear. He presented a petition to 
 Parliament setting forth Jris grievances, which is said to have 
 made such an impression upon the feelings of the members 
 present that many of them shed tears ; and, condemning the in- 
 famous conduct of his persecutors, the Parliament at same time 
 voted £6,000 to Leighton as a solatium for the indignity and 
 suffering which he had undergone. 6 In consideration of his 
 knowledge of medicine, he was also made keeper of the new 
 prison at Lambeth, but his health being much broken, he did not 
 long enjoy that appointment. 
 
 This unfortunate man was father of Robert Leighton, bishop 
 first of Dunblane, afterwards archbishop of Glasgow, one of 
 the most amiable, learned, and generous-hearted of church- 
 men. In the first-named of those towns he established and 
 endowed a valuable library whieh still bears his name.' The 
 Bishop's Walk, along the picturesque banks of the Allan, is 
 yet pointed out, and his name is spoken with veneration and 
 esteem, while his theological writings are remarkable, even at 
 the present day, for purity, beauty, and simplicity of language, 
 presenting all those fine characteristics of their author, which are 
 so well described by Bishop Burnet — " great quickness of parts, 
 a lively apprehension, with a charming vivacity of thought and 
 expression."s 
 
 As previously remarked, the first recorded proprietors of 
 Usan were the Kossys, who held it for at least two genera- 
 tions, during which the name was written Hulysham^ It were 
 idle to enquire when it received the Homeric designation of 
 Ulysseshaven, or ' Ulishaven, or at what time it assumed the 
 abbreviated form of Usan. Perhaps, since in the Gaelic huil, 
 or kr/le, means "an opening between rocks," and the Saxon 
 word ham, "a home, house, or place of refuge" — the name may 
 have originated in consequence of the numerous creeks or open- 
 ings for which the coast in that part is remarkable. 
 
 e Kushworth's Hist. Collections, ii. 45 ; iii. 250. 
 
 f For an account of this Library, &c, see the Life of the Bishop, in Dr Irving'* 
 Literary Scotchmen, ii. 146. « Burnet's Hist, of his Own Times, 3d edit., i. 186. 
 
 k Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 337; Aldbar Miscell, MS., 306. 
 
THE LEIGHTONS OP USAN. 269 
 
 Usan has long been famous as a fishing station ; and, in old 
 times, when the King or Court resided at Forfar, it is said that 
 fresh fish were conveyed daily from it to the county town, by 
 a road which led through Montreathmont Muir, the track of 
 which is known at this day as " the King's cadger's road." 
 In connection with this point, it may be added, that the ancient 
 Forfarshire family of Tulloch (which, before 1493, merged by 
 marriage into that of Wood), is said to have held the adjoining 
 lands of Bonington under the tenure of supplying fresh fish to 
 the royal table. 
 
 Sir John Carnegie of Craig, third son to the first Earl of 
 Southesk, had a charter of a portion of Ulishaven from his father 
 in 1618 ; and, in 1672, the Lord Treasurer Maitland, who, 
 taking advantage of the confidence reposed in him by James 
 VIL, appropriated to himself and his friends large possessions in 
 almost all parts of the kingdom, added to these the barony of 
 Usan, of which he and his heirs had power to dispose at plea- 
 sure.' Of the old "tour and fortalice" of Usan, mentioned in 
 Maitland's charter, there is now no trace. There have been at 
 least two mansion houses erected since that time, and the lands, 
 which have of late been much improved and increased in value, 
 have still oftener exchanged owners. 
 
 Usan is situated in the parish of Craig, called of old Inch- 
 brayoch, from the church of St Braoch, which was situated upon 
 an island in the middle of the South Esk. Besides this old place 
 of worship, there were others in the parish. The chapel of St 
 Fergus exists only in name; that of St Mary, near Mary Mill, 
 so called in honour of the saint in whose name the chapel was 
 dedicated, is now marked by the burial place of the Rennys and 
 Scotts, late proprietors of Usan, and within these forty years it 
 was surrounded by a graveyard. k 
 
 The burial ground of St Skeoch is romantically situated upon 
 a cliff by the seashore, to the south-west of Usan, and had doubt- 
 less originated in being the abode of a hermit or recluse of that 
 name, though nothing is now known of his history. The site is 
 thus described by a talented local poet : — 
 
 1 Douglas' Peerage, ii. 514 ; Acta Pari., viii. 122. 
 k Ut sup., 61. Proceedings of the So. of Antiqs. of Scot., vol. ii. 
 
270 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 " St Skea's grey rock stands frowning o'er 
 The troubled deep ; 
 A structure form'd by nature's band, 
 A bridge with wave-worn arches plann'd, 
 Whose echoing depth the surges spann'd, 
 
 Where wind and wave 
 . Their voices raise, in concert grand, 
 When tempests rave." 
 
 In Eoman Catholic times, St Skeoch was the chapel of the 
 Duninald district of the parish, and the tithes belonged to the 
 Priory of Kostinoth ; but it appears to riave been suppressed as 
 a place of worship, either at, or soon after the Reformation, for 
 in 1576, it is said that " Sanct Skaa, or Dynnynaud neidis na 
 reidare." It is still used as a place of burial, and contains some 
 neat monuments, among which are those to the memory of 
 the late Patrick Arkley of Duninald, and Dr James Brewster, 
 who was minister of the parish from the year 1804. Dr, Brewster 
 seceded at the Disruption in 1843 ; and it is worthy of remark 
 that, under his zealous and active superintendence, the fishing 
 population of the parish were raised from a state of mental ignor- 
 ance and bodily inactivity to one of intelligence and industry. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE FENTONS OP BAIK.IE. 
 
 Notices of the Family of Fenton — The Estate and Castle of Baikie — Chapel of 
 St John — Fentons of Ogil, &c. — Feuds with Curror of Logie-Meigle and 
 Lindsay of Barnyards — Church of Airlie — Old Ambry — St Madden's Well — 
 Curious Sculptured Effigy — Coffin Slab, &c. 
 
 The surname Fen-ton is of Saxon origin, and signifies a marshy 
 place. Scottish writers say that it was assumed from a property 
 in the Lothians, which the family held of the Lords of Dirleton ; 
 and there they subsisted in the male line until about the year 
 1586, when John Fenton "de eodem," was succeeded in his 
 estates by three great-grand-children, daughters of Patrick Quhit- 
 law of that Ilk. 1 
 
 1 Inq. Spec. Haddingtonsh., Nos. 399, 400-1. 
 
THE FENTONS OF BAIKIE. 271 
 
 John of Fenton, sheriff of Forfar in 1261, m is the first of the 
 name that appears in Angus ; and 
 
 SDominus Mllielmu$s tie JFenton 
 
 of that shire, one of two barons who did homage to King 
 Edward within the monastery of Lindores, in Fifeshire, on the 
 23d day of July 1291, along with John, Abbot of that convent, 
 was probably a son of the sheriff. 11 In 1292, Fenton was one 
 of those who declared that Bruce and Baliol had so concluded 
 their pleadings for the sovereignty of Scotland that the King 
 might proceed to decide in the matter. According to Nisbet, 
 his wife was Cecilia, second daughter, and one of three heirs- 
 portions of the old family of Bisset of Lovat. John of Fenton, 
 perhaps a son of theirs, was present at the celebrated Parliament 
 which was held at Arbroath, in 1320.? 
 
 Their property in Angus lay mostly in the district of Airlie, 
 where they owned the lands and castle of Baikie from the earliest 
 record. In 1362, the laird of the period gifted the adjoining 
 property of Lunross to the Chapel of St John of Baikie. 1 In 
 1416, a contract of marriage was made between Hugh Fraser of 
 Lovat, and Janet, sister of William Fenton of Baikie. 1 This 
 William had a son, Walter, who had two daughters, co-heiresses 
 of the estates, one of whom became the wife of David Lindsay of 
 Lethnot in Clova, in Angus, a younger son of the Earl of Craw- 
 ford, and the other was married to David Halkett of Pitfiran." 
 Lindsay and Margaret Fenton were married about 1458, and 
 from that time he was designed of Lethnot and Baikie. Lindsay 
 had an only son who was bailiff to the Earls of Crawford, and 
 was also one of those who was charged with committing an out- 
 rage upon " twa monks" belonging to the Abbey of Cupar, and 
 for " hurting of the privilege and fredome of halikirk.'" 
 
 Although the mother of this sacrilegious youth and her sister 
 were the last direct descendants of the old lords of Baikie, col- 
 lateral branches long continued to flourish in Angus, and were 
 
 » Chamb. Eolls, i. *34. n Ragman Rolls, 16. ° Palgrave's Doots., i. 54. 
 f Niabet's Heraldry, ii. Appx. 15 ; Acta. Pari., i. 114. 
 ' Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 25. r Spalding Club Miscell., v. 256. _ 
 
 ■ Crawford Peerage Case, 148. The seal of Janet, sole heiress of Walter 
 Fenton, lord of Baikie, is described in Lung's Scottish Seals, 60. 
 ' Acta Dom. Con., 29, &c. 
 
272 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 designed of Ogil, Cardean, and Kinclune ; u of these the first 
 named were the most important and longest survived. Members 
 of the Ogil branch held responsible offices in the church, T and 
 some of them are also found noticed in the public records as be- 
 ing connected with matters of a very different character. In 
 1558, David Fenton of Ogil was charged, along" with others, for 
 " abiding" from the raids of Leith and Lauder ; and, during 
 the same year, he and his brother James were accused of the 
 slaughter of William Currour, son of Andrew Currour of Logie- 
 Mekill (Logie-Meigle), also of " the mutilation of Thomas Cur- 
 rour of his right hand." But a like fate to that of young Cur- 
 rour was awaiting one of themselves, for, in the year 1571, John 
 Fenton, probably of the Ogil branch, was slaughtered by Lind- 
 say of Barnyards, in the parish of Tannadice, and his wife, an 
 Ogilvy of Inchmartin. w The outrage upon the Currours was 
 declared to have been caused by " ancient feud and forethought 
 felony ;" but the cause of the perpetration of the latter crime is 
 not stated. 
 
 Although, according to Douglas,* Walter Fenton left two 
 daughters, it is more probable there were four of them ; for, sub- 
 sequently to the marriages of Lindsay and Halkett, about 1470, 
 a fourth part of the estate was inherited by George Nairn, as 
 nearest of kin to Isabella Fenton, his mother, and, in 1487, the 
 remaining fourth was sold by a Henry Douglas (perhaps the 
 son of another daughter), to John, third Lord Glainis. In the 
 course of the two years which followed, the son of the same 
 nobleman acquired the remaining part of the barony/ After 
 the legal murder of the Countess of Glamis at Edinburgh, for 
 the alleged crime of witchcraft, the Lord Treasurer made a pay- 
 ment of £40 for the " reipar of the Glammys and Baky," which, 
 perhaps, shews that during the forfeiture of the Lyons of Strath- 
 more, the King and his Court occasionally resided at these 
 places. 
 
 The castle of Baikie had a secluded site upon a rising ground, 
 about three miles to the north-west of Glamis, near the west 
 
 " Eeg. Nig. Aberb., 290 ; Inq. Spec, Forfar, No. 39 ; Eeg. Ep. Breobin., 146. 
 * Eeg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 277, &o. 
 
 " Pitoairn's Crim. Trials, i. 27, 28, *404, &c. * Baronage of Soot., 284. 
 
 T Straihmore Papers at Glamis Castle, MS., 3 vols. 4 t0 
 
THE FENTONS OF BAIKIE. 
 
 273 
 
 end of a marsh or loch, which, with some other places in the 
 neighbourhood, is thus referred to in an old ballad : — 
 
 "Bonnie shines the sun on the high towers o' Airly ; 
 Bonnie swim the swans in the Loch o' the Baikie ; — 
 High is the hill, an' the moon shining clearly, 
 Bat the oauld Isla rins atween me an' my dearie." 
 
 The Loch of Baikie (in the course of draining which some 
 remains of ancient animals and other objects of antiquity were 
 found), is now mostly cultivated ; and the castle, of which the 
 foundations were rased only two or three years ago, is said to 
 have been moated in old times, and reached by a draw-bridge 
 and causeway, the stones of which were to be seen towards the 
 close of last century. With the exception of a rising ground to 
 the north of Baikie, known as Fenton-hill (upon which stone 
 coffins containing bones were lately discovered), and a carving of 
 
 the family arms (three crescents) and 
 the initials 321. if. — which are sculp- 
 tured upon the back of the old am- 
 bry or press for holding sacred 
 vessels, still preserved at the parish 
 kirk of Airlie, and here represented 
 - (the arms and initials referred to 
 v- being omitted in the wood-cut) — no 
 jr other trace of the old lords of the 
 district is to be found. Still less re- 
 , ..... mains of the Fentons at Ogil, al- 
 jf though they lived there down to a 
 much later date. The locality of 
 Ogil, however, is more romantic and picturesque than that of 
 Baikie ; for, while the latter district is composed chiefly of 
 swamps and gravel hillocks, the wooded course of the Noran, and 
 its fine waterfalls, are objects of considerable interest and beauty 
 in the former. From the hill of " St Ennan's Seit," z there is 
 also a magnificient prospect, not only of the surrounding country, 
 but of the Pentland and Lammermuir hills. 
 
 1 In a bounding charter of the Feme writs, dated 1535, this hill is written 
 as in the text, which some antiquaries consider a corruption of the name of St 
 Adamnan, whose feast is held on 3d September. St Arnold's Seat is the local 
 name of the hill. 
 
 N N 
 
274 
 
 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 It may be added that, since the ambry at the kirk of Airlie 
 bears the arms and initials of the Fentons, lords of Baikie, pro- 
 bably it had been made at the expense of one of them, or during 
 the incumbency of some member of the family, while parson of 
 the kirk. The five Passion Wounds of our Saviour, with which 
 it will be seen the ambry is decorated, are also carved upon the 
 coping stone of an old burying aisle, with the addition of the 
 scourge, the pillar to which Christ was bound, the spear, and the 
 pincers ; with carvings of the fleur-de-lis, surmounted by a co- 
 ronet. The coping stone is said to have been taken from the 
 old kirk, which was demolished in 1783. 
 
 There is also built into the west gable of the church 
 a gaunt human effigy (here represented), about three 
 feet in height, dressed in a loose habit, part of which 
 has some resemblance to scale armour. It has been 
 described as a figure of St John the Baptist, to whom, 
 it is added, the church was dedicated. The latter 
 idea is, however, erroneous ; for, apart from a small 
 hamlet of houses, with a fine spring and knoll, close 
 to the kirk, known by the name of St Madden, a 
 document, of date 1447, makes mention of " the bell 
 of the Kirk of St Madden of Airlie," a and he doubt- 
 less was the patron saint. His festival is held on the 
 17th of May. 
 But although the parish kirk was dedicated in honour 
 of St Madden, there was, as before noticed, a chapel at Baikie 
 which was dedicated to St John. Tradition is silent as to the fact 
 whether this effigy was taken from that chapel; and, if we would 
 suppose that it had been intended to represent that saint, it might 
 be inferred that the animal which rests upon the book had been 
 meant for the figure of a lamb ; and, from the position of the 
 finger of the right hand of the supposed saint, perhaps it points 
 to " the Lamb's Book of Life," an allegory not unworthy of a 
 later time than that to which the statue appears to belong. 
 
 The only other piece of sculpture worthy of notice here, is 
 a coffin slab of red sandstone, bearing the common figures of 
 an ornamental cross, a sword, and a hunting or powder horn, 
 * Spalding Club Miscell., iv. 118. 
 
BEATON OF ETHIEBEATON. 275 
 
 also a blank shield. The shaft of the cross is thus briefly in- 
 scribed in raised Koman capitals — 
 
 LYIS HEIR ROGER AND YOEOM ROLOK QVHA DIED IN EIDIE 1640. 
 
 — Eeidie is a farm in the parish of Airlie, now forming part of 
 the Lindertis estate, from which Sir David Nevay, an old Lord 
 of Session, assumed his judicial title ; but nothing is known of 
 " Roger and Yofom (Euphemia) Eolok." 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 BEATON OF ETHIEBEATON. 
 
 Forfeiture of David of Beaton, sheriff of Forfar— Ethiebeaton granted to Alexander 
 the Steward — Acquired by the Earl of Angus — Origin, and Early Notices of 
 the Beatons — The Beatons of Fifeshire — Cardinal Beaton — Marion Ogilvy — 
 Castle of Melgund — Proprietary Notices of Melgund, &c. 
 
 DomtnujS Robert De 33etunr, miles, 
 did homage to King Edward at St Andrews on the 22d of July, 
 at the same time as Sir William Maule ; and Dauid de Beton, 
 chiualer, and two of the family, both named Robert, whose sur- 
 names were spelled respectively Beton and Betuyn, all of whom 
 are described as of the county of Forfar, also owned the sove- 
 reignty of the same King, at Berwick-upon-Tweed, during the 
 summer of 1296. b 
 
 There is now no means of knowing the relationship, if any, 
 which these barons had to one another. The first was perhaps 
 the chief of the family; and David, who was sheriff of Forfar in 
 1290, was forfeited by Robert the Bruce, who confiscated his 
 estate and gave it to Alexander Sennescalle or Steward. This 
 was Ethiebeaton, or Effiebeaton, in the parish of Monifieth, ad- 
 joining the property of The Laws, upon the summit of the hill of 
 which is perhaps one of the most remarkable forts or dwellings 
 of the early inhabitants of Scotland which has hitherto been 
 noticed. 4 
 
 b Eagman Eolls ; Prynne ; and Palgrave, passim. 
 c Land of the Lindsays, 309 ; Proceedings of So. of Antiquaries, vol. ii. 
 d So far as yet seen, this singular work consists of » series of uncovered pas- 
 sages, with the walls constructed of large stones. The passages vary from about 
 
276 . MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Ethiebeaton subsequently became the property of the Earls of 
 Angus, and when the sixth Earl was forfeited in 1528, for the 
 part he took in confining King James V., his uncle, Archibald, 
 protested that the forfeiture should be " na hurt nor preiudice to 
 him anent his landis [and barony of Affebeton and others], whilkis 
 he haldis of the saidis Erie of Angus." 6 It is now a separate 
 property, held under the superiority of the Douglases, who, as 
 before seen, came in place of the Earls of Angus. 
 
 The surname of Beaton, Beton, or Bethune, is said to be of 
 French origin, and to have been introduced into Scotland in the 
 time of Malcolm Canmore. This latter assertion, however, is in- 
 correct, as the family does not appear in Scotland until the reign 
 of William the Lion, sometime between 1165 and 1190, when 
 Robert of Betun is witness to a charter by De Quincy, a Norman 
 baron, who flourished in Scotland betwixt these dates. f John of 
 Betun, a clerk of the diocese of Dunkeld, witnesses a confirma- 
 tion charter of the kirk of Ruthven to the monks of Arbroath, in 
 1211 ; and in 1214-26, David and John of Beaton also witness 
 charters of the lands of Kirriemuir, by Malcolm, Earl of Angus; 
 while the sheriff, before alluded to, appears in the same capacity 
 to that nobleman's grant of the Abthein lands of Monifieth, 
 about 1220.S 
 
 About the year 1250, the last-named David and Robert of Be- 
 tun, witness a charter by Christian of Vallognes, lady of Panmure, 
 to John of Lydel, of the lands of Balbanan and Panlathyn (Bal- 
 binny and Panlathie), h and both these Betuns were at the cele- 
 brated inquest in 1286, regarding the division of the pasture 
 belonging to the barony of Panmure ; 5 while, but three years 
 later, David subscribed the letter of the community of Scotland, 
 which was agreed to at the meeting of the Estates at Brigham, 
 consenting to the marriage of Prince Henry of England and our 
 Princess Margaret. k 
 
 Robert of Betun, witness to De Quincy's charter, had been 
 
 6 to 3 feet in depth and width, and run one into another, somewhat resembling a 
 maze. Traces of vitrification are visible on various parts of the hill, and calcined 
 bones, &c, have been found in the course of making the excavations, which have 
 been carried on with much Bpirit by the proprietor, Mr Neish. 
 
 e Acta Pari., ii. 329. ' Beg Priorat. S. Andree, 354. 
 
 <r Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 149, 80, 331. h Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 181, 
 * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 233. k Acta Pari., i. 85. 
 
BEATON OP ETHIEBEATON. 277 
 
 progenitor of the Betuns who did homage to King Edward. 
 Besides the persons already mentioned in connection with For- 
 farshire, who bore that surname, there was also, about 1267, an 
 Andrew of Betun, in Fife, whose name appears in the Earl of 
 Mar's charters of the kirks of Tharflund and Migueth (Tarland 
 and Migvie). 1 Although settled originally in Forfarshire, the 
 Betuns appear to have left that county soon after the forfeiture 
 of the sheriff, and are next met with in Fife, where Robert of 
 Betune, who is styled farniliarius Begis, younger son of Sir 
 Alexander of Betune, married Janet, heiress of Sir Michael 
 Balfour of that Ilk, by whom he had a son, John, who succeeded 
 his mother. He was the first Betun or Bethune of Balfour, and 
 added considerably to his maternal estate, as also did several 
 of his successors. David, comptroller and treasurer to James 
 IV., founder of the family of Creich ; Robert, Abbot of Cupar ; 
 Andrew, Prior of St Andrews ; and James, Abbot of Dunferm- 
 line, were sons of John, the fifth Bethune of Balfour. The first 
 of these was father of one of " the four Maries," who went to 
 France with the unfortunate Queen Mary, and remained in her 
 suite long after her return to Scotland. She became the wife 
 of the first Viscount Stormont, and is thus commemorated in the 
 beautiful ballad regarding the fate of Mary Hamilton, who, ac- 
 cording to tradition, was executed at Edinburgh : — 
 
 " Yestreen tbe Queen she had four Maries, 
 The rricht she has but three ; 
 There was Marie Seaton, and Marie Beatune, 
 And Marie Carmiohael, and me." 
 
 John Betune, elder brother to the comptroller, married Eliza- 
 beth Moneypenny, daughter of the laird of Kinkell, and had six 
 sons and five daughters. The third son was David, the celebrated 
 Cardinal, by far the most remarkable man of the family, or 
 perhaps of any contemporary family in Scotland.™ 
 
 The history of this celebrated individual need not be here 
 dwelt upon ; suffice it to say, that although tradition assigns to 
 
 1 Reg. Priorat. S. Andree, 312-13. 
 
 m The only genuine portrait of Cardinal Beaton is said to be at the Boman 
 Catholic College at Blairs, parish of Maryculter, Kincardineshire. A fine engrav- 
 ipg from this painting, with fac simile of autograph, executed at the expense of the 
 Jate Patrick Chalmers of Aldbar, will he found in the Beg. Nig. de Aberbrothoc. 
 
278 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 him the erection of many of the castles in Forfarshire, that 
 of Melgund, in the parish of Aberlemno, is the only one which, 
 he is known, with any degree of certainty, to have built. It is 
 romantically situated on the banks of a rocky ravine, and was 
 the residence of Marion Ogilvy, daughter of Lord Airlie, the 
 mother of the Cardinal's children. It may be added that it is 
 now believed by some that Beaton was united to Marion Ogilvy 
 by " that sort of morganatic marriage frequent among church- 
 men of that period ;" and it is certain that letters of legitimation 
 of at least two of his sons appear in the Great Seal Register. 
 
 The castle is yet a fine ruin, and initials and armorial bearings 
 supposed to be those of the Cardinal and his mistress are to be 
 seen on different parts of the building." 1 Tradition says that the 
 last occupants, having gambled away the lands, mysteriously dis- 
 appeared one winter evening while the tables were spread for 
 supper, and the lamps in full blaze ! One story says the family 
 fled to France, another that they threw themselves and their 
 silver plate into a deep pool in the burn of Melgund ! 
 
 The Cardinal, who had settled these lands in liferent on Marion • 
 Ogilvy, and on his eldest son, David, in fee, was succeeded by the 
 latter ; and his grand-son, James Betoun, " fier of Melgund," 
 granted, in 1589, a bond of manrent to the Earl of Huntly, where- 
 by he was to do " sic plessour and seruice" to the Earl as lay in 
 his power, and at such times as should be required, except his 
 " dewtie to the King's Majeste and the Erie of Crauford." 
 
 The Beatons were succeeded in Melgund about 1630, by the 
 first Marquis of Huntly and his Marchioness, Henrietta Stewart. 
 They appear to have made it an occasional residence, and a 
 beautiful monogram of their initials is still preserved in the farm 
 offices. Their son also took the title of Lord Melgund ; and, 
 according to Spalding, during the winter of 1635, while the old 
 Marquis was on his way to Edinburgh, to clear himself of certain 
 
 n Over the W. window of one of the rooms, bearing the lion passant, are the 
 Ogilvy arms, and over the S. window of the same are the arms of Beaton and Balfour, 
 quarterly (1st and 4th Beaton), with the remains of the initials H. 8. On the corbel 
 of the stair leading to this room are the Ogilvy arms, with the initials M. O. 
 
 ° Spalding Club Miscell., iv. 242. A stone, built into the wall of the kirk of 
 Aberlemno, bears two shields, with the initials I. B[eaton], and E. BIfenzies], 
 dated 1601. The first of these bears the arms of Beaton and Balfour (quarterly), 
 the other those of Menzies. 
 
THE GRAHAMS OP BORROWFIELD, AND ALD MONTROSE. 279 
 
 treasonable designs which were laid to his charge, he was storm- 
 sted here until the 12th of February of that year, when, de- 
 termined to pursue his journey to the metropolis, he and his lady 
 were carried that day as far as Dundee, " in ane coache, borne 
 vpone long treis vpone menis arms, becauss horss micht not 
 trauell in respect of the gryt storme and deipness of the way clad 
 with snaw and frost."? 
 
 It was in August of this year that the Marquis sold the estate 
 to Henry Maule of Both, a cadet of the family of Panmure, 
 and the reputed author of a History of the Picts. By a female 
 descendant of Maule, through Murray of Philiphaugh, this pro- 
 perty came to the Earl of Minto, and from it his eldest son as- 
 sumes the title of Lord Melgund.i 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE GRAHAMS OP BORROWFIELD, AND ALD MONTROSE. 
 
 The Grahams acquire the Lands of Charleton, Borrowfield, and Kinnaber — Aid 
 Montrose — Origin, and other Notices of the Grahams — Fullarton of Kinnaber 
 excommunicated for Quakerism, &c. 
 
 Although two different members of the celebrated family of 
 Graham did homage to King Edward I., in the years 1291 and 
 1292, and no fewer than five other barons of the same name, and 
 two females, performed that service during the still more event- 
 ful year, 1296, r none of them are specially designed of lands 
 either in Angus or in the Mearns. 
 
 Bominug DauiO be (Sra&am, milet, 
 
 who took the oath of allegiance to England at Berwick-upon- 
 Tweed, on the 1st of August 1291, is supposed to have been the 
 son of Sir David Graham of Dundaff, brother of the patriot, Sir 
 John Graham, who fell at the battle of Falkirk, while attempt- 
 ing, along with Sir William Wallace, to achieve the Indepen- 
 dence of Scotland. 
 
 f Trubles, i. 59. * Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, ii. 195. 
 
 ' Ragman Rolls ; Prynne ; Fcedera ; Palgrave's Doc, passim. 
 
280 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Sir David (the knight who did homage to Edward in the year 
 1296), was grand-son to David of Graham, the first of the family 
 that settled in Angus, the last-named David having obtained 
 from King William the Lion, the lands of Cbarleton, Bor- 
 rowfield, and Kinnaber. Borrowfield had probably been held 
 by the Grahams down to the year 1408, at which time Sir 
 William Graham resigned it in favour of Alexander of Gar- 
 den. 8 Still, from the time of the grant by King William, 
 until the days of Sir David Graham of Kincardine (nephew of 
 the first-mentioned Sir David), the name of Graham does not 
 occur in connection with lands in Angus. It was Sir David of 
 Kincardine, however, who exchanged with King Robert the 
 Bruce the estate of Cardross, in Dunbartonshire, for that of Aid 
 Montrose in Angus.* From about that period, down to the for- 
 feiture of the first Marquis, the house of Aid Montrose was their 
 principal residence, and from that estate (and not from the town 
 of Montrose, as is commonly believed), the various titles of Lord, 
 Earl, Marquis, and Duke, have been assumed by the family. 
 
 Although once of considerable power and influence, both in 
 Angus and the Mearns, the Grahams have now but little landed 
 interest in either county ; still, it is interesting to know that 
 one of the oldest branches of the family — Graham of Morphie 
 — possesses at least a portion of the patrimonial estates in the 
 latter shire. The male lines of the Grahams of Fin try, Duntrune, 
 and Claverhouse, in Angus, have been extinct for some time." 
 Their lineage, however, is set forth in the various heraldric 
 books, where also will be found detailed accounts of the Grahams 
 of Montrose, of which our limits will not admit. It need only 
 be added that, while tradition assigns a fabulous origin to the 
 family, it is matter of record that William de Graham, who 
 settled in Scotland under David I., obtained from him the lands 
 of Abercorn and Dalkeith, in Edinburghshire. From him, who 
 was alive in 1139, were descended the different branches of the 
 
 ■ Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 236. 
 
 ' Alt-moine-ros, " the point of the mossy burn," or " the turn of the mossy 
 point" (utswp., 62). Kinaber means "apoint or headland at the mouth of a river." 
 
 " Miss Stirling Graham, the representative of the Duntrune and Claverhouse 
 branch, has lately printed privately, a small volume, entitled Mystifications, which, 
 perhaps preserves more of the real character of Forfarshire and its gentry, &c, of the 
 past half century, than any work that has hitherto appeared. 
 
THE GRAHAMS OF BOKROWFIELD, AND ALD MONTROSE. 281 
 
 family of Graham, the most celebrated member of which was, 
 doubtless, the first Marquis, who, it is believed, was born at the 
 family seat of Aid Montrose, in 1612. 
 
 The estate of Aid Montrose lies in the parish of Maryton, to 
 the south-west of the Basin of Montrose, and the Grahams were 
 succeeded in it by the well-known Earl of Middleton. Since the 
 forfeiture of Middleton's son, in 1695, the property has been in 
 a variety of hands, and now belongs to the Earl of Southesk. 
 It is one of the most fertile spots in the county, and some years 
 ago the old mansion house gave place to a neat building in the 
 English cottage style of architecture. 
 
 Borrowfield, Charleton, and Kinnaber, are in the parish of Mon- 
 trose; but, so far as known, there is little worthy of note regarding 
 either their antiquarian or their proprietary history. There is an 
 old burial place at Kinnaber, called the Howff, where certain of 
 the lairds of Charleton and others were buried ; but nothing is 
 known of the chapel which is said to have stood there, or of its 
 patron saint. The lands of Kinnaber belonged to a family 
 named Fullerton, from at least 1514, T till nearly the close of the 
 last century, and the house is embellished with a carving of their 
 armorial bearings. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that John Fullerton of Kinnaber — who 
 was contemporary with Barclay of Ury, author of the celebrated 
 " Apology for the Quakers"— was among the earliest in Scotland 
 to embrace the principles of Quakerism. It is certain that, in com- 
 mon with Barclay, Fullerton and his household were persecuted 
 by the Church for adhering to those opinions ; for, in 1663, some 
 time after Fullerton of Kinnaber had been himself excommuni- 
 cated by the Presbytery of Brechin, the record bears that the 
 same sentence was pronounced by that body " against Catharin 
 Allardes Lady Kynnaber, and Sibilla Falconer, a domestic 
 servant, for their adhering to the scandalous errours of Quar 
 nuarism." w 
 
 7 Spaldfng Club Miacell., ?. 292. w Presbytery Records, MS., i. fol. 68. 
 
 
 
MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 PAET FOURTH. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONARY NOTICES OF 
 
 2Tf)p Batons of &ngus 
 
 WHO SWORE FEALTY TO KING EDWARD THE FIRST, 
 A.D. 1296, 
 
 AND OF THEIR FAMILIES AND ESTATES. 
 
TAUT FOURTH. 
 
 THE BAEONS OP ANGUS WHO SWOEE FEALTY TO 
 EDWARD I, A.D. 1296. 
 
 SECTION- I. 
 
 &f)e &wat0, ananas, & &tram fttf 31abi&. 
 
 THE AEEATS OF ARBAT. 
 
 Proprietary History of Arrat— St Magdalene's Chapel, &e. 
 
 In the year 1264, Richard of Arrath, the first of this old family 
 with whom we have met, possessed the lands of " Balnanon," or 
 Balnamoon, a now almost unknown estate on the hanks of the 
 South Esk, situated in the parish of Maryton. In later times 
 this property was described as " the lands of Heughland, called 
 Balnamoone." a Contemporary with Richard was William of 
 Arrade, or Arrath, who is a witness to William of Brechin's 
 foundation charter of the Hospital of St Mary, or Maisondieu, in 
 that town ; b but from that date until King Edward visited Scot- 
 land in 1296, no trace of the name is found. On that occasion 
 
 So!)an Ue &trat 
 
 did homage for his lands to the English monarch, at Berwick- 
 upon-Tweed, along with some other Angus barons. 
 
 The Arrats were vassals of the lords of Brechin, and assumed 
 their surname from the lands of Arrat, which lie on the south- 
 east side of the parish. The name is of rare occurrence in 
 the county of Forfar, although the family survived there as 
 land owners down to about the middle of the sixteenth century. 
 Long before this, however, so early as 1378, it appears that 
 Thomas Rait of Owres, in the Mearns, had a confirmation char- 
 ter of at least a portion of Arrat, from Margaret, daughter and 
 heiress of David Barclay of Brechin. 4 
 
 » Chamb. Bolls, *41 ; Inq. Spec, Forfar., No. 367. b Beg. Ep. Brechin., i,7. 
 •Bagman Bolls, 152 ; Erynne, 660. d Acta Earl., i. 198. 
 
286 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 On the 3d of June 1471, Robert Arrat, presbyter, attest., 
 charter of " the constable lands of Brechin." These were situateu 
 near Bearehill, and were then given by James Wishart of Pittar- 
 row to Robert Rait, a citizen of that town. Soon afterwards a 
 person bearing the same name and surname (if not the same indi- 
 vidual), appears as a notary public in various documents relating 
 both to Angus and to the Mearns. e At one time he assumes the 
 appellation of sir, a title of courtesy then common among church- 
 men, equivalent, probably, to that of reverend. 
 
 The last of the family was, perhaps, George Arrot " of that 
 Ilk," who, along with Carnegie of Kinnaird, and Halyburton of 
 Pitcur, was amerciated for non-attendance at the assise held on 
 Moncur of Baluny and his wife, who, in 1537, were charged with 
 oppressing and wounding the Countess of Crawford/ Perhaps 
 George Arrott, who was master of the Maisondieu of Brechin, in 
 1598, was a son of the laird last-named.s Tradition avers that 
 the family possessed Arrat down to the Reformation, when they 
 incurred the displeasure of Erskine of Dun, by attempting to save 
 the old chapel of St Mary Magdalene from the ravages of the 
 infuriated mob. 
 
 Arrat continued to form a portion of the lordship of Brechin and 
 Navar down to the forfeiture of the Earl of Panmure in 1716 ; 
 and, the ancestors of the Viscounts Arbuthnott appear to have 
 succeeded to the property as vassals of the lords of Brechin, 
 either immediately, or soon after, the decay of the Arrats. Sir 
 Robert Arbuthnott, a son of the laird of Arrat, was the first 
 noble of his name, being created Viscount Arbuthnott in 1641. 
 Sir Robert Carnegie of Kinnaird owned a portion of Arrat in 
 1559 ; and one of the old family of Fullertan had an interest in 
 the property in 1594 ; h but since the sale of the forfeited estates 
 of Scotland, these, with the lands of Leightonhill, and others ad- 
 joining, have formed part of the estate of Carnegie of Southesk. 
 
 The chapel of Mary Magdalene is situated upon the lands of 
 Arrat, on the south side of the turnpike, nearly half way between 
 
 e Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 194-5 ; Spalding Club Misoell., iv. 9-12 ; Acta Dom. 
 Conoill., 292. [A carved stone, built into the offices at Bearehill, contains the 
 initials W. "W., and date 1633.] 
 
 £ Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, i. *180. ' Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 230. 
 
 * Pouglas' Peerage, ji. 512 ; MisceU. Aldfrar., MS., 292.. 
 
THE AEEATS OP AEEAT, 287 
 
 the towns of Brechin and Montrose. It is provincially called 
 Maidlin Chapel, and in old writings is known both as the chapel 
 of Arrat, and the chapel of Caldhame. The latter name is assumed 
 rom a district on the east side of the town and parish of Brechin ; 
 jut the date of the origin of the chapel is unknown. It is re- 
 corded as old and ruinous in the fifteenth century, and it was 
 rebuilt during the episcopate of Bishop Carnoth, 1429-56. 
 
 The names of its early chaplains are lost. About 1440, how- 
 ever, Sir John Koched is said to have held that office " fourty 
 zeir and mair," when the lands of Caldhame, from which part of 
 the revenues of the chaplain were derived, were declared to be 
 held of the Bishop of Brechin, to whom " of law and uiss and 
 custoum" they owed " soit and seruice thriss in the zeir at [his] 
 heid courtis." These lands were also multured to the Little Mill 
 of Brechin, which stood at Little Mill Stairs, near the foot of the 
 High Street ; and the chaplain or his tenants were bound to 
 assist in upholding the mill, in cleaning the mill dam, and in 
 " bryngyng hayme of the mylestane quhen it hapnis to neid to 
 the said myle." 1 
 
 Soon after that date the revenues of Magdalene Chapel were 
 augmented by those of the Holy Cross, a chapel which was found- 
 ed by Dempster of Auchterless and Careston ; but from that time 
 down to the year 1587 — when James VI. gave the revenues of 
 both houses to John Bannatyne, " scoller, for sustenying [him] at 
 the sculeis and better vpbringing in vertew and leirnying," — 
 nothing is recorded of St Magdalene's until the early part of 
 the next century, when the emoluments were drawn by the 
 the Hepburns and the Livingstones. k 
 
 The foundations of the chapel are now barely traceable ; but 
 the burial ground, surrounded by a rude stone wall, and shaded 
 by a few trees, is occasionally used for interment. It contains 
 some simple monuments, one of which, of date 1740, erected to 
 the memory of a farmer, bears the following couplet : — 
 
 " Of all employments that may be found, 
 Husbandrie ought to be crowned." 
 
 1 Eeg. de Brechin., i. 106. * Ibid., i. 165, 181 ; ii. 222 ; 232, 236. 
 
288 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 THE ANANDS OP MELGUND. 
 
 Anand Forester of Plater — Anands of Kinearies. 
 
 The surname of "Anand" is territorial, and was perhaps as- 
 sumed from the district of Annan, in Dumfriesshire, part of the 
 Roman province of Valentia, where the Anands were vassals of 
 the Norman family De Brus, progenitors of King Robert I. 
 
 Adam of Anand, a canon of Dunkeld, rector of the kirk of 
 Monimail, in Fife, 1254-71, is perhaps the earliest person of the 
 surname on record in Scotland j 1 and 
 
 TOlHam tie SlnaunD, 
 
 who did homage at Berwick-upon-Tweed, after King Edward 
 returned from the north, m is the first mentioned of the family in 
 connection with Forfarshire. It was this baron who figured so 
 conspicuously at the defence of Stirling, in 1305 ; u and the lands 
 of Melgund, in the parish of Aberlemno, were those for which he 
 swore fealty. 
 
 In the year 1354, David of Anand was one of the prisoners 
 whom the English Commissioners engaged to use their influence 
 to liberate without ransome. The same person or his son, was 
 forester of the ancient hunting forest of Plater, near Finhaven, 
 which he resigned in 1375, and was succeeded by Sir Alexander 
 Lindsay of Glenesk. In the year 1368, Anand appears in parlia- 
 ment regarding the falsing of a sentence of the justiciary < three 
 years afterwards he was present at the coronation, of Robert II., 
 and in 1391, a person bearing the same name and surname, paid 
 the sum of £30 to the King's Chamberlain for the relief of his 
 lands of Melgund.? 
 
 The family held these lands until the year 1542, when the 
 heiress, Janet of Anand, with consent of her second husband, 
 Balfour of Baledmouth, sold them to Cardinal Beaton, who, as 
 before observed, built the castle of which the ruins still remain."} 
 It ought to be remarked that the family was of importance in 
 
 * Reg. Priorat. de S. Andree, 172-4, 311. m Ragman Rolls, 126 ; Prynne, 654, 
 
 n Fcedera, i. 35. ° Hailes' Annals, ii. 252. 
 
 r Acta Pari., j. 146, 181 ; Chamberlain Rolls, ii. 183, i Ut »up., 278.. 
 
ADAM FITZ DAVID. 289 
 
 Forfarshire during the fifteenth century, for the laird of the period 
 married a daughter of the first Lord Gray; and Margaret of 
 Annan became the wife of John Cossins of that Ilk, an old 
 family in the parish of Glamis. 1 
 
 There was also a branch of the Anands, designed of Kinquhery 
 (Kineary, or Kinearies, in Kirkden, in Angus), from about 1450 
 till 1506. 8 Another branch had a charter of the lands of Saucby 
 in Clackmannanshire, in the year 1324. The Sauchy line failed 
 in two co-heiresses in the time of King James L, and the estates 
 were carried by marriage to Schaw of Greenock and Brown of 
 Colstoun.* 
 
 aoam fit; UautO, 
 
 designed of the county of Forfar, also did homage to King 
 Edward at Berwick." This individual cannot now be identified. 
 It may be mentioned, however, that in the parish of Newtyle, 
 and within the ancient lordship of Newtibber, there is a farm 
 called Davidstown; while, in the adjoining parish of Auchter- 
 house, a still more considerable estate, situated within the barony 
 of Dronlaw, bears the name of Adamstown. But I have found 
 neither place mentioned earlier than about the middle of the six- 
 teenth century, at which time Adamstown belonged to Scrimgeour 
 of Dudhope/ 
 
 It need hardly be added that both the surnames of Adamson 
 and Davidson are well known in Forfarshire. 
 
 r Douglas' Peerage, i. 667 ; Strathmore Family Papers, MS. ; Acta Aud., 60. 
 
 • Reg. Ep. Brechin., 141 ; Bea. de Panmvre, MS., i. 345. 
 
 ' Nisbet'e Heraldry, Critical Remarks, ii. 35. 
 
 ■ Rag. Rolls; 154-1 ; Prynne, 659-60. ' Inq. Spec, Forf., Nos. 19, 561. 
 
 PP 
 
290 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 BAXTER OF LOCHFEITHIE. 
 
 Origin, and Notices of the surname of Baxter, and of Lochfeithie. 
 
 It is probable that the surname of Baxter, which is still common 
 throughout Britain, though variously spelled, had been assumed 
 ' from the trade of a baker. In its Latinized form of Pistor, the 
 name is found in Scotland at a remote period ; for, about 1188- 
 1202, a person called Aldred Pistor, is a witness to a confir- 
 mation charter of the kirk of Haddington by Bishop Roger of 
 St Andrews, to the Prior and Canons of that monastery . w Sub- 
 sequently, among those who did homage to King Edward at 
 Perth, on the 24th July 1291, were three citizens of that place, 
 named respectively Richard, Robert, and Roger Pistor .* 
 
 It need scarcely be added that the office of baker, in royal and 
 noble households, is of remote antiquity in almost every nation, 
 ancient and modern ; and it is perhaps upon the strength of this 
 fact, that Buchanan of Auchmar founds a worthless tradition re- 
 garding the origin of the surname of Baxter in Scotland.? His 
 story need not be quoted, more particularly since the name was 
 known fully a century before the time to which he ascribes its 
 origin. / 
 
 fficffrag 1c 33al<csicr tie Soffit&c, 
 
 who submitted to King Edward I.,' is the earliest assump- 
 tion of the surname that I have anywhere seen. The desig- 
 nation " de Loffithe" was probably taken from a place called 
 Lochfeithie, near the county town of Forfar, in which, as already 
 shewn, the old Scotch kings had a residence ; and the name 
 of Baxester may have been assumed by Geffray, or an an- 
 cestor, from their having been bakers to the royal household. 
 Like the lands of Inverpeffer, in the parish of St Vigeans, which 
 were granted by King William the Lion to a favourite brewer, 
 
 * Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 153. * Rag. Roll, 17. 
 
 f Essay on Scottish Surnames, 162. * Rag. Roll, 154 ; Prynne, 660. 
 
, THE GENERAL SOCIETY (IF 
 H* CS AND TRADESMEN 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW York 
 
 BAXTER OF LOCHFEITHIB. 291 ' mt '*l. 
 
 those of Lochfeithie (although we have seen no record of the 
 fact), may have been acquired by the Bakesters for services as 
 bakers. 
 
 I have found no trace of the old proprietary history of Loch- 
 feithie, nor of the descendants of GefFray the Bakester ; but, it may 
 be added, tbat Lochfeithie has, for many years past, been included 
 in the property of Auchterforfar, which was anciently tithed to the 
 Priory of Bostinoth. Apart from the baron above named, the only 
 persons of any note in the shire of Forfar, of the name of Baxter, 
 appear to have been a baker in Dundee, who died in 1609 (to 
 whose memory, and that of his wife, there is a curious tomb in 
 the Howff burial-ground), 1 and a John Baxstar, who is a witness 
 to an instrument of sasine regarding certain lands lying on the 
 east side of the town of Brechin, which were granted to Mel- 
 drum of Segy, in 1548-9. In that writ, Baxstar is described as 
 arrniger, and perhaps he was an esquire to Sir Thomas Erskine, 
 then superior of the lordship of Brechin. b 
 
 But since these days the name has become pretty general in 
 Forfarshire, particularly in the neighbourhood of Dundee ; and 
 the estates of Idvies, Balgavies, Kincaldrum, and others in Angus, 
 as well as Kilmaron in Fife, have been lately acquired by families 
 of the name of Baxter. These proprietors have all been, and 
 some of them still are, traders in the town of Dundee, and archi- 
 tects of their own fortunes ; and, it may be further remarked, 
 that the heir-apparent to Kincaldrum is now M.P. for the Mon- 
 trose district of burghs, which he has represented since the death 
 of Joseph Hume. 
 
 As a part of the estate of Auchterforfar, Lochfeithie has been 
 long in the hands of Dempster of Dunnichen ; and, until lately, 
 when its banks were cleared of thriving wood, the lake had a 
 
 ■ This interesting monument is adorned with effigies, in low relief, of a man 
 and woman, dressed in the curious costume of the period. The man has a beard, 
 and bis arm is round the lady's waist. It also contains two shields : One Bhield 
 bears a fess, two mascles in chief, and a rose (?roundle) in base ; above the Bhield, a 
 double crosslet; and a peel, or baker's shovel, charged with three roundels, issue from 
 the sides. The other shield bears (quarterly) 1 and 4, three crescents, for Seaton ; 
 2 and 3, three garbs (for Cuming). This stone is No. 264, in the Register of 
 tombstones, and bears this inscription : — " Conditvr hio vir providvs Johannes 
 Baxteb, Pistor Bvrgensis de Dvndie, qvi obiit 20 Ootobris 1609, et Helena 
 Seyton eivs sponsa. — Vie live to die, and deiis to live for ever." 
 
 b Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 200. 
 
292 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 singularly romantic appearance. It is about a mile in circum- 
 ference, and has now a bleak, uninviting aspect, except to the 
 disciples of Walton. 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to know, that the celebrated poli- 
 tician, George Dempster, has preserved the name and piscatorial 
 excellencies of Lochfeithie, in an inscription which he wrote on 
 the grave of a green linnet, the companion of his nephew and 
 heir. The bird was buried by the side of the loch, and briefly, in 
 the writer's own language, he hopes that the lines may 
 
 " place on the Eolls of Fame 
 The Bird, his master's and his mistress' name ; 
 While schoolboys perches in LochJTeithie take, 
 And the sun's shadow dances on the Lake." 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 &fje (ttamerons, an& tije (ftramonirss. 
 
 THE CAMEEONS OP BALEDGAENO. 
 
 Edward I. at Baledgarno— The Castle— Etymology of the Name — Early Notices 
 of the Camerons. 
 
 The surname of " Cambron" occurs no fewer than seven times 
 in the Ragman Roll. The barons all bear the name of Robert, 
 are sometimes designated miles, and sometimes chevalier, and de- 
 signed of the different counties of Perth, Fife, and Forfar. 
 
 Moljert ©amrjtoun De UJalndlrj, 
 
 who is classed among the Forfarshire barons, as having done 
 homage to Edward L, had probably been connected with the 
 district in an official capacity, for I am not aware, with the ex- 
 ception of Balneillie, in the parish of Dun, that any other place 
 in the shire ever bore a name at all like Balnelly, and with that 
 <= Eag. Eoll, 71-157 ; Prynne, 661, &c. 
 
THE CAMEEONS OF BALEDGARNO. 293 
 
 place the Camerons never appear to have had any connection. 
 It is therefore probable, that it rather refers to a property in 
 Fifeshire, the name of which is variously written, Balnullo, 
 Balulie, and Balmillie, &c, for in that county the Camerons. 
 were settled at an early period. 
 
 The property most adjacent to Forfarshire, with which they 
 were connected in old times, was that of Baledgarno, in the Garse 
 of Gowrie, and they held it from the time of Edward I., down to 
 at least the year 1365. d 
 
 As before observed, the King of England abode at " the redde 
 Castle of Baligernache," or Baledgarno, on 7th August 1296, when 
 on his return from the north. This castle, which was called red, 
 doubtless from the peculiar colour of the stone of which it had 
 been built, and which still abounds in the locality, stood upon 
 a rising ground on the east side of the burn of Baledgarno; 
 and the site, which commands an extensive view of the valley of 
 the Tay, from beyond Perth to its fall into the sea, of the opposite 
 hills of Fife, and of a large tract of Forfarshire, is now occupied 
 by a farm house, bearing the significant name of Castlehitt, 
 sheltered on the north and west by the picturesque and finely 
 wooded hills of Bossy Priory and Ballendean. 
 
 The name of Baledgarno is perhaps a corruption of the Gaelic 
 word Bal-ad-gar-cnoc, which means a town or house situated 
 upon a long rough hillock." Now-a-days, it is sometimes written 
 and pronounced Balegarry ; and fable says that King Edgar had 
 a castle there, and that the place, in consequence, was called 
 " Bal-Edgar." The village of Baledgarno, in the valley imme- 
 diately south of the Castlehill, with its clean cottages and neatly 
 kept gardens, past which the burn sweetly meanders, is one of 
 the prettiest rural spots in the Carse of Gowrie. 
 
 It is certain that the Camerons were early connected with For- 
 far, as well as with Perthshire, for even in 1214-25, Hugh Cam- 
 brun held the high office of Sheriff of Angus, and was a peram- 
 bulator of the disputed marches between the lands of the Abbey 
 of Arbroath and Kinblethmont. f In the year 1261, Kobert of 
 
 d Eag. Eoll, 71, &o. ; Eeg. Mag. Sigill., p. 309 ; ut sup., 202. 
 e " Baledgarno" is thus variously spelled — Baligernache, Balligernacthe, Balin- 
 gernach, Balligrenaoh, Balgligernach, Balligarnagh, Billigernank, &c. 
 ' Eeg. Bp. Brechin., i. 3 ; Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 162. 
 
294 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Cambron was forester of the Castle of Cluny, in Perthshire ; and 
 nearly thirty years later, the same baron (it is presumed) assented 
 to the letter of the community of Scotland approving of the mar- 
 riage of Prince Edward of England with our Queen Margaret.^ 
 John of Cambron, perhaps the son of Kobert, was present at the 
 Parliament held at Arbroath in 1320 ; and the seal of Sir John 
 of Cambron, knight, is appended to John of Wardroperisthone's 
 charter of the lands of Wardroperisthone, or Warburton, in the 
 Mearns, which was granted at Perth to Sir John of Inchmartinj 
 knight, in 1331. h 
 
 Apart from these notices, which shew that the family were 
 early located in and near Forfarshire, it may be added that, 
 according to story, they first appeared in the Highlands ; but re- 
 cord so far disproves this, and shews rather that they were ori- 
 ginally Lowland barons ; for, during the reign of William the 
 Lion, sometime before the year 1200, a Eobert of Cambron was 
 a witness to a donation to the monastery of Cambuskenneth. 1 
 In consequence of this fact, which is the earliest known record of 
 the name, probably it had a territorial origin, and may have been 
 assumed from the district or parish of Cameron, in Fifeshire, the 
 church of which is mentioned in the time of Bishop Roger of St 
 Andrews, 1188-1202, when the canons of that place conceded the 
 tithes of it, and several other churches, to the Culdees. k Perhaps 
 Robert of Cambron, the witness to the Cambuskenneth charter, 
 was father of the Sheriff of Forfar, and progenitor of the Came- 
 rons in the Highlands, and also of those in the Lowlands. 
 
 As may be supposed, the traditional accounts of the origin both 
 of the name and of the family are various. In regard to the first, 
 one story says that the name is a corruption of two Gaelic words, 
 Cam-bran, which signify a "crooked mountain stream," and the 
 other, that it is from Cam-shron, " a crooked nose." 1 
 
 As to the origin of the family, one legend relates that a Dane 
 
 e Chamb. Rolls, i. *30 ; Acta Pari., i. 85. 
 
 h Acta Pari., i. 114 ; Spalding Club Miscell., v. .10. ' Douglas' Baronage, 328. 
 
 k Peg. Prior. S. Andree, 318. A portion of the lands of Craigmillar, near 
 Edinburgh, waB also called Kambrun. — Chamb. Bolls, i. *40-67. 
 
 '"I am most fully convinced" (says the Rev. Mr Clerk of Kilmallie, author of an 
 account of the Camerons of Fassifern, in reply to a query upon the subject), " of the- 
 purely Celtic origin of the name Cameron — Cam-shron, ' wry, or twisted nose,' just 
 as Campbell is Cam-bheul v ' wry mouth.'" 
 
THE CEAMONDS OF ALDBAE. 295 
 
 or Norwegian, of the name of Cameron, who held most of the 
 Western Isles in the time of William the Lion and Alexander 
 II., married the heiress of Macmartin, proprietor of Lochaber, 
 and so acquired that territory. Another account attributes their 
 rise to the time of Fergus II. ; while a third asserts that the re- 
 mote progenitor of the family " married Marian, daughter of 
 Kenneth, Thane of Lochaber, and sister of Bancho, who was 
 murdered by Macbeth ;" and from him, says Buchanan of Auch- 
 mar, who, it may be observed, is a singularly credulous writer on 
 Scottish genealogy, " were descended the Camerons of Locheil." m 
 It may be added, that the most remarkable of the race, either 
 for bravery or loyalty, in modern times, was Colonel John 
 Cameron of the 92d Highlanders, who fell at the head of his 
 regiment at Quatre Bras. He was of the family of Fassifern, 
 in the mountainous and once dreary district of Lochaber ; and, 
 in consideration of his distinguished services in Holland, Egypt, 
 and the Peninsula, a baronetcy was conferred upon the family in 
 the person of his father, on the 8th March, 1817. 
 
 THE CEAMONDS OP ALDBAE. 
 
 Origin of the Name and Family of Cramond of Aldbar— The Lyons — Sinelaire — 
 Youngs — Story of the Death of one of the Youngs — Aldbar acquired by 
 Chalmers of Hazelhead — Sheriff Chalmers — Notice of Patrick Chalmers, M.P. 
 — His Literary and Antiquarian Tastes — His Death — The Chapel of Aldbar — 
 Its Restoration — The Castle. 
 
 When King Edward I. subdued Scotland, the lands of Aldbar 
 appear to have been possessed by a cadet of the Cramonds, or 
 Kerramunds, in Midlothian. 11 The Aldbar branch ultimately 
 became chief of the family, and in 1541, soon after that 
 event, James Cramond of Aldbar sold the original family pro- 
 perties of Over Cramond and Clairbar, to William Adamson 
 of Craigcrook, when the interest of the Cramonds ceased in the 
 Lothians. 
 
 ■= Essay on Ancient Scottish Surnames, 126. 
 
 n See Wood's Acct. of the Parish of Cramond, 49-51. " Oaer-Amon, is said to 
 signify the fort of the river Amon." 
 
296 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 The estate of Cramond, from which the family name was 
 assumed, was held of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem; and 
 William of Cramond, of the county of 'Edinburgh, who was 
 clerk of the King's wardrobe in 1278, is recorded to have sworn 
 fealty to King Edward in 1296, at Berwick-upon-Tweed, much 
 about the same time as 
 
 Eaurcnce De ©ramounfc, 
 
 who is designed of the county of Forfar. So far as known, these 
 two barons were the only persons o£ the name who performed 
 homage at that time ; but subsequently there was a John of 
 Craumond, perhaps a near relative of William, who took the 
 oath of fidelity to the King of England for lands in the county of 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Besides the lands of Aldbar, in Angus, the Cramonds were 
 early in possession of those of Melgund and Eddrochat, or Kin- 
 trockat. They were related by marriage to some of the most 
 influential families both in Angus and in the Mearns, and held 
 their estates until the last half of the sixteenth century, when 
 their affairs became embarrassed, and the lands being heavily 
 mortgaged, John, Lord Glamis, who was Chancellor of Scotland 
 in 1577, became the proprietor. 
 
 Lord Griamis gave Aldbar to his second son, Sir Thomas 
 Lyon, sometime Lord Treasurer of Scotland, and the daring man 
 who harshly remarked, when James VI. wept during his deten- 
 tion at Ruthven House, in 1582 — " It is no matter for your 
 tears — better that bairns should weep than bearded men !" The 
 period of the death of this " bold baron" is unknown, but it 
 occurred some time after King James went to England ; for, 
 on hearing of Lyon's death, he is said to have remarked to the 
 English nobles around him, " that the boldest and hardiest man 
 in his dominions was dead !" Sir Thomas Lyon left a son, who 
 succeeded to Aldbar ; but dying issueless, the lands fell back to 
 his nephew, the Earl of Kinghorn, who afterwards disposed of 
 them to a cadet of the noble house of Sinclair. 
 
 In 1670 and 1678, various portions of the lands were bought 
 from Sir James Sinclair, by Peter Young of Easter Seaton, 
 » Chamb. Rolls.i. *77 ; Rag. Roll, 125; Prynne, 654 ; Palgrave, 300. 
 
, ALDBAJl — THE YOUNGS. 297 
 
 grandson of Sir Peter, almoner to James VI. Sir Peter, the 
 founder of this branch of the Youngs, was the second son of 
 John Young, a burgess of Dundee, by his wife Margaret Scrim- 
 geour, daughter of a collateral branch of the Dudhope family. 
 Sir Peter, who was three times married, had in all eight sons 
 and eight daughters, and died at Easter Seaton, January 7th, 
 1628. His eldest son and successor, Sir James, of Innerechtie, 
 knight, was a gentleman of the King's bed chamber, and father 
 of Peter Young of Easter Seaton, who, (with consent of his own 
 wife Isabella Ochterlony [? of Wester Seaton] and his son Robert, 
 as life-renter and fiar, and with consent of Robert's wife, Anna, 
 daughter of Sir William Graham of Glaverhouse) , sold Easter 
 Seaton and bought Aldbar as above noticed. It was this Robert 
 who engaged the celebrated Ruddiman as tutor to his son David. 
 This David married Marjory, eldest daughter of Fothringham 
 of Powrie, and, dying in 1743, was succeeded by his son Robert, 
 who, ten years afterwards, sold the estate.? 
 
 A romantic story is told of the last Young of Aldbar. Accord- 
 ing to tradition, arrangements were made for his marriage with the 
 daughter of a neighbouring proprietor. In token of respect, and 
 in remembrance of her proposed wedding, it is said that the lady 
 resolved to present her native parish with the rather odd gift of a 
 mortcloth. That mournful weed, and her marriage dress, having 
 been ordered from the same house in Edinburgh, both were sent 
 together, and, unfortunately, by some unexplained'accident, found 
 their way to Aldbar, and were there opened. Mr Young, who 
 was probably of a nervous disposition, took the matter seriously 
 to heart, and sending the mortcloth and wedding dress to his 
 bride, he hurried to Montrose himself, where, it is added, he com- 
 mitted suicide by drowning. It is more probable, however, that 
 his death had been accidental, since his clothes were found 
 lying upon the beach, and his horse tied to a stake, near the 
 place where his body was washed ashore. His bride is said to 
 have died soon after, when the ill-omened mortcloth was first 
 used at her own funeral. 
 
 It was soon after this sad occurrence, and in the year 1753, 
 that the lands of Aldbar were purchased by William Chalmers 
 p Miscell. Aldbarensia, MS. N 
 
 QQ 
 
298 MEMOKIA.LS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 of Hazelhead (representative of the old family of Chalmers of 
 Balnacraig and Murthill, in Aberdeenshire) ,1 who had amassed 
 considerable wealth as a merchant in Spain. He was succeeded 
 in Aldbar, in 1765, by his son Patrick, who was an advocate, and 
 held the office of Sheriff of Forfarshire from 1769 to 1807 ; and 
 having a literary taste, he contributed several papers to Mac- 
 kenzie's "Mirror" and "Lounger." He died in February 1824, 
 when he was succeeded by his son, who survived only two years. 
 The estates then passed to the eldest son of the last named, also 
 Patrick, who was born at Aldbar Castle, 31st October 1802. 
 
 This gentleman, who became one of the most trustworthy of 
 modern politicians and antiquaries, was first educated at a pri- 
 vate academy in Essex, then at Oxford, on leaving which he 
 entered the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and rose to the rank of captain. 
 He retired from the service on the death of his father, and settled 
 upon his estate, towards the improvement of which, and his own 
 literary taste, he devoted much of his time, occasionally joining, 
 as was felicitously remarked by an old and noble friend of his 
 own, "with zeal and heartiness in all those field sports, by a taste 
 for which the country gentleman is naturally distinguished." 
 
 At the contested election for the Angus burghs in 1832, he was 
 defeated; but at the three subsequent elections (viz., 1835-37-41) 
 he was unanimously returned, and continued to represent these 
 burghs, to the utmost satisfaction of his constituents, until the 
 year 1842, when ill health compelled him to resign his seat. 
 His political views were as strictly liberal as his conduct was 
 consistent, and, from his apt business habits, he was much em- 
 ployed in Committees of the House of Commons. 
 
 He was ever active in all that related to the interests of his 
 native county ; and his anxiety in this particular was well exem- 
 plified, only a few weeks before his death, in a letter to an Arbroath 
 merchant, regarding the nature and best means of obtaining flax 
 from the Continent, in the event of a scarcity of that commodity, 
 which was much feared, during the late Kussian war. Among the 
 
 i Within a back entrance to the Church of St Nicholas, Aberdeen, a stone Blab 
 built into the wall, contains the following inscription:' — "Hie iacet providvs et 
 honorabilis vir, Alexander de Camera, de Murthill, Praepositus huius burgi de 
 Aberdene, qvi obiit vm. die mens. Octobris Anno Dom. iiccccxin." So far as I 
 know, this is the oldest tombstone at St Nicholas, and the inscription is beautifully- 
 carved in old English characters. 
 
ALDBAE — PATRICK CHALMERS. 299 
 
 many lasting benefits which Mr Chalmers conferred upon the shire, 
 were the projecting and carrying out, in the face of considerable 
 opposition, the road from Brechin to Dundee by Lucky's Slap ; and 
 the equally strenuous exertions he made in obtaining the bill and 
 forwarding the works of the Arbroath and Forfar railway. In his 
 own immediate locality he was ever finding something to employ 
 the hand of the labourer ; and, for more than a dozen years, he 
 gave constant work to masons and others in improving various 
 parts of his estates, by enlarging and altering the Castle, making 
 new roads and carriage drives, restoring the old chapel, and en- 
 closing the ancient burial ground, and in other praiseworthy 
 deeds. It ought also to be noticed that he was a warm sup- 
 porter of the all-important subject of education, having erected 
 and endowed on his own estate one of the finest and best con- 
 ducted public schools in the county. He also gave annual pre- 
 miums for the best kept gardens, an act which proved of vast 
 importance, and did much to improve the general habits and 
 tastes of the people. 
 
 During Mr Chalmers' illness, which extended over a period 
 of more than ten years, he found a pleasing solace in the in- 
 teresting study of Scottish antiquities, and in the society of men 
 of kindred tastes. He was, perhaps, one of the most learned of 
 our Scottish antiquaries, and had a large and well selected library, 
 particularly of works on ancient and modern Scottish history, 
 among which were several valuable MSS. Besides the honors 
 conferred upon Mr Chalmers by foreign literary societies, he was 
 a Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, a 
 Fellow of the British and Irish Archaeological Societies, and a 
 Member of the Bannatyne and Spalding Clubs. 
 
 He was an occasional contributor to Archaeological and other 
 journals, and edited a collection of the Ancient Sculptured Monu- 
 ments of Angus, including those of Meigle and Fordoun, with 
 historical letterpress. This work was printed for private circu- 
 lation, and copies presented, not only to the public libraries of 
 Forfarshire, but also to those of the various Archaeological' 
 societies at home and abroad. By the publication of this magni- 
 ficent volume, Mr Chalmers was the means of directing the atten- 
 tion of antiquaries to the study of these interesting remains of 
 
300 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 antiquity which are so peculiar to Scotland, and which have 
 since been further illustrated by a more voluminous work issued 
 by the Spalding Club, under the editorial care of their Secretary, 
 Mr John Stuart — an intimate friend of Mr Chalmers. Mr 
 Chalmers also assisted in editing some of the Bannatyne and 
 Spalding Club books, among the former of which were the Re- 
 gisters of the Abbey of Arbroath, and the Cathedral of Brechin. 
 He was employed upon the latter work at the time of his death, 
 and it has since appeared with a memoir of Mr Chalmers, by 
 Mr Co3mo Innes, his co-labourer in both works, being presented 
 to the Club by his brother and heir, Mr John Inglis Chalmers. 
 
 Well as the preface is written by Mr Innes (for it ought to be 
 known that no trace of Mr Chalmers"' notes could be found), it is 
 matter of regret that Mr Chalmers was not spared to complete 
 the Register of Brechin, since his vast local knowledge must 
 have contributed greatly to its value and interest. But such 
 was not the will of Providence. During the spring of 1854, 
 partly in the hope of having his already much improved health 
 better established, and partly from a sense of duty towards a 
 young relative, he resolved to visit the Continent, and left Aldbar 
 on the 6th February. He enjoyed pretty good health for some 
 time after leaving home, and when at Naples, felt so much the 
 better of the change, that he allowed his companions to take his 
 servant along with them on a journey to Constantinople. Dur- 
 ing their absence he returned to Rome, where he had. a relapse 
 of spinal disease, which had been so long the pain of his life, from 
 the dangerous effects of which it was thought he had recovered, 
 and there being no one present who knew the nature of his 
 complaint, dysentery followed, which unfortunately proved fatal, 
 and he breathed his last on the 23rd of June, only two days 
 before the return of his companions. 1 
 
 His remains were brought home, and interred in the old kirk- 
 yard of Aldbar, at the outer and north-west corner of the chapel 
 
 * It ought to have been previously noticed that in 1839, Mr Chalmers married 
 Jessie-Anna-Letitia, youngest daughter of the late John-Herbert Foley, Esq. of 
 Ridgeway, Pembrokeshire, and widow of Thomas-Tayler Vernon, Esq. of Hanbury 
 Hall, "Worcestershire. She died in the following year, without leaving issue to Mr 
 Chalmers. By her first husband she left two sons, and it was with the eldest, 
 Bowater Vernon, Esq. (who has since died), and Howard Galton, Esq. of Hadzor, 
 that Mr Chalmers went to the Continent. 
 
ALDBAK — THE CHAPEL. 301 
 
 which he had so recently restored ; and, with a happiness of 
 thought which cannot be too much admired, his grave is marked 
 by a monument, similar in design to those which he has contri- 
 buted so much to preserve and illustrate, and with which his 
 name will continue to be handed down to posterity. As a 
 slight tribute to the memory of Mr Chalmers — " whose like," 
 whether for singleness of heart, or unaffected kindness, " we 
 may never see again" — a drawing of his last resting place has 
 been prepared as the frontispiece to this volume. 
 
 It may be added, that the plate conveys a good idea of the 
 romantic situation of the old burial ground. It lies in the bottom 
 of a den, about a hundred and fifty feet below the adjoining 
 grounds, and barely a quarter of a mile from the Castle, being 
 a singularly romantic and secluded spot, which, doubtless, at one 
 time had been the abode of some devotee or hermit. The den is 
 rocky and umbrageous, contains a number of fine old trees, and a 
 burn meanders through it, skirting the burial place. The course 
 of this burn, from which the place is named, divides the parishes 
 of Brechin and Aberlemno, in the latter of which the burial 
 ground and Castle are situated. 3 
 
 The earliest, and indeed the only recorded rector of Aldbar, 
 was Nicholas of Greynlaw, who flourished in 1429.' Perhaps 
 he was a relative of Bishop Greenlaw of Aberdeen, who was his 
 contemporary. The church, a rectory in the diocese of St An- 
 drews, is rated at twenty mcrks in the ancient taxatio, and " at 
 the foundation, in 1433, of the College of Methven, by Walter 
 Stewart, Earl of Athol, the church was granted to that College. u 
 The Provost of Methven was thereafter rector of Aldbar, and 
 the cure was served by a chaplain. After the Reformation, the 
 Presbyterian minister of Methven called himself Provost of 
 Methven and Chaplain of Aldbar, and drew the teinds until the 
 parish was suppressed being divided between Aberlemno and 
 Brechin in the seventeenth century. The patronage of the 
 
 " In Gaelic, Alt-barr, means " a high bum.'' * Eeg. Bp. Brechin., i. 42. 
 
 u A seal appended to a deed, dated a.d. 1584, bears arms (quarterly) 1st and 
 4th, three fleur-de-lis, within a double tressure flowered (?) ; 2nd and 3rd, a fess 
 cheque. The legend — "s' wiliel . stevart . come . a.d. petttnve . dot . eeoal . 
 d. kerymte . et . bako . de . avldbar" — shews that the Oommendator of the Priory 
 of Pittenweem, who was lord of the regality of Kirriemuir, was also designed Baron 
 of Aldbar. — Impression of seal kindly sent by Henry Lamg, Esq., Edinburgh. 
 
302 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 church, alternately with that of the Crown, for Aberleinno, is in 
 the hands of Smythe of Methven, as come in room of the Provost 
 and Canons of Methven. " T 
 
 The graveyard was used as a commoD burial place for the dis- 
 trict till the close of last century, and some of the inscriptions 
 upon the tombstones were decipherable at no distant date. 
 Within these twenty years the trunk of an old tree stood at the 
 top of the road leading to the cemetery, upon which the bell is 
 said to have been hung ; and, according to tradition, both it and 
 the tree were destroyed by lightning.* The chapel had been in 
 ruins " past memory of man," until restored by the late Mr 
 Chalmers, who not only preserved the exact dimensions of the 
 edifice, but also used the old stones, as far as possible, thereby 
 preserving much of its ancient character. A substantial pedestal 
 was hewn for the old baptismal font, and the piscina is also 
 preserved within the chapel. Some curiously carved coffin slabs 
 are in the burial ground ; and the more remarkable monument, 
 lithographed in Mr Chalmers' book on the Ancient Monuments 
 of Angus, lay at the kirkyard, until removed to the Castle, some 
 years ago, whither it was taken for better preservation. This 
 relic is the more worthy of notice when we consider that, per- 
 haps from its existing on Mr Chalmers' property, it had given 
 rise to that remarkably acute taste for the remains of antiquity 
 by which he is so well known. 
 
 Some years previous to the time when Mr Chalmers contem- 
 plated the restoration of the chapel, he had the remains of his 
 ancestors removed from the parish kirk of Aberlemno, and re- 
 interred within the walls of the old church, where they now 
 repose. Marble tablets to the memory of several of them are 
 still in the parish church of Aberlemno. One of these bears a 
 Latin inscription commemorative of William, the first Chalmers 
 of Aldbar ; and another to his son, the Sheriff, the latter of 
 which contains these lines : — 
 
 " Virtuous and learn'd, polish'd and refin'd, 
 Of pleasing manners, and enlighten'd mind ; 
 Belov'd in life, lamented in his end, 
 Here sleeps the Sire, the G-randsire, and the Friend." 
 
 T Note from the late P. Chalmers, Esq. 
 
DUNDEE OF BENVIE AND BALEUTHEIE. 303 
 
 In concluding this section, it may be added that the old portion 
 of the Castle of Aldbar is a good specimen of the baronial 
 architecture of the period to which it belongs, and the tower is 
 adorned with the armorial bearings of the noble family of 
 Lyon. It stands close to the burn, at a singularly romantic 
 and picturesque spot, near a pretty waterfall. During the time 
 of the late proprietor, more particularly towards the close of his 
 life, the house received large and important additions, which, 
 with a variety of other alterations and improvements, have 
 changed the general aspect of the place so much that those who 
 knew it before could now scarcely recognise it. The principal 
 entrance, formerly on the west, has been changed to the east, and 
 the old front ornamented with tastefully laid out flower terraces, 
 and balustraded walls. The picturesque grotto, built on the east 
 side of the burn, overshadowed by rocks and trees, and the re- 
 storation of the old chapel, were part of the improvements effected 
 during Mr .Chalmers' absence on the Continent. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 DUNDEE OP BENVIE AND BALEUTHEIE. 
 
 Notices of the family De Dundee — Ralph of Dundee acquires Benvie and Balruthrie 
 — His son John acquires Glaister — Assumes Glaister as a Surname — Decline 
 of the Dundees and the Glaisters — Subsequent Proprietary History of Benvie 
 and Balruthrie — Churches of Benvie, Liff, and Invergovfrie. 
 
 The surname "Dundee" appears to have had a local origin — 
 assumed, in all probability, from the thriving town of that 
 name in Angus ; and the first recorded of the family were perhaps 
 a burgess of that place, called Albert of Dundee, and William, 
 a burgess of Perth, who both flourished during the time of King 
 Alexander II. W 
 
 ftauf De 33un0c, 
 
 who took the oath of fidelity to King Edward I. at Berwick- 
 upon-Tweed,* is first met with in the year 1286, when he was 
 » Reg. Vet.de Aberb., 96; Liber de Scon, 55, 62. x Rag. Roll, 126; Pxynne, 654. 
 
304 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 one of an inquest that enquired into the boundaries of the pasture 
 lands of Panmure.? On 23d August 1292, lie had a charter of 
 Benvie and Balruthrie, or Balruddery, from Sir William Maule 
 of Panmure, together with a gift of the patronage of the kirk of 
 Benvie. z These possessions appear to have been previously grant- 
 ed to Ralph by Sir .William Maule's mother, whose grandfather, 
 Philip of Vallognes, received them, as previously noticed, along 
 with the barony of Panmure, from King William the Lion. 
 
 Ralph of Dundee renewed his oath of allegiance, for certain 
 lands in Perthshire, on the 15th Mai«ch 1306, by which time, it 
 appears, he had received the honour of knighthood. a He died 
 about 1312, b leaving a family, one of whom had previously ac- 
 quired the old property of Glaister, or Glasletter, in the parish of 
 Carmyllie, from which he assumed Glaister as his surname. It 
 also appears that he succeeded his father in the lands of Benvie, 
 Balruthrie, and others, for, in 1325, "Johannes de Glasrich, filius 
 et heres quondam Domini Radulphi de Dunde," had a confirma- 
 tion charter of these from Sir Henry Maule of Panmure. As 
 will be shewn below, Benvie and Balruthrie continued in the 
 family until 1368. 
 
 Contemporary with Ralph of Dundee were two churchmen in 
 Scotland of the same surname — the pne parson of the kirk 
 of Alva, in Banffshire, the other of Stobo, in- Peebles — both of 
 whom did homage to King Edward.? At the same time there 
 was also a family of the name in the county of Edinburgh, for 
 record shews that on 3d September 1296, Isabella, wife of Simon 
 of Dundee, was reponed in certain lands in that shire. e With 
 these exceptions, I have seen no farther trace of the surname 
 Dundee, which, from what has been shewn above, in all proba- 
 bility, gave place to that of Glaster, or Glaister. 
 
 Besides the lands of Glaister, which the family held until 1389, 
 when they were given by Sir William Maule to his brother, 
 Henry, the Glaisters also held the lands of Auchlair, or Lochlair, 
 which, in 1365, were disponed to Strachan of Carmyllie, with 
 
 ' Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 333. • * Beg. de Panmure, MS., 194-8. 
 
 * Palgrave's Docts., 299 ; JWera, i. pt. iv. p. 59. 
 
 b Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 201. The same authority shews (p. 180), that so 
 early as 1254, there was a baron designed of Glaister. 
 
 ' Ibid., 205. d Rag. Eoll, 164 ; Prynne, 662. • Fredera, i. pt. iii. 1 64. 
 
BENVIE AND BALEUTHEIE. 305 
 
 consent of the superior, the lord of Panmure/ Thus, about the 
 former date, the Glaisters appear to have become extinct as land- 
 owners in Forfarshire. 8 
 
 Prior to the year 1175, when the barony of Benvie was given 
 to Sir Philip of Vallognes, it belonged to Walter of Lundie, 
 whose ancestors came from England with King David I. u 
 While possessed by Vallognes, and long before Ealph of Dundee's 
 time, the lands were held by vassals who assumed the surname 
 of Benvie, of whom were Adam of Baneuile, or Baneuy, and 
 his son James, who witness various Angus charters between the 
 years 1211 and 1214. 1 It was probably on the decay of the 
 Benvies that Dundee succeeded to the estate. 
 
 Down to the forfeiture of the family of Panmure in 1716, these 
 lands were held under their superiority ; and in 1368, Gilbert of 
 Glassert, with consent of his over-lord, resigned the same in 
 favor of Alexander Scrimgeour, Cqnstable of Dundee. k From 
 that period they were held by the Scrimgeours, until the year 
 1654, when, in consequence of a debt of 5,440 merks, due by 
 John, third Viscount of Dundee, and first Earl of Dudhope, to 
 John Fithie, merchant and burgess of Dundee, the lands were 
 made over in favor of Fithie. In 1674, Earl George of Pan- 
 mure, gave Marjory Gray, only child of Patrick, ninth Lord 
 Gray, a grant of 870 merks out of the lands of Benvie and Bal- 
 ruthrie; and in 1713, her son John, Lord Gray, by her husband 
 John, second son of Sir William Gray of Pittendrum, received 
 charters of these lands from James, Earl of Panmure. 1 Benvie 
 still belongs to Lord Gray, but Balruthrie was sold sometime after 
 the year 1764, to the Earl of Strathmore, and since then the pro- 
 perty has frequently changed hands.™ 
 
 1 Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 233, 227. The spelling of Glaster, or Glaister, 
 appears in deeds in much greater variety than in the text. Olas-tor is Celtic, and 
 signifies "grey, or grassy hillock." Giastor Law, the name of the site of a market, 
 in the parish of Kinnell, is tautological. 
 
 s In Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 226, there is an obligation, dated 1361, by Colin 
 Campbell, to Gilbert Glaster, "relating to the bailiery of [Campbell's] lands in 
 Argyllshire." Notices of the Glasters — not of later date than that in the text, how- 
 ever — will be found in Ohamb. Bolls, i. 25, 411-40. h Chalmers' Caled., i. 533. 
 
 1 Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 42-9. Benvie and Benzie are still surnames in the 
 counties of Forfar, Kincardine, and Perth, &c. 
 
 k Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 229. > Ibid., ii. 129, 163, 196. 
 
 m The Trustees of the Earl of Strathmore sold Balruthrie in 1782 to Alex. 
 Baillie of Dochfour, who died 23d Feb. 1799, and was succeeded in both estates by 
 his brother Evan Baillie, Esq. He again sold, in 1806, to James "Webster, Esq., 
 EJi 
 
306 MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 The Den of Balruthrie is one of the most romantic spots in the 
 istrict, peculiarly rich in rare botanical specimens ; and, in con- 
 sequence of the discovery of fossil, organic remains which were 
 made by the late proprietor, Mr Webster, it has also become an 
 interesting and valuable field of study for the geologist. 
 
 It ought to be added, that the parishes of liff, Benvie, and 
 Invergowrie are now united, and form one parochial charge. 
 These churches were all situated withm the diocese of St An- 
 drews, and those of Invergowrie and Liff were early given to 
 the Abbey of Scone, the first by King* Malcolm IV. n The ruins 
 of the church of Invergowrie stand by the side of the river Tay, 
 and is now used as the burial place of the family of Clayhills of 
 Invergowrie. Two curiously sculptured stones are built into 
 the south wall, and it is said that St Boniface planted a place of 
 worship here early in the seventh century, which he dedicated to 
 St Peter. 
 
 The patron saints of the churches of Liff and Benvie are un- 
 known ; but from the little that remains of the last-named build- 
 ing, it appears to have had some architectural elegance. About 
 the half of the west gable still stands, covered with ivy, and the 
 foundations shew that the church had been about fifty-four feet 
 long by about twenty-four feet broad. The old baptismal font lies 
 in the graveyard; and a sun dial, bearing the date 1643, is orna- 
 mented with the armorial bearings of James, second Viscount 
 of Dundee, who was killed at Marston Moor, and those of his wife 
 Isabella, eldest daughter of the first Earl of Roxburgh. 
 
 There is also an ancient stone monument in the churchyard, 
 bearing curious carvings of men and animals, which, with the two 
 at Invergowrie, are engraved by the Spalding Club, in their work 
 on the Sculptured Monuments of Scotland. 
 
 who died in May 1827, and he was succeeded by his son, Robert Webster, Esq., 
 who sold the estate in 1849, to the present proprietor, David Edwards, Esq., flax- 
 spinner, Dundee. — Information kindly communicated by B. Webster, Esq. 
 
 " Liber de Scon, 12. 
 
 The most ancient spellings of " Benvie" are Benevi, Banevyn, Baneuy, and 
 Baneuill. The old kirk stands upon a hillock on the south bank of the Burn of 
 Gowrie. Antiquarian and historical notices of the united parishes will be found in 
 JProeeedings of the So. of Antiquaries, vol. ii. p. 437. 
 
 — — 
 
GAEDYNE OP GAEDYNE. 307 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Efje <£ar&gtus; ^lenesfts; anfc Courlags. 
 
 THE GAEDYNES OF GAEDYNE. 
 
 Notices of the Gardynea — Feuda with Guthrie of that Ilk — Proprietary History of 
 Gardyne — The Castle. 
 
 The surname of Gardyne,, Garden, or Gairn, which was by no 
 means peculiar to Angus in old times, had probably, so far as 
 it related to that district, been assumed from the lands of Gar- 
 dyne, in the parish of Kirkden, from which a family was long 
 named, and called " of that ilk." Still, apart from 
 
 Sail Ham ffiarDegn, 
 
 who did homage to King Edward, and is designed of the county 
 of Forfar , p I have found no earlier notice of the family ; and no 
 trace of them in the shire, from that time until the beginning 
 of the fifteenth century. 
 
 Besides the Forfarshire baron, there were other two of the 
 same name and surname in Scotland who performed the same 
 service, also one Humphrey of Gardin. The last named was 
 designed of the county of Dumfries, the others of that of Edin- 
 burgh; and all of them did homage at Berwick, except one of 
 the Williams, who took the oath at Stirling. 
 
 As before said, from the time of King Edward until 1408, 
 the name is not met with in Angus ; but of that date, it is re- 
 corded that Alexander Gardyne acquired the lands of Borrow- 
 field,near Montrose, on the resignation of William Graham; and 
 his descendents held that estate until 1615, when it was sold to 
 Hercules Tailzeour, merchant in Montrose, ancestor of the pre- 
 sent proprietor. In 1409 the laird of Borrowfield is also a witness 
 to a charter of half the lands and brewhouse of Kinnaird, which 
 Duthoc Carnegie received in dowery with his wife, Mariot, one 
 of three co-heiresses of Richard Kinnaird. Again in 1410, he 
 is a witness to Sir Alexander Fraser's resignation of the barony 
 of Kinnell, in favor of Peter Strivelin and his son John.i But 
 p Bag. Roll, 154; Prynne, 660, &o. « Beg. Mag. Big., p. 236 ; 244. 
 
308 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 it is not until 1468 that we find Patrick Garden de eodem, which 
 name and designation are appended to a charter by Abbot Mal- 
 colm of Arbroath, of the half lands of Hatherwick, to Alexander, 
 son and heir of Sir Thomas Maule of Panmure. 1 
 
 The lands of Gar dyne are now held directly of the Crown; but 
 tradition says that the Earls of Crawford were anciently the 
 superiors. Be this as it may, it appears that the chief of the 
 Borrowfield branch fell at the battle of Arbroath in 1442-3, 
 fighting in support of the Ogilvys ; and in the course of twenty 
 years we find Patrick de eodem, adting in the councils of the 
 Earls of Crawford, and witnessing some of their charters. 5 
 
 During the subsequent century, branches of the family were 
 designed of the different properties of Lawton, Leys, Legatston, 
 and Tulloes, in Angus — all in the neighbourhood of the parent 
 house. After this, notices of them become more plentiful, chiefly, 
 however, in the annals of our criminal trials, and in regard to 
 " deidlie feuds" which took place betwixt them and their neigh- 
 bour and rival, Guthrie of that ilk. 
 
 A brief notice of these feuds, although neither their origin nor 
 their history is 'given with any degree of minuteness, may be 
 interesting. In 1578, it would seem that Patrick Garden of that 
 ?\ had fallen by the hand of William'Guthrie. Ten years after- 
 wards, doubtless out of revenge for the death of their chief, the 
 Gardynes attacked and killed the head of the family of Guthrie; 
 and, according to the charge preferred against them, the deed 
 was committed "beside the Place of Innerpeffer, vpoune sett 
 purp6is, provisioune, auld feid, and fdirthocht fellony."* Before 
 two years elapsed, the Guthries made another onset upon the 
 Gardynes, which resulted in the slaughter of the'ehief of the latter 
 family, and his namesake of Tull0es> 
 
 This course of lawless revenge and bloodshed, so characteristic 
 of our feudal times, continued over Several generations, with 
 great loss of life and property to both families, and became so 
 serious, that the King was called upon to interpose between 
 them. According to the warrant, his Majesty "submitted [the 
 
 * Beg.de Panmure, MS., i. 306. "David de Gardyn, domirius de Kininmond," 
 :'<! a witness to a discharge by Sir T. Maule of Pannmre to Sir Andrew Gray of 
 Fowlis, 1427.— Ibid., 250. ■ Lives of the LindBays.i. 117. 
 
 « Pitcaim's Crim. Trials, iii. 77 ; ii. 103. u Ibid.,'iii. '80. 
 
GABDYNE— THE CASTLE. 309 
 
 matter] to certane of our counsale, barrownis, and ministers 
 for reconsiliatioun, and remowjng thairof.' v With what amount 
 of success this royal proposal of reconciliation was attended, is 
 not stated ; but probably these feuds did much to cripple the 
 influence and means both of the Gardynes and of the Guthries, 
 for soon after the last affray, the estates of both families were re- 
 duced and broken up, and ere long passed into other hands, that 
 of Guthrie having been purchased by Bishop Guthrie of Moray, 
 who was but distantly, if at all, related to the old stock. w 
 
 Before 1604 the lands of Gardyne belonged to Sir Walter 
 Bollok, of the Duncrub family, who was also designed of Law- 
 ton, betwixt which date and 1655, Gardyne belonged to William 
 Ruthven,* son of Lord Ruthyen of Ettrick. The estate was next 
 obtained by James Lyell, ancestor of the present proprietor, 
 who is the representative of Lyell of Dysart, founder of the family, 
 and town clerk of Montrose. Sometime before Lyell acquired 
 Buthven's portion of the barony, which consisted "of the house 
 and the maines," he had granted a bond over the lands of Gar- 
 dyne, Middleton, Cotton of Gardyne, Friock, and Legatston, all 
 of which belonged to the Lyells till near the middle of the past 
 century, when James Gardyne of Lawton bought Middleton, 
 Friock, Legatston, and Cotton of GardyneJ It may be added 
 that the last landowner of the name in Forfarshire was Thomas 
 Gardyne of Middleton, who died at an advanced age, in 1841. 
 
 The house of Gardyne is partly old and partly new. The 
 old portion, which is a good example of the castellated architec- 
 ture of the sixteenth century, is ornamented by a shield, bearing 
 the arms of Gardyne of Leys (a boar's head erased), and motto 
 speravi in te domine, and date 1568. Over the front door 
 of the modern portion, erected in 1740, is the crest of Lydl of 
 Dysart (a dexter hand holding a sword erect, proper),, and motto, 
 tutela. The castle is romantically situated upon the west side 
 of Denton Burn, a tributary of the Vinny; and the Moo% or 
 Gallows-hill, still forms a prominent object in the landscape. 
 
 * Pitcairn'e Grim. Trials, i. 373. w Inq. Spec. Forf., passim. 
 1 Doug. Peerage, ii. 397 ; Jnq. Spec. Forf., Nos. 38, 358. 
 
 * Information kindly commvmicated by A. Lyell, Esq. of Gardyne. 
 
 — — 
 
310 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 THE GLENESKS OF GLENESK. 
 
 The Family De Glenesk— The StirlingB— The Lindsays— The Maules— Castles ot 
 Invermark and Edzell. 
 
 The surname of "Glenesk" was assumed from the valley in 
 the north-eastern district of Forfarshire, through -which runs the 
 river North Esk. 
 
 From earliest record, the family appears to have had consider- 
 able influence and standing in the country. The first known of 
 the name was a knight, who is a witness to a grant by Christian 
 Vallognes — the wife, or rather by that time the widow, of Sir 
 Peter Maule of Panmure — of the lands of Balbinny and Panlathie 
 to John Lydel. This was soon after the year 1254, and in 1260 
 John of Glenesk, knight, appears in a charter regarding the mills 
 of Kossy, near Montrose. z Again, in 1289, he was a party to the 
 letter of the community of Scotland, consenting to the marriage 
 of Prince Edward of England with our Queen Margaret. 8 
 
 In 1296, there were four barons of the surname, doubtlessly 
 related, who all did homage to King Edward. Of these 
 
 35of)ancs De ffikncsb, miles, 
 
 and another of the same name, but designated chevalier, appeared 
 at Aberdeen on the 15th July ; and, in August following, Mur- 
 gund, and another John of Glenesk, performed the same service 
 at Berwick. b 
 
 Subsequent to these events the family and name altogether dis- 
 appear. Probably they were succeeded in Glenesk by a branch 
 of the Stirlings, for these are the next mentioned lords of that do- 
 main; and it may be added that, in consequence of this, Nisbet 
 appears to have confounded the one family with the other. 
 
 By what means the Stirlings acquired Glenesk is unknown ; 
 but it is certain that about the middle of the fourteenth century 
 this branch failed in two co-heiresses, one of whom became the 
 wife of Sir Alexander Lindsay, third son of Sir David of Craw- 
 ford, and was mother of the first Earl of that celebrated family. 
 
 * Meg. de Panmure, MS., i. 181 ; Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 336. 
 * Tytler's Hist, of Scotland, i. 373. b Rag. Roll, 93-4, 126 ; Prynne, 651-4. 
 
GLENESK — INVERMAKK CASTLE, 
 
 311 
 
 Catherine Stirling, or Lady Lindsay, died sometime before 1378, 
 as previous to that date Sir Alexander married his second wife, 
 Marjory Stuart, cousin to Kobert, Duke of Albany. 
 
 But it is not intended to give notices here of this once power- 
 ful family, as the reader will find their history given in Lord 
 Lindsay's admirable work, " The Lives of the Lindsays ;" and 
 historical and traditionary notices of Glenesk and Edzell will be 
 found in a volume entitled "The Land of the Lindsays." It 
 may, however, be added, that the lordship of Glenesk continued 
 in their hands until the year 1715, when it was sold to the Earl 
 of Panmure, and that remains of the ancient seats of the Lindsays 
 are still to be seen at Invermark and at Edzell. 
 
 The former consists of a roofless square tower of three storeys, 
 situated upon a rising ground near the junction of the rivers Lee 
 and Mark. The ancient iron gate or yett of the castle, is still 
 preserved, and, as will be seen by the accompanying woodcut, is 
 of the same ingenious construction as those for the erection of 
 which royal licenses were granted during the fifteenth century. 
 
 The ruins of the castle of Edzell are much more extensive 
 than those of Invermark ; and, with perhaps the exception of the 
 
 ' Crawford Case, 148. 
 
312 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Stirling Tow&f, or the large square keep on the south side of the 
 castle, the whole had been built by David, ninth Earl of Craw- 
 ford, and his son, Lord Edze'll. The garden-wall is ornamented 
 by a number of elaborate carvings in stone. On the east wall 
 are the celestial deities, on the south the sciences, and on the 
 west the theological and cardinal virtues, forming one of the 
 most interesting 'memorials of the kind in Scotland. The foun- 
 dations df old bathing-rooms, which were lately brought to light 
 at the south-west corner of the garden, along with the ruins 
 of the castle, have been cleared of rubbish, and otherwise put 
 in order by Lord Panmure, who has also fitted up the old pic- 
 turesque summer-house for the reception of visitors. 4 ' 
 
 GOUELAY OF BALGILLIE. 
 
 The Gourlays— Proprietary Notices of Balgillie in Tannadice, and of Balgillie 
 in Monifieth. 
 
 Ingleeam of Gouelay, the first recorded of the family in Scot- 
 land, came from England with King William the Lion, about 
 1174, and he received from that king lands in Lothian and 
 Clydesdale. He had a son called Hew, who obtained possessions 
 in Fife from the same Prince. e 
 
 In the year 1 180, Hew of Gurley (most iprobably the last named 
 individual), appears as a witness to Ingleram of Baliol's confirma- 
 tion grant of the kirk of Inverkeillor to the Abbey of Arbroath; 
 and, in 1245, Ingleram of Gourley — perhaps the son of Hew — 
 witnesses a grant by Hew Malherb to Thomas of Rossy of the 
 lands and mill of Rossy, and of the lands of Hulysham (Usan), 
 and of those of Balstuth. Subsequently, in 1286, Sir Henry of 
 Gorley, along with several Angus barons, was one of an inquest 
 into the boundaries of the pasture pertaining to the barony of 
 Panmure. f 
 
 d Detailed accounts of some curiously carved oak panels which belonged to 
 the Castle of Edeell. and of the baths, -will be found in Froce&Mngs of So. of Anti- 
 quaries of Scot., vol. ii. pp. 70, 226-9. 
 
 e Chalmers' Caled., i. -132. Douglas' Baronage (p. 469), contains an account 
 of the Gourlays of Fife. ' Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 39, 338, 333. 
 
GOUKLAY OP BALGILLIE. 313 
 
 The next appearance of the name in relation to Angus is 
 that of 
 
 Mlliam tie (Eourlaji 6e tfalgallj), 
 
 who is classed along with others of that shire, as having done 
 homage to Edward I. at Berwick-upon-Tweed.s More lately, 
 in the year 1328, a person of the same name and surname — 
 probably the same individual — is a witness, with several barons 
 and churchmen, all of Angus, to King Eobert the Bruce's charter 
 to Walter Schaklok, of the third part of the hinds of Inieney, 
 near Montrose. h 
 
 Although the Grourlays were early settled in Fife, and designed 
 of Kincraigie, in that shire, and subsisted there in the male line 
 down to a very late date, I am rather inclined to think — though 
 contrary to the opinion of Nisbet, Douglas, and other writers — 
 that Gourlay " de Balgally" was a landowner in Angus, and as 
 such did homage for lands in that district. 
 
 There are at least two considerable estates called Balgally, 
 Balgillie, or Balgillo, in Forfarshire — the one situated within the 
 parish and ancient thanedom of Tannadice, the other within 
 those of Monifieth. I am not aware that in Fife there is any 
 place of the name. 
 
 Being thanedoms, both these estates were held of the Crown, 
 and the earliest notice of a gift of the former occurs in the time 
 of Robert I., who gave the whole lands of Balgillo to Isabella of 
 Athol, and his nephew, Alexander Bruce. 1 The names of other 
 proprietors are mentioned in connection with Balgillo, such as 
 those of Menteith and Blair ; and on the marriage of Sir John 
 Lyon of Grlamis with Princess Jane, daughter of Robert II., that 
 king gave Lyon the thanedom of Tannadice as a part of her 
 dowery, from which time the Lyons became superiors of the 
 property. 
 
 The earliest proprietary notice of Balgillo, in Monifieth, also 
 occurs in the time of Bruce, who granted charters of it to 
 " Patricio capital! medico," whose descendants were in possession 
 
 s Eag. Eoll, 126 ; Prynne, 654 ; Palgrave, 196. 
 h Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 339. 
 
 ■ Eoberteon's Index, p. 18. [Balrgealie, or -giUe, means " a white town, or 
 house." Gillie is also the Gaelic for " a boy, or man-servant."] 
 SS 
 
314 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 until 1369, when Thomas Rate obtained the property on the 
 resignation of Gilbert M'Beth, the physician, brother and heir 
 of " Ectoris medici regis." From Rate, the superiority of the 
 lands of Balgillo, or Balgillachy, as the name is sometimes writ- 
 ten, passed to Alexander Lindsay in 1390. k Subsequently, they 
 were possessed by Wishart of Pitarrow, on whose forfeiture in 
 1499, they were obtained by Andrew, third Lord Gray, who 
 had previously come into possession of Broughty Castle and the 
 fishings, on the resignation of Archibald, Earl of Angus. 1 
 
 But the history of these lands need not be farther dwelt upon ; 
 suffice it to say, that during the wars of the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries, the commanding position of the hill or Law of 
 Balgillo was taken advantage of by the English, first as a pro- 
 tection to the garrison of Broughty, which they occupied and 
 retained from 1547 till 1550; and next by the soldiers of General 
 Monk, in 1651. 
 
 It need only be repeated, that our conjecture of Gourlay " de 
 Balgally" being an Angus baron is founded more upon the 
 designation given to him, and the place which he holds in the 
 Bagman Roll, among barons of the same county, than upon 
 the fact, which ought not, however, to be overlooked, of his 
 name appearing in charters relating to that district. Besides this 
 baron, there were six others and one churchman of the name, who 
 submitted to King Edward : five of these were from the county 
 of Edinburgh, the other two from Berwick and Roxburgh. 
 
 SECTION VL 
 
 HAT [OF DEONLAW.] 
 
 Origin of the Hays — The Hays acquire Dronlaw— High Constables of Scotland — 
 King's Cup-bearers — Inquiry into the Antiquity and History of the office of 
 Royal Cup-bearer in Scotland. 
 
 The chief of the noble family of Hay, and twelve others of the 
 name, all belonging to the counties of Perth and Fife, took the 
 oath of allegiance to the King of England at Berwick-upon- 
 Tweed, in 1296. Two knights of the shire of Perth, and a baron 
 k Beg. Mag. Sig., pp. 70, 177. ' Douglas' Peerage, i. 668. 
 
HAT OP DRONLAW. 315 
 
 of Fife, had previously submitted to Edward in 1291, and since 
 persons of the same names and designations occur in the list of 
 1296, probably these three had renewed their oaths at that time. 
 Apart from the barons referred to, there was also 
 
 3<me tie la P?age, - 
 
 who is designed of the shire of Forfar . m Probably he was a son 
 of Hay of Errol, and may have possessed the lands of Dronlaw, 
 or Dronley, in the parish of Auchterhouse, of which the Hays had 
 grants from William, Earl of Mar, before 1251 ; from his son 
 Donald, between 1272 and 1294 ; and from the Knights Tem- 
 plars, about the same period." This property was owned by the 
 Hays for several centuries. It now belongs to the Earl of Cam- 
 perdown, and contains a hamlet or village. 
 
 It were as idle to attempt to identify " Jone de la Haye," since 
 the name does not appear in the Hay genealogy, as to repeat the 
 fable regarding the origin of the name and family. It is now 
 admitted that they were among the Anglo-Norman barons that 
 came with William the Conqueror ; and our chartularies shew 
 that during the eleventh century, a descendant of the follower of 
 the Norman Prince settled in the Lothians under Malcolm IV. 
 and William the Lion. He left two sons, William, his successor, 
 and Robert, ancestor of the Hays of Tweeddale. p 
 
 The genealogy of the chief and collateral branches of the Hays 
 being well known, it need only be added that, so far as regards 
 the families of Errol and Tweeddale, they are still represented 
 by descendants, the former of whom enjoys the ancient title of 
 Earl (although the estate of Errol long ago passed from the 
 family), and the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scot- 
 land. This latter honor was conferred on Sir Gilbert Hay of 
 Errol, by Robert the Bruce, on his accession to the throne, 
 together with the lands of Slains in Aberdeenshire, - where, for 
 several generations, the family have chiefly resided. 
 
 At one time, it is stated, the Errol branch also held the office of 
 pincerna Regis, or cup-bearer to the Kings of Scotland; but, unlike 
 
 m Rag. Roll, 146; Prynne, 658 ; Palgrave, 195. 
 
 " Topography and Antiq. of Aberdeen and Banff, iii. 125. 
 
 ° Dronrtrlaw, in Gaelic, means a place of "hillocks and ridges.'' 
 
 » Chalmers' Caled., i. 538. * Robertson's Index, p. 2. 
 
316 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 that of High Constable, which they still retain, it has teen long out 
 of the family. As there are some conflicting statements regarding 
 the possession of the last-named office by certain of the Hays, we 
 shall attempt to reconcile these points, and at the same time give a 
 brief account of the antiquity and history of the pincerna Regis. 
 
 It need not be added that the office is of remote antiquity, 
 since we are informed that the inspired Nehemiah was cup-bearer 
 to the Kings of Jerusalem ; and, without entering upon its his- 
 tory in other countries, we find that in Scotland not only the 
 monarch, but also the more potent t>f the churchmen and nobles 
 — such as Bishop Richard of St Andrews, and Earl Patrick of 
 Dunbar — kept such officers in their households, 1 their duty, it 
 may be added, consisting mainly in conveying the wine or other 
 liquors to their master. 8 
 
 So far as I have seen, the earliest notice of pincerna Regis in 
 Scotland occurs in the time of King Edgar, when the office was 
 held by Alfric, who, in his official capacity, appears as a witness 
 to several of that king's grants, as well as to a grant by Alex- 
 ander I. to the monks of Scone.' 
 
 Chalmers says that Rannlph of Sules was for some time pin- 
 cerna Regis, and died not long before the year 1170; and he 
 again observes, that the first Hay in Scotland held the same 
 office, and died about the same year ; adding, that the first Hay 
 was " succeeded by his son, William, who inherited his lands but 
 not his office, which," he continues, "passed to the family of 
 Sules, with whom it seems to have become hereditary." 11 
 
 During the first years of the reign of William the Lion, as ob- 
 served by Chalmers, the office was held by Ranulph of Sules, who 
 died in or about 1170. His successor appears to have been 
 William of Hay, who, as pincerna Regis Scorie, granted to the 
 prior and canons of St Andrews, for the space of twenty years, 
 a carrucate of land in Pitmully, in Fifeshire. This charter, con- 
 firmed by his children, Eva and David, is the only deed I have 
 seen in which Hay is distinguished by his office of pincerna / and 
 the name of Philip of Vallognes Gamerarius appearing among 
 
 * Keg. Prior. _S. Andree, 134 ; Liber de Melros, 68. 
 
 * ^.° interesting account of the ceremonies used in placing the cups at Court, 
 t. Hen. Vll., will be found in the Antiquarian Repertory, i. 297, &c. 
 
 « Liber de Scon, 3. " Caled., i 512, 538. '» Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 313. 
 
EOYAL CUP-BEARERS OF SCOTLAND. 317 
 
 other witnesses to the confirmation," the date is ascertained to be 
 within the years 1180 and 1211, the period of Vallognes' Chanv 
 berlainship, thereby affording proof that the office of pincerna 
 was held, not by the first Hay, as asserted by Chalmers, but by 
 the very son William, whom the same writer states to have " in- 
 herited his father's lands, but not his office." 
 
 This William of Hay is clearly the same who is said to have 
 died towards the end of the twelfth century, leaving six children — 
 David, William, John, Thomas, Robert, and Malcolm," to whom 
 ought to be added Eva, making a seventh, since that person was 
 a living witness to the confirmation to the monks of St Andrews. 
 
 Whether by the marriage of Julian, daughter of Eanulph of 
 Sules, formerly cup-bearer, with one of the Hays, that office had 
 descended to William of Hay, no evidence is found; but in various 
 charters by William the Lion, from 1204 to 1226, mostly relating 
 to grants of land in Angus and the Mearns, the name of " Mal- 
 colm, miles, pincerna Regis," appears as an attesting witness.? 
 Malcolm of Hay, in 1237, witnessed a charter by his brother 
 Thomas to the monks of Cupar f and the name and designation of 
 " Malcolm pincerna domini Regis" are also attached to an agree- 
 ment with the prior and monks of the Isle of May, respecting 
 the chapel of Ricarton and the kirk of Rindalgross: probably this 
 was the Malcolm of Hay, before referred to. a 
 
 Upon the death of Sir Malcolm, or on his relinquishing the 
 office of cup-bearer to the King, Chalmers, quoting' the chartulary 
 of Newbottle, states that Nicholas, nephew of Ranulph of Sules, 
 " acquired, by his talents, the office of pincerna, which he exer- 
 cised under Alexander II., and also under Alexander III." 
 Subsequently, the title of pincerna would seem to have become- 
 obsolete in Scotland, and in the memorable letter of the Scottish 
 barons in 1320 to Pope John, William, the representative of 
 the old family of Sules, is styled " buttelarius Scocie." b This 
 William of Sules, for conspiring against Bruce, soon after suf- 
 fered death; and from that period the title of "buttelarius Scocie," 
 is rarely, if at all mentioned. 
 
 Such are the brief notices obtainable in reference to the names 
 
 "Reg.Prior. S. Andree,314. x Doug. Peer.,i. 544. 7Reg.Vet.de Aberb., 34, &c. 
 1 Douglas' Peerage, ii. 545. ■ Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 396. b Acta Pari., i. 114. 
 
318 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 and families of the earliest known cup-bearers to the Kings of 
 Scotland. It only remains to be added that, although in more 
 recent times, members of the noble houses of Buchan and Elphin- 
 stone are found designed cup-bearers to the Kings of Scotland, 
 neither the designation of pincerna Regis, nor the names of 
 persons holding that office, occur in the records. Still the office 
 of King?s cup-bearer has, at the present day, a place among the 
 officers of the royal household, in the almanacs and political re- 
 gisters of the kingdom ; and by these authorities it is held that 
 the Earl of Southesk is hereditary holder of that office. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 THE INVEEPEFFEES OF INVEKB:EFFEE. 
 
 Walkaline, the King's Brewer, acquires Inverpeffer — The Family De Inverpeffer — 
 Proprietary Notices of Inverpeffer — Sir Andrew Fletcher, Lord Inverpeffer — 
 Henry Maule — Paght of the Barony to oast Peats in Dilty Moss. 
 
 The first of the family of Inverpeffer in Angus was Walkeline, 
 brewer to William the Lion ; and who, as " Walkelinus bracia- 
 tor," is a witness to Richard of Friuill's grant of the lands of 
 Balekelefan, to the Abbey of Arbroath, 1178-80. Under that 
 name and designation, in the year 1200, he received the lands of 
 Inverpeffer from King William, and from these he and his 
 descendants took their surname. 
 
 Nicholas of Inverpeffer, the son of Walkeline, appears various 
 times during the reigns of William the Lion, and Alexander II. ; d 
 and David of Inverpefyr, probably the son of Nicholas, wit- 
 nesses a charter by Christian Vallognes of Panmure, to John of 
 Lydel, somewhere about 1254. e 
 
 In the year 1296, two Forfarshire barons, named 
 
 a&am 5c Iiuqicftre, anil DauiD De lEnrcpeffrc, 
 
 swore fealty to Edward I. at Berwick-upon-Tweed. f The name 
 
 « Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 62, 168. d Ibid., 21-265. e Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 181. 
 ' Bag. Roll, 126, 152; Prynne, 654, 660; Palgrave, 197. 
 
THE INVERPEFFERS OP INVERPEFFER. 319 
 
 and surname, borne by the latter of these barons, frequently occur 
 between the years 1325 and 1334.e 
 
 During the fourteenth century some of the family were bur- 
 gesses of the towns of Dundee and Montrose ; and John of 
 Inverpeffer owned the property of King's-Lour, near Forfar. 1 ' 
 Patrick of Inverpeffer, and his wife Margaret Fassington, were 
 also, much about the same time, proprietors of the lands of Bal- 
 madethy in Feme, of Bonnington, and Newton of Inverkeillpr, 
 of Craigie,' near Dundee, and of Balmaleedy, and others in the 
 Mearns. 1 There was also a churchman in the family; for, in 1384, 
 when the kirk of Lethnot was erected into a prebend of the Cathe- 
 dral of Brechin, John of Inrepeffer was appointed to the cure. k 
 
 It ought also to be observed, that a John of Inverpeffer was 
 appointed sheriff of Clackmannanshire in 1305, by Edward I. ; 
 another held the same office at Banff in 1369, and by the 
 marriage of the latter with Christian St Michael, of Mondurnah, 
 in Aberdeenshire, he acquired various lands in that county. 1 
 But there is nothing to shew that either of these belonged to 
 Forfarshire ; for it must be borne in mind that there were dis- 
 tinct families of the same name and designation, proprietors of 
 the now fertile valley of Inverpeffer in Boss and Cromarty, and 
 also of Inverpeffer in Haddingtonshire. 
 
 Perhaps the Forfarshire family did not long hold the property 
 after the close of the fourteenth century. ' It is certain that in- 
 1494, the lands belonged to the Earl of Errol ; while in 1527, 
 and for sometime afterwards, they were owned by Robert Lesly, 
 procurator for the Abbey of Arbroath.™ 
 
 More lately, the estate was possessed by Sir Andrew Fletcher, 
 a senator of the College of Justice, who assumed the judicial 
 title of Lord Inverpeffer from the lands, and whose predecessors 
 were burgesses of Dundee." Soon after the death of Lord Inver- 
 peffer, which occurred in 1650, the whole barony became the 
 property of the Panmure family, in whose hands it still continues. 
 
 e Beg. de Panmwe, MS., i. 203 ; Reg. Nig. de Aberb., 13, 19. 
 h Acta Pari., i. 143, 215 ; Robertson's Index, p. 48 ; ut sup., 184. 
 '• Eeg. Mag. Sig., pp. 43, 67 ; Robertson's Index, pp. 113, 123. 
 k Land of tbe Lindsays, 105; 191. 
 
 1 Acta Pari., i. 15 ; Rob. Index, p. 85 ; Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 43. 
 - Acta Dom. Concil., 325 ; Reg. Nig. de Aberb., 474, 500. 
 * Land of the Lindsays, 278. 
 
320 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 The eastern portion had previously belonged to the Maules, for 
 in 1613, Henry Maule, the reputed author of a "History of 
 the Picts," was designed "of Inverpeffer." The names of the 
 Hatton, Mains, and Cotton, are still preserved ; and, as more 
 fully detailed in a previous page, it was here that one of the lairds 
 of Guthrie was slain by the Gardynes. 
 
 The barony of Inverpeffer, which, in old times, owed suit of 
 Court to the Abbey of Arbroath, forms a detached portion of the 
 parish of St Vigeans, being situated in the south-west corner of 
 Arbirlot, separated from it by the Bowrey, or Peffer burn. No 
 trace of the residence of the old lairds of Inverpeffer is to be 
 seen; but some curious notices of the tenantry of the barony, in 
 1729, have come down to us. These memoranda, of which 
 specimens have been already given, need not be farther quoted ; 
 it may only be added that, at the time referred to, the tenants 
 had a right to cast peats and turfs in Dilty Moss, and that they 
 not unfrequently abused the grant by selling them to the inhabi- 
 tants of the towns of Dundee and Arbroath. In this traffic, it 
 would seem, they had already exhausted the mosses of Hyndcastle 
 and Carmyllie ; and, afraid that the same fate would befall that of 
 Dilty, they were prohibited from casting peats there, except for 
 their own private use. p 
 
 — o — 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 THE KEILOKS OP KEILOE. 
 
 Keilors of Keilor — Proprietary Notices of Keilor — Tradition of the Haldanes — Lord 
 Privy Seal Mackenzie — Chapel of Keilor — Sculptured Stone Monument — Peghts' 
 House at Achtertyre — Poetical Notice of the discovery of one at Airlie. 
 
 The properties of Easter and Wester Keilor are situated in 
 the parishes of Newtyle and Kettins, and were anciently a por- 
 tion of the earldom of Strathern.i 
 
 &ant)ulp!) tie ficlorc, 
 
 who is designed, of Forfarshire, and did homage to King Edward 
 at two different times during the year 1296, first at the castle of 
 
 Beg. de Panmure, MS., ii. 34 ; Inq. Spec. Forf., No. 385. 
 f Ut sup., 38 ; Mem. Booh of York Buildings' Co., MS.,fol. ' Doug. Baronage, 141. 
 
KEILOR. 321 
 
 Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire, and next at Berwick'-upon-Tweed,* 
 had doubtless been a vassal of the Earls of Stratherne. 
 
 From that period, I have not met with the surname of Keilor, 
 until 1384, when it occurs in a charter by John of Kelor to John 
 of Ardillar, or Ardler, of an annual of six merks out of the two 
 towns of Keilor. 5 So far as known, this John was the last of the 
 family who had lands in Angus ; still, the surname, even at this 
 day^ is by no means rare. 
 
 Previous to the year 1384, however, and in the time of Robert 
 the Bruce, the lands appear to have been divided, for then one 
 Robert Harkers had a gift of the barony ; and again, in the 
 time of Robert III., Walter Ogilvy had Easter Keilor on the 
 resignation of John Barclay of Kippo^ This portion of the 
 estate was long possessed by the Ogilvys ; and in 1407, Walter 
 Ogilvy of Carcary gave an annuity from it to the altar of St 
 George, in the Cathedral of Brechin, u and had the lands included 
 within his barony of Lintrathen. 
 
 Subsequently, Sylvester Hadden, or Haldane, held this por- 
 tion of Keilor. In 1514, he witnesses the retour of service of 
 Alexander Lindsay, to the office of hereditary blacksmith of the 
 lordship of Brechin; T and in 1645, it appears that Easter Keilor 
 fell to Susan, heiress of her brother Alexander Haldane. w Pro- 
 bably these were of the Haldanes of Gleneagles in Perthshire, 
 more anciently of Hadden, or Halden Rig, on the Border, from 
 which place the name was assumed. Ancestors of the Rev. Mr 
 Haldane of Kingoldrum, were, till lately, landed proprietors near 
 Alyth ; and tradition says that from some act of kindness which 
 was shewn by one of "the auld guidwives" to King James, 
 when he was travelling incognito in that district, the patrimonial 
 estate of the family was increased by royal grant, and held upon 
 this curious tenure : — 
 
 " Te Harldens o' the Moor, ye pay nocht, 
 But a hairen tither 1 — if its eocht — 
 A red rose at Yule, and a ana' ba' at Lammas." 
 
 Keilor passed from the Haldanes to the Hallyburtons of Pitcur. 
 
 'Rag. Roll, lll,126;Prynne, 654 ; Palgrave, 196. "Reg. Mag. Sig.,p:i63. 
 1 Robertson's Index, pp. 18, 143. u Ibid., p. 167. 
 
 - Spalding Club Misoell., v. 292 ; ut sup., 134. _ » Inq. Spec, Forf., No. 288. 
 * i.e. A rope made of hair. 
 TT 
 
322 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 It is now the property of Lord Wharncliffe, having formed a 
 portion of the valuable Scottish estates which fell to that family 
 in 1800, on the death of the Hon. James Mackenzie, Lord Privy 
 Seal, through the marriage of the first Earl of Bute with Agnes, 
 eldest daughter of Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh. Mr 
 Mackenzie lived much at Belmont Castle, on this property, 
 and he is represented to have been a person of retired habits, 
 humane and charitable in his disposition, and well versed in the 
 sciences, particularly in mathematics, algebra, and astronomy. 
 In evidence of his love of astronomical pursuits, we may state 
 that he erected an observatory on the summit of Kinpurnie Hill, 
 to the south-east of the village of Newtyle, the walls of which 
 are still in existence, forming the most prominent object on the 
 Sidlaw range of mountains, and a well known land mark for 
 mariners. 
 
 The lands of Keilor lie on the south side of the valley of 
 Strathmore, stretching from near Ardler Railway station — the 
 hill which terminates the landscape being that of Keilor. On 
 the side of this hill a hamlet still bears the name of " Chapel of 
 Keilor ;" and, although nothing remains of an old place of 
 worship — probably since Keil, or Kill-aird, means a church or 
 burial place situated upon an eminence — the district may have 
 acquired its name from having been the site of some early place 
 of worship and burial. Ancient sepulchral remains have been 
 found at different times upon the Hill of Keilor ; and near " the 
 Chapel," on the supposed boundary of the earldom of Stratherne, 
 stands one of those remarkable sculptured monuments of the 
 ancient inhabitants of Scotland, embellished, in this instance, with 
 the rude outline of a boar. 
 
 It may be added, that on the adjoining lands of Achtertyre, a 
 subterraneous dwelling, of the sort called weems, or Peghts 1 houses, 
 was discovered towards the beginning of this century. These 
 curious structures are not uncommon in the neighbourhood, for 
 one was found a few years ago in a brae south of the kirk of 
 Euthven; and on the farm of Barns, in the parish of Airlie, there 
 is another, nearly seventy feet long, being perhaps the best and 
 most entire specimen in the kingdom J There were others in this 
 ' Appendix, No. XVII. 
 
PEGHTS' HOUSES. 323 
 
 locality, one of which was discovered in rather a singular manner, 
 as noticed in the following lines : — 
 
 Some fifty years ago, or leas, 
 A pair were thrown in great distress ; 
 Tho' nought they saw, yet strange to say, 
 Their house was haunted night and day — 
 The fuel they burn'd no ashes gave, 
 And fallen pin no power could save. 
 Whether they went, or how, none knew, 
 But pass, they did, quite out of view ! 
 Nay, when the wife was baking once, 
 She saw a cake pass at a glance 
 Eight thro' the floor, and from her eyes, 
 As fast as lightning thro' the skies ! 
 Alarm'd she from the cottage fled, 
 And rais'd a hue and cry so dread, 
 That from all corners of the glen 
 Came women, weans, and stalwart men, 
 Who, after deep and solemn thought, 
 Eesolv'd that down the house be brought, 
 Which to the ground was quickly thrown, 
 But, de'il or ghaist, they 'counter'd none ! 
 
 One lad, howe'er, with courage strong, 
 On seeing a crevice black and long, 
 Near to the hearth he plied a pick 
 And rais'd a boulder broad and thick, 
 When, lo ! he found the bannock there, 
 The missing ase, and pins so rare ; 
 And, on descending, saw a weem 
 Of length and build that few could dream. 
 Strewn here and there lay, querns and bones — 
 Strange cups, and hammers made of stones, 
 And tiny flints for bow or spear — 
 Charr'd corn, and wood, and other gear. 
 * * * 
 
 'Twas a Peght's Souse (as some these call), 
 With flag-stone roof, and whin-stone wall ; 
 In form like to an arm they bend, 
 Are rounded slightly towards the end ; 
 'Bout six feet high, and near as wide, 
 And with a door a gnat might stride ! 
 
324 MEMOEIAiS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Cfje ittontealts, ant« t^e JEusdjets. 
 
 THE MONTEALTS OF FEENE. 
 
 Origin, HiBtory, and Decline of the MoHtealts-rJVtowaf s SeaWCastle of Vayne. 
 
 The name of Montealt^ Monte Alto, >Mohaut, or Mowat, was first 
 assumed by Eobert, son of Ealph, baron to one of the Norman 
 Earls, and he and his brother Eoger were benefactors to the 
 Abbeyof St Werburgh, in Chester, at the time of its foundation. 
 
 Eobert took his surname from the place of his residence, which 
 was at a little hill in Flintshire, where he built a castle, now 
 called Molde, or Moulde, round which there is a considerable 
 town of the same name. He was steward to the Earl of Chester, 
 after whose death he was one of those who accounted to the 
 King's Exchequer for the farming of that earldom, and likewise 
 for what was then laid out in building the Castle of Chester. 
 
 It appears that the lands of Montalt were oftener than once 
 overrun and harried by the Welsh Kings, in restraining whose 
 arms the son of Eobert did good service,, and was rewarded by 
 Henry III. of England, whom he also.joined in the Crusades. 
 The family flourished in North "Walea until 1329', when the last 
 baron of the name died, and having no male issue, bequeathed 
 his estates to Queen Isabella, mother of Edward III., for life; and 
 to her second son, John of Eltham,, and his heirs, for ever. 2 
 
 The family seems to have come early to Scotland, for Eobert 
 of Montealt is a witness to a charter by King David I., with 
 whom probably he came to this country. Erom William the Lion 
 one of them obtained a grant of the lordship of Eerne, in Angus, 
 out of which Sir William of Montealt, knight, gave an annual of 
 a stone of wax, and four shillings, to the Abbey of Cupar. a Sir 
 William was a perambulator of the marches between the lands of 
 the Abbey of Arbroath, and those of Kinblethmont in 1219, 11 and 
 
 z Dugdale's Baronage, i. 527 ; Pennant's Tour in Wales, i. 396. 
 ■ Chalmers' Caled., i. 531. b Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 51-2. 
 
THE MONTEALTS OP PEENE. 325 
 
 had a son, Michael, who is a witness to a deed by Alexander II., 
 19th April 1232. In 1234, Michael of Montealt was sheriff of 
 Inverness, and in 1242, Richard was a justiciary of Scotland. 
 
 Richard appears to have had several sons, to one of whom, 
 William, the Abbot of Arbroath became bound to support a 
 chaplain at his chapel of St Laurence of Both. William and 
 Robert of Montealt were sheriffs of Forfarshire, from at least 
 1262 to 1266. a Another, named Lawrence, was rector of the 
 kirk of Kinnettles ; and a fourth, Bernard, was one of the dis- 
 tinguished men that went to Norway, in 1281, to witness the 
 marriage of Margaret, daughter of Alexander III., with King 
 Eric. On returning home some of these nobles were shipwrecked 
 and drowned ; e and it was this accident which gave rise to the 
 ballad of " Sir Patrick Spens," which concludes thus : — 
 
 " Half ower, half ower to Aberdour, 
 Full fifty fathoms deep ; 
 There lies the gude Sir Patrick Spens, 
 And the Scots lords at his feet." 
 
 In 1264, Robert, sheriff of Forfar, and the rector of Kin- 
 nettles, are two of the witnesses to the foundation charter of the 
 Hospital, or Maisondieuj of Brechin. In 1289, the name of Wil- 
 liam of Muhaut appears in the letter of the Scottish magnates 
 to King Edward, regarding the marriage of his son with the 
 Princess Margaret; f and at Berwick, on 28th August 1296, 
 
 e&tlliam De JWonte &lto 
 
 took the oaths of fidelity to the King of England.^ Again, in 
 1320, either this baron or a son was a party to the letter to the 
 Pope, asserting the independence of Scotland as a nation. 
 
 In 1365, Sir William of Montealt, knight, designed of Angus, 
 is a witness, to a charter regarding the lands of Glenbervy, in the 
 Mearns. Subsequently, Sir William had charters of Brichty, in 
 the parish of Murroes, which, in 1379,. were given by Richard of 
 Montealt to Sir Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk. h 
 
 c Keg. Ep. Brechin., i. 4 ; Chalmers' Caled., i. 531. 
 
 d Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 189 ; Acta Pari., i. 90 ; Chamb. Rolls, i. *41, *54. 
 
 B Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 269 ; Tytler's Hist, of Soot., i. 48. 
 
 f Reg. Bp. Brechin., i. 7 ; Acta Pari., i. 85. * Palgrave, 161. 
 
 h Reg. Mag. Sigill., p. 42 ; Land of the Lindsays, 310. 
 
326 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 During the same year, Richard resigned the barony of Inver- 
 lunan in favour of Alexander Stuart, the king's son, by Marion 
 of Cardny, having shortly before given over the patrimonial 
 estate of Feme, and also the barony of Kinblethmont, in favour 
 of his natural son Sir William of Montealt, knight, and his son 
 Robert. 1 
 
 This Richard of Montealt — who is designed in the two first 
 deeds, as chaplain and canon respectively, and in the last as 
 chancellor of the Cathedral of Brechin — appears to have first dis- 
 posed of his property, and then devoted his life to the service of 
 the church. Probably he was an elder brother of John of 
 Montealt, who was his contemporary, and rector of the church 
 of Finhaven. 
 
 For thirty years subsequent to the last mentioned period, 
 there is little trace of the family in the county ; but on 22d June 
 1410, Sir William of Montealt of Feme, knight (probably the 
 son of Richard), appeared at Perth, and witnessed a confirma- 
 tion charter to John, son and heir of William of Montealt, of the 
 lands of Freswick and Ochyngill, in Gaithness, k where a branch 
 of the family had been previously settled. 
 
 Of this old race, as Forfarshire barons, there is no farther 
 record. It is certain that the barony of Feme belonged in the 
 year 1450, probably earlier, to the Earls of Crawford, and that 
 no person of the name of Montealt, or Mowat, as it is now written 
 and pronounced, has since then had a proprietary connection with 
 it. But collateral branches of the family long survived after the 
 latter date in other parts of Scotland, and with good repute. 
 On those of Caithness, who were afterwards designed of Balqu- 
 hollie, the honor of knighthood was conferred before 1653 ; 
 and the chief of the Inglistoun branch, in Edinburghshire, was 
 created a baronet in 1664 ; x but these families, too, are now 
 extinct. 
 
 Unlike most old families in Scotland, no legends exist re- 
 garding the Mowats in their ancient territory — indeed, until 
 very lately, it was unknown in the district that such lords ever 
 possessed the lands, and the only local trace of .them is in 
 
 » Keg. Mag. Sigill., pp. 149, 150, 151. l Eeg. Mag. Sigill., p. 246. 
 ' Inq. Spec, Caith., No. 23 ; Beatson's Political Index, 200. 
 
THE MUSCHETS OF CAEGILL. 327 
 
 a place called Mowatfs Seat, or Mowatfs Cairn, on the hill of 
 Bruff Shank. Still it was never supposed to indicate the name 
 of a race who, in their day, were not only the chief men in the 
 county, but were among the most influential of those magnates 
 who contributed to achieve the peace and independence of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 It were idle to enquire regarding the site of their fortress. It 
 is said that in Brandy Den, not far from the church, there was 
 once a castle ; but it is more certain that at Vayne, on the north 
 side of the Noran, overlooking a singularly picturesque part of 
 that river, the more modern lords of Feme had a residence, for 
 there the ruins of a pretty large baronial building are still to be 
 seen. The Castle of Vayne was built by the Lindsays, and from 
 them the barony passed to the Carnegies of Southesk. Robert, 
 the third Earl, appears to have made considerable alterations 
 upon the castle, and a carved door or window lintle, now at the 
 farm offices, bears his initials in monogram, and an earl's coro- 
 net, with this legend underneath : — 
 
 "DISCB MEO EXEMPLO EOEMOSIS POSSE CAEEEE."" 
 
 OE MONTEPIX, OP CAEGILL. 
 
 Origin and Notices of the Muschets — Their Decline — Union with the Drummonds — 
 Annahella Drummond, mother of King James I. — Historical Notices of Cargill 
 — Sculptured Stone Monuments, &c. — The Church — Origin of the Name. 
 
 Accoeding to Dugdale, the first of the name of Muschet, Mon- 
 fitchet, or Montefix, that appeared in England, was a Roman 
 by birth, and kinsman to William the Conqueror, with whom 
 he lived on familiar terms. He followed that prince into Eng- 
 land, and fought in his behalf, and, returning to Rome after 
 William was established upon the throne, left behind him a 
 son named Richard, who became progenitor of the family, both 
 in South and in North Britain. The Muschets had possessions 
 
 ™ In the Land of the Lindsays will be found an account of Feme, historical 
 and traditionary. 
 
328 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 from King William in Normandy, also in the county of Essex, 
 and were benefactors to the church. They flourished in Essex 
 until about the year 1224, when the family failed in three co- 
 heiresses, one of whom became the wife of William de Forz, 
 Earl of Albemarle. 11 
 
 The Muschets seem to have come to Scotland with William 
 the Lion, the first appearance of them being in the year 1200, 
 when Richard of Munficheth, witnesses a grant by that king to 
 the monks of Arbroath, of a toft in the burgh of Perth. About 
 twenty years later, William, the son of Richard, gave the Abbey 
 of Cupar a grant of the common pasture of his lordship of Car- 
 gill, which his father received from King William. This baron, 
 who appears to have been afterwards knighted, witnesses various 
 charters during the time of Alexander II.p In 1296, 
 
 Uauto, ant) fttcjjatt) Jftugcljet, 
 
 both of the shire of Forfar, are recorded to have done homage 
 to King Edward at Berwick.' 
 
 In regard to their being designed of Angus, it ought to be 
 noticed, that although Cargill has long been within the sheriffdom 
 of Perth, it is said to have formed anciently a portion of the 
 parish of Cupar Angus, by which and Kettins it is bounded on 
 the north and east ; and it was in all probability for the property 
 of Cargill, which may have then been reckoned a portion of For- 
 farshire, that these barons did homage. 
 
 During the early part of the Wars of the Independence, 
 William of Muntfiehet was warder of the town and castle of 
 Dundee for the English; but at Arbroath in 1320, the same baron 
 was a party to the celebrated letter to the Pope. r The male line 
 of the family failed in the person of this William, or his son (as is 
 supposed), who in 1331, is a witness to a local charter ; and the 
 following year became justiciary of Scotland. 5 
 
 Like his progenitor in England, he left, three co-heiresses, one 
 of whom, Mary, Garried the lands of Cargill and Stobhall, by 
 marriage to Sir John Drummond, ancestor of the Earls of Perth ; 
 
 " Dugdale's Baronage, i. 438. ° Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 13. 
 
 p Chalmers' Caled., i. 593 ; Liber de Scon., 46, 61. 
 
 i Bag. Roll, 152-61 ; Pi-ynne, 660-2. 
 
 r Ayloffe's Calendar, 123 ; Acta Pari., i. 114. » Spalding Club Misoell., v. 10. 
 
CAKGILL — SCULPTURED STONES. 329 
 
 while the lands of Pitfour and Drumgrain, which belonged to the 
 other sisters, Margaret and Dornagilla of Montefix, and also 
 some estates in Dunbartonshire, were lost by forfeiture in the 
 time of David II." The noble family of Drummond still possess 
 the Musehet estates in this district ; and it is worthy of notice, 
 that by Sir John Drummond, Mary Musehet was the mother 
 of Annabella Drummond, Queen of Robert III., and mother of 
 King James I. 
 
 The district of Cargill contains a variety of interesting remains 
 of antiquity. Of these there is a very good description in the Old 
 Statistical Account of the parish, to which the reader is referred.' 
 There are, however, some particulars not adverted to in that 
 account, which may be interesting. About three hundred yards 
 from the parish schoolhouse, an old well, now partly filled up, is 
 called Hangids Well, near which, it is said, the parish hangman 
 dwelt, and where, some fifty or sixty years ago, a quantity of 
 human bones were discovered. These lay near a number of 
 large stones, upon some of which, I am told, were representations 
 of the sun and moon. These interesting relics, which were pur- 
 posely buried beyond the reach of the plough, appear to have 
 been of the same class of antiquities as the sculptured stones at 
 Meigle ; and, from the desire which is now being manifested for 
 the preservation of national antiquities, it is hoped that those 
 relics will soon be disinterred, so that their symbols may be 
 properly examined. 
 
 The parish church, surrounded by the burial ground, is 
 beautifully situated upon the banks of the Tay, and forms a fine 
 object on the south-east side of the railway viaduct. It is doubt- 
 ful whether this was the site of the original church, which was 
 early gifted to the Abbey of Cupar, since the Priest's Den, and 
 the Priest's Well are in another part of the parish. The re- 
 mains of an old place of worship and burial are also traceable 
 upon the top of a rock at Campsie Linn; and being near the site 
 of a Roman camp, it is probable, as the Gaelic words Caer-Jcill, 
 mean either the kirk, or burial place of the fort or camp, that 
 the peculiar situation of this church or chapel had given the name 
 of Cargill to the district. 
 
 • Crawford's Peerage, 403 ; Kobertson's Index, pp. 47, 59. ' Vol. xiii., 529. 
 UU 
 
330 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 '* The Castlehill, also in this neighbourhood, was, perhaps, the 
 site of the residence of the old lords of Muschet. 
 
 -m —°— 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 NAPIEE, AND THE AGHLEKS OF AGHLEK. 
 
 The Napier's, and the Afflecks of Affleck — Affleck Castle. 
 
 The Napiers make their first appearance in Scotch records in 
 the year 1296, when John le Napier, of the county of Dunbarton, 
 and another person of the name, from Peebles, together with 
 
 JWatfjeu Fe Naper De agfjdefc, 
 
 who is designed of the shire of Forfar, took the oaths of alle- 
 giance to King Edward I. while he sojourned at Berwick-upon- 
 Tweed.™ It is "from John of Dunbartonshire that the noble 
 family of the name and title of Napier of Merchiston claim des- 
 cent ; T but, beyond the facts above stated, nothing else is known 
 regarding the Forfarshire baron or his family, 
 
 Aghelek, Affleck, or Auchenleck, as the name is variously 
 written, from which Napier is designed, is a property in the 
 parish of Monikie, from which, soon after the appearance of that 
 baron, a family assumed their surname; for, on 15th March 1306, 
 
 3Jofm tie &gfjdrft, 
 
 did homage to King Edward for lands in the county of Forfar . w 
 Barring the occasional appearance of the Afflecks as witnesses 
 to local charters, there is little trace of them, although it is said 
 that they held the property until about the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century, and were vassals, and hereditary armour-bearers 
 to the Earls of Crawford. 1 Several of the name were respectable 
 
 " Bag. Eoll, 132 ; Prynne, 655. * Douglas' Peerage, ii. 281. 
 
 T Palgrave, 300 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iv. p. 59. * Land of the Lindsays, 168-9. 
 
AFFLECK, OE AUCHENLECK CASTLE. 331 
 
 burgesses in Dundee, and some of the old tombstones in tbe 
 Howff contain quaint mottoes and their armorial bearings. Of 
 these inscriptions, the following, from the tomb of Archibald 
 Auchenleck and his wife, dated 1647, may be quoted : — 
 
 " Heir lyis entomb'd, who sprung of worthie race, 
 Match'd with the Prouest's doohter of this plaice ; 
 Liv'd long in heimen's knot, though fates decried 
 For thame no chyld, yet heauens this want supplied, 
 By good Balmanno, his brother, rether Sonne, 
 Who honors nou his asshes with this tombe." 
 
 The Auchenlecks were followed in their property in Monikie 
 by a family named Eeid, one of whom was forfeited in the year 
 1746, for his adherence to the House of Stuart. The lands 
 were afterwards bought by Mr Yeaman, a bailie of Dundee, by 
 one of whose descendants they were sold to Graham of Kincal- 
 drum ; and, more lately, they have become the property of Mr 
 Mitchell, railway contractor. 
 
 The old tower, or castle of Auchenleck, which was occupied by 
 the Reids, and still in good preservation, stands upon a rising 
 ground to the westward of the Reservoir of the Dundee Water 
 Company, commanding an extensive view. It is a square build- 
 ing of four storeys, exclusive of the flag tower and cape-house, 
 and has much the resemblance of a Border Peel. The hall and 
 other chambers have circular roofs of stone, and the old " iron 
 yett" or grated door, of the same type as that at Invermark, is 
 in excellent preservation. The building is of ashler, and seems 
 to belong to the end of the fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth 
 century. The chief apartment is on the third storey. Entering 
 from it are two bed-closets, and a little oratory, all in the thick- 
 ness of the wall. In the oratory, which measures seven feet six 
 inches, by six feet two inches, a benatura, a piscina, and an 
 ambry, still remain, along with some architectural ornaments, 
 among which is a shield with three lozenges. Mr Ochterlony de- 
 scribes Auchenleck as " ane old high tower house, which is seen 
 at a great distance at sea, and is used for a land mark by those 
 that come in the river Tay." It is surrounded by some vener- 
 able trees, and the walls are partly covered with ivy. The pre- 
 sent mansion house stands a few yards south-east of the town. 
 
332 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 The Gaelic words, Auch-an-olach, or " the stone field," per- 
 haps indicate that the. name originated from the place having 
 been the site of a stone circle, or so-called Druidical temple. It 
 need not be added that there are many places similarly named 
 throughout Scotland. 
 
 THE NEWTOBEES OP NEWTOBER. 
 
 The Manor of Newtibber — Notices of the Family of Newtober. 
 
 There was at one time a manor in the parish of Newtyle, 
 called Newtibber, now represented, it is believed, by the hamlet 
 of Newbigging, situated between the village of Newtyle and 
 the Meigle railway station, and from that place, it is supposed, 
 
 &ngos, anD. JfUcSJarD De jfcfautofim, 
 
 who are both designed of the shire of Forfar, and did homage to 
 King Edward I. at Berwick, had taken their surname/ 
 
 With the exception of Richard of Neutobre, who, along with 
 other barons, presented letters of preferment to King Edward, at 
 Newport-Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, in 1305, z I have seen no 
 later notice of the surname or family. The history of the pro- 
 perty itself is also obscure, little being known apart from the 
 facts that during the fifteenth century a family of Ramsay, pro- 
 bably cadets of Auchterhouse, were designed of it, and that more 
 recently it belonged to the Scrimgeours. 3 
 
 In Gaelic, the affix, tobar, means "a well, or spring," and 
 the prefix, new, is probably the corruption of some word des- 
 criptive of the peculiarity of the well or spring, from which 
 Newtober had its name. Wells and burns abound in the dis- 
 trict ; and it is believed, that in consequence of the hill of Kin- 
 purnie containing a number of these, the name had originated, 
 which in Gaelic is written Kin-fuaran, since it is said the word 
 means the head, or chief water spring. 
 
 ? Rag. Roll, 146 ; Prynne, 658. ■. Palgrave, 308-15, 
 
 * Reg. Nig. de Aberb., passim. 
 
THE OGILVYS. , 333 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 ®1)e ©gtlbgs, anti ttie (©cfjterlongg. 
 
 THE OGILVYS OF OGHLVT. 
 
 Traditionary Origin of the Ogilvys — Authentic Notices— The Ogilvys of Auchter- 
 house, Airlie, and Inverquharity — Glen of Ogilvy — Story of St Donevald, and 
 his Nine Maiden Daughters. 
 
 As related by Hector Boece, the historian, the origin of the 
 remote progenitor of the Ogilvys of Forfarshire is sufficiently 
 romantic. Boece says that he bore the name of Gilchrist^ and 
 married a sister of King William the Lion. Suspecting her 
 fidelity, he strangled her at Mains, near Dundee, for which he 
 and his family were outlawed. After an absence of many years 
 in England they returned to Scotland, and took up their abode 
 in the 'forest, or Glen of Ogilvy ; and, on one occasion, while the 
 king was travelling in that quarter, he saw an old man and two 
 sons " delving up turfes." The king entered into conversation 
 with them, when they discovered themselves, and, expressing 
 deep sorrow for the murder of his sister, they were pardoned 
 and received again into favour, and had their estates restored, and 
 also a grant of the lands of Ogilvy in the parish of Glamis. b 
 
 Like most stories, this contains a mixture of truth and fable. 
 Genealogists are now generally of opinion that the Ogilvys are 
 descended from Gilbert, third son of Gillebride, second Earl of 
 Angus ; and record shews that he obtained from King William 
 the Lion the lands of Powrin, or Powrie ; Kyneithein (pro- 
 bably Keith, in the barojiy of Auchterhouse), and those of 
 Ogilvy, in the parish of Glamis, which were held of the Crown 
 for the service of one knight. c From the last named of these 
 properties, the surname of Ogilvy was assumed; and the first 
 recorded was Alexander of Ogilvy, who, in the year 1250, 
 
 b I am told by Gaelic scholars that the word Ogle means "wood," and that 
 vie or vy is a corruption of buie — "yellow," i.e., " the glen of yellow wood." 
 Glamis is probably a corruption of the Gaelic, Olamhus, which means a wide, open, 
 or champaign country. c Douglas' Peerage, i. 27. 
 
334 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 was one of an inquest who found that the lands of Inverpeffer 
 owed suit of court to the Abbot of Arbroath\ d 
 
 The next, and immediate successor of Alexander, was 
 
 IPatrifc tie ©ggcluill, 
 
 of the county of Forfar, who did homage to King Edward. e Of 
 this baron nothing else is known, except that in the year 1267 
 he witnessed a grant to the Priory of St Andrews by Eoger 
 of Quincy, Earl of Winchester, of the church of Losrech, or La- 
 thrisk, and chapel of Kettle. f * 
 
 It was Sir Walter Ogilvy, third in succession from the last 
 named baron, who married the heiress of Sir Malcolm Ramsay 
 of Auchterhouse, by whom he acquired that barony, and the 
 office of hereditary sheriff of Forfarshire. He had three sons, 
 the line of the eldest of whom failed in a female about 1466, 
 when the estate of Auchterhouse, and sheriffship of the shire, were 
 carried by marriage to James Stewart, afterwards Earl of 
 Buchan. The second and third sons were Sir Walter of Lin- 
 trathen, and Sir John of Inverquharity, the respective seniority 
 of whom is doubtful.^ 
 
 It is unnecessary to give any farther account here of either 
 branch of this family, since their lineage is detailed in all heraldic 
 books. Suffice it to say that both houses are worthily repre- 
 sented by direct male descendants of the old stock, the first by 
 the Earl of Airlie, who was elected Lord Rector of Marischal 
 College, Aberdeen, in 1859 ; and the latter by Sir John Ogilvy, 
 baronet, convener of the freeholders of the county of Forfar, 
 and M.P. for the burgh of Dundee. 
 
 It need only be added that the Glen of Oguvy has long been 
 the property of the Lyons, Earls of Strathmore. It is now tra- 
 versed by a public road leading from the , village of Glands to 
 the Dundee and Forfar turnpike, forming rather a romantic 
 drive of four or five miles. In early times, about the beginning 
 of the eighth century, it is said to have been the residence of St 
 Donevald, and his nine daughters. These were canonised as the 
 "Nine Maidens," and many churches were inscribed to them 
 
 d Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 190. . e Bag. Boll, .12 6 ; Prynne, 654; Palgrave, 194. 
 1 Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 337. « Lives of the Lindsays, i. 133. 
 
OCHTERLONYS OP OCHTERLONY. 335 
 
 throughout Scotland, among which was that of Strathmartin, near 
 Dundee — a fact which doubtless gave rise to the often repeated 
 fable of the " Nine Maidens of Pitempan" being devoured by 
 a serpent at the Nine Maiden Well in that parish. h St Done- 
 vald's daughters lived in the Glen of Ogilvy, " as in a hermitage, 
 labouring the ground with their own hands, and eating but once 
 , a-day, and then but barley bread and water." Their father died 
 here, after which they received a lodging and oratory, and some 
 lands at Abernethy, from Garnard, King of the Picts. " They 
 were visited there by King Eugen VII. of Scotland, who made 
 them large presents ; and, dying there, they were buried at the 
 foot of a large oak, much frequented by pilgrims till the Refor- 
 mation." 1 
 
 THE OCHTERLONYS OP OCHTERLONT. 
 
 Origin and Notices of the Oohterlonya — They acquire the Lands of Kenny, and 
 Kelly — Proprietary History of Kelly — Guynd — The Author of the Account 
 of the Shire of Forfar, e . 1682. 
 
 The surname of Ochterlony, or Auchterlony, is of considerable 
 antiquity, and peculiar to the shire of Forfar, having been as- 
 sumed from a property near the county town. Still, during the 
 period of the disputed monarchy they are not found designed of 
 that district, for 
 
 Sffitauticr Or JDougfjtcrloucnrj, 
 
 who is the only one of the name that appears to have done 
 homage to King Edward, is described of Fife, k where it is likely 
 he held property. 
 
 The Ochterlonys are said to have had charters of the lands of 
 Bahnadies and others at an early date. It is certain that between 
 1226-39, John of Othirlony exchanged the lands of Ochterlony 
 with Walter, son of Turpin, for those of Kenny, 1 in the parish of 
 
 h The Nine Maiden Well of Glamis is situated within the Castle Park. 
 
 ' Collect, on Aberdeen andBanff, 595-6. k Rag. Roll, 157 ; Prynne, 660. 
 
 1 Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 262. The word schira, or skyra, in this and another 
 charter (p. 334), has been rendered "shire or parish." [Shwra, or Scuroch, is the 
 name of a place which bounds fhe lands of Kenny on the east.] 
 
336 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Kingoldrum. From Kenny the family was long afterwards de- 
 signed ; and I am not aware that they ever again possessed their 
 patrimonial estate." 1 Probably in 1392 it belonged to a family 
 of the name of Young, for, in giving an account of 
 
 "That duleful Dawerk at Gasklune," 
 Wyntown enumerates among the slain on the side of the Ogilvys 
 "Wylliame Young of Ouchtirlony." 11 
 
 From about 1226-39, until towards the close of the fourteenth 
 century, with the exception of Walter, who took the oath of 
 allegiance to King Edward I., the name rarely occurs. In 
 1391, William of Ochterlony had an interest in the lands of Mel- 
 gund ;° and in 1394, Alexander of Ochterlony married Janet, 
 only daughter of Sir William Maule of Panmure, with whom he 
 received in dowery the lands of Grunford, or Greinford, in the 
 parish of Arbirlot.? 
 
 After this marriage the name is more frequently met with — 
 chiefly in the settlement of disputed marches — in which cases the 
 Ochterlonys commonly appear first in order after titled barons, 
 thereby shewing their antiquity. On acquiring the lands of 
 Kelly, in Arbirlot, a part of which was received in exchange for 
 Preyston, in Ayrshire, about 1442, the family were designed of 
 Kelly, the name of which they changed to that of Ochter- 
 lony, as appears by a deed of 1468, which bears to have been 
 granted by William Ouchtirlowny de eodem, "apud mansionem 
 meam de Ouchtirlovny, alias Kelly. "i 
 
 About the beginning of the sixteenth century, one of the 
 family received the honor of knighthood ; r and in the year 
 1519, Sir Eobert Maule granted Ochterlony's tenants of Pit- 
 cUndrum the liberty of " free foggage, and feuale, hadir, peats, 
 and turfes" in the muir of Panmure, under certain restrictions. 
 Ochterlony's people, however, seem to have violated the agree- 
 ment, and a dispute arising betwixt the proprietors, it was 
 arranged, in 1533, by an assise of county gentlemen-, that 
 
 m The lands of Balmadies, parish of Eoscobie, bought by Sir C. Metoalf Och- 
 terlony, bart., in 1830, and which have since then received the name of " Ochter- 
 lony," are riot to be confounded with the ancient property of that name. It lay in 
 the parish of Dunnichen, and is now known as Lovmie, Muir of Loumie, &c. The 
 name seems to signify " a place abounding in marshes." 
 
 " Vol. 2, p. 369. ° Chamb. Eolls, ii. 183. <■ Beg. de Panmure, MS., i. 234. 
 
 "- Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 159. p Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 340. 
 
KELLY CASTLE — GUYND. 337 
 
 Ochterlony " sail restore and deliver to the said Sir Robert 
 [Maule of Pannmre] ane boll of atis, two harrous with thair 
 graith, with ane sok, spulziet and had away" by Ochterlony and 
 his servants. 8 
 
 It was in 1614 that the lands of Kelly and others were dis- 
 poned by Sir William Ochterlony to Sir Alexander Irvine of 
 Drum ; and one of Irvine's successors built the castle of Kelly, 
 of which the stately ruins still remain. Kelly continued in the 
 same family until about 1670-80, when it became the property 
 of the Maules, and, in 1681, Earl George of Panmure gave his 
 brother, Harry Maule, a disposition of the house of Kelly and 
 others. At the same time, Mr Maule had a charter from the 
 Archbishop of St Andrews of the barony of Arbirlot, and tenan- 
 dry of Cuthlie ; and, in 1687, upon the resignation of his next 
 elder brother, Earl James, Harry Maule had a charter under the 
 Great Seal of the whole barony of Kelly, in which Arbirlot and 
 Cuthlie were included.' 
 
 About, or soon after the sale of Kelly to Irvine, the Ochter- 
 lonys acquired the estate of Guynd, in the parish of Carmyllie. 
 From that time, and until the death of the last male descendant, 
 which occurred in 1843, the Ochterlonys have made Guynd their 
 residence ; and the last laird having died unmarried, he was suc- 
 ceeded by a maternal nephew, Mr James Alexander Pierson, 
 representative of the family of Pierson of Bahnadies. Mr Pierson 
 also resides at Guynd; a property which he has greatly improved 
 and beautified. 
 
 It ought not to be omitted that John Ochterlony, author of an 
 " Account of the Shire of Forfar, circa 1682," was a member of 
 this old family ; but beyond the fact that on 12th April 1676, he 
 was served heir of John Auchterlonie, his father, in the lands of 
 Guynd, with the teinds in the lordship of Arbroath, nothing is 
 known of his history.™ Mr Ochterlony's Account of Forfarshire 
 is perhaps the most interesting and trustworthy of our local 
 histories, and was written for Sir Robert Sibbald of Kipps, who, 
 even at that early period, proposed to publish an account of Scot- 
 
 ■ Beg. de Panmwe, MS., i. 369, 395. 
 
 * Ibid., ii. 407, passim,. [Antiquarian and historical notices of Arbirlot will be 
 found in Proceedings of So. of Antiquaries, vol. ii.] 
 » Inq. Spec. Fori., No. 466. 
 W 
 
338 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 land, on much the same principle as that which was afterwards 
 so successfully adopted by Sir John Sinclair/ As before re- 
 marked, Mr Ochterlony's Account appears to have been written 
 c. 1684^5. 
 
 — o — 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 POLLOK, SENESCHAL OP AEBEOATH ABBEY. 
 
 The Office of Seneschal — Notices of the Family of Pollock. 
 
 Among those who went from Angus to Berwick-upon-Tweed, 
 and did homage to Edward I., was 
 
 3)oI)an ^ollofe, 
 
 who, as appears by a notandum, of date 1299, was senescalle of 
 the Convent of Arbroath. w He was a staunch supporter of Eng- 
 land, and was deprived of his property by Robert the Bruce 
 about 1310, which the king gave to the Abbey. 
 
 It may be added that the office of seneschal was of great anti- 
 quity in Britain ; and in royal and noble households, as well as 
 in monastic establishments, it was commonly held by men of high 
 birth and rank. The duties of the office lay in superintending 
 feasts and ceremonies, and sometimes in dispensing justice and 
 in adjusting disputes. It need hardly be added that it was from 
 being hereditary holders of this office to the old kings of Scot- 
 land that the surname of Steward originated, of which family so 
 many figured conspicuously in early times, and whose descendants 
 long swayed the sceptres both of Scotland and of England. 
 
 The seneschal of Arbroath was related to the Pollocks of that 
 Ilk, in Lanarkshire. The first of the family was Peter, son of 
 Fulbert, who early acquired the lands from which he assumed 
 
 y Utsup., 27. — Mr Ochterlony's Account (Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 350), con- 
 tains a notice of his own family. 
 
 [One of the Ochterlonys is said to have possessed Kintrockat, near Brechin, 
 and to have married a daughter of Young of Aldbar. He was succeeded by a son 
 who married Mary Ruperta, daughter of John Skinner of Brechin. This lady, who, 
 was descended from one of Prince Eupert'B natural children, is said to have been 
 grandmother of General Ochterlony of the Russian army, who fell at Inkermann. 
 The late accomplished Misses Ochterlony of Montrose were of this line.] 
 
 " Eag. Roll, 133 ; Prynne, 662 ; Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 164. 
 
THE RAMSAYS OF AUCHTERHOUSE. 339 
 
 his surname ; for, sometime before the year 1199, he gifted the 
 kirk of Pollock, and its pertinents, to the monastery of Paisley. 
 The same baron witnesses a charter to the Abbey of Kinloss in 
 Moray, in 1190. 
 
 It may be added that the estate of Pollock (which was either 
 held in whole or in part of the lords Maxwell) remained in the 
 family until 1783, when Sir Eobert Pollock died without issue 
 male. x A baronetcy was conferred on the grandfather of Sir 
 Robert in 1703. 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 THE RAMSAYS OF AUCHTERHOUSE. 
 
 The Fabled and Real Origin of the Ramsays — Notices of the Auohterhouse Family 
 — Hereditary Sheriffs of Forfarshire — The Ogilvys of Auohterhouse — The Earls 
 of Buchan — The Lyons— Mansion House — Wallace Tower — The Church — 
 William of Auohterhouse — Traditions — The Countess of Buchan and the Parish 
 Minister. 
 
 The Ramsays of Auohterhouse were doubtless a branch of the 
 Dalhousie family, the first of whom, Simon of Ramsay, settled 
 in the Lothians under David I., and is a witness to a charter to 
 the Abbey of Holyrood in 1140. Still, like most other Scottish 
 families of note, a fabled origin is ascribed to the Ramsays, for 
 William Ramsay, the astrologer, son of Davy Ramsay, King 
 James' clockmaker, says, that the Auchterhouse branch was the 
 oldest (from which he claims to be descended), and that they 
 " flourished in great glory for fifteen hundred years, till these 
 later days," adding that they came to this country from Egypt, 
 where the word Ramsay signifies joy and delight J 
 
 This account of the vast antiquity, and gipsy origin of the race, 
 may be taken for what it is worth, for record shews that even in 
 Angus, the family requires no fable to prove that they appeared 
 there at an early date, since, in the year 1250, we find "William 
 
 1 Crawford's Renfrewshire (Robertson), 37 ; 289. 
 
 *■ Ramsay's Astrologia Sestorata, Preface, folio, 1653. A curious octagonal 
 shaped watch in the possession of Lord Panmure, said to have belonged to Mary, 
 Queen of Scots, bears — " David Ramsay, Scotus, me fecit." 
 
340 MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 of Bammesay" one of an inquest regarding the lands of Inver- 
 peffer.* 
 
 The next appearance of the name is in 1296, when 
 
 ©fjomag Qe ftamnugege, 
 
 of the county of Forfar, performed homage to King Edward, at 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed. a 
 
 The lands for which this baron took the oaths to England are 
 not named. Probably it was for those of Auchterhouse, although 
 the next of the family we find noticed is in the less trustworthy 
 pages of Blind Harry, who says that by invitation of the friends 
 of Scotland, Sir William Wallace landed at Montrose from 
 Flanders in 1303, when "Schyr Jhon Bamsey frae Ochtyrhouss," 
 was not only one of those who met him there, but he also had 
 the honor of Wallace as a guest on that occasion, along with 
 " three hundredth" followers.* 
 
 This story, which is told by Blind Harry only, is now con- 
 sidered apochryphal, and the doings which he ascribes to Wallace 
 afterwards are at variance with the fact, for, subsequent to his 
 defeat at Falkirk, he never again appeared in prominent opposi- 
 tion to the English. Still, it is probable that the baron of 1296 
 was laird of Auchterhouse, although none of the family are de- 
 signed of that place until 1309, when King Bobert the Bruce 
 gave a charter to " William Bamsay de Vchterhous," of certain 
 lands in the neighbourhood." 
 
 It is also matter of record that Bamsay of Auchterhouse ac- 
 companied Edward Bruce when he invaded Ireland in 1315 ; 
 but from that period until the year 1359, when we find that Sir 
 Henry Bamsay had a proprietary interest in the lands of Guthrie, 
 there is no appearance of the family. 4 Sir Henry may have 
 been the father or brother of Sir Malcolm Bamsay of Auchter- 
 house, who at one time held the properties of Mains, Murthill, and 
 others, and who, in 1365, witnessed a charter regarding the lands 
 of Glenbervy. e Contemporary with Sir Malcolm was Bobert 
 Bamsay, from whom, probably, descended the Bamsays, who, 
 
 z Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 190. ■ Rag. Roll, 152 ; Prynne, 660. 
 
 b Jamieson'e Blind Harry, 243 ; wt sup., 64. 
 
 c Robertson's Index, p. 1. d Chamb. Rolls, i. 334. 
 
 e Reg. Mag. Sig., pp. 130; 42; 43. 
 
AUCHTERHOUSE — EARLS OP BUCHAN. 341 
 
 as before seen, were designed of the adjoining lands of Newtibber, 
 during the following century . f 
 
 Sir Malcolm, who was the last male representative of the 
 Auchterhouse Ramsays, was hereditary sheriff of Forfarshire, and 
 his only child, Isabella, having married Sir Walter Ogilvy of 
 Powrie, brought that office, and the estates of Auchterhouse to 
 her husband. 
 
 She had three sons, Sir Alexander of Auchterhouse, Sir Wal- 
 ter of Lintrathen, and Sir John of Inverquharity. The first 
 had an only child, Margaret, who, about 1466, married James 
 Stewart, uterine-brother of King James II. He was afterwards 
 created Earl of Buchan, and on two different occasions held the 
 office of Chamberlain of Scotland, and died somewhere about 
 1499-1500. He had two successors in the estates and earldom, 
 the second of whom had a son who predeceased him. This son 
 left an only daughter, Christian, Countess of Buchan in her own 
 right, who married Robert, second son of Sir Robert Douglas of 
 Lochleven, by whom she had an only son, James, who succeeded 
 as fifth Earl of Buchan. 
 
 The fifth Earl left an only daughter, Mary, who became the 
 wife of James, eldest son, by the second marriage, of John, Earl 
 of Marr. Her son, the seventh Earl, was a staunch supporter of 
 King Charles I., and was fined by Cromwell in the sum of £1000 
 Scots ; and after the Earl returned from England, it is stated that 
 on Sabbath, 14th April 1650, he stood up in his own "daske" 
 or pew, in the church of Auchterhouse, and, declaring his sorrow 
 for having engaged in the wars, " did nold up his hand and 
 sweare to the Covenant, and subscrived it." As will be seen 
 afterwards, he predeceased his wife ; and his son, William, who 
 succeeded as eighth Earl, having died unmarried, the titles passed 
 to David Erskine, fourth Lord Cardross, in virtue of which the 
 title of Lord Auchterhouse forms part of the hereditary honors 
 of the present Earls of Buchan.s 
 
 It may be added, that the office of hereditary sheriff of Angus 
 was resigned by Margaret Ogilvy of Auchterhouse, in 1464 ; h and 
 before the year 1653, the lands of Auchterhouse belonged to the 
 
 ' Keg. Nig. de Aberb., 88, 289. * Douglas' Peerage, i. 267-71. 
 
 h Spalding Club Miscell., v. 286. 
 
342 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Earls of Strathmore, and were held for a time by the Paninure 
 family, under redemption to the Lyons. 1 Patrick Lyon, who fell 
 at Sheriffmuir in 1715, second son of the third Earl of Kinghorn, 
 was designed of Auchterhouse, and a carved stone, bearing his 
 initials P. L., and those of his wife, M. C. (a daughter of Carnegy 
 of Finhaven), and date 1703, is built into a wall at Auchterhouse. 
 From the Lyons the property passed to the Ogilvys, and the Earl 
 of Airlie is now proprietor. » 
 
 The mansion house, which appears to have been built at differ- 
 ent times, was, till recently, occupied by one of the Airlie family ; 
 but it is now neglected, and all but a ruin. Mr Ochterlony, who 
 wrote about 1682, describes it as " a fine house, good yards, and 
 excellent parks, and meadows, with a dovecot." The dovecot 
 here referred to is conical shaped, and still stands; and near it are 
 the remains of a square erection called Wallace Tower, built upon 
 a little rock on the margin of the burn which runs through the 
 grounds. These ruins are covered with ivy, are somewhere about 
 twelve feet high, and bear the stamp of considerable antiquity. 
 The walls are at least nine feet thick, and the area within the 
 walls measures fifteen by twenty feet. The roof of the ground 
 flat had been strongly arched with stone, and an arched door 
 or window, on the north side, is about five feet high and four 
 feet wide. Though called Wallace Tower, this old building had, 
 in all probability, been the castle, or residence of some of the 
 Ogilvys. 
 
 The parish church stands upon a rising, ground, about a mile 
 north of the House, and was inscribed to the Virgin, as is still 
 indicated by the Lady Well, near the manse, and the invocation 
 "AVE MAEIA," together with the cognisance of the fleur-de-lis, 
 which are carved upon an old skew-put stone of the church. 
 
 Since the kirk of Auchterhouse is not mentioned in the ancient 
 taxatio, probably it was- the chapel which is recorded to have 
 been attached to the church of Lundie, from which it is distant 
 barely three miles. It is first noticed in 1426-7, when Sir Walter 
 Ogilvy of Lintrathen founded and endowed two chaplainrics 
 there, for the safety of the souls of the King and Queen, and of 
 the knights who fell at Harlaw, towards which certain pay- 
 1 Beg. de Panmwre, MS., ii. 119. 
 
CHURCH OP AUCHTEKHOUSE. 343 
 
 ments were made out of the lands of Nevay. k Perhaps it was 
 about this time that the church was erected, of the windows of 
 which some fine mullions, in the Perpendicular style of architec- 
 ture, are about the manse and kirkyard walls. It may also 
 have been one of those which is described as "the glassin window" 
 of the kirk, which was broken on a communion Sabbath, by the 
 head of a poor woman falling through it, while she lay asleep in 
 the churchyard, and which she was ordained by " the Sessioun 
 to cause mend again." 
 
 The present church is comparatively modern, with a plain spire 
 at the west end ; and the old burial aisle on the east, was lately 
 included within the church, and fitted with pews. One of the 
 skew-put stones of this portion is dated 1630 ; and here, in 1601 
 and 1640 respectively, were buried the fifth and sixth Earls of 
 Buchan. Sir James Balfour says that the former died in his 
 twenty-first year, and gives this epitaph upon him : — 
 
 " Hio jaoet ante diem lachrimoso funere raptus, 
 Flos patriae, et gentis splendor Duslassidokum." 
 
 Here doubtless also were interred many of the older barons 
 of Auchterhouse ; and perhaps the fragment of a red sandstone 
 monument, which lay here until within these few years, upon which 
 were a rude carving of the Scottish thistle, and other insignia, had 
 been a part of the tomb of some of the later owners. 
 
 But the fact ought not to be omitted, that before the ap- 
 pearance of the Kamsays in Angus, and in the year 1245, a baron 
 designed "William de Hwuctyruus," is a witness to a gift by 
 Eechenda of Berkeley, of lands in the parish of Fordoun, in the 
 Mearns, to the Abbey of Arbroath. 1 Probably this person was 
 then owner of Auchterhouse, but the name does not appear at 
 any future time. 
 
 As in most other districts of Scotland, there are places called 
 the Temple, and Temple Lands, which shew that the Knights of 
 St John held an interest in the parish. And in consequence of 
 the Earls of Buchan having long resided in, and been lords of the 
 district, story says that a large hawthorn tree near the House was 
 the spot where the "furious Graham" and the "brave Kose" 
 
 k Crawford's Officers of State, 357 ; Robertson's Index, p. 149. 
 1 Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 200. 
 
344 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 fell while fighting for the hand of the " fair Matilda," Lord 
 Buchan's daughter ; who, as related by the ballad, expired by 
 the side of her lovers. 
 
 But, however this may be, it is certain that one of the ladies 
 became notorious in a much less creditable action ; for towards 
 the close of 1665, about a year after the death of her husband, 
 the seventh Earl, a fama got abroad regarding the Countess 
 and her chaplain, Mr Campbell, who had been lately appointed 
 minister of the parish. The Presbytery having made enquiry, 
 found it necessary to suspend the minister from office ; but after 
 "being thryce in the pillare, and upon evident signs of his repent- 
 ance, he was absolvit." This was on 24th December, and on the 
 31st of the same month it is stated that "the Countesse of Buchane 
 beganne her repentance." During the following year, Mr Camp- 
 bell was presented to the neighbouring parish of Lundie, and the 
 Countess and he proved their mutual affection by joining in the 
 holy bands of matrimony." 1 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 tfAILLEUK OP BALSHAMWELL. 
 
 Notices of the Taylors — Proprietary History of Bolshan— Extent and Rental of the 
 Barony in 1691 — Chapel, and Castle — Tailzeour of Borrowfield — Taylor of 
 Kirktonhill. 
 
 The common surname of Taylor, or Taitteur, is said to have 
 been derived from two sources. One story says that it arose 
 from the well-known and useful occupation of a maker of gar- 
 ments ; and the other, that certain of the English and Border 
 families, T^ho retained what is termed the Anglo-Norman spelling 
 of Tailfer) were descended of a Norman soldier, who fought so 
 bravely at the battle of Hastings that his name is immortalised 
 by the Anglo-Norman poet Wace. n 
 
 The latter is the form adopted by a witness to a charter of 
 
 m Kirk Session Records of AwMerhouse, MS., 1649-50-65-66. 
 " Burke's Diet, of Landed Gentry, p. 1358. 
 
TAILLUE OF BALSHAMWELL. 345 
 
 King William the Lion, regarding a grant to the Abbey of Ar- 
 broath; and the first of the name we have seen designed of 
 Angus, were 
 
 2£UIlfam (e Eaillur De ftaU&amtoril, 
 
 AND 
 
 Isabella fEalllur, qua fuft uxor UabiO le STaUIur. 
 The former did homage to King Edward at Berwick-upon-Tweed 
 in 1296 ; and, on 3rd September of that year, the latter was re- 
 poned in lands in Forfarshire by the same King.? 
 
 Of neither individual is there further trace, and the locality of 
 Balshamwell is doubtful. There are, however, two properties in 
 Angus called Balshan, or Bolshan, situated respectively in the 
 parishes of Monikie, and Kinnell ; and, as in old deeds, the latter 
 is sometimes spelled Ballyshame, and was remarkable at no dis- 
 tant date for a copious spring or well, probably it was from that 
 place that William the Taillur was designed. Perhaps, however, 
 BalshamteeK is a mistake for BalshamMZ, since the hill of Bol- 
 shan is one of the most striking eminences in the district. 
 
 Supposing, therefore, that this is the place meant, it may be 
 observed that the property was given by the Countess of Angus 
 to the Abbey of Arbroath, and that during the fifteenth century it 
 was held by Ogilvy of Airlie as chief bailie of the monastery. 
 During the next century, part of Bolshan, if not the whole estate, 
 belonged to Carnegie of Kinnaird, Ogilvy's bailie depute, since 
 which time, with the exception of the half century after the for- 
 feiture of the Earl of Southesk (when the absurd form of spelling 
 the name Beauchamp was introduced), it has formed a portion of 
 that valuable lordship.i Bolshan was a barony down to 1716, 
 in which were included the lands of Kinnell : but soon after -that 
 date the name of the barony was changed to that of the latter 
 place. In 1691 it was possessed by sixty-four different tenants, 
 and the rent, as will be seen below, consisted chiefly of payments 
 in kind. r 
 
 Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 94. p Bag. Boll, 132 ; Foedera, i. pt. Hi. 164. 
 
 i Bat-tsehean, means "hill town." Bollischen (a. d. 1344), Ballysbame (1443), 
 Balyshen (1528), and Bolishane (1691-1710), are the various forms in which the 
 name is written at the dates affixed. 
 
 ' In 1691, the barony of Bolshan consisted of the following places:— Mayns 
 of Bolishane ; Bearland shade and Pitmeikie (7 tenants); Cottoune (16 tenants) ; 
 Somer-hill (9 tenants) ; Moore-side (6 tenants) ; Kinnell (3 tenants) ; Milne-plough ; 
 WW 
 
346 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 It is believed that the chapel which was attached to the church 
 of Kinnell in old times stood at Bolshan ; and I am informed, 
 that in 1833-4, while drains were being cut in a field immediately 
 to the west of the present farm house, the foundations of the 
 supposed chapel and burial ground were discovered ; and in the 
 latter the remains of several bodies were found. A spring, about 
 two hundred yards from the chapel, is called Naughty Well, and 
 Tannics Well is near Muirside of Kinnell. Like the Chapel of 
 Bolshan, nothing remains of the Castle, which, in 1612, is said 
 to have been " the Lord Ogilbie* speciall residence." 
 
 It may be added, that from the year 1296 until 1615, when 
 Hercules Tailzeour, a merchant in Montrose, acquired the lands 
 of Borrowfield by purchase, from a family named Gardyne, there 
 is no appearance of the surname of Taylor, in a proprietary rela- 
 tion, either in Angus or in the Mearns. Borrowfield and adjoining 
 lands are still possessed by a descendant of Hercules Tailzeour ; 
 and from a younger branch of the same family are descended the 
 Taylors of Kirktonhill, in the Mearns. 8 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 THE WISHAETS OF LOGIE-WISHAET. 
 
 Notices of the Origin of the Wisharts — Adam Wishart acquires Logie and Kenny — 
 Logie erected into a Barony, and the Name Altered — Sir John Wishart of that 
 Ilk — Bishop George Wishart — Notices of Logie- Wishart. 
 
 Theee are many different spellings of this name, which need not 
 be quoted, and various notions regarding its origin. One story 
 says that the Wisharts were descended from a natural son of 
 David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion, an idea 
 
 Milne-Eye (4 tenants) ; Dam-head ; Braickoe (4 tenants) ; Bow-house (2 tenants) ; 
 Bainy's Milne ; Willenzeards (4 tenants) ; Hill ; Wine Slape ; Tannoxmyre ; and 
 Paddockpoole (2 tenants). The total rental of the barony amounted to £447 8d. in 
 money ; 257 bolls 1 firlot 3 pecks and J lippie bear ; 662 bolls 3 pecks and J lippie 
 meal ; 219 capons ; 465 poultry ; 79 spindles yarn ; 66 sheep ; 7 pecks 1 lippie 
 lintseed, and 147 threaves of straw. — Mental Booh of the Southesk Estates, 1691- 
 1710, one vol. fol. MS., the property of Lord Southesk. 
 
 ■ Burke's Dictionary of Landed Gentry (p. 1348), contains an account of 
 Tailyour of Borrowfield. 
 
THE WISHAKTS OF LOGIE-WISHART. 347 
 
 which had perhaps arisen from their armorial bearings being the 
 same as those' of the old family of Brechin, who were undoubted 
 descendants of that Earl. Another version, founded apparently 
 on no better authority than the form in which the name is some- 
 times written, viz., Wise-heart, attributes its origin to the superior 
 wisdom of their remote progenitor ; while a third asserts that the 
 true name is Guiscard, and that the family is descended from the 
 Gruiscards of Normandy. 
 
 These conjectures need not be commented upon. It is probable 
 that the Wisharts of Logie were descended of the older family of 
 Pitarrow in the Mearns ; and Sir James Dalrymple says that 
 Gilbert of Umphraville, Earl of Angus, gave Adam Wishart a 
 charter of the lands of Logie, in 1272. In 1279, Adam received 
 from William, Abbot of Arbroath, a charter of the lands of 
 Kenny-Murchardyn, or Kennyneil, in Kingoldrum, which had 
 previously belonged to Duncan " Judex" of our Lord the King.* 
 Probably 
 
 ffiil&ert Msitfiaxt), 
 
 who is designed of the county of Forfar, when he performed 
 hoinage to King Edward, in 1296,™ was the son of Adam 
 Wishart, and chief of the Angus branch. 
 
 In 1409, Alexander Wishart was one of an inquest regard- 
 ing the lands of Meikle Kenny ; and, in 1466, the name of John 
 Wishart, son of John of Logie, occurs in another charter of Meikle 
 Kenny, which was granted by Malcolm, Abbot of Arbroath, to 
 Alexander of Ochterlony/ 
 
 In 1526, it appears that John Wishart of Logie had succeeded 
 his father, Alexander, in Kennyneil ; w and, after the forfeiture of 
 Archibald, Earl of Angus— who, as before seen, was superior of 
 Logie — John Wishart resigned these lands to King James V., 
 from whom he had a new charter, dated 1540, by which they were 
 not only converted into a Crown holding, but erected into " ane 
 hale and fre barony, to be callit, in all tyme cuming, the barony 
 of Wischart." From that time, and perhaps before, the family 
 assumed the designation " of that Hk" ; and among the "sundry 
 
 ' Dalrymple's Hist. Collections, 217 ; Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 332. 
 » Bag. Boll, 146 ; Prynne, 658. ' Beg. Nig. de Aberb., 47, 150. " Ibid., 457. 
 
348 MEMOEIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 lands" included in the barony were those of Easter- Wishart, or 
 Logie-Wishart, with the mill, Wester Logie, Locarstouh, Drum- 
 shed, Dairsie, Ballandarg, Auchleig, Stotfauld, and others.* 
 
 The farther succession of this family has not been very clearly 
 ascertained. Some of them were in Ballandarg, and had an 
 interest in the lands of Inglistoun and Kinnettles, before, and 
 during the year 1612; and on 30th October 1629, John Wishart 
 was served heir to his uncle, John " of that Ilk," in lands lying 
 in the regality of Kirriemuir. At the same time, he succeeded 
 his father, Sir John Wishart, knight, de eodem, in the property 
 of KennyneilJ 
 
 The last-named John, son of Sir John Wishart, appears to 
 have been the father of George, at one time a minister in St 
 Andrews, afterwards chaplain to the Marquis of Montrose. He 
 is best known as the author of Memoirs of that famous general, 
 which he wrote in Latin. They have been translated into Eng- 
 lish, and frequently published, and have gained considerable cele- 
 brity, perhaps not so much from a copy of them having been 
 suspended round the neck of Montrose at the time of. his execu- 
 tion, as from the spirit and the faithfulness of the narrative. 
 
 After the fall of Montrose, Wishart became chaplain to Eliza- 
 beth, Queen of Bohemia, and accompanied her to England when 
 she visited her nephew King Charles, after the Restoration. 
 In consideration of his loyalty and learning, Wishart soon after 
 this was presented to the rectory of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and 
 on the restoration of Episcopacy in Scotland, was appointed 
 Bishop of Edinburgh. He died in 1671, and was buried in the 
 Chapel of Holyrood, where his monument, with a panegyrical in- 
 scription in Latin verse, may yet be seen. A quaint translation 
 contains these lines, which refer to the confiscation of Wishart's 
 goods, and his imprisonment, which took place in the earlier part 
 of his career, after the discovery of his correspondence with 
 certain of the royalists : — ' 
 
 " Thrice spoil'd, and banisht for full fifteen years, 
 His mind unshaken, cheerful still he bears 
 Deadly proscription, nor the nasty gaol 
 Could not disturb his great seraphick soul." 
 
 * Acta Pari., ii. 379. 7 Inq. Spec, Forf., Nos. 79, 188, 189. 
 
LOGIE-WISHART. 349 
 
 The barony of Logie-Wishart appears to have been out of the 
 family for some short time during the seventeenth century, for 
 Nisbet says that it was " again purchased by Mr John Wishart, 
 one of the Commissaries of Edinburgh, nephew to the Bishop, and 
 great-grandson to Sir John of Logic."* 
 
 The House of Logie stands about a mile south of Kirriemuir. 
 The property now belongs to Colonel Kinloch of Kilrie, a knight 
 of the Order of St Ferdinand of Spain, &c, who, on the recent 
 introduction of the general Police Act, was appointed Inspector 
 of that force in the counties and burghs of Scotland. 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 HANSARD— KINROSS— LEKATHY— MONCRIEFF— SANSER— 
 STRATHERN— ANGUS— USHER- WYET. 
 
 Although I have failed to discover the connection which the 
 following individuals had with the shire of Forfar, there is 
 reason to believe, since they are all designed of it, that they had 
 been either churchmen, landowners, burgesses, or public officers 
 in the county. They all appeared at Berwick-upon-Tweed, 
 and performed homage to King Edward I. during his sojourn 
 there in 1296. 
 
 3)o&an i&aimgart" 
 
 was probably of the Hansards of England, whose progenitor 
 came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and was 
 present at the battle of Hastings, 1066. 
 
 Robert, ant) %ot«- De lv(tuos. t > 
 
 This surname is first found in Scotland in the time of William 
 the Lion, and appears to have had a territorial origin. As will 
 be shewn in a subsequent page, a knight of the name of Kinross 
 appears, at an early date, to have had an interest in the lands of 
 Little Pert, &c. { 
 
 1 Heraldry, i. 201. * Rag. Roll, 126 ; Prynne, 654 ; Lelland's Roll of Battle Abbey. 
 b Rag. Roll, 12646 ; Prynne, 654-8 ; Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 213. 
 
350 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 aiigaunDrc tie Eamfarton 
 
 took the oaths of allegiance to King Edward at two different 
 times. A person bearing the same name and surname was one 
 of an inquest appointed by Robert the Bruce, to inquire into the 
 ancient rights and privileges of the Priory of Rostinoth, in 1322.° 
 The name was known in Scotland in the reign of Alexander II. 
 and III. 
 
 Hafocen? De 2,tfeatf)g. d 
 
 Places in the parishes of Kinnettles and Inverarity, and in the 
 district of Glenprosen, are respectively called Leckoway, Labothy, 
 and Lednathy. 
 
 t 
 
 mMUam He JWountref, 
 
 The remote progenitor of the Moncrieffs is said to have been 
 Matthew of Mowbray, who came to Scotland with William the 
 Lion; and, receiving the lands of Moncrieff in Perthshire, he 
 assumed that surname. e The family flourished there in a direct 
 line until about the middle of the seventeenth century, when Sir 
 John Moncreiff of that Ilk sold the estate to Sir Thomas Mon- 
 creiff, one of the clerks of Exchequer. From Sir Thomas the 
 present baronet is seventh in succession. 
 
 ailgaunfite le Sanger oe Innerfect&sn. 
 
 The only notices I have seen of the surname Sanser, are those of 
 William, who, in 1202-26, is designed chaplain of St Andrews, 
 and Thomas, a clerk, the latter of whom witnesses a charter re- 
 garding the hostilage at Stirling, in 1299. f It is probable that 
 Alexander had been in some way connected with the ancient 
 town of Inverkeithing in Fife, in the parish church of which there 
 is a curious font, embellished with armorial bearings ; and some 
 old houses throughout <the town bear quaint mottoes over the 
 doors and windows. 
 
 c Eag. Roll, 126-57 ; Piynne, 654-61 ; MisceU. Aldbar., MS., 31U 
 d Eag. Roll, 154 ; 660. " Eag. Roll, 152 ; Prynne, 660 ; Caledonia, i. 590, 
 1 Rag. Roll, 132 ; Prynne, 655 ; Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 119, 277. 
 
MICHAEL OP FLEMING OF THE MEARNS. 351 
 
 3M)n toe Strat&ern.s 
 This also appears to be a territorial name ; and Eobert and 
 Malcolm of Strafhern, both designed of the county of Peebles, 
 did homage to King Edward. 
 
 To the above list of Angus barons it only remains to add the 
 names of 
 
 Icuc tie Slncgojs ; OTjomas le dssljcr, ano ittaulcolum SKS»ct. h 
 
 The name of the lands for which 
 
 J&icjjael De JFIeming, 
 
 who is designed of the Mearns, did homage, is also unknown. He 
 was one of six barons of the name who submitted to Edward I. 
 at Berwick, in August 1296, and the remaining five, with other 
 two, who took the oaths at Aberdeen in July previously, were all 
 designed of counties in the south and west of Scotland, and, 
 among them, was the ancestor of the Earls of Wigtoun.' 
 
 The next notice of the Flemings in the Mearns occurs in 1363, 
 when David II. granted a charter to David Fleming of an 
 annual of 20 merks out of the lands of Meikle Morfy, and 100s. 
 from those of Durschine ; at the same time, Fleming had a gift 
 of -the park of Durschine, and the west park of Kincardine. 11 
 
 During the time of King Alexander II. there was a knight 
 called Bartholomew of Flanders settled in the county of Forfar; 1 
 and there being a property called Flemingtown in that shire, 
 probably it had belonged to him. These lands lie near .the parish 
 church of Aberlemno, and the house, which is a castellated edifice, 
 built, perhaps, about the middle of the seventeenth century, is 
 still roofed, and pretty entire. Towards the beginning of last 
 century, it" belonged to Mr Ochterlony, the last Episcopal minis- 
 ter of the parish, who, after his ejectment from the church, held 
 worship there for several years. 
 
 e Eag. Roll, 146 ; Prynne, 658. h Kag. Eoll, and Prynne, passim. 
 
 1 Eag. Eoll, and Prynne, passim. k Eeg. Mag. Sig., p. 33. 
 
 1 Chalmers' Caled., i. 603. 
 
352 
 
 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 So far as I am aware, there is no place called Flemington in 
 the Mearns, although there, as in other districts between the 
 Tweed and the Moray Firth, the Flemings had doubtless been 
 located. It is well known that they were the most enter- 
 prising people of the Middle Ages, and that they first emigrated 
 into England. They were banished from that country during the 
 twelfth century, and, coming over to Scotland, received posses- 
 sions from David I. They did signal service during the Wars 
 of the Independence, particularly at the defence of Berwick in 
 1296, when only thirty of their number held the factory of Eed- 
 hall against the whole English army, who, at night fall, as re- 
 lated by our best historians, set fire to the building, " and buried 
 its faithful defenders in its burning ruins." 
 
 LTNTEL AT YAYSTE OASTLE. — V. PAGE 327 
 
MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 PAET FIFTH. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONARY NOTICES OF 
 
 &te Barons of tije iftearns 
 
 WHO SWOEE FEALTY TO KING EDWARD THE FIRST, 
 A.D. 1296, 
 
 AND OP THEIR FAMILIES AND ESTATES. 
 
 XX 
 
THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 
 MECHANICS AMD TRADESMEN 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 FREE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 PART FIFTH. 
 
 THE BARONS OF THE MEAENS WHO SWORE FEALTY TO 
 EDWARD I., A.D. 1296. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE ALLARDICES OF ALLARDICE. 
 
 AHardices of Allardice — Sir John Married to Lady Mary Graham — Catherine Allar- 
 dice Excommunicated for Quakerism — Barclay of Ury Married to the Heiress 
 of Allardice — Early Notices of the Barclays of Angus and the Mearns — The 
 Kami, or Castle of Mathers — Inscription from the Tombstone of " the Apolo- 
 gist for the Quakers" — The AHardices of Angus, &c. — Allardice Castle. 
 
 Nisbet says that King William the Lion gave charters of the 
 lands of Air eih.es, or Allardice, in the Mearns, to a person who 
 afterwards assumed that name. It is variously spelled, and pro- 
 vincially pronounced Airdis, particularly by old people. 
 The first of the name that I have seen are 
 
 SUisaunore Be ^bbcv'oaglj, 
 
 who is designed of the Mearns, and did homage to King Edward 
 in August 1296 ; and 
 
 Salter us tie SUIeriias, 
 
 who took the oath in March following. 3 
 
 The first had probably been chief of the Mearns branch, and 
 the latter may have been a near relative, for, towards the middle 
 of the subsequent century, the names of Walter and John of 
 Allardice appear as witnesses in several local charters and other 
 deeds. Li 1369, Thomas of Allardice had an annual of 20s. out 
 of Little Barras, in the adjoining parish of Kinneff ; and from a 
 portion of these lands being called the Sister Jtiggs^ tradition says 
 that the estate was divided among three co-heiresses, one of whom 
 was married to an Allardice. In the year 1492, John of Allardice 
 
 • Rag. Roll, 157 ; Prynne, 661 ; Palgrave, 196. 
 
 b Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 21 ; Robertson's Index, p. 78. 
 
356 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 was a witness regarding portions of the lands of Grlenbervie and 
 Barras, which belonged to Sir John of Auchenleck ; and in 1512, 
 Kobert Allardiee had a charter from John, his father, of the half 
 lands of Little Barras, to himself and his heirs. c 
 
 The laird of Allardiee was a representative in the memorable 
 Parliament, held at Edinburgh, on 1st August 1560, by which 
 the Papal jurisdiction was abolished in Scotland ; and near the 
 close of the same century, John of Allardiee was upon an inquest 
 regarding the lands of Balfeith, and the Mill of Conveth, or Lau- 
 rencekirk. 4 This laird appears to have married a daughter of 
 Robert of Arbuthnott; and their grandson married Beatrice, 
 daughter of the fourth Earl Marischal, by whom he acquired 
 the lands of Powburn. e 
 
 Probably this laird's mother, who was one of the Gordons of 
 Methlic, had also brought landed property to the family, since, in 
 1543, John of Allardiee granted a bond of manrent to the Earl 
 of Huntly, by which he bound himself "kyn, frendis, seruandis, 
 tenantis, and adheren'tis, to gang and ryid with his lordschip in 
 oistingis and uder besines in peace and weyr," in preference to 
 any other person, the Queen and her governors only excepted/ 
 
 John of Allardiee, probably the son of the last named, was 
 succeeded by his son James, in 1642.6 A son of the latter be- 
 came Sir John, being the first of the family who appears to have 
 been knighted; and it was (as is presumed) Sir John's sister, 
 Catherine, who was married to John Fullerton of Kinnaber. 
 As before seen, this lady and her husband were so strongly in 
 favour of the then recently introduced and unostentatious prin- 
 ciples of the Quakers, that the Presbytery of Brechin, after a 
 vast deal of communing among themselves, and private con- 
 ferences with the accused, finding that all hope of gaining them 
 back to their church was gone, formally pronounced the bann 
 of excommunication against them, and a domestic servant, " for 
 adhering," in the intolerant words of the record, " to the scan- 
 dalous errours of Quaquarism." h Probably a community of re- 
 ligious 1 feeling between the Barclays and the Allardices may have 
 
 c Acta Dom. Concill., 292 ; Pammwe Haddington Coll., MS., i. 693. 
 d Acta Pari., ii. 526 ; Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 70. 
 
 « Douglas' Peerage, i. 79 ; ii. 192. l Spalding Club Miscell., iv. 208. 
 
 « Inq. Spec, Kinc, No. 76. '• Utsup,, 281. 
 
THE ALLAEDICES— THE BARCLAYS. 357 
 
 had something to do in bringing about the close connection 
 which ultimately subsisted between these families. 
 
 Sir John Allardice married, in 1662, Lady Mary Graham, 
 daughter of Lord Kinpont, grand-daughter of William, Earl of 
 Airth and Menteith. This Lady, who died in 1720, was buried in 
 the family vault at the kirk of Arbuthnott, and left four daughters 
 and two sons ; the eldest son died without issue, and the second, 
 George Allardice, was sometime M.P. for the borough of Kin- 
 tore, Master of the Mint, and a zealous supporter of the Union. 
 He died in 1709, leaving, by his wife, Lady Anne Ogilvy, eldest 
 daughter of the Earl of Findlater and Seaforth, a large family 
 of sons and daughters ; and in their grandson, James, the male 
 issue failed. His only child, Sarah- Anne Allardice, who died in 
 1833, having married Robert Barclay of Ury, had three sons 
 and five daughters,' and the eldest son, Captain Robert Barclay- 
 Allardice, the celebrated pedestrian, succeeded to the estates of 
 Ury and Allardice. He died 1st May 1854. 
 
 The additional patronymic of Allardice was assumed by Robert 
 Barclay of Ury, in consequence of his marriage with the heiress 
 of the estate ; and, in virtue of the marriage of Sir John Allar- 
 dice and Lady Mary Graham, the late Captain Barclay- Allardice 
 claimed to be the representative of the Earls of Airth and Men- 
 teith, and the seventeenth in lineal succession from Robert II., 
 King of Scotland. 
 
 From the connection between the Barclays and the Allardices, 
 it may be here remarked that the former family was a branch of 
 the Berkeleys of Gloucestershire, of whom a son, Walter, had the 
 barony of Inverkeillor, in Angus, from William the Lion ; and 
 another, Humphrey, was settled in the Mearns by the same king. 
 Berkeley of Redcastle, or Inverkeillor, was the first lay chamber- 
 lain of Scotland, and leaving a daughter his sole heiress, she 
 married Ingleram of Baliol, Lord of Harcourt. By this marriage, 
 it is said that the Baliols were introduced into Scotland ; and 
 the grandson of Berkeley's heiress, by his wife Dornagilla, eldest 
 daughter and co-heiress of Alan, Lord of Galloway, was father 
 of John Baliol, King of Scotland. 11 
 
 1 Douglas' Peerage, i. 40. 
 k Chalmers' Caled., i. 529 ; Crawford's Off- of State, 253 ; Nisbet.ii. 245-51. 
 
358 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAKNS. 
 
 It was Alexander Barclay, who is said to have been the fifth 
 in succession to Humphrey in the Mearns estates, who, in 1351, 
 married Catherine, eldest sister of Sir William Keith, Marischal 
 of Scotland, with whom he received the lands of Mathers, in the 
 parish of St Cyrus ; and, according to the family history, it was 
 David, great-grandson of Alexander, who built the Kaim, or 
 Castle of Mathers. Story says that he was one of the barons 
 who joined in the barbarous act, before noticed, of boiling a 
 sheriff of the Mearns in a cauldron, and then " suppin' the broo." 
 To escape the threatened vengeance of the king, who, it is said, 
 vowed that Barclay should not live either on the land or the 
 water, he built a house upon this rock, where he was allowed to 
 dwell in peace ! 
 
 The cliff, which juts into the sea, is from forty to fifty feet 
 high, but from the encroachments which the ocean has made on 
 this part of the coast during the past half century, the greater 
 portion of the rock and the walls of the castle are gone, and only 
 a fragment of the west side of the building remains. I am in- 
 formed that some fifty years ago, when the North Esk passed 
 along the beach, and entered the sea near to these ruins, that the 
 walls were from eight to ten feet in height, and showed a building 
 somewhere about thirty or forty feet square. At that time the 
 castle was used as a reed, or sheepfold, with the windows blocked 
 up to keep the sheep from leaping out, and there was a cart road 
 from the adjoining fields to the southern wall, though now the 
 site is of difficult and dangerous, access. 
 
 It may be added that, in 1850, during agricultural operations 
 in the neighbourhood, a carved stone was brought to light, em- 
 bellished with the Barclay arms — " a chevron, between three 
 crosses pattee." The shield was turned towards the right, with 
 a' helmet placed on the left corner, surmounted by an eagle's 
 head, and bore two feathers on each side, which were the com- 
 mon ornaments, or mountings of arms, during the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth centuries, as was also the fashion of turning the shield 
 dexter or sinister-wise. 
 
 But it is needless farther to repeat the history of a family so 
 well known as that of the Barclays j 1 it may be remarked, how- 
 1 See Nisbet's Heraldry, ii. App., 236-41. (Acta Pari., viii. 531-2.) 
 
THE BARCLAYS QF UET. 359 
 
 ever, that David (father of Colonel Barclay who bought Ury), 
 sold the lands* of Mathers, Kirktonhlll, and Johnstone, the two 
 last of which are said to have been portions of the estates of 
 Humphrey of Berkeley, the founder of the race ; and from the 
 time of the sale of these lands until Ury was acquired in 1648, 
 the family appears to .have had no interest in the Mearns. 
 Since then, as before seen, they have been extensive landowners 
 and pretty constant residenters ; but soon after the death of 
 Captain Barclay, the estate of Ury was sold to Alexander Baird 
 of Gartsherrie, who has since erected a fine new mansion upon the 
 site of the old house. 
 
 The old house is supposed to have been the birth place of the 
 author of the celebrated " Apology for the Quakers," and his 
 study, which is said to have been kept in much the same primi- 
 tive state as when he left it, was a favourite resort for the more 
 enthusiastic of his admirers. Within the burial vault, which oc- 
 cupies a rising ground to the north of the House, is the following 
 inscription, denoting the place of the sepulture of that eminent 
 man and his wife : — 
 
 THE GRAVE OP 
 
 EOBERT BARCLAY OF UBIE 
 
 AUTHOR OP THE APOLOGIE FOR THE QUAKERS; 
 
 SON AND HEIR OP COLONEL DAVID BARCLAY OP URIE; 
 
 AND KATHERIN, DAUGHTER OP THE FIRST SIR ROBERT GORDON OF 
 
 GORDONSTON. 
 
 HE WAS BORN DEQBR. 23, 1648; AND DIED OCTBR. 3, 1690. 
 
 ALSO OP HIS WIPE, 
 
 CHRISTIAN, DAUGHTER OP GILBERT MOLLISON, MERCHANT IN ABERDEEN. 
 
 SHE WAS BORN ANNO 1647, AND DIED PEBRY. 14, 1723. 
 
 Besides the old patrimonial estate of Allardice, which lies in 
 the parish of Arbuthnott, and other lands in the Mearns, there 
 were Allardices designed of Inverquharity, in Angus, during the 
 time of Robert III., and of Duninald, towards the middle of the 
 seventeenth century . m Near the end of the fifteenth century 
 there was a churchman called James Allardice, who sat in Par- 
 liament, under the designation of Provost of the Kirk of the 
 Virgin Mary of St Andrews ; and about the same period, William 
 ™ Bobertson's Index, p. 143 ; Spalding Club Misoell., iv. p. Ixxix. 
 
360 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEABNS. 
 
 and John Allardice w«re pastors respectively of the kirks of 
 Dunbog in Fife, and of Coull in Aberdeenshire. 11 
 
 The castle of Allardice is a baronial building of moderate pre- 
 tensions, picturesquely situated on the north bank of Bervie 
 water, about a mile above the bridge of Inverbervie, from which, 
 perhaps, it is seen to the best advantage. It appears to have 
 been mostly built about the time of the marriage of Sir John 
 Allardice with Lady Mary Graham ; and, having been deserted 
 by the family soon after the estates fell to the Barclays, it was 
 occupied towards the beginning* of this century by a wood 
 forester. Latterly it became uninhabitable and almost a ruin, 
 but having been repaired within the last twenty years, it is now 
 the residence of the farmer. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 &$* jpalcoturs, an* tije tfsnttong. 
 
 THE FALCONEBS OF HALKEETON. 
 
 Origin of the Falconers — Falconers of Halkerton, Phesdo, and G-lenfarquhar — Sir 
 Alexander Falconer created Lord Halkerton — The Sons and Daughters of Lord 
 Halkerton made Burgesses of Montrose — Lord Halkerton succeeds to the Earl- 
 dom of Kintore — Castle of Halkerton — Major Hurry routed by Montrose. 
 
 Willelmds Auceps, or William the Hawker, is the first re- 
 corded of the r\oble family of Falconer. He appears in a dateless 
 charter, supposed to belong to about the close of the twelfth 
 century, by which he gave certain lands., situated on the banks of 
 the Luther, to the church of Marmgtun, or Marykirk, in the 
 Mearns, which grant was confirmed, as was the custom of the 
 times, by laying a turf cut from the land upon the altar of the 
 church. The lands are describedas lying to the west of the bridge 
 of Luthnot, and extending to fifowi&ri^-^apparently a bridge of 
 stone, which, at that early period, seems to have been built across 
 the North Esk.° 
 
 • » Acta Pari., ii. 1,53 ; Reg. Nig. de Aberb., pass. " Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 100. 
 
THE FALCONERS OF HALKERTON. 361 
 
 Hitherto the progenitor of the Falconers of Halkerton is said 
 to have been Walter of Lunkyr, or Lumgair, the son of Ranulph, 
 but he does not appear until the year 1218, some time after 
 William Auceps.P 
 
 The surname of Falconer originated from the office of keeper 
 of the king's hawks or falcons, and Hawk&rstown had its name 
 from being the place of their residence. These lands are about 
 a mile north of the village of Laurencekirk, near the site of the 
 old Castle of Kincardine, where, as before shown, William the 
 Lion and other Scottish Kings sometimes resided ; and William 
 Auceps is believed to have been keeper of the hawks to King 
 William, and to have received the lands of Hawkerston for his 
 services. 
 
 Mobett le jpauconcr, 
 
 probably the chief of the family at the time, did homage to King 
 Edward on two different occasions, first at Aberdeen on the 17th 
 July 1296, and afterwards at Berwick. In the year 1300, 
 
 SUtUiam tie JFauconcr, 
 
 along with Robert le Botler, also took the oaths of fidelity at 
 Carlisle, on the Eve of St John the Baptist.? This William of 
 Fauconer may have been the son and successor of Robert of 1296. 
 
 Notwithstanding that the name was common in the Mearns, 
 the pedigree of the Falconers, from the time of Edward I. until 
 about the end of the fifteenth century, is not so complete as could 
 be wished ; but from that time it seems pretty clear. There was 
 a knighthood in the family in at least 1493-4 ; and Archibald, 
 second son of Sir Alexander Falconer, and his wife, Elizabeth 
 Douglas, of Glenbervy, were founders of the Phesdo branch of the 
 Falconers' which subsisted until 1764. Sir David and Sir John, 
 great grandsons of Sir Alexander, were respectively the progeni- 
 tors of the Falconers of Glenfarquhar and Balmakellie. 
 
 Sir Alexander, the elder brother of the two last named knights, 
 was a Lord of Session, and, on 20th December 1647, was created 
 •a peer by the title of Lord Falconer of Halkerton. His son and 
 
 p Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 185 ; Douglas' Peerage, i. 54. 
 "> Eag. Boll, 157 ; Prynne, 661 ; Palgrave, 175, 195, 224. 
 TY 
 
362 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 grandson succeeded as second and third Lords Falconer ; and on 
 the death of the latter without issue, he was followed in the peer- 
 age by his cousin of Glenfarquhar, who died in 1727. Leaving 
 no issue, the title devolved on Sir David of Glenfarquhar, cousin 
 of the latter. Sir David married Lady Catherine Keith, eldest 
 daughter of the second Earl of Kintore, by whom he had five 
 sons and four daughters, and the two eldest sons succeeded 
 as sixth and seventh Lords Falconer. It may be observed that 
 the fifth Peer lived chiefly at the Castle of Inglismaldie, near 
 Montrose, and died there 24th September 1751. On the 7th ' 
 December following, probably out of sympathy for the bereave- 
 ment the family sustained by the loss of their father, the burgh 
 records of Montrose shew that not only were Lord Falconer, his 
 brother George, and their brother-in-law, the laird of Monkton, 
 made burgesses, but that his Lordship's sisters, Ladies Jean, 
 Mary, and Marjory, had the same honor conferred upon them by 
 the magistrates and council of that town ! 
 
 Anthony- Adrian, eldest son of the seventh Lord Falconer, and 
 grandson of Lady Catherine Keith of Kintore, became the eighth 
 Peer ; and afterwards, on the death of George, Earl Marischal, 
 he succeeded as heir of entail to the estates and title of Kintore. 1 ' 
 The present representative, born in 1828, is the eleventh Lord 
 Falconer, and eighth Earl of Kintore. He is Lord-Lieutenant 
 of the county of Kincardine, and, married his cousin, Louisa- 
 Madeline, second daughter of Captain Francis Hawkins, by whom 
 he has issue. , 
 
 It may be added that apart from the first Lord Falconer, Sir 
 David of Newton, second son of the laird of Glenfarquhar, was 
 also a lawyer of eminence, having been appointed Lord President 
 of the Court of Session in 1682. Like other branches of the 
 family, that of Phesdo also produced men of note, the more eminent 
 of whom was Sir James Falconer, who, in 1689, was raised to the 
 bench by the title of Lord Phesdo. 9 
 
 It need only be added that nothing remains of the old residence 
 of the Falconers at Phesdo, and of the house of Glenfarquhar 
 there is only a fragment surrounded by a few old trees. Traces 
 
 » Douglas' Peerage, ii. 53-8. 
 • Haig and Brunton's Senators of the Coll. of Justice, 299, 405, 445. 
 
FTNDON OP FTNDON. 363 
 
 of the foundations of the castle of Halkerton are to be seen in the 
 wood adjoining the farm house of the Mains, built into .the offices 
 of which are two stones taken from the castle. One is a corbel, 
 bearing an ill carved female head, and the date 1556, which 
 relates to the time of Sir Alexander, father of the first Falconer 
 of Phesdo ; and the other is a plain slab, initialed L. A. F., and 
 dated 1648 — the time of the first Lord Falconer. 
 
 The historical associations of Glenfarquhar and Phesdo have 
 already been referred to ; and it is not known that the locality of 
 Halkerton is remarkable in history for much beyond the circum- 
 stance that during the Civil Wars, a party of the Covenanters, 
 under the command of Major Hurry, lay in ambush in the woods 
 of Halkerton, during which they surprised, but failed to route, 
 a party of Montrose's soldiers, and being themselves driven 
 from their position, fled across the North Esk. Montrose, at 
 this time, was encamped near Fettercairn, and dealt destruction 
 by fire and sword throughout various parts of the district, burn- 
 ing, among other houses, that of the minister of the parish. 4 
 
 FTNDON OF FTNDON. 
 
 Fyndon of Fyndon — Chalmers and Menzies of Findon — Hawks' Nests at Findon — 
 Murder of Menzies of Findon — St Ternan's Chapel. 
 
 The surname of Fyndon, or Findon is local, having been assumed 
 from the property of Findon, which lies on the south side of the 
 parish of Banchory-Devenick. The first, and indeed the only 
 person of the name I have noticed, is 
 
 ^fjcllpp He JFan&on 
 
 of the Mearns, who did homage to King Edward at Berwick, 
 in 1296. He first appears in the year 1281, as a party to a re- 
 cord of the division of the lands of Nigg, near Aberdeen. 11 
 
 In 1359, William of Keith, sheriff of Kincardineshire, takes 
 credit for the payment of £3 out of the lands of Findon ; and, 
 
 ' Utswp., 89 ; Land of the Lindsays, 312 ; Spalding's Trubles, ii. 460. 
 " Bag. Roll., 135 ; Prynne, 656 ; Palgrave, 155-95 ; Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 164. 
 
364 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 in 1390, they belonged to William de Camera, or Chalmers, a 
 burgess of Aberdeen, progenitor of the family of Chalmers of 
 Balnacraig, now of Aldbar. T 
 
 The property was long in the hands of the Chalmerses ; and 
 towards the beginning of the seventeenth century, it belonged 
 heritably to Gilbert, grandson of Menzies of Culrie. It appears 
 that in the time of Menzies hawks built their nests in the rocks 
 or craigs of Findon, and the birds were carefully preserved for the 
 use of King James VT., with whom it is well known, hawking 
 was a favourite sport. The Menzies' seem to have anxiously 
 watched these nests, and it was on the 9th of May 1611, while 
 Alexander Menzies, son to the provost of Aberdeen, was return- 
 ing from inspecting one of them, that he was treacherously way- 
 laid and shot by Forbes of Monymusk, and several accomplices, 
 at the Cairn of Loriston, or Loirston, in the parish of Nigg. 
 The cause of the attack is not stated ; but it is said that Menzies 
 received " nyne bludie woundis about his heart," and Forbes 
 succeeded in procuring a remission for the deed. w 
 
 It need scarcely be said that the village or Seaton of Findon 
 is a fishing station of some importance, and the name has been 
 long famous from the peculiar manner in which the inhabitants 
 cure a small-sized kind of fish, commonly called Finnan Jiaddies. 
 These are much esteemed in all parts of Britain at this day; and 
 an old writer says, that in his time they were " in much request 
 in Edinburgh, and reckoned tender and sweet as marrow." 
 
 In old times, a chapel, dedicated to St Ternan, stood upon a 
 rock near the village of Findon ; and a well in the neighbourhood 
 still bears the name of that saint.* 
 
 " Chamb. Eolls, i. 338 ; Coll. Aberdeen and Banff, 272 ; Reg. Mag. Sig., p. 244. 
 w Pitcaim's Crim. Trials, iii. 204. * Coll. on Aberdeen and Banff, 272. 
 
THE MIDDLETONS OP MIDDLETON. 365 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 &$e iftia&letons, ana tije MontUxt#. 
 
 THE MIDDLETONS OF MIDDLETON. 
 
 The Middletons of Middleton, Kilhill, Caldhame, and Balhegno— Earl of Middleton 
 — His Rise, Progress, and Downfall — Forfeiture of his Descendants — Sale of 
 the Estates — The Stuart-Forbeses — Fettercairn House, &c. 
 
 Middleton is a local surname, and was assumed, in this instance, 
 from the lands of Middleton, in the parish of Fettercairn, of which, 
 it has heen said, Malcolm the son of Kenneth had a charter from 
 William the Lion, confirming, it is fabled, a donation by King 
 Duncan.? 
 
 The first real trace of the family, however, occurs in 1221, 
 when Humphrey of Middleton is a witness to a grant of the lands 
 of Petmengartenach, or Pittengarden, to the Abbey of Arbroath; 
 and in 1236, the same person witnesses the gift of the Mearns 
 estates of Rechinda, daughter and heiress of Humphrey of Ber- 
 keley, to the same monastery. Again, in 1261-7, Constance of 
 Middleton (daughter of Robert Tybald, and his wife Mary), and 
 Ada, the son of Constance, made a donation to that convents 
 
 In the year 1296, 
 
 ?l?umfKg He J»fotiIeton 
 
 of the Mearns, appeared at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and took the 
 oath of allegiance to King Edward, which he renewed in 1306. 
 In 1300, another baron, called Thomas, offered his services to 
 the English king at Carlisle. But the name does not seem to 
 have been peculiar to the district, for, on the second appearance 
 of Humphrey of the Mearns, in the year 1306, Hugh of Middle- 
 ton did homage for lands in the Lothians. a Probably Hugh 
 was ancestor of Gilbert of Middleton, the famous Border rob- 
 ber, who, along with Walter Selby, and at the instigation of 
 
 ? Douglas' Peerage, ii. 230. * Reg. Vet. de Aherb., 179, 199, 208. 
 ■ Rag. Roll, 157 ; Prynne, 661 ; Palgrave, 300, 221. 
 
366 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Robert the Bruce, attacked and robbed the two nuncios and their 
 suite, who were sent by the King of England, in 1317, to pre- 
 sent the Pope's mandate for the excommunication of Bruce, 
 should he refuse to agree to a truce between the two nations. b 
 
 From 1306 the names of several of the Mearns branch of the 
 family appear in local charters and inquests, and Gilbert Middle- 
 ton de eodem, was sheriff of Angus in 1516 ; and in 1519, he and 
 his wife, Agnes Lauder, held the Temple Lands of Middleton, 
 Fettercairn, and Benholm. In 1539-40, John of Middleton 
 excambed the lands of Middleton^with his father-in-law, David 
 Falconer of Halkerton, for those of Neyreseat, and the half of the 
 lands of Bent of Halkerton. About" that time the family also 
 acquired the lands of Kilhill in Fordoun; and those of Caldhame, 
 in the parish of Marykirk, towards the beginning of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 John Middleton, who is said to have been killed by Montrose's 
 soldiers in 1645, while sitting in his chair at Caldhame, married 
 Helen, daughter of Strachan of Thornton, and by her had two 
 sons, John and Andrew. About the year 1690, Andrew became 
 proprietor of Balbegno, which his son Robert, who died without 
 issue in 1710, left to his brother-in-law, John Ogilvy of Lunan. 
 John, eldest son of Middleton of Caldhame, became the celebrated 
 General, and Earl of Middleton. 
 
 His history is well known. Although educated with the view 
 of making his fortune as a scholar, he entered the service of the 
 English when the Civil Wars broke out, and soon acquired repu- 
 tation as an officer. When the Earl of Essex was cashiered, 
 Middleton joined the Estates of Scotland^ and on troops being 
 raised to rescue King Charles I., he was made lieutenant-general of 
 the horse, and was present at most of the engagements which fol- 
 lowed. He was taken prisoner at Newcastle, and at Worcester, 
 but succeeded in making his escape on both occasions. Finding 
 his way to France, he remained there with Charles II. until 
 1653, when he made another attempt in the King's favour, but 
 being defeated, returned to the Continent. He came home in 
 1660, with King Charles, and on 1st October of that year was 
 raised to the peerage by the title of Earl of Middleton, Baron 
 
 * Tytler's Hist, of Scotland, i. 298. 
 
AND STUARTS OF FETTERCAIRN. 367 
 
 Fettercairn in Scotland, and Clermont in England. He had 
 several other honours conferred upon him, and a variety of ap- 
 pointments, civil and military ; but having soon afterwards ren- 
 dered himself obnoxious, not only to many of his brother peers, 
 but to the country in general, he was deprived of his home ap- 
 pointments, and sent to be govenor of Tangier in Africa, where 
 he may be said to have died an exile, in 1673. 
 
 His son and successor, the second Earl of Middleton, was for- 
 feited in 1695, for adhering to James VII. ; and his two sons, 
 John and Charles, having also espoused the cause of the Stuarts, 
 were captured in 1708, in the act of conveying troops to invade 
 Scotland. They were both committed prisoners to the Tower of 
 London, and on being released escaped to France. 
 
 Besides lands in the Mearns, the Earl of Middleton possessed 
 those of Aid Montrose, in Angus, which he was the first to ac- 
 quire after the overthrow of the celebrated Marquis of Montrose. 4 
 The Middleton estates were sold to pay the debts of the first 
 Earl, and those of Fettercairn were bought by Brigadier-General 
 Middleton, a cadet of the family, who obtained a royal charter in 
 1738, leaving them on his death to his son George of Seaton, in 
 Aberdeenshire. The latter died in 1772, having married Lady 
 Diana Grey, daughter of the Earl of Stamford, and from her 
 trustees, in 1777, the lands were bought by Sir John Belshes 
 Wishart, baronet, afterwards the Hon. Baron Sir John Stuart 
 (which name he assumed by royal license), maternal grandfather 
 of the present proprietor. 6 
 
 The present baronet, Sir John Stuart Forbes, succeeded his 
 father, Sir William, son of the eminent Edinburgh banker, the 
 author of the " Life of Dr James Beattie." He is the seventh 
 baronet in succession, a lineal representative of the forfeited Lord 
 Pitsligo, and claimant for that title, also, by a female, representa- 
 tive of the old family of Wishart of Pitarrow. Sir John has de- 
 voted much attention both to the improvement of agriculture, and 
 to the bettering of the condition of agricultural labourers, and 
 was long officially connected with the Highland and Agricultural 
 Society of Scotland. He is a deputy-lieutenant, and convener 
 
 " Douglas' Peerage, ii. 231-3. d Acta Par]., vii. 634. 
 ' Information kindly communicated by Sir J. Stuart Forbes, hart. 
 
368 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of the freeholders of Kincardineshire; and by his wife, Lady 
 Henrietta, third daughter of the sixth Marquis of Lothian, he 
 has an only daughter, who, in 1858, was married to her cousin, 
 the Hon. Charles H. E. Trefusis, M.P., eldest son of Lord Clinton. 
 The heir apparent to the baronetcy of Pitsligo and Fettercairn is 
 William, eldest son of the late Charles Hay, Sir John's second 
 brother. His third brqther, James David Forbes, late professor 
 of natural philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, now Prin- 
 cipal of the College of St Salvador and St Leonard of St Andrews, 
 is celebrated for his scientific discoveries and writings. 
 
 It need only be added that Clermont, from which the Earl of 
 Middleton's English title was derived, is still part of the estate 
 of Fettercairn, and that it was Brigadier Middleton who changed 
 the name of the estate from Middleton to Fettercairn. The old 
 house, which has been greatly added to, the more modern part 
 being in the Elizabethian style of architecture, bears the date of 
 1666, and the initials of the Earl of Middleton. As previously 
 noticed, his initials and arms are carved upon a stone cross, still 
 standing in the market place of Fettercairn/ 
 
 THE MONTFOETS OP KINNEFF. 
 
 The Montforts of England — Settlement, and Decline of the Montforts in the Mearns 
 — Simon of Shaklok of Kinneff — Kinneff Castle, &c. 
 
 Two different families of the name of Montfort were settled in 
 England during the Middle Ages. The more ancient was 
 descended of Hugh of Montfort, who came from Normandy with 
 William the Conqueror. He was present at the battle of Hast- 
 ings, and received lands from that prince in Kent, Essex, Suf- 
 folk, and Norfolk. The first of the other race was Simon, great 
 grand child to Almaric, an illegitimate son of Robert, King of 
 France, from whom he received the town of Montfort, and hav- 
 ing married one of the two sisters and co-heiresses of Robert 
 Fitz Parnel, Earl of Leicester, some time about the year 1208, 
 he became progenitor of the many celebrated men who succeeded 
 him in that titled 
 
 1 Ut sup., 87. e Dugdale's Baronage,.i. 407, 751. 
 
THE MONTFORTS OF KINNEFF. 369 
 
 From the former of these branches the Montforts of Scotland 
 appear to have been descended, for nearly thirty years before 
 the appearance of Montfort of Leicester in England, different 
 persons of the name witness charters by William the Lion in Scot- 
 land. It is said that their first property here was in the south, 
 but it is certain that so early as 1178-98, William and John of 
 Montfort were domiciled in the Mearns, and appear in various 
 deeds relating to grants of land both there and in Angus. h 
 Probably they were settled at Mondynes, since, about 1200-7, 
 when King William conveyed a carrucate of land in that district 
 to the monastery of Arbroath, it is stated to have belonged to 
 William of Montfort, and Humphrey of Berkeley.' In 1211-14, 
 John of Montfort granted the lands of Grlaskeler to the same 
 monastery, to which deed his brother William, parson of the kirk 
 of Kinneff, is a witness. k 
 
 From about this time until 1296, when 
 
 ttofort tie JHontfort 
 
 of the Mearns did homage to King Edward at Berwick, the name 
 is not met with. Before the appearance of Robert, which was in 
 the month of August, 
 
 Sojn tie JWontfort 
 
 submitted to the same king at Elgin on the 28th of July. It 
 may be remarked that Alexander of Montfort, probably a cadet 
 of the Kinneff family, was sheriff of Elgin in the time of King 
 Alexander III. 1 
 
 The Montforts were proprietors in the Mearns down to at 
 least 1361, when Christian, relict of John of Montfort, resigned 
 the lands of Kinneff, Slains, and others, in favor of Simon of 
 Shaklok. m 
 
 There were several persons of this name in Scotland during the 
 fourteenth century, and regarding its etymology, a correspon- 
 dent remarks, with much apparent reason, " that the practice of 
 chaining captives appears to be very ancient, and that the chains 
 
 h Keg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 257-8. ' Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 63. k Ibid., 47. 
 1 Bag. Eoll, 164 ; Prynne, 662 ; Palgrare, 181 ; Chamb. Bolls, i. *22 ; Acta 
 Pari., i. 89. m Eeg. Mag. Sig., p. 56. 
 
 ZZ 
 
370 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 made use of for this purpose were of two kinds, viz., chains for 
 the feet, called fetters, and chains for the wrists, called shackles. 
 This view is supported by the term well-known in Scotch at 
 this day, shackle-bane, for the bone of the wrist. Now, both 
 these kinds of chains seem to have been secured by locks. The 
 fetter-lock is well-known in heraldry. The ' shackle-lock' I have 
 never read of, but I think it exceedingly probable that there was 
 such a thing, and that the surname ShaMok was derived from 
 it. In further illustration of this, I may refer to the account 
 given in the Acts of the Apostles of the imprisonment by King 
 Herod Agrippa of the Apostle Peter, which says that the angel 
 of the Lord ' smote Peter on the side, and raised him saying, 
 Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands' — the 
 last word distinctly showing the species of chain with which the 
 Apostle was bound."" 
 
 The more immediate successors of Shaklok in these lands have 
 not been ascertained. Kinneff was bought towards the close of 
 the last century from the Viscount of Arbuthnott, by Lord Keith, 
 to whose Trustees it now belongs, together with the estate of 
 Slains. The castle of Kinneff stood upon a cliff overhanging the 
 sea, and some say that it was garrisoned by the English during 
 the minority of King David II. In the vicinity of the castle were 
 found, in 1831, an urn containing bronze rings and jet orna- 
 ments, with the point of a bronze spear or sword, now in the 
 Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 
 
 Besides the castle of Kinneff, it is said that there were four 
 others in the parish. ■ They were all situated upon peninsular 
 rocks, and called respectively Herbertshiel, Cadden, Whistle- 
 berry, and Adam's castles, but the names of their occupiers are 
 lost, and no tradition exists regarding the history of any of them 
 except that of Herbertshiel, which, it is said, was possessed by 
 some member of the old family of Lindsay-Crawford. A frag- 
 ment of Whistleberry still remains. 
 
 ° Note from B. Lindsay, Esq., accountant, Brechin. 
 
 ° New Stat. Account, 315. For an account of the Church of Kinneff, Bee be- 
 low, part vi. 
 
THE STRAITONS OF LAURISTON. 371 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 THE STRAITONS OP LAURISTON. 
 
 Probable Origin of the Straitons —Early Notices of the Lauriston Family — Sir 
 Alexander Killed at Harlaw — David Burned as a Martyr — Sir Alexander 
 Commissioner to the General Assembly — Lauriston Acquired by Falconer of 
 Phesdo — Milton of Mathers Erected into a Burgh of Barony — Inundation of the 
 Burgh — Chapel of St Laurence — The Straitons of Angus — Of Kirkside — 
 General Sir Joseph Straiton — House of Lauriston — Den Finella, &c. 
 
 The surname of Stratton, or Straiton, is probably of Anglo-Saxon 
 origin — at least, a family of tbe, name flourished in the parish of 
 Stratton, Norfolkshire, in the reign of King John. Dumfries- 
 shire is said to have been the place of their original settlement 
 in Scotland; and in Fife there was once a barony called Stratton. 
 The' first of the family in the Mearns, were two persons, both 
 named i 
 
 SUtSaunSre He Stratton, 
 
 who appeared at Aberdeen, on 15th July 1296, and took the oaths 
 of fealty to King Edward. Three other barons of the same sur- 
 name, from the county of Edinburgh, performed the same service 
 at Berwick-upon-Tweed, in August following.? 
 
 Alexander Straiton of the Mearns attended the Parliament 
 held at Arbroath in 1320 ; and in 1328, a person of that name 
 was sheriff of Kincardine. 1 ! Ten years afterwards Alexander of 
 Straiton had a confirmation charter of the mill of the burgh of 
 Inverbervie, and of the lands of Glenchungole, in that neighbour- 
 hood; 1 and, so far as charter evidence goes, this is the first 
 account of the Straitons as landowners in the Mearns. 
 
 Tradition asserts that they possessed the estate of Lauriston 
 from a remote period; but we have found no person of their name 
 designed from it until the year 1411, when it is recorded that, 
 along with about five hundred knights and burgesses of the 
 counties of Forfar, Kincardine, and Aberdeen, " Alexander 
 Straton de Laurenston," fell at Harlaw, while fighting on the 
 
 p Bag. Eoll, 93-4, 125-34; Prynne, 651. 
 ' Acta Pari., i. 114 ; Chamb. Rolls, i. 12. r Beg. Mag. Sig., p. 48. 
 
372 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 side of the Duke of Albany. 3 The fall of Straiton is thus noticed 
 in the well-known ballad : — 
 
 " And there the knicht of Lauriston 
 "Was slain into his armour sheen." 
 
 Whether Walter Straiton, who was page to James I., and 
 present at the murder of that king by Sir Patrick Graham, in 
 the Convent of the Dominicans at Perth, was of this family, is 
 unknown ; but, it is generally admitted that David Straiton, the 
 martyr, was one of them. It was in 1534, while executions for 
 avowing the Eeformed faith were common, that this person suf- 
 fered, having been burned at the stake, because, as it is related, 
 rather than give the tenth of his fishings to the Bishop of Moray, 
 he made " his servents cast the tenth fish into the sea againe."* 
 
 After this date, the Straitons of Lauriston appear pretty re- 
 gularly in the Scots Parliament ; u and Sir Alexander Straiton, 
 who lived during the latter part of the sixteenth and early part 
 of the seventeenth centuries, appears to have made himself so 
 popular in the councils of the nation, that he was appointed a 
 commissioner for the Union of England and Scotland. In 1605, 
 he was king's commissioner to the General Assembly at Aber- 
 deen ; and during the following year, the Estates of Parliament 
 approved and confirmed a letter of gift and pension to him " for 
 all the dayes of his lyfetyme, of the blench-deutie of the lord- 
 schip of Scone, extending to 1000 merks." T 
 
 The last appearance of the Straitons in Parliament was in 1663, 
 when one of them, along with Eamsay of Balmain, represented 
 Kincardineshire. Probably soon after this their fortunes began to 
 decline, since in 1695, Sir James Falconer of Phesdo had a ratifi- 
 cation charter from King William of "all and haill the lands and 
 barrony of Laurenstoun, upon the resignation: of Alexander Strai- 
 toun of that Ilk." By this charter, the name of the barony was 
 changed to that of Miltonhaven ; and Miltonhaven, or Milton of 
 Mathers, was erected into a free burgh of barony, with a free 
 harbour and sea port. The charter also provides that a weekly 
 
 • Note regarding the Battle of Harlaw— " Ex Lihro Monasterii Beate Marie de 
 Cupro, lih. xxxvi., cap. xx."— quoted in Beg. de Panmvre, MS., i. 241. 
 ' Tytler's Hist, of Scot., iii. 264 ; Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, i. *210. 
 " Acta Dom. Concil., 402 ; Acta Pari., ii. iii. iv. vi. vii. passim. 
 T Booke of the Kirk, 1013 ; Acta Pari., iv. 315. 
 
IAUKISTON — THE CHAPEL. 373 
 
 market be established at Miltonhaven, and that two greater 
 fairs be held there on the third Tuesday of May, and second 
 Tuesday of October annually, each to last for the space of four 
 days. w 
 
 Tradition is silent regarding the existence of the markets here 
 referred to, as well as to the Milton of Mathers having been a 
 burgh of barony. But it ought not to be forgotten, that the 
 place now called Milton of Mathers is altogether different from 
 the Miltonhaven of 1695, for, towards the end of last century, 
 the quarrying of lime — for the superior quality of which this 
 shore has been long remarkable — having been overwrought, the 
 sea broke through the remaining ledge, and not only carried off 
 the old burgh of barony in one night, but forced its way con- 
 siderably inland." It was after this catastrophe that the present 
 village of Milton of Mathers, provincially called Tangleha\ rose 
 into existence. It contains from forty to fifty of a fishing popu- 
 lation. 
 
 The estate of Lauriston, so named, it would seem, in honor of 
 St Laurence, to whom a chapel was dedicated which stood at 
 Chapelfield, belonged at, and before the year 1243, to Sir John 
 of Strivelyn, who granted the chapel to the prior and canons of 
 St Andrews, together with a pound of wax yearly, the price of 
 which was to be regulated according to the market value at Mon- 
 trose/ Sometime ago the old font of this chapel, now preserved 
 at Lauriston, was found buried among a quantity of rubbish. 
 
 Probably the Straitons succeeded to the Stirlings in Lauriston ; 
 but of this there is no record. In addition to what has already 
 been said regarding this family, it may be observed, that during 
 the reign of David II. and Robert III., the name of Straiton 
 appears at several Angus and Mearns charters ; and in the time 
 of King Eobert, John Straiton was proprietor of a portion of 
 the lands of Erroly or Airlie, in Angus, which he resigned in 
 favor of John Cuthris. 2 Straitons were also designed of the 
 estate of Criggy and Bhynd, during the fifteenth century ; and 
 the family gave parsons to the kirks of Dunottar, Inverkeillor, 
 and Finhaven, during the century which followed; while, contem- 
 
 w Acta Pari., ix. 520. % Geological Journal, i. 399. 
 
 i Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 280. * Robertson's Index, passim. 
 
374 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 poraneous with some of these were Straiton of Dalladies In the 
 Mearns, and several good burghal families in Montrose. 1 
 
 It is towards the close of the sixteenth century that we first 
 meet with Straitons of Kirkside. Arthur Straiton, a cadet of 
 the house of Lauriston, was laird of Kirkside' sometime before 
 1593, in which year he also acquired Muirton, in the parish of 
 Stracathro. b In the first of these estates, which of old was 
 called the Kirklands of Ecclesgreig, he was followed by descen- 
 dants of the same surname until the first half of the present 
 century, when the then laird Was succeeded by a maternal 
 nephew, Colonel Joseph Muter, afterwards General Sir Joseph 
 Muter Straiton, who signalised himself in the Peninsular War, 
 and at Waterloo, in which battle, according to the inscrip- 
 tion upon his gravestone, " he commanded his own regiment of 
 the 6th Dragoons until the fall of the gallant Ponsonby, to whose 
 brigade it belonged, when the command of the brigade devolved 
 upon him." 
 
 The House of Kirkside is a plain modern building, command- 
 ing a fine view of the town and basin of Montrose, of the Sidlaw 
 hills, and of the valley of Strathmore. Lauriston, on the 
 other hand, is much more sheltered, and is so situated that it 
 possesses no very extensive or varied prospect. The house, 
 which stands picturesquely upon the east bank of the burn of 
 Lauriston, is partly old, and partly new,. The older portion, of 
 which a square tower only remains, seems not to belong to an 
 earlier period than the first half of the sixteenth century ; al- 
 though, according to tradition, this is part of the fabric which 
 Buchanan says was garrisoned by the English during the reign 
 of King David II. 
 
 Lauriston House is nearly two miles north of the sea; and 
 there is a story of an unexplored cave on the shore, with much 
 the same fable as the Forbidden Cave, near Arbroath. The 
 tale is sufficiently absurd : it is said, that a blind piper lost his 
 way, and entering the , cave, travelled until he came below the 
 kitchen hearth of Lauriston, where he was heard to sound his 
 
 " Reg. Nig. Aberb. ; Reg. Ep. Brechin.,pasaim. b Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 367, 36. 
 
 c The church was dedicated to St Gregory, and to St Cyr. St Cyrus is the 
 modern name of the parish. Mcclesgreig is now the name of the old estate of Criggy, 
 a,nd lately the same property was called Mount Cyrus. 
 
LAURISTON — DEN FINELLA. • 375 
 
 pibroch for some days, and the music becoming gradually weaker, 
 it ultimately ceased altogether, at which time, one version of the 
 story says, the minstrel died, while another avers that he is still 
 occasionally heard! 
 
 It ought to be stated, that the little romantic valley called Den 
 Finelh, is upon the property of Lauriston, and tradition affirms 
 that it was so called because Lady Finella, the reputed assassin 
 of King Kenneth III. was overtaken here by her pursuers, when, 
 rather than fall into their hands, she committed self-destruction 
 by leaping from the rocks into a deep gully, where the water 
 tumbles from a height of about a hundred and fifty feet : — 
 
 " She leapt from the rooks to a wild boiling pool, 
 Where her body was torn and toss'd." 
 
 The burn is crossed at this point by a stone bridge, along 
 which the turnpike passes. The banks of the stream are taste- 
 fully adorned with wood, and laid out in walks ; and when the 
 stream is flooded few places in the neighbourhood more deserve 
 being visited by lovers of romantic scenery. 
 
 Lauriston was bought from the representatives of Sir John 
 Falconer by Mr Brand, sometime a writer in Montrose, from whom 
 it passed to his niece, Miss Watson. She sold it to Mr Eobert 
 Lyall, who held it for a very short time, and from his trustees it 
 was purchased by the present proprietor, Mr Alexander Porteous, 
 in the year 1849. 
 
376 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE THORNTONS, AND STRACHANS OF THORNTON. 
 
 Thorntons of Thornton — Strachans of Thornton — Created Baronets — Lientenant- 
 Oolonel Strachan defeats the Marquis of Montrose — Sides with Cromwell — 
 His Forfeiture by the Parliament, and 1 Excommunication by the Church — 
 Family Tomb at Marykirk — Sir James Straohan, Minister of Keith — Forbes, 
 Fullarton, Garden, and Crombie of Thornton — The Castle — Early Notices of 
 the Strachans — Waldeye of Strachan's Gift to the Priory of St Andrews — Castle 
 of Straohan — Glendye Lodge — Clochnabane, &o. 
 
 The first of this name, either in Angus or in the Mearns, was 
 Laurence of Thornton, who, between the years 1204-11, appears 
 along with a number of churchmen, chiefly of the diocese of St 
 Andrews, in a deed by Henry, Abbot of Arbroath. 4 The name 
 is next found in 1296, when 
 
 3)of)n tie f^orntotw, 
 
 who is designed of the Mearns, did homage to Edward I. at 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed; and, as before seen, much about the same 
 time, John of Thornton, a burgess of Montrose, performed the 
 same service. e 
 
 But there was another person called 
 
 (Kilbert tie GTfwnton, 
 
 who was one of those who, in the year 1292, recommended King 
 Edward to give judgment regarding the heir to the Crown of 
 Scotland ; and it is probable that it was he who is recorded to 
 have done homage to the same King, in 1306, for lands in the 
 county of Kincardine/ 
 
 In 1309, Valentine of Thornton had a charter from King 
 Robert the Bruce of the lands of Thornton in the Mearns ;8 and 
 as this is the first, so is it the last, record of the family being pos- 
 
 d Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 117. • Rag. Roll, 157 ; Prynne, 661 ; ut svp., 49. 
 ' Palgrave, 54, 301 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 59. ' Robertson's Index, p. 1. 
 
THE THORNTONS OF THORNTON. 377 
 
 sessed of that estate. h It is said that the male line of the Thorntons 
 failed in the reign of David II., and that a daughter, Agatha, 
 carried the property by marriage to Sir James Strachan of Mon- 
 boddo, by ■whom she had two sons, Duncan and John. It is fur- 
 ther asserted that the younger son received Thornton, and subse- 
 quently succeeding, his brother, was knighted by Eobert II.' 
 
 These particulars, though not so well authenticated as could be 
 wished, may be correct. It is certain, however, that Alexander 
 of Strathekyn, who is a witness to the Earl of Athol's gift of the 
 lands of Cortachy to the cathedral of Brechin, in 1429, was de- 
 signed " of Thorntoun ;" and in 1473, John, son and heir appa- 
 rent of John Strachan of Thornton, is a witness to an instrument 
 of seisin of the lands of Dun, granted by John Erskine in favor 
 of his son ; while, in 1492, John Strachan, also of Thornton, pro- 
 bably the same person as last named, was a witness to a charter 
 regarding the lands of Grlenbervy. k 
 
 In the year 1572, John, the then laird, was present at the 
 parliament which elected the Earl of Morton regent, in place 
 of the Earl of Mar, who had shortly before died ; and two years 
 afterwards he was appointed commissioner for Kincardineshire to 
 superintend the " making of waping shawings," or the exhibition 
 of arms, which was then ordered to take place throughout Scot- 
 land twice a year. 1 
 
 This laird died at Aberdeen on the 22nd of August 1587 ; and 
 it is said that his daughter, Elizabeth, was the wife of William 
 Forbes of Corse, in Aberdeenshire, and mother of the learned 
 Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen ; also of William, founder 
 of the Craigievar family; of John, moderator of the forbidden 
 Assembly of Aberdeen in 1606, and of Sir Arthur Forbes, father 
 of the Earl of Granard. It was this lady's husband who built 
 the eastle of Corse, upon which his initials and her's are still to be 
 seen, with the date 1581.™ 
 
 h As it was the practice dawn to about the period here referred to, for sons to 
 take" their surnames from the Christian names of their fathers, probably descendants 
 of Valentine of Thornton did so. Valentine of Thornton may have thus been progeni- 
 tor of the Valentines in the Mearns, N of whom there have been, and still are, many 
 families in that shire, particularly in the vicinity of Thornton. 
 
 1 Plavfair's Baronage, Appx. clxvii. 
 
 k Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 42 ; Spalding Club Miscell., iv. 1 ; Acta Dom. Con., 292. 
 
 1 Acta Pari., iii. 77, 91. 
 
 m Spalding Club Miscell., ii. 59. Notefrom Sev. DrTaylor ofLaochel-Oushnie. 
 AA 2 
 
378 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 In 1606, Alexander Strachan was served heir to his uncle, also 
 Alexander, in the barony of Thornton, in which, it would appear, 
 were then included large and important estates. In 1617, we 
 find him representing his native county in Parliament, ajong 
 with Sir Robert Graham of Morphie ; and shortly afterwards he 
 was appointed a commissioner for the plantation of churches." 
 In 1625, he was created a baronet of Nova Scotia, and ranked 
 next in order to Gordon of Letterfourie, the premier baronet. 
 He was a commissioner of exchequer in 1630 ; and in 1633, is a 
 witness to the resignation by William, Earl of Angus, of his here- 
 ditary right of the first seat and vote in Parliament. 
 
 Sir Alexander Strachan — whose daughter, Helen (as is sup- 
 posed), was the mother of the Earl of Middleton — was perhaps suc- 
 ceeded by Sir John Strachan, who married the youngest daughter 
 of Forbes of Craigievar. Sir John appears to have died some- 
 time before 1647, for, early in that year, Sir Archibald Strachan 
 of Thornton was appointed a lieutenant-colonel in the parliamen- 
 tary army, and for his gallant service at the battle of Kerbester, 
 which was fought on the 27th of April 1650, some days before 
 the Marquis of Montrose was taken prisoner, Strachan received 
 the thanks of the Parliament.^ 
 
 I have not ascertained whether Archibald Strachan, who ap- 
 pears as a colonel, in 1651, in the army of Cromwell, was the 
 same person as last named ; but it is probable that he was, since 
 the name and surname are identical, and Captain Halket and 
 other of his fellow officers at Kerbester, are included in the 
 same warrant of treason. In consequence of Strachan having 
 fled from the country, his property, including a debt due to 
 him of £3000 sterling, fell to the Crown. q How long he 
 continued an outlaw, or if ever .he was again received into 
 favor, I have not learned; but- it is quaintly related, that on the 
 12th day of January 1651, General Middleton "was relaxed 
 from his excommunication, and did his penance in sackclothe 
 in Dundie churche," and that on the same day Colonel Strachan 
 " was excommunicat and delivered to the deiuell, in the churche 
 of Perth, by Mr Alexander Rollock." 1 
 
 - Inq. Spec, Kincard., No. 18 ; Acta Pari., iv. 525, 531. ° Ibid., v. 10. 
 
 p Ibid., vi. 243 ; Balfour's Annals, iv. 9, 75. « Acta Pari., vi. 586, 595. 
 
 r Balfour's Annals, iv. 240. 
 
THE STRACHANS OF THORNTON. '379 
 
 Probably Colonel Strachan had died before the Kestoration, 
 for, in 1661, Sir James Strachan of Thornton was appointed a 
 commissioner to assist in raising the annuity of £40,000 for 
 King Charles II. 8 On the 10th of January of the same year, Sir 
 James lost his wife, Elizabeth Forbes, third daughter of Thomas 
 Forbes of Waterton. She died in childbed, in the twenty-fifth 
 year of her age ; and an elegant marble tomb, with a Latin in- 
 scription in prose and verse,' was erected to her memory in the 
 family burial aisle at Marykirk. 
 
 Perhaps the next baronet was Sir James Strachan, parish 
 minister of Keith, in Banffshire, who was deposed for noncon- 
 formity, in 1690. Some curious stories are told of this clergy- 
 man, whose memory is still cherished at Keith; and it is said, 
 that when the late Admiral Sir Eichard Strachan (who was a 
 cadet of the Thornton family), went there to cull information re- 
 garding his predecessor, he met with an old inhabitant who, on 
 being asked if he had ever heard of such a person, knavely re- 
 plied — " Ou, aye ! he was weel kent : — 
 
 " ' The beltit Knicht o' Thornton, 
 An' Laird o' Pittendriech ; 
 An' Maister James Strachan, 
 The minister o' Keith !' " 
 
 It is said that Sir James also married a daughter of Forbes of 
 Waterton, and had a son, Sir Francis, who was a Jesuit in Paris. 
 It is certain that, about the time of " the fifteen," there was a 
 Sir William Strachan designed (probably erroneously) of Thorn- 
 ton ;* for it appears that from at least 1690, the property was 
 possessed by Forbeses, u to one of whom, Philip Forbes " de 
 Thornton," there is a tablet within the family burial aisle at 
 Marykirk. These Forbeses were a branch of the Waterton 
 family ; and, probably, their connection with the Strachans had 
 been the reason of their becoming proprietors of Thornton. 
 
 Thornton was probably possessed by the Forbeses until about 
 1720, when it became the property of the Fullertons, one of 
 whom, in 1786, sold the estate to Lord Gardenstone, founder of 
 
 s Acta Pari., -vii. 94. 
 
 ' " July 21, 1715. — Margaret Spark had a natural son to Sir William Strachan 
 of Thornton, baptized William." — Mwrykwk Parish Register, MS. 
 » Acta Pari., ix. 142 ; xi. 23, 145. 
 
380 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 the adjoining town of Laurencekirk. Lord Gardenstone died in 
 1793 ; and in 1804, Thornton was sold by his successor, Francis 
 Garden of Troup, to Alexander Crombie of Phesdo, advocate in 
 Aberdeen. Mr Crombie was succeeded in 1832, by his cousin- 
 german, the Rev. Dr Alexander Crombie, of York Terrace, 
 Regent Park, London, the author of " Gymnasium," and other 
 works of high literary merit. On the death of Dr Crombie, in 
 1840, the property fell to his eldest son, Alexander, of Lincoln's 
 Inn, London, barrister-at-law, who has enlarged the Castle, and 
 otherwise improved the estate. * 
 
 The Castle of Thornton is but a small building, and had ap- 
 parently been erected at different times, there being two dates, 
 1531, and 1662, upon the older portions, the latter having refer- 
 ence to the time of Sir James Strachan, who, as before seen, was 
 a commissioner to the Scots Parliament. 
 
 It may be added, that Strachan is a local surname, assumed from 
 a district on the north-west of the Mearns. It is said to signify 
 " the strath, or valley of waters," which is not inapt, there being 
 three considerable rivers in the parish — the Dye, the Aaen, and 
 the Feugh. The name, which is variously spelled, is commonly 
 pronounced Strauan, and persons were designed from the district 
 long before the family of Thornton appeared in the Mearns/ 
 Somewhere about the middle of the twelfth century, Waldave 
 of Stratheihan, gave the prior and canons of St Andrews the 
 lands of Blackerocche, with right to hunt, and to pasture a cer- 
 tain number of pigs, cows, and horses between " Feyhan et De" 
 (apparently the waters of Feugh and Dye), and with timber 
 from his wood of Goauch, for the buildings of their church and 
 new hall. Contemporary with the first recorded of the Thorn- 
 tons, w was Ranulph of Stratheuchin, who witnessed a grant by 
 Thomas the Durward to the Abbey of Arbroath, 1203— 4.* 
 
 There is a local tradition that Alan the Durward, or Hostia- 
 rius, had a proprietary interest in Strachan; and an insulated 
 conical mound, called the Castle Hill, about a mile west of the 
 
 " Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 44. 
 
 " In old times there were also "Thorntons of that Ilk" in the parish of Glamis. 
 — Proceedings of So. of Antiquaries of Scot, ii. 248. 
 * Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 276. 
 
TEEMBLEY OF DELANY. 381 
 
 Kirkton, is said to have been the site of his stronghold. How 
 long the Strachans were proprietors of their native district has 
 not been ascertained. Probably they were succeeded by Fraser, 
 thane of Cowie, whose only daughter, Margaret, carried the 
 immense estates of that baron — among which were the lands of 
 Strachan — by marriage to Sir William Keith, Marischal of Scot- 
 land. It seems likely that the Castle Hill was the site of Keith's 
 residence before he built a castle at Dunottar ; at least, in 1351, 
 his charter of the lands of Mathers (which were given in dowery 
 with his sister, Catherine, to Alexander of Berkeley), bears to 
 have been granted "apud mansum capitale nostrum de Strathe- 
 kin."y From the same old race were descended the Strachans 
 of Carmyllie, Bridgton, and Claypots, in Angus. 
 
 Of the history of Strachan, in modern times, it need only be 
 mentioned that the property was bought from Mr Eussell of 
 Blackhall, in 1822, by the late Sir James Carnegie of Southesk, 
 who erected a comfortable shooting lodge near Bridge of Dye, 
 and otherwise greatly improved the estate. The Lodge is pret- 
 tily situated at the base of the hill of Clochnabane, the peculiar 
 feature of which (as the name implies) is a large rock which 
 forms the top, and being 3een at a great distance, has given rise 
 to the popular local rhyme : — 
 
 " There are two land marks off the sea — 
 Clochnabane and Bennaohie." 
 
 In 1856, the lands of Strachan, or Glendye, were sold by the 
 
 Earl of Southesk, eldest son and heir of the previous proprietor 
 
 to Sir Thomas Gladstone of Fasque. 
 
 TEEMBLEY OF DELANY. 
 
 The Trembleys, or Turnbulls— Tradition regarding the Origin of the Name of Turn- 
 hull— Turnbulls of Bedrule, of Stracathro, and of Dalladies, &c. 
 
 The family of Trembley appears to have had a settlement in 
 
 the Mearns before 1263, for at that time Walter of Trembley 
 
 y Nisbet's Heraldry, ii. App: 238. 
 
382 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 occupied the lands of Delany in that shire. z On 28th July 1296, 
 
 i&obttt tie STrem&lrge, 
 
 of the county of Kincardine, took the oath, of allegiance to King 
 Edward at Elgin, and again, at Berwick-upon/Tweed, in August 
 following'.* It was probably for the lands of Delany that Trem- 
 bley performed homage ; but these cannot now be identified. 
 
 After the year 1296, the name is not met with in the Mearns. 
 Previously, in 1280, there was a Eobert of Tremblay in Fife ; 
 and in 1342, Eobert and John of Tremblay were two of the good 
 men of Angus who passed on an inquest regarding the lands of 
 the Priory of B,ostinoth. b 
 
 The name of Trembley, or Trembeley, is supposed to have 
 been the same as that of Trumbill, or Turnbull — vulgarly pro- 
 nounced Trummel. According to Nisbet, the Turnbulls were 
 first settled in Teviotdale, and had a charter from Robert I. of 
 the lands of Bedrule, in that district. Hector Boyce, who attri- 
 butes the origin of the name to a period long after the first 
 assumption of it, says that a person called Bute, having turned 
 a wild bull and wrung off its head, when it was about to attack 
 King Robert the Bruce, while he was hunting in the forest of 
 Calender, received certain estates for that service, and assumed 
 the name of Turn-bull ! 
 
 The Turnbulls possessed the estate of Bedrule until nearly the 
 close of the seventeenth century ; and Dr William Turnbull, 
 secretary to King James I., was of that family. Much about 
 the time that the Turnbulls lost Bedrule, they appeared in 
 the Mearns — first in the person of Mr Patrick Turnbull, minister 
 of Conveth, or Laurencekirk, whose son, John, was served heir 
 to his father, in 1694, in certain annuities arising from lands in 
 the parishes of Garvock and St Cyrus. c In 1689, there were 
 Turnbulls designed of Stracathro and of Smiddyhill, in Angus, 
 one of whom, Andrew, collected the rental of the bishoprick of 
 Brechin for the years 1689-91 ; d and, in 1698, John Turnbull 
 succeeded his father, also John, in the property of Stracathro. 15 
 
 1 Chamb. Rolls, i. *20. " Rag. Roll, 107-8, 157 ; Prynne, 661 ; Palgrave, 182-96. 
 
 b Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 342 ; Miscall. Aldbor., MS., 310. 
 
 c Inq. Spec, Kincard., No. 192. d Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 440. 
 
 « Inq. Spec, Forf., 549. 
 
THE WISHAETS OF PITAEEOW. 383 
 
 It was then of greater extent than it is at present, and a portion 
 of the estate, called Muirton, now Auchenreoch, was possessed by 
 one of the family down to within these thirty years. 
 
 Dr Alexander* Turnbull, whose fund of amusing anecdote, and 
 interesting information regarding the past, gained him the friend- 
 ship of some of the most eminent men of his time, was descended 
 of the Stracathro family, and died in 1831, proprietor of the 
 small estate of Dalladies, in the Mearns, in which he was suc- 
 ceeded by a female relative/ 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 THE WISHAETS OF PITAEEOW. 
 
 First Appearance of the Wisharts in the Mearns — William, Chancellor of Scotland, 
 and Bishop of St Andrews — Robert, Bishop of Glasgow — Joins Wallace — 
 Captured and Imprisoned by King Edward— John, Bishop of Glasgow — His 
 Opposition to Edward, Imprisonment, and Belease — Sir John Wishart Accom- 
 panies Princess Margaret to France — Sir James, Justice-Clerk to James V. — 
 George Wishart the Martyr — Sir John, Comptroller to Queen Mary — Carved 
 Stones at Pitarrow — Notice of the Fight in Edinburgh between young Lindsay 
 of Edzell and Wishart — Pitarrow Sold — The Carnegies of Pitarrow — The 
 Crombies — Old House of Pitarrow — Old Paintings. 
 
 The stories regarding the origin of the name of Wishart have 
 been already noticed in speaking of the Forfarshire branch ; and, 
 as then remarked, it is probable that the Angus family was des- 
 cended from that of the Mearns. At least, Wisharts were settled 
 in the latter shire more than seventy years before their appear- 
 ance in the former, for John of .Wishart was designed of the 
 Mearns, and he, or others of the name, witness charters regard- 
 ing that district from about the year 1200.S 
 
 It is believed that their original property was Pitarrow, to 
 which, in 1242, the lands of Conveth, or Laurencekirk, Scotston, 
 Hilton, and others, were added by Adam, Abbot of Arbroath, who 
 was the superior of these places ; and, in the year 1264, John 
 Wishart is a witness to the foundation charter of the Maisondieu, 
 or Hospital of Brechin. h 
 
 ' A portrait and memoir of Dr Turnbull will be found in Kay's Portraits. 
 * Keg. Vet. de Aberb., 97, 179, 198. h Ibid., 206 ; Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 7. 
 
384 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 William Wishart of this family, probably a brother of the per- 
 son last-named, was' appointed Lord High Chancellor to King 
 Alexander III. in the year 1256. He was afterwards made 
 Bishop, first of Glasgow, and next of St Andrews. He was one 
 of the most active men of his time, and took a lead in all matters 
 relating both to the ecclesiastical and the civil government 
 of the kingdom. He died at Morbottle, in 1278, while on a 
 mission regarding the settlement of the marches between Scot- 
 land and England, and was buried near the high altar of his own 
 church. Though he seems to have been naturally ambitious, he 
 was also charitable ; and during the short period he held the 
 office of Bishop of St Andrews, it is recorded that he founded 
 and endowed a monastery of Dominican Friars in that city, and 
 "rebuilt, in a stately manner, the east end of the cathedral, which 
 had been thrown down by a tempest of wind."' 
 
 Contemporary with Bishop Wishart of St Andrews was his 
 relation and namesake, Bobert, Bishop of Glasgow, who, on the 
 death of Alexander III., was appointed by King Edward one 
 of the regents or governors of the kingdom. Yet, in 1297, he 
 was among the first to join the standard of Sir William Wallace. 
 After this he was accused of treachery by both parties, and 
 committed to prison by Edward I., but on being released he 
 supported the cause of liberty with greater ardour than beforej 
 and when Bruce was crowned, it is said that " Wishart supplied 
 from his own wardrobe, the robes in which Bobert appeared at 
 his coronation." From the prominent part which Wishart took 
 in this ceremony, he altogether forfeited the confidence of King 
 Edward, and having joined Bruce at the battle of Methven, 
 which proved so disastrous to the Scots, he fled to the castle 
 of Cupar in Fife, where he was taken by the Earl of Pembroke, 
 " and sent in his coat of mail to the Castle of Nottingham." 
 He was kept there until 1314, when he was exchanged for another 
 prisoner of distinction. 111 
 
 John Wishart, the second or third in succession to Bobert as 
 Bishop of Glasgow, was also an enemy to England, and, like his 
 more eminent predecessor in office, had the misfortune to fall 
 
 1 Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, 19. 
 k Tytler's Hist, of Scot., i. passim. 
 
THE WISHARTS OP PITAEBOW. 385 
 
 into the hands of King Edward. He was committed prisoner, 
 first to the Castle of Conway, then to the Tower of London, and 
 was released about 1322, when he received the episcopal chair 
 of Glasgow from King Robert the Bruce, which he enjoyed only 
 about three years. 1 
 
 During the lifetime of the two last prelates, 
 
 Dominug 3SoDanntg De SKKgcjjart, miles, , 
 
 AND 
 
 3)of)an aaitslwb, cjjiualer, 
 both designed of the Mearns, performed homage to King Edward 
 at Elgin, in July 1296. In August following, 
 
 3)oDn S&ggcarl), 
 
 of the same county, took the oath at Berwick ; and, much about 
 the same time, Jone qefu lafemme JRdndulf Wyscard h oi the shire 
 of Berwick, also swore fealty.™ 
 
 From 1296 until 1442, when Sir John Wishart of Pitarrow, 
 knight, made a grant of ten merks out of the lands of Redhall 
 and Balfeith towards the support of the chapel of St Thomas 
 the Martyr, in the cathedral of Brechin, 11 the name appears two 
 or three times, but without the territorial designation " of Pit- 
 arrow;" and it may be remarked that among these was Sir John 
 Wishart, who went in the suite of Princess Margaret to France, 
 on the occasion of her unhappy marriage with the Dauphin, in 
 the year 1434. 
 
 In 1447, Alexander Wishart of Pitarrow is a witness to the 
 resignation of the lands of Maryton by William Fullerton of 
 that Ilk ; and before 1471, James Wishart of Pitarrow was pos- 
 sessed of the constable lands of Brechin, which lay somewhere 
 to the west of the town, near Bearehill. About 1499, John 
 Wishart of Pitarrow appears to have been forfeited, for what 
 reason is not apparent, and certain of his estates given to others, 
 such as that of Balgillo, in Forfarshire. In the year 1513, and 
 subsequently, Sir James Wishart of Pitarrow was justice-clerk 
 to King James ;P and some writers are of opinion that George 
 
 1 Keith's Catalogue of Bishops, 241, 243. m Rag. Roll, and Prynne, passim. 
 ~ Eeg. Ep. Brechin., i. 59, 21; Chamb. Rolls, ii. 177 ; iii. 367. 
 Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 63 ; ut sup., 286. ' Acta Pari., ii. 281. 
 BB 2 
 
386 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Wishart, who suffered martyrdom at St Andrews, was a younger 
 son of his. As yet, however, nothing has been discovered to 
 establish this fact. 
 
 Apart from the Martyr, perhaps the most notable of the name 
 at this period was Sir John of Pitarrow. He took an active part 
 in the Reformation, and was at most of the conferences between 
 the Queen Dowager and the Lords of the Congregation. In 
 1560, he was one of fourteen barons who were chosen by the 
 Queen and the nobility to govern the state ; and soon after 
 the return of Queen Mary he we£s appointed comptroller and a 
 privy-councillor.? He was also collector of the thirds of the 
 benefices and pay-master of the ministers' stipends; but the clergy 
 blamed him for selfishness and inconsistency in the discharge of 
 his duty in these offices, points which Scott of Scotstarvet says 
 gave rise to the remark that " the Laird of Petteraw was ane 
 earnest professor of Christ, but the meikle devil receive the 
 Comptroller." 1 
 
 In 1564, Sir John Wishart acquired " the lands of the Brae 
 of Mar and Strathspay" from the Earl of Murray, 8 whom he 
 joined in opposing the marriage of Queen Mary with Lord 
 Darnley. He also went to England with the Earl, where both 
 remained until after the murder of Rizzio, when Wishart re- 
 turned and was pardoned. In 1567, he was one of the assize that 
 forfeited the Earl of Bothwell ; and on 19th November of that 
 year he was appointed an Extraordinary Lord of Session, of 
 which honor he seems to have been deprived, as he was after- 
 wards reappointed to the office.' 
 
 Probably Sir John died sometime before 16th February 1585, 
 as of that date John Wishart was retoured heir to Sir John of 
 Pitarrow, knight, his father's brother, in certain lands in the 
 Mearns ; and, in 1592, n Sir John of Pitarrow " subscrived the 
 
 i Acta Pari., ii. 526, 536. 
 
 r A sculptured stone, built into a wall at the offices of Pitarrow, bears a curious 
 figure or monogram, upon which are the initials S . I . V . and D. G. It is 
 probable that the first of these refer either to Sir James Wishart (the reputed father 
 of the Martyr), or to Sir John, the comptroller. The latter are doubtleBs the 
 initials of the lady of the knight to whom the former refer, and it is probable that 
 her surname was Graham. 
 
 ■ Acta Pari., iii. 478. 
 
 1 Ibid., 538 ; Haig and Brunton's Senators of Coll. of Justice, 137. 
 
 " Inq. Spec, Kinc, No. 4 ; Booke of the Kirk, 825. 
 
THE WISHARTS, AND CAENEGIES OF PITAEEOW. 387 
 
 band anent the Eeligion at Aberdeen." This knight appears to 
 have married Jane, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Glen- 
 bervy, afterwards ninth Earl of Angus, of which alliance there 
 are some slight memorials remaining, both at Pitarrow and at 
 the Mill of Conveth. These consist of two carved stones, both 
 considerably mutilated. One bears the initials I . W : I, D., 
 and the date of [1]599: The other has two shields, charged respec- 
 tively with the Wishart and the Douglas arms, together with the 
 date 1598, and these traces of lettering : — 
 
 IT • BE ONE • WISCHAK ANE • DOUGLA ■ ■ 
 
 On 30th April 1607, Sir John Wishart, knight, was served 
 heir to his father, Sir John, in the lands of Pitarrow and others, 
 in the MearnsJ The name of this laird's wife has not been 
 ascertained, but he had at least one son and a daughter. The 
 latter was married to David Lindsay, younger of Edzell ; and 
 the former was the " young laird of Pitarrow," whose " com- 
 bat or tulzie" with his brother-in-law, young Edzell, " at the 
 Salt-tron of Edinburgh" on 17th June 1605, forms a well-known 
 and curious passage in the history of the period. It is quaintly 
 related, that in this affray "thair wer sundrie hurt one both sydes, 
 and ane Guthrie slaine, which was Pitarrow's man ; ane verie 
 prettie zoung man." w 
 
 The christian name of the " young laird of Pitarrow" is not 
 given. Probably it was William or Walter ; at least an oak 
 panel (now preserved at Fettercairn House), bearing the Wishart 
 and Keith arms, the initials, M . W . W : E . K., and the 
 date of 1622, long ornamented the family pew in the old kirk of 
 Fordoun. These initials seem to refer to one of the last of the 
 Wisharts of Pitarrow, as the estate was not long in their posses- 
 sion after 1622, for Sir John Carnegie of Craig had charters of 
 the barony of Pitarrow from his father, Lord Carnegie of Eon- 
 naird, on 12th February 1631. 
 
 * Inq. Spec, Banc, No. 21. 
 
 w Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, iii. 61. [In June 1854, a stone, tearing the initials 
 D . L : M . W., and the date 1601, with the Lindsay and Wishart arms, was got in 
 the ruins of a cottage at the Castle of Auchmull, in Glenesk, the ^rotable residence 
 of Young Edzell daring his father's lifetime. The Btone is preserved in the old 
 flower garden of Edzell Castle.] 
 
388 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Sir John Carnegie, who died without issue, was succeeded by 
 his next younger brother, Alexander, who was created a baronet 
 in 1663 ; and his grandson, Sir John, by a daughter of Burnett 
 of Leys, was father of Sir James Carnegie of Pitarrow, who be- 
 came heir male and representative of the family of Southesk on 
 the death of the fifth Earl. As before more fully shewn, Sir James 
 purchased back the forfeited estates of the family in Angus, and 
 was great-grand-father of the present Earl of Southesk. x 
 
 Sir John Carnegie of Pitarrow had five sons, all of whom died 
 without leaving issue, except the*eldest and the youngest. The 
 latter, George, was a successful merchant in Gottenburg, and 
 bought Pitarrow from his elder brother, Sir James. His de- 
 scendants possessed it until the year 1831, when it was sold 
 by Mr George Fullarton Carnegie to Mr Crombie, advocate in 
 Aberdeen, who was succeeded in Pitarrow by the same heirs 
 as already noticed under Thornton/ 
 
 The old mansion of Pitarrow, which was demolished so late as 
 1802, occupied much the same site as the present farm house. 
 So far as can now be learned, there was little remarkable in its 
 external appearance ; but when we consider that the interior was 
 decorated with curious paintings and inscriptions', it is deeply to 
 be regretted that it should have been destroyed, particularly 
 since the materials were used for no better purpose than build- 
 ing and repairing farm dykes and drains. This, which was 
 luckily one of the latest acts of barbarism perpetrated in the dis- 
 trict upon the interesting remains of the remote past, may be 
 pardoned, since it is affirmed that the proprietor was entirely 
 ignorant of the existence of the paintings. Fortunately a descrip- 
 tion of one of these has been preserved by the late Dr Leslie, 2 
 minister of the parish, who says, that when the house was pulled 
 down " there were discovered on the plaster of the great hall, to 
 which access was had by a fight of steps, some paintings in a 
 state of high preservation, the walls having been wainscotted, at 
 what period is not known. The air and dust having thus been 
 excluded, the colours in the paintings were as vivid as if they 
 had been done only a year before. The only one of the paint- 
 
 1 Ut sup., 44. r Utmip.,380. 
 ' New Stat. Acot. of Kincardineshire, 81. 
 
OLD PAINTING AT PITAEEOW. 389 
 
 ings," he continues, "that may be noticed, was that which repre- 
 sented the city of Rome, and a grand procession going to St 
 Peter's. The Pope, adorned with the tiara, in his full robes of 
 state, and mounted on a horse or mule, led by some person of 
 distinction, was attended by a large company of cardinals, all 
 richly dressed, and all uncovered. At a little distance, near to 
 where the procession was to pass, and nearly in front of it, stood 
 a white palfrey, finely caparisoned, held by some person, also 
 dressed and uncovered. Beyond this was the magnificent Cathe- 
 dral of St Peter, the doors of which seemed to be open to receive 
 the procession. Below the picture was written the following 
 lines : — 
 
 ' In Papam 
 Laua tua, non tua fraus : virtus non gloria rerum, 
 Scandere te fecit hoc decus eximium ; 
 PauperibuB sua dat gratis, nee munera curat 
 Curia Papalis, quod more percipimus 
 Hsec carmina potius legenda cancros imitando.' " 
 
MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 PART SIXTH. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONARY NOTICES OF 
 
 Eitt &boeg of atupar, attir tije $riorg of iSostinoti), 
 
 THE ABBOT AND PRIOR OF BOTH OF WHICH 
 
 SWORE FEALTY TO KING EDWARD THE FIRST, 
 A.D. 1296. 
 
PART SIXTH. 
 
 THE ABBEY OF CUPAR, AND THE PBIOEY OF EOSTINOTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ©i)e &i)6eg of OTupar. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Foundation of the Abbey — List of Abbots — Obligation of the Abbot and Convent to 
 Build a Church in the Island of Karuelay — Seal of the Convent — TheCommen- 
 dator of Cupar — The Abbacy Erected into a Temporal Lordship — Bailiery of 
 the Begality — Charter Notices of the Hereditary Porters of the Abbey. 
 
 The Abbey of Cupar is said to have been one of three religious 
 houses which King Malcolm the Maiden founded in Scotland dur- 
 ing the year 1164, the other two being the Hospital of Soutra 
 in Midlothian, and the Nunnery of Manuel, near Linlithgow. 3 
 In regard to the foundation of Cupar, Wyntown observes, that 
 while Malcolm was 
 
 " Kyng of Scotland, 
 
 And pesybly in it rignand, 
 
 The elevynd yhere of his Crowne 
 
 Mad the fundatyowne 
 
 Of the Abbay of Culpyre in Angws, 
 
 And dowyt it wyth hys Almws 
 
 [In honoure of the maykles May : 
 
 Relygyws Munkis thare duellis ay] 
 
 All lyk to Cystwys in habyt ; 
 
 We oys to call thame Mwnkis qwhyt." b 
 
 The monks referred to by Wyntown as occupying the convent 
 were Cistertians, known also as White Monks, because, with the 
 exception of the cowl and scapular, which were black, the rest of 
 their garments were white. 
 
 It may be remarked, that the sad deficiency of records regard- 
 ing the Abbey of Cupar will prevent us from giving anything 
 like a full history of that interesting place ; for, although it is 
 
 * Balfour's Annals, i. 18. b Cronykil, i. 316. 
 
 CC 2 
 
394 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 certain that, like all the houses of the order, it was dedicated to 
 the Blessed Virgin, little is known regarding the extent of its 
 revenues, the names of its benefactors, or the lands over which it 
 held superiority ; and the following list of Abbots will, in conse- 
 quence, be found correspondingly meagre. So far as I have 
 been able to discover, the first recorded Abbot was 
 
 Fulc, who is a witness .to King William the Lion's grant of 
 the church of Forgan, in Fife, to the Priory of St Andrews, 
 between the years 1165 and 1171.° 
 
 Aenald, Abbot of Cupar, is a witness, along with Richard, 
 Bishop of St Andrews, who died in 1178, to King William's 
 charter regarding the election of the Abbots of Scone. d 
 
 Badulph was Abbot from at least 1178 ; e and 
 
 Adam, Abbot of Cupar, witnessed a grant of the church of 
 Abernethy by Symon, Bishop of Dunblane, to the monastery of 
 Arbroath, somewhere about 1189. f 
 
 Alexander appears in a deed by Gregory, Bishop of Brechin, 
 who succeeded to that see about 1218-20. In 1221, Abbot 
 Alexander is a witness to the gift of the church of Bethelny to 
 the Abbey of Arbroath, by William Cumyn, Earl of Buchan ; 
 and, in 1225, he is named in an agreement between the Abbeys 
 of Scone and Cupar 3 
 
 William, Abbot of Cupar, witnessed a charter by Alexander 
 II., 5th April 1244, of the lands of Banchory-Devenick to the 
 convent of Arbroath, dated at Inverqueich, in Perthshire. 
 William also held office in 1272. h 
 
 jFvater &nDreag, abbas De (ffiupro, 
 
 performed homage to King Edward I. on two different occasions, 
 first in the church of the Friars Preachers at Perth, on 24th July 
 1291, and next, along with the members of his convent, at 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the 28th August 1296. 
 
 On the 17th March 1289, the Abbot of "Kupre"— probably 
 Andrew — was a party to the letter of the community consenting 
 
 c Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 223. d Liber de Scon, 22. 
 
 « Reg. Vet. de. Aberb., 18 ; Acta Pari., i. *65-6 ; Liber de Melros, 54, 102. 
 
 f Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 146. 
 
 s Liber S. Marie de Lundoris, 17 ; Eeg. Vet. de Aberb., 93; Liber de Soon, 52. 
 
 " Eeg. Vet, de Aberb., 191 ; Fordoun, ii. 115. 
 
ABBEY OF CUPAR — LIST OF ABBOTS. 395 
 
 to the marriage of the Prince of England with the Princess of 
 Scotland. 1 Perhaps, also, to the time of Abhot Andrew belongs 
 the obligation which the abbot and convent of Cupar came under, 
 sometime before 1292, to build a chapel at their own expense in 
 the island of Karuelay (now Kerrera), in Argyll, and to find three 
 monks to celebrate divine service there for the soul of the late 
 King Alexander, for a certain sum of money which they had be- 
 fore received from the king. k To 1292 also belongs the oldest 
 known seal of the abbey, which bears "the design of a hand 
 vested, issuing from the sinister side of the seal, holding a crozier, 
 between two fleur-de-lis." 1 
 
 John was Abbot on 13th April 1340; and, on 17th June 
 1341, he witnessed a charter by David II., dated at the Abbey 
 of Arbroath, confirming to that convent the grants of King 
 William the Lion. m 
 
 William was Abbot on 8th June 1445 ; also on 20th June 
 1450.1 
 
 David, Abbot of Cupar, had the privilege of using the mitre, 
 and of consecrating churches and cemeteries, from Pope Paul, by 
 Bull, dated at Rome on the 7th of the Ides of June 1464.° 
 
 John held the office of Abbot on the 10th of March 1487-8, 
 of which date he granted a lease of the lands of Murthlie in Mar, 
 to Margaret Charteris and her sons, John and Alexander of 
 Strachan ; on the 15th of March 1493-4, he granted a lease of 
 the same lands to William Forbes of Towie. p On the 6th of 
 May 1500, Abbot John was also a party to an agreement be- 
 tween the convent and Andrew Liel, pensioner of the church of 
 Brechin, regarding the lands of Redgorton.* It may be added, 
 that this deed is further interesting, from its containing the name 
 of Thomas Schauvel, who was sub-prior, and a list of the other 
 members of the convent, of whom there were then sixteen. 
 
 William, Abbot of Cupar, was present at the parliament 
 held at Perth, 26th November 1513. On 3rd September 1521, 
 Abbot William, and the rest of the convent, subscribed a tack 
 
 1 Bag. Boll,18, 116 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 162 ; Acta Pari., i. 85. 
 
 k Acta Pari., i. 10. ' Laing's Scottish Seals, 177. 
 
 ■» Ohamb. Kolls, i. 259 ; Keg. Nig. de Aberb., 541. - Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 103-33. 
 
 o Brev. Beg. Oimro. p Antiq. andTopog. of Aberdeen and Banff, iv, 427-429. 
 
 i Beg. Bp. Brechin., i. 220. 
 
396 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 in favor of John Pylmore and his spouse, of certain lands near 
 Cupar. This deed also contains a list of the brethren of the 
 abbey, of whom, besides the Abbot, there were twenty-seven. r 
 
 Donald Campbell, fourth son of Archibald, second Earl of 
 Argyll, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John, first Earl of 
 Lennox, was appointed Abbot on the 18th of June 1526." Pro- 
 bably owing more to adventitious circumstances — such as his high 
 birth and influence, combined with the tottering state of the Pa- 
 pacy in Scotland — than to his own real merit, Campbell became 
 the most noted of the Abbots of Cupar.* In 1546 he was one of 
 the twenty lords who composed the secret council of the Earl of 
 Arran ; and was some time lord privy seal to Queen Mary. On 
 the death of Bishop Hepburn of Brechin, he was appointed to 
 that see ; but owing, it is believed, to his favor for the Re- 
 formed doctrines, his appointment was not confirmed by the 
 court at Rome, and he never assumed the title of Bishop. u In 
 August 1560, he attended the parliament which annulled the 
 Papal jurisdiction in Scotland. 7 
 
 Campbell died about two years after this event, and having, as 
 is asserted, five illegitimate sons, he gave each of them an estate 
 out of the Abbacy. These estates were Balgersho, Arthurstone, • 
 Keithock, Denhead, and Croonan, all in the neighbourhood of 
 Cupar ; and by making grants of the same sort to other friends 
 and relatives, the property of the Abbey became very much re- 
 duced. Two of Campbell's sons — Nicol of Keithock, and Donald v 
 of Denhead — were interred in the neighbouring kirk of Ben- 
 dochy, where their tombs still remain. 
 
 It need scarcely be said, that after the Reformation, the church 
 lands which fell to the Crown were granted, by the King to 
 
 * Acta Pari., ii. 281 ; Spalding Club Misoell., v. 293. • Acta Pari., ii. 306. 
 
 1 In Laing's Catalogue of Scottish Seals (pp. 177-8), there are four seals of the 
 Abbey of Cupar described, including the counter Beal, previously noticed (ut sup., 
 395). The other three belong to the time of Abbot Donald. The principal one, 
 appended to a tact of the lands of Murthlay, 1532, is " a rich design. Within a 
 Gothic niche, a figure of the Virgin sitting, holding in her left hand a bunch of 
 lilies, and her left supporting the infant Jesus standing on a seat beside her ; in the 
 lower part of the seal, within an arched niche, an Abbot in front, with a crozier, 
 kneeling at prayer ; at the sides of the niche are two shields, the dexter one bear- 
 ing the arms of Scotland, and the sinister three escutcheons, being the bearing of 
 Hay," with the legend, "s' comune cap[itu]li mon. db oupeo." [I have seen the 
 matrix of a seal, similar to that here described, except that the two shields are 
 reversed, in the possession of a merchant at Blairgowrie.] 
 
 » Keith's Scottish Bishops, 165. y Acta Pari., ii. 597. 
 
ABBEY OF CUPAE — HEREDITARY POETEBS. 397 
 
 certain favorites, who were called Commendators, and those of 
 the Abbey of Cupar were given to Leonard Leslie — probably 
 a cadet of the Rothes family. He sat as Gommendator of Cupar 
 in the parliament held at Edinburgh, 5th March 1574; and in 
 November 1585, he was appointed a commissioner for the settle- 
 ment of the stipends of parish kirks ; but, twenty years after- 
 wards, he was denounced a rebel for having remained, as the act 
 states, " under process of horning for the space of a year and a 
 day." w After this certain of the churches and patronages of the 
 Abbey were given by the King to other persons; and Leslie, 
 who is designed upon his tombstone at Bendochy, as " Dominus 
 de Cupro," and Commendator of Cupar, died in 1605. 
 
 On 20th December 1607, King James VI. having united the 
 remaining lands and baronies which belonged to the monastery 
 into a temporal lordship, conferred them, together with the title 
 of Lord Cupar, upon James Elphinstone, second son of the first 
 Lord Balmerino. Lord Cupar died in 1669 without leaving 
 issue, when the title and estates devolved on his nephew, the 
 third Lord Balmerino. Along with the patrimonial estates of 
 the family, they Were forfeited in 1746." 
 
 But, although the lordship was given to Lord Cupar, the 
 office of hereditary bailie of the regality of the Abbey had been 
 previously vested in the Ogilvys of Airlie, James, Lord Ogilvy, 
 having been appointed by Abbot Donald, in which office he was ' 
 confirmed on the 23rd September 1540. On the abolition of 
 heritable jurisdictions, in 1747, the Earl of Airlie received £800, 
 in compensation for the loss of that office. The Ogilvys also be- 
 came Hereditary Porters of the convent, of which office, with its 
 fruits and profits, and certain acres of ground, James, Lord Ogilvy, 
 had a confirmation charter from Lord Cupar, with consent of his 
 father, Lord Balmerino. 
 
 It may be remarked that, while deeds illustrative of heritable 
 offices are comparatively rare, fortunately some of those interest- 
 ing documents regarding the office of heritable porter or gate- 
 keeper to the Abbey of Cupar, have been preserved. The earliest 
 of these belongs to the time of Abbot John, who, with the Convent 
 of Cupar, granted a charter to John Porter, of the office of porter 
 
 * Acta Pari., iii. 84 ; Ibid., 211-15 ; iv. 76. * Douglas' Peerage, i. 362. 
 
398 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of the monastery, and six acres of land, on the narrative that his 
 progenitors had successively and faithfully performed the duties 
 of the office of porter. 
 
 On the 15th January 1534, it appears by a deed, dated at the 
 Market Cross of the Convent, that Eohert Porter, on account of 
 his age and weakness, resigned his office of porter to the monas- 
 tery in favor of his eldest son, David. 
 
 By charter dated at Batscheill, 9th March 1586, Bobert Porter 
 granted to his spouse, Agnes Campbell, the liferent of six acres of 
 land lying in the burgh of barony* of Keithock, and an annual of 
 £10 out of his fee as porter of the monastery of Cupar, in terms 
 of a contract between him and "John Farar," his adopted son, 
 in whose favor he had bound himself to resign the said office. 
 In another charter by Leonard Leslie, Commendator of Cupar, 
 dated on the day following, confirming the demission of the office 
 in favor of " John Fairhar," son-in-law of Robert Porter, it is 
 said that Bobert Porter, and his predecessors of that surname, 
 had been hereditary porters to the monastery of Cupar past 
 memory of man, down to the time that the monastery was de- 
 molished. 
 
 It was in 1589 that the office of heritable porter became vest- 
 ed in the Ogilvys, for, on the 12th March of that year, a contract 
 was entered into between William Ogilvy of Easter Keilor, and 
 " John Faryar," porter of the Abbey of Cupar, anent the office 
 of porter of the monastery, cell, and porter lodge, and pension of 
 55 merks, &c. This was followed by a charter of the office, by 
 the said " John Fairhar," with consent of Bobert Porter, his 
 father, and Agnes Campbell, wife of the said Bobert, and Janet 
 Porter, spouse to the said John, to William and Archibald Ogilvy 
 in liferent and fee, dated 26th May 1590J 
 
 ? I am indebted to the kindness of John Stuart, Esq., General Register House, 
 Edinburgh, for these interesting notes of charters regarding the Portary of Cupar, 
 the originals of which are in the charter chest at Cortachy Castle ; also for notes of 
 charters from Breviarivm AnUqui Begistri de Gvqyro in Anegus. 
 
ABBEY OP CUPAE — DONATIONS. 399 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Notices of the Churches, Lands, Fishings, and other Privileges, which were Granted 
 to the Abhey by Malcolm the Maiden, William the Lion, Alexander II., and by 
 the Families of Hay, Durward, Montealt, Maschet, Brechin, Vallognes, Maule, 
 Lindsay, Abernethy, Glenbachlach, Eattray, Athole, Fenton, Inchmartyn, &c. 
 
 Op the gifts of Malcolm the Maiden, founder of the Abbey, there 
 are two charters. Both are dated from Tresguere, or Traquare, 
 and witnessed, among others, by Gillebride, Earl of Angus. One 
 of these deeds confirms to the monks of Cupar the whole of the 
 king's lands of Cupar ; and the other grant contains easements 
 of all his forests in Scotland and fuel for the proper use of the 
 monks. 
 
 These, and other grants by King Malcolm, were afterwards 
 confirmed by William the Lion, who himself gave the monks 
 valuable privileges. Among these was a charter which protected 
 them from being distrained for debt or delict, and another for 
 enforcing payment of all debts due to them under pain of for- 
 feiture. He also made the still more interesting gift of a half 
 carrucate of land for the site of their abbey, and karasi, or the 
 King's chase, with the waste ground pertaining to it, which 
 probably shews that there was no house here until after the date 
 of this deed. 
 
 The lands of Aberbothry and Keithock, as they were pos- 
 sessed in the time of King David, were likewise given by King 
 William, also those of Parthesin " et illam Kalathin quam Mack 
 Holffe tenuit," with the exception of a portion on the south side 
 of the water of Ferdill, opposite Clonyn, which the king retained 
 for his own use. z To these gifts and privileges he added, about 
 1165-6, a charter which granted the monks freedom throughout 
 Scotland from tollage, passage, markets, and other customs, &c. 
 This deed was confirmed by Matthew, Bishop of Dunkeld, on 
 the feast of St Mary Magdalene, 1305, to which charter the 
 Bishop's seal is attached, and that of Sir Robert Harchars, 
 knight, then sheriff of Perth. a 
 
 Alexander II. was also a benefactor to the monks of Cupar, 
 
 1 Brev. Reg. de Cwpro. [Parthesin (?Pearsie); Ferdill (?Ardell) Clonyn or 
 Cluny, an ancient royal residence, and hunting forest.] * Cortachy charter chest. 
 
400 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 and, among his grants were a discharge to them " airimam way- 
 tingam quam facere solebant falconariis predecessorum meorum 
 de terra de Abrith," and a gift of ten pounds of silver yearly 
 from the lands of Glenisla. The latter deed, dated at Kinross, 
 18th July 1234, provides that out of this sum five merks he given 
 yearly for the lights of the monastery of Cupar, and ten for the 
 support of two monks of that house, who shall abide and cele- 
 brate divine service on the island in the Loch of Forfar, to which 
 were added, for the benefit of the officiating monks, the common 
 pasture of the king's lands of Tyrbeg for six cows and a horse. 
 Subsequently, by charter of Adam White of Forfar, the monks 
 of Forfar were constituted his heirs after his death if he should 
 die without issue. 11 
 
 It was also during the time of King William the Lion that 
 the Hays of Errol became benefactors to this convent ; and, 
 whether for extent or value, so far as can now be ascertained, 
 their gifts seem to have been the greatest that were made by any 
 individual family. William of Hay, who is supposed to have 
 succeeded his father about 1170, received the manor of Errol, 
 in the Carse of Cowrie, from King William the Lion, and soon 
 afterwards made a donation of the lands of Liderpoles, or Eder- 
 poles, in that district, to, the Abbey of Cupar, in pure and per- 
 petual alms. It was confirmed, by King William at Stirling, by 
 a charter witnessed by Jocelyn, Bishop of Glasgow, by. Earl 
 Duncan, the Justiciary, by Bernard, son of Brian, by William, 
 son of Thor, &c. c 
 
 David, the eldest son and successor of William of Hay, granted 
 a net's fishing on the river Tay, between Lornyn, or Lornie, 
 and a place called the Hermitage, regarding which the charter 
 conveys the curious particulars, that the last-named part of the 
 possessions was formerly occupied by a hermit of the name of 
 Grillemichel, and that the convent was to have the like privileges 
 and easements as had been enjoyed by the hermit, who appears 
 to have died sometime previous to the date of the grant. d These 
 
 b Brev. Beg. de Cupro. c Pammwre Collections, MS., iv. 121. 
 
 d Lornie, about 1J mile west from Errol, on the road to St Madoes, was once 
 a separate farm, but is now part of the farm of Hill. Lornie is still a common 
 surname in the district. Inch-Michael is the name of a considerable property in 
 the parish of Errol. It had probably been so called from the Hermit ; but there is 
 now no place in the locality bearing the name of Hermitage. 
 
ABBEY OF CUPAR — DONATIONS. 401 
 
 possessions were given for the welfare of the soul of King 
 William, for those of William of Hay, and his spouse Ethue, and 
 for the souls of the donor, and Eve, his wife. The deed is wit- 
 nessed by Eobert and Malcolm, David's brothers ; Adam, parson 
 of Inchethor, or Inchture ; Thomas Gibban, knight ; Thomas, 
 clerk of Ardwith, or Ardbeith (?Ardgeath) ; Baldwin of Lornyn, 
 and others. e 
 
 Gilbert of Hay, eldest son of David, granted the monks a 
 common road through his estates for themselves, and for driving 
 their cattle. He also confirmed to them the pasture and fishings 
 of Ederpoles, with the standing, as well a3 the running water of 
 these lands, together with the mill. f Nicholas, eldest son and 
 successor of Gilbert, gave the convent a bovate of land in the 
 Carse of Gowrie, previously held by Roger, son of Baudrice, 
 which grant is witnessed by Thomas, Abbot of Balmerino ; 
 Morrice, rector of Errol ; Nicholas Hay, son of the donor, and 
 rector of Fosse ; Arthur Judex, and others.^ 
 
 Several of the junior members of the family of Hay also con- 
 tributed to the revenues of the Abbey by grants of lands and 
 fishings ; h but from the time of Sir Gilbert, lord high constable 
 of Scotland, who gave the convent the patronage of the kirk 
 of Fossoway, near Kinross, there is no record of the Hays 
 having made any further grants. Still, the family continued to 
 bury at the Abbey down to at least 1585, at which time, as was 
 recorded upon a tablet, which appears to have been preserved at 
 the monastery, the seventh Earl of Errol was buried at Cupar 
 beside thirteen of his predecessors. 1 
 
 Contemporary with King William, was William of Montealt, 
 who gave the monks a stone of wax, and four shillings yearly, 
 out of his manor of Feme ; and, much about the same time, 
 William of Muschet granted them the common pasture of his 
 lordship of Cargill. Henry of Brechin, son of Earl David, the 
 king's brother, also gave the monks of Cupar the toft of Inner- 
 key (?), which Walter the Cook held, rendering yearly two horse 
 halters and one girth. k 
 
 • Pwnmwe Oollections, MS., iv. 122. c Ilid., 124-5. * Ibid., 128. 
 6 Douglas' Peerage, i. 545-6. ' Spalding Club Miscell., ii. 347-9. 
 
 k Ut sup., 324, 328 ; Brev. Beg. de Oupro. 
 DD 2 
 
402 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Between the years 1214-22, Philip of Vallognes, lord of Pan- 
 mure, gave the Abbey a right to fishings and an acre of land, 
 together with a house, in his port of " Stinchende Haven," now 
 East-Haven, which had been possessed by Adam of Benevin, or 
 Benvie. On 20th February 1456, this gift was renewed by 
 Sir Thomas Maule, who gave seisin to Simon Landels and 
 William Trent, two of the monks and procurators of the abbey, 
 for which the monks bound themselves to say mass for the souls 
 of the donor, his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Craw- 
 ford, their son, Alexander MauTe, and for their successors and 
 antecessors. 1 
 
 Thomas of Lundin, or Lundie, the king's Durward, or Hos- 
 tiarius, was also an early benefactor to Cupar, having bound 
 himself and his heirs to pay to the convent one merk of silver 
 yearly out of his lands of Balmerino, in Fife. For this he was 
 allowed a place of sepulture at the door of the abbey, where he 
 was buried in 1231 ; and his celebrated son, Alan, and last male 
 descendant, was interred in the same cemetery in 1275. m 
 
 By a confirmation charter of the liberties of the monastery, 
 granted by Robert the Bruce at Dundee, in 1309, it is also shewn 
 that Sir James Lindsay of Crawford gave to the convent the 
 lands of Little Pert) Duny, and Clair (?) in Angus, together with 
 an annual of two merks from a place called Adnelisk, of all of 
 which Lindsay had confirmation from Sir John Kynross, knight. 
 The same deed contains notices of several other grants, and the 
 names of the donors, which may interest the local reader." 
 
 Among these were the lands of Kincreich, in the barony of 
 Lour, with the mill and pertinents, and right to the mill multures 
 of the barony ; two acres of land on the north side of the water 
 of Kerbeth, or Kerbet, lying between the baronies of Invereighty 
 and Lour, and the advocation of the kirk of Meathie-Lour, which 
 had been given to Cupar by Sir Alexander of Abernethy, knight. 
 The monks had also two acres of land, and the advocation of 
 the kirk of Fossoway, in the earldom of Stratherne, which, as we 
 have before seen, were gifted to the convent by Sir Gilbert Hay, 
 
 1 Beg. de Panmwre, MS., i. 156, 129. 
 
 " Chalmers' Caled., i. 534, Balfour's Annals, i. 47, 73. 
 
 " Pammure Collections, MS., iv. 126. 
 
ABBEY OF* CUPAR — DONATIONS. 403 
 
 who had confirmation of them from Malise, Earl of Stratherne. 
 The abbey also possessed the two lands of Drymys, with the 
 pertinents, described as lying within the tenement of Glenbach- 
 lach, which had been bestowed by Adam of Glenbachlach, with 
 the common of the same lands, given by Eustace of Rattray, and 
 confirmed by the said Adam. 
 
 Apart from these, it also appears that the Athole family were 
 early and important benefactors to the abbey, for Isabella, 
 Countess of Athole, confirmed to it the lands of Mortuth [Mor- 
 tholaw], dated at Raith, in Athole, on the vigil of St Laurence, 
 1232. About the year 1269, Countess Fernelith granted the 
 lands of Cupar to the monastery for the welfare of her own soul, 
 and for that of her late husband, David Hastings, seventh Earl 
 of Athole, who is said to have fallen in the Holy Wars. In 1283, 
 this grant was confirmed by her only daughter, Countess Ada, 
 and her husband, David of Strathbogie, who, in right of his wife, 
 became eighth Earl of Athole. After the forfeiture and execu- 
 tion of John, the tenth Earl, and the restitution of the titles and 
 estates to his son David, his widow, Countess Marjory, granted 
 the patronage of the church, and the church lands of Alveth, in 
 Banffshire, to the abbey of Cupar, which were afterwards con- 
 firmed by her son. p 
 
 It also appears that, from an early period, the convent pos- 
 sessed the teinds and patronage of the kirk of St John of Baikie, 
 or Nether Airlie, in Angus, which were gifted to the monks, 
 probably, by one of the Fentons. They had also certain "old in- 
 feftments," payable out of feus in the burgh of Forfar, and some' 
 interest in the town of Perth — apparently gifts by the Crown. 
 About the year 1310, Sir John of Inchmartyn, knight, lord of 
 that Hk, gave them his land of Murthuli in Marr. - 
 
 ° Brev. Meg. de Cwpro ; Douglas' Peerage, i. 132. 
 » Panmure Collections, MS., iv. 128. 
 
 ' Antiq. and Topog. of Aberdeen and Banff, iv. 426, 427 ; Acta Pari., iv. 76 ; 
 vii. 616 ; Acta Aud., 30 ; Acta Pari., v. 113. 
 
 -0 — 
 
404 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 * 
 
 The Abbey visited by Alexander II., Robert I. and II., Queen Mary, and Wallace — 
 Its Revenues — Dispute with Guthrie of that Ilk — Outrage upon the Convent 
 by Alexander Lindsay — Hay of Tullymet harries the Lands of Pert — Agree- 
 ment for the Improvement of the Lands of the Convent — Notice of the Mode of 
 Living, and the Furnishings of the Abbots' House at Campsie, &c. 
 
 IT appears that the Abbey of Cupar, like other monasteries, was 
 made the occasional residence of the king and court, when pass- 
 ing from one part of the kingdem to another, for, on the 12th 
 November 1246, King Alexander II. dated a charter from this 
 convent, by which he granted a hundred shillings to the Abbey 
 of Arbroath. On 25th December 1317, Robert the Bruce gave 
 Sir John Graham confirmation charters of the lands of Eskdale, 
 also dated from this place ; and King Robert II. was here on two 
 different occasions during the winter of 1378. In August 1562, 
 the unfortunate Queen Mary and her suite visited Cupar while 
 on the well-known journey to quell the rebellion which the Earl 
 of Huntly had raised in the north.' Sir William Wallace waa 
 also here when on his route towards the north in 1297 ; and it is 
 said that ;the abbot and monks, dreading his approach, fled from 
 the convent. 
 
 It need scarcely be said, that all such visitors were maintained 
 at the expense of the monks, and although the Abbey of Cupar 
 was not so well endowed as some others, and consequently 
 less able to bear being thus taxed, its revenues and privileges, 
 as we have already seen, were by no means scanty. Indepen- 
 dent of payments in kind, which were considerable, the annual 
 money rent, at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1561-2, was 
 estimated at £1238, 14s. 9d. Scots. 
 
 Probably the income had once been greater, for by that time 
 the liberality of Abbot Donald to his own family and to others, 
 had doubtless lessened the extent of the Abbacy. There were, 
 however, always some contingencies occurring, even in the best 
 days of the abbey, which tended to cripple its resources — occa- 
 sioned some times by profligate laymen stealing and destroying its 
 property, and at other times by parties withholding altogether, 
 
 r Keg. Vet. de Aberb. 201-2 Reg. Mag. Sigill., pp. 149-151 ; Keith's Bishops. 
 
ABBEY OF CUPAR — LANDS OF PERT HARRIED. 405 
 
 or trying to evade, the payment of tithes, and other dues, which 
 were exigible out of the lands of the convent. 
 
 Of these some curious instances may be noticed. In the year 
 1478, Alexander Guthrie of that Ilk was charged before the 
 Lords of Council " anent a mylne biggit on the landi3 of Kyn- 
 caldrum, and holdin of the multers of the corns of the samyn," 
 the barony of Kincaldrum being, as the Abbot and Convent 
 affirmed, thirled to their mill of Kincreich. 8 
 
 In the course of the following year both the property of the 
 convent and its inmates suffered so muc,h at the hands of Alex- 
 ander Lindsay, the reckless son and heir of David, Earl of Craw- 
 ford, and a band of followers, that a complaint was lodged in 
 court against them. Their crime appears to have lain in " the 
 taking and halding of twa monkis of the said abbey, and spulze- 
 ing of thair horses parking at thair place, and chasing of thair 
 servandis." The case was fully proven, and Lindsay was 
 warded within the castle at Blackness, on the Forth ; and his 
 two chief accomplices, John and George Dempster of Auchter- 
 less, were sent to the castle3 of Dunbarton and Berwick. Be- 
 sides these there were eight others, including Lindsay of Baikie, 
 and Blair of Shangy, all of whom were charged to appear before 
 the sheriff of Forfar, with the view of being sent to different 
 places of confinement.' 
 
 Not many years after this the convent was again thrown into 
 trouble, for it appears that Robert Hay, son of Tullymet, and a 
 number of associates, had harried their lands of Pert of "five 
 skore ky and oxen," valued at 24s. each, together with " four 
 hors and meris," priced at 40s. a-piece, all of which are said to 
 have been taken from " the hirddis, seruandis, and tenentis of the 
 landis of the convent." This case was also proved against Hay, 
 who was ordained to pay the abbot and convent £20 " zerely of 
 xj zeiris bipast for the avails and proffitis that the saidis abbot 
 and convent micht haff haid zerely of the saidis guidis, be the 
 said space." u 
 
 But,, subsequently to these events, and in the time of Abbot 
 William, matters having got into a more settled state, the con- 
 vent found leisure to direct its attention towards the improve- 
 « Acta Dom. Con., 5 ; And., 69. ' Acta Dom. Con., 29. n Ibid., 389. 
 
406 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 ment of its property. This appears by the tack of certain crofts 
 of land, previously referred to, which was granted in liferent 
 to John Pylmore, and his wife, Catherine Nicholson, and " to 
 ane ayr maill lachfully gottin betweix thaim tua." The lands 
 were situated in the neighbourhood of Cupar, in what was then 
 called " our burgh of Kethik," and besides enjoying all the free- 
 doms and privileges " of burgh of barronry," the tenants were 
 to have right to " fewell in our Monkmuir, as we sail assygn to 
 thaim, with tua kyis gyrs in the commonties of Baitchelhill 
 and Gallwraw, faill and do wet, with discretion as effeirs." They 
 were also bound to " put the said toft, zard, and crofts, till all 
 possibyl policy in biggyn, of gud and sufficiand zeird houses for 
 haw, chawmerys, and stabuls, to resave and herbry to the nowmer 
 of xij or xvj horses honestly as effeirs, for hors meit and manns 
 meit, sua that of reson thar be sein no fault in thaim ; plantand 
 
 fret tris with thair defensours ; and they sail keip 
 
 gud nighburhed, and the lands fra guld ; and they sail keip our 
 medowis, wards, and broumer parks frae thaimself and thair 
 catel, under pain as efferis." On the other hand, the convent 
 bound itself to protect and defend the tenants, and " the langest 
 liffer of thaim, but fraud or gyle." T 
 
 But it is not until 1538, a few years after the appointment of 
 Donald Campbell to the abbotship, that we learn anything of the 
 mode of living, or of the luxuries enjoyed by the abbots arid monks 
 of Cupar. The paper which throws light upon these interesting 
 particulars, is a tack, or lease of the lands, fishing, forestry, and 
 teinds of Campsie, in the parish of Cargill, where it appears the 
 abbot had a residence to which he and his friends occasionally 
 retired, probably for the two-fold purposes of devotion and 
 pleasure. 
 
 Besides an annual money rent of twenty pounds Scots, the ten- 
 ant of Campsie, Alexander Macbroke, advocate, bound himself to 
 make payments in kind to his superior, the abbot and convent, 
 of "four dozen poultrie, with all aryage, and carriage," &c; and 
 on receiving a warning of twenty-four hours, he had to " find 
 ane sufficient rowar to the fishing of Neither Campsey, with an 
 carriage man to bring hame the fishe frae the samyn ; with 
 y Spalding Club Misoell., v. 292. 
 
ABBEY OP CUPAE — ABBOTS' HOUSE AT CAMPSIE. 407 
 
 sufficient wax to St Hunnand's lyght and chapel : And also, 
 that the said place should at all times be patent and ready 
 to him and his successors, brethren, and familie, as often as 
 should happen him, or any of them to come therto, furnisht 
 with four feddir beddis, and four other beddis, convenient for 
 servandes, with all the sundry necessaris pertaining to said awcht 
 beddis; and also upholding said place of Campsey in sclates, 
 and biggin ; and attour, finding burd claithis, towalis, pottes, 
 pannys, plates, dishes, and other necessaries convenient for his 
 hall, kitchen, panntre, bakehouse, brewhouse, and cellar, as effeirs 
 to his honesty and familie alenarlie; with elden of sawn wood 
 and browme." w 
 
 Some of these items or furnishings will remind the reader of 
 the curious tenure by which, as we have before seen, the lodging 
 of the abbots of Arbroath was held at Dundee, more than two 
 hundred years before the date of this deed. Although traces of 
 the ruins of a chapel and burial ground are still visible at Camp- 
 sie, and the track by which fuel was conveyed to the convent 
 from the wood of Campsie, is called the Abbey Road, nothing is 
 known of the site of St Hunnand's chapel, which, apparently, 
 stood in the neighbourhood. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Destruction of the Abbey — Stone Coffins— rSepuJehral Monuments — Koman Camp — 
 Parish Church — Episcopal Chapel — Notice of the Town of Cupar-Angus — 
 Pitcur Castle — Sculptured Stone Monument at Kettins. 
 
 Of the size, or external appearance of the Abbey, no idea can 
 now be formed. Still, plans of the edifice, including details of both 
 of these particulars, were made by a working mason in the town 
 of Cupar- Angus towards the close of the last century, or about a 
 hundred and twenty years after we are told by a trust-worthy 
 local writer, that the abbey was " nothing but rubbish."" 
 
 A small portion of the building, consisting of an archway, 
 which has been much repaired " within the memory of man," 
 w Old Stat. Acct. of Scot., xiii. 535. * Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 332. 
 
408 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 stands at the south-west corner of the churchyard; and some 
 old stone coffins and sepulchral monuments, together with frag- 
 ments of pillars and other pieces of ornamental masonry, are all 
 that remain of its former grandeur. It is said to have been 
 one of the first, as it certainly is one of the most completely de- 
 stroyed, of the monasteries in Scotland; for, according to tradition, 
 a band of infuriated zealots came from Perth, and obeyed, ap- 
 parently to the very letter, the ill-timed and bigotted injunction 
 of John Knox, who, as is well-known, warmly advocated the de- 
 struction of old monastic houses and relics. 
 
 The fragments of mouldings and pillars above referred to seem 
 to be both in the Early English and in the Decorated styles of 
 architecture ; and three coffins, hewn out of single stones, were 
 got near the place where the high altar is said to have stood. 
 The coffins are pretty entire, particularly two of them : the inside 
 measurement of one is five and a-half feet, another is about six 
 feet, a third is about five feet ten inches in length; and they vary 
 in depth from ten to nearly fourteen inches. A large red sand- 
 stone flag, bears the rudely incised effigy of a priest, and these 
 words boldly carved round the margin, but the part which con- 
 tained the name is unfortunately lost :■ — 
 
 monatihiiS ■ lie ■ cupro . qui . outlt . anno . tint . 
 
 mtlUafmo . quatitingentestmo . quqgcssto . 
 
 Another broken slab, bearing a plain Calvary cross, raised on 
 steps, with the cup and wafer at the base, is also inscribed in 
 raised characters. It is apparently the tombstone of Archibald 
 Macvicar, who was provost of the collegiate church of Kilmun, 
 in Argyll, from about 1529 till about 1548 ; and it is probable, 
 since his monument is here, that he had come to Cupar in com- 
 pany with Abbot Donald Campbell.^ The stone is thus in- 
 scribed : — 
 
 $?lc . facet . tins . arcln&alti' . m'bh . ollm . pcpos . tie . fetlmun. 
 
 I am informed by the Rev. Dr Stevenson, that some years ago 
 there was a coffin-slab or tombstone at Beech-hill, in the neigh- 
 y Note from Joseph Bobertson, Esq., Register Bouse, Edinburgh. 
 
ABBEY OF CUPAR — SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 409 
 
 bourhood, which was taken from the kirkyard, upon which were 
 carved a sword, and the name 
 
 aHUljjdmu? . tie . JWcmtefiio. 
 
 This probably shews that the Muschets of Cargill had their place 
 of burial here ; but this stone has been lost sight of, together 
 with a fragment which is said to have borne the words 
 
 €tfl&«tuss . tie . i^ag. 
 
 We have already seen that this was long the family burial 
 place of the Hays of Erfol, the chief benefactors of the abbey ; 
 and the mutilated stone figure of a warrior represented in mail 
 armour — which was probably a portion of the tomb here noticed 
 — corresponding in style to that of effigies of the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth centuries, was lately discovered in the foundations of 
 the parish church. 
 
 Into the walls of the same place were built two sculptured 
 slabs, which appear to have belonged either to a mortuary 
 
 No. 1. 
 chapel, or to a recess tomb. These recess tombs, it may be 
 added, resembled chimney pieces, with either one or three sides, 
 over which, as in that of Bishop Kennedy at St Andrews, cano- 
 pies were sometimes raised of the finest architectural taste and 
 workmanship. The slabs (which are here represented) had, most 
 ee 2 
 
410 
 
 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 p robably, both belonged to one object." The figures are cut in 
 b old relief, each about eighteen inches high, and, as will be seen 
 b y the accompanying engravings, present some very curious fea- 
 t ures in costume and in attitude, particularly those in woodcut 
 No. 1. Their meaning seems doubtful. Perhaps they are either 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 allegorical or typical ; and from the fact of their having been 
 found at the burial place of the Hays, the figures upon the first 
 panel may suggest to some that they are intended to illustrate 
 the absurd fable of the Hays and Luncarty. 
 
 Such, briefly, so far as can be accurately ascertained, is an 
 account of the Abbey of Cupar and its remains. It is said to 
 have suffered greatly by being made a quarry, out of which 
 many of the neighbouring houses and garden walls were built. 
 Pieces of carved stones are yet to be seen throughout the town, 
 among which a shield, bearing the royal lion of Scotland, is 
 built into a wall opposite to the church. 
 
 Of the town of Cupar and neighbourhood little has to be re- 
 marked. It is believed that the Abbey was built upon the site 
 of a Roman Camp ; and General Roy, who was perhaps the best 
 authority in such matters, is at a loss whether to place the In 
 Medio of Richard of Cirencester here, or at Inchtuthil. a 
 
 * I am obliged to the Rev. Mr Patrick Stevenson for the photographs from 
 which these woodcuts have been engraved. a Military Antiquities, 134. 
 
CUPAR-ANGUS — SCULPTURED STONE AT KETTINS. 411 
 
 A burn, or rivulet, which, runs through the town, divides the 
 shires of Forfar and Perth at this point, the lands on the north 
 side of the burn being in the latter county, and those on the 
 south in the former. The Abbey stood on the Angus side of the 
 stream, and the site has been long occupied by the parish church 
 and burial ground. It ought to be added that, besides the parish 
 church, which has been recently rebuilt in an ornamental style 
 of architecture, the Episcopal chapel is a chaste edifice, with a 
 well-executed window in stained glass, containing representations 
 of ten of the principal scenes in the life of Our Saviour. 
 
 Some of the houses and villas in and around the town are 
 also neat building3, with tastefully laid out gardens; but, as a 
 whole, the place cannot be said to be in a thriving state. The in- 
 habitants are chiefly employed in linen weaving for the Dundee 
 manufacturers ; and it is believed that the through line of rail- 
 way, and the branch line to Blairgowrie, have been but little, if 
 at all, in favor of the trade of the town. b 
 
 No historical incident of moment is related of the town or 
 the immediate vicinity of Cupar, further than that General 
 M'Kay's dragoons were quartered here in 1689; and that the 
 laird of Pitcur was a strong supporter of Viscount Dundee, 
 and followed him in his engagements. The ruins of the castle 
 of Pitcur are only about two miles south of the town of Cupar ; 
 and in the churchyard of Kettins, between Cupar and Pitcur, 
 there is an interesting sculptured stone monument. It is fully 
 nine feet high, of the same type as those at Meigle, and had been 
 used, from time immemorial, as a foot-bridge across the burn 
 which runs through the village of Kettins, until the spring of 
 1860, when it was laudably raised to its present position, by 
 Lord Douglas Gordon Hallyburton, the representative of the old 
 barons of Pitcur. 
 
 b The origin of the name of Cupar ib uncertain. CuVbhar is said to mean 
 "the hack, or end of a height or bank." Culpar, Culpyr, Cupar, Kupre, Cuper, 
 Cupir, and Cupyr, are some of the oldest forms in which the word is written ; and 
 Coupar, Cowpir, and Couper, the more modern. The name of the town is Cnpar, or 
 Cnpar-in-Angus, to distinguish it from Cupar-in-Fife. 
 
 c Acta Pari., ix. 86, App. 55. 
 
412 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ©f)e prtotg of iftosttnoti). 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 First Church at Eostinoth — The Priory — Grants by David I. — Priory United to the 
 Abbey of Jedburgh — Confirmation by Arnold, Bishop of St Andrews — Gifts to 
 Eostinoth by William the Lion — Alexander III. — Chapel of Forfar granted to 
 Jedburgh — Inquest by Bobert I. regarding the Ancient Eights of the Priory — 
 Grants by Eobert the Bruce — Lindsay of Glenesk — Bishop of St Andrews — 
 David II. — Dempster of Carestorj — Collaoe of Balnamoon, &c. 
 
 It is said that when St Boniface came to Scotland, about the 
 beginning of the seventh century, he founded three churches in 
 Angus. One of these he planted at Invergowrie, on the banks 
 of the Tay ; another at Tealing, near Dundee ; and a third at 
 Eostinoth, near Forfar ; a and it is believed to have been upon 
 the site of the old church of Eostinoth that the Priory was after- 
 wards erected. 
 
 It was situated in the diocese of St Andrews, dedicated to St 
 Peter, and occupied by canons of the order of St Augustine. 
 Their dress consisted of " a white tunick, with a linen gown un- 
 der a black cloak, and a hood covering the head, neck, and shoul- 
 ders." They were introduced into Scotland by Alexander I. ; 
 and, at the Eeformation, there were as many as twenty^eight 
 houses of the Order in different parts of the kingdom. 
 
 Probably the earliest existing charter to the Priory of Eosti- 
 noth is one by King David I. by which he gave the rents of 
 certain thanages, bondagia, and other royal lands, to the monks. b 
 The next authentic notice of the Priory occurs in the time of 
 Malcolm the Maiden, by whom it was made a Cell of the Abbey 
 of Jedburgh, down to which period it was an independent esta- 
 
 * Butler's Lives of the Saints, March 14. 
 
 b This document, and some others regarding Eostinoth, which are here noticed 
 for the first time, are from a private collection of charters and other papers on local 
 antiquities, which was made by the late Patrick Chalmers of Aldbar, Esq., and kindly 
 placed at my service by his brother, John Inglis Chalmers of Aldbar, Esq. 
 
PRIOEY OF EOSTINOTH — OLD GRANTS. 413 
 
 blishment. The charter of this union was granted at Rox- 
 burgh, between 1159 and 1163, being witnessed, among others, 
 by William and David, brothers of King Malcolm, by Nicholas, 
 the chamberlain, and by Arnpld, Bishop of St Andrews. 
 
 It appears from this charter that the possessions and liberties 
 granted to the Priory were ample. Among these are mentioned 
 the churches of Crachnatharach, Pethefrin, c Tealing, Duninald, 
 Dysart, and Egglispether, with their pertinents ; the whole teinds 
 of the king's other place's in Angus, including those in money, 
 wool, chickens, cheese, and malt, and those of the mill and fish- 
 market of Forfar ; also 10s. out of Kynaber, the whole teinds of 
 the king's farms or lordships of Salorch, Montrose, and Rossie ; 
 the free passage of Scottewater, or the Firth of Forth ; a toft in 
 each of the burghs of Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Forfar ; 
 together with a toft in Salorch, and 20s. for the light of the 
 church of Salorch itself, with the king's salt pits, and mill of Mon- 
 trose.' 1 These were all granted and confirmed by King Malcolm, 
 along with the Priory of Rostinoth, to the Abbey of St Mary of 
 Jedburgh, for the welfare of the souls of the king's grandfather, 
 David I.; of his father, Prince Henry; of his mother Ada, daugh- 
 ter of the Earl of Warren and Surrey ; and of his three sisters, 
 his antecessors and successors. 6 This charter was afterwards 
 confirmed by Bishop Arnold of St Andrews. 
 
 Sometime between the years 1189 and 1199, during the 
 chancellorship of Hugh, King Wihiam the Lion gave to the 
 same house the lands of Ardnequere (supposed to be Cossans) in 
 exchange for those of Foffarty, which, with waters, woods, and 
 plains, meadows and pastures, muirs and marshes, were to be 
 held in free and perpetual alms by the Prior and Canons/ Alex- 
 ander IIL also gave the tenth of the hay grown in the meadows 
 of his Forest of Plater, near Finhaven ; and, in 1292, the Priors 
 
 c Places called Oraignathro, and Petterden, lie between Forfar and Tealing. 
 
 d Since my conjectures regarding the site of Salorch, or Salorh, were printed (ut 
 sup., 60J, I have been informed by several Gaelic scholars that the word signifies " a 
 district from which two pieces of land fork, or project into a bay or sea." This pro- 
 bably strengthens the supposition that Tayock was anciently called Salorch. 
 
 e Malcolm's sisters were — Ada, or Eda, married in'1161, to Florence, Count of 
 Holland ; Margaret, married in 1160, to Conan IV., Duke of Brittany ; and Matilda, 
 who died unmarried.^- Fordun, B. v. 43. 
 
 ' Toffarty belongs quoad civilia to the parish of Caputh, and quoad sacra to 
 the parish of Kinettles. 
 
414 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 craved the king for permission to make a mill-dam in the adjoin- 
 ing Forest of "la Morleterre," or MurthiU.s 
 
 As just shewn, the Priory of Eostinoth was given by King 
 Malcolm to the Abbey of Jedburgh ; and, in the year 1242, the 
 chapel of Forfar, which was dependent upon, and subject to, the 
 Priory, was also given to Jedburgh by David, Bishop of St 
 Andrews, in these terms : — " Be it known to you universally," 
 says the charter, " that we have granted by the common consent 
 of our Chapter, and confirmed to the Abbot and Canons of Jed- 
 worth, the church of Restinot, with the chapel of Forfar, ad- 
 jacent to the same, and with all tithes, revenues, and liberties, 
 lawfully belonging to the aforesaid church and -chapel, and 
 that that chapel, notwithstanding any dedication of it, or of the 
 burying ground, or churchyard of the mother church of Bestinot, 
 belongs to it by parochial right, and that it remains for ever 
 united to the same as a member." 
 
 In the time of King Bobert the Bruce, the writs of Eostinoth 
 were said to have been " lost and carried off by wars and other 
 accidental causes," and an inquest was appointed to enquire 
 regarding the old rights and privileges of the house. That find- 
 ing contains notices of the various lands, and other possessions 
 of the Priory from the time of Alexander III., and, as will be 
 seen by the Appendix, the revenues were pretty considerable, 
 arising from lands and patronages, which were scattered over 
 more than .twenty of the parishes of Angus. 1 Besides the re- 
 venues of certain lands, the jurors also found that the canons 
 were in full possession of the curious privilege of " uplifting on 
 each coming of the King to Forfar, for each day he abides there, 
 two loaves of the lord's bread, four loaves of the second bread, 
 and six loaves, called hugmans; two flagons of the better ale, 
 two flagons of the second ale, and two pairs of messes of each of 
 the three courses from the kitchen." 
 
 Shortly after the date of this inquest, Bruce gave the Prior 
 and Canons license to cut wood at all times in his Forest of Plater, 
 for the purpose of making wagons, carts, yokes, halters, and 
 the like ; and in Morton's " Monastic Annals of Teviotdale," it 
 is stated from the Harleian MSS., that the same king gave the 
 * Acta Pari., i. 9. h Appendix, No. XVII. 
 
PEIOEY OF EOSTINOTH — LIST OP PEIOES. 415 
 
 canons the teinds of the king's horses and studs, and the third of 
 the hay of the Forest of Plater. 
 
 In the year 1333, Sir Alexander Lindsay, afterwards of Glen- 
 esk, also gave an annuity out of the barony of Duny to the 
 Priory; and, three years afterwards, James, bishop of St An- 
 drews, made over to it his whole lands of Rescobie, the charter 
 of which is curious, in so far as it contains a special reservation 
 of the place of holding courts. 
 
 On 10th June 1344, David II. confirmed the ancient grants of 
 Kings David, Malcolm, and Alexander, of the second teinds of 
 the sheriffdom of Forfar, except the tenth of the great custom 
 of Dundee, called "the mautoll"; and, for the special regard 
 which he had to the Priory as the place where the bones of his 
 brother-german, John, were buried, he farther granted to it 20 
 merks sterling from the great customs of Dundee. 1 This, pro- 
 bably, was the latest grant which was made to the Priory, if we 
 except the confirmation, in 1360, of a previous gift of an annual 
 of £4 out of the thanedom of Menmuir, by Andrew Dempster of 
 Careston, and William and John Collace of Balnamoon. k 
 
 — o- 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 List of Priors — The Commendator of Jedburgh and Eostinoth — Rostinoth granted to 
 Sir Thomas Erskine — Fletchers, Hunters, and Dempsters, of Eostinoth, &c. 
 
 Equal in point of interest to the names of the benefactors, and 
 the possessions of old ecclesiastical establishments, are those of 
 their chief officers or rulers ; but unfortunately in this case, as in 
 that of the Abbots of Cupar, the deficiency of records will not 
 permit anything like a complete list of the Priors of Rostinoth. 
 
 In the time of Malcolm IV., who, as before "seen, made the 
 Priory a Cell of the Abbey of Jedburgh, and sometime before 
 the year 1159, 
 
 Bobeet, Prior of Rostinoth, was a witness to a charter by which 
 Robert, Bishop of St Andrews, granted to the canons of that con- 
 1 Acta Pari., i. «156. v Eeg. Mag. Sigill., p. 43. 
 
416 .MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 vent the free election of their Prior ; and on the death of Isaac, 
 Abbot of Scone, in 1162, Kobert, Prior of Rostinoth, was elected 
 to that office. 1 
 
 William, who witnessed several grants by King William the 
 Lion and others, was Prior between 1178 and 1199. m 
 
 Hugh, Prior of Rostinoth, is said to have become Abbot of 
 Jedburgh on the death of Abbot Ralph, in 1205." 
 
 Bekengae held the office of Prior, and was present at a Synod 
 at Perth, in the' dispute betwixt William, Bishop of St Andrews, 
 and Duncan of Aberbothenoth, 3rd April 1206, regarding the 
 lands of the Kirktown of Arbuthnott. 
 
 German, as Prior of Rostinoth, witnessed several grants to 
 the Priory of St Andrews, by William Cumyn, Earl of Buchan, 
 and his Countess Marjory, sometime before 1233 ; p and, in 
 1227, probably during the time of this Prior, we meet with the 
 only trace (so far as known) of the seneschal, or steward of the 
 convent. He is described as " David Senescalle de Rostynoth," 
 and was a perambulator of the marches of the lands in dispute 
 between the Abbey of Arbroath and Kinblethmont.i 
 
 William was Prior in 1264, and a witness to William of 
 Brechin's foundation charter of the Hospital, or Maisondieu, of 
 that town. On 17th March 1289, the Prior of " Rustinoth" 
 was a party to the letter of the community of Scotland, con- 
 senting to the marriage of Prince Edward of England with our 
 Queen Margaret ; r and 
 
 2&o6ert, $rfor tie Mosttnnot, tt less ©ftanotncs 
 
 of the convent, performed homage to King Edward I., at Ber- 
 wick-upon-Tweed, in August 1296. s 
 
 Bernard, Prior of Rostinoth, witnessed, the resignation of 
 lands in the town of Aberdeen, by Malcolm of Haddington, to 
 the convent of Arbroath, in 1320.' 
 
 J., Prior of Rostinoth, is a witness to Henry of Rossy's 
 
 ' Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 126 ; Fordoun, i. 443 ; Liber de Soon, pref. p. x. 
 m Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 8, 12, 19. 
 
 " Morton's Monastic Annals of Teviotdale, 5. ° Spalding Club Miscell., v. 209. 
 p Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 250-2. i Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 163. 
 
 * Reg. Ep. Brecbin., i. 7 ; Acta Pari., i. 85. • Rag. Roll, 120 ; Prynne, 653. 
 ^'Reg.Vet. de Aberb., 305. 
 
AND COMMENDATOR. 417 
 
 charter of the third part of the lands of Inyeney to Walter of 
 Schaklok, 23rd September 1328 ; n and 
 
 John de Eskdale (probably the same person), was Prior in 
 1330-36/ 
 
 Alexander appears in a deed regarding the titles of the 
 thanages of Monifieth and Menmuir, 27th May 1347. w 
 
 " James off Ketht, Priour of Bostinoth," probably a cadet 
 of the powerful family of that name in the Mearns, was present 
 at Forfar on 10th January 1410, -when the Duke of Albany de- 
 cided in favor of the claims of the Bishop of Brechin, to half the 
 pasture of the muir of Farnell. x 
 
 William Ltndesat is described as lately Prior of Bostinoth 
 in a deed of 12th June 1476, regarding this Priory and the 
 Abbey of Jedburgh.* 
 
 William Butherford was Prior, 24th October 1482, and 
 procurator in a case before the Lords of Council, on the 7th 
 March 1490. z 
 
 Of the Priors of Bostinoth, I have found no farther notice. 
 On 1st August 1560, Andrew, probably the second son of George, 
 fourth Lord Home, sat in Parliament as Commendator of Jed- 
 burgh and Bostinoth, and on 19th May 1562, Mariot, relict of 
 Lord Home, and mother of the Commendator, had charters of 
 the dominical lands of Bostinoth." Her only daughter, Margaret, 
 who married Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar, appears to have 
 inherited Bostinoth, since, on 24th November 1586, she and her 
 husband had a charter of confirmation of the "house and enclosure 
 of Bestenneth." The next notice of the property occurs in 1606, 
 when Sir Thomas Erskine, afterwards Earl of Kelly, eldest 
 surviving son of Lady Erskine (in consideration of certain good 
 services which he had done to the King), received a grant from 
 James VI. of "the haill temporall landis and rentis quhilkis per- 
 tenit of befoir to the Priorie of Bestenneth, being ane cell of the 
 abbacie of Jedburgh . . . with the richt of the patronage of the 
 kirkis of the said Priorie, viz. the kirks of Bestenneth, Donynald, 
 nd Aberlemno, erectit into ane frie baronie." This gift in- 
 
 ■ Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 339. T Miscell. Aldbar., MS., 315, 342. 
 w Ibid., 208. x Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 32. * Miscell. Aldbar., MS., 352. 
 1 Miscell. Aldbar., MS., 354 ; Acta Dom. Concil., 171. 
 * Acta Pari., ii. 525 ; Douglas' Peerage, i. 735. 
 FF 2 
 
418 MEMOEIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 eluded " the temporall landis and rentis pertening to the said 
 priorie, with the place, cloister, zairdis, orchardis, and haill 
 boundis within the precinct of the samin." b 
 
 The Earl of Kelly does not appear to have long retained the 
 barony of Eostinoth, having been succeeded in it by George 
 Fletcher, one of the Balinscho family, somewhere about 1624-5, 
 and from his heirs, in 1652, the patronage of the kirk, of Rosti- 
 noth-Forfar, as was the name at that late date, was purchased by 
 the magistrates and town-council of Forfar. On 7th Septem- 
 ber 1658, Robert Fletcher of Balinsfeho was served heir to his 
 father in the teinds of Eostinoth ; and, on 12th January 1693, 
 William Hunter succeeded his father, Thomas, in the dominical 
 lands of Eostinoth, with the fishings, &c. d 
 
 The property was bought soon after the year 1700, by George 
 Dempster, a merchant and burgess of Dundee, son of the Eev, 
 George Dempster, the last Episcopal minister of the parish of 
 Monifieth. The first-named George Dempster died 2d June 
 1752, aged seventy-five, and his son, John, was accidentally 
 killed by a fall from his horse on 2d November of the following 
 year, at the age of forty-nine. e The latter left a son, George, 
 who became the famous agriculturist, and is celebrated by Burns 
 the poet, as "a true-blue Scot," in his address to the Scottish re- 
 presentatives. He was long M.P. for the Fife and Forfar district 
 of burghs, and held the patent office of Secretary to the Order of 
 the Thistle. He died at Dunnichen in February 1818, in the 
 eighty-sixth year of his age, having spent the greater part of his 
 life in promoting the agricultural and commercial Interests of his 
 country; and, as justly remarked by his friend and correspondent, 
 Sir John Sinclair, " his friends had the satisfaction of knowing 
 that no man in his time had left the world more generally ap- 
 plauded, or more deservedly admired." 
 
 b Douglas' Peerage, ii. 17 ; Acta Pari., iv. 357. 
 
 c T7t slip., 11-12. _ * Inq. Spec, Forf., Nos. 370, 523, 611. 
 
 ' Sec Monuments within the parish churches of Monifieth and St Vigeans. 
 
 -0 
 
THE RUINS OP THE PRIORY OP ROSTINOTH. 419 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Ruins of Rostinoth — Burial Place of the Hunters and Dempsters — Destruction of 
 Sepulchral MonumentB — The Priory visited by Robert I. and David II. — 
 Burial Place of a King of the Picts, and of a son of Robert the Bruce — 
 Probable Origin of the Name. 
 
 The ruins of the Priory of Bostinoth are still of considerable ex- 
 tent and have much the same appearance as when described by 
 Mr Ochterlony of Guynd, about 1682, and when sketched by 
 Captain Grose, in 1789. f At little expense the tower or belfrey 
 might be put into such a state of repair as would secure it from 
 farther decay for many years to come. The greater part of the 
 walls of the church, or the building on the east of the tower, are 
 pretty entire, with remains of the corbel-tabling and buttresses. 
 Although the south-east and west walls of the cloisters are more 
 ruinous, many of the corbels which supported the beams of the 
 roof are still to be seen, also the holes or niches in which the 
 posts were inserted which divided the cells. 
 
 This part appears to have been from fifty to sixty feet square ; 
 and the church was about sixty-five feet long, by about twenty 
 feet broad, exclusive of the tower, and a place called the vestry 
 at the north-west end of the church. The tower, including an 
 octagonal spire, is about sixty feet high, and the whole build- 
 ing appears to have been in the First Pointed style of archi- 
 tecture, or that which prevailed in Scotland during the thirteenth 
 century. 
 
 The area of the church has long been used as the burial place 
 of the Hunters of Burnside, and the Dempsters of Dunnichen. 
 At one time the enclosure contained tombstones to different mem- 
 bers of these families; but, owing to the wanton mischief of idlers, 
 they have altogether disappeared, having been either carried off 
 or destroyed. The only one I have seen is preserved at the ad- 
 joining farm house, where it has, for many years, been used for 
 1 Spottiswoode Miscell., i. 324 ; Antiquities of Scot., ii. 263. 
 
420 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 various domestic purposes, among others, the cover of a meal tub! 
 It is a slab of white marble, inscribed with these words : — 
 
 JEAN FERGUSSON, 
 
 WIPE OP JOHN HAMILTON DEMPSTER OP POLEOSSIE, 
 
 AND ELDEST DAUGHTER OP CHARLES FERGUSSON, 
 
 SECOND SON OP THE LATE SIR JAMES FERGUSSON OF KILKERRAN, BART., 
 
 DIED ON THE 5tH, AND WAS INTERRED HERE ON THE 
 
 14th day of may 1798. — I. h. d. 
 
 Though the burial ground has been thus desecrated in mo- 
 dern times, it is interesting to know *hat in days of yore, some 
 of our most powerful princes and magnates assembled within this 
 monastery to deliberate over matters affecting the welfare of the 
 kingdom, for it is recorded that the Priory was visited both by 
 Robert the Bruce, and his son David II.s Here, also, doubtless lie 
 the ashes of many personages who, in their day, had been remark- 
 able for piety, learning, and other of the ennobling qualities of 
 human nature, regarding whom history is silent. Still, both tra- 
 dition and record affirm that there were at least two persons of 
 note interred here. The first is said to have been Ferideth, 
 King of the Picts, who fell at a battle which was fought in this 
 neighbourhood between him and Alpin, King of the Scots. Ac- 
 cording to Boece, Ferideth's army was defeated, and himself 
 killed, and Alpin commanded the body of his opponent to be 
 "laid in Christian buriall not far re from Forfaire." 11 
 
 On this passage is founded the not improbable conjecture of 
 Ferideth*s place of burial having been at Rostinoth. There are, 
 however, as before shewn, much better grounds for believing that 
 at a later date, the body of John, a son of King Robert the Bruce, 
 was buried here. Thi3, it need scarcely be added, is a peculiarly 
 interesting point, particularly when it is borne in mind, that the 
 fact of Bruce having had two sons has hitherto been overlooked 
 by historians ; and, so far as known, the only record of it occurs 
 in the previously noticed grant of confirmation by David II. to 
 Rostinoth, dated at Scone, on the 10th June 1344. 1 
 
 It appears, that from the earliest date, down to about the close 
 
 * Beg. Mag. Sigill., pp. 18, 61 ; Robertson's Index, p. 85. 
 
 11 Chronicle, i. 245 ; Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, ii. 190. 
 
 '' Utaup., 415. 
 
ROSTINOTH — PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE NAME. 421 
 
 of the fifteenth century, the spelling of the name of Rostinoth 
 was much the same as that adopted throughout the text. After 
 the latter period it assumed the form of Bestennet or Besfen- 
 neth, which probably gave rise to the common fable of its having 
 been made a depository of records and other valuable effects 
 during the Wars of the Independence. More probably, how- 
 ever, the name had originated from the physical appearance of 
 the district, and, perhaps, has some such meaning as " the island 
 of a flat or level promontory" — at least the ruins of the Priory 
 occupy a small island, which had been surrounded by water in old 
 times, though now joined to the land, and the land, in its general 
 aspect,- is of a comparatively level character. It need only be 
 farther stated, that the loch or lake of Rostinoth, was drained 
 by Mr Dempster of DunnicKen towards the close of the last 
 century, for the valuable marie which it contained, and that it 
 appears to have been one of a chain of lochs which extended 
 from near Glamis on the west to Red Castle on the east. 
 
MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 PAET SEVENTH. 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TRADITIONARY NOTICES OF 
 
 Efje (Kings of &ngus5 atttr tije Yearns 
 
 WHO SWORE FEALTY TO KING EDWARD THE FIRST, 
 
 A.D. 1296; 
 
 OF THEIR CHURCHES, AND SOME OF THEIR SUCCESSORS: 
 
 ALSO OP THE 
 
 ^ogpitallerss, tfje Haoies of ©masrtr isatons, 
 
 AND OTHERS CONNECTED WITH THESE DISTRICTS. 
 
PART SEVENTH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 &f)e <Hturcf)es of Uunlappg, lobtes, mnettles, 
 antr ILogie, in dingus. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE CHUECH OF DUNLAPPT. 
 
 Early Pastors of Dunlappy — Parish united to Stracathro— Proprietary Notices of 
 Dunlappy — The Dunlappys of Dunlappy — Birthplace of the late Bight-Hon. 
 George Bose, Clerk of the Parliaments. 
 
 The church or rectory of Dunlappy was in the diocese of St 
 Andrews, and is rated at 4 merks in the ancient taxatio, and at £4 
 in Bagimont's Roll, the last of which deeds was framed towards 
 the close of the reign of Alexander III. The church occupied a 
 romantic position on the west bank of the West Water, about 
 a mile east of the old Chapel and Hermitage of Kilgary. a The 
 parish was suppressed in 1618, and united to Stracathro ; and 
 the glebe of Dunlappy, adjoining the old kirkyard, is farmed by 
 the minister of the united parish. 
 
 The kirk stood near the middle of the graveyard. It was 
 about fifty feet long by twenty feet broad. The last burial took 
 place in 1824 ; but long before that the monuments were carried 
 away and used for hearth-stones and flooring in neighbouring 
 farm houses and cottages. 
 
 So far as known, the first recorded minister was 
 
 3Jc&an oe Unlington, pmone M lEglfge De Uunlopg, 
 
 who did homage to King Edward I. at Berwick-upon-Tweed, in 
 August 1296. b 
 
 * Land of the Lindsays ; Proceed, of the So. of Antiquaries, ii. 
 
 b Bag. Boll, 163 ; Prynne, 662. 
 GG 2 
 
426 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 In 1442, John Thome, rector of Dunlappy, is a witness to a 
 deed between David, Earl of Crawford, and Thomas Archare, 
 canon of Dunkeld, dated " apud capellam Sancti Michael, juxta 
 civitatem Brechmensem." c 
 
 James Lychtoun, of the Usan family, was parson of Dunlappy 
 about 1561 ; and Andrew Miln, master of the grammar school 
 of Montrose, and preceptor of the celebrated James Melvill, 
 succeeded Leighton, and became minister both of Dunlappy and 
 of Stracathro, for which he had the sum of £100 Scots a-year. 
 Miln was afterwards translated to Dunottar, and ultimately to 
 Fetteresso, where he died in 1605. d 
 
 Laurence Skynner, who married Christian Thayne, 15th 
 September 1617, was minister of Dunlappy about the time the 
 parish was united with Stracathro. e 
 
 Such are the few remaining traces of the early history of the 
 kirk and clergy of Dunlappy. It may be added, that the lands 
 belonged of old to the Earls of Fife, afterwards to theAbernethys; 
 and Sir Andrew Leslie, having married one of the three cor 
 heiresses of Sir Alexander of Abernethy, succeeded to the estates 
 of Eothes, Dunlappy, and others.* The Leslies held Dunlappy 
 and the advowson of the kirk down to about 1682, when they 
 were succeeded by Hepburn of Luffness. Towards the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century, the property was purchased by the 
 Falconers, ancestors of the Earl of Kintore.s 
 
 During the time of the Abernethys the lands were occupied 
 by vassals, who assumed Dunlappy as their surname. Of these 
 were "Angus of Dunlopyn," "William of Dolopen," and "Gil- 
 bert of Dolepene," all of whom witness charters between the 
 years 1170 and 1214. h 
 
 It was in this district, at a place called Woodside (where the 
 house still stands), about a mile north-west of the site of the old 
 kirk of Dunlappy, that the late Eight Hon. George Rose, clerk 
 of the Parliaments, was born, 17th January 1744. His father 
 
 e Miscell. Aldbar,, MS., 157 ; ut swp., note, 115. 
 
 d Melvill's Diary, 21 ; Booke of the Kirke, 3 ; Keg. of Ministers, 15 ; Wodrow 
 Miscell., i. 348 ; New Stat. Acct. of Kincardinesh., 264. 
 
 e Ut sup., 266 ; Brechin Bess. Records, MS. ' Douglas' Peerage, ii. 466. 
 
 e Inq. Spec. Kincard., No. 142 ; Forf., 15. 
 
 " Keg, Vet. de Aberb., 62, 56 ; Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 319. 
 
CHURCH OP IDVIES. 427 
 
 was Episcopal minister at Glenesk from at least 1728. He after- 
 wards removed to Dunlappy, where, besides George, he had 
 another son, called Stewart, born 22d October 1747. Mr Rose 
 died in 1758, and was buried within the neighbouring parish 
 church of Lethnot. I believe he and his wife, whose name was 
 also Rose, came from the parish of Birse, in Aberdeenshire, 
 where, towards the beginning of last century, there were several 
 small proprietors of the name. 1 
 
 Although this excellent clergyman is not recognised in the 
 recently published memoir of his son, I cannot help remarking 
 that both local record and tradition shew that he was not only 
 most assiduous in his laborious, and, at that time, singularly pre- 
 carious profession, but that he possessed a degree of piety, bene- 
 volence, and sterling worth, the recital of which would form an 
 interesting and honorable passage in the lineage of any family, 
 however noble in birth or high in station. 
 
 — o — 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE CHURCH OF IDVIES. 
 
 The Name of Idvies changed to Kirkden — The Church — Curious Epitaph — Old 
 Pastors — Thanes of Idvies — Proprietary Notices. 
 
 Edevtn, or Idvies, was a rectory in the diocese of St Andrews, 
 rated at 15 merks in the ancient taxatio, and at £18 in Bagi- 
 mont's Roll. It appears that the Bishop made a visitation of the 
 church in 1388, and, finding the manse inconveniently situated, 
 another piece of ground was granted for the purpose of erecting 
 a new house for the rector . k 
 
 In old times the kirk stood upon the lands of Gask, in a field 
 still called the Kirk-shed, from which it was removed to Vinny 
 Den, towards the beginning of the last century: Since that time 
 the parish has been called Kirkden, and the church, which is a 
 plain building, with a belfrey, contains some pieces of old carved 
 oak, bearing the arms and initials of the Gardynes of Gardyne. 
 Some of the tombstones in the churchyard bear curious iriscrip- 
 1 Land of the Lindsays, 63-66. k Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 409. 
 
428 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 tions, one of which, dated 1739, informs us that a farmer of 
 Parkconon and his servant came by their death in rather a 
 singular manner, it being quaintly stated that 
 
 " An old clay chimney that downfell 
 Kill'd both his servant and himsell." 
 
 3Same?s Uicttc, pergone Del lEglfee tie lituugn, 
 
 who took the oath of allegiance to King Edward at Berwick, in 
 August 1296, 1 is the first recorded^ector of Idvies. 
 
 Robert of Crannacht, towards the middle of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, is designed chanter of the cathedral of Brechin, and rector 
 of the parish kirk of Idvies ; and during the first half of the six- 
 teenth century, the vicars were Alexander and John Macnab. m 
 
 About 1567, James Balfour was minister of the parishes of 
 Guthrie and Idvies, with a stipend of £26 Scots; and John John- 
 stone had £20, as reader at Idvies. In 1574, the kirks of Idvies, 
 Dunnichen, Guthrie, and Rescobie, appear to have been under 
 Mr Balfour, who had a stipend of £133 6s. ; and David Guthrie 
 was reader at Idvies, with the same salary as his predessor. 11 
 
 In 1587, John Erskine of Dun, probably as ecclesiastical su- 
 perintendent of Angus and the Mearns, had an annuity out of 
 the thirds of the parsonage of Idvies ;° and on 7th December 
 1604, when King James VI. gave Sir Robert Melville of Mur- 
 docairnie, knight, the feu mails of Letham, and the patronage 
 of the kirk of Monimail, in Fife, which had belonged to the 
 Archbishop of St Andrews, the Archbishop and his successors 
 received in lieu of these the parsonages and vicarages of certain 
 churches in Angus, among which were those of Idvies.? 
 
 It ought to be added, that Idvies was a thanedom in old times : 
 in the year 1219, Gyles, thane of Edevy, was a perambulator of 
 the marches between the lands of Kinblethmont and those of 
 Arbroath. In 1254, Malise of Ediuyn, was present when the 
 boundaries of the lands of Conon, in Carmyllie, were described.* 
 
 1 Bag. Boll, 164 ; Prynne, 662. 
 
 m Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 91 ; ii. 226 ; Nig. de Aberb., 530. 
 " Beg. of Ministers (Mait. Club) ; Wodrow Miscell., i. 351. 
 Beg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 361. r Acta Pari., iv. 301. 
 ' Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 163, 325. 
 
CHURCH OF KINETTLES. 429 
 
 There were also persons who bore the surname of Idvies, for, in 
 1410, "David of Idwy, archdeacon of the cathedral of Brechin, 
 was a party to a deed regarding the possession of the muir of 
 Farnell. 1 
 
 Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the property 
 of Idvies belonged to the knightly family of Wood of Bonning- 
 ton. s Some years ago it was purchased by the late Henry Bax- 
 ter, banker in Dundee, who erected the present mansion house. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE CHURCH OP KINETTLES. 
 
 Probable Origin of the Name — Old Clergy, &c— Notices of the Surname of Martin 
 — Taylor, author of "The Tempest," a Poem — Colonel Patterson. 
 
 The kirk of Kinettles was in the diocese of St Andrews, and is 
 rated at 18 merks in the old taxatio, and at £6 13s. 4d. in Bagi- 
 mont's Boll. In remote times the church is supposed to have 
 stood upon an eminence called Kirk-hill, at the head of the val- 
 ley through which runs the water of Kerbet, not far from the pre- 
 sent parish church. Kynetles, Kynathes, and Kynnecles, are the 
 oldest forms in which the name appears, and it had probably 
 originated from the elevated position of the ancient church. 
 This was one of the churches referred to in the preceding page, 
 which were given by King James VI. to the Archbishop .of St 
 Andrews. 
 
 Laurence of Montealt, a kinsman, doubtless, of the old lords 
 of Feme, was rector of the church in 1226.' In 1296, 
 
 J&egtre Nicol tie JHectcm, pnssone M Isglfee 6e Ifcgnatijejs, 
 
 performed homage to King Edward I. ; and subsequently, in the 
 year 1300, he is a witness to a grant by Bishop Lamberton, of 
 the kirk of Dairsie, in Fife, to the cathedral of St Andrews. 11 
 It is, perhaps, worthy of notice, that the surname of Martin, 
 
 » Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 27. • Inq. Spec. Forf., No. 321. » Ut sup., 325. 
 ' Rag. Roll, 164 ; Prynne, 662 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 163 ; Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 120. 
 
430 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 which has been said to be of Norman origin, appears early in 
 Angus ; for, about 1288-99, Martin, clerk to the chancellor of 
 William the Lion, is a witness to a grant of a toft in the burgh 
 of Forfar. The physician of King William, and of his succes- 
 sor, Alexander II., also bore the name of Martin ; T and Adam, 
 son of Martin, a contemporary of the parson of Kinettles, appears 
 in a grant by the Abbot of Arbroath to Galfred Runevald, of a 
 tenement in the Cowgate of Arbroath. w 
 Mathew was the name of the rector of Kinettles in 1364.* 
 In 1567, James Fotheringham was minister of this parish, 
 also of Inverarity and Meathie, with a stipend of £100 Scots ; 
 and in 1574, the kirk was joined with those of Forfar, Rosti- 
 noth, and Tannadice, of all which Ninian Clement was minister, 
 and Alexander Nevay was reader at Kinettles/ 
 
 The last Episcopal clergyman of the parish was Alexander 
 Taylor, author of a curious poem, entitled "The Tempest," 
 descriptive of a storm which he and several of his brethren en- 
 countered, when crossing in a boat from Burntisland to Leith, 
 on 26th November 1681. It contains some curious passages, 
 and his description of the huge waves buffeting against the frail 
 bark, is frequently given as a specimen : — 
 
 " Each kept his time and place, 
 As if they meant to drown us with a grace — 
 The first came tumbling on our boat's side, 
 And knockt us twice her breadth and more beside ; 
 But, vext that it had wrought's no more disgrace, 
 It spits on us — spits in its follower's face." 
 
 Having elsewhere noticed the proprietary history of Kin- 
 ettles ; z it need only be added that the late Colonel William 
 Patterson, sometime Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, 
 and an eminent botanist, was the son of a humble gardener at 
 Bridgton, in this parish. He had the fortune to receive the 
 patronage of Lady Mary Lyon, second daughter of John, fourth 
 Earl of Strathmore, by whom he was educated ; and having lost 
 his health by a long residence abroad, he resolved to return to 
 
 ' Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 53, passim. w Ibid., 277. * Chamb. Bolls, i. 419. 
 r Eeg. of Ministers (Mait. Club) ; "Wodrow Miscell., i. 350. 
 * Land of the Lindsays, 300. 
 
OR LOGIE-MONTROSE. 431 
 
 Britain, but died on the voyage, 21st June 1810. A cenotaph, 
 with an inscription, containing a succinct account of his services 
 and acquirements, was afterwards erected in the churchyard of 
 his native parish. a 
 
 — o — 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 THE CHURCH OP LOGIE, OR LOGIE-MONTROSE. 
 
 Kirk of Logie — St Martin's Well — Old Clergy — James Melvill at Logie School — 
 Union of Logie and Pert — Disputed Settlement of a Minister in 1645 — Churches 
 of Logie and Pert — Birthplace of Mill, Historian of British India. 
 
 There were two different churches in Angus called Logie, viz., 
 Logie-Montrose, and Logie-Dundee. Both were within the dio- 
 cese of St Andrews, and rated respectively at 12 and 10 merks. 
 In Bagimont's Roll, the first is rated at £8 ; and it was probably 
 from it that 
 
 SllisaunOte, pcrgone Del SEglfee tie Hogs 
 
 was designed, who took the oath of allegiance to King Edward 
 at Berwick, in 1296. b 
 
 The kirk stood about three miles north of the town of Mont- 
 rose, in a hollow on the west bank of the North Esk. A copious 
 spring in the vicinity, called St Martin's Well, probably indicates 
 the name of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. 
 
 John Wyld was rector of Logie in 1372. 
 
 In 1555, Alexander Forrest, provost of the kirk of Fowlis, near 
 Dundee, is designed rector of Logie-Montrose; and in 1565, 
 William Gray, a relative of the father of the celebrated James 
 Melvill, was minister of the parish. It was here, at the age of 
 seven, when, as Melvill informs us, he had learned but little of 
 " the grate Buik," that he and his brother, David, were sent to 
 be educated. Melvill describes Gray as " a guid, lerned, kynd 
 man," and says that " he hade a sistar, a godlie and honest 
 matron, rewlar of his hous, wha," he affectionately adds, " often 
 
 ■ New Stat. Acct., 215. b Bag. Boll, 167 ; Prynne, 663. 
 
 c Beg. Ep. Brechin., i. 20; Laing's Scottish Seals, 223. 
 
432 HEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 rememberit me of my mother, and was a verie loving mother to 
 us, indeed." 
 
 This, it need scarcely be said, was a memorable period in the 
 life of Melvill ; indeed, he describes it himself as " a happie and 
 golden tyme," it being here that he first "fand the Spirit of 
 sanctification beginning to work sum motiones" in his heart. 
 
 Among other interesting points, which Melvill has preserved 
 of his boyhood at Logie, is an account of the books in Latin 
 and French which he studied, of the method of teaching in those 
 days, and of the out-door exercises in which he and his fellow 
 students occasionally engaged. Regarding these, he says that 
 Mr Gray " haid a verie guid and profitable form of resolving the 
 authors; he teatched grammaticallie, bathe according to the Ety- 
 mologie and Syntax ; bot as for me, the trewthe was, my ingyne 
 and memorie war guid aneuche, bot my judgment and under- 
 standing war as yit smpred and ,dark, sa that the thing quhilk I 
 gat was mair be rat ryme nor knawlage. Ther also - we haid the 
 aire guid, and fields reasonable fear, and be our maister war teach- 
 ed to handle the bow for archerie, the club for goff, the batons for 
 fencing, also to rin, to loope, to swoom, to warsell, to preve 
 pratteiks, everie ane haiffing his jnatche and andagonist, bathe 
 in our lessons and play." d 
 
 Mr Gray was minister of Logie, also of the parishes of Pert, 
 Menmuirj and Feme, down to at least 1574, with a stipend of 
 £188 15s. 6f d., out of which he paid the reader at Logie, whose 
 name was Beaty, the sum of £20 a-year. e 
 
 In 1604, the patronage of the church of Logie-Montrose was 
 given, with some others already noticed, to the Archbishop of St 
 Andrews; and it appears that sometime before 1645, Lord Lour, 
 then chief heritor of Logie and Pert, proposed a union of the 
 churches, to which the Presbytery objected ; but, on the matter 
 being brought before » the Estates of Parliament, an act was ob- 
 tained, on 12th March 1647, whereby the heritors were allowed 
 to " transport the stones and other materialls of the tuo former, 
 old churches" to the most commodious place. " neir the midst of 
 the tuo united parishes," where they were bound to build a new 
 church. This act was ratified by King Charles II. in the year 
 " Melvill's Diary, 16-17. e Wodrow MisoelL, i. 349. 
 
CHURCH OP LOME, OE LOGIE-MONTROSE. 433 
 
 1661, and, two years afterwards, Mr Patrick Simpson, then in- 
 cumbent of the parish, presented "a supplication from the titulars 
 and heritors of Logie anent the union of the kirks of Logie 
 and Pert." f Although from this period the churches were 
 virtually united, it appears that, down to the abolition of Episco- 
 pacy, each parish had its own minister, and about 1682, Mr 
 Simpson was still at Logie, and a Mr Guild at Pert. Down 
 to 1775, there was worship, probably on alternate Sundays, in 
 both churches. 
 
 The Presbytery Records contain some curious notices regard- 
 ing the presentation and induction of Mr Simpson to Logie, 
 which, as they shew that more than two hundred years ago the 
 Presbytery were baulked by the parishioners in an attempt to" 
 thrust an unpopular minister upon them, may now-a-days be 
 read with some interest. It appears that Mr Simpson, although 
 the choice of the people, was no favorite with his clerical brethren, 
 and that they gave the preference to one Mr Allan, whom they 
 sent to preach at Logie on a certain Sunday. Whether from 
 the fact of his being the nominee of the Presbytery, or from 
 whatever cause, the feeling of the people appears to have been 
 against him, for he reported that on going to officiate at the 
 church " he found the doores locked and entrie refused him, and 
 none resorting to it." The Presbytery were so much displeased, 
 that they looked upon this as " ane hie contempt of the word of 
 God and thair authoritie;" and, suspecting that Mr Simpson and 
 his friends were to blame, certain of the parishioners and heritors 
 were summoned before them, including Lord Halkerton, Mr 
 Scott of Logie, Mrs Montgomery, widow of the late minister, and 
 Mr Simpson. All denied having had anything to do either 
 with the locking of the doors, or with advising the people to stay 
 from the church ; but, as Mr Simpson confessed having said to 
 some of the parishioners that they might " goe quhair they 
 pleased and heir sermones that day," the court found him "culp- 
 able, [and] refused that he suld preache in the church of Logy 
 vntill he suld be cleared befor them." 
 
 This deliverance was given on 22d May 1645, and on the 16th 
 October following, the Presbytery agreed to nominate Mr Simp- 
 
 ' Acta Pari., vii. 291 ; Brechin Breslytery Records, MS. 
 HH 2 
 
434 MEMOKIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 son to the church of Logic But it does not appear that he was 
 fully constituted minister until 3d September 1646, when the 
 Presbytery convened at the church of Pert, and " gave .[him] 
 institution," ordering him at the same time, to " deall with the 
 heritors for building a kirk"— that of Logie having been then, 
 apparently, unfit for use. 
 
 The new church of Logie-Pert is situated near the middle of 
 the united parishes, and the ruins of the old kirks of Logie and 
 Pert still stand. Both graveyards are used as burial places; and, 
 some years ago, the kirk of Logie was converted into a burial 
 vault by Carnegie of Craigo. The kirk of Pert, which stands on 
 the north side of the highway between Brechin and Laurencekirk, 
 near the Upper North Water Bridge, is a picturesque ruin. It' 
 bears a marked resemblance to "Alio way's auld haunted kirk" 
 on the banks of the Doon ; and, as in the vicinity of that place 
 a poet of world-wide fame was born in a clay-built cottage, so 
 here, in a similar tenement, was born James Mill, the well- 
 known historian of British India, on 6th April 1773. His father 
 was a humble crofter, and the house in which Mill first saw the 
 light stood, till lately, near the south end of the North Water 
 Bridge. It is said that Mr Mill owed his early success to the 
 benevolence of the late Sir John Stuart of Fettercairn ; and Mr 
 Mill's son, the distinguished writer on political economy, bears 
 the name of his father's patron. 
 
 Apart from the clergy who are specially designed of churches 
 in the county of Forfar, and, in consequence, were called upon to 
 own the sovereignty of the King of England, there were others 
 who, from having a territorial, or other interest in the district, 
 also appeared before King Edward, and performed the same 
 service. These, though few in number, included the 
 
 abbots of Scone ant) Slunfermlinc, 
 
 who, in virtue of their offices, were superiors of certain lands in 
 the county of Forfar ; and 
 
 3Mw, SUcJjticacem of St &nivctos, 
 
435 
 
 who had probably been an officiating priest in Angus in one of 
 the churches of his own diocese. 8 It also appears that 
 
 Satlliam be ©lung, 
 
 who was " chantour of Breghyn," or precentor of the cathedral, 
 did homage to King Edward at Berwick, on the 2d of Septem- 
 ber 1296. h This is the earliest recorded precentor of Brechin, 
 and nothing else is known of his history. A knight and baron of 
 the same surname, designed respectively of the counties of Fife 
 and Perth, performed homage much about the same time. The 
 name appears to have had a territorial origin. 
 
 s Fcedera, i. pt. iii, 163. 
 h Bag. Roll, 154 ; Prynne, 660 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 163. 
 
436 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 &f)e ©fjurcijess of (SJarbocft, WiinntU, ann 
 Hunottat, tit tije i©earnsi. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE CHUECH OP &ABVOCK. 
 
 Church, &c, given to the Abbey of Arbroath— Early Clergy — Old Censer, or 
 Incense Pan — The Church — Bishop Mitchell — Traditions. 
 
 The kirk of Garvock is first mentioned in the year 1282, 
 when Hugh Blond, lord of Arbuthnott, gave to the monastery 
 of Arbroath, in pure and perpetual alms, the patronage of the 
 church, together with pasture for a hundred sheep, four horses, 
 ten oxen, and twenty cows, also a bovate of land in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the church. 3 The grant was afterwards confirmed 
 by William, Bishop of St Andrews, in whose diocese the kirk was 
 situated. The church is rated at 15 merks, and was probably 
 inscribed to one of the Saint James', since a fair or market of 
 that name was long held near the kirk. 
 
 WlH\im\, btcaftc Oc lEglisc tie (Saruols, 
 
 did homage to King Edward I. in 1296 ? but beyond this fact 
 nothing has been learned of the history of this churchman. 
 
 Walter Stratone, rector of Dunottar, had a presentation to the . 
 vicarage of the parish kirk of Garvock, in 1502, from James, 
 Archbishop of St Andrews. From that date until after the Re- 
 formation, I have seen no mention of any of the clergy ; but this 
 church, and four others, were then served by one minister, and 
 James Symmers was reader at Garvock. Symmers, who was 
 deposed in 1569, was succeeded by Robert Mylne, who was in 
 office in 1574, with a salary of £20 Scots. d 
 
 Andrew Collace, probably a cadet of the Balnamoon family, 
 
 * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 271-2. b Eag. Eoll, 144 ; Prynne, 657. 
 
 e Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 343. d See below, 439. 
 
CHUECH OP GARVOCK. 437 
 
 was minister of the parish in 1616, and John Keyth held the 
 cure in 1652. 6 
 
 The Keiths, a branch of whom possessed the lands of Arthur- 
 house in Garvock, appear to have had a burial-place there; 
 and, until lately, the remains of a tomb were to be seen within 
 the church, bearing the initals R. K., and the date of 1666. 
 The present kirk, which is a plain building, was erected towards 
 the close of the last century. Some years ago, an old and pretty 
 entire censer, or incense pan, now preserved at the manse, was 
 found under the floor of the church. 
 
 It ought to be noticed, that Bishop David Mitchell of Aberdeen, 
 the friend of Archbishop Spottiswood, whose " Church History" 
 he superintended through the press, was the son of a small farmer 
 in this parish. He was first a presbyter in the Mearns, and 
 afterwards Dean of Edinburgh, from which office he was deposed 
 by the Covenanting party in 1638. After this he went to Hol- 
 land, and, having a mechanical taste, he made a livelihood there 
 as a watch and clockmaker down to the Restoration, when he 
 returned to England, and was appointed to a prebend in West- 
 minster. He died bishop of Aberdeen, in 1663, and was buried 
 in the south aisle of the cathedral of St Machar. f 
 
 The so-called Druidical antiquities, and other curiosities of 
 the parish, having been noticed at considerable length in the 
 New Statistical Account, it would be superfluous to refer to them 
 here. It may, however, be remarked, that a hollow to the north- 
 east of the church is said to have been the place where certain of 
 the old barons of the Mearns enacted the horrible deed, before re- 
 ferred to, of boiling their sheriff, and " suppin' the broo." The 
 place is popularly called Brownie's Kettle, and it was long be- 
 lieved by some that the place was frequented by those imaginary 
 beings. An oblong spot, near the old site of St James' Fair, 
 called the Packman's Howe, is also said to have been the scene 
 of a fight between two travelling merchants or hawkers. It is 
 farther averred that they killed each other, and were buried 
 where they fell, and that their wallets, or packs, were to be seen 
 in the gloamings dancing about the fatal hollow ! 
 
 e Brechin Session Records, MS. f Coll. on Aberdeen and Banff, 167. 
 — — 
 
438 MEMOEIALS OP ANOUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE CHURCH OP KINNEFF. 
 
 Church and Chapels — Preservation of the Regalia— Sepulchural Monuments — Silver 
 Chalice stolen from the Church — The Carmelite Friars of Inverbervy — Dis- 
 posal of their Property — Churches of Caterline and Kingorney, &c. 
 
 Fable asserts that one of the King Kenneth's had a residence in 
 the parish of Kinneff, and that the name was assumed from that 
 circumstance. * 
 
 An old house which stood near the church was called St 
 Arnty's, or St Arnold's Cell:? this probably indicates the name of 
 the patron saint of the parish; and it appears from the old taxatto, 
 that there was a chapel attached to the church. Both were within 
 the diocese of St Andrews, and are rated together at 40 merks. 
 The chapel was probably that of St John, which stood at Barras, 
 near places called the Mort-hill and Templelands — at least the 
 advowsons of the chaplainries of Kinneff and Barras were long 
 united; and, so late as 1641, were given to William Gray of Pit- 
 tendrum, together with the kirklands of Kinneff. h But there was 
 at least another chapel in the district, for in a deed of reversion 
 of Kinneff, granted by Alexander Straiton of the Keym to 
 Andrew, Lord Gray, in 1493, mention is made of a croft of land 
 "lyand at the bridgend beside Saint Martin's chaple," betwixt the 
 lands of Dullachy and Disclune.' 
 
 As before seen, the manor of Kinneff was granted by King 
 William the Lion to a Norman family of the name of Montfort ; 
 and John of Montfort, parson of Kinneff, was a witness to a deed 
 by his brother, about 1211-14. k In 1296, 
 
 JWagtstcr ftofcrtujS, pcrgona lEcdesfffi tie Itgnrf, 
 
 did homage to King Edward. 
 
 In the year 1300, Robert of Montfort, rector of the church of 
 Kinneff, is a witness to Bishop Lamberton's gift of the kirk of 
 Dairsie to the cathedral of St Andrews. 1 
 
 t Old Stat. Acct., vi. 208. h Acta Pari., v. 628. 
 
 1 Spalding Club Miscell., v. 289. k Ut sup., 369. 
 
 I Fasdera, i. pt. iii., 163 ; Eeg. Prior. S. Andree, 120. 
 
CHUECH OF KINNEFF. 439 
 
 In 1392, certain individuals had charters of lands in the con- 
 stabulary of Haddington, upon the resignation of William of 
 Echlyne, vicar of Kinneff. m 
 
 About 1567, the five parishes of Caterline, Kinneff; Bervie, 
 Arbuthnott, and Garvock, were served by one minister, named 
 Alexander Keith, who had a stipend of £26 Scots ; while James 
 Fullerton was reader at Kinneff, with £20 a-year. In 1574, the 
 same minister had the same district, with a stipend of £133 6s. 8d., 
 and James Simson was reader at Kinneff, Bervie, and Cater- 
 line with a salary of £33 6s. 8d. B 
 
 Keith is said to have been succeeded in the church of Kinneff 
 by James Rait, who died in 1620. His successor was James 
 Strachan, who was deposed in 1639,° to whom, after the Re- 
 storation, the Estates of Parliament granted the sum of £100 
 Scots, out of the readiest of the vacant stipends in the northern 
 shires, in consideration that he " hes bien put to great sufferings 
 these many yeeres by gone, and alwyes given constant testimony 
 of his loyaltie and affection to the King's Majestie, and injustly 
 deposed from his service at the kirk of Kinneff for the same."! 1 
 
 Probably Strachan was succeeded by James Granger, known 
 as the preserver, along with his wife, of the regalia of Scotland. 
 It is certain that he was a licensed minister at the time Strachan 
 was deposed ; for, on 13th September of the same year, he and 
 another of the brethren were warned by the Presbytery " to keip 
 the presbyterial meetings better."^ 
 
 Granger died in 1663, and was succeeded by James Honyman, 
 brother to the Bishop of Orkney and to the Archdeacon of St 
 Andrews. According to an inscribed monument within the 
 church of Kinneff, Honyman was succeeded, by a son, grandson, 
 and great-grandson. His grandson, who died in 1780, at the ad- 
 vanced age of seventy-seven, was author of the popular Scottish 
 song of " Hie ! bonnie lassie, blink over the burn." 
 
 It need scarcely be noticed, that the church of Kinneff is re- 
 markable as the place where the regalia were concealed for some 
 time during the Civil Wars. It is well known that these em- 
 
 m Kohertson's Index, p. 164. 
 
 n Eeg. of Ministers (Mait. Club) ; Wodrow Miscell. i., 348 ; 
 New Stat. Acot., 319, contains a list of the ministers of Kinneff from the 
 Keformation. * Acta Pari., vii. App. 65. i Brechin Presbytery Beeorda, MS. 
 
440 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 blems were carried from the Castle of Dunottar, at the very height 
 of the siege, by being hid about the person of Mrs Granger, 
 who was aided in her enterprise by the lady of Governor Ogilvy ; 
 and being safely landed at Kinneff, .they were buried in a 
 hole, purposely dug for them, below the pulpit of the church, 
 where they were carefully watched by the minister and his wife. 
 They were restored to the Government at the Restoration ; and, 
 as a testimony of their sense of Mrs Granger's service, the 
 Estates of Parliament ordered her to get the sum of 2000 merks 
 Scots " out of the readiest of his JIajestie's rents." r Mr and 
 Mrs Granger were both interred within the church, and a monu- 
 ment, with Latin inscription, now much mutilated, records the 
 share they had in preserving the ancient honors of the kingdom. 
 
 Besides the ^Grangers' monument there are several others 
 here, the more generally interesting of which is one (restored 
 some time ago) tft the memory of Sir George Ogilvy of Barras, 
 Governor of Dunottar Castle at the time of the siege above re- 
 ferred to, and of his lady, Elizabeth Douglas. Like that of the 
 Grangers, this tablet bears an inscription recording the part 
 which Ogilvy and his lady respectively bore in the defence of the 
 castle and in the preservation of the regalia. 
 
 In curious contrast to the honesty of the minister, and the care 
 with which the national ensignia were preserved, it may be men- 
 tioned that, nearly two hundred years before, the same church 
 was broken into, and one of the most sacred of the utensils of the 
 altar stolen and carried off by a neighbouring proprietor. It 
 appears that Straiton of the Knox of Benholm and his son had 
 become notorious as thieves about the time referred to, and were 
 convicted of several acts of theft; among these was the crime re- 
 ferred to, for the old man was charged with "the wrangwis 
 spoliacioun of a siluer chalice out of the kirk of Kynneff." The 
 theft being proved against him, he was ordered — according to 
 the lenient manner in which crime appears to have been punished 
 at the time — to restore the chalice " als gude as it was tane, or 
 the avale thereof, as it ma be prefit it was worth the tym it was 
 tane." 8 
 
 The adjoining parish of Bervie is supposed to have formed, at 
 r Acta Pari., vii. 11. ■ (1483) Acta Aud., *141 ; Dom., 426. 
 
CARMELITE FEIAES OF INVEBBEBVIE. 441 
 
 one time, a portion of Kinneff.' It is certain that, so far as yet 
 known, Bervie is not mentioned as an ecclesiastical site, if we 
 except the notice of it as a seat of the Carmelite Friars, until 
 the comparatively late period of 1567. 
 
 Some years ago, a number of graves were discovered near a 
 place called the Friars' Dubbsf the supposed site of the Carmelite 
 monastery ; and, by an Act of Parliament passed in the year 
 1587, all the property belonging to this house, situated " in pny 
 pairt within this realme," was given over to David Lindsay, 
 minister of Leith. It was afterwards granted to the burgh of 
 Montrose, at which time the annual rents were estimated at 450 
 merks, 50s. 4d. Scots. In 1632-56 the revenues of the friary, 
 and advocation of the kirks which belonged to it, including a 
 place called Whiteruds, and described as lying within the parish 
 of Kinneff, were Arbuthnott property. 7 
 
 But although the district of Bervie, or, more properly Inver- 
 bervie, is now disjoined from Kinneff, the two ojd parishes of 
 
 CATEBLINE AND KINGOENET 
 
 have long been included within its bounds, the former having 
 been annexed to Kinneff in 1709. These were both independent 
 churches, situated within the diocese of Brechin, and rated re- 
 spectively at 20s., and 8 merks Scots. 
 
 The old cemetery of Caterline is still used as a burial place, 
 and the rude ambry of the kirk, and the fragment of a coffin-slab, 
 the latter of which bears an incised cross and sword, are built 
 into the walls of the enclosure. The oldest inscribed monument, 
 dateless and mutilated, belongs to the family of Lady Ogilyy of 
 Barras, who, as before seen, did so much to preserve the national 
 regalia from the army of the Commonwealth. Her family were 
 previously proprietors of Barras, and her husband, Governor 
 Ogilvy, bought the estate from his brother-in-law. 
 
 The kirk of Caterline, or Caterine, was given by King William 
 the Lion to the Abbey of Arbroath, and confirmed to it by Tur- 
 pin, Bishop of Brechin, between 1178-98. w 
 
 « Old Stat. Aoct., vi. 207. u New Stat.Acct.,7. 
 
 v Acta Pari., iii. 489, 504 ; Tnq. Spec, Kincardineshire, Noe. 58, 90. 
 " Beg. Vet. de Aberb., 5 ; Beg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 256. 
 
 ii 2 
 
442 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 William, chaplain of Keterin, is a witness to the Fitz-Bernards' 
 grant of the little green cove, or Rath of Caterline, to the mon- 
 astery of Arbroath, about 1222-40.* The place is still called 
 Raikfield. 
 
 Thomas Cargill, minister of the kirk of Caterline, is witness to 
 a deed regarding a tenement of land in Brechin, called the Arch- 
 deacon's mansion, 29th April 1623/ 
 
 It ought to be noticed, in regard to the modern ecclesiastical 
 history of the district of Caterline, that an Episcopal church 
 was erected there in 1848. It is a neat unassuming edifice, 
 in the Pointed style of architecture, with nave and chancel. 
 The interior is tastefully decorated and furnished, and contains 
 an octagonal baptismal font, elaborately carved with representa- 
 tions of the sufferings of our Saviour. There is also a glass 
 stained window of three lights : the centre compartment con- 
 tains a painting of the crucifixion, and the others the figures of 
 St James and St Philip, to the latter of whom the chapel is de- 
 dicated. 
 
 Of the kirk of Kingorney there is now no trace, except that 
 a spring near the old site is called the Chapel Well; but ruins 
 of the church were to be seen within these sixty years. 
 
 In this neighbourhood King David II. landed from France 
 with his consort, Johan, in May 1341 , z when, it is believed, he 
 conferred the honor of a royal burgh upon the neighbouring town 
 of Inverbervie. But long before that date, even in the time of 
 William the Lion, Inverbervie gave surname to a family, one 
 of whom, Symon of Inverbervyn, is a witness to Humphrey of 
 Berkeley's charter of the lands of Balfeith to the Abbey of 
 Arbroath.* 
 
 * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 88-9. t Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 241. 
 
 ■ Dalrymple's Annals, ii. 228. * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 61 . 
 
CHUECH OF DUNOTTAR. 443 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 THE CHURCH OP DUNOTTAR. 
 
 Ancient Church and Chapel — St Ninian's Den and "Well — Church Burned by Sir 
 W. Wallace— The "Pele" of Dunottar besieged by the Scots— Early Clergy- 
 Proprietary Notices of the Craig of Dunottar — Supposed Origin of the CaBtle, 
 and of the Church of St Bridget — Scene in the Church in 1745 — Burial Place 
 of the Founder of Marischal College, Aberdeen— Ogilvy of Lumgair — Cove- 
 nanters' Tombstone — Scott's meeting with " Old Mortality," " Meg Muckle- 
 backit," and John Thorn — Churchyard — Dunottar Castle, &c. 
 
 The church and chapel of Dunottar were in the diocese of St 
 Andrews, and both are rated at the small sum of- 12 merks. 
 The original church is said to have stood upon the rock, now oc- 
 cupied by the ruins of the castle, and remained there until about 
 the close of the fourteenth century. It was dedicated to St 
 Ninian, and St Ninian's Den and Well are near the castle. 
 
 The earliest notice of the kirk occurs in 1297, when it is said 
 to have been burned down by Wallace. The rock upon which it 
 stood, or " snuk within the se," as Blind Harry calls it, was then 
 occupied by the English ; and he says that many of them took 
 refuge within the church, supposing, no doubt, that the sanctity 
 of the place would save them ; but, heedless of this, as well as of 
 the prayers and entreaties of the priest to spare their lives, the 
 poet relates, that 
 
 "Wallace in fyr gert set all haistely, 
 Brynt wp the kyrk, and all that was tharin, 
 Atour the rock the laiff ran with gret dyn. 
 Sum hang on craggis rycht dulfully to de, 
 Sum lap, sum fell, sum floteryt in the se. 
 Na Sotheroun on lyff was lewyt in that hauld, 
 And thaim with in thai brynt in powdir cauld." 1 ' 
 
 Probably the kirk was restored after this date ; and, in the 
 year 1336, the English being in possession of the " pele" of 
 Dunottar, they were driven from their post by the Scots. Dur- 
 ing this siege the army did considerable damage to the neigh- 
 bourhood by destroying the crops, and appropriating the cattle 
 to their use." At this time Dunottar belonged to William, 
 fourth Earl of Sutherland, brother-in-law to David II. 
 
 b Jamieson's Blind Harry, 162. c Chamb. Rolls, i. 256. 
 
444 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 When the rock was captured, and the kirk burned by Sir 
 William Wallace, probably 
 
 Mmtkt &e l&ersngton 
 
 was the minister, or " the byschop" referred to by Blind Harry, 
 before whom the Scots fell and " askit absolutioun," after they 
 had destroyed the church and slaughtered the English — at least 
 Keryngton was designed "persone del Eglise de Dunnoter," when 
 he did homage to King Edward, in August 1296." 
 
 On 28th July 1455, " Schir Nichail Blare, person of Dunotter," 
 is a witness to a charter by Hay of Ury, of the barony of Cowy, 
 in favor of the Earl of Errol. d 
 
 Walter Straton was rector of Dunottar, in 1502 ; and about 
 1567, John Christison was minister of Dunotter and Fetteresso, 
 with a stipend of 100 merks ; while John Pawtoune was reader at 
 Dunottar, with a salary of £20 Scots. In 1574, Andrew Milne 
 was minister of the three churches of Dunottar, Fetteresso, and 
 Benhohn, for which he had £152 12s. 2fd. yearly, and William 
 Salmond, reader at Dunottar, had a salary of £16. e 
 
 Of the more modern clergymen of the parish little of interest 
 has been learned ; and in regard to the history of the property 
 of Dunottar, which included the craig or rock upon which the 
 old church stood, it may be briefly observed, that after the death 
 of the Earl of Sutherland, who fell at Halidon in 1333, while 
 commanding the van of the army, it was acquired by Mathew 
 of Gloucester. He was afterwards forfeited, and about the year 
 1341, Rait of Uras, who was the king's shield bearer, acquired 
 certain portions of the property . f Bait was succeeded by Sir 
 William Keith, who married the heiress of Fraser of Cowy; 
 and, on the marriage of their daughter, Christian, with Sir 
 William Lindsay of the Byres, Lindsay received the lands and 
 craig of Dunottar from Keith.s 
 
 Soon afterwards, Lindsay exchanged these possessions with 
 his father-in-law, for the lands of Pitendriech, in Stirlingshire, 11 
 
 c Eag. Eoll, 169 ; Prynne, 663 ; Fredera, i. pt. iii. 163. 
 
 d Panmure Coll., MS., iv. 327. 
 
 e Eeg. Nig. de Aberb., 343 ; Eeg. of Ministers ; "Wodrow Miseell., i. 348. 
 
 f Eeg. Mag. Sigill., p. 1 62. s Lives of the Lindsays, i. 52. 
 
 h Spalding Club Miseell., v. 319. 
 
DUNOTTAR — CHUEOH OF ST BRIDGET. 445 
 
 and not long subsequently, it is said, Sir William Keith built a 
 castle upon the rock of Dunottar. But it would appear, as before 
 shewn, that there was some sort of a fortress there during the 
 minority of David II. It is also said that Keith, having built 
 the castle without consulting the Bishop of St Andrews, in 
 whose diocese it lay, was excommunicated for having thus sum- 
 marily invaded consecrated ground ; but was restored to favor 
 by a Papal Bull, dated 13th July 1394, on condition that he 
 should erect another church in a convenient part of the parish. 4 
 
 This is said to have been the origin of the present place of 
 worship, which is pleasantly situated upon a knoll on the west 
 bank of the river Carron, nearly a mile north-west of the town 
 of Stonehaven. The existing church was erected in 1782, and 
 it appears that, during the "forty-five," some curious scenes took 
 place in the previous building, for the records of the kirk session 
 shew that the leaders of the rebel party in the town of Stone- 
 haven were not only attended to church by an armed guard, but 
 that upon a certain Sunday one of them stood up in the church, 
 surrounded by armed retainers, and " read some treasonable 
 papers." 
 
 This church was dedicated to St Bridget, and the burial ground 
 contains some interesting sepulchral monuments, among which is 
 the burial vault of the Keith-Marischals, bearing the initials 
 G. K., and the date of 1582. These initials refer to George, 
 fifth Earl Marischal, the founder of the Marischal College of 
 Aberdeen, who succeeded his grandfather the year before the 
 aisle was built, and was himself buried in it in 1623. Adjoin- 
 ing this enclosure is the burial place of William Ogilvy of Lum- 
 gair, and his wife, Catherine Strachan — the father and mother of 
 the governor of Dunottar Castle, and ancestors of the now extinct 
 baronets of Barras. 
 
 But perhaps the most generally interesting relic is the tomb- 
 stone of the Martyrs of the seventeenth century, of whom there 
 were from a hundred and sixty to a hundred and seventy con- 
 fined in the castle of Dunottar, in a narrow damp cell, still called 
 the Whigs' Vault. The history of these unfortunate creatures 
 and their times is too well-known to require repetition here, 
 " Douglas' Peerage, ii. 188. 
 
446 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 and the epitaph has been frequently printed. It need therefore 
 only be said that the monument owes its preservation chiefly to 
 David Paterson, the hero of Sir Walter Scott's celebrated novel 
 of " Old Mortality." It was here, in the summer of 1788, 
 while Scott was spending a few days with the late Mr Walker, 
 minister of the parish, that he met with Paterson busily em- 
 ployed in restoring the inscription on this tomb, and it was his 
 singular taste and veneration for the Covenanters that sug- 
 gested, long afterwards, the idea of one of the best of Scott's 
 many excellent works. * 
 
 It was also during Scott's stay at the manse of Dunottar that 
 he saw Kate Moncur, a Caterline fishwife, and a superstitious 
 mortal called John Thorn. It is affirmed of the former — by 
 those who knew her, and who have read " The Antiquary" — 
 that she was the original of Meg Muchlebachit ; and the latter, 
 once farmer of Fernyflat, died not many years ago in utter 
 misery. This credulous being, whose ancestors had been far- 
 mers there from at least the year 1733, attributed the cause of 
 his misfortunes to witches and fairies ; and, believing himself 
 to be an adept in the art of discovering those who cast ill, 
 either on man or beast, he was frequently sent for by the 
 minister to entertain curious visitors. While Scott was there 
 an express was sent for John to come and subdue "the ill" 
 that had been " cassen" upon a cow at the manse. John, who 
 was soon in attendance, procured some of the milk of the animal 
 which was said to be afflicted, and put it upon the fire to boil, 
 when, on its coming to a top, he made several zig-zag incisions 
 upon the crust or surface of the milk. These he believed to be so 
 many, and equally deep wounds, upon the bodily frame of the en- 
 chantress, and felt convinced that they would either cause the 
 death, or lead to the discovery of the person who had bewitched 
 the cow! 
 
 But to return. Apart from the burial places of St Ninian and 
 St Bridget, in the first of which marks of graves may yet be 
 noticed, there appears to have been another place of burial 
 situated behind the present county buildings at Stonehaven. 
 According to tradition, it was appropriated for the interment of 
 those who died of the plague — an idea which is so far borne out 
 
DUNOTTAR CASTLE. 447 
 
 by traces of an inscription upon one of the tombstones, dated 
 1608, which shews that the person commemorated had either 
 died of, or during the time of the pest[ilence]. 
 
 The reader is referred to other sources for notices of the in^ 
 teresting history of the castle of Dunottar . k Suffice it to say that 
 Dunottar was made the "sted of warranty" for the Mearns, in 
 the time of King William the Lion j 1 and that the castle was the 
 principal residence of the Keith-Marischals down nearly to the 
 Restoration. About that time the House of Fetteresso was built, 
 and there the family afterwards chiefly resided until their forfei- 
 ture in 1716. It does not appear that during the possession of the 
 Keiths any very remarkable occurrence took place at Dunottar, 
 if we except the siege it underwent in the time of the Common- 
 wealth, and when, at a later date, it was made the prison of 
 the Covenanters. 
 
 In the spring of 1689, after William and Mary had ascended 
 the throne, and after it became known that James VII. was to 
 make an attempt for the Crown, Dunottar castle was one of the 
 places which Parliament ordered to be fortified. It was garri- 
 soned by sixty men, and George, eighth Earl Marischal, was ap- 
 pointed captain. m It was about this time that Captain Slezer 
 made his drawing of the castle. The buildings appear to "have 
 been then wholly roofed and entire, and a banner is represented 
 upon a staff on the donjon, or square tower — a part of the castle 
 which, fable says, existed in the time of Sir William Wallace. 11 
 
 This is clearly the oldest portion of the ruins, and as the style 
 of the architecture corresponds with that of the times of Kings 
 Robert II. and III., it is probably part of the castle, for the 
 building of which, we have already seen, Sir William Keith was 
 excommunicated by the Bishop of St Andrews. 
 
 k Longmuir's Dunottar Castle ; New Stat. Aoet. of Kincardineshire, &o. 
 1 Acta Pari., i. 51. m Ibid., ix. 58— Appx. 6. " Theatrum Scotise, plate 3. 
 
 Note. — The only other clergyman of the Mearns who is recorded to have done 
 homage to King Edward, apart from those mentioned in this chapter, was the 
 Parson of Gleneeetie, of whom and his church, &c, accounts have been already 
 given. — Vide, pp. 91-101. 
 
448 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 mnigftts templars, an* f&ospitaUers of £t Joijn, 
 tie i^olg Crtnttg, antr £t OKcrtnans. 
 
 Knights Templars— Knights of St John— Barony and Church of Maryculter— 
 Sepulchral Effigies— Roman Catholic Sollege of Blairs— Library— Portraits 
 of Queen Mary and Cardinal Beaton— The Minister of the Order of the Holy 
 Trinity— The Master of St Germans— Temple Lands of Kinhlethmont. 
 
 As in most other districts of Scotland, the ancient and wealthy 
 Orders of Knights Templars, and the Knights of St John of 
 Jerusalem, held considerable property in the towns and land- 
 ward parts of Angus and the Mearns ; and, in consequence, the 
 
 Jttaefeter JWtUtla ^emplt, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 JWagtster. P^ogpitalis jsancti JJofjannis Jerusalem 
 
 performed homage to King Edward I. for lands in these shires. 
 
 Both these orders of Knights were introduced into Scotland 
 by King David I. : the principal house of the former was at 
 Temple, in Mid-Lothian, of the latter at Torphichen, in West 
 Lothian. The Knights Templars were suppressed about the 
 year 1320, when their possessions in Scotland were transferred to 
 the Knights Hospitallers, or (as they were commonly called) the 
 Knights of St John. The various places throughout the country, 
 called Temple Lands — -although believed by some to have been 
 the sites of temples, or places of worship, in old times — were so- 
 named from having been held under the superiority of- one or 
 other of these Orders, to whom they were given at various periods 
 by princes and nobles, in the same manner as properties and other 
 privileges were gifted to the church. 
 
 The more important of the possessions of the Knights 
 Templars in this district was the barony of Maryculter., in the 
 Mearns, and the church of that parish was one of those of which 
 " Foedera, i. pt. iii. 163. 
 
BLAIES COLLEGE — POETEAITS OF QUEEN MARY. 449 
 
 the Knights held the vicarage. The old kirkyard of Maryculter, 
 situated upon the west bank of the Dee, is a singularly romantic 
 spot, containing, among other relics, the sculptured effigies of a 
 knight and lady, said to be of the family of Menzies of Pitfodels. 
 
 The Eoman Catholic College of St Mary was established at 
 Blairs in this parish in 1829, two years before which the late 
 John Menzies, Esq., presented the estate and mansion house of 
 Pitfodels to the Catholic Bishops of Scotland. The mansion, 
 which was considerably enlarged, and fitted for the purposes of a 
 College, is now an object of interest both to the artist and to the 
 literary antiquary. The library is said to be of great value, and 
 to contain many rare works which were saved at the destruction 
 of the Catholic Colleges in France. Among the vellum MSS., 
 there are two particularly worthy of notice. One is the prayer 
 book of Anne of Bretagne, wife, first of Louis XI., and then of 
 Charles VIII. of France ; the other is the service book of the 
 family of Beaton of Balfour, in Fife — both books being remark- 
 able for beauty of execution, and variety of illustrations. Among 
 the printed books are " The Catechisme" of John Hamilton, 
 Archbishop of St Andrews, dated 1552 ; and a perfect copy of 
 the works of Niniane Winzet, printed in 1562. 
 
 The more remarkable of the paintings are portraits of Mary, 
 Queen of Scots, and of Cardinal Beaton. Of the former there are 
 two portraits, one a full length, the other a three-quarter size : 
 there is a copy of the first in the possession of Queen Victoria, 
 believed, however, to be somewhat inferior to that at Blairs. In 
 the back ground of this picture the execution of the Queen at 
 Fotheringhay is represented, along with portraits of Joanna 
 Kennedy and Elizabeth Curie, the two maids of honor who were 
 present at the sad scene. The royal arms of Scotland are painted 
 in the right corner of the picture; and there are three inscriptions 
 in Latin. One occupies the left hand corner, another is written 
 below the scene of the execution, and a third along the foot of the 
 portrait. The Queen is represented with a book in her left hand, 
 and a crucifix in the right. 
 
 Of this and the other paintings above referred to, the follow- 
 ing account by the Bight Beverend Dr Kyle, Catholic Bishop 
 of the Northern district of Scotland, will be read with much 
 
 KE 2 
 
450 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 interest. The learned prelate remarks that " the large picture 
 of Queen Mary belonged once to Mrs Elizabeth Curie, wife 
 and widow of Gilbert Curie, one of the Queen's secretaries dur- 
 ing the last years of her life, and at her death. Mrs Curie her- 
 self was one of the attendants at the execution. When and by 
 whom ft was painted I have never learned. The attire and atti- 
 tude of the principal figure, being the same in which it is said 
 Mary appeared on the scaffold, seem to testify decisively that the 
 picture is not what can be called an original, that is, traced from 
 the living subject under the painter's eye. The adjuncts were 
 evidently added by another and an inferior artist, but when I 
 have no means of knowing. Mrs Curie survived her mistress 
 long, at least thirty years. She had two sons, who both became 
 Jesuits. Of one, John, little is known. He died in Spain. The 
 other, Hippolytus, was long Superior, and a great benefactor of 
 the Scotch College of Douay. To that College he bequeathed 
 the property, not inconsiderable, which he derived from his 
 mother, and among the rest the very picture now at Blairs. The 
 picture remained in that College till the French Revolution. At 
 the wreck of the College it was taken from its frame, and being 
 rolled up, was concealed in a chimney, the fire-place of which was 
 built up, and was so preserved. After the peace of 1815, it was 
 taken from its place of concealment, and conveyed, first to Paris, 
 but ultimately to Scotland, through the late Bishop Paterson, 
 and the Reverend John Far,quharson, who being, the latter 
 Principal, the former Prefect of Studies, in the Douay College at 
 the time of the Revolution, identified it as having been kept 
 there, with the tradition mentioned above. 
 
 " Of the smaller picture of Queen Mary I have heard no history, 
 but from its inscription and appearance I am inclined to think 
 that it must have been drawn when Mary was a young girl in 
 France before the first of her marriages, so that, harsh and un- 
 artistic as is its execution, I look upon it as a real original, and 
 perhaps the only one in existence. 
 
 "We have no account of the artist by whom, or the time when, 
 the picture of Cardinal Beaton was done. It was preserved from 
 time immemorial in the Scotch College at Rome, down to the 
 invasion of that city by the French in 1798. It was then sold for 
 
HOSPITALLERS. 451 
 
 a trifle, purchased off a stand in the street by a Scotch artist of 
 the name of Morrison, and restored by him to Abbe M'Pherson, 
 late Rector of that College, who had known it as part of the 
 College property, and by him brought to Blairs. Of the excel- 
 lence of its execution as a work of art, there can be no doubt." b 
 
 JWimstcr ©rtums j&anctee ftdnltatts 
 of Berwick, is recorded to have done homage to the King of 
 Erjgland for lands in the county of Forfar, 28th August 1296.° 
 
 So far as I am aware the only monasteries of this order in 
 Angus were at Brechin and Dundee. Of the former I have 
 learned nothing beyond the name, and an accpunt has been pre- 
 viously given of the latter. 4 The Trinity Friars had also lands 
 in Banchory and Cowie, in the Mearns. 
 
 This order of monks, commonly called Bed Friars, was of 
 considerable antiquity in Scotland, there having been six mon- 
 asteries in that country so early as 1209. Their superiors were 
 styled Ministers, and a third part of their revenue was reserved 
 for redeeming Christian slaves from among the Infidels. 
 
 ISart&olomeug, JRajfeter Uomus £ancti ffiermani et ^anerugnt, 
 did homage to King Edward I. for lands in the counties of Aber- 
 deen and Kincardine. 6 
 
 The place in the Mearns which held of the Hospital of St 
 Germans is now unknown. But it appears also to have had an 
 interest in Angus, for on 6th March 1621, Alexander, Lord 
 Spynie, was served heir to his father in the lands of the hospital 
 of St Germans, called the Temple Lands of Kinblethmont. £ 
 
 The Hospital of St Germans, founded in the twelfth century, 
 stood near Seton, in Haddingtonshire, and had its name from the 
 saint to whom it was dedicated.^ 
 
 b Kindly communicated by the Mev, John Strain, President of St Mary's College, 
 Blairs. These pictures are all painted on canvass. The larger portrait of Queen 
 Mary is 7 feet 5 inches high, by 4 feet 9 broad. The lesser, simply inscribed "Marie 
 Stuabt," is 5 feet 3 inches high, by 4 feet 3 broad. The portrait of Cardinal Beaton 
 is 2 feet 6 by 2 feet — Ut sup., 277. » See Appendix, No. XVIII. 
 
 c Foedera, i. p.iii. 163. d Spottiswood's Relig. Houses, 430 ; ut sup., 188. 
 
 c Foedera, i. pt. iii. 163. ' Inq. Spec, Forfar, No. 130. e Caledonia, ii. 510. 
 
452 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 itLty halites of ©eceasrtr ISarons, 91.30. 1296-1306. 
 
 Widows of Abernethy of Dunlappy — of Blair, ancestor of the Blairs of Balthayock — of 
 Cheyne of the Mearns — of Lovel of Balumby — of Lundy of that Ilk — of Blund, 
 and of Hastings of Angus, with notices ottheir Families and Estates. 
 
 We have before referred to one lady who did homage to King 
 Edward, and had livery, or possession of her lands in the shire of 
 Forfar, whether her heritage or dowery ; a and the following, so 
 far as known, is a complete list of the homages of the ladies 
 connected with Angus and the Mearns. These — whether from 
 the antiquity or importance of the families to which they be- 
 longed — form a singularly interesting portion of the homages 
 which were performed during the time of the disputed monarchy, , 
 and shew how completely the plans of the King of England were 
 laid for the subjugation of the kingdom. With the exception of 
 the two last-mentioned, whose homages took place on 15th March 
 1306, the others occurred on 3rd September 1296. 
 
 iWarfa, qua fuft uxor PJugonis tic Sl&ernetfrg, 
 
 was wife of the eldest son of Sir Patrick of Abernethy, third 
 in descent from Orem, founder of the race. The lands in Angus r 
 in which this lady was reponed by King Edward, had probably 
 been those of Balmadity, in Feme, Downey, in Monikie, and 
 Dunlappy — at least, from earliest record, these estates were pos- 
 sessed by the Abernethys. b 
 
 The surname of the lady is not recorded; and that of her 
 husband was assumed from Abernethy in Perthshire, where 
 Laurence, the son of Orem, was Abbot of the Culdees, and lord 
 of the manor of Abernethy. 
 
 . a Ut sup., 345. . h Foedera, i. pt. iii. 164. 
 Eeg. de Aberb., 25. — [See Douglas' Peerage, ii. 466-7.] 
 
LADIES OF ALEXANDER BLAIR, AND REGINALD CHEYNE. 453 
 
 ISlena, qua fuft uxor "iUeianocr tie Mate, 
 
 was a daughter of Sir William Ramsay of Dalhousie, and her 
 husband was son of Sir William Blair, who is said to hare been 
 seneschal of Fife in the time of Alexander II. 4 
 
 Sir Alexander Blair was great-grandfather of the first Blair 
 of Balthayock, in Perthshire ; and although it is certain that the 
 family possessed considerable property in Angus during, and sub- 
 sequently to the time of Robert the Bruce, the lands for which 
 this lady did homage are unknown. 
 
 fEugtacJbtn, qua futt uxor ifteginalo le dfjcn, 
 
 did homage for lands in the shires of Forfar and Kincardine." 1 
 
 This lady was the heiress of Sir William Colville of Ochiltree, 
 in Ayrshire, and brought a considerable estate to her husband, 
 Sir Reginald Cheyne. He was sometime chamberlain of Scot- 
 land, and took a leading part in the transactions of the times. 
 He died an old man soon after 1291, during which year he and 
 his son were appointed nominees of King John Baliol. His son, 
 also Sir Reginald, did homage to King Edward. 
 
 The Cheynes were of Norman origin, and early settled in the 
 north. The line failed in two co-heiresses about the year 1350, 
 one of whom married John, second son of John of Keith, 
 marischal of Scotland, and the other became the wife of Nicol of 
 Sutherland, second son of Kenneth, Earl of Sutherland. The 
 estates were then divided, and the barony of Duffus being the 
 portion of the latter, the title of Lord DufFus, which was con- 
 ferred upon the family of Sutherland by King Charles II., was 
 assumed from it. f 
 
 & Feeders 
 
 1 Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 164 ; Douglas' Baronage, 187. 
 
 ,, i. pt. iii. 164. ' Chalmers' Caled., i. 595-6. 
 
454 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 IEba, quae futt uxor Moficrti Eo&el, 
 
 did homage for lands in the counties of Aberdeen, Forfar, and 
 Roxburgh, in 1296 ; and, much about the same time, 
 
 flgiwgS, qu fu la femme P?«nrs Souel, 
 
 performed the same service for lands in Roxburghshire.^ 
 
 The Lovels were of Norman origin ; and in 1183, Henry of 
 Lovel granted two.bovates of land in the territory of Hawick to 
 the prior and canons of St Andrews. 11 
 
 The ancient residence of the family was at Hawick, which they 
 afterwards left for Balumby, in Angus ; and, in the year 1267, 
 Thomas of Lovel is a witness to the foundation charter of the 
 Hospital, or Maisondieu, of Brechin. 1 
 
 From the time of Edward I. until 1328, when Sir Hugh Lovel, 
 knight, appears as a witness to Henry of Rossy's charter of the 
 lands of Inieney to Walter of Schaklock, k there is, little trace of 
 the name in the district. James Lovel is recorded as one of the 
 Angus barons who fell at Harlaw in 1411 ; and in 1425-6, 
 Richard Lovel of Balumby was a witness to an instrument of 
 wadset, which the Master of Crawford granted to Sir Thomas 
 Maule, of the lands of Cambistown. 1 
 
 Richard had, at least, one son and a daughter. The latter 
 became the wife of Sir Robert Graham of Fintry, ancestor of 
 the Viscounts of Dundee ; and the former is said to have married 
 Catherine Douglas, who was in the Convent of the Black Friars 
 at Perth, when King James I., and " Valter Straton, the kyng's 
 chalmer chyld," were murdered by the Earl of Athole and his 
 associates. This lady was maid of honor to Queen Joanne, and 
 on hearing the approach of the regicides, with the view of al- 
 lowing the king time to escape^ it is told by an old writer, that 
 she " put hir arme in the hoill quhair the [bowt] suld hef bene 
 for haist, bot the wpstryking of it brak hir arm." This well- 
 known historical incident occurred on the 21st February 1436 ; 
 
 s Fcedera, i. pt. iii. 164; Rag. Roll, 172 ; Prynne, 664; Ayloffe's Calendars, 113. 
 
 h Reg. Prior. S. Andree, 60, &o. * Reg. Ep. Brechin., i. 8. 
 
 k Reg. de Aberb., 339. 1 Beg. de Panmwte, MS., i. 245. 
 
THE LOVELLS OP BALUMBY. 455 
 
 and the same author adds that the heroine " wes mariit efter on 
 Alexander Lovell of Balwamy." 1 " • 
 
 About the year 1478, Alexander Lovel of Balumby was an 
 assizer " upon the landis and guides pertaining to Walter Ogilvy 
 of Owers," and in 1490, the Duke of Montrose was found to 
 have done " wrang in the eiecioun and outputting of Alexander 
 Lovale of Ballumy, out of the landis of Bischopkers liand in the 
 barony of Koskowby, and vexing of him therintill." n 
 
 The son of the last-named Alexander bore the name of Henry, 
 and obtained the honor of knighthood. In 1536, he prosecuted 
 Patrick, Lord Gray, for an act of " stouthreif and oppression" 
 done to him on the 28th of January, " in the occupation of his 
 fishing of Dundervisheide, on the water of Tay, lying to the east 
 of the castle of Bruchty." 
 
 Sir Henry died about 1550, as in that year he was succeeded 
 by his son and heir, Andrew Lovall.i 1 Andrew had a son who 
 bore the same name as his grandfather, and in 1572, he and his 
 son, " Johnne Lovell, ffear of Balumbie," were charged with non- 
 appearance before the Begent and Council, when it is stated that 
 the former " wes denunceit rebell and at the home, and thairfoir 
 put in ward, and thairefter deliuerit to my Lord Thesaurer, to be 
 kepit in sure firmance and custody." This took place on the 8th 
 of August, and on the 23d of January following, Patrick, Lord 
 Gray, was charged to "vnderly the law ffor resset and intercom- 
 moning with Henrye Lovell of Balvmbye, Patrick and Dauid 
 Lovellis his sonis, and vtheris, being deunnceit rebellis and at the 
 home," when his lordship was " vulawit for non-appearance. "« 
 
 Traces of the Lovels of Balumby become scanty after the 
 last-named period. Some of the family became burgesses of the 
 neighbouring town of Dundee ; and the last notice of them as 
 landed proprietors occurs in 1607, when Sybilla and Mariota 
 were served heirs-portioners to their father, James Lovell, in the 
 lands and fishings of Westferry and " the Vastcruik, alias Kil- 
 craig," on the north of the Tay, r facts which probably shew that 
 the family failed in co-heiresses. 
 
 ™ Extracta e Variis Cron., 236. u Acta Aud., 60 ; Acta Dom. Concil., 152. 
 " Pitcairn's Grim. Trials, i. *177. p Inq. Speoiales, Forfar, No. 6. 
 
 i Pitcairn's Crim. Trials, ii. 37, 41. ' Iuq. Speciales, Forfar, Nos. 56-7. 
 
456 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 Perhaps the fortunes of the Lovels had declined soon after the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, since, in 1571, Sir Thomas Lyon 
 of Aldbar had charters of the dominical lands of Balumby. The 
 estate appears afterwards to have got into the hands of a younger 
 son of Lord Gray ; and about the year 1601, it belonged to the 
 first Lord Balmerino. 3 It was Panmure property before 1662, 
 for Earl George was then served heir to his father, Earl Patrick, 
 in the teinds and superiority of the lands ;' and in 1674, and 
 subsequently, James Maule, who succeeded his brother, George, 
 as third Earl of Panmure, was designed of Balumby. Down to 
 the forfeiture of the Maules in 1716, it belonged to that family, 
 and was among the estates which Earl William bought back in 
 1764. It was sold, during the early part of this century, by the 
 late Lord Panmure. 
 
 Balumby lies in the parish of Murroes, near Dundee ; and the 
 manor is described by Mr Ochterlony, about 1682, as being "ane 
 old ruinous demolished house ; but a very pleasant place." A 
 new mansion-house was built by a late proprietor, adjoining the 
 remains of an old building, upon the latter of which are several 
 shields charged with armorial bearings. 
 
 JHargareta, p« fut't uxor i^etri lie 2£unt>2, 
 
 who did homage for, lands in the counties of Kincardine and Fife, 
 was probably the widow of a descendant of one of two English 
 families who were settled in Fife and Angus during the reign of 
 King David I. The latter line failed in Alan the Durward, or 
 Hostiarius; but the Fife branch, of which it is probable Peter 
 of Lundy was a member, survived until near the close of the 
 seventeenth century." 
 
 Lundie in Angus is a small parish, and the celebrated Admiral 
 Duncan, whose family have long possessed the district, was 
 buried in the churchyard. Lundie in* Fife lies in the parish of 
 Largo, where also is the burial-place of the famous Admiral Sir 
 Andrew Wood. That locality is farther interesting to the anti- 
 quary, from its containing an old sculptured stone monument, and 
 
 ■ Douglas' Peerage, ii. 564 ; i. 671, 42, 183. ' Ibid., No. 384, &o. 
 
 11 Fredera, i. pt. iii. 164 ; Eag. Boll, 159 ; Caledonia, i. 533. 
 
LADIES OF ADAM BLUND, AND EDMUND HASTINGS. 457 
 
 three rude unembellished obelisks. These last-mentioned stones 
 are each about eighteen feet high, and sepulchral remains have 
 been got beside them. At Nome's Law, portions of a remark- 
 able set of silver armour were also found, bearing symbols similar 
 to some of those upon the sculptured stones of Scotland/ 
 
 iWargarcta De 33Iatc, uxor Sloe (e 33luno, 
 
 had probably been one of the Blairs of Balthayock. 
 
 The Blunds appear first in Angus and the Mearns as witnesses 
 to charters by William the Lion, and Alexander II. ; and, as 
 before seen, more than twenty years previous to the appearance 
 of the wife of Adam of Blund, Hugh Blund, ancestor of the noble 
 family of Arbuthnott, granted the church of Grarvock to the 
 monastery of Arbroath. w It is probable that Hugh Blund of 
 Arbuthnott, and Adam of Blund, were related. It was in 1306 
 that the wife of Adam of Blund performed homage, and it was 
 for lands in the shires of Forfar and Stirling. 
 
 Domina Hjsnklta, uxor Domini Icomunot tie ^agtingeg, 
 
 also did homage in 1306, for lands in the county of Forfar. 
 
 Of this lady's family or her husband's nothing is known. It 
 is probable that the latter was descended either from John or 
 Adam of Hastings, who had settlements here under King 
 William the Lion. The first-named received the manor of Dun 
 from that monarch, from which he granted a salt-work, and an 
 acre of land adjoining, to the monastery of Arbroath ; and the 
 latter had a charter grant from the same king of the land of 
 Kingilduris, out of which he made a grant to the same abbey." 
 
 * Engraved and noticed in the Sculptured Stone Monuments of Scotland. 
 
 w Palgrave, 300 ; Fcedera, i. pt. iv. 59 ; ut sup., 436. 
 
 1 Fcedera, i. pt. iv. 59 ; Palgrave, 299 ; Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 99, 87. 
 
 -0 — 
 
 LL 2 
 
458 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 ^omagess of Barons, 21. 19. 1306. 
 
 Nicholas of Douiiouey, or Downey — Duncan Scott — Scotts of Montrose, Logy, Usan, 
 and Duninald — First appearance of the surname of Scott in Angus, &c. 
 
 Among the barons who did homage to King Edward in 1306, only- 
 two were designed of this district, and both were of Angus. 
 
 Nicholas tie Uounoueg, 
 
 " or Dennoven," as the name is given in Eymer, a had probably 
 been a vassal of the ancient family of Abernethy, and may have 
 held the 'property of Downey, in Monikie, and assumed his 
 name from it. Previous to his time, there was a family sur- 
 named Downey, one of whom was present at the settlement of 
 the marches of Conan and Tulloes, in 1226-39. 1 " 
 
 Duntan jecotug, 
 
 who, along with " Dounouey," also performed homage for lands 
 in Angus, 15th March, was probably ancestor of David Scott,, 
 burgess, and lessee or tacksman of the mills of Montrose, in 1329. c 
 
 It appears that Scotts have been located in and near Mon- 
 trose since the time of Kobert the Bruce. The first Scott of 
 Logy, a merchant and burgess of that town, was ancestor of 
 the Scotts, at one time lairds of Usan and Duninald, one of 
 whom, towards the close of the last century, was M.P. for the 
 county of Forfar, and afterwards for the burghs. 
 
 The surname of Scott, now of common occurrence, appears first 
 in Angus during the reign of William the Lion, when Eichard 
 de Scocia, clerk to that king, witnessed a charter of the gift of 
 the ferryboat of Montrose to the abbey of Arbroath, which was 
 granted at Forfar about il78-80. d 
 
 " Palgrave, 301 ; Foedera, i. pt. iv. 59. * Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 325, - 
 • Palgrave, 300; Fcedera, i. pt. iv. 59; Chamb. Rolls, 101. 
 d Reg. Vet. de Aberb., 12, passim. 
 
 — O — 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I.— Page 13. 
 
 Letter — William Strang, to the Magistrates of Forfar, sent along with the Chwrch 
 Bell. — From the original in the Archives of the Burgh.'' 
 
 Eight wobthie and Lowing pkeends 
 
 Yours of the ii Junij last with skipper James Paterson resaived, And according 
 to your desyre and comission I hawe shippit in with the said skipper, the bell my 
 vmquhill brother Kobert Strang did dedicate to your churche, hoping it shall please 
 yow weill. I pray the Lord yow may resawe it in safety And enter safe dely werie 
 yairof, it will please yow pay the skipper his fracht for it: And wheras yow wiehe I 
 shuld hawe conwerted a pairt therof for bwying a clocke yairto, whiche I did not 
 think fitting, hot that it shuld hawe rather bene augmented as diminished whiche I 
 hawe also done. And, as for the buying of a clocke, I hope ther wilbe some amongst 
 yow who will follow my vmquhill brother effter through his goode example ; Also I 
 would entreat my worthie freends the prowest bailies and counsell of the tonne, 
 that they would hawe goode inspection in the distribution of the poore moneyes 
 yeirlie, so that it be distributed only to the poore of the toune and to no other accord- 
 ing to my vmquhill brothers intention and meaning, 1 " whiche I hope yow will doe, 
 leawing behind yow a good example to your successors to follow effter in all tymes 
 coming, for whiche the Lord will bless yow and yowrs the better. ITocht forder, 
 bot my thankfull remembrance of deutie to yow all for favours showne courtesies to 
 me for whiche I shall remane 
 
 Tour Lowing freend 
 
 William Strang. 
 Stockholm ii August 1657. 
 
 Pay the skipper Mb reassonable fracht for I 
 behowed to gift him 2 bells for his ship and 
 hous wse befor he would grant to take it in. 
 
 [Addressed] — ffor 
 
 His most worthie and Louing freends the prowest bailyes 
 and counsell of the burghe of forfar — this in hand 
 Per skipper whom In 
 
 God preserve. forfar. 
 
 " I am obliged to William Eoberts, Esq., Town-Clerk of Forfar, for the readi- 
 ness with which he placed this, and some 1 other original papers belonging to the 
 burgh, at my disposal. The documents, from the Archives of the Burgh, are here 
 printed for the first time. 
 
 b This refers to a mortification, or gift, of 10,000 merks, which Mr Strang made 
 to the poor of the burgh, and which was laid out in the purchase of land. The annual 
 rents now amount to about £240 sterling, which is handed over annually, by the 
 mortification managers, to the Parochial Board. 
 
462 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 No. II. (a.)— Page 19. 
 
 Extracts from Dr ArtTiar Johnstone's " Poemata," 1642, pp. 437-439. 
 
 FAKRABA. 
 
 Farfara, te decorant regalia rudera tecti, 
 
 Et lacus, etmultEe fertilitatis ager ; 
 Sunt angusta tibi, fateor, pomseria, latum 
 
 Sed tamen imperium Scotia prisca dedit ; 
 Quos geris, agnosoit tellus Angusia fasces, 
 
 Seque tuo sistunt rura remoja foro ; 
 Jus dicunt populi prooeres, plebs excolit artem 
 
 Qua parat et teDues jugiter auget opes ; 
 Tergora sunt illi validis detracta juvencis, 
 
 Et quae virgineos velat aluta pedes ; 
 Umbrorum levibus dedit haec sandalia plantis, 
 
 Et soleas sociis, funiger ordo, tuis ; 
 Ne nive vel glaoie laedaris, tempore brumse, 
 
 Hsec tibi perones, rustioa turba, parat ; 
 Fortibus hsec oereis veteres instruxit Achivos, 
 
 Et Graise crepidas hine petiere nurus ; 
 Plebs eadem tragieis munivit crura cothurnis, 
 
 Hujus et inventum nobile soccus erat ; 
 Eoma suas posthac ne tollat in aethera vires, 
 
 Nee bellatrices Sparta superba manus ; 
 Imposuere jiigum populi cervieibus illse, 
 
 Fortibua base vinclis crura pedesque premit. 
 
 No. II. (b.)— Page 68. 
 
 MONS KOSARUM. 
 
 Nobilis urbs rosei jam gaudet nomine montis, 
 
 Quae prius a ccelo dicta Celurca fait ; 
 Proximus huic mons est, quern prseterlabitur amnis, 
 
 Ambrosias populo prsebet uterque dapes ; 
 Mons lectas peeudes, salmones suffieit unda, 
 
 Lautius et si quid stagna Neronis habent ; 
 Quae recreent oculos, incingunt lilia ripas, 
 
 Ipsaque punioeis sunt juga picta rosis ; 
 Ad latus eoum se vectigale profundum 
 
 Explicit, et velis mille teguntur aquae ; 
 Propter aquas populo praebet spectacula campus, 
 
 Flumine quem Boreas hinc lavat, inde Notus ; 
 Hie juvenum pars flectit equos, pars utitur arcu, 
 
 Pars rotat Herculea. grandia saxa manu ; 
 
APPENDIX — NO. II. 463 
 
 Sunt quos lucta juvat, pars gaudet ludere disooj 
 
 Vel voluoree ourvo pellere fuste pilas ; 
 Urbs Celebris, te si speotet, Capitolia Romas 
 
 Juppiter, Idalium deseret alma Venus. 
 
 No. II. (c.)— Page 140. 
 
 BEEOHIHUM. 
 
 Fertile Brechinum geminos interjacet amnes, 
 
 Hie Boream spectat, respicit ille Notum ; 
 Bupibus inclusse sternuntur pontibus undae, 
 
 Sunt quoque securis flumina plena vadis ; 
 Hano simul Arotoi deoorat victoria regis, 
 
 Perflda cum soeii teVga dedere duces ; 
 Praesulis bic sancti domus est, et pyramis aedi 
 
 Proxima, Phidiacse forsitan artis opus ; 
 Si molem spectes, nihil est exilius ilia, 
 
 Ipsa tamen cceli culmina tangit apex ; 
 Est structura teres, nee raro lumina fallit, 
 
 Eminus banc spectans esse putabis aeum ; 
 Daedala compages et ventos ridet et imbres, 
 
 Nee metuit magni tela trisulca Jovis ; 
 Si fabricam conferre lubet, Brecbinia turris 
 
 Pyramidas superat, Nile superbe, tuas. 
 
 No. II. (d.)— Page 226. 
 
 TAODUNUM. 
 
 Urbs vetus, undosi cui parent ostia Tai, 
 
 Et male Cimbrorum, quod tegit ossa, solum, 
 Genoa te spectans sua ridet marmora ; moles 
 
 Pyramidum rlocoi barbara Memphis babet ; 
 Ipsa suas merito contemnunt Gargara messes ; 
 
 Quasque regit, damnat terra Liburna rates ; 
 Et Venetum populi de paupertate queruntur ; 
 
 Nee Cnidns sequoreos jactat, ut ante, greges ; 
 Si conferre lubet, pubea Spartana juventas, 
 
 Consulibus cedit Eoma togata tuis ; 
 Qui mendicatum Ta! de gurgite nomen 
 
 Dat tibi, credatur mentis & artis inops ; 
 Structa Deum manibus cum possis jure videri, 
 
 Jure Dei-donum te tua terra vocat. 
 
464 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 No. III.— Page 21. 
 
 Letter — Oapt. Pocldej/ to the Magistrates of Forfar, lid May 1654. — 
 From the original in the Archives of the Burgh. 
 
 You are herby required to cause to be sent into the Garison for the vse of the 
 soldiers, fower dussen of wheate . breade for each day in the weeke for which the 
 baker y' brings it shall reseue riddy money and you are to take speciall care that 
 the breade brought in be the full weight accordinge to the price that wheate now 
 beareth, and you are likewise to send you r fleshers with beefe mutton or Lambe each 
 munday and wedensday to serue the Garison, and for such meate as shall be brought 
 iu the partyes shall reseiue good payment for the same ; herein I expect that you 
 fayle not as you tender you' quiett and for preuentinge the soldiers of Cominge to 
 cause the warrant to be observed Given vnder my hand at the Castle of Glamis 
 this 22th of May 1654. 
 
 T. PoCKLEY. 
 
 ffor the Prouost of fforfor 
 
 and to the bailffs theirof. [Indorsed] — Captaine Pookleyes ^ordour to 
 
 the baxters and fleshers. 
 
 No. IV.— Page 22. 
 
 Memorial for Bobert Craigie, Esa., Lord Advocate, regarding the " Oatastropie" of 
 Councillor Binny of Forfar. — From the original in the Archives of the Burgh. 
 
 The next thing to be consulted Is a Catastropie of a verry extraordi- 
 nary nature, of which we can give no more than a sketch thereof, as will appear by 
 the sequell of this storie, which is, That upon ffriday last, the eighteen day of Sep- 
 tember j m vij c and fourty-one, Andrew Binny, shoemaker in fforfar, and one of the 
 common Counsel of the said burgh, haveing business at the burgh of Dundee, went 
 thither in the morning of the forsaid day, and on his returne home, much about half 
 way, at a place called Petterden, being the King's highway, leading to and from the 
 foresaid burgh, he all of a sudden was invaded and asaulted by four men who 
 furiously threw him off his Horae, Clapt a thick Cloath (which he apprehends was 
 woolen), about his face, and fixing the same before and behind his neck; in so much 
 • that he was almost suffocated : The moment thereafter, so inhuman and barbarous 
 were they, that they fettered his armes with strong Coards behinde his back, then 
 they remounted him on his horse, with one of the ruffians, who rode behind him with 
 his armes Grasped about his body, the oy r three aocompyning him on foot. He 
 asked them If they wanted his money, which was about three pound he had in his 
 pocket, If so they were welcome to it, and begd, for Christ's sake, to spare his life : 
 But in place of that they caried him, as he imagines, and is pretty sure, two houres 
 at least, and then brought him to some dwelling, took him off his horse in the 
 above situation, and two of them each on one hand, with their hands and armes 
 about his west, and under his thyghs, caried him up several pairs of Stairs, which 
 he is positive were not streight, by reason of the frequent turnings 'they made with 
 him, and their resting two three times, untill they put him in a room where, without 
 
APPENDIX — NOS. IV., V. 465 
 
 meat or drink, they keept him fettered and blindfolded as at first, and one or two 
 alwayes walking by him : yea, their barbarity went still furder, that the saliva or 
 spitt could not be discharged by him without one of his atendants moving the oloath 
 a litle above his chin, neither could he get nature eased or supplyed, ffor he was 
 put in a bed wanting cloaths or anything else below or above him, tho' frequently 
 he demanded the same for the sake of his and their Redeemer. To which demands 
 they neyer gave any suply or return, keeping him in this miserable condition 
 30 houres or thereby, Dueling which tyme they UBed their outmost endeavoures 
 with him, by horrid imprecationes, menaces, and threatings, to leave the present 
 magistrates their party, to which he had alwayes firmly stood by, and come over to 
 the oy r side of the question ; And, as no doubt, he came lengths with respect to their 
 demands, they then began to give him some assureance of his speedy enlargement 
 which perhapes hapened the sooner with this circumstance, That the noise that he 
 made, while able, occasioned their changeing his rpom to a Darker, at which time one 
 of his atendants slakt a litle the cloath about his head, when he heard a voice from 
 the former roum, and grasping abovt him, by great accident, laid hold of the sneck of 
 the door which he lifted, and perceptably saw Mr Fletcher of Ballanshoe, his Livery- 
 man, with a candle in his hand, calling on one of his attendents, Are you comeing 
 to bed ?— whereupon Mr Binny called and cryed the louder, and swore wherever, 
 or in whatever place he was thus treated, ffletcher's servant was there, and if they 
 should torture him to Death he would abyd by it, Upon which two of the Gang 
 straitned his cords, and the cloath about his Head, and swore bloodely, if he spak or 
 made any more noise, they would scobb his mouth, and Inflict oy r punishments upon 
 him, which forced his silence and soon after he was caried off by two of these 
 ruffians blinde folded and fettered as above, sometime walking, and at oy r tymes 
 rideing on his horse, for the space of two houres or thereby, and about twelve at 
 night, as he aprehends, being the Saturnday, was left by them in the muire of 
 Kincaldrum, unloused in a moment both at armes and face, and certified, with great 
 oaths, to conceal the tratement he met with, and abide by the promises or oaths he 
 head come under, oyrwayes it would fare worse with him : This part where they 
 left him is within a mile, or thereby, where they first atackt him. . . . 
 
 Note. — The above was drawn up by the Magistrates of Forfar, and presented to 
 Mr Craigie, then Lord-Advocate, afterwards Lord-President of the Court of Session, 
 for his advice as to " the most habile method to be taken for detecting such a peice 
 of villany, or if it were possible, upon Mr Binny's signeing ane informatiohe ag J . 
 Fletcher's serv'. that a warrant would be got for aprehehding his person," &c. 
 
 No. V.-PaGe 27. 
 
 fixtrdets from Accounts of the Bwrgh of Forfar, a.d. 1684. — Written on two loose 
 leaves folio, preserved in the Archives of the Bwrgh. 
 
 DISCHARGE. lib S d 
 
 ffirst payed to James Smith for ffyve Douzon of pyps and tuelve winds of 
 
 tobaco att Michaelmes 1684 12 
 
 To Alexr Adam measson to hie [? hew] the stons for the vse of the Croce 14 
 M M 2 
 
6 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 2 10 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 8 
 
 
 
 466 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 To John Canty for Drawing wp ane Minnt betuixt the touu and David lib s d 
 
 Whyt anent the alienation of the West shell 7 
 
 To the thrie officers for yr shoes 4 10 
 
 To John Rodger to buy oyll for the vse of the knock and bells 110 
 
 To Thomas Smith officer when he went w' the Town to The Lady Bal- 
 
 namoons buriall 6 
 
 ffor proclaiming of St tuetherens fair att the Croce of Brechin and in 
 
 the Crofts y r of 
 ffor proclaiming the sd fair att Alyth and Kirriemuir 
 To John Mitchell Coupar and the toun officers for y r payns when the 
 
 touns metts and measurs wer gadged 
 payed for aill in Bailzie Benneye conform to receipt 
 ffor entrie money to the toun officers 
 
 To the sds officers at the rouping of the touns customs and Booths 
 To James Proctor officer for goeing to Innerquharity for John Kobertsone 
 
 to gett some peapers from him anent the toun 
 To Alexr Mastertoun for ringing the bells 
 To Patrick Gibsone for the lyke cause 
 
 To Alexr Adam for goeing to Glames for ane stone to the Croce 
 To James Guild for his horse and cairt and to Andrew Smith for his 
 
 horse to Glames to bring home the sd stone to the Croce 10 
 
 To James Gordon in templebank for the lend of his extrie to bring home 
 
 the sd stone, James Guild having broken his' extrie in the cause 4 
 
 To the officers for goeing to Glames for helping to lift and uaiting 
 
 wpon the sd stone in the Cairt 
 To James Procter officer for goeing to Bd r wpon the touns affairs 
 More for ane pair of shoes to him before he went 
 Payed to John Sturrock officer for goeing to Glames with the provest 
 
 on St fargus Day wpon the touns accompt 
 To John JameBson pyper to buy ane pair of shoes to him 
 To provest Carnegy for goeing to Edin r wpon the touns affairs 
 To John Low for his horse to Dundie 
 To the officers for keeping the counsell loft Door 
 Payed of expensse at the Laird of Clovayes buriall 
 At y' tyme to the officers for goeing w' the magistrats y'to 
 To John Hepburne for his horse and cart and outcarrieing the red or 
 
 small stons out of the laigh tolbuith 
 Att y' tyme to the officers for shooling and filling the sd redd 
 To John Jamesson pyper for entrie monie 
 payed for Aill with Andrew Tailour and the officers for goeing to hight 
 
 the great Bell, shoe being then wrong 12 
 
 To Alex' Benny for lining of Black Cloath for the vse of the Counsell 
 
 loft 7 13 
 
 off Drink money to his man ' 4 
 
 To James Auld tailzour and of expensse w* him 18 
 
 Att y' tyme for Silk 6 
 
 Att y' tyme for naills to Thomas Hepburn 10 
 
 Att y' tyme to the officers 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 1 6 
 
 8 
 
 1 8 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
APPENDIX — NO. V. 467 
 
 lib s d 
 
 To Jehn Sturrook officer quhen he was seiok at the Magistrate command 1 10 
 To the Clerk for wreating arid forming the Disposition and rights Be 
 
 the Toun to David Whyt of y' peice of land called the West Shell 4 13 
 
 To John Cauty of Drinkmonie for his payns and wreatting 14 
 
 To the Clerk for tuo skins of parchment to the touns Drum 1 10 
 
 To Andrew Hendersone toun heard of entrie money 6 
 
 To William and Charles Adams for Mending of the Irone hous 3 6 
 
 To William Guild and John Low for bringing tuo cairtfull of stons y r to 8 
 
 To Andrew Tailzour for mending the laigh tolbuith door 110 
 
 To him for mending the great Bell 4 
 To John Ogilbyes wyffe for threie elnes and ane halfe ell of sey cloath for 
 
 ane Cott to James Procter at 1 lib 9s. pr ell Js 5 16 
 
 ffor aill w' her and the tailzour 3 4 
 
 [In addition to the two leaves from which the above extracts are taken, four 
 other leaves contain the " Chakse" of the Burgh, also payments of feus in 
 " Truffes and Scaldings.'' Among these entries is an example of a "tee-name'' 
 — still in use among fishermen and coal miners, and where there are a number of 
 persons of the same name and surname in one locality. At the time referred to 
 " Binny " was one of the most common surnames in Forfar — and one of the pay- 
 ments in question bears — " John Cauty tailzeour, and litle John Benney half a 
 darg, 13s. 4d."] 
 
 The following warrant by the Sheriff of Forfarshire, for Cutting and Branding 
 thieves (though not referred to in the preceding pages), seems worthy of a place 
 here. — The original is in the Archives of the Burgh of Forfar. 
 
 Forfar, 19 Septr. 1699 by Inverighty yor Sherrif deput. 
 
 The Judge and sherrif deput forsaid after haveing taken the Judiciall confessions 
 of Patrick Mitchell in Cottoun of Cossins and Bessie Martin receptur by him ther 
 And after haveing stolen Neprie, Table Cloaths, and Carrats from the Barle of 
 Strathmore, conforme to their Confessions y'of of this daite, Binds by their saids 
 Confessions That they are Guilty of the saids Crymes lyed to their charges and 
 therfor ordains the said Patrick to have his Bight Eare Cut of, and the said 
 Bessie Burnt on the Bight Cheek by the hand of the common hangman on Wedens- 
 day the Tuenty instant betuext Tuo and ffour hours in the afternoon, and the 
 magistrates of fforfar to see this sentance put in Execution, as they will be ansuer- 
 able for which this shall be ther warrand 
 
 (Signed) Wm. Gbat. 
 
468 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 No. VI,— Page 46. 
 
 Documents relating to the Hereditary. Office of Porter, or Gate-keeger of the, Cattle 
 of Montrose. — Acta Pari., vol. i. p. 90. 
 
 BBETE AD INQUIRENDUM DB SUCOESSIONE SYMONIS JANITOKIS DE MONROS. A.D. 1261. 
 
 A . Dei gratia rex Scottorum Roberto de Monte Alto dileoto et fideli sno vicecomiti 
 et ballivis suis de Forfar salutem Mandamus vobis et precipimus quatinus per pro- 
 bos et fideles homines patrie diligenter et fideliter inquiri faciatis si Margareta 
 Angnes Suannoch Cristiana et Mariota filie quondam Symonis Janitoris de Monros 
 sint legitime et propinquiores heredes dicti quondam Symonis de terra de Inyaney 
 . et de officio janue castri nostri de Monros et si dictus quondam Symon obiit vestitus 
 et Beisitus ut de feodo de diotis terra et officio et hee omnia diligenter et fideliter 
 inquisita una cum valore et rationabili extenta terre prenominate quamcitius poteri- 
 tis nobis mitti faciatis et hoc breve Teste me ipso apud Monros . xxj . die Marcij 
 anno regni nostri xiij". 
 
 INQUISITIO SUPER EODEM BBEVI. 
 
 Heo est inquisicio facta de precepto domini regis per Robertum de Monte Alto 
 militem de terra de Jnianey juxta Falerikkum scilicet per istos barones . baronie 
 de veteri Munros Rossyn Fethyn Kynel Inverkilerd Inverlunan Kynbladmund 
 Lexyn Dun Brechyn Kinabir Parva Pert Melgund Pannemor Pannebride Tunryn 
 et Roscolbyn et magna pars proborum burgensium de Munros . Omnes illi preno- 
 minati jurati dicunt quod quidam homo qui vocabatur Crane habuit et tenuit dic- 
 tam terram hereditarie ex dono regis Willelmi et in dicta terra obiit vestitus et 
 saysitus ut de feodo . Et post decessum ejus Swayn filius ejus tenuit et habuit dic- 
 tam terram hereditarie et obiit in dicta terra vestitus et saysitus ut de feodo . et 
 post decessum ejus Simon filius ejus tenuit et habuit dictam terram hereditarie et 
 in dicta terra obiit vestitus et saysitus ut de feodo . et quod dictus Symon habuit 
 quinque filias ex duabus mulieribus desponsatis scilicet Margar Agnes Swannoc 
 Cristian et Mariot . et quo dicti Crane Swayn et Symon nuncquam fecerunt 
 exercitum nee dederunt auxilium nee aliquid aliud in mundo pro dicta terra fecerunt 
 nisi officium Janue Castri domini Regis de Munros . Et jurati dicunt quod diets 
 mulieres sant legitime et propinquiores heredes dicti Symonis jam defunoti. 
 
 No. VII.— Page 74. 
 
 The curious Instrument of Sir Wilzeam Froster's Assythement, 5lh February 
 1530, is printed in the /Spalding Club Miscellany, vol. iv. pp. 27-9. It was 
 written by John Gilbert, presbyter of the diocese of Brechin, and a notary public, 
 and witnessed by Villiam Foullartoun of Ardooht, George Erskyn of Quhitfild, 
 John Lyndesay, Mr Hugh Vischart, and others. 
 
APPENDIX — NO. VIII. 4^9 
 
 No. VIII.— Pages 116, 119, 122. 
 
 Extracts from two painted boards iw the Session-house, Old Church of Brechin. 
 The earlier entries, on the oldest board, appear to have been made about 1660! 
 
 1615. Andrew Bishop of Brechin gifted the hearse before the pulpit. c 
 
 1630. James Pieres, Merchant [mortified] £133 6 8 
 
 More, James Pieres foresaid gave for helping to cast the great hell 66 i 3 4 
 
 More, Agnes Cargill, his spouse 66 15 4 
 
 1643. Mr Alex* Bisset, min r at Brechin, gifted a silver Cup for the 
 
 Communion table. 
 
 1648. Mr William Eait, min r at Brechin gifted a silver Cup for the 
 
 Communion table. 
 
 1655. Mr Laurence Skinner, min r at Brechin gave the Churches 
 
 great Bible. 
 
 1660. John Mil, Church officer, gave three tinue basins for serving 
 
 in administration of the Sacraments. d 
 
 1665. David B. of Brechin gifted the Orledg on the Steepel. 
 1680. Walter Jameson, Bailyie, and Kirk Master, gave two tinne 
 
 quart stoops for the Communion tables. e 
 
 1682. Anna Barclay, relict Dauid B. of Brechin . . . 33 6 8 
 
 1684. Mr Robert Carnegy, lawful son to Mr David Carnegy lait 
 
 Dean of Brechin 
 
 1689. James Allan, who died present bailyie . . . . , 
 
 1690. Master John Glendei, Dean of-Cashels, and prebend of Sant 
 Michaels of Dublin, in Ireland.' 
 
 1711. George Carnegy, glover in London, mortified to the Poor . 
 
 1728. Baillie David Doig of Cookstone gave the church a new folio/ 
 Bible. 
 
 1732. The Bev. Mr John Johnston, minister of Brechin, mortified 
 for a School in the West side of the parish, and other pious Uses, up- 
 wards of . 1000 
 
 1744. The Bev. Mr William Shank, minister of Brechin, mortified 
 for the Use of said School 66 13 4 
 
 1803. David Blair, Esq. of Cookstoun, son of the late Bev. D. Blair, for many 
 years first minister of Brechin, made a present of a handsome silver font with its 
 stand, for Baptism in the chnrch of Brechin. , 
 
 1808. The repair of the church was finished at the joint expense of the Heritors 
 of the Parish, the Magistrates of the City, the Incorporation, and Persons having 
 seats in the Church as their Property. 
 
 c Ut sup., 116. Although gifted to the church in 1615, the style of ornament 
 shews this chandelier — which is one of the most exquisitely beautiful 'specimens' of 
 the kind known — to be of a much earlier date. . . . ' 
 
 d These basins or plates are thus inscribed round the margin — " Pelvis Bcclesise 
 Brechineensi dedicata vt eidem in administratione S. coense Dom. inserviat anno 
 1660." 
 
 e One of these " stoops," which is still used, is inscribed — " Amphora Ecclesiae 
 Brechinensi dedicata per Waltervm Iamessone 1680." 
 
 ' The surname of Glendei, or Glendy, is still common in Angus, and appears to 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 
470 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 No. IX.— Page 120. 
 
 Notices of Altarages and Chaplainries, of the Cathedral of Brechin, and of the Kirks 
 ofKibnoir and ButherMll. — Compiled chiefly from the Beg.Ep.Brechinmsis. 
 
 ALTARAGES. 
 
 The altarage of Our Lady, or the Virgin Mary, was founded by Walter Stewart, 
 Earl of Athole, husband of Margaret Barclay, heiress of Brechin. . It was supported 
 by the rents of certain properties in the towns of Brechin, Montrose, and Dundee, 
 and mass was to be said daily at the ringing of the second bell in the morning, at 
 all seasons of the year, for the souls of the Earl, and his successors. This altar was 
 farther enriched by donations from the Erskrnjs of Dun. 
 
 The altarage of St Thomas the Martyr, founded by Wishart of Pitarrow, was 
 endowed out of lands in the parish of Fordoun. Sir John Wishart presented his 
 brother, David, to it in 1442. 
 
 The altarage of St Katherine was founded by Robert Hill, a citizen of Brechin, 
 who, in 1453, gave some houses and gardens towards its support. The Earl of Craw- 
 ford also gave 20s. out of the lands of Drumcairn, in Lethnot. Henry Qub.it, or 
 White, prebendary of the church of Einhaven, and one of the first Senators of the 
 College of Justice, left the rents of a houBe and toft, near Brechin, to the officiating 
 priest of this altar, for which he was bound to say mass on the Sunday after the 
 feast of All Saints (1st Nov.) annually, with lighted tapers, &c. 
 
 The altarage of All Saints, was founded by William Meldrum, archdean of 
 Dnnkeld. The house of the chaplains of this altar stood on the west side of thq city. 
 There were also altarages dedicated to St Ninian, St Christopher, St Duthoc, St 
 Nicholas, St Sebastian, and St Magdalene, &c. 
 
 CHAPLAINKIES. 
 
 There were chaplainries dedicated to St James the Apostle, Nomine Jesu, St 
 John the Evangelist, St Laurence, St Ann, and the Holy Cross, connected with the 
 cathedral. Probably the first stood at a place in the town " callit Sanct James' 
 land." The last-named was founded by Dempster of Auchterless and Careston, and 
 supported by rents out of the Temple hill of Keithock, the lands of Pitfortby, and 
 the town of Little Pitforthy. 
 
 THE KIKK OF KltMOIK, AND THE KIBK OP BDTHEKKILL, 
 
 are rated in the taxatio at 5 and 8 merks respectively. The kirk of Kilmoir, Kil- 
 marie, or St Mary, stood, says the late Rev. Mr Skinner, in a letter to Gen. Hutton, 
 " on the north side of the South Esk, within a stone-throw of the cathedral, and in 
 the Brechin Castle garden." The site is now occupied by the stables and offices of 
 
 have been assumed from the district of that name in the Mearns. Probably the 
 Dean of Cashel was a native of Brechin ; but the following extract from the Vestry 
 Booh of St Michael's, Dublin, kindly furnished by Richard Rolt Brash, of College 
 View, Cork, Esq., is all I have been able to learn regarding Glendy :— " 1676. John 
 Glandie, or Glendie, a Prebendary of Christ Church, Dublin, instituted July 4. 
 He died on January 22, 1693-4, and was buried in his church of St Michael's, 
 Dublin. In his will, dated Sep. 17, 1690, he says, ' I do give and bequeath to the 
 poor of St Michael's, Dublin, and St John's, Cashel, the hundred pounds sterling 
 due to me by bond from Jeremy Jones of Ardneglass, and John Conner ; with all 
 the annual rents to be divided between the poor of the said parishes.' " 
 
APPENDIX — NOS. IX., X., XI. 471 
 
 Brechin castle. Alexander Bissat was appointed to the parsonage and vicarage of 
 Kilmoir, in 1611. 
 
 The church of Butherkill, or Buthergill, stood upon a knoll, now planted, on the 
 south side of the South Esk, ahout 200 yards west of the Bridge of Brechin. The 
 ruins of the kirk, and the old grave stones, were only removed towards the close of 
 last century, and the manse (an old thatched house), was demolished at a later period. 
 Many of the grave stones are said to have been buried under ground. I have seen 
 two fragments bearing these detached words — -(1 .) . . leon . a . . . zeir . . 
 
 ME . MOK . . EEHE . . (2) . . . VA . OBIT . . . AMHO . 1630 . ET 1 . . . 54. 
 
 There is a fine spring called the Inscen Well at the site of the church. The church 
 gave the name of " Buther-kill," now Burghill, to the district. Probably the old 
 name refers to that of some ancient local saint. 
 
 No. X.— Page 138. 
 
 Eost/racts from the Records of the Presbytery and Kirk Session of Brechin 
 
 1647. 
 
 July 25, at Buttergill hill. No meeting [of Presbytery] since the first of Aprill 
 till this tym becaus of the pestilence in Brechin. [The Presbytery met at the same 
 place on the 9th August.] — Fresh. Bee. 
 
 Sep. 9. The Lord visiting this burgh with the Infecting seikness, thair was no 
 session holden from the seventh of Aprill till the day and moneth wnderwritten, but 
 when it pleased the Lord that the seikness began to relent thair wer som persones 
 contracted and maried. 
 
 Nov. 23, 30. No session be reason the moderator and remanent sessiones feared 
 to convene vnder one roof. 
 
 1648. 
 
 Jan. 2. Given to William Bos lying in the seikness in ane hutt, xxxs. 
 
 March 1. Given to ane poore woman in the Craigend of Auldbar, who lost all 
 hir gear by cleansing thairof the tym of the infection, called Janet Mitchell, xx lib. 
 
 August 2, 23. No session be reason the infection 'was begun again in the toun. 
 
 Oct. 6. Payit for meall to the people in the hwtts, 59s. 
 
 Oct. 15. Given in charitie to the distressed people of Montrose, the tym of the 
 Infecting seekness. [£42, 14s. 2d. collected.] 
 
 Oct. 22. Given to buy malt and meall to those in the hutts, 3 lib. 12s. 
 
 No. XI.— Page 174. 
 
 I have to thank John Macdonald, Msq., Town- Clerk of Arbroath, for the following 
 Extracts from the Minutes of the Town Council, relating to the attack made 
 wpon the town, by Captain Fall, May 1781. 
 
 " At Aberbrothock the twenty sixth day of May One thousand seven hun- 
 dred and Eighty one years 
 Pbeseht — David Greig Provost George Hill and Alexander Hay Baillies John Neish 
 
472 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Dean of Guild James Keir Con', of the Trades John Ouchterlony and James Butcbart 
 late Provosts Alexander Aberdeen James Benny William Fitchett and David Balfour 
 late Baijlies Patrick. Kitchie, William Smith James Ferrier and William Souter 
 Merchants David Jialfpur Merch'. and Alexander Vannet Manufacturer. The 
 Council Playing, taken jntq serious Consideration the daring Attempt made on this 
 town Wednesday ,& Thursday last by Captain Pall : of the Pear Nought Cutter Pri- 
 vateer of Dunkirk and the very eminent danger w^iich then Threatened The inhabi- 
 tants both in, their persons & property many of the houses having suffered from the 
 Cannonade and the danger of fire from the redd hoat balls thrown for many, houijs 
 being very great, such alarming Circumstances being dujy Considered by the Cpuncjl, 
 they find it absolutly needfull that a second application be made to Government for 
 One or two hundred stand of small arms with ordinance and stores sufficient for a 
 Battary to be erected on the Ballast Hill and -that every means be used for procuring 
 forces and putting the place in a state of defence so as to prevent any such sudden 
 attacts or alarms in future and ordain that a letter be dispatched by first post to our 
 representative to be by him laid before Lord Stormonth desiring his Lordship would 
 be pleased to grant our request as soon as possible Also that a petition or letter be 
 sent to Mr Stivens secratory to the Admirality praying that that honourable Board 
 would order some more frigates or ships of war to be put in this station and the 
 Council agreed that Captain Palls different summons with the Answers thereto be 
 here insert for preservation. 
 
 " ' At Sea May twenty third 
 " ' Gentlemen 
 
 " ' I send these two words to inform you that I will have you to bring 
 to the French Colour in less than a quarter of an hour, or I set the town on Fire 
 directly such is the order of my master the King of France I am sent by. Send 
 directly^ the Mayor and Chiefs of the town to make some agreement with me ; or 
 I'll make my duty it is the will of yours (Signed) "'G. Fall.' 
 
 " The Magistrates with a view to gain time (so that such of the Inhabitants as 
 could be furnished with arms might be drawn up and if possible get a party of mili- 
 tary from Montrose — there being not more than thirty soldiers in the place, (above 
 that number of the Company Quartered here having gone a day or two before to 
 Perth as an escoart to some Spanish prisoners put ashore at Aberdeen from an Eng- 
 lish Privateer) wrote the following Answer That they had received Captain Falls 
 letter " In which he mentioned no terms that they would be glad to know his terms 
 which would be laid before the Inhabitants and how soon their opinion could be col- 
 lected an answer would be given him meantime they hoped he would desist from 
 doing the town any Injury by firing on it or otherways" On receipt of this letter 
 Captain Pall sent ashore the following very modest one 
 
 " ' At Sea eigth Olocin the afternoon May twenty third 
 " ' Gentlemen 
 „..,,„ , " ' I Received Just now your answer By Which you say I ask no terms, 
 Ithpughj; it was useless since I asked you to come aboard for agreement. But here 
 are my terms. I will have thirty thousand, pounds sterling at Least : and six of the 
 Chiefs men of the town for otage : Be speedy or I shot your town away directly and 
 I set fire to it I am Gentlemen 
 
 " ' Your Servant 
 
 (Signed) " ' G. Pall. 
 
APPENDIX. — NOS. XI., XII. 473 
 
 " ' I sent some of my Crew to you : But if any harm happens to them you'll Be sure 
 •We'll hang up the Main Yard all the prisoners We have aboard. 
 
 " ' To Mons™. The Chiefs Men of arbronght in Scotland.' 
 " To this letter a verbal message was sent aboard ' That "he might fire as much 
 as he pleased on the town and as to his setting fire to it we would endeavour to pre- 
 vent as much as was in our power as the Magistrates could not agree to such terms.' 
 By this time a number of the Inhabitants from 80 to ninety armed in the best 
 manner possible were drawn up with the Military at the harbour where they remained 
 during the night. How soon the above message was made known to Captain Fall a 
 heavy fire from his cutter was begun and continued for several hours on the town 
 without further damage than beating down a few chimney tops and going through 
 the roof of some houses. He continued at anker during the night and patroles of 
 the Soldiers and Inhabitants were constantly out to the east and west to prevent any 
 surprise. At break of Day he began to fire on the town but not so frequently as in 
 the evening ; several of the balls fired in the Morning were found to have been heated. 
 About nine o'clock in the morning of Thursday the following letter was sent on shore 
 with some people belonging to a vessal of this place taken by his boat in the 
 morning. ' 
 
 " 'At Sea May the 24 th . 
 " ' Gentlemen 
 
 " ' See Wheither you will Come to some terms with me or I come in pre- 
 sently with my Cutter into the arbour and I will cast down the town all over. Make 
 haste Because I have no time to Spare I give you a quarter of an hour for you de- 
 cision and after I'll make my duty I think it would Be Better for you Gentlemen to 
 Come some of you a Board presently to settle the Affairs of your town. You'll sure 
 not to be hurt I give you my parole of Honour I am Your 
 
 (Signed) " ' G. Fall. 
 
 " A message was sent to Captain Fall that we would be glad to see him on shore, 
 that we would give him the best reception in our power, and a flag of defiance was 
 at this time put up on the peir end, when a brisk fire again commenced and much 
 better directed than the preceding night but providentially attended with no other 
 consequences then formerly mentioned. Captain Fall finding his labour in vain 
 weeighied anker and went to some vessals which hove in sight which he eaptered. 
 
 (Signed) " David Grieo." 
 
 Note. — Since the Arbroath portion of this volume was printed, an interesting 
 work has appeared entitled, "Arbroath and its Abbey," &c, by Mr David Miller, 
 writer, which, besides a general history of the district, contains an epitome of the 
 grants to the Abbey, and selections from the Becords of the Burgh. 
 
 No. XII.— Page 183-4. 
 
 The Ohaplainries of St George, &c, at Dundee. 
 
 On 9th March 1597, David, Earl of Crawford, had a charter of the Earl's Lodging 
 
 in Dundee, with the right of the patronage of the chaplainry within the same, 
 
 &c, with the Craig of St Nicholas, within sea-mark of the burgh, and with the 
 
 fortalice and place of the said Craig, advocation, donation, and right of patronage 
 
 NN 2 
 
474 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 of five chaplainries of St George the Martyr, and of Allhallow chaplainry founded 
 within the parish kirk of Dundee. — (Peg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 372.^ 
 
 The Hospital of Dundee appears to have been dedicated to St John the Baptist 
 {Ibid., i. 93) ; and there was a chapel in the town to St John the Evangelist (Ibid., 
 ii. 184-5.) 
 
 - No. XIII.— Page 225. 
 
 The Coinage of Forfarshire. — From Conder's " Arrangement of Provincial 
 Coma," 8vo., Ipswich, 1798, pp. 11-13. 
 
 Dundee. — Silmer Shillings. 
 l.o. A Highlander with his Sword and Target, "From the Heath-cover'd 
 Mountains of Scotia we come." Ex. Arms, Supporters, and Motto, 
 " Dei Donum," in a sunk Oval. 
 k. An ancient Ruin, "Dundee Shilling, pay le by J. Wright, Jun'." Ex. 
 " Broughty Ca6tle." 
 
 2 . o. The same as last. 
 
 e. An ancient Cross, " W. des." on the sides, " Dundee Silver Medal, Price 
 One Shilling." Ex. " Cross taken down 1777." 
 Dundee. — Penny Size. 
 
 3. o. Large Buildings, " Public "Warehouses on the Quay." " Shipping of this 
 
 Port 8800 Tons Rege." Ex. Arms, Supporters, and Motto, "Dei 
 
 Donum," in an Oval. "Wright, Jun. des." 
 e. A public Building, "Dundee Penny, 1797." Ex. "Town House, 
 
 founded 1732." 
 e. " Payable on Demand by Thos. Webster, Jun'." 
 Dundee. — Halfpenny Size. 
 
 4. o. A Ship moored along side a Quay, " Commerce augments Dundee." Ex. 
 
 Arms, Supporters, and Motto, " Dei Donum, Wright, delin." 
 E, An ancient Tower, "Dundee Halfpenny, 1795." Ex. "Old Tower, 
 
 founded 1189." 
 E. " Payable at the Warehouse of Alex'. Molison." 
 
 5. o. Arms of Dundee and Supporters, "Dei Donum, Prudentia et Candore." 
 
 " Payable at W. Crooms, High-Street, Dundee." 
 e. " Sells Wholesale Woolen & Linen Drapery Goods, Watches, &c. &c. 
 cheap." 
 
 6. o. A public Building in a sunk Oval, under the Building, " I. W. I. design." 
 
 " Dundee Halfpenny, 1796." " Infirmary, founded 1794." 
 b. A Ship moored along side a Quay, and distant View of a Rock at Sea. 
 
 "Mare et Commercium Colimus." Ex. Arms, Supporters, and Motto, 
 
 " Dei Donum," in an Oval. 
 e. Engrailed. 
 
 7. u. A public Building, "Dundee Halfpenny, 1797." Ex. "Town House, 
 
 finished 1734." 
 n. View of a Glass Manufactory, " Glass Works, WeBt Cone, founded 1788." 
 
 Ex. " Wright, des." 
 e. " Payable by John Pilmer, Church Lane." 
 
APPENDIX. — NO. XIII. 475 
 
 8. o. An ancient Fortress, "Dundee Halfpenny, 1797." Ex. " Dudhope Castle, 
 
 found d . 1660, converted into Barracks, 1794." 
 k. -A Man working Flax, Packages on the Ground, "Flax Hackling." 
 " 3336 Tons Flax & Hemp imported here in 1796, value £160,128." 
 
 9. o. South View of a Church, "Dundee Halfpenny, 1797." "St Andrew's 
 
 Church, found d . 1772. 
 e. A Euin, " Cowgate Port, the last Remains of our ancient Walls." Ex. 
 
 " Wright, Jun r . des." a Star underneath. 
 e. "Payable at the Warehouse of Alex'. Swap & Co." 
 Fobfab. — Halfpenny Size. 
 
 10. o. A Castle, "Payable on Demand by John Steele." Ex. " Wright, des." 
 
 R. A distant View of a Town from the Water, " Halfpenny." Ex. " Forfar, 
 1797." 
 
 Mohteose. — Halfpenny Size. 
 
 11. o. A distant View of a Town and Bridge from the Water, "Mare ditat." 
 
 Ex. "Montrose." 
 b. A Woman spinning, " Sure are the Rewards of Industry." Ex. "1796." 
 e. " Payable by J. Bissett & Son, Montrose." 
 
 12 f 
 
 ' "' >-The same Device as last, but on a much smaller Scale. 
 
 B.J 
 
 Dundee. — Farthing Size. 
 
 13. o. A pair of Scales above a small Cypher, M. & Co. " Payable on Demand, 
 
 Dundee." 
 b. A Centinal on Guard, a Cannon and part of a Fort. 
 
 14. o. A Horse drawing a Cart loaded with large Packages, " Sic itur ad Opes." 
 
 Ex. "Wright, des." 
 b. A large Building, " Dundee Farthing, 1796." Ex. " Trades Hall." 
 
 15. o. The same as last. 
 
 b. The same Building as the last, "Dundee Farthing, 1797." Ex. "Trades 
 Hall." 
 
 16. o. The same as last. 
 
 b. The same Building as the last, "Dundee Farthing, 1797." Ex. " Trades 
 Hall." 
 
 The following are not given by Mr Conder : — 
 Bbeohin. — Halfpenny Size. 
 
 17. o. A spinning mill with a wheel on left. "East Mill, Brechin, 1801." 
 
 b. West view of the cathedral and round tower. " Church — Payable by Smith 
 and Wilson." 
 
 Mohteose. — Halfpenny Size. 
 
 18. u. The armorial bearings, and motto of the Dukes of Montrose. "Montrose 
 
 Halfpenny, 1799." 
 b. The old lunatic asylum of Montrose. " Montrose Lunatic Hospital, 
 
 erected by Subscription, 1781." 
 e. " Payable by Andrew Nicol, tobaconist." 
 
476 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 No. XIV.— Page 229. 
 
 The Dundee Seminaries. 
 
 " Mr Webster of London [of whom there is a portrait in the Council-Chamber 
 of Dundee], mortified £6,000, which is lent out on heritable security, the interest 
 being applied for the education of twenty boys at the Dundee High School ; and 
 twenty-five boys, and as many girls in other schools, where the elementary branches 
 are taught." — Note from John Anderson, Esq., Toum-Qlerh. 
 
 On the motion of Mr P. Shaw, bookseller, seconded by Mr Baxter, procurator- 
 fiscal, an appeal was made in 1851, to the public of Dundee and neighbourhood, to 
 raise a fund for increasing the salaries of the»teachers in the mathematical and 
 classical departments, when, in a very short time, £4,040 were subscribed. In 
 1857, another subscription was-made in behalf of the teacher of modern languages, 
 and £2,000 were raised. From these funds, which are well invested, the teachers 
 of the respective branches receive considerable additions to their salaries. — Printed 
 Heports. 
 
 No. XV. (1-2.)— Page 234. 
 
 I am indebted to the Eev. Dr Taylor of Leochel-Cushnie, Aberdeenshire, for the 
 following translations of Epitaphs from the tombs of Peteb and Ansold de 
 Maule, in the Church of Uttica, and Letters to James, Eael of Panmube. 
 
 " On January's Ides, and in the year 
 Eleven hundred, since Christ did appear, 
 Peter, the flower of nobles, breath'd his last ; 
 A man who all his equals far surpass'd, 
 In bounty, and hilarity, and wit — 
 And at the festive board who lov'd to sit, 
 Bather than mingle in war's bloody strife ; 
 Of nobles chief and heir, he spent his life 
 In honour, in the land, which holds his dust, 
 And to Christ's mother gave this house in trust — 
 'Mid January's clouds, upon him shone 
 Twelve suns in peace, and now when he is gone, 
 Through Mary's prayers, may ever on him shine, 
 The cloudless sun of Justice — all divine — 
 Now Paris mourns him — but let Paradise 
 Through saints to whom he left this house, rejoice." 
 
 "If there be one, who now desires to know, « 
 The living name of him who sleeps below, 
 That name was Ansold, he a soldier brave, 
 December's twenty-fifth he found a grave, 
 God's mercy grant he endless reBt may have. 
 
 Amen." 
 
APPENDIX. — NOS. XV., XVI. 477 
 
 No. XV. (3.)— Page 247. 
 
 [Letter addressed] — To Monsiewr, the Earl of Parmure. 
 Monsieur, the Earl of Panmure : The proofs which you have given of your zeal, 
 and of your faithfulness, leave me no room to doubt your sentiments, and that you 
 will learn only with pleasure, by Colonel Hoock, those which I have always had 
 towards your nation : and how much I desire to make it aware of the friendship 
 which I have for it, and the remembrance of its ancient alliances with my crown. 
 I refer myself to him, who will tell you of this still more particularly, and to the 
 assurances which he will give you of my regard aDd of my affection. Whereupon 
 I pray God, to have Monsieur the Earl of Panmure in his holy keeping. Written 
 at Marly the 9th March 1707. Lewis. 
 
 Colbert. 
 
 No. XV. (4.)— Page 251. 
 
 [Letter addressed] — To my Lord, the Earl of Panmwe, at Urbmo. 
 
 Rome 17th July 1717. 
 I am truly sorry, my Lord, to be obliged to make my very humble acknowledg- 
 ments, by this letter, of all the goodness which you have shown me, during your 
 sojourn at Borne ; since I desired to discharge that duty in person. I had supposed, 
 that you would not leave Rome, till Sunday night. I called this very day at your 
 door, but had the mortification to learn that you were already gone. I entreat you 
 to receive, instead, by these lines, the sincere protestations of my gratitude, and of 
 my respectful attachment ; and to be persuaded that no one can more perfectly 
 honour you, or be with more sincerity and veneration, yours, my Lord, than 
 
 The Cardinal Gualterio. 
 
 No. XVI.— Page 238. 
 
 The following iB a specimen of a Proprietary Index to Anous and the Mearns, 
 which, for a series of years, has occupied much of my leisure. But for the 
 death of an eminent local antiquary, it is probable that the MS. would have 
 been farther advanced, and that a portion, at least, would have been published 
 before this time. 
 
 THE LORDSHIP OF BRECHIN AND NAVAR. 
 
 David, Earl of Huntingdon and the Garioch, brother of King William the Lion, gave 
 the lordship of Brechin (a part of his own appanage), to his natural son Henry, 
 who assumed the surname " de Brechin," in which name and property he had 
 three male successors. . Crawf. Peer. 45. 
 
 Margaret of Brechin," sister of the last David of Brechin, wife of Sir David of 
 Barclay, had the lordship of Brechin on the forfeiture of her brother, who was 
 executed in August 1320. 2b. 46. 
 
 Gilbert Hay, had charters of [? certain of] the lands of Brechin, from Wm. de Monte 
 Alto of Kinblaukmounthe, 1322. Sob. Ind. 18.66. 
 
 Walter Stuart, Earl of Athole, 2d son of Robert II., assumed the estates and titles 
 of Brechin, on his marriage with Margaret, heiress of the s,on of the last-named 
 
478 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Barclay of Brechin. Stuart Buffered as a traitor, 1437, when Sir Thomas Maule 
 of Panmure, in right of his mother, Marion Fleming, daughter of Jean, sister of 
 the last Barclay of Brechin, laid claim to the lordship of Brechin. Although he 
 proved himself heir to the lordship, he only received a portion of it, the greater 
 part heing annexed to the Crown. Beg. de Pad. MS. i. 256. 
 
 Mary, queen of James II., had the harony of Brechin, Jan. 22, 1449. 
 
 Acta Pari ii. 61-7. 
 
 House and lordship of Brechin, and pertinents, with the services and superiority 
 of Cortachquhy, were annexed to the Crown, Aug. 4, 1455. Acta Pari. ii. 42. 
 
 William de Nudre " mari de feodo dominij de Brechin et baronie de Nethvey " 
 (Navar)1451. Oh. Bolls, iii. 515. 
 
 Thomas, Lord Boyd, Earl of Arran, who married^ the King's sister, was deprived of 
 his annuity from the lauds of Brechin, Nov. 22, 1469. Orawf. Off. 8. 317. 
 
 John, Earl of Mar, had the lordship of Brechin, Nov. 22, 1469. Acta Pari. ii. 187. 
 
 Janet, Countess of 8th Earl of Douglas, had the life-rent of the lordship of Brechin 
 and Navar, 1472-3. Doug. Peer. i. 431. 
 
 David, Earl of Crawford, afterwards Duke of Montrose, also had the life-rent of the 
 same, ahout 1472-3. Lives of the Lindsays, i. 153. 
 
 James, Duke of Ross, 2d son of Jas. III., had the lordship, 1480. Doug. Peer ii. 416. 
 
 Sir Thomas Erskine, a cadet of Dun, Sec. to James V., had the lordship of Brechin 
 and Navar, 1527. , Diplomata Begia, v. 394. 
 
 John, 4th Lord Erskine, excamhed the lands of Balhagardy in Aberdeenshire, with 
 Sir Thomas Erskine, for the lordship of Brechin, 1550-1. Doug. Peer. ii. 211. 
 
 Brechin and Navar, forfeited by John, 7th Earl of Mar, and annexed to the Crown, 
 1584.— (Acta Pari. iii. 384.) Eestored to the same Earl, Deo. 1585. 
 
 Doug. Peer. ii. 213. 
 
 Sir Patrick Maule, afterwards Earl of Panmure, purchased the lordship of Brechin, 
 and Navar, from the Earl of Mar, and had charters of it in October 1634. — (Doug. 
 Peer. ii. 354.) Forfeited by James, 4th Earl of Panmure, 1716. Leased by Go- 
 vernment to the York Buildings' Co., 1719. Repurchased on that Company's 
 insolvency, by William Maule, afterwards Earl of Panmure, in the Irish peerage, 
 nephew of the forfeited Earl, for £6,245, 13s. 4d., Feb. 20, 1764.— (Ibid. 356.) 
 Earl William died unmarried in 1782, and lefUthe whole of his estates, includ- 
 ing the lordship of Brechin and Navar, to his nephew, George, Earl of Dalhonsie 
 and his second and other sons. The Earl of Dalhousie died in 1787, and was 
 succeeded in the Brechin and Panmure estates by his second son, William 
 Ramsay Maule, who, in 1831, was created Lord Panmure, Baron of Brechin 
 and Navar, He died 3d April 1852, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Fox 
 now Lord Panmure. 
 
 No. XVII.— Page 414. ' 
 
 Rental of the Lands belonging to the Priory of Bostinoth. Sere first printed from 
 a copy in " Miscellanea Aldbarensia," MS., pp. 359-62. 
 
 Rentale omnium annuorum Redditum Priori de Restennett et Conuentui eiusdem 
 pertinen' de terris subscriptiB jacen' infra vicecomitatum de fforfar annuatim 
 leuan'. 
 
APPENDIX. — NO. XVII. 
 
 479 
 
 Item in primia de villa de forfar a David Kamaay 
 
 Item pre manibua Dauidia Dikeaone 
 
 Item pre manibua Johannia Dikesone 
 
 Item pre manibua Jacobi Cadzo 
 
 Item de terris qnond' Johannis Strang 
 
 Item pre manibua- Jacobi Suty 
 
 Item pre manibua Johannia Loyk 
 
 Item de terris Jacobi Dog 
 
 Item de firma regia diote ville de forfar 
 
 Item de terris de Ouchfforfar 
 
 Item de terris de balmaschanno 
 
 Item de terris de turbeg 
 
 Item de paruo molendino 
 
 Item de terris de Innerrichty 
 
 Item de terris de thornetone 
 
 Item de terris de baronia de Kethenys 
 
 Item viz de ead' de t'ris de balgillowy blair 
 
 Item de terris de ardlair 
 
 Item de terris de balluny 
 
 Item de terris de baldowry 
 
 Item de molendino de Ketliynnes 
 
 Item de terris de Grla'mya 
 
 Item de terris de tannades 
 
 Item de terris de Kinal'ry 
 
 Item de terris de memaaa 
 
 Item de terris de balnamone 
 
 Item de terris de balzordy 
 
 Item de terris de menmor olim pertinen' dno de ballindene 
 
 Item de terris -de West' Ogill 
 
 Item de terris de litill perth 
 
 Item de ten-is dominii de brecbin 
 
 Item de terris de litill fethy 
 
 Item de terris de Kynnabir 
 
 Item de quod' terre tenemento siue domo dni dauid cragy capellani 
 
 Item de terris de auldmontrois 
 
 Item de terris de lownane pertinen' dno de drumkilbo 
 
 Item de eisd' terris de lownane pertinen' dno de ballindene 
 
 Item de terris de grange de monyfuyth 
 
 Item de tenia de balgillo pertinen' dno de gray 
 
 Item de tenia de balcloitbry 
 
 Item de molendino de manys de Stra'dechty oomitis 
 
 Item de terris baronie de Downy 
 
 Item de terris de carlungy 
 
 Item de terris de cambnstone 
 
 Item de terris de downykane 
 
 Item de terris de balbungy 
 
 Item de terris de ardesty 
 
 Item de moniky terris 
 
 xvs. 
 
 VB. 
 
 iiijs jd. 
 
 xxxs. 
 
 iiijs. 
 
 xxxs. 
 
 xijd. 
 
 vs. viijd. 
 
 xls. 
 
 xvjs. 
 
 xiijs. iiijd. 
 
 xiijs. iiijd. 
 
 xiijs, 
 
 xs. 
 
 xs. 
 
 iiij lib. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 vjs. iiijd. 
 
 ixs. 
 
 iiijs. iiijd. 
 
 xls. 
 
 xls. 
 
 iiij lib. 
 
 xxixs. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 xls. 
 
 xxvjs. viijd. 
 
 xiijs. iiijd. 
 
 xxvja. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 vij lib. viijs. 
 
 xijd. 
 
 xs. 
 
 vjs. viijd. 
 
 iiij m'cas. 
 
 ij m'cas. 
 
 ij m'oas. 
 
 xls. 
 
 xiijs. ivd. 
 
 vs. 
 
 xxxijd. 
 
 x marcas. 
 
 v marcas. 
 
 xs. 
 
 xvs. 
 
 xs. 
 
 xs. 
 
 va. iiijd. 
 
THE GENERAL SOCIETY OF 
 MECHANICS AND TRADES?.'iBI 
 . OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 >REE LIBRARY DEPARTMENT 
 
 480 MEMORIALS OP ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 Item de ten-is de pettarly vjs. viijd. 
 
 Item de Guildry terns xijd. 
 
 Item de terris de Stotfald ijs. 
 
 Item de terris de Dunfynd xs. 
 
 Item de terris de Muirdrum ijs. 
 
 Item de Newbigging iiija. 
 
 Item de molendino de downy ijs. 
 
 Itek de custumis S. D. N. E. burgi de Dundee xx m'oas. 
 
 Item de terris de telling v lib. 
 
 Item de terris de tuliqubandelane vs. 
 
 Item de flemy'gtone xiijs. ivd. 
 
 Item de Wodwray xs. 
 
 Item de polgarrok xiijs. ivd. 
 
 Item de molendino de balglassy xxivs. ijd. 
 
 Item de terris de hoill xvjd. 
 
 Item de baronia de Glenesk xiiijs. 
 
 Eentale omnium firmarum tarn decimarum garbalium qm feodifirme priori de Eesten- 
 nott et oonuentui eiusd' in patrimonio pertinen' de terris subscriptis et eoolesis 
 paroohialibus earund' infra yioeoomitatem de forfar annuatim leuan' et per- 
 cipien'. 
 
 Item in primis de terris de Du'nynald in promptis peeuniis pro feodiflrma annua 
 earund' feodifirme xlv lib. 
 
 Item de Jerris de litil dysert pro firma earund' v lib. 
 
 Item pro an'ua feodiflrma terarrum de murtone archa anguillarum 
 
 pettrowchy croftis de forfar oarsburne et clochtow xlv m'cas. ' 
 
 Item de terris de auldfork aid litill oossynis xls. 
 
 Item de terris de oragaatbrow xxs. 
 
 Eentale summarum victualium dietarum decimarum garbalium. 
 Item in primis pro flrmis decimarum garbalium Eectorie eccl'ie de Du'nynald 
 
 quinque celdras victualium. 
 
 Item pro flrmis eccl'ie de Aberle'no 
 Item pro flrmis decimarum garbalium parocbie de 
 Eestennot In primis pro decimis de forfar 
 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim 
 Item pro decim 
 Item pro decim 
 Item pro decim: 
 Item pro decim 
 
 s de mekle lour 
 
 s de cragnatbro 
 
 s de balkerstone 
 
 ,s de balmascbanno' et caldhame 
 
 s de pettrowchy 
 
 s croftarum de forfar 
 
 s de turbeg 
 
 s de carseburne 
 
 s de clocbtow 
 
 s de ocbt'forfar 
 
 s de West' Dod 
 
 s de murtone de arcba auguillarum xij bollas victualium. 
 
 xxij celdras victualium. 
 
 vij celdras victualium. 
 iiij celdras victualium. 
 xl bollas victualium. 
 xxj bollas victualium. 
 xxiiij bollas victualium. 
 xvj bollas victualium. 
 vj bollas victualium. 
 xl bollas victualium. 
 viij bollas victualium. 
 vj bollaB victualium. 
 xl bollas victualium. 
 xlij bollas victualium. 
 
APPENDIX. — DEMPSTERS OF DUNNICHEN. 481 
 
 The Dempsters of- Dunnichen.— Ut sup., p. 418. 
 
 Since the notice of the Priory of Eoetinoth was printed, I have been favored with 
 the following succinct account of the family of Dempster of Dunnichen, by 
 George Dempster of Skibo, esquire. I have also much pleasure, in being able 
 to state, upon the authority of that gentleman, that his nephew, Mr Dempster 
 of Dunnichen, fully intends, without delay, to take measures for the repair and 
 preservation from further injury of the Priory of Eostinoth. The marble slab, 
 referred to at page 420, will be restored to its proper place, and a search will be 
 made among the adjacent dykes with a view to the recovery of the remains of 
 window muDions, &c. 
 
 The Dempsters of Dunnichen are descended from a younger son of one of the 
 Dempsters of Muiresk and Auchterless in Aberdeenshire ; which family, however, 
 had previously held, as their earliest possession, the lands of Carraldstone, in For- 
 farshire. This county would thus appear to have been their earliest home, as it is 
 their present one. These descents are all more particularly set forth in Douglas' 
 Baronage, pp. 531-3. Their immediate territorial ancestor in Forfarshire, was 
 
 Geoboe Dempster, hanker and merchant in Dundee, who was the son of the 
 Eev. John Dempster of Monifieth, and who, born in 1677, acquired considerable 
 fortune, and commenced to purchase land in the county of Forfar soon after the 
 year 1700, including the barony of Dunnichen. He died in 1753, and was suc- 
 ceeded by his eldest son, 
 
 v John Dempstek of Dunnichen, who was born in 1706 — and not long surviving 
 his father, s was succeeded by his eldest son, 
 
 Geokge Dempstek, of Dunnichen, born December 1732 ; for nearly thirty years 
 M.P. for the Forfar and Fife Burghs, and who, till 1790, when he retired from Par- 
 liament, was actively and usefully engaged in the Public and Parliamentary business 
 of the time, more especially in all of it which related to Scotland and to India. 
 His character and abilities caused him to be chosen one of the Directors of the East 
 India Company, in opposition to the usual House list ; and in Scotland, his time 
 and thoughts were largely given to everything beneficial to his native country. 
 The Scottish linen trade was much indebted to his care, and he also devoted no 
 small share of his attention, and sacrificed some part of his fortune, to the growth 
 of the cotton manufacture in Scotland, an object in which he was aided by the 
 advice of the Arkwrights, as well as by the liberal spirit and practical know- 
 ledge of his countrymen, the Dales and Macintoshes, of Glasgow. Of the improve- 
 ment of the Scottish fisheries, he was, with his friend Sir William Pulteney and 
 others, one of the earliest, if not the earliest promoter ; and it was chiefly from the 
 interest which he always took in the fisheries and agriculture of the Highlands, that 
 he was induced, in 1786,|to become the purchaser of the estate of Skibo, in Suther- 
 land, which he soon after transferred to his brother, John Hamilton Dempster, by 
 whose grandson, George Dempster of Skibo, it is now possessed. 
 
 The Convention of Eoyal Burghs, in 1786, recognized his patriotic services by 
 a present of plate — and not few are the descendants, now in opulence, of his coun- 
 
 b Although the inscription upon the tombstone at St Vigeans hears that John 
 Dempster of Dunnichen died on 2nd November 1753, Mr DempBter of Skibo has 
 proved this to be. a mistake. Among other authorities, he cites the Scots Magazine, 
 which states that Mr Dempster died on 3rd November 1754, and the Kirk-Session 
 Eecords of St Vigeans, which also, under date Nov. 1754, contains thiB entry—" To 
 the mortcloth for Dunnichen." 
 OO 2 
 
482 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEARNS. 
 
 trymen, of humble birth, on whom he delighted to bestow the patronage which his 
 connection with India placed in his>gift. In politics, his opinions were of the older 
 Whig school, and his closest political alliance and intimacy was with Lord Eock- 
 ingham. His friendships, however, were unusually free from party taint, and Henry 
 Dundas, afterwards ViBcount Melville, Wedderburn, afterwards Lord Loughborough, 
 and many others to whom he was more or less opposed in Parliament, were among 
 his warmest friends. 
 
 He is honorably remembered by Barns in his poetical Address to the Scottish 
 Representatives, in which, with his attached friend Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran, 
 he is named as 
 
 " Dempster, a true-blue Soot, I'se warran' 
 Thee 1 ai th-detesting, chaste Kilkerran I" 
 * 
 He was educated at Leuchars, in Fife, and at the University of St Andrews, 
 
 from whence he went to study law and pass advocate in Edinburgh, where he lived 
 in intimacy with its most eminent men, including David Hume, the historian, 
 Adam Ferguson, and other luminaries of that day. He held, for upwards of half a 
 century the office of Secretary to the Order of the Thistle, and died at Dunnichen, in 
 February 1818. A fine portrait of George Dempster, by Gainsborough, adorns the 
 Council-Chamber of Dundee. He was succeeded in his estate by his sister, Helen, 
 the widow of General Burrington, of the E.I.Co.'s army, who, on her succession, 
 resumed her maiden name as ' 
 
 Helen Dempster of Dunnichen. She died in 1831, and was succeeded by her 
 daughter, Helen, the wife of Francis Hawkins, Esq., of the E.I.Co.'s civil service, 
 a son of the Bishop of Kaphoe in Ireland. This lady similarly assumed the family 
 name, as 
 
 Helen Dempster, of Dunnichen. Her eldest son, James Whitshed Hawkins, 
 who was born in 1796, and married in 1830 his cousin, Charlotte, daughter of 
 W. S. Dempster of Skibo, predeceasing his mother in 1841 ; she was, on her death 
 in 1854, succeeded by her grandson, 
 
 Geokqe Hawkins Dempster of Dunnichen, now heir of entail in possession of 
 that estate, born 4th April 1836. 
 
 The armorial bearings of the Dempsters of Dunnichen appear to be the same 
 with those of their ancestors of Carraldstone and Muiresk ; with the difference that 
 the Eev. John Dempster of Monifieth obtained from the Lord Lyon's office a new 
 grant of these arms for his branch, with a different crest and motto, now borne by 
 his descendants, as may be seen by reference to Nisbet's Heraldry, and Sir George 
 Mackenzie's Heraldry. 
 
 No. XVIII.— Page 449. 
 
 The following inscriptions from the larger portrait of Queen Mary, at St Mary's 
 College, Blairs, and accompanying translations, have been kindly communicated 
 by the Bev. John Strain, President of the College. 
 
 Inscriptions. — (i. ) 
 
 MAEIA BCOTLE REGINA GALLLE DOTARIA, REGNOHUM ANGLLE ET HYBERNLE VERE 
 PRINCEPS LEGITIMA JACOBI MAGN2E BRITANLE EEGIS MATEB, A SUIS OPPBES3A AN" DNI 
 1568 AUXILII SPE ET OPINIONS A COGNATA ELIZABETHA IN ANGLIA BEGNANTE PMI8S1* 
 
 * Contracted, for pmrpAaai. 
 
APPENDIX.— NO. XVIII. 483 
 
 EO DESCENDIT, JBIQUE CONTBA JUS GENTIUM ET PEOMISSI FIDEM OAPTIVA EETEHTA, 
 POST CAPTIVITATIS AN"' 19, BELIGI0NI3 EE90, EJUSDEM ELIZ . PEEFIDIA ET SENATUS 
 ANGLICI CBUDELITATE, HOEKENDA CAPITIS LATA SENTENTIA, NECI TBADITUE, AC 12 
 CAL. MABTII* 1587 JNAUDITO EXEMPLO A SEEVILI ET ABJEOTO CABNIFICE TETEUM IN 
 MOEEM OAPITE TEUNOATA EST. ANNO .33TATI8 EEQNIQUE 45 
 
 fa.) 
 AULA FODEINGHAMIA 
 BEOINAM SEBENISS"* BEGUM FILIAM UXOEEM 
 
 ET MATBEM, ASTANTIBUS COMMISSABIIS ET [Portraits of] 
 
 MINISTBIS E . ELIZ ABETJLE CABNIFEX SEOUEI JOANNA ELIZABETHA 
 
 PEECUTIT ATQ' UNO ET ALTEEO JOTU TEUOU- KENNETHIE CUELE 
 
 LENTEB SAUC1ATAE TEETIO EI CAPUT ABSO 
 NELIT' 
 
 (in.) 
 
 PEIMA QUOAD VIXIT COL. SCOT. PAEENS ET FUND. 
 SIC FUNESTUM ASCENDIT TABULATUM BEGINA QUONDAM GALLIAEUM ET SCOTIA 
 FLOEENTISS"* JNVICTO SED PIO ANUttO TTEANNIDEM EXPEOBEAT ET PEEFIDIAM FIDEM 
 CATHOLICAM PEOFITETUE, BOMAN-SQ™ ECCLESLS SE SEMPEE FUISSE ET ESSE FILIAM 
 PALAM PLANE' TESTATUE. 
 
 Translations. — (i. ) 
 Mary Queen of Scotland, Dowager Queen of France, truly legitimate Sovereign 
 of the kingdoms of England and Ireland, Mother of James, King of Great Britain, 
 oppressed hy her own subjects, in the year 1568, with the hope and expectation of 
 aid promised by her cousin Elizabeth reigning in England went thither, and there, 
 contrary to the law of nations, and the faith of a promise, being retained captive, 
 after 19 years of imprisonment on accouut of religion, by the perfidy of the same 
 Elizabeth and the cruelty of the English Parliament, the horrible sentence of deca- 
 pitation being passed upon her is delivered up to death, and on the 12th of the 
 Kalends of March, such an example being unheard of, she is beheaded by a vile and 
 abject executioner in the 45th year of her age and reign. 
 
 (n.) 
 
 Hall of Fotheringham. 
 
 In presence of the Commissioners and Ministers of Q. Elizabeth, the execu. 
 
 tioner strikes with his axe the most serene Queen, the daughter, wife, and mother 
 
 of kings, and after a first and second blow by which she was barbarously wounded, 
 
 at the third cuts off her head. 
 
 (m.) 
 
 While she lived the chief Parent and Foundress of the Scotch College. 
 Thus the once most flourishing Queen of France and Scotland ascends the fatal 
 scaffold, with unconquered but pious mind, upbraidB tyranny and perfidy, professes 
 the Catholic Faith, and publicly and plainly professes that she always was and is 
 a daughter of the Koman Church. 
 
 * Sic in original — the 8th February iB the true date. 
 
484 MEMORIALS OF ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 ADDITIONS AND CORKECTIONS. 
 
 Page 36. 
 Since my conjectures were printed regarding the figures upon 
 the shield at Farnell castle (represented in the woodcut on the 
 right hand side of page 36), I have been informed by Mr Joseph 
 Robertson, that they consist of a Crown and the letter Jtt, and 
 are illustrative of the crowning of the Virgin Mary, as the Queen 
 of Heaven, by her son, Jesus Christ — one of the many beautiful 
 legends of the Early Christian Church. 
 
 Jffllontrose. 
 
 Page 52. 
 Besides the church of St John, and the altarages already 
 noticed, there were at least two chapels attached to the parish 
 church. One of these was dedicated to St John the Baptist, the 
 other to God and the Holy Cross. Mr Thomas Bell, vicar of 
 Montrose, gave certain lands and an adjoining tenement, situated 
 on the west side of Murray Street, Montrose, towards the sup- 
 port of the last-named chapel, to the chaplaincy of which he was 
 himself appointed by the Bishop of the diocese. a 
 
 Page 58. 
 A new edifice, in the Perpendicular style of architecture, after 
 plans by Mr Henderson of Edinburgh, has been erected on the 
 site of the old Episcopal church of St Peter. It was opened for 
 public worship on 25th December 1858, and forms one of the 
 finest objects in the Links. 
 
 • Reg. Ep. Brechin., ii. 32-8. 
 
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. 485 
 
 Page 70. 
 
 A fine statue of the late Joseph Hume, M.P., by Mr Calder 
 Marshall of London, A.B.A., stands near the middle of the High 
 Street. It was erected, chiefly by local subscription, and inau- 
 gurated on 24th September 1859. 
 
 In the vestibule of the parish church there has also been lately 
 placed, by his brother officers, a marble tablet " in memory of 
 George-Holmes Burnes (eldest son of James Burnes, K.H., 
 F.K.S.), Lieutenant in the 1st Bombay Fusileers; who, after a 
 long and painful captivity, the consequence of his heroic efforts 
 to save a helpless child from the fury of the mutineers, was 
 savagely murdered at Lucknow, on the 19th November 1857, 
 thus sharing the fate of his uncles, Sir Alexander and Charles, 
 who fell at Cabool." 
 
 Page 91. 
 The burial ground, and chapel of St Mary, stood upon the 
 farm of Dallavaird, on the banks of Bervie water, about three 
 miles north-west of the parish church of Glenbervy. There is 
 still a spring at the place called "Marywell;" and the old font, 
 or " chapel stone," was destroyed not many years ago. An an- 
 nual market, held at Drumlithie, in October, is called "Michael 
 fair;" and the Episcopal chapel at the village is dedicated to 
 St John. 
 
 liUUj) Castle, 
 Page 337. 
 
 Mr Pierson of the Guynd, informs me that on the fly-leaf of 
 an old almanac in his possession, it is stated, in the hand writing 
 of an aunt of the late Mr Ochterlony, that " Sir Wm. Oy [Och- 
 terlony] built the house of Kelly." 
 
 The following notes regarding the proprietary history of the 
 estate of Kelly, have been kindly communicated by Mr Alex- 
 ander Forbes Irvine, jun., of Drum. "Kellie," Mr Irvine writes 
 (quoting a memoir of the family of Drum, by his father-in-law, 
 Colonel Forbes), " was acquired by Sir William Irvine in 
 1614-15, from the Ochterlonies, who had for sometime given 
 
486 MEMORIALS OF. ANGUS AND MEAENS. 
 
 their name to that barony. Who this Sir William Irvine was, I 
 have been unable to discover ; but there is no doubt that Kellie 
 was acquired by Sir William Irvine, and that he was succeeded 
 in the possession of it by Alexander Irvine of Drum. In several 
 of the deeds regarding the barony of Kellie, mention is made of 
 Dame Sara Bruce, the wife of Sir William Irvine of Kellie. 
 
 " In 1679, to, relieve himself from pressing debts that were 
 contracted during the Civil Wars," an "Alexander Irvine sold 
 the barony of Kellie, and all his Forfarshire estates to the Earl 
 of Panmure. He received £11,000 sterling for the estate of 
 Kellie." 
 
 [In the year 1629, Alexander Irvine of Kelly bound himself 
 and his heirs to pay annually "twelve bolls meal to the puir 
 within his ground and lands" of Kelly; also "aught bolls oat 
 meal" to the parochial schoolmaster of Arbirlot, for the edu- 
 cation of four scholars, to be presented by Irvine and his heirs. 
 This grant was confirmed by Sir Alexander Irvine of Kelly, son 
 of the granter, in 1637. b I believe a somewhat similar grant 
 was made, and confirmed by the same individuals, in favor 
 of the schoolmaster of Aberlemno, in which parish the Irvines 
 also held property.] 
 
 Cfjutc!) of gucfjttrfjousc. 
 
 Page 342. 
 
 According to Bagimont's Boll, which is supposed to have been 
 
 framed in the time of Alexander III., the church of Auchter- 
 
 house is said to have been within the diocese of Dunkeld, and 
 
 rated at £8. c 
 
 b Copy of deed in possession of the Schoolmaster of Arhwht. 
 , " Archseologia, xvii. 245. 
 
 A®™** 1 SOCIETY OF 
 "ECHANics AND TRADESMEN 
 I Of THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Aaen water, *4, 380. 
 
 A'Beoket, St Thomas, 222. V. Saints. 
 
 Abbe, of Brechin, *26 ; Arbirlot, *32. 
 
 Aberbrothoo. V. Arbroath. 
 
 Aberbothry, 399. 
 
 Abercrombie, Andrew, burgess, 191. 
 
 Aberkirdour, David, 219. 
 
 Aberlemno thanedom, *10; church, 11, 
 
 302, 417, 480; school, 486; mill, 179 ; 
 
 Danes defeated at, *21-22, 106. 
 Aberluthnot thanedom, *11, 85-6. 
 Abemethy round tower, 107 ; church, 
 
 150 ; family, 111, 150, 426 ; Sir 
 
 Alex., 402 ; Maria, 452. 
 Abrith, 400. 
 Achinglass, 150. 
 Achtertyre, weem at, 322. 
 Adam's castle, 370. 
 Adam fitz David, 289 
 Adam, John fitz, burgess, 49. 
 Adamson, William, burgess, 1 6. 
 Adamstown, 289. 
 Adnelisk, 402. 
 Ad Tavitm, 214. 
 Adyson, Robert, 42. 
 Affleck. V. Auchenleck. 
 Airlie, Earls of. V. Ogilvy. 
 Airly castle, *18 ; church, 273-5, 403 ; 
 
 weems, 322-3. 
 Aix-Ia-Chapelle Council, 106. 
 Allardice family, 355-7; castle, *19, 360. 
 Aldbar, lands, castle, library, chapel, 
 
 295-303 ; seal of baron of, 301. 
 Aldmontrose, origin of name, 62 ; port 
 
 of, 72 ; lands, 281, 367, 479. 
 Ale, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 Alexander I., king,' *24. 
 Alexander, parson of Logie, 431. 
 Alexanderson, John, 42 ; William, 156. 
 Aleyu, John le fitz, burgess, 49. 
 Almory chapel, 162. 
 Altarages, application of revenues of, 
 
 184 ; altar vessels, 180. V. Saihts. 
 Alveth church, 403. 
 Anaad family, 288-9. 
 Anderson, Thds., minr. at Montrose, 53. 
 Anegos, Eue de, 351. 
 Angus, list of sheriffs of, *7-*9 ; thanes 
 
 and thanedoms, *10-*11. 
 
 pp2 
 
 Angus, Earls of, 258-62 ; barony, 182. 
 
 Antrim round tower, 108. 
 
 Aod, king of Dalriada, *21. 
 
 Arrats of Arrat, 285-6. 
 
 Arbirlot church, 150 ; grant to school, 
 486 ; sculptured stone, *31. 
 
 Arbroath Abbey, founded, 147 ; dedi- 
 cated, 153 ; architecture, *27, 154 ; 
 struck by lightning, 158 ; repaired, 
 160 ; altarages and chapels, 162 ; 
 visited by royalty, 151 ; revenues of 
 abbacy, 150-1 ; grants by King John 
 of England, 165; abbot Henry, 146; 
 Abbots' lodging in Dundee, 221 ; 
 seneschal, 338. 
 
 town, abbots' burgh, *6 ; origin 
 
 of harbour, 165-6; modern churches, 
 168-9, 171 ; trades, 167 ; attacked by 
 Capt. Fall, 173, 471-3 ; battle of 
 Arbroath, 159, 171-3. 
 
 Arbuthnott thanedom, *11 ; Kirkton, 
 416; castle, *19 ; mausoleum, *28. 
 
 family, 93 ; of Arrat, 286. 
 
 Archdeacon's barns, 115. 
 
 Archers' croft, 82. 
 
 Ardeastie, 246 ; lands, 479. 
 
 Ardler, John of, 321 ; lands, 479. 
 
 Ardnequere, 413. 
 
 Ardwith, Thomas, clerk of, 401. 
 
 Argenten, Roger de, 3. 
 
 Argyle, Earl of, 37 ; Marquis of, burns 
 Airly castle, *18, 76, 78. 
 
 Arkley, P., of Duninald, *13, 270. 
 
 Armagh, Culdees at, 107. 
 
 Armorial bearings of Arbuthnott, *29 
 Auchenleck, 92, 331 ; Barclay, 358 
 Baxter, 291 ; Beaton, 278 ; Brechin 
 family, 347 ; Bruce, *31 ; Clark, 57 
 Cuming, 291 ; Dempster, 482 
 Douglas, 92, 387 ; Dundee town, 226. 
 474 ; Vist. Dundee, 306 ; Durham, 
 *29 ; Fenton, 273 ; Fithie, 155 
 Fraser, 105, 164 ; Fullerton, 281 
 Gardyne, 309, 427 ; Hamilton, 127 
 Hassa, 92 ; Hay, *29, 396 ; Keith 
 387 ; Lamb, 57 ; Lindsay, *29, 387 
 Lovel, 456 ; Lyell, 309 ; Lyon, 303 
 Maule, 127 ; Menzies, 278 ; Middle, 
 ton, 87, 368 ; Montrose, town and 
 
490 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Dukes of, 475 ; Olifart, 92 ; Panter, 
 
 154 ; Parrott, 164 ; Pierson, 161 ; 
 
 Pyot, 195 ; Rough, 195 ; Roxburgh, 
 
 306; Scotland, 87, 223, 396, 410; 
 
 Seaton, 291 ; Shoreswood, 115 ; 
 
 Simpson, 197 ; Steuart, 301 ; Trades, 
 
 187, 195 ; Vallognes, 127 ; Wishart, 
 
 347, 387. 
 Aramrer, Simon, 16, 17. 
 Arthur, Judex, 401. 
 Arthurhouse, Keith of, 437. 
 Arthurstone, 396. 
 Aston, Walter, Baron Forfar, 9. 
 Athole, grants by family of, to Cur/ar, 403 . 
 Earl of, acquires Brechin, 125, 
 
 237, 477. 
 Auceps, William. V. Falconer. 
 Auchcairnie, 85. 
 Auchenleck family and castle, 330-1 ; 
 
 *17. 
 
 John of, 356; of Glenbervy, 92. 
 
 Auchinblae village, *6, 89. 
 
 Auchleig, 348. 
 
 Auchterforfar, 291. 
 
 Auchterhouse church, *28, 341-4, 486 ; 
 
 Templeton of, 189. V. Ogilvy, 
 
 Ramsay, Lyon. 
 Auldfork, 480. 
 
 Baikib, lands, castle, 271-2 ; loch, *4, 
 273 ; chapel of St John, 271, 403.' 
 
 Baud of Ury, 359. 
 
 Baitchelhill, 406. 
 
 Bakers, motto on church pew of, 186. 
 
 Balandarg, 348. 
 
 Balandro, 50. 
 
 Ballantyne of Newtyle, and castle, *19. 
 
 Balbegno castlei"*!?, 84, 366. 
 
 Balcathin, Roger of, 165. 
 
 Balcloithry, 479. 
 "-Baldovie, Farquharsou of, 30 ; Melvilles 
 of, 95. 
 
 Baldowry, 479. 
 
 Baledgarno castle and village, 202, 293. 
 
 Baledmouth, Balfour of, 288. 
 
 Balfeitb, 150, 385. 
 
 Balfour of that Ilk, 277. 
 
 castle, *18. 
 
 Balgavies loch, *5 ; castle, *18. 
 
 Balgersho, 396 
 
 Balgillie, or Balgillo, 313-14, 385, 479. 
 
 Balglassie, 179 ; mill, 480. 
 
 Balhungy, 479. 
 
 Ballindoch, 50. 
 
 Balindard family, 43 ; lands, 237. 
 
 Baliol, King John, 84 ; resigns the 
 kingdom, 47, 125. 
 
 of Redcastle, *13, 357. 
 
 Balkeelie, 50. 
 
 Balmadethy, 319. 
 
 Balmadies, 335. 
 
 Balmakellie, Falconers of, 361. 
 
 Balmaleedie, 319. 
 
 Balmerino, Thomas, abbot of, 401. 
 
 Balmillie, 293. 
 
 Balnamoon, 41, 285, 479; burial of lady 
 of, 466. . , 
 
 Balnashannar, 9, 479-80. 
 
 Balneillie, 292. 
 
 Balshamwell. V. Bolshan. 
 
 Balumby, 454-6. V. Lovel. 
 
 Balluny, 479. 
 
 Balruthrie, 235, 304-6. 
 
 Balzordy, 479. 
 
 Bane, death of Donald, *24. 
 
 BannaEkburn, poem on, 153. 
 
 Barras, Little, 355-6. 
 
 chapel, 438. 
 
 Barry, John, vicar, 181. 
 
 battle of, *21 ; bailiery, 239 ; 6. 
 
 Barclay, Sir David, acquires Brechin, 
 125 ; 238. 
 
 of Mathers and Fry, 357-9, 381. 
 
 V. Allardice. 
 
 ' Bauk an' rig' system of husbandry, 39. 
 
 Baxter family, 290-1. ' 
 
 Bear, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 
 Beardie, birth place of "Earl, 222 ; well, 
 139. V. Crawford. 
 
 Beattie, Dr., 89. 
 
 Beaton of Ethiebeaton, 275-6; Jas., 
 archbishop of St Andrews, 151 ; of 
 Balfour, Creich, &c, *13, 277 ; Car- 
 dinal, 151 ; portrait of, 277, 450 ; 
 builds Melgund castle, 278 ; Eliza- 
 beth, 239. 
 
 Beck, bishop of Durham, 6, 47. 
 -Beggars, prevalence of, 135 ; badges for 
 local, 136. 
 
 Bell, Thomas, vicar of Montrose, 484. 
 
 Bell rock lighthouse, 174-6. ' 
 
 Belmont castle, 322. 
 
 Benholm castle, *18 
 
 Benvie lands, 235 ; kirk, 304-6. , 
 
 Bernard, son of Brian, 400 ; abbot, 221. 
 
 Bernes, or Bernis, 98-9. 
 
 Bervy water, *4, 91 . V. Inverbervy. 
 
 Berkeley of Inverkeillor, *13, 150, 357. 
 
 Binny, councillor, 22, 464. 
 
 Thomas of Feme, 255. 
 
 Bishopkers, 455. 
 
 Blackburn, 101. 
 
 Blackerocche, 380. 
 
 Blaukfriars' convent at Dundee, 191. 
 
 Blackhall, Russel of, 381. 
 
 Black Jack castle, *14, 15. 
 
 Blacksmiths, hereditary, 133-4, 321. 
 
 Blairs College, 449-51. 
 
 Blair of Shanzie, 405 ; Rev. David, 
 118 ; Elen, wife of late Alex., 453 ; 
 Margaret, 457. 
 
 Blairydryne, 102. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 491 
 
 Blond, Hugh, *28, 436 ; Adam de, 457. 
 
 Bogjorgan, 99. 
 
 Bohemia, letter from Queen of, 241 . 
 
 Bolehan lands, barony, chapel, 345-6. 
 
 Bonnington, 48, 319." 
 
 Bonnet makers of Dundee, 187, 219. 
 
 Borrowfield, 280, 307, 346. 
 
 Both chapel, 162, 325. 
 
 Botler, Robert le, 361. 
 
 Bow Glen, 90. 
 
 Bowie of Keithock, 138. 
 
 Boysack chapel, 162. 
 
 Bractullo, 91. 
 
 Braikie castle, *18. 
 
 Bralinmuir, 98-9. 
 
 Bre.ad croft, 12. 
 
 Brecbennach banner, 150. 
 
 Brechin, Culdee monastery, 106; round 
 . tower, 1 1 0-12 ; cathedral founded, 113; 
 itspastand present state, 116-20; seal 
 of the Chapter, 114 ; altarages and 
 chaplainries, 470 ; chantor, 435 ; re- 
 venues of the see, 115 ; bishops' 
 palace and canons' houses, 119; 
 chandelier, 116, 469 ; steeple clock, 
 469 ; inscribed board in session- 
 house, 469. 
 
 castle, *18 ; taken by Wallace ; 
 
 125, 203 ; defended by Sir T. Maule, 
 126-7 ; burned by Edward I, 126 ; 
 past and present state, 127. 
 
 family of, 123-5 ; Sir 'William 
 
 founds Hospital, 120 ; Sir David, 
 warden of Dundee castle, 204. 
 
 proprietary account of lordship of, 
 
 477-8. 
 
 a city, and bishops' burgh, *6 ; 
 
 royal burgh, 129 ; first notice of, 
 129 ; burned, *6, 129 ; bridge, 140 ; 
 burgh cow-herd, 145 ; Constable 
 lands, 286 ; markets, and petty 
 customs, 129-31 ; dispute regarding 
 election of bailies, 132-3 ; incorpo- 
 rated trades, 133 ; Little Mill, 287 ; 
 bede-house, 134; "Catis cross," 
 140 ; schools, 122-3, 143 ; modern 
 improvements, 142-5 ; battle of 
 Brechin, 127-8 ; " bourd" of, *25. 
 
 Brewster, Dr., of Craig, 270. 
 
 Brice, Culdee, canon of Brechin, 113. 
 
 Brichty, 325. 
 
 Bridei, king of the Picts, *20. 
 
 Brogue makers, 18, 20. 
 
 Bronze pots, *4, 105. 
 
 Brothoc water, 164, 166. 
 
 Broughty castle, *18, 314; Ferry, 150. 
 
 Broun of Colstoun, 289. 
 
 Brownie's kettle, 95, 437. 
 
 Bruce, John, son of Bobert I., 415, 420. 
 
 Brydy, abbot, 154. 
 
 Buchan, estates bought by 1st Earl-Pan- 
 
 mure, 243 ; Earls of, 318, 334 ; 
 
 Countesses, 341-4. 
 Buchanan, David, printer, 59. 
 Bucklemakers of Dundee, 219. 
 Baldewas Abbey, 264. 
 " Burbrodoche." V. Arbroath. 
 Burns, the* poet's ancestry, 96-101 ; his 
 
 visit to Montrose, 69 ; corrected copy 
 
 of his songs, 257. 
 Burnes of Montrose, 59, 97, 485. 
 Burness, John, poet, 99-100. 
 Burnett of Beys, *19; of "Dooris," 104; 
 
 Sir Wm., M.D., 59. 
 Burnhous of Kair, 99. 
 Buthirkill, or Burghill, church, 470 ; 
 
 hill, 136, 141. 
 Butlers, royal in Scotland, 317. 
 Byng, Admiral, 81. 
 
 Cadden Castle, 370. 
 
 Cairnmonearn hill, 101, 105. 
 
 Cairn-o'-Mount, *21, 83. 
 
 Cairnshee, 102. 
 
 Caldhame chapel, 286-7 ; lands, 480. 
 
 Cambiston, 454, 479. 
 
 Cambou moor, 85. 
 
 Cambuskenneth, abbot of, 50. 
 
 Cameron of Baledgarno, 292-5. 
 
 Camlocban, 34. 
 
 Campbell of Denhead, 33 ; Alex., bishop 
 of Brechin, 37, 116 ; minr. of Lun-, 
 die, 344. 
 
 Campsie, Abbot's house at, 406 ; linn, 
 329 ; lands, 265. 
 
 Camus cross, *22. V. Cambiston. 
 
 Cant, Andrew, 56. 
 
 Capo, 265. 
 
 Carcary, Meikle, 39, 48. 
 
 Careston castle, *20; Dempster of, 481-2. 
 
 Cargill lands, 327-9 ; church, 329. 
 
 CariBbrook castle, 242-3. 
 
 Carity water, *3 ; Carudy, 63. 
 
 Carlungy, 479. 
 
 Carmelite Friars of Aberdeen, 9° ; I Q - 
 verbervy, 441. 
 
 Carmyllie church, 237. . 
 
 Carnegie, or Carnegy, assumption of sur- 
 , name, 43 ; family of Kinnaird, 44, 
 37, 307 ; Bolshan, 345 ; Craig, 269 ; 
 Craigo, 434 ; Einhaven, 95 ; Pit- 
 arrow, 71, 387-8 ; Lour, 13. V. 
 Southesk. 
 
 Carnock, gifts by bishop, 115; tower, 
 120. 
 
 Carron water, *4. 
 
 Carsburn, 480. 
 
 Carsegownie lands harried, 51. 
 
 Caterline church, 441-2 ; Bath, 442. 
 
 Celurca. V. Salork. 
 
 Cementarius, Roger and William, 17. 
 
 Censer, or incence pan, 437. 
 
492 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Chalmers of Aldbar, 297, 303, 364 ; of 
 
 Findon, 364 ; of Murthill, 298. 
 Chancellor's park, and croft, 82 . 
 Chapels-. V. Saints. 
 Charles II., letter to Earl Panmure, 243. 
 Charleton, 280. 
 
 Chester, Earl, and castle of, 324. 
 Oheyne, sheriffs of the Mearns, *7 ; 
 
 Eustacia, and family of, 453. 
 Christie, Thos.,59, 71. 
 Christison, William, minister, 181. 
 Cistertian Monks, 393. 
 Clair, 402. 
 Clairbar, 295. 
 Claleck, 238. 
 Clapham, Mark, 146. 
 Claverhouse, Graham of, 212. 
 Clark, admiral, 57 ; John, alderman, 64. 
 Clattering Brigs, 87. 
 Claypotte castle, *18. 
 Clayshed (Montrose) 50. 
 Clement, Ninian, minister, 170. 
 Clermont, 368. 
 Clochnabane hill, 381. 
 Clochnahill, 97, 100. 
 Clochtow, 480. 
 Clonyn tf Crony), 399. 
 Clova, burial of laird of, 466. 
 Cluny, William de, 435. 
 Cook, Walter the, 401. 
 Coffin Blabs, *29, 157, 200, 235, 274, 302, 
 
 ,441. 
 Coinage, local, vi, 225, 474-5. 
 Collace of Baluamoon, 128, 415. 
 Colliston eastle, *19. 
 Colbert [J. B.], 247. 
 Colleweston lordship, 241 . 
 Colan, altar of the Three Kings of, 192. 
 Conon, 165. 
 
 Conveth, minister of, 382 ; lands, 383. 
 Conquar MacEcha M'Maldwin, *21. 
 Conquhare, Maormor of Angus, 84. 
 Cordiners„ motto on church pew of, 186. 
 Corniscorun (Corneskcorn), 50. , 
 
 Corriohie battle, 96. 
 Corse castle, 377. 
 Cortachy, 78 ; bridge, 141. 
 Cossins of that Ilk, 288 ; Little, 480. 
 Countess' croft, 82. 
 Couts, captain, hanged, 128. 
 Cowy water, *4, 101 ; forest, *10, 103 ; 
 
 chapel, *28 ; house, 102 ; thane- 
 
 dom, *12. 
 Crachnatharaoh church, 413. 
 Cragy, David, chaplain, 479. 
 Craig, Richard, vicar, 181. 
 Craig castle, *19 ; fishings leased, 191. 
 Craigcrook, 295. 
 
 Craigy, Milton of, 184 ; lands, 200, 319. 
 Craigievar, Forbes of, 377. 
 Craignathro, 480. 
 
 Cramond of Aldbar, 295-6 ; Wro., 37. 
 
 Crandart, 30, 32 ; house, 33. 
 
 Crannoges, *4. 
 
 Crathes castle, *19. 
 
 Crawford, Catherine, Countess of, 38 ; 
 Earls of, 77, 113 ; residence at 
 Brechin, 139 ; at Dundee, 222 ; ar- 
 mour-bearers of, 330. V. Lindsay. 
 
 Crigy, 373-4. V. Ecclesgreig. 
 
 Croftheads,,37. 
 
 Crombie of Phesdo and Thornton, 380 ; 
 of Pitarrow, 388. 
 
 Croonan, 396. 
 
 Crnick water, *3. 
 1 Cryne Corse, 101. 
 
 Cuffock, Thomas, burgess, 48. 
 
 Cuikstone church, 41 ; lands and pottery 
 work, 42, 50. 
 
 Culdees, first notice of, *26, 106 ; MS. 
 history of, 240. 
 
 Cumberland, Duke of, at Glamis, 22 ; 
 Drumlithie, 92 ; Montrose, 81. 
 
 Cumming, Robert, schoolmaster, 170. 
 
 Cupar Abbey founded, 393 ; visited by 
 royalty, 404 ; its destruction, 407-8 ; 
 revenues, 399-403; abbots, 394-6; 
 house at Campsie, 486-7 ; com- 
 mendator, 397 ; hereditary porters, 
 397-8 ; invasion of house and lands, 
 405 ; Beals, 395-6 ; ancient tombs, 
 40840. 
 
 Cupar-Angus an abbots'burgh, *6 ; town, 
 411. 
 
 Currours of Logie-Meigle, 272. * 
 
 Cuthlie, 337. 
 
 Cuthris, John, of Airly, 373. 
 
 Daiesie, 348. 
 
 Dalladies, Straiton of, 373 ; Turnbulls 
 of, 383 ; murder at, 266. 
 
 Dallavaird chapel, 485. 
 
 Dalgarnok, John, 102. 
 
 Dalgetty, Over, 41. 
 
 Dalhousie, Earl of, 253-4. V. Bamsay. 
 
 Danish invasion, *6, *21-2, 46, 106, 129. 
 
 David II., Margt. Logy, Queen of, *11. 
 
 Davidstown, 289. 
 
 Dean's croft, 82. 
 
 Dean water, *3. 
 
 Decorated architecture, age and speci- 
 mens of, *28, 154, 179. 
 
 Delany, 382. 
 
 . Dempster of Dunniohen family, 291, 418, 
 481-2 ; of Auchterless,'287,405,481. 
 
 Den Einella, 375. 
 
 Denhead, 396. 
 
 Denside (Garvock), 50. 
 
 Denton burn, 309. 
 
 Derlington, John de, parson, 425. 
 
 Dervise, Germund, 93. 
 
 Devorgilla, Lady, 191; 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 Dichty water, *4, 63. 
 
 DickmontLaw, 176. 
 
 Diltymoss, »4, 320. 
 
 Disschington, Sir Wm., architect, 179. 
 
 Disclune, 438. 
 
 Bod, Wester, 480 ; lake, 26. 
 
 Dooly, *3 (Dabley) 50. 
 
 Doomster's mode of passing sentence, 37. 
 
 Don, David, botanist, 16. 
 
 Donoughmore round tower, 108. 
 
 Dores. V. Durris. 
 
 Douglas, Dukedom of, 263 ; marriage 
 of Earl Archibald, 222 ; Archibald, 
 Earl of Forfar, 9 ; Douglas of Barras, 
 1 440-41; of Glenbervy, 91-5. 
 
 Downey (Glenisla), 30. 
 
 Downie, or Duny, thanedom of, *10 ; 
 lands, 402 ; barony, 479 ; mill, 480. 
 
 Nicholas of, 458. 
 
 Downykane, 479. 
 
 Dowrey burn, 320. 
 
 Drainer's Dyke, 61. 
 
 Drimmie forest, *10. 
 
 Dronlaw, 315. 
 
 Drymys, 403. 
 
 Drumderg-Blathmig battle, *21. 
 
 Drumgrain, 329. 
 
 Drummond, Sir John, 328 ; Queen 
 Anabella, 329 ; bishop. 144. 
 
 Drumlithie chapel, 91, 92,' 485. ' 
 
 Drnmsleid, 146. 
 
 Drnmtay, 63. 
 
 Drumtochty, 90. 
 
 Dudhope^astle, *20, 203, 212, 224. 
 
 Dullachy, 438. 
 
 Dunbranan, Reginald, 163. 
 
 Dun castle, *18 ; invaded, 78 ; bridge, 
 141. 
 
 Duncan II., 93 ; murder of, *24. 
 
 Duncan "Judex," 347 ; Justiciary, 400. 
 
 admiral, 225, 456. 
 
 Dundee kirk granted to abbey of Lin- 
 dores, 179-80 ; destroyed, 185, 187 ; 
 repaired, 186-7 ; grants to the church, 
 180; altarages, .182-3; chaplainries, 
 473-4; steeple, *28, 179; convents, 
 187-93, 224, 225; Howff, 191-200. 
 
 castle, 201-2 ; captured and de- 
 stroyed by Wallace, 203 ; taken and 
 retaken, 204. 
 
 town, *6; burned, 204, 212; a 
 
 burgh, 216; market cross, 226 ; pro- 
 vost, 219; disputes with Perth, 205 ; 
 share in ranBom of David II., 204 ; 
 captured and burned by Montrose, 
 209; by Monk, 210-11; incorporated 
 trades, 219 ; commerce and popula- 
 tion, 218 ; shore dues and shipping, 
 216-17; "mautol" customs of, 415, 
 480 ; general assemblies at, 207 ; the 
 Reformation,. 205-8 ; Wars of the 
 
 Covenant, 208-9; Hospital, 188 91 ; 
 "sang sohole," 229; seminaries, 
 479; Argyll Closs, 223; carvings in 
 Whitehall Closs, 223; Mauchlin 
 tower, 225 ; mint, 124 ; coinage, 474 ; 
 lodging of the Abbots of Arbroath, 
 221 ; Lindsay lodging, 222 ; Strath- 
 martin's lodging, 226 ; Gen. Monk's 
 lodging, 225; royal visits, 212, 213, 
 224, 229; Victoria arch, 229; 
 charges at ferry, 227 ; origin of 
 name, 215-16 ; the Law, 214, 
 
 Dundee, family of, 303. V. Claverhouse. 
 
 Dundervisheide fishings, 455. 
 
 Dunfynd, 480. 
 
 DunhaBny (Dalhesney), 50. 
 
 Dunnichen battle, *20. 
 
 Duninald church, 413, 417, 480 ; house, 
 *15 ; lands, 480. V. Sajnts— 
 Skeoch. 
 
 Dunlappy, lands and family of, 426; 
 church and parsons, 425-6, 260. 
 
 Dunottar castle, *18 ; kirk and clergy, 
 443-5. 
 
 Duray, John, minister, 54. 
 
 Dunechtyn, 150, 156. 
 
 Durris kirk, 105 ; forest, *10 ; thane- 
 dom, *12, 103 ; castle, 443-7, 101-3 ; 
 house harried, 103. 
 
 Durschine, lands and park of, 351. 
 
 Durwards, burial place of the, 402 ; 
 Alan, 49 ; 280. V. Lundyn. 
 
 Dye water, *4, 380. 
 
 Dyonisius, clerk of Forfar, 11. 
 
 Dysart church, 413 ; lands of Little, 480. 
 
 Melvilles of, 95. 
 
 Earl's Inns, 82. 
 
 Early English architecture, specimens 
 and age of, 154, *27. 
 
 East Haven, 238. 
 
 Ecclesgreig, 123, 374. 
 
 Ecclespether church, 413. 
 
 Edderpoles, 400-1. 
 
 Edgar, death of King, *24, 214. 
 
 bishop, 169; burial place, 161. 
 
 Edward I., at Arbroath, 146; Baled- 
 garno, 202, 293; Brechin, 124, 125 ; 
 Dundee, 202 ; Durris, 100 ; Farnell, 
 35 ; Forfar, 6 ; Glenbervy, 90 ; In- 
 verqneich, 6 ; Kincardine, 83 ; Mon- 
 trose, 47. 
 
 Edzell castle, *18, 311-12. 
 
 Egglisjohn' chapel, 55. 
 
 Egypt (Farnell), 39. 
 
 Ennet, or Ennell (Montrose), 67, 69. 
 
 Elfhill, 100. 
 
 Elliot water, *4. 
 
 Elphinstone, Lords, 318. 
 
 Eltham, great park of, 241. 
 
 Epitaphs at Dundee, 185; 194-200, 291, 
 
494 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 331; Mains, 263; Magdalene chapel 
 287. ; Montrose, 485 ; Holyrood, 348 
 Kirkden, 428 ; Aberlemno, 302 
 Aberdeen, 298. 
 
 ' Epity Pie.' V. Koche. 
 
 Errol, Morrice, rector of, 401. 
 
 Erskine of Dun, 50-65; fends at Mon- 
 trose, 73; John E. kills a priest, 74; 
 favors the Reformation, 75, 184 ; 
 captain, 80 ; Lady Mary, 244 ; Sir 
 Alex, of Gogar, 417. 
 
 Esauxtoun, 37. 
 
 Eshintillie Regis, 102. 
 
 Ethie, 150. 
 
 Ethiebeaton, 275-6. 
 
 Evanus III., 4. 
 
 Fairburn, StepheD, burgess, 221. 
 
 Fairhar, or Faryar, John, porter of 
 Cupar, 398. 
 
 Falconer, Lord Halkerston, 64 ; family 
 of, 360-3. 
 
 Elisoo and Thos., 52. 
 
 Fall's, capt., attack on Arbroath, 471-3. 
 
 Fallhaws, 240. 
 
 Farnell castle, *18, 35; inscribed stones, 
 36, 484 ; acquired by_ Earl of South- 
 esk, 38 ; muir, 37 ; kirk, 40-1 ; sculp- 
 tured stone, 41. 
 
 Duncan de, 35. 
 
 Farquharson and M'Gomie feuds, 30-34. 
 
 Fassington,- Margaret, 319. 
 
 Feithie loch, *5 ; 320-2. 
 
 Fentons of Baikie, 270-73 ; of Ogil, 272. 
 
 FerdillpArdell), 399. 
 
 Feme barony, 50 ; manor, 324-6. 
 
 Ferideth, King of the Picts, *23, 420. 
 
 Ferrier, David, rebel, 80. 
 
 Ferriton, or Ferridan fields, 9, 12. 
 
 Fettercairn, *6; thanedom, *11, 86. 
 
 house, 87 ; manse burned, 363. 
 
 Fetteresso, St Caran of, *4 ; clergy, 426 ; 
 lands, 367-8 ; Wuse, 434, 447 ; se- 
 pulchral remains, *23. 
 
 Feugh water, *4, 383. 
 
 Fiddes castle, *20. 
 
 Findon, Seaton, and chapel of, 364. 
 
 " Finnan haddies," 364. 
 
 Findowrie's " lodging" burned, 139. 
 
 Finella, lady, and her castle, 84, 375. 
 
 Finnygand, 30. 
 
 Finhaven castle, *18 ; church, 17, 113 ; 
 churchyard, *29 ; bridge, 141. 
 
 Fish, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 
 Fishburn of Eedcastle, *13. 
 
 Fithie lands and family, 43, 155, 479. 
 
 Fitzadam, Brian, 202. 
 
 Flanders, Bartholomew of, 351. 
 
 Fleming, Michael de, and David, 351. 
 
 Flemington castle, 351; lands, 179, 480. 
 
 Flesber, Hugh, burgess, 16, 17. 
 
 Fleshers, motto on church pew of, 186. 
 
 Fletcher, James, of Bostinoth, 11, 418 ; 
 of Balinshoe, 465 ; Sir George, 12. 
 
 Foolscap paper, origin of name, 197. 
 
 Foffarty lands, 413. 
 
 Forbes, bishop, of Corse, 377 ; of Leslie, 
 103; Monymusk, 36-i ; of Water-ton, 
 and Thornton, 379 ; of Towie, 319. 
 
 bishop of Brechin, 116, 143-4. 
 
 Forbidden Cave, 176, 374. 
 
 Fordoun Boman Camp, 87 ; church 
 and town, 88-9 ; John de, 89. V. 
 Saints — Palladius. 
 
 Forfar chapel gifted to abbey of Jed- 
 burgh, 11, 414; church bell, 13, 
 461; gleib, 11; Episcopal church, 14. 
 
 castle, 3, 8 ; captured and destroyed, 
 
 5, 6; ruins 8-9; constables, 78, 89, 
 25 ; falconer, 10 ; parliaments, 4 ; 
 king's gardener, 5. 
 
 town, *6 ; royal burgh, 16 ; trades, 
 
 18-23 ; oppressed by the army, 22 ; 
 charters destroyed, 21 ; Sunday 
 markets suppressed, 24 ; fishmarket, 
 413 ; feus, 403 ; burgh accounts, 
 465-7; cross, 8, 26-7, 465-6; por- 
 traits in county buildings, 23 ; 
 Drummond's satire, 19 ; halfpenny, 
 475. 
 
 loch, *5; chapel on island, 97, 400. 
 
 Forglen, 150. 
 
 Forster, Gilbert, archdeacon, 181 ; Pa- 
 trick of Innerdovet, 264. 
 
 Forter castle, *18. 
 
 Forthill (Montrose), 46 ; 61 ; 62. 
 
 Fosse, Nicholas Hay, rector of, 401. 
 
 Fossoway church, 401-2. 
 
 Foullertoune, Geoffrey of, falconer to 
 Eobert I., 10 ; Fullertons of F., 351 ; 
 of Thornton, 379. 
 
 Fothringham of Powrie, Marjory,- 2 97. 
 
 Fowlis-Easter, church and lands, 234 ; 
 paintings, 235. V. Coffin slabs. 
 
 Franciscan convent at Dundee, 188 ; 
 founded, 191 ; national , assembly's 
 meeting at, 192; destitution of the. 
 friars, 192-3. 
 
 Fraser, Sir Alexander, 85 ; William, son 
 of Alexander, 35 ; Sir Simon, 124 ; 
 of Durris, 103-4; of Frendraught, 
 90 ; of Hospitalfield, 163-4 ; of Kin- 
 nell, 307. 
 
 Freck, Philip, bailie of Forfar, 16. 
 
 Freemasons, lodge of, 219, 220. 
 
 Freswick, 326. 
 
 Freuill, Bichard, of Mondynes, 94. 
 
 Friars' glen, 90. 
 
 Friock, 309. 
 
 FroBter, Sir Thos., killed, 74, 468. 
 
 Fyndon, Philip of, 363. 
 
 Fyvie convent, 149 ; prior of, 265. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 Gallwkaw, 406. 
 
 Garden of Borrowfield, 280. 
 
 Gardenstone, Lord, 379-80. 
 
 Gardyne castle, *18, 309; family, 307-9. 
 
 Garvock kirk and clergy, 436-7 ; hill, 94. 
 
 Gavnard, King of the Picts, 335. 
 
 Gateside (Farnell), 39. 
 
 Gedy, abhot, 165. 
 
 Gerard, Sir Thomas, 224. 
 
 Gibbon, Thomas, knight, 401. 
 
 Gildeford;john of, 83. 
 
 Gilliemichael, a hermit, 400. 
 
 Gillies, Dr^ John, historian, and Adam, 
 
 lawyer,*122. 
 Gladstone, Sir T. of Fasque, 381. 
 Glaister, family and origin of, 304. 
 Glamis, thanedom, *10 ; castle, *15-17 ; 
 garrisoned, 21-2; rents of manor, 
 5-6 ; lands, 479 ; acquired by 1st Earl 
 of Panmure, 243 ; origin of name, 
 334. V. Logie, John of. 
 Glascorie forest, 30. 
 Glaskeler, Montfort of, 369. 
 Glen, Robt.,mark and monogram of, 196. 
 Glen pfOgilvy, 333. V. Ogilvy. 
 Glenbachlach, Adam of, 403. 
 Glenbaynie, 34. 
 Glenbervy castle, 91 ; besieged, *25 ; 
 
 kirk and parsons, 91-2. 
 Glenbrierachan battle, 264. 
 Glenchungole, 371. 
 Glendalough round tower, 107. 
 Glendy, John, dean of Cashel, 122 ; 
 
 469-70 ; lands, 381. 
 Glenfarquhar, 89, 361-3. 
 Glenesk barony, 480 ; family, 310. 
 Glenisla, 6, 400. 
 Glensaugh, 90. 
 Gold, Adam, burgess, 48. 
 Goldman of Dundee, poet, 198. 
 Gordon, family of Duke of, 104; of 
 
 Auchendown, 123. 
 Gourlay of Balgillo, 312 ; of Kincraigie, 
 
 313. 
 Grahams of Aldmontrose, 279-81 ; of 
 Morphie, 73, 378 ; Lady Anna, 297 ; 
 Lady Mary, 357. 
 Granard, Earl of, 377. 
 Granger, Rev. Jas , of Kinneff, 439-40. 
 Gray of Baledgarno, 184 ; of Duninald, 
 *13-14 ; of Fowlis, 237 ; of Inver- 
 eichty, 25 ; Rev. William, of Logie- 
 Montrose, 451 2. 
 Greek, teacher of, at Montrose, 52. 
 Green cairn, 84. 
 Greenden, 41. 
 Greenford, 336. 
 Greenlaw (Farnell), 39. 
 Grey, Lady Diana, 367 ; William, of 
 
 Pittendram, 438. 
 Greenlaw, Nicholas of, 301, 
 
 Groom's wages, temp. Alex. III., 6. 
 Gualter, Cardinal, letter toE. Panmure, 
 
 251, 477. 
 Guildy, 240, 480. 
 Guiscards of Normandy, 347. 
 Guthrie, abbot, 154; bishop, 309; of 
 
 Kincaldrum, *17, 405 ; John of, 14 ; 
 
 [gude], 64 ; Alex, of Forfar, 17 ; 
 
 fends with the Gardynes, 308 ; Rev. 
 
 Wm. ofFenwick, 118, 122. 
 
 castle, *17. 
 
 Guynd, 337. 
 
 Hakelv, Henry de, burgesB, 49. 
 
 Haldane, family and tradition of, 321. 
 
 HalkerBton, V. Falconer, Hawkerstoun. 
 
 Halkets of Pitfiran, 27 11 
 
 Hallgreen castle, *19. 
 .Hallyburtons of Dundee, 206-8 ; of Pit- 
 cur, 321. 
 
 Hamilton, Marquis of, 60, 159. 
 
 Hamyll, William, 7. 
 
 Hangie's well, 329. 
 
 Hai'ohers, Sir Robert, sheriff, 399. 
 
 Harkers, Robert, 321. 
 
 Hassa of Glenbervy, 92-3. 
 
 Hastings, sheriff, *7 ; Isabella, wife of 
 late Edmund of, 457. 
 
 Haughmuir, 134. 
 
 Haunsard, John of, 349. 
 
 Havsks, expense of feeding, temp. Alex. 
 III., 6 ; nests at Findon, 364. 
 
 Hawkhill of Dundee, 178, 
 
 Hawksman, king's, 82. 
 
 Hawkerstoun, 82, 480 ; castle, 363 ; 
 lands, 361-3 ; Bent, 366. 
 
 Hawkins, bishop of Raphoe, 482. 
 
 Hay of Errol, 103, 314-15 ; gifts to 
 Cupar, 400 ; burial place, 409 ; of 
 Dronlaw, 314-15 ; of Tullymet, 405. 
 
 "Hazard" sloop captured, 79-80. 
 
 Heatheretacks, 10. 
 
 Hector, king's physician, 314. 
 
 Heigh, Alex., dealer in " aqnavitie," 29. 
 
 Henry, parson of " Glenberuin," 91. 
 
 chaplain of Montrose, 52 . 
 
 Hepburn of Luffness, 426. 
 
 Herbertshiel castle, 370. 
 
 Hermitage and hermit, 400. 
 
 Herschahill, 87. 
 
 Herwart, William, vicar of Farnell, 41. 
 
 Hetherwick, 238, 308. 
 
 Hilton, 383. 
 
 Hoock, Colonel, 247. 
 
 Hog of Blairydryne, 102 ; Alex., rector 
 of school of Brechin, 122. 
 
 Hoill (Hole), 480. 
 
 Hollar, drawings by, 1 64. 
 
 Holyrood Picture Gallery, *16. 
 
 Home, commendator of Rostinoth, 417. 
 
 Honeyman of Kinneff, poet, 439. 
 
496 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Horologe-hill (Montrose), 62, 81. 
 Horticulture, temp. Alex. III., 5. 
 Hospitalfield lands, 162 ; house, 163. 
 Hostelry at Kincardine, 85-6 ; Dundee, 
 
 221. 
 Howff, origin of name, 193. 
 Hume, Joseph, M.P., 59 ; statue of, 485. 
 Hunter, Dr William, naturalist, 59. 
 
 of Eostinoth, 418. 
 
 Huntingdon, Earl of, lord of Brechin, 
 
 123 ; founds Lindores abbey, 149 ; 
 
 gifts Dundee church to Lindores, 
 
 177-8, 237, 346. 
 Hunting horses, expense of feeding, 
 
 temp. Alex III., 60. 
 Hunting parks and forests, *10, 48, 82. 
 Huntly-hill, 128 ; castle (Gowry), *15. 
 Husbandry, improvement in, 39, 40. 
 Hurley Hawkin, *25. 
 Hwuctyruus, Win. de, sheriff, *7, 343. 
 Hyndcastle moss, *4, 320. 
 
 Idvies, thanedom and thanes, *11, 428 ; 
 
 church and parsons, 427-8 ; lands 
 
 and house, 429. 
 Inchbrayook church, 60, 269. V. Braooh. 
 Inchbreck, Stuarts of, 95. 
 Inchethor, Adam, parson of, 401. 
 Inchmartin, Sir John of, 294, 403. 
 Inch-Michael, 400. 
 Inglismaldie castle, *20, 362. 
 Ingliston, baronets of, 326; lands of, 348. 
 Innerdovat, 264. 
 Innerechtie, Young of, 297 ; barony, 
 
 402 ; lands, 479. 
 Innerkethyn, Alisaundre and Sanser 
 
 de, 350. 
 Innerkey (?) toft, 401. 
 Innermeath, Lord, of Bedoastle, *13-14. 
 Tnnes, Cosmo, 300. 
 
 Inieney lands, 46 ; Schaklock of, 313. 
 Inverbervy royal burgh, *6, 442 ; mill, 
 
 371 ; Carmelite Friars, 441. 
 
 family of, 442. 
 
 Invergowrie castle, *24 ; church, 306, 
 
 412. 
 Iuverkeillor manor, *13 ; church, 150 ; 
 
 Newton, 319. 
 Inverlunan barony, 326. 
 Invermark castle, *18, 311. 
 Inverpeffer lands, 290, 320 ; place, 308, 
 
 33*1. 
 origin of family, 318 ; Patrick of, 
 
 184; Lord, 319. 
 Iuverquharity castle, *17. 
 Inverqueich castle, 6, 84. 
 Inverugy church, 150. 
 Irvine of Drum, 77, 150 ; of Kelly, 337, 
 
 485-6. 
 Irwyn, William andMariot, 221. 
 Isla water, *3. 
 
 Jackstoh, 238. 
 
 Jam-ay, Girsal, burned for witchcraft, 225. 
 
 James VI. at Brechin, 135 ; at Dundee, 
 
 224 ; at Kinnaird, 48, 224. 
 VIII., letters to E. Panmure from, 
 
 246, 249, 250. 
 Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary, origin 
 
 of, 15 ; Robert, advocate, 16. 
 Jesters' dress, *17. 
 John, archdeacon of Brechin, 1 15 ; clerk 
 
 of Forfar, 11. 
 Johnson, Dr Sam., at Montrose, 58 ; at 
 
 Arbroath, 160. 
 Johnston's (Arthur) Epigrams — Brechin, 
 
 140, 463 ; Dundee, 226, 463 ; Forfar, 
 
 187462 ; Montrose, 68, 462. 
 Johnstone, 359. V. Laurencekirk. 
 Justinhaugh bridge, 141. 
 
 Kaik, 96. 
 
 Keilors of Keilor, 320-1 ; chapel, 322. 
 
 Keith-Marischal, Sir Wm., 381 ; Lady 
 
 Catherine of Kintore, 362 ; Dr 
 
 George, poet, 59. V. Marischal. 
 Keith lands, 333. 
 Keithock, 396, 399; Temple Lands, 
 
 265 ; burgh, 406. 
 Kelso Abbey, 149. 
 
 Kelly castle and lands, *18, 336-7, 485-6. 
 Kenneth III., assassinated, *7, *24, 84, 
 
 88.; dedicates Brechin to the Lord, 
 
 •26, 110. 
 Kenny, 335-6 ; Meikle, 347. 
 
 Neil, 347. 
 
 Kerbet water, *4, 402. 
 Kerrera, chapel on island of, 395. 
 Kerneil, William, parson, 181. 
 Kerringtonfields. V. Ferriton. 
 Keryngton, Walter de, parson, 444. 
 Kettins church, 189; (Kethenys) barony 
 
 and mill, 479. 
 Kettle chapel, 334. 
 Kilcraig fishings, 455. 
 Kildrummy castle, 237, 264. 
 Kilgary forest, *10 ; chapel and hermit- 
 age, 425. 
 Kilhill, 366. 
 
 Kilkenny round tower, 111. 
 Kilmoir church, 470. 
 Kilmun, provost of, 408. 
 Kilwinning convent, 149. 
 Kinnaber Howff, 58, 281 ; king's farm, 
 
 413 ; lands, 60, 280, 479. 
 Kinnaird (inAngus) church, 41-2 ; lands, 
 
 41,48; castle, 45, 224 ; (in Gowry), 
 
 224. 
 
 Richard and Mariot of, 44, 307. 
 
 Kinal'ry, 479. V. Kingalty. 
 Kinardley, Stephen of, 123. 
 Kinblethmont chapel, 162 ; barony, 326; 
 
 lands, 451. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 497 
 
 Kincardine castle, »12, *25, 82 ; hawks- 
 man of, 361 ; barony of, 85 ; burgh, *6, 
 _ 86; thanedom, *11, 85. 
 
 Kincreich lands, 402 ; mill, 405. 
 
 Kinearies, Anands of, 289. 
 
 Kinneff, kirk and clergy, 438 39 ; church 
 robbed, 440 ; castle, 370. 
 
 Kinnell, 307. 
 
 Kinettles, church and parsons, 429-30 ; 
 lands, 348. 
 
 Kinerny church, 150. 
 
 King's ale oellar, keepership of, 48 
 brewer, 318 ; cadger's road, 269 
 cupbearer, 315-18 ; gardener, 5 
 physicians, »11, 313, 430; "pie*- 
 sant," 224' ; shieldbearer, 444. 
 
 Lour, 319. V. Lour. 
 
 Kingalty, or Kinalty, thanedom, *11. 
 
 Kingenny forest, *10. 
 
 Kinghorn, Earls of, 15, 16. V. Strath- 
 more, Glamis. 
 
 Kingilders, 457. 
 
 Kingoldrum, *18, 150. 
 
 Kingorney church, 442. 
 
 Kinked, John, " witchpricker," 29. 
 
 Kinmonth, 97. 
 
 Kinoohtry, 182. 
 
 Kinordy loch, *5. 
 
 Kinpurnie hill, 322. ( 
 
 Kinross, Robert, and John of, 349. 
 
 Kintore, Earls of, 362, 426. V. Falconer. 
 
 Kintrockat, 138, 296. 
 
 Kirkden. V. Idvies. 
 
 Kirkmahoe church, 150. 
 
 Kirkside house, 374. 
 
 Kirkton, 163. 
 
 Kirktonhill, 346, 359. 
 
 Kirriemuir, *6 ; churchyard, 10; lord of 
 regality, 301. 
 
 Knights' Templars, and of St, John, 448. 
 
 Kyd, William, reader, 182. 
 
 Kynnard, Ranulph of, 84. 
 
 Kynross, Sir John, 402. 
 
 Labothy, 350. 
 Laing, Alex., poet, 122. 
 Lamb, bishop, 116. 
 Lamberton, Alex, de, 350. 
 Lamley, Ralph de, abbot, 153. 
 Landelsj Simon, monk, 402. 
 Lathrisk church, 334. 
 Laurencekirk, *6, 96. 
 Lauriston castle, *18, 374 ; chapel, 373. 
 Laws hill, 275-6. 
 Lawton, 308-9. 
 Lee water, *5. 
 Leech, John, poet, 59. 
 Leckoway, 350. 
 Lednathy, 350. 
 Legatston, 308-9. 
 Leicester, Earls of, 368. 
 QQ 2 
 
 Leightons of Usan, 263-8 ; James, par- 
 son, 426. 
 
 Leightonhill, 286. 
 
 Lekathy, Laurence de, 350. 
 
 Lennox, Regent, besieges Brechin, 128 ; 
 receives Abbacy of Arbroath, 159. 
 
 Leslie of Rothes, 43, 85, 426 ; general, 
 77 ; of Newton, 211 ; commendator 
 of Cupar, 397. 
 
 Lesmahago convent, 149 . 
 
 Lethnot church, 113. 
 
 Leuchars, bishop, 114, 119. 
 
 Leuchland, 238. 
 
 Leys loch, *4 ; lands, 308. 
 
 Liderpoles, 400-1. 
 
 Liel, Andrew, 395. 
 
 Liff church, 306. 
 
 Lindores abbey, 149, 179, 180, 182, 215. 
 *Lindsay, Sir Alex., 17, 113, 310. 
 
 ' of Glenesk, 17, 113, 183, 310, 
 
 325; of Baikie, 271, 405; of Barn- 
 yards, 272 ; of Byres, 444 ; of Craw- 
 ford, *11, 188; of Edzell, 191, 
 310-11 ; of Vayne, *13, 327. V. 
 Crawford. 
 
 Duke of Montrose, 47, 65, 73. 
 
 David, minister and schoolmaster, 
 
 59, 182, 229. 
 
 hereditary blacksmiths, 134. 
 
 Linton, Bernard, abbot, 152. 
 
 Lintrathen loch, *5 ; lands, 334, 342. 
 
 Little Pert, 349, 402, 479. 
 
 Locarstown, or Lockartstoun, 10, 348. 
 
 Lochlair, 304. 
 
 Lochlee, *5. V. Glenesk. 
 
 Loffithe. V. Feithie loch. 
 
 Logie-Montrose, kirk and parsons of, 
 431-4 ; Scott of, 431, 458. V. Pert. 
 
 Logie-Wishart, lands and barony, 347-9. 
 
 Logy, John, of Glamis, *11. ' 
 
 Logyn, Philip de, burgess, 49. 
 
 Loirston cairn, 364. 
 
 Lorimer's croft, 82. 
 
 Lornie, 400 ; Baldwin of, 401. 
 
 Louis XIV., letter to Earl Panmure 
 from, 247-8, 477. 
 
 Lounie, 336. 
 
 Lour barony, 402 ; Meikle, 480. 
 
 Lovels of Balumby, 454-6. 
 
 Lownan, 479. 
 
 schoolmaster of Dundee, 229. 
 
 Lucky's slap, 299. 
 
 Lude, David, chaplain, 184. 
 
 Lumphanan, 91. 
 
 Lumsden of Montquhaney, killed, 210. 
 
 Lunan water, *4. 
 
 Lundie loch, *5 ; lands, 49 ; church, 344. 
 
 Lundin family, 49, 150, 456. V. Dur- 
 wards. , 
 
 Luther water, *4, 89. 
 
 Luthnot bridge, 360. 
 
498 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Lydel of Panlathie, 238 ; 276. 
 Lyell of Grardyne, 309; David, minr., 56. 
 Lyon of Aldbar, 296 ; of Auchterhouse, 
 342. 
 
 M'Beth, Gilbert, king's physician, 314. 
 
 Mackbroke, Alex., advocate, 406. 
 
 M'Comie and Farquharson feuds, 30, 34. 
 
 Mack Holffe, 399. 
 
 Mackenzie, Lord Privy Seal, 322. 
 
 Macpender. V. Maolpeder. 
 
 Macpeesis, Hugh, 163. 
 
 Macvicar, tombstone of Archibald, 408. 
 
 Magdalene chapel, 286-7. 
 
 Mains church, 261 ; castle, *18, 262-3, 
 333, 340 ; mill, 479. 
 
 Maisondieu Hospital, 120-22. 
 
 Maitland, Wm., historian, 122. 
 
 Malcolm II:, *21, 7-8, 504. 
 
 Mallebryde, a Culdee canon, 113. 
 
 Malherb of Eossy, 49, 264. 
 
 Malt, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 
 Manrent, Jjonds of, 238, 356. 
 
 Maolpeder, thane of Mearns, *24. 
 
 Maorruors of Angus and Mearns, *6, *7. 
 
 Mar, Earl of, 78, 247, 251, 478. 
 
 JUarcheta muliervm, law of, 4. 
 
 " Marie of Dundee," the ship, 217. 
 
 Marriage contract, 245. 
 
 Marischal, Earl, 65, 86, 100. 
 
 Marsilliers, M., Greek teacher, 53. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots. V. Queen Mary., 
 
 Maryculter, 103; kirk and barony, 448-9. 
 
 Mavykirk church, 360. V. Aberluthnot. 
 
 Marynett fishings, 50. 
 
 Maryton, 37, 385. 
 
 MaBons, hours and wages of, in 1536-7, 
 220 ; apprentices, 221 ; marks, 122, 
 197. 
 
 Mathers, 381 ; Kaim of, *18, 94, 358. 
 
 Maukelom, Hew le fitz, burgess, 49. 
 
 Maule, Ansold, and Peter de", 234, 470. 
 
 of Panmure family, 233-57. 
 
 of Benvie and Balruthrie, 304-6 ; of 
 
 Both, 279 ; of Balumby, 456 ; of ' 
 Fowlis-Easter, 235 ; of Inverkeillor, 
 253 ; of, Kelly, 245, 257, 337 ; of 
 Melgund, 239, 279 ; Sir Thos., de- 
 fends Brechin castle; 125-6, 236; 
 commissary, 240, 257 ; Henry, Lord 
 Brechin, 242 ; Hon. William, created 
 an Earl, 253. 
 
 Jane, Lady Bamsay, 253 ; Hon. 
 
 Wm. Bamsay, 23, 112 ; created a 
 baron, 254 ; Fox, Baron Panmure, 
 127, 168, 254-6, 478 ; Earl Of Dal- 
 housie, 508 ; Hon. Lauderdale, 254; 
 Hon. Wm. of Feme, 255. V. Pan- 
 mure, Bamsay. 
 
 of Ireland, 317. 
 
 May, Isle of, 317. 
 
 Meal, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 
 Mearns, sheriffs of the, *9-*10 ; thanes 
 
 and thanedoms, *11, *12. 
 Meathie-Lour kirk, 402. 
 Meldrum of Segy, 291. 
 Melgam water, *3. 
 Melgund castle, •18, 27-8 ; lands, 288, 
 
 296, 336. 
 Melville of Glenbervie, *9, 91>5. 
 
 James, 75, 170. 
 
 Melvill, school-boy days of Andrew, 
 
 431-2. 
 Memass, 479. 
 Menmuir thanedom, *11, 415; lands, 
 
 474; king's gardener at, 5. 
 Menziel of Findon, 364; of Pitfodels, 449. 
 Mercer, Walter le, burgess, 49 ; of Aldie, 
 
 239. 
 Merchants' marks, 196-200. 
 Mergie, Stonehouse of, 101. 
 Merton, Nicol de, parson, 429 ; king's 
 
 physician, 430. 
 Methven college, 301 ; battle, 124. 
 
 Paul, a preacher, 53, 206. 
 
 Michael's (St.) mount, hill, and den, 
 
 115, 426. 
 Middletons of Middleton, 365-67 ; Earl 
 
 of, 86-7, 281. 
 Middleton lands, 309. 
 Middledrums, 41. 
 
 Mill, historian of British India, 434. 
 Miltonhaven burgh, 372 3. 
 Minto, Earl of, 279. 
 Mitchell, bishop of Aberdeen, 437. 
 Monasteries, importance of, 148-9. 
 Monboddo castle, *20 ; Strachans of, 
 
 377 ; burial aisle, 88. 
 Moncarno, battle of,-*21. 
 Moncrieff, William, and family of, 350. 
 Mondynes lands, 94, 150, 369; coort 
 
 Monfitchet, Sir William, 204. 
 Monifieth thanedom, *11 ; church, 261 ; 
 
 Grange, 479 ; teinds of, leased, 191. 
 Monikie lands, 479 ; Kirkhill of, 240. 
 Monk, general, at Dundee, 185, 210-11. 
 " Monkbams," locality ef, 163. 
 Monkmuir, 406. 
 Monmouth, Earl of, 104. 
 Monogram, 278. V. Merchants' marks. 
 Montealtsof Feme, 324-7, 401 ; Bichard 
 
 of, 94. 
 Montforts of Kinneff, 368-9. 
 Month, forest of the, *10. 
 Montefix, tomb of William of, 409. V. 
 
 Muschets. 
 Montreathmont Muir, *10, 7, 224; 
 
 keepership of, 48. 
 Montrose, destroyed by the Danes, *6, 
 
 46, 62 ; a royal burgh, *6, 48, 62 ; 
 
 burgesses of, in 1296, 48-9 ; female 
 
GENEKAL INDEX. 
 
 499 
 
 burgesses, 362 ; shore dues, privi- 
 leges, &c, 65 ; ferryboat, 458 ; trade, 
 69; bridges, 71; public institutions, 
 70-1; old houses, 69 ;• coinage, 475, 
 vi; basin, 61, 72, 281; links, 56, 
 68 ; Arthur Johnstone's epigram on, 
 68, 462 ; feuds, 73-4. 
 
 Montrose convent, 49-51. 
 
 church and altarages, 52 ; chapels, 
 
 484 ; the Reformation, 52 ; church 
 and steeple, 56 ; chandelier, 57 ; 
 clerical apathy, 55 ; episcopal and 
 other churches, 58, 484 ; burial 
 grounds, 58 ; grammar school, 59 ; 
 teacher of Greek established, 52. 
 
 castle destroyed by Wallace, 47 ; 
 
 , hereditary gate-keeper, 46, 468 ; 
 Thomas, porter of, 49. 
 
 Duke of. V. Lindsay. 
 
 Earl of, birth-place of James, 281 ; 
 
 208-9 ; Marquis, 20, 77, 78, 363. 
 
 Monymusk, knights of, 150. 
 
 Morehouse, 85. 
 
 Morphie, 92, 96 ; thanedom, *12. 
 
 Mort-hill, 438. 
 
 Mortimer of Fowlis, 235. 
 
 Mowat. V. Montealt. 
 
 MSS., notices of, at Aldbar, 299, 412 ; at 
 Blairs college, 449 ; at Panmure, 257. 
 
 Muchals castle, *20. 
 
 Muir, captain, hanged, 128. 
 
 Muirdvum, 480. 
 
 Muirton; 374, 382, 480. 
 
 Murlingden, 138. 
 
 Murroes church, 261. 
 
 Murthill, 340 ; forest of, 414. 
 
 Murthuli, 395, 403. 
 
 Muschets of Cargill, 327, 401. 
 
 Music, teacher of, at Montrose, 59. 
 
 Muter, general Sir Jos. Straton, 374. 
 
 Napiee of Auchenleck, 330. 
 
 Naym, Balf, of Inverugy, 150. 
 
 Naughty welL 346. 
 
 Nechtan's fort. V. Dunnichen. 
 
 Nether Airly, church of, 403. 
 
 Newbigging (Montrose), 55 ; 480. 
 
 Newdosk, thanedom of, *11. 
 
 Newmanswalls, Panter of, 50. 
 
 Newtobers of Newtober, 332. 
 
 Newtyle castle, *18. 
 
 Neyreseat, 366. 
 
 Nichol, Dr J. P., astronomer, 122. 
 
 Noran water, *3, 327. 
 
 Norman style of architecture, *27. 
 
 Norrie, preceptor of Maisondien, 121. 
 
 Nome's Law, silver armour found at, 457. 
 
 North Esk water, 65, 73, *3. 
 
 Oak carvings, 157, 312, 387, 427. 
 Ochterforfar, 479-80. 
 
 Ochterlony, family of that Ilk, 335-7 ; 
 John O.'s " Account of the Shyre of 
 Forfar," 27, 66, 141, 160, 227, 218, 
 337 ; general, 338. 
 
 Ochyngill, 326. 
 
 Ocky, colonel, 21. 
 
 .Ogjl lands, 273 ; Wester, 479. 
 
 Ogilvy, origin of name and family of, 
 333-4; of Airly, *18, 30, 31, 38, 78, 
 80 ; porters of Cupar Abbey, 397 ; of 
 Auchterhouse, *8; of Balfour, *19 ; 
 of Bolshan, 345 ; of Barras, 440 ; of 
 Carcary, 321 ; of Inverquharity, *17, 
 173 ; of Lnnan, 366 ; of Powrie, 333 ; 
 Walter, alderman of Montrose, 73. 
 
 Old Montrose. V. Aldmontrose. 
 
 " Old Mortality," original of, 446. 
 
 Olifart, or Oliphant of Glenbervy, 92-3. 
 
 Oliphant, Sir William, 85. 
 
 Packmah's Howe, 437.' 
 
 Pader, or Pater well, 42. 
 
 Panbride, burial aisle at kirk of, 244. 
 
 Panmure, Earls of, 1st E., 160, 240-5 ; 
 
 2d and 3d E., 245-6 ; 4th E , 245- 
 
 52 ; 5th E., 253-4 ; 1st and 2d Barons, 
 
 254-6. V. Maule. 
 chapel, 238 ; house, 244 ; paintings 
 
 and library, 256-7 ; Meqistrwm de, 
 
 235, 251-2 ; muir, 33G; battle, *25. 
 Pantaskal, 41. 
 
 Palladius (St.), shrine, 84, 88; chapel,88. 
 Palfreyman's croft, 82. 
 Panter, abbot, 153 ; David, 37 ; Patrick, 
 
 50 ; armorial bearings, 154. 
 Parishes, origin of, *26. 
 Parthesin (? Persie), 399. 
 Patterson, colonel William, 430. 
 Paterson, skipper James, 461. 
 Pattonsoun, Archibald, 121. 
 Patrick, king's physician, 313. 
 Peel, monument to Sir Bobert, at Forfar, 
 
 13 ; statue of, at Montrose, 70. 
 Peffer burn, 320. 
 Peght's houses. V. Weems. 
 Pert, church united to Logie, 432. 
 Perth, town of, 403. 
 Petterden, 413, 464. 
 Pettarly, 480. 
 Pethefrin church, 413. 
 Phesdo, Falconers of, 61-3, 372. 
 Philip, James, poet, 162. 
 Physicians, royal. V. King's. 
 Pierson of Balmadies, 337, 161 ; Alex., 
 
 slain, 77 ; Alex., minr., 11, 12. 
 Pillane, Friar Patrick, of Montrose, 51. 
 Pitarrow, 385-8 ; carved stones at, 386-7 ; 
 
 house and paintings, 388-9. 
 Pitalpin, battle of, *21. 
 Pitcundrum, 336. 
 Pitcur castle, *18, 411. 
 
500 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Pitfour, 329. 
 
 Pitkennedy necklace, *23. 
 
 Pitscandly, Blackgate of, *23. 
 
 Pitsligo, Forbes of, 368-9. 
 
 Pitempan, Nine Maidens of, 335. 
 
 Pittengarden, 123. 
 
 Pittenweem, commendator's seal, 301. . 
 
 Place, drawings by Francis, 164. 
 
 Plague, at Brecbin, 136-8, 471 ; at Mont- 
 rose, 471 ; at Stonehaven, 446. 
 
 Plater, or Platane, foreBt, *10, 413-15 ; 
 foresters of, 7, 288. 
 
 Pluckerston. V. Locarstown. 
 
 Plumer, Wm,, of Tweeddale, 158. 
 
 Pockley, captain, letter by, 464. 
 
 Pointed architecture, age of, 154. 
 
 Polgarrock, 480. 
 
 Pollock family, 338-9 
 
 Popes of Rome, John XXII., 151 ; Calis- 
 tus III., 181 ; Nicholas V., 181. 
 
 Porters of Cupar Abbey, 397-8. 
 
 Porter, " de Munros," Thomas le, 49. 
 
 Portencraig, lands and fishings, 260. 
 
 Portraits — Lord Camperdown, 23 ; Demp- 
 ster of DunnichenJ 23, 481 ; Scott 
 of Duninald, 23 ; Lord Melville, 23 ; 
 Joseph Hume, 70 ; Sir James Duke, 
 70; Queen Mary, 449, 482 3 ; Car- 
 dinal Beaton, 450 ; — Webster, 476. 
 
 Pow water, 40. 
 
 Powburn, 356. 
 
 Powrie castle, *18 ; lands, 333. 
 
 Preyston, 336. 
 
 Priest's Den and Well, 329. 
 
 Provisions, price of, in 1481, 192. 
 
 Prudhoe castle, chapel at, 259. 
 
 Pylmore, John, 396, 406. 
 
 Pugiston, 55. 
 
 Quakers persecuted, 356 ; tombstone of 
 the author of Apology for the, 359. 
 
 Queen Margaret's Inch, 4. 
 
 Margaret Logy, *11. 
 
 Mary, portrait of, 449-50, 482-3 ; 
 
 back-gammon board, 144 ; watch, 
 339 ; her visit to Cupar-Angns, 404. 
 
 ■» Victoria's visit to Dundee, 229. 
 
 Quincy, Robert of, 3, 276 ; Roger of, 334. 
 
 Quhitlaw, Patrick, of that Ilk, 270. 
 
 Rait, Thomas of Uris, 86, 285, 444; 
 
 Rev. William, 119, 469. 
 Ralph the Rover, 176. 
 Ramsay of Auchterhouse, *7 ; Sir John, 
 
 64 ; family of, 339-41 ; Thomas of 
 
 Kirkton, 170 ; James, 121 ; David, 
 
 king's clock-maker, 339. 
 Rattray, Eustace of, 403. 
 Red Beard, 105. 
 Redcastle, *12, 17. 
 Redden, 42. 
 
 Redgorton, 395. 
 
 Redhall, 385. 
 
 Redmyre, 96. 
 
 Rede, William, burgess, 16. 
 
 Reginald, first abbot of Arbroath, 149. 
 
 Regalia concealed at Kinneff, 43940. 
 
 Reid of Auchenleck, 331. 
 
 Reiden's well, 42. 
 
 Reidie, 275. 
 
 Rescohie loch, *5 ; castle, *24 ; kirk, 24. 
 
 Rindalgross kirk, 317. 
 
 Robert, parson of Kinneflj 438. 
 
 Roche, epitaph on John, 194-5. 
 
 Roched, Sir John, 287. 
 
 Rogeij^Bon of Baudrice, 401 . 
 
 Rolok, Roger, and Tofom, 275. 
 
 Roman Camps — Fordoun, 87; Cargill, 
 329 ; Clattering Brigs, 87 ; Cupar- 
 Angus, 411 ; Invergowrie. 214. ' 
 
 Ro6s, James, Duke of, 121 ; Enphemia, 
 Countess of, 85. 
 
 Roscrea round tower, 108. 
 
 Rose, parentage of Rt. Hon. Geo., 426-7. 
 
 Rossie, 50, 60. 
 
 Rossy, Walter de, burgess, 49 ; Walter 
 of, 264. 
 
 Rostinoth-Forfar, 11, 12. 
 
 Rostinoth Priory, 7, 11, 12 ; history of, 
 412-21 ; rental, 478-80 ; list of priors, 
 415-17. 
 
 battle of, *23. 
 
 Rouine of Deere, "doomster," 37. 
 
 Round towers, 107-1 1 . 
 
 Royal cup-bearers. V. Kings. 
 
 Ruddiman, the grammarian, 297. 
 
 Ruidfair, 66. 
 
 Rume's Cross, 41. 
 
 Rupert, Prince, 338. 
 
 Rushes for strewing floors, 222. 
 
 Ruthven church, 150 ; weem at, 322. 
 
 Rynd, Patrick, alderman'of Forfar, 16. 
 
 Saints — churches, chapels, altarages, 
 wells, fairs, &c, dedicated to 
 
 Adamnan, Feme, 273. 
 
 Ann, Brechin, 470. 
 , Andrew, Dundee, 201 . 
 
 All Saints, Brechin, 470; Dundee, 
 183, 474. 
 
 Arnold, Feme, 273 ; Kinneff, 438. 
 
 Bridget, Dunotter, 446. 
 
 Braoch, Craig, 61, 269. 
 
 Caran,'Fetteresso, *4. 
 
 Catherine, Arbroath, 162 ; Brechin, 
 470; Kincardine, 86-7. 
 
 Christopher, Brechin, 470. 
 
 Columba's banner, 150. 
 
 Clare, Dundee, 188. 
 
 Clement, Dundee, 188, 200. 
 
 Cyrus, Ecclesgreig, 123, 374. 
 
 Donevald, 334-5. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 501 
 
 Saints — Drostan, Glenesk, *5, *26. 
 Duthoc, Brechin, 470 ; Arbroath, 162. 
 "Ennan's Seit," Feme, 273. 
 Ethernan, Forfar, 24, 466. 
 Fergus, Craig, 209. 
 Francis, Dundee, 188, 191. 
 George, Brechin, 321 ; Dundee, 183, 
 
 474. 
 Germans Hospital, 451. 
 Gregory, St. Cyrus, 123, 374. 
 Holy Cross, Brechin, 470 ; Dundee, 
 
 201 ; Montrose, 484. 
 Hunand, Campsey, 407. 
 James, Garyock, 436 ; Brechin, 470 ; 
 
 Forfar, 11, 24; Arbroath, 162. 
 John, Arbroath, 162; Baikie, 271, 
 
 274 ; Barras, 438 ; Brechin, 470 ; 
 . Drumlithie, 485 ; (Dun ), 55 ; Mont- 
 rose, 52, 484. 
 Lawrence, Brechin, 470 ; Arbroath, 
 
 &c.,162;Lauriston,373. 
 Madden, Airly, 274. 
 Magdalene, Arrat, 286-7, 470. 
 Margaret, Forfar, 24 ; Dundee, 184, 
 . 225. 
 
 Martin, Barras, 438 ; Logie, 431. 
 Mary (Virgin, Blessed, Our Lady), 
 
 Arbroath, 162, 163, 168 ; Auch- 
 
 terhouse, 342 ; Brechin, 106, 120, 
 
 285 ; Carmyllie, 237 ; Cowy, *28 ; 
 
 Craig, 269; Cupar Angus, 394; 
 
 Dundee, 177, 179, 180, 183, 2C0. 
 
 217, 220, 226; Glenbervy, 485; 
 
 Jedburgh, 413; Kilinoir, 470; 
 
 Kirriemuir, *6 ; Maryeulter, 448-9, 
 
 482 ; Marykirk, 360 ; Montrose, 49, 
 
 50-1 ; Panmure, 238. 
 Michael, Arbroath, 162 ; Brechin, 
 
 115, 426 ; Drumlithie, 485; Dun- 
 dee, 222. 
 Monance, 179. 
 Nicholas, Arbroath, 162 ; Brechin, 
 
 470 ; Dundee, 178, 473. 
 Nine Maidens, Finhaven, *30 ; 
 
 Glamis, 335 ; Strathmartin, 335. 
 Ninian, Arbiflot, *32 ; Arbroath, 162 ; 
 
 Brechin, 470 ; Dunottar, 443. 
 Nomine Jesu, Brechin, 470. 
 Pader (?), Farnell, 42. 
 Palladius, Fordoun, *26, 84, 88. 
 Paul, Dundee, 188,-200, 201. 
 Peter, Arbroath, 162 ; Dundee, 201 ; 
 
 Invergowrie, 306 ; Montrose, 484 ; 
 
 Bostinoth, 24, 412 (?), 413. 
 Philip, Caterline, 442. 
 Boque, Dundee, 188, 200. 
 Kume (?), 41. 
 
 Salvator, Dundee,184; Brechin, 470. 
 Sebastian, St. Vigeans, 170. 
 - Sinivee (?), Mains, 263. 
 Skeoch, Duninald, 269-70. 
 
 Saints — Thomas a Becket, Arbroath, 
 147, 155; Brechin, 385, 470. 
 Three Kings, Dundee, 192. 
 Ternan, Fyndon, 364 ; (114.) 
 Triduana, Roscobie, 24. 
 Trinity, Brechin, 113, 116, 131; 
 
 Dundee, 188-91. 
 Valentine, Forfar, 24. 
 Vigeans, 164, 169-70. 
 
 St. Andrews, John, archdeacon of, 434. 
 
 St. Boniface, *26. 
 
 St. Cyrus, Priory of, *27. 
 
 St. Michael, Christian, 319. 
 
 Salork church, 60, 413 ; lands, 63. 
 
 Sandhauch (Montrose), 50. 
 
 Sanser, Alex, le, Wm., aud Thos., 350. 
 
 Sauchy, 289. 
 
 Schanvel, Thos., sub-prior of Cupar, 395. 
 
 Schaw of Greenock, 289. 
 
 Scone, 182 ; abbot of, 434. 
 
 Scott, Duncan, 458 ; William, 12. 
 
 Scotland during the Middle Ages, 148-9; 
 first Statistical Acct. of, 337-8. 
 
 Scotston, 383. 
 
 Scourging the poor, 29. 
 
 Scrimgeour of Dudhope, 184, 203, 204, 
 289, 297. 
 
 Sculptured Stone Monuments — Aber- 
 lemno, *22 ; Aldbar, 303 ; Benvie 
 306 ; Camuston, *22 ; Cargill, 329 
 Craig, 61 ; Farnell, 41 ; Fordoun, 88 
 Invergowrie, 386 ; Keilor, 322 
 Kettins, 411 ; Kirriemuir, 10 ; Largo 
 456 ; St. Vigeans, 175. 
 
 books on, *22 ; 299, 300, 306. 
 
 Seaton, 165, 297 ; den, 162 
 
 Seneschal, office of, 338 ; John of Ar- 
 broath, 338 ; EobertofEoBtinoth,416. 
 
 Shaklock, Simon, 369-70. 
 
 Sheep, value of, temp. Alex. III., 6. 
 
 Sheilhill bridge, 141. 
 
 Sheriffs of Angus and Mearns, list of the, 
 *7, *10. 
 
 Sheriff's pot, 94. 
 
 Shevez, archbishop, 88. 
 
 Shiach burn, 105. 
 
 Shtoreswood, arms of bishop, 115. 
 
 Sibbald of Mondynes, 94. 
 
 Simon, clerk of Forfar, 1 1 . 
 
 Sinclair of Aldbar, 296. 
 
 Sinel, thane of Angus, 93. 
 
 " Sinivee" well, 263. ' 
 
 Skannach (Shanno), 50. 
 
 Skene of Careston, 112 ; of Raemoir, 102. 
 
 Skibo, Dempster of, 481. 
 
 Skinner, Mary-Buperta, 338. 
 
 Skynner, Laurence, minister, 426. 
 
 Skurra, or Skurrach, 335. 
 
 Slains, Montfort of, 9, 369 ; castle, '370. 
 
 Slezer's views : Arbroath, 161 ; Brechin, 
 139 ; Dundee, 190, 203 ; Montrose, 61 . 
 
502 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Small, Dr. Kobert, minister, 183. 
 
 Smart, Alexander, poet, 59. 
 
 Smiddyhill, &2. 
 
 Slug road, 102. 
 
 Smythe of Methven, 302. 
 
 Soulis, William of, 124. _ 
 
 Souter, David, " executioner," 29. 
 
 South Esk river, *3. 
 
 Southesk, Earls of, 38-44, 318, 327 ; 2d 
 marriage of 6th Earl of, 503. V. 
 Carnegie. 
 iSpalding, John, dean of Brechin, 86 ; 
 George, of Dundee, ,186. 
 
 Sparrow Muir. V. Hawkhill. 
 
 Speid, Nich., and Speids of Ardovie, 42. 
 
 Spey, water mouth of, 65. 
 
 Spittleschelis (Garvock), 50 ; croft, 105. 
 
 Staddockmore, 238. 
 
 Stanhope, Lady Frances, 244. 
 
 Stannochy bridge, 141. 
 
 Stewart of Athol, 301. . 
 
 " Stinohende Haven," 402. 
 
 Stirling, salt work in Carse of, 150. 
 
 Stirling, George, 73. 
 
 Stirlings of Glenesk, 310-71. 
 
 Stobhall, lands and castle of, 328-9. 
 
 Stone coffins at Arbroath, 155. 
 
 Stonehaven, *6, 87 ; kirkyards, 446-7. 
 
 Stotfaulds, 240, 348, 480. 
 
 Stowe, John of, 91. 
 
 Stracathro, 84, 382 ; battle, *25; church, 
 425. 
 
 Strachan castle, 381. V. Glendy. 
 
 Waldave, and Eadulph, 380 ; of 
 
 Carmyllie, 237, 238, 304 ; of Thorn- 
 ton, 377-9, 86, 366 ; bishop of Brechin, 
 116. 
 
 Straiton of Lauriston^ 371-3 ; of Kirk- 
 side, 374 ; of the Keym, 483 ; ' of 
 Knox, 440 ; of Airly, 373. 
 
 Strang, provoBt of Forfar, 19-20 ; Kobert, 
 ' and Wm. of Stockholm, 12-13, 461. 
 
 Strathdecty mill, 479. 
 
 Strathechyn,Raudulph,91. V. Strachan. 
 
 Strathern, John, Root., and Malcolm of, 
 351. 
 
 Strathfinella hill, 84, 90. + 
 
 Strathmore, murder of the Earl of, 220. 
 V. Kinghorn, Glamis. 
 
 Strivelyn, Sir John, of Lauriston, 373. 
 
 Stronnay, haven of, 60-1. 
 
 Strong, William, burgess, 49. 
 
 Strubble, Malcolm, chaplain, 237. 
 
 Stuarts of Inchbreck, 95-6. 
 
 Stuart-Forbes, of Fettercairn, 367-8. 
 
 Sules, royal cupbearer, 316-17. 
 
 Sunday schools established, 118. 
 
 markets on, 24, 130. 
 
 Sutherland, Earls of, 85, 443-4. 
 
 Tailleub of Balshamwell, 344-5. 
 
 Tannadice, thanedom of, *11. 
 Tannie's well, 346. 
 Tay, fishings on, 400. 
 Taylor, Rev. Alex., poet, 430. 
 Tayock, 55, 60. 
 Tee-name, example of, 467. 
 Tealing church, 412, 413 ; lands, 480. 
 Templelands of Auchterhouse, 343 
 
 Barras, 438 ; Benholm, 366 ; Fetter- 
 
 cairn, 366 ; Kinblethmont, 451 
 
 Middleton, 366. 
 Thanes and Thanedoms. V. Angus, 
 
 Mearns. 
 Thawhoke water, 63. 
 Thieves, branding of, 467. 
 Thomas (St.) a Becket,.147. 
 Thorn, William, poet, 201. 
 Thome, John, rector of Dunlappy, 436. 
 Thomson, G., Barns' correspondent, 257. 
 Thorkelin, Grim, of Copenhagen, 15. 
 Thornton of that Ilk, 376-7 ; John de, 
 
 burgess, 49. 
 
 castle, *19, 380 ; lands, 479. 
 
 Three Kings of Cologne. V. Colan. 
 
 Tilly soil (Farnejl), 39. 
 
 Tillwhilly castle, *19. 
 
 Tillyquhandland, 179,'480. 
 
 Tombeg, 32. 
 
 Tombstones, carvings on, 194-200. 
 
 Trembley of Delany. V. Turnbull. 
 
 Trent, William, monk, 402. 
 
 Tresquere (Traquair), 399. 
 
 Trinity Friars, 188, 451. 
 
 Trot, John, burgess, 49. 
 
 Trustacb forest, 150. 
 
 Tullochs of Bonnington, 269. 
 
 Tulloes, 308. 
 
 Turnbulls of Bedrule, 382 ; of Dalladies, 
 
 383. 
 Turriff church, 150. 
 Turin castle, *24. 
 Tyrbeg, or Torbeg, 9, 400, 479-80. 
 Tyronensian convents, 149. 
 
 Ulishaven. V. Usan. 
 
 Umphravilles, Earls of Angus, 258-61, 
 
 6,202,347. 
 Unich water, *5. 
 Uris, 86. 
 
 Urquhard barony, 85. 
 TJry, lands and'house of, 359. 
 Usan, 67 ; lands, 268, 312, 458. 
 Usher, Thomas le, 351. 
 Uttica, monuments in church of, 234. 
 
 Valentine, origin of name of, 377. 
 Vastcruik fishings. V. Kilcraig. 
 Vallognes, Lords of Panmure, 235, 236 ; 
 
 of Benvie, 3045. 
 Vayne, Lady Lindsay of, *13 ; castle of, 
 
 *18, 327, 352. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 Vethi burn, 85. 
 
 Victie t Jas:, parson of Idvies, 428. 
 
 Victoria arch, 229; bridge, 50. V. Queen. 
 
 Vitrified sites, 214, 276. 
 
 Vivien's "Offices of the Virgin," 143. 
 
 Wallace, Sir fm, at Auchterhouse, 
 340 ; Brechin, 125 ; Cupar-Angus, 
 404; Dundee, 201, 228; Dunottar, 
 443 ; Montrose, 64, 340. . 
 
 -tower, 342, 447. 
 
 "Waldrum, Lady Mary, 244. 
 
 Walkeline, king's brewer, 318. 
 
 Walter, Andrew, rector of Cuikstone, 41. 
 
 Walter, son of Turpin, 336. 
 
 Warberton, or Wardroperisthone, John 
 of, 294. 
 
 Wedderburn, vicar of Dundee, 206. 
 
 Weems, or caves, 322-3. 
 
 Westferry fishings, 455. 
 
 Westfield, 184. 
 
 Westmill, 30. 
 
 Weston, John of, constable, 7. 
 
 Wheat, price of, in 1481, 193. 
 
 Whelps, expense of feeding, temp. Alex. 
 III., 6. 
 
 Whistleberry castle, 370-8. 
 
 White, Adam, of Forfar, 400. 
 
 Whiteruds, 441. 
 
 William the Lion, burial place of, 155. 
 
 William, son of Thos., 400 ; vicar, 236. 
 
 Williamson, John, burgess, 16 ; master 
 
 of " sang schole," 229., 
 Willison, Eev. John, 182. 
 Wine, cost of carriage of, temp. Alex. III., 
 
 6, 216. 
 Winzet, Ninian, printer, 449. 
 Witt, Jacob de, artist, *16. 
 Wishart of Logie-Wishart, 346-9. 
 of Pitarrow, 383-8 ; George, 53, 
 
 88, 89, 159, 205, 206. 
 bishop of Edinr., 348; of Glasgow, 
 
 and St Andrews, 384-5. 
 Witches at Forfar, 27-9; bridle, 30, 
 
 230 ; burned at Dundee, 225. 
 Witch Den, 145. 
 Wood of Bonnington, 269 ; of Balbegno, 
 
 *20 ; admiral Sir Andrew, 205, 456. 
 Wodwray, 480. 
 
 Wortley, satire by Hon. Miss, 23. 
 Wricht, John, bailie of Forfar, 17. 
 Wye%, Maulcolum, 351. 
 Wyschart, E., rector of Cuikstone, 41. 
 
 Ybaman of Dundee, 198. 
 
 Yetts, license to erect, on castles, *17. 
 
 York Buildings' Company, 38, 478 -,'MS. 
 
 books of, 257. 
 York, Culdees at, 107. 
 Young, Sir Peter of Seaton, 170, 199 ; 
 
 of Aldbar, 296-7; of Ochterlony, 
 
 336 ; William, bailie, 17. 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 Since the foregoing sheets were printed off the following important 
 
 local events have occurred : — 
 
 (1.)— The Howffof Dwndee (p. 210.)— By an order of Her Majesty in Council, 
 dated 26th Oct. 1860, Burials were prohibited in " the Howff," from and after the 
 5th Nov. 1860. 
 
 (2.)— The Earl of Sowthesh (p. 44.)— On 29th Nov. 1860, the Earl of Southesk 
 married Lady Susan-Catherine-Mary Murray, eldest daughter of the 6th Earl of 
 Dunmore. 
 
 (3.) — The Earldom of Dalhousie. — The Bight Hon. James-Andrew, 10th Earl, 
 and 1st Marquis of Dalhousie, died on 19th Dec. 1860 ; and, leaving no male issue, 
 he has been succeeded in the title of Earl, and the paternal estates of Dalhousie, 
 by his cousin, the Eight Hon. Fox-Maule, 2nd Baron Panmure. 
 
 -O — 
 
(504) 
 EEEATA. 
 
 Page. Line. 
 
 *14 18 for secession, read cessation. 
 
 6 21 for the reasons assigned in Preface, p. viii, delete the words, We have 
 
 already seen ; line 23, delete, that, and it ; lines, 29, 30, delete, as 
 already noticed. 
 
 7 38 delete the word, Tradition, and insert, Although King Malcolm died 
 
 peacefully at Claims, fable affirms that he was killed, and that the 
 murderers, while flying, Sc. 
 
 8 9 delete the words, of their fate. 
 
 16 9 for Convent, read Covenant. 
 
 11 10-11 [The points here referred to are more correctly stated at pp. 412-414.] 
 
 17 last for the castles, read the earlier castles^ 
 24 36 ,i three days, read two days. 
 
 50 delete the last clause of note T . 
 
 54 16 for Dumfermline, read Dunfermline. 
 
 59 24 „ son, read nephew. 
 
 64 note' „ their father and uncle, read two brothers and a brother-in-law [as 
 
 correctly stated in p. 362.] 
 
 65 32 „ heberies, read berberies. 
 83 11 ,, east, read west. • 
 
 87 27 „ to observed, read to be observed. 
 
 104 5 delete the words, in the following year. 
 
 138 19 for took refuge, read had been living. 
 
 141 31 „ lead, read led. 
 
 151 10 „ victuals, read victual. 
 
 178 32 „ proprietor, read lately tenant. 
 
 184 2 delete reference '. 
 
 210 36 for quarters were, read quarter was. 
 
 212 23 „ vault, read grave. 
 
 218 * 32 „ nor, read or. 
 
 219 6 delete the word, exclusive. 
 
 233 5 from foot, for 12th of Janujjy, read 13th of January. 
 
 254 12 for 3rd of April, read 13"thW April. 
 
 276 23 „ 1250, read 1254-6 ; line dt, for Prince Henry, read Prince Edward. 
 
 290 28 „ Baxester, read Bakester. 
 
 322 note delete note, and reference.' 
 
 331 last for town, read tower. 
 
 337 6 „ Sir Alexander, read Sir William. 
 
 366 13 „ Fordoun, read Laurencekirk. 
 
 370 note ° „ part vi., read part vii. 
 
 372 6 „ Sir Patrick, read Sir .Robert. 
 
 373 34 „ estate, read estates. 
 379 17 „ knavely, read naively? 
 413 note* „ Toffarty, read Foffarty. 
 
 474 29 „ 1189, read 1289. [This error occurs in the book quoted.] 
 178 5 „ 3rd April, read 13th April. 
 
 THE EJTD. 
 
 AiMttcM Printed by John Avemv, St. Catherine 1 * Wjtirt, 
 
CONSERVATION 
 1987 
 
wm 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 '£■ 
 
 ■A