1
Andrew Forman, archbishop, and Robert Forman of Scotland 1296,
descend from King David I of Scotland
Contents
Andrew Forman, archbishop, and Robert Forman of Scotland 1296, descend from King
David I of Scotland .................................................................................................................... 1
Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 2
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 2
Contact the author .................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3
Andrew Forman’s known and suspected ancestors ............................................................... 4
Evidence for noble birth and for being armigerous ............................................................... 5
The actual documentary evidence of so-called noble birth ............................................... 6
Evidence from the Forman seals. ..................................................................................... 10
Evidence suggesting the Formans descend from Andrew Bishop of Moray ....................... 12
Channelkirk Church – no ordinary church – and Channelkirk parish ............................. 12
Channelkirk Church Tithes .............................................................................................. 15
So who was Andrew de Moravia? ....................................................................................... 26
Dryburgh Abbey - a few comments ..................................................................................... 28
Was there a relationship between early Formans and the de Morevilles and/or the Veteri
Pontes? ................................................................................................................................. 30
About the De Morvilles (and John Forman) ........................................................................ 35
About the Veteri Pontes ....................................................................................................... 39
The de Morevilles and the Veteri Pontes at Channelkirk .................................................... 43
The Sinclairs at Channelkirk ................................................................................................ 45
The Oliphant family and connection with Channelkirk ....................................................... 48
The Forman connection with Cranston/Cranstoun .............................................................. 50
The Murray connection to Cranston .................................................................................... 53
The early Cranstons ............................................................................................................. 55
Figures
Figure 1. Shield of arms of Sir Robert Forman of Luthrie. From “The House of
Moncreiff" by George Seton, 1890. Photo Sara York 2008. .............................. 11
Figure 2. Channelkirk church. Photos Sara York 2012. ..................................... 12
Figure 3. Carfrae Farm. Photo Sara York 2012. ................................................. 18
Figure 4. Dryburgh Abbey ruins (LHS and RHS). Photos Sara York 2008.
According to the Historic Scotland guide book, it is one of the four great abbeys
built in Scotland’s Border country during the Middle Ages............................... 28
Figure 5. John Balliol and his queen................................................................... 29
Figure 6. The arms of the Redvers / Reivers family of Normandy and England.
They were tenants-in-chief of the Moreville family. Compare this to the arms of
the Morevilles and the Longespee family (below). ............................................ 32
Figure 7. The arms of the 'familia' of Hugh de Morville. ................................... 34
Figure 8. the arms of Henry Percy of Alnwick. Copied from: Lord Henry De
Percy - Ancestry.com. ......................................................................................... 35
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Abstract
The search for Andrew Forman’s ancestors has led back discontinuously to
Robert Forman of Scotland who signed the Ragman Roll in 1296. There is
evidence of “noble birth” somewhere among Andrew’s ancestors and there is
heraldic evidence that one of them married a Sutherland. In an earlier paper I
identified the Forman crest as similar to that of the Sutherland family, and tried
to find a likely wife for an Adam Forman in the late 1300’s, but could find no
evidence for it. Unfortunately, I was barking up the wrong tree. I should have
been looking further back. Why not to the Robert Forman who signed the
Ragman Roll in 1296? After all he had property in Edinburgh parish and seems
to have been an associate of King John Balliol which suggests he was someone
of importance.
A new assembly of evidence shows that half of the Channelkirk Church
treinds/tithes had been in the Forman family since well before 1535 when they
were held by Robert Forman the future Lyon King of Arms. Examination of the
history of Channelkirk Church and Lauder Church tithes shows that Andrew de
Moravia, bishop of Moray, claimed to own Lauder Church and the tithes. It
seems possible that he also held the tithes to Channelkirk Church. The
conclusion of this paper is that, in all likelihood, Robert Forman’s (of 1296)
father (or grandfather) married a daughter of Lord Andrew de Moravia, Bishop
of Moray (presumably a Sutherland) in about 1230, thus establishing a direct
link from Andrew Forman back to King David I of Scotland and even William
the Conqueror.
This early Forman must have been a man of some significance to marry even an
illegitimate daughter of Andrew de Moravia. Using a lead provided by Simon
Forman, the Elizabethan quack and astrologer, the trail leads to the de Moreville
and Veteri Ponte families. In my paper discussing Robert Forman of Ragman
Roll fame, I suggested that his seal suggested a possible link to the Veteri
Pontes and that he may have married one. However, the scent is too weak to
follow this far back conclusively. Perhaps surnames were still in their infancy.
Strangely, the histories of Channelkirk Church and Parish and of Dryburgh
Abbey turn up so many names of people and places that figure prominently in
Andrew Forman’s life that I must assume his career was partly based on an
attempt to emulate the past glories of his family’s past. Of course, not the least
coincidence is that Andrew Forman was made Bishop of Moray by James IV.
Acknowledgements
I thank Sara York for her support with this project and for undertaking the
photography.
3
Contact the author
David John Forman (davidf@webone.com.au).
Introduction
This paper centres on the small, remote Channelkirk Church and Dryburgh
Abbey and the landowners, possible relatives, who lived in the country around it
from early times. Much of the information to do this has been derived from an
excellent book on the history of Channelkirk written by Archibald Allan and
published in 1900.
This story is not about Andrew Forman, but it is about his early ancestors. In
revealing his likely ancestry and delving into the history of Channelkirk we
uncover too many surnames and places that figure later in Andrew Forman’s
life to be coincidental. These coincidences suggest that Andrew Forman was
motivated by trying to resurect his glorious past. Attempts to restore the
Formans to an elevated position help explain why and how he persuaded King
James IV of Scotland to make him Bishop of Moray, to give him interests in
property in the water of the Spey and Darnaway Forrest and possibly Dunbar. It
helps explain why Andrew Forman married his daughters to such notables as
Oliphant, Moncreiff (whose mother was a Muray), and Sinclair. It may explain
why he tried to make his son, John, Abott of Kilwinning.
In an earlier paper I suggested the possibility that Robert Forman of Scotland
1296 married a Veteri Ponte (or Vipont). That family is also mentioned by
Archibald Allan in connection with Channelkirk. The Viponts in turn are related
to the de Morevilles, also mentioned by Archibald Allan. There is also a remote
possibility of a connection between early Formans and the de Morevilles.
I have written this paper more or less in the order in which the relevant
conclusions were reached, rather than in chronological order.
Various papers will be quoted throughout the text. Some of these are to be
found on my internet site, djforman.net. References to them will be abbreviated
as follows:
Who was Robert Forman of Scotland 1296? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (RFS1296)
Sir Robert Forman, Ross Herald and Lyon King of Arms . . . . . . . (RFLKA)
John, Thomas, and Adam, ancestors of Andrew Forman, Scotland
(ancestorsAF)
REV. ARCHIBALD ALLAN, M.A., F.S.A. Scot. Minister of the Parish, 1900.
History of Channelkirk . EDINBURGH, JAMES THIN, 54 and 55 SOUTH
BRIDGE.
(Archibald
Allan, 1900)
This last reference can be viewed on the internet or the book can be purchased
new.
4
A number of family trees are included as appendices in this study. They are
compiled from internet sources using every care, but I cannot vouch for them.
The different sources for some clearly contradict each other.
There are several reasons to believe that Andrew Forman’s family could claim
descent from a noble family. First we should review what is known of Andrew
Forman’s ancestry.
Andrew Forman’s known and suspected ancestors
The earliest Forman known in Scotland is Robert Forman who signed the
Ragman Roll in 1296. His story is enlarged upon in my paper “Who was Robert
Forman of Scotland 1296?” (RFS1296). It will need to be revised somewhat in
the light of what is revealed in this paper.
The next generation has not been identified in Scotland and may have lived in
England.
The next Scottish Forman lived in the southeastern borders area of Scotland. He
was: William Forman who was granted a corrodium (retirement package) by
Kelso Abbey in 1398 and may have been born in about 1338; his probable son,
Robert Forman, was an archer at Roxburgh Castle in 1400.
John Forman was a possible brother to William.
According to Calendar of Papal Letters to Scotland of Pope Clement VII of
Avignon, 1378-1394, Scottish History Society, Vol 12, Ed. Charles Burns, letter
dated 22 November 1378, Reg Aven 213, 579-9v: To the official of Glasgow.
Mandate to reserve to John Forman, clerk of St Andrews diocese, scholar of
laws, a benefice usually assigned to the secular clergy in the gift of the bishop,
prior and chapter of St Andrews, O.S.A., together or separately, to the value of
25 marks sterling with cure, or 18 marks sterling without cure. Fondi, 10Kal.
Dec., anno 1.
I think it says how much he is to be paid for his services as clerk: 25 marks if he
undertakes spiritual charge of people or 18 marks if he does not.
(O.S.A = Order of St Augustine).
"Benefice". Under pre-Reformation Canon law it came to mean an income
enjoyed - often linked to some land administered - by a priest in chief of an
ecclesiastical office, such as a parish, monastery, or a post of canon in a chapter.
Each benefice had a number of "spiritualities", or spiritual duties, attached to it.
For providing these spiritualities, a priest would receive "temporalities", or pay.
From the medieval period onward, priests administered sacraments to their
flock and usually provided other services as well.
John Forman may have been the father of Thomas Forman (follows).
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Thomas Forman, described as armiger, may have been born about 1375 and is
known to have been in the western borders region in 1406. Thomas Forman
was originally given Hutton by either Joanna Murray before she died in 1406-8,
or her husband, Archibald the Grim, 3rd earl Douglas who died in 1400, or after
her death by her son Archibald Douglas 4th earl Douglas who died at Verneuil,
France, in 1424. Adam Forman was confirmed in possession of the lands of
Hutton in 1426 by King James 1. The charter is in Latin and Ms Diane Baptie, a
professional researcher from Edinburgh, has provided the following loose
translation:RMS 2, ii.70. At Edinburgh, 25 February 1426 - Charter of Confirmation by
the King to his nephew, Archibald, Earl of Douglas and of Longueville etc (which confirms Adam Forman, his scutifer (A scutum was a shield which
made Diane Baptie suggest arms bearer - perhaps shield bearer would be more
correct), third son of Thomas Forman for his homage and faithful service) - in
the lands of Hutoun in the regality of Sprollistoun (Sprouston) in the Sheriffdom
of Berwic[k] - which he, Adam, has claim to heritably through a gift by
a forebear of the said Earl to the deceased Thomas Forman, his father and
which the said Adam personally resigns. To (b)e held by Adam, his heirs and
assigneys in feu for ward and relief including homage and service.
Witnessed by John Cameroun, Custumer of the Privy Seal, Mr George Lawdere,
vicar of Cra[i]l, Mr John Wincestir, chancellor of Dunkeld, Gilbert of Setoun,
arms bearer of Haystoun - At Perth, March 15th 1425.
Diane Baptie (professional researcher) thinks Adam Forman is being entered
as heir to his father (Thomas). Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas would here be the
superior, his forbear (Archibald’s) having originally feued out the lands to
Adam's father.
This also suggests that Adam had two older brothers who had died without issue
and so he was next in line to be heir to his father.
Adam Forman had at least two sons: William Forman, Dean Of Linlithgow,
and Nicholas Forman, laird of Hutton.
Presumably, several generations of Formans were brought up at Hutton. Besides
Nicholas Forman, laird of Hutton, there were his children including Adam
Forman, Thomas Forman, John Forman, Andrew Forman, Robert Forman and
Janet Forman. Andrew’s mother was Janet Blackadder sister of Robert
Blackadder, archbishop of Glasgow.
Evidence for noble birth and for being armigerous
6
The following sections examine the evidence for earlier Formans in Scotland
before Robert Forman of 1296 fame. They focus on the claims by various
Formans to be of “noble birth” and the evidence from the various Forman Seals.
Much of this evidence has already been documented in my paper “John,
Thomas, and Adam, ancestors of Andrew Forman, Scotland.” (ancestorsAF),
but is summarised here for the reader’s convenience.
They help explain how I came to the conclusion that an unknown Forman,
ancestor of Andrew Forman, archbishop, married an unknown daughter of
Andrew de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, in the early 1200’s.
The actual documentary evidence of so-called noble birth
Calendar of papal registers, papal letters, vol 10, 1447-1455, p. 376, St Peter’s
Rome. 11 January 1448-1449.
To William Forman, perpetual vicar of Abyrkeledy (sic) in the diocese of
Dunkeld, bachelor of canon law. Dispensation to him (who is a priest and
of noble birth, and holds inter alia the above vicarage of Abyrlady, and
whose benefices and their values and that of the said vicarage the pope
hold as being expressed by these presents) at the petition of James, king of
Scots, and his own, to receive and hold for life together with the said
vicarage one benefice, or otherwise any two benefices, with cure or
otherwise incompatible, even if dignities etc. and to resign them, simply or
for exchange, as often as he pleases, provided that he do not hold two
parish churches or perpetual vicarages; notwithstanding the pope's late
ordinance against holding two major or principal dignities [see above, p. 5]
etc.
Nobilitas generis litterarum etc. (0. and G. de Elten. I O. xxxx. Pontanus.)
[2 1/2 pp.]
As shown earlier, William is thought to have beeen a son of Adam Forman.
Calendar of papal registers, papal letters, vol 10, 1447-1455, p. 177, St Peter’s
Rome. 27 February 1450-1451.
To William Forman, perpetual vicar of Abyrledy in the diocese of
Dunkeld, bachelor of canon law. Dispensation to him (whom the present
pope lately dispensed to hold for life with the said vicarage one, or
otherwise any two, benefices with cure [or otherwise] incompatible, even
if dignities etc., and to resign them, simply or for exchange, as often as he
pleased, provided that he did not hold two parish churches or perpetual
vicarages; who is a priest and is of noble birth), at his own petition and
that of James, bishop of St. Andrews, to hold with the said vicarage, value
not exceeding £16 sterling, one other, or, if he resign the said vicarage, two
other parish churches or perpetual vicarages, for seven years, and to resign
them, simply or for exchange, as often as he pleases. Nobilitas generis,
7
litterarum etc. (Pe. de Noxeto. I xxv. H. Senstlebin [sic]. Ja. de Viterbio.)
[In the margin: February. 1 1/2 pp].
SIXTUS IV. Calendar of of papal registers, Papal letters, 1471-1484, XIII, pt 2,
p. 609. 28 June 1478. St Peter’s Rome, fol. 318.
To Nicholas Forman, perpetual vicar of Cader in the diocese of Glasgow.
Collation and provision to him, who is in his twentieth year, is of noble
and baronial birth, and is a continual commensal member of the
household of the bishop of Ostia (the cardinal’s Christian name is omitted,
a circumstance which has led someone to mark a cross in the margin), the
pope's chamberlain, of the said vicarage, value £15 sterling, void at the
apostolic see, and therefore reserved, by the death there of Malcolm
Ronoc, the pope hereby dispensing him to receive and retain it, etc.
Nobilitas generis, vite etc.
Concurrent mandate to the bishop of Lescar (Lascuren.), the dean of
Glasgow, and the archdeacon of St.. Andrews. Hodie dilecto filio Nicolao.
(P. vii. v. Ottauo Id. Ottobris anno ottauo. de Varris.) [3 1/4 pp.]
Nicholas Forman was probably another son of Adam Forman and the father of
Andrew Forman. He would have been about 60 to 70 years old at the time, not
20.
Calendar of papal registers, Papal Letters, 1484-1492. Vol. 14, London 1960.
Prepared by J.A.T. MA, p. 314. St Peter's Rome, fo. 297. 1 May 1489. (or 16
May 1489?)
To Andrew Formani, perpetual vicar of the parish church of Kyrkungkher
in the diocese of St. Andrews. Dispensation to him, who is of noble birth
by both parents and a licentiate in arts, and who is a continual commensal
of the household of John, [cardinal] bishop of Albano, to receive and retain
for life with the said vicarage of Kynkungkher any two other benefices,
and without it any three benefices, with cure or otherwise incompatible,
even if dignities, etc., or parish churches, etc., and to resign them, simply
or for exchange, as often as he pleases: provided that not more than two be
parish churches or their perpetual vicarages. Nobilitas generis, vite etc.
(Gratis de mandato domini nostri pape.) [2 pp.]
Andrew is thought to be the grandson of Adam Forman. Andrew’s mother was
Janet Blackadder. I believe that Janet’s father was Sir Robert Blackadder and
her mother was Marione Douglas (where the noble birth probably came from).
Robert Blackadder, Archbishop of Glasgow and Janet’s brother, was also said
to be of noble blood. Robert Forman (see following) was Andrew Forman’s
brother.
(Alexander 6, Lateran Registers) Calendar of papal registers, Papal letters, V
XVI, 1492-1498, p. 541. 793, 11 March 1497, Reg. Lat. 1008, fos. 143-144.
8
To Robert Forman, canon of Glasgow, papal familiar. Dispensation-at his
supplication-to him-who, by being in the service of Caesar, cardinal
deacon of Sancta Maria Nova, also is a continual commensal of the pope
and, as he asserts, is of noble birth by both parents and holds a canonry
and prebend of the church of Glasgow and is in litigation over the
perpetual vicarage of the parish church of Kyrkyntallo [also spelt
Kyrkyntullo], d. Glasgow, of which at one time provision was made to
him, when vacant certo modo, by ordinary authority, and which he
possesses, against his adversary, Thomas Miretonn, who bears himself as a
cleric, before a certain auditor of causes of the apostolic palace-to receive
and retain for life, together with the said vicarage, if he shall (?)take it,
two, and without it, any three other benefices, with cure or otherwise
mutually incompatible, even if dignities etc. [as above, no. 410].
Grata familiaritatis obsequia ...
F. de Parma / B. / B. Gratis de Mandato Bolis
What is noble birth?
Even after reading the following documents, I am not entirely sure what the
terms “noble birth” or “baronial birth” mean in the preceeding documents.
Wickipedia.
In France, some wealthy bourgeois, most particularly the members of the
various parlements, were ennobled by the king, constituting the noblesse
de robe. The old nobility of landed or knightly origin, the noblesse d'épée,
increasingly resented the influence and pretensions of this parvenu
nobility. In the last years of the ancien régime the old nobility pushed for
restrictions of certain offices and orders of chivalry to noblemen who could
demonstrate that their lineage had sufficient "quarterings", i.e. noble
ancestry (matrilineal as well as patrilineal), to deserve to compete as equals
with nobles of medieval descent for offices and favors at court, (although
historians such as William Doyle have disputed this so-called "Aristocratic
Reaction"). Various court and military positions were reserved by tradition
for nobles who could "prove" an ancestry of at least seize quartiers (sixteen
quarterings), indicating exclusively noble descent (as displayed, ideally, in
the family's coat of arms) extending back five generations (all sixteen
great-great grandparents).
This illustrates the traditional link in many countries between heraldry and
nobility; in those countries where heraldry is used, nobles have almost
always been armigerous, and have used heraldry to demonstrate their
ancestry and family history. However, it is important to note that heraldry
9
has never been restricted to the noble classes in most countries, and being
armigerous does not necessarily demonstrate nobility.
Scotland is, though, an exception.[11] In a number of recent cases in
Scotland the Lord Lyon Kings of Arms have controversially (vis-a-vis
Scotland's Gaelic law) granted the arms and allocated the chiefships of
medieval noble families to female-line descendants of lords, even when
they were not of noble lineage in the male line, while persons of legitimate
male-line descent may still survive (e.g., the modern Chiefs of Clan
MacLeod).
What is baronial birth?
Peerage of Scotland. Wikipedia.
Unlike most other peerage titles, many Scottish titles can pass through
female lines, and in the case of daughters only, these pass to the eldest
daughter rather than go into abeyance.[citation needed] Unlike other
British peerages, Scottish peerages can be inherited by or through a person
who was not legitimate at birth provided that his parents married later.[1]
The ranks of the Scottish Peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount,
Lord of Parliament (lord baron). Scottish Viscounts differ from those of
the other Peerages (of England, Great Britain, Ireland and the United
Kingdom) in using of in their title, as in Viscount of Oxfuird. Though this
is the theoretical form, most Viscounts drop the "of". The Viscount of
Arbuthnott and to a lesser extent the Viscount of Oxfuird still actively use
of. Scottish Peers had the right to sit in the Parliament of Scotland.
Scottish Barons rank below Lords of Parliament, and, while noble, are not
conventionally considered peerage titles; unlike others, the title can be
bought and sold.
Wickipedia.
William I introduced "baron" as a rank in England to distinguish the men
who had pledged their loyalty to him under the feudal system. Previously,
in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, the king's companions held the
title of earl and in Scotland, the title of thane. All who held their feudal
barony "in-chief of the king", that is with the king as his immediate
overlord, became alike barones regis ("barons of the king"), bound to
perform a stipulated annual military service, and obliged to attend his
council. Eventually the greatest of the nobles, especially those in the
marches, such as the Earls of Chester or the Bishops of Durham, whose
territories were often deemed palatine, that is to say "worthy of a prince",
10
might refer to their own tenants as "barons", where lesser magnates spoke
simply of their "men" (homines).
Initially those who held land directly from the king by military service,
from earls downwards, all bore alike the title of baron, which was thus the
factor uniting all members of the ancient baronage as peers one of another.
Under King Henry II, the Dialogus de Scaccario already distinguished
between greater barons, who held per baroniam by knight's service, and
lesser barons, who held manors. Technically, Lords of Manors are barons,
or freemen, however they do not use the term as a title. John Selden in his
esteemed work Titles of Honour writes, "The word Baro (Latin for Baron)
hath been also so much communicated, that not only all Lords of Mannors
have been from antient time, and are at this day called sometimes Barons
(as in the stile of their Court Barons, which is Curia Baronis, &c. And I
have read hors de son Barony in a barr to an Avowry for hors de son fee)
But also the Judges of the Exchequer have it from antient time fixed on
them."[5] Within a century of the Norman Conquest of 1066, as in the case
of Thomas Becket in 1164, there arose the practice of sending to each
greater baron a personal summons demanding his attendance at the King's
Council, which evolved into the Parliament and later into the House of
Lords, whilst as was stipulated in Magna Carta of 1215, the lesser barons
of each county would receive a single summons as a group through the
sheriff, and representatives only from their number would be elected to
attend on behalf of the group.[1] These representatives developed into the
Knights of the Shire, elected by the County Court presided over by the
sheriff, who themselves formed the precursor of the House of Commons.
Thus appeared a definite distinction, which eventually had the effect of
restricting to the greater barons alone the privileges and duties of
peerage.[1]
Evidence from the Forman seals.
In an earlier paper; John, Thomas, and Adam, ancestors of Andrew Forman,
Scotland (See website djforman.net.), the most typical Forman family seal was
identified. The seal included: A chevron between three fish hauriant. A camel
head erased, contourne, collared, and belled. (see Moray, Bishops of).
11
Figure 1. Shield of arms of Sir Robert Forman of Luthrie. From “The House of
Moncreiff" by George Seton, 1890. Photo Sara York 2008.
Similar seals were found in the Sutherland family.
Thomas Robson 1830. The British herald; or, Cabinet of armorial bearings of
the nobility & gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, from the earliest to the present
time; with a complete glossary of heraldic terms: to which is prefixed a History
of heraldry, collected and arranged).
By Sutherland, Baron DUFFUS. [Creation, 8 Dec 1650; forfeited by
Kenneth, third Lord, who joined in the Rebellion, 1715; restored by Act of
Parliament, which received the royal assent, 26 May, 1826] gu. a boar's
head, erased, betw. three stars, two and one, and as many cross crosslets,
one and two, or.—Crest, a cat-a-mountain sejant guard. ppr. Supporters,
two Savages ppr. each wreathed about the head and waist with laurel, and
armed with a baton. Motto, Without fear.
Sutherland, [Dunbeath, Scotland] gu. three mullets or; a bordure of the last.
Sutherland, [Forse, Scotland] The same arms.—Crest, a cat, sejant erect.
Motto, Sans peur.
Sutherland, [Kingstory, Scotland] gu. a boar's head, erased, betw. three
mullets in chief, and as many cross crosslets fitchee in base, or, within
a'bordure ar.—Crest, a cat, salient, ppr. Motto, Still without fear.
Sutherland, [Torbal, Scotland] gu. three stars or.
Sutherland, gu*. a chev. betw. three mullets, ar.—Crest, a camel's head,
couped, or.
Sutherland, [Scotland] gu. three mullets or, two and one, within a bordure
of the last, charged with a tressure of the first; quartering Cheyne, of
Duffus, viz. gu. three cross crosslets fitchee or, two and one.—Crest, a cat,
sejant, sa. Motto, Sans peur.
*Referring to the colours on shields. Tincture Red. Heraldic name Gules.
Abbreviation Gu or G.
AncestorsAF, djforman.net.
12
It seems that one or other of these Sutherland seals/shields is a reasonable
match to the Forman seal/s.
Evidence suggesting the Formans descend from Andrew Bishop of Moray
The main evidence here lies in the tithes/teinds of Channelkirk Church and
parish.
Channelkirk Church – no ordinary church – and Channelkirk parish
Figure 2. Channelkirk church. Photos Sara York 2012.
Genuki. UK & Ireland Genealogy. Channelkirk.
"CHANNELKIRK, a parish in the north-west corner of Berwickshire,- bounded
by Edinburghshire, Haddingtonshire, and the parish of Lauder, and containing
the head-streams of Leader Water ... The Girthgate, or road by which the monks
travelled from Melrose to Edinburgh, passes through the western border of the
parish; and on this road, a few miles due west of the church, are the ruins of an
old building commonly called Restlaw Ha', at which, tradition says, the monks
and pilgrims used to stop for refreshment."
From the Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, edited by John Marius Wilson, 1868.
There are at least two versions of the origin of the name Channelkirk Church.
George Chalmers. 1807. Caledonia; or, An account, historical and topographic,
of North Britain; from the most ancient to the present times (Volume 2)
The name of the parish of Channelkirk is obscure. In the charters of the
12th and 13th centuries, the word is written Chyldinchirche, and
Childincirch; which evince, that Channelkirk is a mere modern corruption
(tt). The affix to the original term is obviously the Saxon circ, cyrc, cyric,
the old English kirk, the Anglo-Norman church. It is more than probable,
that the original name of the place, which is significantly marked, by the
site of the Roman camp, was childi?!, which may have been left here, by
13
the Romanized Ottadini, with other names, that still remain, as we have
seen, in their British forms: And, of course, the Cambro-British word is
plainly cil-din, signifying the retreat, or chapel, or church, at the fort: Now,
the fact is, that the church, and hamlet, actually stand, within the area of a
Roman camp (x). A church probably existed on this singular site even
before the epoch of record. By the grant of David I., Hugh Morville
became proprietor of this mountain district, and the advowson of the
ancient church. Hugh Morville, in gratitude to his benefactor, perhaps,
as much as from motives of piety, soon after gave to the canons of
Dryburgh, which had been founded, by David, the church of Childinkirc:
And this donation of Hugh Morville was confirmed, by his son Richard
Morville, after the death of Hugh, in 1162; and was approved by Malcolm
IV. (j). The canons of Dryburgh retained this church till the Reformation
introduced a very different management. The abbot of Dryburgh entered
into an agreement with the master of the hospital of Soltre, which Malcolm
IV. had founded, with respect to the tithes, and other dues, that the hospital
ought to pay yearly to the abbot, in right of the mother church of
Childinkirk, out of the lands of Sukrichnes, near Wedaleford, as well from
the grain, raised, by the proper cultivation of the master of the hospital, as
from his other moveables, in the same lands: And those dues were agreed
to be paid, by the master of Soltre, annually, to the abbot of Dryburgh,
with a pound of pepper, and another of cumin, in recognition of the
mother church of Childin-kirk (s). Though this parish lies, in the hilly
district of Upper Lauderdale, the church seems to have been early of some
value: It was valued, in the ancient Taratio, at forty marks. . . . .
Oxton and Channelkirk. Channelkirk Wall Hanging.
The Channelkirk Wall Hanging, which depicts the history of the parish
over the ages, was embroidered by ladies and gentlemen of the parish and
completed as part of the 750th anniversary of the consecration of the
church.
The central figure is that of Saint Cuthbert watching over his sheep on the
Lammermuir Hills. Behind him, is his cross, the design taken from his
tomb in Durham Cathedral. To the left the good Bishop David and the
present church built in 1817, with the mortsafe, which is one of the
cherished relics. Beside Bishop David, one of the cottar women nurses a
lamb while her little girl plays.
The origin of the parish name, Channelkirk, is dealt with extensively by
Archibald Allan (1900). It appears to have been named after the church itself.
p. 43:
We seem then, justified in standing firmly on this historical fact, firmly
fixed in the seventh century, viz., that Cuthbert the future apostle of the
14
South of Scotland, herded his master’s flocks when a young man, on the
banks of the Leader Water, near the Lammermoor Hills.
p. 44.
. . . Cuthbert he informs us, sallied out among the people of his
neighbourhood, and preached to them. . .
p. 48.
. . That the church at Channelkirk was originally founded in honour of the
child, or youth, who afterwards became the Saint called Cuthbert, as
asserted by the Irish Life and the fifteenth century chronicler whose lines
have been quoted, receives certain indirect corroboration from other
sources. The supposed dedication to the "Holy Innocents" withers before
the testimony of the Dryburgh Charters which declare Channelkirk Church
to have been dedicated to St Cuthbert.
. . . . By this instrument, Thomas, son of William of Collielaw, in this
parish, devotes, like a loyal son of Holy Mother Church, eight acres of land
to the Church of St Cuthbert at Channelkirk, a bounty which necessarily
was received by the Dryburgh Canons, seeing that Channelkirk had been
under their Abbey since the days of Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale.
p. 49.
Charter No. 255, dated about 1161 A.D., contains likewise a papal
confirmation of the Church of St Cuthbert at Channelkirk (ecclesiam
Sancti Cuthberti de Childinchirch) to the Canons of Dryburgh Abbey. . . .
p. 49-50.
. . . Moreover, there is every indication that the church at Channelkirk
existed before the time that rises above the horizon with historical writings.
The year 1153 A.D. is, no doubt, the earliest possible date of Dryburgh
Charters, in the first of which our church is specially dealt with. But it is
there seen to be at that time a settled church with its own lands lying
around it, and a regular priest, Godfrey, ministering at its altar. Its
situation, also, is matter of general surprise, being perched 945 feet above
sea level, in the remotest corner of Lauderdale, on heights so steep and
inaccessible as to daunt the most zealous worshippers. Only some
important event in by-past centuries could satisfy the interrogations which
all these circumstances arouse, and, when it was, moreover, "the mother
and parish church of the whole valley" (Liber de Dryburgh) while a more
wealthy and powerful church under the De Morville family existed in
1170 in the rich and populous centre of the dale, we are not surprised that
the vision of St Cuthbert which led him to become a monk in Mailros
should be localised on the spot where the church now stands, or that both
tradition and chronicles should trace its existence and name to the life of
that seventh century apostle.
From a consideration of all these facts and circumstances connected with
it, we are disposed to believe that the Church of Channelkirk derives its
15
designation from the youth Cuthbert, afterwards St Cuthbert, and probably
came into existence between the seventh and ninth centuries. Regarding
the investigation into the etymology of the name, etymologists alone have
a right to speak. We wholly disclaim any ability in that sphere. We only
venture to suggest in the interests of a satisfactory and reasonable solution
to this inquiry that the form Childeschirche as our fifteenth century rhymer
and the Irish Life assert, was the original one. Through forms which are
now lost to us, among which Childer-chirche was probably to be reckoned,
this became in the charters of the monks Childenchirch. . . .
p. 51.
Our present name seems to have come directly from the change of Childen
into Cheindil, which appears to have been simply the result of metathesis
or the common transposition of consonants in articulation. But when
Childenchirch. had become by metathesis Cheindilchirch, or Cheindilkirk,
the hatred of the tongue for the dental produced still further changes.
Cheindil became Cheinil, as handle becomes han'le, candle, cawn'le,
kindle, kin'le, and so on; after which Chinel and Channel are easy
transitions.
Channelkirk Church Tithes
Rev. Archibald Allan, M.A., F.S.A. Scot. Minister of the Parish, 1900. History
of Channelkirk.
In the year 1535, the year of "bigging" of peels, the "Kyrk of
Chyndylkyrk" floats upward into light of day through the power and
buoyancy of the teinds. The monks of Dryburgh note in their "Rentals,"
"The kyrkis that payis syluer" to them; and so the "Item be Cudbart
Cranstone and Maister Robert Formane," viz., £66, 13s. 4d., comes into
their hands onward from the above date till 1580, the same fact being
noted also in the years 1540, 1545, 1555, and 1560-70.
RFLKA, see djforman.net.
In 1535, Dryburgh Abbey was paid rental connected with Chingilkirk
Church (Channelkirk Church), see later, shared between Master Robert
Forman, the future Lyon King, and Cuthbert Cranston in 1535. It is not
clear precisely what the rental included, but Robert Forman’s share was
probably inherited from his father, Robert Forman, Dean of Glasgow, who
died 29 November 1530.
REV. ARCHIBALD ALLAN, M.A., F.S.A. Scot. Minister of the Parish, 1900.
History of Channelkirk.
16
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83,
Appendix to The Register of Dryburgh. No XXXVIII. Rentale de Dryburgh
[circa 1535]. The Kyrk of Chyndylkyrk.
Item be Cudbart Cranstone and Maister Robert Formane. ......66 pounds
13s. 4d.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83,
Appendix to The Register of Dryburgh. No XLIII. Rentale de Dryburgh [circa
1560-70]. Cheindilkirk.
Cudbert Cranstoun and Sir Robert Formane for the Kirk of Chenidilkirk.
......66 pounds 13s. 4d.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83,
Appendix to The Register of Dryburgh. No. XLIV Rental of Dryburgh [Circa
1580].
In the first the Kyrkis set for mony. Then on the next page:Cheingill Kyrk. Item set the ane half to the Gudman of Theirlstane manes
and the uther half to Forman Lyoune. Harra for the payment of ..... £66
13s. 4d.
Robert Forman died early in 1568.
Robert Riddle Stodart (1881) had this to say about the rental.
Stodart, R. R. (Robert Riddle), 1881. Scottish arms: being a collection of
armorial bearings, A.D. 1370-1678, reproduced in facsimile from contemporary
manuscripts, with heraldic and genealogical notes (Volume 2), p. 90.
It is probable that Mr Robert Forman, Dean of Glasgow 1507,
Vicar-general 1508, who succeeded the Archbishop as Prior of
Pittenweem, was his relative; he sat in the General Council at Perth 1513,
and in Parliament 1526. The Dean about 1535 held half the lands of
Channelkirk, the holder of the other half being Mr Robert, afterwards Sir
Robert Forman, Lyon King of Arms, which seems an indication of
relationship. Sir Robert, usually designed of Luthrie in Fife, had been Ross
Herald 1540, and had a son, John, Rothesay Herald 1569, who was alive in
1594. In 1589 Elizabeth had a tack of half the teind sheaves of
Channelkirk.
There is considerable misinformation here. For instance, Robert Forman Dean
of Glagow died in 1530 and we know that the Forman’s paid only half the
rental. We do not know precisely what the rental was for, beyond the tithes of
the church. We do not know if the church land was included in the rental. The
interesting part is that Stodart relates the Dean to the future Lyon King.
17
We also do not know for sure if there was a minister at Channelkirk Church for
all of the period that Master Robert Forman was due the tithes or what was
involved in collecting them. Background to all these questions is contained in
Archibald Allan’s book published in 1900.
Ms Diane Baptie, a professional researcher, has had a look at the testament of
Elizabeth Crichton, widow of Sir Robert Forman, Lyon Herald.
She died in May 1594, intestate and so there is only an inventory. Her
executor dative was her son, John Forman, Rothesay Herald. The
Decreet appointing him as such was dated 13 November 1594.
Her Inventory just consisted of the contents of her house and her personal
possessions and clothing which amounted to £20. She was owed teind
sheaves (tithes) by Sir William Sinclair of Hirdmeston and other tenants
for the lands of Carfra (Carfrae) amounting to £1,048/10/-.
She owed wages to her servants and factor and rent for the lands of
Chingikirk amounting to £191/6/8d.
Her testament was confirmed on the 23 November 1594 in Edinburgh
Commissary Court.
There is another entry for her for 20 January 1594/5 which Ms Baptie did not
look at, as it will most likely be an extra part of her inventory called an 'eik'
which was discovered after her original testament had been confirmed.
Before 1600, the year ended on the 26 March and hence the date January
1594/5.
Ms Baptie has further explained:
The teinds, as you know, were tithes (1/10th of the produce of the land)
which were pre the Reformation paid by parishioners for the upkeep of the
church and for helping the poor. But, even before 1560 many had been
appropriated by laymen, leaving little for the parishes. So the fact that
Elizabeth Crighton was owed money for the teinds does not mean that she
owned Carfrae Farm.
18
Figure 3. Carfrae Farm. Photo Sara York 2012.
Ms Baptie has also summarised the will of John Forman, son of Robert Forman
and Elizabeth Crighton. Only a part of the inventory is included here.
Testament Testamentar and Inventory, Edinburgh Commissary Court CC8/8/30.
Johnne Forman, Rothesay Herald, 25 July 1597.
Testament Dative and Inventory, Edinburgh Commissary Court, CC8/8/32.
Foirman, Johnne, 28 December 1598.
Johnne Foirman
(Diane Baptie has summarised the Inventory)
Edinburgh Commissary Court Testaments (CC8/8/30/553) confirmed 15 July
1597
Testament testamentar of the deceased Johnne Foirman, Rothesay Herald who
died (blank) November 1596, given up by Issobell Moffat, his widow and only
executor nominated by him in his will dated at Edinburgh, 12 November 1596.
His Inventory consisted of his household furniture and effects and his clothing
which amounted to £66/13/4d
He was owed debts by Thomas Lawrence, his factor whose duty was to uplift
the rents of Chingill Kirk.
The following document may be irrelevant to this study, except it could indicate
that the Forman’s were no longer in receipt of the rentals in 1630.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh. Taxt Roll abbey Dryburgh, 13 October 1630.
Mr Robert Lawson of Humbie for his Kirkland in Chengilkirk estimated
in his absence to be worth of frie rent yearlie £133 6s 4d. Taxt to £3 10s
10d.
The problem is, when and how did the Formans get the tithes to Channelkirk
Church in the first place? AncestorsAF noted Formans that had been in the area
(Lauder, Channelkirk) well before 1535. For instance, the association of the
names Forman and Cranston with Dryburgh Abbey occurs again in the
19
following document, therebye suggesting the likelihood that the rental was in
the hands of the Forman and Cranston families back in 1466.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83.
The Preface, p. xvi.
XX WALTER, abbot of the abbey of Dryburgh, granted a tack, dated 16th
November 1465, in favour of a "worschipful squear, William Haliburton of
Mertoun and Jonet his spous, of a plew of land of the Bouchicoits with
their pertinents lyand within the lordship of Smailhame, within the
sherifdome of Tevidale." On the 4th of March 1466, William Craynston
of Corsby knight, as justiciar besouth Forth specially constitute, granted a
commission to Walter abbot of Dryburgh, to which were witnesses, Sir
Alexander Hume of that ilk, knight, James Haig of Bemersyde, Nicholas
Forman of Hutton, and Mr Jasper Cranston, rector of Fetteresso
(Crawfurd's Cardross notes, ut supra.).
The reason Nicholas Forman was selected to witness the granting of the
commission to Walter abbot of Dryburgh is unknown. Of course, he was the
servant of Alexander Hume.
The following document shows that Nicholas Forman was present at an inquest
held at Lauder in 1440.
Historical Manuscripts Commission, Appendix to 12th Report, Part 8. The
manuscripts of the Duke of Athole, K.T. and of the Earl of Home. p. 161. Lands
of Samuelston and Others.
256. Retour of Inquest held at Lauder before Laurence of Abernethy of
Rothiemay bailie of the regality, by William Hoppringle of that Ilk, Alan
Lauder, Gilbert Lauder, John Sinclair, Hector Lauder, Nicholas Forman,
David Chirnside, John Lauder of Burngrains, Willliam Lauder, Adam
Crosby, Thomas Lauder, William Nisbet, Robert Lorane, William Leis,
William Wedall and Alexander Learmonth, who being sworn declare that
George Ker is nearest and lawful heir of his brother the late John Ker in the
lands of Samuelston, valued at 40 pounds yearly, in time of peace only,
held in chief of the Earl of Douglas, lord of the regality of Lauder, for a
white rose at Midsummer, and now in the superior’s hands for the space of
one month since the death of the late John Ker. Dated at Lauder, Monday
31 October 1440. Three seals remaining.
? William Hoppringill of that Ilk, the aforesaid died in 1458 leaving an
heiress, Mariote. Amongst the lands that passed to her were Glengelt and
Kirktonhill (both within a mile of Channelkirk), Hoppringill and
Muirhouse.
The rental may have passed from Nicholas Forman, perhaps via his wife, Janet
Blackadder, to either of his sons; Andrew Forman, Archbishop of St Andrews
20
who died in 1522, or Robert Forman, Dean of Glasgow, who was his heir.
Eventually I believe it passed to Robert Forman, Dean of Glasgow, and thence
to Master Robert Forman, Lyon King to be. The future Lyon King then shared
the rental of Channelkirk church until he died in about 1579. After his death
share of the rental passed to his widow Elizabeth Crighton.
I speculate that the Formans had an even earlier association with Channelkirk.
It is possible, but less likely, that the rental was first acquired by Andrew
Forman when he was Commendator of Dryburgh Abbey.
Wikipedia.
King James IV rewarded clerics who gave him good service by providing
them with commendatorships. The first commendator of Dryburgh Abbey
was Andrew Forman, the Bishop of Moray in 1509.[75] Forman’s primary
role was in the service of James IV as a diplomat and was employed by the
king extensively in Europe but accumulated much wealth from his
religious and other appointments. . .
Forman gave up his rights to Dryburgh sometime after becoming
Archbishop of St Andrews and was succeeded by James Ogilvie, another
secular cleric and diplomat[75] who received the temporalities of the abbey
in August 1516.[78] He held the commendatorship for only a short time,
dying in 1518.
There is considerable further information that will now be given about the tithes
of Channelkirk Church and Lauder Church. To cut a long story short, one of the
names that appears in this information is Andrew de Moravia, Bishop of
Moray. In AncestorsAF I was looking for a (Sutherland/Moray) bride to be
matched with Adam Forman. It now seems obvious that I should have looked
back beyond Adam for the “noble” connection. Robert Forman of Scotland
was a property owner in Edinburgh parish in 1296 when he signed the Ragman
Roll. He seems to have kept company with John de Balliol, King of Scotland.
So he was a man of means and one would logically look to him or one of his
ancestors for the noble connection. The main clue lies in the information
relevant to the tithes of Channelkirk Church.
There is considerable discussion by Allan (1900, p. 81-105) largely about
disputed tithes for Lauder Church. Much of this includes reference to Andrew
de Moravia, but the interested reader will need to look at these pages for
himself, except for a few of the more interesting parts which I have included
here.
p. 83-84.
In 1230 the Bishop of St Andrews, William Malvoisine, who was also,
previous to A.D, 1200, Bishop of Glasgow, grants to Dryburgh Abbey a
21
charter confirming the right of teinds which the canons of that house held
in Lauder parish. By it all are given to understand, "that we (Bishop
William, viz.), under the influence of divine piety, have granted, and by
episcopal authority have confirmed, to our beloved sons of the Abbey and
Convent of Dryburgh the whole half share which Lord Andrew de
Moravia held in the Parish Church of Lauder, to be held quietly in
perpetual possession, with reservation of the tenure of Symon of Nusiac,
who holds it at present by gift of the said canons, for the rest of his life.
But in the case of his yielding it up, or dying, we grant the said half share
to the foresaid canons, and confirm it for their own free use, and with the
full completion of their Title, that it be directed and held by them without
opposition, as it is contained in the declaration of the judges, in the
instrument of the delegates which they have beside them, namely: the half
of every kind of teinds from Treburne, from Pilmuir, from the land of
Walter Hostarius {i.e., the Doorward), from the land of Martin, viz.,
Withlaw and Langelt (Whitelaw and Langalt), and from the land of Utred
of Langelt and from Ailinispeth, and from the land of Samson, viz.,
Todlaw, Aldinstoun, Welplaw, Lyalstoun, and Burncastell, and if anything
new should arise within the bounds of these villages, the other revenues of
the Church of Lauder are to be reserved. Moreover, we decree that he who
for the time may hold office in the said Church of Lauder shall in no way
in anything give any trouble or annoyance to the same canons concerning
the portion belonging to them." This charter of confirmation receives
"perpetual validity" by the affixment of the seal of the Bishop.
There is no doubt here as to the strained state of matters. The canons of
Dryburgh claim a "whole half share" of the teinds derived from the above
lands which seem to have belonged formerly to Lord Andrew Moray. But
the Lauder priest gives trouble and annoyance to them in uplifting them,
and the canons bring pressure to bear upon Bishop William of St Andrews,
whose diocese stretches over Lauderdale, to make it clear to Eymeric that
his protest against their action is hopeless, and that he is utterly in the
wrong. The case had, doubtless, been contested at an earlier date, as a
reference to "the instrument of the delegates" in the hands of the judges
seems to warrant us in assuming.
The following extract mentions John de Balliol. It is not the future King but his
father John (Sir, Lord of Barard Castle) de Balliol and his wife Devorgilla
(Countess of Huntingdon etc) of Galloway.
Allan (1900) p. 99.
Thus, with the powerful help of Rome and St Andrews, the canons of
Dryburgh vindicated their rights to the advowson of Lauder Church. John
de Balliol had asserted at one stage of the law case, that he had been
22
appointed patron to Lauder Church (Charter 279), but, of course, after the
final sentence which removed Eymeric, any such pretension on his part,
either to interpose in his behalf, or prefer another priest in his room, was
useless. Nevertheless, we find him, in 1268, gracefully resigning what
could no longer be retained, and in this way the legal features of the case
compose themselves quite becomingly to the inevitable trend of the
circumstances.- Charters 9, 10, 11- "The whole right and claim which we
(viz., John de Balliol, for ourselves, our spouse Devorgilla, and our heirs)
have, or can have in the right of the patronage of the same Church " (of
Lauder)," is given into the hands of the Venerable in Christ, Lord
Gameline, Bishop of St Andrews," although a suggestive clause is added
after the signation of "the whole right and claims," viz., "as far as they
belonged to us." This resignation is carefully noted and carried forward
with much dignity through Charters 9, 10, 11, in the year 1268; and in dr.
1269, Charter 12 tells us that Lauder Church is quit-claimed "for six
chaplains." In that year Balliol dies, and in ctr. 1270 (Charter 13), Lady
Balliol, "in her widowhood," confirms her late husband's deeds of
resignation. She herself dies in 1290.
Allan (1900) p. 95-99.
Therefore, when Hugh de Morville died, it can be easily understood that
the Dryburgh monks, having received from him the Church of
Channelkirk, would also claim all the tithes within its spiritual jurisdiction.
His having founded Kilwinning Abbey seems to have raised some hopes
there also of obtaining a share of his wealth, and St Andrews, as metropolis
of the diocese which included Lauderdale and Dryburgh Abbey within its
pale, had equally with others an interest in the tithes from the De Morville
lands. The Dryburgh claim is clearly based on the fact that Channelkirk
Church, having been the mother and parish church of the whole valley
before Lauder Church was founded there, and the same church having been
gifted to them, they had ipso facto the prior claim to all it carried with it.
"The grant of a church" was often very valuable. It carried with it all the
parochial rights, all the tithes of the parish, all the dues paid at the altar
and at the cemetery, the manse and the glebe, and all lands belonging to
the particular church." (The Church of Scotland, vol. iv., p. 43, 1890). The
Church of Lauder had, doubtless, been founded by Richard de Morville,
perhaps in consideration of the pious memory of his great father. And,
according to the usual custom, he had endowed it with the lands which
later on came into the possession of Andrew de Moray, and which, with
exception of Pilmuir, Trabroon, and Whitelaw, all lie along the eastern
slopes of Upper Lauderdale, having centrality somewhere about Longcroft.
As long as the De Morvilles remained in the valley, the priest of Lauder
Church would have little trouble in uplifting his tithes from these lands.
23
Richard seems to have had strong blood in him, and doubtless would rule
his gifts as he wished, independent of Pope or abbot.
He had no warm affection, either, for the Bishop of St Andrews'
domination, which he would meet constantly in respect of Lauder Church
being under that diocese. . . . .
George Chalmers. Caledonia; or, An account, historical and topographic, of
North Britain; from the most ancient to the present times (Volume 2).
St. Leonard's chapel stood on the western side of the Lauder, southward
from the town, west somewhat, from the site of St. Leonard's hospital.
Richard Morville, who died, in 1189, granted St Leonard's chapel, with its
pertinents, to the monks of Dryburgh. Nisb. Herald, i. 134- &. Leonardos
banh are still celebrated in Scotish song. Ritsoa's Col. ii. 121. from I
.ieci.Vlll.— Its Ecclesiastical History.-] Of N O RT H-B R I T A I N. 379
from the grant of that celebrated king, almost the whole of Lauderdale. The
church, through many a changeful age, was appurtenant to the manor: And,
when the munificent Hugh died, in 1162, his estates and office of
Constable, descended to his son Richard, who died, in 1189; and from him
coming to his son William, who died, in 1196; Lauderdale, the kirk-town,
and office, descended to his sister Elena. All that belonged to the opulent
family of the Morvilles, she carried to her husband, Alan, the lord of
Galloway, who died, without male heirs, in 1234. His three daughters,
Elena, Christian, and Dervorgille, inherited his estates, as parceners of the
whole, that he possessed. Christian died, without issue, in 1246: And,
when the two surviving sisters divided the whole between them, Lauder,
with its churches, and chapels, fell to the share of the liberal Dervorgille,
who had married John Baliol of Bernards-castle, Yorkshire: And
Dervorgille, and her husband, resigned to the canons of Dryburgh the
advowson of the church of Lauder, and the seat of the chapel, belonging to
it (/>). And, the church of Lauder, with its rights, which were thus
acquired, remained with the canons of Dryburgh, till the Reformation
introduced a new regimen. The whole was afterward acquired by the
family of Lauderdale, who now enjoy it (^). In the memorable year 1296,
William Firzaleyn "le clerc de Laweder," swore fealty to Edward, at
Berwick, with greater men, who obeyed necessity (r). . . . .
Chart. Dryb. 6-7. On the 19th of June 1268, John Baliol completed this
gift, by formally resigning into the hands of Gamelin, the bishop of St.
Andrew's, the advowson of the church of Lauder, and the chapelry
beloning to it. lb. 3. And, the next day, the bishop confirmed the piety of
Baliol. lb 4. To make surety more sure, the whole transfer of those church
rights was confirmed by John, the prior, with the chapter of St. Andrew's.
lb. 5.
24
Allan (1900) p. 103-105.
Our first question, which we now treat secondly, viz., Was Lauder Church
originally a chapel of ease to Channelkirk? seems easier to answer.
Perhaps the term "chapel of ease" in this connection is not quite applicable.
We have seen that the place of worship at Lauder in the twelfth, thirteenth,
and fourteenth centuries, conforms more in its canonical status to a
"Chapel" than to a "Church." It appears to be evident, also, that it was
subordinate to the Church of Channelkirk for more reasons than one. There
is no evidence that Lauder Church underwent any degradation on account
of its priest's conduct. The status he sought to claim for it was simply never
allowed. He claimed to be under a patron, viz., the successors of Richard
de Morville, who, until his suspension, must have been William de
Morville, Roland of Galloway, Allan, his son, and John de Balliol. This
claim was not sustained for the reasons that by priority of age and on
account of the parochial jurisdiction over the whole valley possessed by
Channelkirk Church previous to Hugh de Morville's time, and sustained
by him until his gift of it' and all its pertinents to Dryburgh Abbey, the
"Church" or "Chapel" of Lauder had no right to teinds in the valley unless
it had first received them from Channelkirk Church.
If, indeed, Lauder Church had possessed teinds of its own, and these not
forcibly possessed, it must have been an ecclesia or church, for no mere
chapel possessed teinds. But its right of teinds was disallowed by the
highest authorities, or to put it in the words of a distinguished Professor of
Church History, "If Channelkirk was the original church of the valley, and
Lauder is found at a later date entitled to teinds, these must have been
gifted to it by Channelkirk, or derived from lands not previously teinded."
Channelkirk was undoubtedly the original church of the valley of
Lauderdale, and Lauder is not found later or earlier entitled to teinds of
any kind, except those which Eymeric held by force, but which Dryburgh
claimed. And Dryburgh Abbey claimed these teinds because, having
received from Hugh de Morville the Church of Channelkirk with all its
lands, rights, and pertinents, which it possessed "before the Church of
Lauder was founded in that place"; and Channelkirk Church having made
the Abbey "free as regards the teinds which Lauder sued for {absolventes
eosdem super decimis quas pars altera petebat); therefore, all the teinds
and rights whatsoever which Lauder might claim to possess, together with
that "Church" or "Chapel" itself, belonged legally to the Abbot of the
Abbey. That dignitary was thus able to make good his position in all the
courts in virtue of Channelkirk Church having satisfied the following
necessary conditions: 1. Priority of foundation ; 2. primary possession of
the parochial jurisdiction of the whole valley; 3. personally and
permanently bequeathed to Dryburgh Abbey by the person who alone
25
could confer it; 4. final consent of the Church itself. We must further state
the fact that this arrangement was maintained as far as we have historical
accounts to assure us, viz., till the year 1318, and there is no evidence to
show that it was altered till the period of the Reformation. Dryburgh
Abbey, the Bishop of St Andrews, and the Popes of Rome, on these
ecclesiastical grounds, wrenched Lauder "Church" or "Chapel" out of the
hands of Lauder landowners and Lauder priest, together with all it held,
and they kept it. Two hundred and forty-two years elapse between 1318
and 1560, and it is quite possible that other arrangements may have been
made for Lauder Church. But we can only conjecture. There is no record,
and we cannot place much stress upon the mention of ecdesia in
connection with Lauder Church during the years between 1318 and the
Reformation, as the language of courtesy as well as of use and wont may
have confirmed that designation. It is not to be supposed that there would
be any formal erection of Lauder into a parish at that time, as its outgrowth
of Channelkirk long before in population, wealth, and influence, would
accomplish that result independently. The start which Lauder made in
history as a burgh, and the progress it showed, seems to have been far
more fortunate in results than anything its church has to record, prior to
Protestant times.
Given that Andrew de Moravia believed he had the rights to the tithes of Lauder
Church it is logical that he also had the rights to the tiends/tithes of Channelkirk
Church, which we know were held by Robert Forman and Cuthbert Cranston in
1535 and probably by their ancestors previously. This leads to the conclusion
that Andrew de Moravia, Bishop of Moray, was probably the father of the
female Sutherland (illegitimate, because bishops could not marry) that married a
Forman. Andrew de Moravia died in 1242, so perhaps the marriage to an
unknown Forman would have taken place before then. The half rental of
Channelkirk including the Channelkirk tiends could have been either a wedding
present or an inheritance. The other half rental going to a Cranston/Cranstoun. If
so, Andrew de Moravia could have married off two daughters, the other one to
an unknown Cranston.
The unknown Forman must have been an ancestor of the Robert Forman who
signed the Ragman Roll in 1296, possibly his father, but more probably his
grandfather. This ‘progenitor’ of the Forman family must also have been of
some prominence to rate a marriage to even an illegitimate daughter of such
rank. There is no suggestion that he (Forman) emanated from Moray and
everything points to him being in Channelkirk (or England) before marriage,
perhaps as the person who managed Andrew de Moravia’s affairs, property,
tithes etc, in his absence. As discussed in “Who was Robert Forman of Scotland
1296?” (RFS1296), a Robert Forman may have married a Veteri Ponte.
26
So who was Andrew de Moravia?
Allan (1900) p. 84-85.
The “Lord Andrew de Moravia” mentioned is the well-known Bishop
Andrew Moray, founder of Elgin Cathedral, Dean of Moray, 1221-1242,
and the seventh bishop in that diocese. He was very wealthy and
munificent in his gifts to the Church, helped doubtless by his close
connection with the house of Duffus. His possessions, as we see,
embraced a considerable part of Lauder parish, mentioned by the names of
the separate farms, all or nearly all of which still preserve the same
nomenclature with but little alteration. ("Walter de Moray, in 1278,
exempted the Dryburgh canons from multure for their corn grown on the
above land (the land — a ploughgate—and pasture for 300 sheep given by
David Oliford in Smalham), and on their ground at Smalham Miln."—
Monastic Annals of Teviotdale, p. 305). It is accepted that Hugh de
Morville possessed all Lauderdale during his lifetime, but between the
date of his death in 1162 and the year 1230, the date of this charter, when
the De Morville name had sunk into that of the Earl of Galway, the area
of Lauderdale valley seems to have been, through marriage, broken up
into several estates, owned by proprietors who, in a few cases, achieved a
more lustrous historical name than even that of the high official and friend
of King David I. This was partly due to the generosity of the De Morvilles
themselves, and partly, no doubt, to the necessity of the times. We know
that Carfrae, for example, was in the hands of the Sinclairs before the end
of the twelfth century, and Hartside, Collielaw, Glengelt, and Howden —
to instance those with which we are most acquainted — all seem to have
been under separate owners about 1206. Bishop Andrew Moray may have
become proprietor of the farms, from which the teinds were said to be
drawn about the end of the same century that closed the record of the De
Morvilles, and the original endowment of Lauder Church having become
complicated in the changes of landowners, may easily have created great
perplexity to all concerned, both churchmen and laymen. With every
division of ownership, the new question of proportion of teinds lawfully
due from each separate estate would arise, and this of itself would be
enough to engender friction and bitterness between the mildest-minded of
men. . . .
Wickipedia, Clan Sutherland.
The progenitor of the Clan Sutherland was also the progenitor of the Clan
Murray who was a Flemish nobleman by the name of Freskin.
Five Gateways Genealogy. Freskin, of Sutherland
27
Freskin, a person of unknown descent, but who is believed to be of
Flemish origin, upon whom King David I., in pursuance, it is said, of a
colonising policy, bestowed wide landed possessions. These included
Strabrock (Uphall and Broxburn), in West Lothian, and the lands of
Duffus, Roseisle, Inchkeil, Macher, and Kintray, forming the larger part of
the parish of Duffus and a portion of the modern parish of Spynie, between
Elgin and the Moray Firth. At least Freskin is said to have held these lands
of King David I., for Freskin himself is named only once, in a charter
granted to his son William, between 1166 and 1171, by King William the
Lion, which confirms the lands named as having been held by Freskin.[1]
Freskin therefore must have died before 1166. . . . .
[1] The original charter was formerly in the possession of Katherine
Stewart, Lady Cardross, and was seen by Nisbet. Its present custody is not
certain, but a copy exists in a MS. 'Cartæ Variæ,' belonging to the Society
of Antiquaries. The witnesses were David, the King's brother, Andrew,
Bishop of Caithness, Felix, Bishop of Moray, Matthew, Archdeacon of St.
Andrews, Earl Waldeve, Earl Duncan, Richard Morville, constable, Ness
son of William, Richard Cumin, Gilbert son of Richerius, William Vetere
Ponte, William Lyndsay, Henry Luvel, John de Vallibus, William Hay,
Walter Berklai, Richard the clerk. Earl Waldeve succeeded in 1166, and
Felix, Bishop of Moray, died in 1171.
Freskin is thought to have had a sister who married the progenitor of the
Douglas Family.
Andrew, (Bishop of Moray) de Moravia (d. 1242) descended from Hugh (1st
Lord Duffus) de Moravia and Annabela (of Fife) Macduff. Hugh in turn
descended for William Freskin de Moravia.
There is a clear claim to descent from royalty through Annabela of Fife.
Annabela of Fife (1168-1222) was a daughter of Duncan (3rd/5th Earl of Fife)
Macduff (abt 1163-1204) and his wife Ada (Ela) whose parents were Henry
(Earl of Northumbria) of Scotland (abt 1114-12/6/1152) and Ada de Warenne.
Henry, Earl of Northumbria, was a son of David I, King of Scotland (d.
24/5/1153) and Maud Countess of Huntingdon.
Ada de Warenne descended from William (2nd Earl Surrey) de Warenne (abt
1065-1138) who married Elizabeth of Vermandois in 1118. William, 2nd Earl
Surrey, descended from William (1st Earl Surrey) de Warenne (abt 106524/6/1138) who married Princess Gundred before 1077. And Princess Gundred
was a daughter of William the Conqueror, King of England.
Elizabeth of Vermandois (1085-1131) was a daughter of Henry (Count of
Vermandois) Magnus (1053-18/10/1101) who was son of Henry 1, King of
France.
28
From the de Moreville family tree:III. Richard (Constable of Scotland) de Morville, b. 1125, d. 1189 in
Burgh By Sands, Cumberland, England. He married Avice de Lancaster
(daughter of William (Lord of Kendall) de Lancaster and Gundred de Warenne),
d. 1 Jan 1191.
A.
Eleanor de Moreville, d. aft 11 Jan 1217. She married Roland
(Earl) of Galloway.
1.
Alan (Lord of Galloway) de Galloway, d. 1234.
Allan (1900)
Roland Lord Galloway d. 1200. Allan his son d. 1234.
Dryburgh Abbey - a few comments
Dryburgh Abbey plays a prominent part in this paper. It was nominally founded
by one of the centrepieces of our story Hugh de Moreville.
Figure 4. Dryburgh Abbey ruins (LHS and RHS). Photos Sara York 2008.
According to the Historic Scotland guide book, it is one of the four great abbeys
built in Scotland’s Border country during the Middle Ages.
Wickipedia. Dryburgh Abbey.
Dryburgh Abbey, near Dryburgh on the banks of the River Tweed in the
Scottish Borders, was nominally founded on 10 November (Martinmas)
1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale
and Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from
Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland.[1] The arrival of the canons along
with their first abbot, Roger, took place on 13 December 1152.[2] . . . .
Changing patronage
29
Figure 5. John Balliol and his queen.
Hugh de Morville's line had died out in 1196 on the death of his grandson,
William, and the estates passed to his sister, Helen, whose husband was
Lochlann, Lord of Galloway. The semi-independent Lords of Galloway
were much wealthier than those such as the de Morvilles but even they
could not lavish large amounts on all of their dependencies.[30] Lochlann
was already benefactor to four religious houses in Galloway that included
his own Cistercian establishment of Glenluce Abbey as well as being
associated with Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh and the Cumbrian abbey of
Holmcultram and the priory of St Bees.[31] Dryburgh being one of many
establishments who sought the generosity of the Galloway lords got a
further setback in 1234 when Alan, the last of the line of Galloway lords,
died. His property was to be split between three daughters and their
husbands. The lands previously held by the de Morvilles were divided
again and in the 1250s were held by Helen of Galloway with her husband,
Roger de Quincy, the Earl of Winchester, and Dervorguilla of Galloway
with her husband, John I de Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle and
Gainford.[31] These new owners in Lauderdale diluted the available
patronage yet again as they themselves had pre-existing commitments
however the de Quincys did provide a fishing in Mertoun Loch, a burgage
at Haddington and lands at Gledswood near Bemerside.[32] Devorguilla's
main concern however was her own foundation at Sweetheart Abbey,[33]
but she was at Dryburgh in 1281 to settle her lands in England on her son,
John Balliol, the future king.[34] Balliol came to the throne of Scotland on
St Andrews Day, 1292[35] but his reign was short and he abdicated in July
1296 following the defeats of the Scots at Berwick and Dunbar at the
hands of King Edward I of England.[36] This heralded the end of a long
period of stability in the borderlands.
Wars of Scottish Independence
The abbotts of Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Melrose and Kelso all submitted to
Edward I on 28 August 1296 at an event later to be described as the
30
Ragman Rolls,[37] and so on 2 September Edward ordered that lands
belonging to the abbey of Dryburgh be restored.[38] From this point up to
the year 1316, very few records of the abbey exist, however it is known
that Sir Henry de Percy, one of the senior members of the English
occupying force placed himself and his cortege at Dryburgh in 1310.[39]
Despite the abbey's affiliation with the Balliol family who remained
resolutely at odds with the Bruce monarchy, the abbot and canons, before
21 October 1316, expelled two of their rank for refusing to acknowledge
Robert as their king; a grateful King Edward II of England rewarded them
by providing them with the rent and fishery of the abbey at Berwick.[40]
Was there a relationship between early Formans and the de Morevilles
and/or the Veteri Pontes?
There could be a relationship between the Formans and the de Morevilles. This
relationship depends on the claims of Simon Forman (1552-1611), the London
quack and astrologer, that he descends from some apocryphal Richard
Forman, earl of Devonshire. Simon was obviously referring to the Earl of
Devon who was called de Reviers or de Redvers [see Who was Robert
Forman of Scotland 1296? (RFS1296)]. Nobody with the surname Forman was
ever the Earl of Devon.
From the internet, I had learnt that the first Earl of Devon was supposedly
Baldwin (Reviers) de Redvers. He was a son of Richard de Reviers (d. 1107)
and Adelise Peverel (abt 1075-1080 – 27 May 1156). The names, de Reviers
and de Redvers were used interchangeably.
In RFS1296 I discussed possible relationships between the de Redvers and
prominent people of the time such as the de Balliols. However, at the time of
writing RFS1296, I had not heard the name ‘de Moreville’.
The main part of the relationship between the de Redvers and the de Morevilles
comes about as follows: Adelise (Peverel) had a brother, Willliam Peverel
(1080-1135), Sheriff of Nottingham, who married Avice de Lancaster. After
William died (in 1135), Avice married secondly to Richard de Moreville,
Constable of Scotland.
Richard de Redvers. From Wikipedia.
Richard had a sister, Adeliz, and may have had a brother named Hugh.[19]
Some time after 1086, possibly around 1094, he married Adeliza (or
Adeliz), a daughter of William Peverel of Nottingham[9] and his wife
Adelina of Lancaster. They had five children:
Baldwin de Redvers, created first Earl of Devon by Matilda during The
Anarchy. He died in 1155.[20]
31
William de Vernon, married Lucy de Tancarville, daughter of William
de Tancarville and his wife Matilda d'Arques. Inherited Richard's lands in
Normandy.[21]
Robert de Ste. Mère-Eglise.
Hubert de Vernon.
Hadewise de Redvers, married William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln,
c.1127.[21]
Richard de Redvers died on 8 September 1107 and was buried in the
Abbey of Montebourg in Normandy, of which he was deemed the
founder.[22] It has been said that the top of his stone coffin with the word
"Fundator" (founder) carved on it was found and preserved by a M. de
Gerville.[23] Richard's wife, Adeliza lived on until c.1160.[24].
So the name de Vernon also substituted for de Redvers or de Reviers.
Richard de Redvers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
. . . . The Complete Peerage advanced the alternative theory that Richard
de Redvers was the son of William de Vernon,[2] but later research has
cast doubt on this too, suggesting that all that can be said is that his father
may have been Baldwin, one of three brothers named Redvers in
Normandy in 1060; the other brothers being William, and Richard, who
died in that year.[3] Similarly nothing is known of Richard's early life. The
Norman poet Wace, writing c.1170, mentions a "sire de Reviers" as one of
those who accompanied William the Conqueror at the Battle of
Hastings,[4] but it is not known if this was Richard de Reviers.
There are other indications that the de Morevilles and the de Redvers knew each
other.
Wikipedia. Hugh de Morville, Lord of Cunningham.
Hugh de Morville (died 1162) was a Norman knight who made his fortune
in the service of David fitz Malcolm, Prince of the Cumbrians (1113–24)
and King of Scots (1124–53).
His parentage is said by some to be unclear, but G. W. S. Barrow, in his
Anglo-Norman era states:
"it seems probable that the father of William, and the first Hugh de
Morville, was the Richard de Morville who witnessed charters by
Richard de Redvers for Montebourg and the church of St. Mary in the
castle of Néhou in the early twelfth century."[1]
On the other hand, it is thought [by whom?] to be pretty well established
that Hugh came to David's service when (and because) David held
Cotentin in north France, which in turn indicates that Hugh was personally
from Normandy and therefore unlikely to be son of a Morville who already
had settled to England.
32
G. W. S. Barrow, 1973. 2003 (2nd Edn). The Kingdom of the Scots:
Government, Church and Society from the Eleventh ...
Moreville is from Moreville, a few kilometres southwest of Brix, and the
Morvilles were prominent tenants on the Honour of Huntingdon. The
families main stem were vassals of the Norman Honour of Vernon, which
had its caput at Nethou a few miles further south.
StClair DNA: Redver, Moreville, and St Clair Connections.
The following arms have been copied from the website.
Figure 6. The arms of the Redvers / Reivers family of Normandy and England.
They were tenants-in-chief of the Moreville family. Compare this to the arms of
the Morevilles and the Longespee family (below).
Wickipedia. Earl of Devon.
The arms of the de Redvers, adopted at the start of the age of heraldry
(c.1200-1215), probably by William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon (d.
1217), : Or, a lion rampant azure.
Wickipedia. File:Redvers.svg.
Coat of arms of Family of Redvers and Percy of Alnwick drawn by
User:Jaspe for the Blazon Project of French-speaking Wikipedia, with
Inkscape.
Source: Own work - Blazon: unspecified.
2009 April « Sedgwick2Graham.
. . . we are told by one old historian that Richard de Redvers, the fifth
earl, took for arms “the blue lion,” which was clearly derived from
“Doles” or “Dale,” and, as it is sufficiently evident now that his mother
was “Alice, daughter and heir of Ralph de Doles,” he very probably may
33
have adopted her badge or cognisance, although, according to prevalent
heraldic laws, he had no real right to do so in his said mother’s lifetime.
There is also a shield made up entirely of scattered Fleur de Lys for Baldwin
FitzGilbert Count of Meulon De Redvers (1032-1090). The fleur de lis are
considered a mark of its antiquity because the arms of France were similarly
blazoned.
The Fleur de Lys reminds me of the Fleur de Lys seal used by Robert Forman
in 1296.
The Lion of the North - The English Castle | John Goodall, The Percy Lion.
On July 18, 1343, Henry, 2nd Lord Percy took and ceremonially
smashed his old seal. By this action, he formally abandoned his family’s
ancient coat of arms and assumed the figure of a lion rampant, which has
evolved to the coat of arms shown. The new coat of arms—which,
confusingly, had been in use for some time by 1343—was probably
intended to advertise his prowess as a warrior. It also resonated with
Edward III’s fascination for this royal beast: he kept lions at the Tower of
London, ornamented his castles with figures of them, and even fought in
tournaments under the name Lionel. Lord Percy was apparently
reinventing himself in the model of his king, and assuming the role of Lion
of the Northern March.
The Heraldry Society. Ancient Scottish Arms. Depicts the same arms - shown
above.
Finally relevant in this context is the 'familia' of Hugh de Morville, the
knights in his tail who regularly sealed his charters and whose names
included Clapham (later Clephane), Campania, Ripley, Curwen, Sinclair,
and Haig.(11) Two of their number bore fretty coat-of-arms in the
thirteenth century. A Campania family, or in its Norman-French form of
Champagne, is found throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries: thus
Rauf de Campania confirmed the grant of Hugh de Morville of the church
of Borgue (KCB) to Dryburgh Abbey. Sir Ralph de Campania of
Wigtonshire and his kinsman (?) Piers de Campania, rector of Kynkell in
Perthshire, signed the Ragman Roll, the latter's seal displaying fretty (SAS
401).(12) Presumably of the same family is Robert de Champayn who bore
Or, fretty sable in Collins' Roll (Q555). Similarly, Thomas, son of
Cospatric, Lord of Workington, was the ancestor of the family of Curwen
(Culwen) which took its name from the parish of Colvend and which held
lands on both sides of the Solway Firth.(13) Cousins Adam Colwen and
Thomas de Sutheycke (Southwick in Colvend) are juxtaposed in the
Ragman Roll homages while the coat-of-arms of their kinsman Thomas de
34
Curwen is regularly found in the English rolls of the last quarter of the
thirteenth century as Argent, fretty gules (E421, Q279, LM150).(14)
Figure 7. The arms of the 'familia' of Hugh de Morville.
The Heraldry Society. Ancient Scottish Arms.
There is no direct evidence as to this family's heraldic bearings as they died
out during the period heraldry was being established in Scotland. Indirect
testimony is provided by Calveley's Book,(7) in the section entitled the
Becket's Murderers' Roll. The first four coats in this section purport to give
arms to the knights — Reginald fitzUrse, William de Tracy, Hugh de
Morville, and Richard le Brito — who killed the Archbishop in 1170.
Morville's arms are given as Argent, three boars heads couped azure,
armed or (BM2): however beside Sir William Tracy Azure, fretty and
semé-de-lis or (BM4) is written in a later hand Morvyle and it is this fretty
(and flory) coat that has most often associations with the name.(8)
It seems Sir Robert Forman of Luthrie may have had several seals, one of which
contained three boars heads. Is this coincidence?
Forman of Luthrie, Sir Robert, Lord Lyon King of Arms, Scottish Noble
(c.1567).
Arms: Quarterly: 1 & 4, Three Boar's heads erased (Forman): 2 & 3, A
chevron between three fish erect palewise.
Laing, Henry, Seal Engraver, 1866. Supplemental descriptive catalogue of
ancient Scottish seals, royal, baronial, ecclesiastical, and municipal, embracing
the period from A.D. 1150 to the eighteenth century. Taken from original
charters, and other deeds preserved in public and private archives. p. 164.
984. WHITELAW, JOHN. A chevron between three boars' heads and
necks erased. "s' johannis de quhttlaw."—Appended to the Perambulation
of the lands of Adam Forman, a.d. 1430. Dean and Chapter of Durham.
One of the Sutherland crests contained a boars head (see earlier).
35
The St Clair family received their lands in Herdmanstoun from the de
Morvilles.
Figure 8. the arms of Henry Percy of Alnwick. Copied from: Lord Henry De
Percy - Ancestry.com.
Arms of Henry Percy of Alnwick (1273-1314). Similarity to the crests above
and below may be coincidental. There are two versions of the lion in the Percy
arms. The other version is similar to that shown in the de Redvers arms.
The connection between the de Redvers and the de Morvilles seems to have
been established. Simon Forman’s statement that his ancestor was Richard
Foman Earl of Devonshire (Devon), now looks less apocryphal, although the
name Forman does not appear in the genealogy of the de Redvers etc.
Furthermore, the name de Redvers does not occur again in this story.
The Balliols do appear later in this story. According to: Who was Robert
Forman of Scotland 1296. djforman.com.
A family tree for the de Redvers/de Vernon family, Earls of Devon, shows
two of the de Vernons married female Balliols, who may have been third
cousins thrice removed of King John Balliol.
There is another possible connection, this time between Robert Forman of
Scotland, who signed the Ragman Roll in 1296, and the Veteri Pontes
(Viponts), who do take a prominent part in this story.
Robert Forman was suspected of having married a Veteri Ponte sometime
before 1296. In djforman.net Who was Robert Forman of Scotland 1296? p. 14,
we see Robert Forman and Robert de Weepunt, both of Edinburgh parish, had
the fleur de lis as their seal. The paper states:This raises the possibility of a relationship between Robert Forman and the
Veteri Pontes. . . .
About the De Morvilles (and John Forman)
The Scottish Nation. Morville.
36
MORVILLE, the surname of a high feudal family, of Anglo-Norman
origin, which, in the twelfth century, was one of the most eminent in
Scotland. The surname is supposed to have been assumed from the village
of Morville, on the water of Aire, in the province of Picardy, France. The
first of the name on record in Scotland, Hugh de Morville, came from
Burgh on the Sands, in Cumberland, about the year 1100, and acquired
extensive possessions in Tweeddale, Lauderdale, the Lothians, Clydesdale,
and more especially in Cunningham, Ayrshire. He also held the hereditary
office of lord-high-constable of the kingdom. He was a witness to the
Inquisitis Davidis, 1116.
In 1138 he was one of the witnesses to a charter of protection then granted
by David I. to the monks of Tynemouth. In 1140, he founded the
celebrated abbey of Kilwinning, in Cunningham, nearly the whole of
which district belonged to him, and endowed it with revenues so ample
that few temporal lordships at the time were so valuable. About 1150, he
founded Dryburgh abbey, four miles from Melrose, on the north bank of
the Tweed. He died in 1162.
Allan (1900) p. 53-5.
Hugh de Morville was the friend and favourite of King David I., and rose
to the highest office in the State. Much is dim and uncertain in his career,
but he appears to have come originally from the north of England. He
received, besides his possessions in England, extensive estates in Scotland.
He held all Lauderdale down to near Earlston, where the Earl of Dunbar's
land came between the northern portion and his other lands in Dryburgh,
Merton, Bemersyde, and Newton. Between 1108-24, (Vol. i. Calendar of
Documents relating to Scotland) he witnesses the gift of lands to Roger,
the Archdeacon, and his heir; in 1116, the Inquisition of David, and in
1119-24, the charter of the foundation of Selkirk Abbey. He is called in
Chronica de Mailros, the founder of the church of Dryburgh. (See also
Liber de Dryburgh, No. 14). He was Constable of Scotland before 1140
(Newbattle Charters), and died, according to the Chronica de Mailros, in
1162. If the latter statement is correct, it must have been another Hugh de
Morville (Hoveden's Chronicle, vol. ii., p. 14) who was implicated in 1170
in the murder of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and was
afterwards Justiciary of Northumberland. (See Froude's Short Studies, vol.
iv.; also The Itinerary of Henry II., by Rev. R. W. Eyton, who includes the
years 1158-70 in Hugh de Morville's life).
George Chalmers. Caledonia, Or an Account, Historical and Topographic, of
North Britain, from the Most Ancient to the Present Times. 1807. Volume 1.
37
Among those English settlers, not one was more early in his attachment or
rose to greater eminence, in the state, than Hugh Moreville, who came
from Burg in Cumberland. Under David, he acquired vast possessions, in
Lauderdale, in the Lothians, and above all, in Cunninghame, along the
northern banks of the River Irvine. Under his munificent master, Hugh
Moreville, became Constable of Scotland . . .
By Beatrice de Bello Campo (Beauchamp), his wife, he left Richard de
Moreville, who enjoyed his high office, and great possessions, and became
the principal minister of William, the lion. Richard married Avicia de
Lancaster who is emphatically mentioned with him as a patroness of the
monks of Mailros. (Melrose)
In the Calendar of Documents we ascertain that he accounts, in 1194-95,
for £100 of his fine, made with the king for holding the forestry of Carlisle.
Probably, the "Hugh de Morville" found after 1162 was a younger man,
related to the Hugh of Lauderdale, and less pious, perhaps, in his character.
The office of Constable of Scotland became hereditary in the De Morville
family, (Caledonia, vol. i. p. 707) and after Hugo it was held successively
by his son, Richard; William de Morville; Roland, Lord Galloway (d.
1200); Allan, his son (d. 1234); Roger de Quinsi; Alexander Cumyn, and
John Cumyn, and others.
In an example of the “coincidences” that occur throught this paper, there is a
later connection between Kiwinning Abbey and John Forman the son of
Andrew Forman.
Scottish Genealogy Records. www.FamilyLink.com/Genealogy. Cunningham.
The family Cunningham take their name from the district of Cunningham
in northern Ayrshire. The land of Kilmaurs of that area was granted by
Hugo de Moreville, Constable of Scotland to a vassel named Warnebald
in the 12th century and it is from his descendants that the Cunningham
family originate. Harvey de Cunningham of Kilmaurs was among those
who fought against the King of Norway at the Battle of Largs in 1263 and
for his bravery his possession of Kilmaurs was confirmed by Alexander
II. Robert the Bruce granted further lands and through the marriage of Sir
William Cunningham to Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Dennieston the
Cunninghams extended their possessions further to include Glencairn.
His grandson Sir Alexander de Cunningham was created Lord Kilmaurs
in 1462 and then Earl of Glencairn in 1488 by James III.
In. djforman.net. John Forman, pretend abbot of Kilwinning, a son or
nephew of archbishop Andrew Forman.
38
Liber protocollorum M. Cuthberti Simonis notarii publici et scribæ capituli
glasguensis A. D. 1499-1513, also Rental book of the diocese of Glasgow,
A.D. 1509-1570 (Volume 1) Author: Glasgow (Diocese). Published in 1875.
Abstracts of Protocols, p. 544-7.
621. The Abbot of Kylwynnyng.*
*This and several of the following instruments relate to an armed invasion
of the precincts of the Abbey of Kilwinning by the Earls of Glencairn
and Angus. These noblemen seem to have been acting on behalf of a Mr
John Forman, pretending a claim to the abbacy, and evidently desired to
coerce Abbot William to resign, on promise of a pension to be confirmed
by the Roman see. The instrument is much crossed and interlined, and
bears witness to the disturbance which must have been going on during its
preparation. The Earl of Angus here engaged was the celebrated
Archibald Bell-the-Cat, and he must have been an aged man in 1512, for
Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, his third son, was born in 1474.
Glencairn was his son-in-law.
Instrument narrating that while William, abbot of Kylwynnyng, with his
convent were assembled in the septs of the abbey and in the hall or courtroom thereof, with the doors and gates closed, on the 22d March after the
palm branches, 1512, the place was surrounded by Cuthbert Earl of
Glencairn, completely armed, and accompanied by about sixteen men
similarly armed, with swords by their side and all defensive armour, with
a hold of each other's hands as they advanced rapidly, when the following
colloquy between the abbot and the earl took place. "Wherefore have you
cleared our ditches, broken our fences, and entered hither?" "We have
come hither to hold a conference with you." "I will hold no conference
with you at this time,"
Whereupon the earl seized the abbot (who resisted, and often called out,
and earnestly entreated to be set at liberty) with force and violence by the
arms, throwing off his sword and shield and giving them to one of his
followers; and while the armed men surrounded him, sometimes
threatening, sometimes fawning upon him, to make him submit himself to
the pleasure of Mr John Forman, the pretended abbot of Kylwynnyng,
and open the gates of the abbey to the king's herald and others of the same
opinion standing without the gates, held him long in his embrace, until
induced by the persuasion of Sir Alexander Scott, prior of Kylwynnyng,
and of some of the armed men, he let him go, panting for breath and
calling out, "Suffer me to sit here, and cut off my head, because, while I
live, I never shall agree to what you propose." Nevertheless, after he had
sat and rested a while, and was desirous to rest longer, the earl seized him
a second time, while he struggled and called out, and dragged him against
his will to the gates of the place. When there, trusting as he alleged, to his
appeal, and besides being under the protection of the Roman pontiff, he
39
refused to open the gates to the king's herald and Archibald Earl of Angus
and others, who were standing without, although earnestly requested by
the herald to do so: And further narrating the protest by the said abbot,
when conducted between his monks to consult and deliberate upon the
proposals made to him by the said earl, that himself and his abbacy and
convent, and the appeals formerly made by him, should not suffer
prejudice by what had taken place, etc. Done in the abbey of
Kylwynnyng, 22d March 1512.
About the Veteri Pontes
Archibald Allan (1900) p. 71.
The Veteriponts (often called Vipont) come into notice during David the
First's reign. Rev. Dr John Brown, minister of Langton, writing in 1834,
has this observation regarding them. "During (New Statistical Account
"Berwickshire," p. 237) the reign of David I., the Manor of Langton, with
the advowson of the church, belonged to Roger de Ow, a Northumbrian
follower of Prince Henry. Roger de Ow granted to the monks of Kelso the
Church of Langton, which was accordingly held by Henry the Parson.
From him the estate passed to William de Veteriponte or Vipont, who
continued to these monks the Church with its tithes and lands."
"The first Vipont was succeeded by his eldest son by his first wife, Emma
de St Hilary, and this family continued Lords of Langton till Sir William
Vipont was killed at Bannockburn in 1314. Immediately after this the
estate passed into the family of Cockburn by marriage with the heiress of
Vipont."
The family seems to have extended itself to a considerable degree, but
never rose to any great eminence in Scotland. Scott (Ivanhoe, chap. VIII).
rather ridicules the Vipont character in Ivanhoe.
The Ivon de Veteripont mentioned above must have lived before 1189,
and seems to have been alive in 1230. (Calendar of Documents, vol. i., p.
203.) (See also "Glengelt" below.)
Langton is a parish situated southwest of Duns.
The house of Cockburn of that ilk and the cadets thereof: with historical
anecdotes of the times in which many of the name played a conspicuous part
(1888). p.5.
When King William the Lion was at Roxburgh Castle [which in those days
overlooked the large town of Roxburgh, of which no vestige is now to be
seen, where was the Royal mint, and coins were struck in the reigns of his
grandfather David I. and his brother Malcolm the Maiden] he confirmed
many grants to the Abbot and Monks of Kelso made in their time, and
since he himself had ascended the throne. Amongst the earliest donors was
40
Roger de Ov or Ow, who gave to them the advowson of the "Ecclesiam de
Langtoune cum omnibus ad earn pertinentibus." His grant was renewed by
William de Veteri -Ponte, who got Langton from this Roger a few years
after this gift, i.e., about 1150.
p. 15-40.
THE DE VETERI-PONTES OF LANGTON, CARRIDEN,
AND BOLTON.
" Poyntz, the Norman," appears to have been the ancestor of this
distinguished race, who took name from the Lordship of Vieuxpont-enAuge, near Caen.
There appear to have been two of the name companions of the conqueror
on the field of Senlac, the Conqueror, more familiarly known to us as "the
Battle of Hastings," namely, Robert de Vieuxpont and William de
Vieuxpont. The latter was the warrior who saved the life of William Mallet
on that 14th of October 1066. He is presumed to have been the ancestor of
the Scottish branch, and Robert of the Lords of Appleby and Brougham, in
Westmoreland, and possessors of other vast estates in Cumberland and
other counties in the south. In the Scottish records the name is nearly
always written de Veteri-Ponte, although the French rendering of Vepount
or Vieuxpont is occasionally met with. Scotch genealogists in after times
give it less euphoniously Weapont.
The most puissant family of the name were the Lords of Appleby and
Brougham, whose estates in England and Normandy were of great extent,
and were largely increased during the reign of King John, who gave
William de Veteripont precept to the pianche's Steward of Normandy,
ordering him to give him full a possession of the Lordship of Vepount
there, as Robert his brother had when he went into France after the war.
They were the sons of Robert de Veteripont, by his wife Maude, daughter
of Hugh de Moreville, who was the fourth of his family holding the high
office of Great Constable of the kingdom. It is said that "Heughe de
Moreweill, Lord of Laudirdaill, being one of the killers of Thomas Becket,
Archbishope of Canterberry, he then liuing at ye Englische Courte, returns
home prudently. He foundit ye Monasteries of Kilwinning in
Cunninghame ordinis Tyronensis, and vat of Driburghe, in Teuittdale
ordinis Prsemonstratensis, and endowed them bothe werey ncheley, and
?tor dyed regnis regis Villelmi. William de Moreweill, Lord of Laudirdaill,
succeidit his father, and was Grate Constable of Scotland in A 1167, in ye
beginning of wich zeir his father departed this lyffe." But by the
"Chronicle of Melrose" it appears that de "A.D. 1162 obiit Hugo de
Moruele, fundator ecclesie p.78. “ Driburg," so it was not in expiation of
the murder of this prelate that he was so liberal a donor to these religious
41
establishments, as the generally accepted date of this event is eight?
December 1170, so if a de Moreville was concerned in the affair, it must
have been his son, not himself.
POMS.
1157-12/9/1165, William, brother of the king of Scotland, to Jedburgh
Abbey; has granted ploughgate of land that William de Vieuxpont gave in
demesne of Carriden. (S).
Aft. 1165, The Manor of Alston and other lands were given to William de
Veteri Ponte by William the Lion, King of Scotland. [The grant was
reconfirmed by King John].
Scotland. www.vieuxpont.co.uk/id23.html
Monks of Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, were granted a tithe by William Di
Vipont during the reign of William the Lion (1165-1214) to dig a tenth of
the coal from his Carriden Estate, which was then carried to Holyrood in
panniers strapped to the backs of their horses; later it was taken to Leith by
sailing ship. The tithe was significant as it first recorded the coal-mining or
more correctly at the time the digging of coal in Scotland. He also gave
Holyrood “Karedyn Church”. In 1291 monks from Dunfermline Abbey
were also given the right to dig coal from outcrops around Bo'ness, all on
Di Vipont land.
POMS.
12/9/1165-8/9/1170, William de Vieuxpont has granted, and established
by this present charter, to Kelso Abbey the church of Horndean which his
father gave to them and a certain sheiling in Lammermuir. (S).
POMS.
12/24/1165-8/9/1170, King William to William de Vieuxpont; by the
judgment of his court, he has restored and given various lands in
Northamptonshire, West Lothian, Berwickshire, Northumberland and
Cumberland. (S) POMS.
By 1170, William died.
Scotland. www.vieuxpont.co.uk/id23.html.
VIPONT: This name seems to derive from one of several places in
Normandy called Vieupont from the Latin meaning 'of the old bridge'. The
Scottish Viponts descend from William de Ueupunt or Veteri Ponte circa
1165. The Veteri Pontes held the lands of Carriden, West Lothian, for
many generations and in about 1250, Nicholas de Veteri Ponte made a gift
42
of Swanston near Colinton to the Hospital of Soltre. Sir William de
Vepont, 6th Baron, is described as being one of the two worthy knights
slain on the Scottish side at Bannockburn. On his death the estates passed
into the family of Cockburn by the marriage of his only child Mariota to
Sir Alexander Cokburn. The Viponts were among the earliest known
landowners in Fife, and the refrain of a song sung by fishermen there runs:
"The leal guidman of Aberdour, sits in Sir Alan Vipont's chair." This
surname is now almost extinct in Scotland. As the family does not
comprise a clan, there is no chief, war-cry, crest, motto or plant badge.
There is however a tartan which seems to have been woven for the family
of Vipont around 1930 but is rarely used by them.
Poster at Aberdour Castle. The first date shown (1126) may need to be
corrected to about 1329.
De Mortimers & Douglases 800 years of Aberdour Castle.
1126 Alan Mortimer marries Anicea Vipont, the heiress to the lordship of
Aberdour. Alan appears to have been from Norfolk, but was of Norman
origin.
Around the year 1200 Walter de Mortimer builds the first masonry
building at the castle - a two storey hall house.
1341 Edinburgh Castle is seized from the English by a force lead by
William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale, it is the crowning success of the
war.
1342. John grants Aberdour to his friend and supporter William Douglas,
Lord of Lidesdale, establishing the Douglas ownership of the castle which
survives to this day.
1353. William Douglas of Liddesdale is slain while hunting by his godson,
William Douglas of Douglas.
From Wickipedia.
The barony of Aberdour was acquired in 1126, by Sir Alan de Mortimer,
on his marriage to Anicea, daughter of Sir John de Vipont.[3]
No Anicea de Vipot of this vintage has yet been found and it seems possible
that both the poster and Wickipedia, as quoted above, are incorrect as sugested
in the following post.
InnleggSkrevet: 10 Aug 2005 22:31:02 Tittel: Re: Mortimer and Vipont of
Aberdour 1126 or 1326? Svar med Sitat. Internet site.
The English and Scottish Viponts are the same family. They descend from
William de Veteriponte who gave ploughgate of land in Carriden to
Jedburgh Abbey. Ca. 1163 there were two William V. of "Carriden" 1329
Anicia de V. Daughter of Sir John of Carriden, near Bo'ness, west of
43
Edinburgh. Married [Alan?]Mortimer taking Aberdour, near Dunfermline,
Fife, with her.
The Viponts are a complicated lot with Williams, Johns, Roberts adding to
the conundrum. I have followed the Carriden land and even though I do
not have all the specific generations, would believe Sir John is from this
line.
Scotland. www.vieuxpont.co.uk/id23.html.
William Di Vipont died in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn and fought
on the side of Robert Bruce; only one of 3 Earls who died in the battle
against the English. He was survived by the last of the Viponts, his
daughter Mariota, who married Sir Alexander Cockburn in 1330. They
settled at Langton Berwickshire. Alexander is known as the father of all
modern Cockburn's branches and much later in 1527, his descendent
bought the lands at Cockburn Law, near Duns, Berwickshire from the Earl
of Crawford and started the branch Cockburn of that Ilk who became
Lairds of Duns."
The de Morevilles and the Veteri Pontes at Channelkirk
Archibald Allan (1900) p. 53.
The Register of Dryburgh Abbey, or Liber S. Marie de Dryburgh, opens
with a charter dealing with the church of Channelkirk. Although marked
"No. 6," it is the earliest one extant, as the preceding five have not been
found. The title of the charter runs : "The Confirmation regarding the
aforesaid donations of Hugo and Robert de Morville concerning the
churches of Childinchirch and Saltone." The writ itself proceeds: —
"Malcolm, King of the Scots, to the bishops, abbots, earls, barons,
justiciaries, sheriffs, bailies, servants, and all true men of all the land,
whether cleric or laic, Franks or Angles, health. Be it known to the present
and future generations that I have conceded, and by this, my charter,
confirmed to God and the Church of St Mary at Dryburgh, and the canons
serving God there, the bequests of Hugo de Morville and Robert de
Morville, which they, in free and perpetual charity, gave to the same
church, and confirmed by their charters, viz., the Church of
Childenchirch, with the land adjacent, and all that justly pertains to it."
p. 55.
Before his death he gifted Channelkirk Church to Dryburgh Abbey, and
himself donned the monk's habit at the same time.
The name "Robert" de Morville in the charter just quoted, is, perhaps,
intended for "Richard," who succeeded his father Hugo. Richard was a
44
man of more warlike manner than his father, and was embroiled in many
disputes with the religious houses. He commanded part of the Scottish
army at the battle of Falaise in 1174, and was one of the hostages given to
the King of England. He was excommunicated by John Scott, Bishop of St
Andrews, as a disturber of the peace between the king and himself. He died
in 1189.
p. 116-117.
It was in 1107 that Earl David, afterwards David I., came into possession
of Lauderdale, and disposed it to the Norman Baron Hugo de Morville,
who thereby came into possession of the advowson of Channelkirk
Church probably about 1130. In the charters which define the gifts of
Hugo to Dryburgh Abbey and Convent, Channelkirk Church is often
mentioned as his gift to it, but there is no trace whatever of his having
gifted land to Channelkirk Church either in support of its priest or for any
other purpose. Nor is it said that any of the family of the De Morvilles ever
gave land to Channelkirk Church at any time. But there are distinct
statements made of the church possessing land in the time of the first of the
De Morvilles, and we naturally conclude that the church had been
endowed with land before the De Morvilles received it from David I., and
that they had found the church settled and endowed on their coming into
Lauderdale. The fact also, it may be pointed out in passing, that the church
was fully equipped and endowed at such a time when the affairs of the
country were in such transition, and also considering that such a church
existed in such a hilly and inaccessible situation, and not on the more open
and convenient ground further down the valley, is to us further evidence
that more than ordinary causes must have cooperated to fix the church in
that spot, and give it such consolidation so early. Following the view of
Professor Innes, we are perhaps safe in assuming for Channelkirk what he
asserts with regard to the possessions of the See of Glasgow, (Origins
Parochiales, pref. xxiv.) viz., that its endowments must have been made in
very early times, seeing that during the dark periods of confusion and
anarchy which immediately preceded the reign of David I. it is not
probable that the church received any accession of property.
p. 117.
. . . Charter 8 of the Registrum de Dryburgh. It must have been a short time
after the year 1162 when Hugh de Morville died. Richard, his son, is
confirming his father’s gift of Channelkirk to that Abbey, and, as we have
noted above, after handing over the fishings of Berwick and the tithes of
Lauder and Salton Mills to the brethren there, he says: “Besides, I concede,
I confirm to the same church my father’s donations, which, with himself,
he gave to the same brethren, namely, the church of Childenchirch with all
45
those pertinents with which Godfrey, the priest, held it on the day in which
my father assumed the canonical habit”.
. . . . Here the Danish descended Godfrey fills the office of spiritual guide
to a composite population of Celts and Angles, while the proud Norman
lords it over the territory and gives from it at his will.
Allan (1900) p. 58.
Charter No. 249 concerns general privileges granted by the Pope in 1184 to
Dryburgh Abbey. While it confirms to it the Church of Channelkirk in the
usual formula, another matter is introduced which is not uninteresting.
Chalmers, in Caledonia (i. 505, ii. 224), asserts that the De Morvilles
"enjoyed some rich lands on the northern bank of the Tweed, including
Bemersyde, Dryburgh, Mertoun," etc. Russell in his Haigs of Bemersyde
rebuts this, and says with reference to this statement (p. 55), "What is here
alleged cannot be substantiated" .... "there is nothing in the Dryburgh
Cartulary to support his statement." "There is not the slightest ground for
believing that the De Morvilles ever possessed a foot of land in the Merse,
their lands in Lauderdale only coming down to within a few miles of
Earlston."
Allan (1900), p. 59.
Yet in our charter above-noted, we find Pope Lucius III. confirming to the
Abbot, Gerard, and brethren of Dryburgh "from the gift of Hugh de
Morville, the place itself which is called Dryburgh" and again in Charter
251,'' the place itself in which the aforesaid monastery is situated!' There is
some confusion of dates in this charter, 1283 being given in the text, and
1184 put within brackets. The latter is clearly the correct date. Pope Martin
IV. occupied the papal throne from 1281-1285, and Pope Lucius III., who
is mentioned in the text, from 1181-1185.
The Sinclairs at Channelkirk
Sir Robert Forman of Luthrie shared the rentals of Channelkirk Church in 1535
and that entitled him to half the tithes for property in Chanelkirk parish,
including Carfae. Carfrae was owned by the Sinclair family at that time.
Andrew Forman, later archbishop, married his daughter, Marion, to
Alexander (of Longformacus) Sinclair before about 1506.
Allan (1900) p. 61-62.
Charters Nos. 185, 186, 191, have no dates assigned to them, but this in no
wise lessens their interest for us, as the Church of Channelkirk gains by
them not only new endowments but also a new ecclesiastical
responsibility. Eight acres of land are settled upon her, and two new
46
domestic chapels are erected in the parish. Collielaw, Glengelt, and
Carfrae, are the places which are rendered illustrious by these proofs of
piety and self-sacrifice. Perhaps we cannot go very wide of the period,
which saw these transactions, if we place them about the middle of the
thirteenth century. No. 185 is about 1327 or a little earlier, as we know
from other sources.* In these old records also, at this period, the outlines of
Lauderdale, as they look to modern eyes, come more and more clearly into
our field of vision. Pilmuir stands before us unmistakably: Glengelt at the
extreme north of the valley, with Carfrae on the heights to the east, and
Collielaw on the sloping middle ground to the west, rise upon our view,
and like the same places today, lead the eye round the boundaries of the
upper part of the dale, and generally define its length and breadth.
As can be deduced from the following two documents, these two chapels were
under the wing of Channelkirk Church.
Allan (1900) p. 70-71.
"Charter 186 (no date). Concerning the indemnification of Channelkirk
Church on account of the Chapel of Glengelt.
"To all this document, etc., Henry de Mundeville wishes eternal well-being
in the Lord. To you all I make known that I will be bound, as well by the
security furnished on oath as by the present document, to the chief Abbey
and Convent of Dryburgh for myself and heirs forever; that I will never
injure the Mother Church at Channelkirk on account of the chapel erected
in my domain of Glengelt, but will securely confirm the obventions of
every kind belonging to the said Church of Channelkirk, according to the
tenor of the charter designed to me, by the Abbey and Convent of
Dryburgh, concerning the celebration of divine ordinances in the said
chapel. Moreover, I have given and granted to the same Abbey and
Convent of Dryburgh, three acres in my territory of Glengelt, adjoining
those seven acres of land, which, from the gift of Lord Ivon de
Veteripont, my ancestor in the same territory, they hold and possess on
the east side of the said Church of Channelkirk, to be possessed and held
by them in pure and perpetual charity, according to the bounds and
divisions named more fully in my charter written concerning these three
acres of land, of which I have executed a fuller sasine to the same. In
witness whereof, forever, I have affixed my seal to the present writing,"
This (Documents Illustrative of the History of Scotland. (Rev. Jos.
Stevenson.) Vol. ii., p. 169.) Henry de Mundeville was invited by Edward
I., on May 24, 1297, along with the Scotch nobility, to go an expedition
with him into Flanders.
Archibald Allan (1900) p. 71-72.
47
In Charter No. 191 (no date) John de Sinclair promises in similar terms to
those of Henry de Mundeville, that the Mother Churches of Channelkirk
and Salton shall not suffer injury from the chapels which he holds in
Carfrae and Herdmanston, and certain feast days of the church are
specified when neither divine service is to be heard nor mass celebrated in
these chapels. And in recognition of the right of both Mother Churches he
confirms two acres of land to Dryburgh Abbey in his territory of
Herdmanston.
The Sinclairs of Carfrae seem to have been actively engaged in the
thirteenth century in the affairs of Upper Lauderdale. Concerning the
origin of the family, it appears, that like so many others, the Sinclairs came
over with the Conqueror. They branch out into distinct divisions during the
twelfth century, viz., the Sinclairs of Roslin and the Sinclairs of
Herdmanston.
William de St Clair obtained the manor of Roslin in Lothian, where he
settled in David the First's reign. He seems to be the first of the Sinclairs to
rise into historical notice. This branch gave the Sinclairs the Earls of
Orkney; the Earl Sinclairs of Caithness; Sinclair, Lord Sinclair; Sinclair of
Longformacus; and others. (Douglas's Peerage, p. 112).
The second branch is the one which connects itself with Channelkirk.
Henry de Sinclair, Sheriff to Richard de Morville of Lauderdale,
Constable of Scotland, seems to have been a son of the first William de
Sinclair of Roslin. The Sinclairs of Herdmanston and Carfrae derive their
less remote origin from him.
p. 72-73.
Henry de Sinclair was succeeded by his son Allan, who appears with his
father in the Charters of the De Morvilles. It is this Allan who obtained
from William de Morville, son of Richard de Morville, the lands of
Carfrae in the parish of Channelkirk, in marriage with Matilda de
Windefore, and this is confirmed by Roland the Constable, who died
I2CX) A.D.
John de Sinclair, who in the above-mentioned charter grants an indemnity
to the Mother Churches of Salton and Channelkirk, was successor to Allan
de Sinclair in his estates. We find him in 1296, on l0th July, sending in his
submission to King Edward I., when he invaded Scotland to quell
Wallace's rebellion.
Archibald Allan, 1900.
William (1st Lord of Roslin) Sinclair married Dorotha de Dunbar,
daughter of Gospatrick mac Maldred, Earl of Northumbria, and
Aethelreda. Two of their sons were Henry (2nd Lord Roslin) Sinclair
48
(1065-1110) and Henry (Sir, of Herdmanston; sheriff) Sinclair (abt 1145?).
The Oliphant family and connection with Channelkirk
The Oliphant family is of importance in this study, because it links a number of
the subjects in this study. Some of these subjects have not been mentioned yet,
but they are marked bold in the following text.
Wickipedia. Clan Oliphant.
The progenitor of the Olifard family was "David Holyfard", godson of
King David I of Scotland and in 1141 his protector; who was also in
possession of Lilleford in Northamptonshire, showing the
Northamptonshire family connection to Scotland.[3] David was a son of
William Olifard, mentioned in the pipe rolls of Cambridgeshire (1158),
Northamptonshire (1163) and Huntingdonshire (1168 and 1169). He saved
his godfather from capture during the Battle of Winchester in 1141.[5]
David held the lands of Crailing and Smailholm, both in Roxburghshire,
and served as the Justiciar of Lothian. He is not mentioned in records after
1170 and is supposed to have died shortly thereafter.[6]
David Olifard's son Sir Walter Olifard, the second Justiciar, in 1173
married Christian, the daughter of Ferchar, Earl of Strathearn; her dowry
was the lands of Strageath.[7]
Clan Oliphant.
Before his death, Henry I made the English lords and barons pledge to
accept his daughter Matilda, as their queen. They all did so, including
David Olifard and David I of Scotland, who as well as being the King of
Scotland, was the Earl of Huntingdon and was thereby bound by the feudal
system to the English monarch. After Henry's death, the English lords set
Matilda aside and placed Stephen, her cousin, on the throne. David I, in
devotion to both his word and his niece Matilda, marched with a large
army into England to place Matilda back on the throne. He lost the battle
of the Standard, but continued on, helping Matilda's cause at every
available opportunity, even going to Rome to enlist Papal support.
However, once the tide again turned against Matilda, David was forced to
flee to Winchester Palace. At Winchester, David Olifard was a party to the
siege of the Palace (acting under his oath of fealty to the English sovereign
Stephen.) David Olifard, on seeing his godfather David I losing and in
mortal peril, changing sides and threw in his lot with his original liege-lord
and provided a disguise for David I, enabling them both to escape back to
Scotland together. This act may have been founded, along with his loyalty
to the Scottish monarch, on his assumption that, as a recent addition from
49
Scotland to the power struggles in England amongst Norman knights, he
would not have survived long in Northamptonshire anyway.
In reward for this life saving service to Scotland's greatest king, David
Olifard was made Justicary of the Lothians (and thereby third in rank in
Scotland after the King's brother, who was Justicary of Scotia in the North.
David Olifard received the lands of Smailholm and Crailing in present day
Roxburghshire although Crailing may have been acquired through
marriage to a daughter of Berengaria Engain who was the previous owner
and who lived in Northamptonshire. In addition David was given the
barony of Bothwell. From this powerful position which he established
descended the Clan Oliphant.
Johanson Family Tree-Roots spreading from Sweden, Medieval England,
Massachusetts, and South Carolina.
David Olifard was the godson of David I king of Scotland and was given
the barony of Bothwell as well as Smailholm in Roxburghshire.
He was a witness to a charter of David I to Kelso Abbey in 1144. He gave
land in Smailholm to Dryburgh Abbey as late as 1162 as a gift of David
Olifard to the monks there was confirmed by the Pope on Nov. 24, 1162.
He is mentioned again in another papal confirmation of an additional gift
to the monks on July 29, 1164. He gave a tenth of the mill at Crailing to
the monks of Jedburgh Abbey before 1170. He possibly married a daughter
of Berengar Engaine who held Crailing before David Olifard. David
Olifard was dead before 1170 and had three sons that are recorded.
Philip Olifard witnessed two charters of Malcolm IV and probably
predeceased his father. Fulk Olifard was priest and witnessed two charters
to Paisley abbey. He was also called Fulk the chaplain in a charter to
Coldingham abbey and was parson of the church in Smailholm.
Walter Olifard succeeded his father before 1174. He witnessed a charter of
William I of Scotland with his father and is called his son and heir in a
charter to Melrose Abbey. Walter Olifard was one of the hostages for
William I in 1174 and is named in the list of hostages by Bendictus Abbas
in Volume 1, p. 496. By 1180 Walter Olifard was Justiciar of the Lothians
as his father had been for William I of Scotland. He was alive at least until
1223 when he witnessed a charter with his son Walter who is called Walter
juniore. His wife Christiana is assumed to be a daughter of Ferteth, earl of
Strathern based on charters of Inchaffray abbey that he witnessed with
Gilbert, earl of Strathern and the fact that Christiana was supposedly
dowered with lands in Strageath which their son Walter exchanged with
Earl Gilbert of Strathern.
Walter Olifard had a son, Walter (Baron of Bothwell) Olifard.
50
Historic Scotland. Bothwell Castle.
When Walter Olifard died in 1242, the lordship passed to his son-in-law
Walter of Moray. Walter, lord of Petty, east of Inverness, where a fine
motte castle still stands, soon moved south to the richer and more
important barony of Bothwell. Like his father-in-law, he too became
justiciar of Lothian for a time in the 1250s.
Note that Andrew Forman, archbishop, married his daughter, Janet, to
Alexander (younger of Kellie) Oliphant. Marriage contract 25 September
1518.
Allan (1900), p. 55-56.
The charter which next in chronological order makes reference to
Channelkirk is No, 255, and is entitled "Concerning the Church of
Childinchirch and the tenths of the Mills of Lauder and Salton, and two
bovates of land in Smailholm," It is dated c. 1161, and is granted by Pope
Alexander III., who occupied the papal chair, 1159-81. It bears that Roger,
Abbot of Dryburgh, and his brethren, had petitioned the Pope to confirm
Hugh de Morville's gift of Channelkirk Church to them, the consent of the
ecclesiastical king being as necessary as that of the King of Scotland.
"Alexander, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved sons
Roger, the Abbot, and the Brethren of the Church of St Mary at Dryburgh,
health and Apostolic benediction. It is right that we give a ready assent to
the just desires of your petitions, and your wishes, which are agreeable to
right reason are to be complied with in the following way. Wherefore,
beloved sons in the Lord, complying with your just demands by a cordial
consent, we confirm the Church of St Cuthbert at Channelkirk, the
tenth of the mills of Lauder and Salton, and the two bovates of land in
Smailholm, from the gift of David Olifard, for your devotion, and through
you to your church by Apostolic authority."
The Forman connection with Cranston/Cranstoun
As a working hypothesis, I have suggested that the Formans and the Cranstons
are connected by each having married a daughter of the 13th century Bishop of
Moray. This would account for them sharing the rental, including tithes, of
Channelkirk Church about 200 years later.
There is documentary evidence that Andrew Forman was a compatriot and
contemporary of a David Cranston in about 1513. The first part of the following
document refers to Andrew Forman and his tenure as Archbishop of Bourges in
France in 1513. The second part, where David Cranston is mentioned, also
mentions the College of Montaigu in Paris which Andrew’s son, John Forman,
51
attended. I have not yet been able to make a connection between these
Cranstons and the Cranstons at Channelkirk.
Michel, Francisque, 1862. Les Écossais en France, les Français en Écosse
(Volume 1), p. 324-5.
Le nouveau prélat fit à Bourges son entrée solennelle le 13 novembre; et
il semble, d'après les lettres qu'il écrivit ensuite au chapitre, qu'il n'eut qu'à
se louer de son accueil; mais il ne garda pas longtemps l'archevêché de
Bourges: cette haute dignité fut l'année suivante l'objet de stipulations non
moins étranges que celles qui précèdent, et ce fut à la condition qu'on
l'assurerait au cardinal Cibo, son neveu, que Léon X consentit à nommer
Foreman à l'archevêché de Saint-André en Ecosse.
Compatriote et contemporain de ce prélat, maître David Cranston, qui,
après avoir fait partie des écoliers pauvres du collège de Montaigu, à
Paris, était devenu régent des riches, laissa aux premiers, par son testament
fait en 1512, tout ce qu'il avait gagné pendant sa régence. A cette somme,
qui s'élevait à 450 livres, vint s'ajouter plus tard celle de 50 livres de
revenue annuel, également léguée aux Capettes par John Stuart, regent de
la même maison et président des enfants riches, à la condition de participer
aux oraisons et prières de la communauté des pauvres, d'être inséré au
catalogue des bienfaiteurs, et d'avoir un anniversaire perpétuel le jour de
son décès, qui fut le 6 mai 1581.
The following paper gives further information about David Cranston and John
Forman at Montaigu.
Publications of the Scottish History Society (Volume 10). Author: Scottish
History Society.John Major’s History, Life of the Author.
p. xlix. Scottish Students at Montaigu.
To the Scottish father in the end of the fifteenth century, inquiring to what
college shall I send my son, or to the youth left to shift for himself with
scanty purse, these hardships were too distant to be thought of. The
College of Montaigu offered the double attraction of economy and fame.
Hither, besides many forgotten names, came, during the time of Major's
connection with it, George Dundas from Lothian, a learned Greek and
Latin scholar, afterwards Preceptor of the Knights of St. John in Scotland;
Hector Boece, the historian, from Dundee, who praises Standonk as an
exemplar of all the virtues; and three other Angus men: Patrick Panther
(Paniter), who became secretary to James IV, writer of most of the
Epistolae Regum Scotorum in James IV's and part of James V's reign;
Walter Ogilvy, celebrated for his eloquent style, and William Hay,
schoolfellow of Boece at Dundee, afterwards his colleague and successor
in the King's College of Aberdeen. Here too were four countrymen of
Major from East Lothian: George Hepburn, of the house of Hailes, Abbot
52
of Arbroath, afterwards Bishop of the Isles, who fell at Flodden; Robert
Walterson, a co-regent; David Cranstoun and Ninian Hume, his pupils.
Cranstoun dying young, but already distinguished, left his property to the
College; the other was one of Major's favourite students. In Paris, possibly
at Montaigu, as we learn for the first time from one of Major's prefaces, at
the same period studied Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, whose
chequered ecclesiastical and brilliant literary career gained him a
prominent place in the history as well as the literature of Scotland; and
Robert Cockburn, a Haddington man, afterwards Bishop of Ross, and
Gavin Dunbar, afterwards Archbishop of Glasgow, whose studies in
philosophy at Paris, and in the civil and canon law at Angers, overlooked
by his biographers, are commemorated in Major's dedication of his
Commentary on St. Luke.
p. li. Other Scotsmen in Paris.
Besides the more celebrated of his countrymen already mentioned, we find
references in Major's prefaces to Hugo Spens, his other Scots predecessor
as Principal of St. Salvator's; Gavin Logy, Rector of St. Leonard's; John
Forman, Precentor of Glasgow (Protocol Book of Cuthbert Simon,
Grampian Club, pp. 285, 478, 480, 484, 485 486.), a kinsman of the
archbishop of that name; Peter Chaplain (Canon of St. Salvator and
Rector of Dunino. Great Seal Reg. 1513-46, Index, p. 803; ibidem, Nos.
354, 2168, 2605.), and Peter Sandilands, Rector of Calder; Robert
Caubraith, George Turnbull, friends of Ninian Hume,-so, probably, like
him, Lothian men; George Lockhart from Ayrshire; Robert Bannerman,
Thomas Ramsay, William Guynd, and John Annand. The list might be
much enlarged from the Accounts of the German Nation from 1494 to
1530, fortunately preserved in the archives of the University, and still
extant in the library of the Sorbonne.
Alexander Broadie, John Mair’ dialogus de material theologo Tractanda, p. 420.
David Cranston (c. 1479-1512), a priest of the Glasgow diocese, arrived
in Paris in 1495, enrolled in the College de Montaigu, studied under Mair,
and began teaching at Montaigu in 1499.
Robert Blackadder, Andrew Forman’s uncle, was made Archbishop of
Glasgow in 1492.
Alexander Broadie, 2008. Scottish Philosophers in France: The Earlier Years.
Journal of Irish Scottish Studies, Volume 2, Issue 1, September 2008, p. 5.
Three other Scots who were in the circle of John Mair in Paris were David
Cranston (d.1512), Gilbert Crab (c.1482 – 1522) and William Cranston
(c.1513 – 62). Of these only one, William Cranston, returned to Scotland
where he became part of the new beginning that came with the
53
encroachment of Renaissance Humanism into Scotland. David Cranston
did not return to Scotland; he died in his early- to mid-thirties some weeks
after receiving his doctorate in theology at Paris, and was buried in the
chapel of the College of Montaigu, on the rue d’Écosse in Montmartre.
The Murray connection to Cranston
The following documents show a connection between Cranston of that ilk and
Murray of Cranston (? de Moravia).
Historical manuscripts commission. Fourteenth report, Appendix, part iii. The
Manuscripts of the Duke of Roxburghe; sir H. H. Campbell, bart.; The Earl of
Strathmoke; And the Countess dowager of Seafield. p. 22.
41. Confirmation by Archibald Duke of Touraine, Earl of Douglas, &c., by
which after inspecting the writ in his hands in presence of his council, he
ratifies a charter (dated at Edinburgh, 20th November 1430) by Andrew
Roule lord of Prymside, with consent of George his son and heir, granting
and selling to Andrew Ker lord of Awtounburn, his ten husbandlands of
the Maynis lying on the south half of the town of Primside (the same lands
as those named in No. 40 supra) and if they did not extend to ten
husbandlands, the deficiency was to be supplied from the granter's lands on
the north side of the town; to be held to Andrew Ker his heirs and
assignees in fee and heritage for ever, for rendering to the overlord service
due and wont. Confirmation dated at Ethebredscheillis, 6th August 1432.
[Witnesses to Roule's charter Archibald of Douglas, lord of Cavers, James
Ruthirfurde of that Ilk, Thomas of Crenniston (Cranston?) of that Ilk,
William of Liberton, provost of Edinburgh, Alexander Naper, John
Barcare and Henry Dempstar, bailies there, and others. Witnesses to the
Earl's charter, William Abbot of Kalko [Kelso], James of Douglas lord of
Balwany, Walter Scott of the Bukcluch, and James Ormeston of that Ilk.
Earl's seal attached.]
Other writs relating to the foregoing are (1) A letter of procuratory by
Elena Roule of Prymside appointing her husband Thomas Yonge, Stephen
Scot, Thomas Gleddistanis and others, as procurators to resign her part of
Prymside, as one of the heirs of her father the late Andrew Roule into the
hands of Archibald Duke of Touraine, &c., superior. Dated at Kelso, 14
April 1439. (2) Charter by Archibald Duke of Touraine granting to
Andrew Ker of Altonburn, the lands of Primside, resigned by Marjorie,
Jonet and Elena Roule, daughters of the late Andrew Roule. Newark "Le
Newerk" 4th May 1439; witnesses, Sir William Crichton of that ilk,
chancellor of Scotland, Master John of Railston rector of Douglas, the
Earl's secretary, Thomas Cranston of that ilk, Alexander of Narne,
Robert of Gledstanes and John Turnbull of Langtoun, constable of "le
54
Newerk." The Earl's seal attached. (3) Precept of sasine thereupon. Same
place and date. (4) Charter by William Duke of Touraine, &c., granting to
Andrew Ker of Altonburn the four parts of Prymside resigned by Marjorie,
Isabella, Jonet and Elen Roule, the four daughters of the late Andrew
Roule. Dated at Edinburgh, 18 February 1439-40; witnesses, Sir Laurence
Abernethy of Rothimay, Sir John Maxwell of Calderwood, Sir George
Campbell of Loudoun, Sir James Auchinleck of that ilk, knights, Master
John of Railston, Master Thomas Spens, the Duke's secretary, Alexander
Nam, James Rutherford of that ilk, Thomas Cranstown of that ilk,
William Murray of Cranston and John Murray of Cranston.
There is more about a Murray/Cranston relationship on p. 23.
43, Retour of Inquest made in presence of William Earl of Douglas and
Avandale, lord of Galloway and of the regality of Sprouston, by Sir Walter
Scot, knight, James Rutherfurd of that Ilk, James Rutherfurd, James
Ormyston, Archibald Newton, George Ormyston, John Turnbull, William
Murray, John Murray, James Hog, Adam Turnbull, Norman Fawside,
John Makmoryn, Bernard Hawden and James Cranston, who being
sworn, declare that Andrew Ker, late father of Andrew Ker bearer hereof,
died last vest and seased as of fee at the peace of the King of four parts of
the whole lands of Primside, and 13/4d. of annual rent to be uplifted yearly
from the fifth part of the said lands, lying in the regality of Sprouston, &c;
that Andrew Ker is the lawful and nearest heir of his father in said lands,
and is of lawful age; that the said four parts were valued yearly at 24 merks
and are, with the annual rent, held in chief of the earl as baron of the said
regality ; and that they have been in his hands since the decease of the late
Andrew Ker about two years from Christmas last past. Done at Newark,
1st March 1446 [1447]. Seven seals are appended. The first is that of the
Earl of Douglas, much broken. Two seals bear the cognizance of
Rutherford—an orle and in chief three martlets, while two bear the bull's
head of Turnbull. The sixth seal bears a saltire engrailed and on a chief
three mollets. legend, "S. Vilelmi de Moray," and the seventh bears the
arms of Murray of Falahill--a hunting horn stringed, and on a chief three
mollets. Legend, *'Sigillum Johannis DE Murray."
Not necessarily significant, but John Roule, born about 1499, and
prior/commendator of Pittenweem from about 1525-1553, was said to be
Archbishop Andrew Forman’s nephew. I speculate that his father was John
Roule and his mother may have been Elizabeth (Prioress North Berwick)
Forman, Andrew Forman’s sister.
Not necessarily significant either, but notice that Sir John Forman, Andrew
Forman’s brother, married the so-called Rutherford heiress.
55
The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of
the nobility of that kingdom, from their origin to the present generation,
collected from the public records ... (Volume 2). Author : Douglas, Robert, Sir,
1694-1770. p. 462-3.
Richard Rutherford of Rutherford, the only son, "was served heir of his
grandfather 15th May 1499, but died with-out issue before 28th January
1502-3, when a commission under the quarter seal Commission, was
issued to Patrick, Lord Lindsay, of the Byres and others, for serving his
sister Helen heir of him. A contest arose betwixt his sisters, and the heir
male, their uncle Thomas, third son of James Rutherford of Rutherford.
Thomas was served heir male of Richard, but his niece Helen got that
service reduced, and inherited the estates.
Helen, who was served heir of her brother Richard in the lands and barony
of Rutherfurde and Wellis, 23d February 1502-3. She married, first, Sir
John Forman of Dalvin, knight, brother of Andrew Forman,
archbishop of St Andrews. This is documented by two charters of the lands
of Edzarstoun, Broundoun, half of Hounam, Filloger, Crumzeartoun,
Rutherfurdlandis, and the patronage of Bethroule, united into the barony of
Edzarstoun, to John Forman of Dawan, knight, and Elena Rutherford his
wife, grand-daughter and heir of the deceased James Rutherford of
Rutherford, 5th December 1506, and to John Forman of Edzarstoun,
knight, brother-german of Andrew, bishop of Moray, and Elena
Rutherford his spouse, of the lands of Rutherford and Wellis, which
belonged to Richard Rutherford of Rutherford, brother of Elena, who
succeeded to him, dated 9th August 1511.
The early Cranstons
There is some information about the earlier Cranstons the most interesting of
which is copied below.
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
CRANSTON, a surname derived from the lands of Cranston in the
counties of Edinburgh and Roxburgh, anciently possessed by the ancestors
of the noble family of that name. A parish on the eastern verge of
Edinburghshire now bears the name of Cranston. In the charters of the
twelfth century it was written Cranestone, the Anglo-Saxon Craenston, signifying the territory or resort of the crane, a bird which, when
armorially carried, as by all families of the name of Cranston, is the
emblem of piety and charity. Their motto, however, seems to be the
reverse of this, as it is, "thou shalt want ere I want." In a charter of King
William the Lion to the abbacy of Holyroodhouse, Elfric de Cranston is
witness. He is also witness to a convention betwixt Roger de Quincy and
56
the abbot and convent of Newbottle in 1170. In the reign of Alexander the
Second, Thomas de Cranston made a donation to the monastery of
Soltray, of some lands lying near Paiston in East Lothian, for the welfare
of his own soul, and those of his ancestors and successors; and in that of
Alexander the Third, Andrew de Cranston is witness to a charter of Hugo
de Riddel, - knight, the proprietor of the district, from whom one portion of
it acquired the name of Cranston-Riddel - to the abbacy of Newbottle.
Hugh de Cranston was one of the Scottish barons who swore fealty to
King Edward the First in 1296. Radolphus de Cranston, dominus de New
Cranston, son and heir of Andrew, lord of Cranston, made a donation to
the abbacy of Newbottle 27th May, 1338, and confirmed to the monastery
of Soltray, totam illam terram in territorio meo de Cranston, quem habui
ab antecessoribus neis, betwixt 1330 and 1340; in which confirmation his
son, John de Cranston, is particularly named. From King David the
Second, Thomas de Cranston got a charter of the lands of Cranston.
Historical Manuscripts Commission, Appendix to 12th Report, Part 8. The
manuscripts of the Duke of Athole, K.T. and of the Earl of Home. p. 121. Lands
of Crailing and others.
113. Retour of Inquest made at Hawick before Archibald Douglas sheriff
of Roxburgh by Richard Rutherfurd, knight, Thomas Cranstoun,
Nicholas Rutherfurd, John of St. Michael, James Gledstanes, James
Langlands, William Turnbull, Robert Gledstanes, Thomas Jonston,
Richard Turnbull, Robert of Hepburn, Symon of Dalgleish, Alexander of
Newtoun, Andrew Ker, William Fresal (Fraser), Robert Loraine, Walter
Turnbull, Alexander of Chesholm, Patrick Inglis and Patrick Hage,who
declare that the late Katrina of Lauder, mother of Marion Lauder, died last
vest in the barony of Hounam and in the lands of Swynset (Swinside?) in
the sheriffdom of Roxburgh, and that the said Marion is nearest and lawful
heir of her mother in the fourth part of said barony and lands, the fourth
part of Hounam being valued at 10 pounds per annum and in time of peace
at 25 merks yearly, and held of the king for forinsec service, while the
lands of Swynset (fourth part) are valued at five merks, in time of peace six
merks, and are held blench for a penny at midsummer. The lands have
been in the king's hands, through the death of the late John of Lauder
spouse of the said late Katrine, for the space of three years. Retour dated
27 June 1424. Two seals and a fragment stilI appended--seal first, being
that of "Nicholas de Ruthirfurd" bearing an orle, three martlets in chief;
Legend defaced; seal second, apparently that of John of St. Michael--- a
deep chevron between three boar's heads two and one--legend illegible;
fragment of seal of Thomas Cranston.
Cranstoun Tree. haygenealogy.com/hay/scotland/cranstountree.html.
57
CRANSTOUN, Lord, a title in the peerage of Scotland, possessed by a
family of the same name, descended from Thomas de Cranyston who, in
the reign of King David the Second, had a charter from the earl of Mar, of
the barony of Stobbs, within that of Cavers, in the shire of Roxburgh. His
supposed grandson, Thomas de Cranstoun, scutifer regis, was a
personage of considerable influence in the reign of James the Second.
Along with Sir William Crichton, the chamberlain, and William Fowles,
keeper of the privy seal, he was in May 1426, sent ambassador to Eric,
king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, to adjust the debt due to him for
the relinquishment of the Hebrides to King Alexander the Third, which
they amicably settled. He was afterwards much employed in negociations
with England. He had letters of safe conduct, with Lord Crichton,
chancellor, and others, commissioners for treating of peace, 3d April
1448; again in 1449, 1450, and 1451. In the latter year he was one of the
conservators of the truce with England, and in 1453 he and William de
Cranstoun, his son, were conservators of the truce; again in 1457 and
1459; and in the latter year Thomas de Cranstoun was one of the wardens
of the marches. He died about 1470. On a pillar on the north side of where
the altar stood in the church of St. Giles, Edinburgh, are his armorial
bearings. He had two sons, the younger of whom was ancestor of the
Cranstouns of Glen.
William de Cranstoun, the elder son, is designed of Crailing in a
charter to William Lord Crichton, 7th April 1450, in his father’s lifetime.
On 2d March, 1451-2, he had a charter to William Cranstoun of Cralyn.
He appears among the barons in parliament, 18th March 1481-2. He died
in 1515. William de Cranstoun had two sons, John and Thomas. John,
the elder son, married Janet Scott, and died in 1552. His eldest son, Sir
William Cranstoun, had a charter to himself and Elizabeth Johnstone his
wife, and John Cranstoun, their son, of the lands of New Cranstoun, in
the county of Edinburgh, 30th May 1553. On the 25th June 1557, dame
Janet Bethune, Lady Buccleuch, and several persons of the name of Scott
were accused of going to the kirk of St. Mary of the Lowes, to the number
of two hundred, ‘bodin in feire of war,’ (that is, arrayed in armour,) and
breaking open the doors of the said kirk, in order to apprehend the laird of
Cranstoun, for his destruction, and for the slaughter of Sir Peter
Cranstoun. On July 14, 1563, William Cranstoun of that ilk, James his
brother, and another, found caution to underlie the law at the next court at
Selkirk, for art and part going to the steading of Williamshope, belonging
to Alexander Hoppringill of Craigleith, and hamstringing and slaying
three of his cattle. By his wife, who was the daughter of Andrew Johnstone
of Elphinstone, Sir William Cranstoun had two sons, John and Thomas,
and two daughters. The elder son, John, married Margaret, eldest daughter
of George Ramsay of Dalhousie, by whom he had a son, also named John,
58
who seems to have died without succeeding to the estate, and seven
daughters.
On the 23d August 1600, Mr. Thomas Cranstoun, one of the earl of
Gowrie’s attendants, was, with two others of his retainers, executed at
Perth, for drawing swords in the time of the tumult during the mysterious
transactions of the Gowrie conspiracy. He was the brother of Sir John
Cranstoun of Cranstoun, a zealous professor of religion, with whom Mr.
Robert Bruce the celebrated Edinburgh minister passed some time in
retirement at Cranstoun in 1603, when persecuted by the court.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Seton, 1st Lord Seton, of Seton, East Lothian, (c. 1415 - 1478) was
a Lord of Parliament, Lord Auditor, and a Scottish ambassador.
Career
He was knighted before September 18, 1439, and had a Safe-conduct to
pass through England dated April 23, 1448, when he accompanied Lord
Chancellor Crichton's Embassy to Flanders, France, and Burgundy. He
served on a jury in a perambulation by Thomas de Cranstoun, Justiciar,
on March 22, 1451, where he is styled "Sir George de Seton of that Ilk".
Shortly after that date he was created a Lord of Parliament as Lord Seton
('George domini Setoun') and sat in the Scottish Parliament as such on June
14, 1452.
Renwick, Robert, 1903. Peebles: burgh and parish in early history (1903).
Peebles, A. Redpath. Appendix p. 95.
157. Charter by King James II. to William of Cranston of Cralyne of the
lands of Nether Kidstoun, with mill thereof, and half of town of Over
Kidstoun, and the lands of the said town commonly called Flokrayk,
belonging to the King through the forfeiture of the late William of Lauder
of Haltoun. 12 April, 1452. R.M.S. II., No. 634.
James Pringle, 2012, pers. com.
However, 22 years elapsed before the Lords confirmed Adam de
Hoppringill de Burnhouse as head of the name. Adam (a royal guardsman)
was the son of Archibald Hoppringill whose only appearance in the records
seems to have been in 1461 when he appeared with thirteen other
Lauderdale lairds under Cranston of Corsbie, sheriff-depute of
Berwickshire and retoured William, son of the Late Lord Abernethy in the
lands of Lyleston and Oxton. In 1479 Elizabeth Hoppringill, relict of the
late Archibald, claimed as against Sir William Borthwick the tack of
Pirnaiton and Viewshiels but lost as the Lords stated ‘the Borthwick’s had
done no wrong in putting Adam Hoppringill’s goods out of the same’.
59
In 1464 he was given seisin in Langisland (Exchequer Notes). In the same
year in these rolls payment was made to Robert Blakadar and Wm.
Cranston de Crosby, Knights, and Master Archibald de Subittan,
Secretary, for their efforts in England to obtain a Truce L50.15. Also
payment was made to him for the expenses disbursed by him when the
king took Berwick Castle L9.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83.
The Preface, p. xvi.
xx. WALTER, abbot of the abbey of Dryburgh, granted a tack, dated 16th
November 1465, in favour of a "worschipful squear, William Haliburton of
Mertoun and Jonet his spous, of a plew of land of the Bouchicoits with
their pertinents Iyand within the lordship of Smailhame, within the
sherifdome of Tevidale." 'On the 4th of March 1466, WilIiam
Craynston of Corsby knight, as justiciar besouth Forth specially
constitute, granted a commission to Walter abbot of Dryburgh, to which
were witnesses, Sir Alexander Hume of that ilk, knight, James Haig of
Bemersyde, Nicholas Forman of Hutton, and Mr Jasper Cranston,
rector of Fetteresso (Crawfurd's Cardross notes, ut supra.). In 1472 . . .
Historical Manuscripts Commission, Appendix to 12th Report, Part 8. The
manuscripts of the Duke of Athole, K.T. and of the Earl of Home. p. 121. Lands
of Crailing and others.
114. Notarial Instrument setting forth that Sir Alexander Home of that Ilk,
knight, Alexander Home his grandson and apparent heir, James
Rutherford of that Ilk, Andrew Ker and Walter Ker his son, and Thomas
Home of Tenningham have agreed among themselves as to the division of
the undernamed lands as follows; that Sir Alexander and Alexander Home
shall have the lands of Crailing with mains and mill; James Rutherford
shall have-the lands of Fulogy (?) Cuniardon and 20 merks of the lands of
Swynside; Andrew Ker and his son shall have Samieston, Ranaldston,
Hounam, Cuthbershope and five nobles in Berehope; and Thomas Home
shall have Caphope-town with mains and mill and three husband-lands in
Swynside which Patrick Douglas and William Douglas presently occupy in
farm, and Caylschelfield. Done in the monastery of Dryburgh on 21 June
1468, in presence of Walter Abbot of Dryburgh, George Home of Blook,
Alexander Cockburn of Langton, Adam Nisbet, of that ilk, Andrew
Ormiston of that ilk, David Dunbar, David Purves, Robert Lauder of
Whitslade, George Cranston, James Haig of Bemerside, John Trotter,
Archibald Manderston, Thomas Edington of that ilk, Adam Purves, John
Anysley of Dolphinston, George Douglas of Bonjedworth, Messrs. Philip
Yle and James Newton rector of Bedrule, George Dauison, William
60
Pringle, Robert Rutherford of Chatto, Robert Hall, Adam Hardy and
Alexander Hatley. [Another copy of this instrument states that Andrew and
Walter Ker were procurators for and acting in name of Henry Wardlaw of
Torry.]
Archibald Allan, History of Channelkirk 1900, p. 508.
The case is clearer when we reach the year 1476. There is then, in
Edinburgh, an Action and Cause pursued by Isabel of Bathket, the
"spouse" of umquhile Cuthbert of Baithcat, against George, Lord Seton,
and Thomas Cranstoun of Swynehope" (Soonhope) "anent the uptaking
and withholding of double malis be both the said persons - that is to say, be
the said Thomas for the uptaking of the malis of the lands of Arrois fra the
said Isabel of certain times bigain, and the said Lord for poinding the
taking fra her of 12 ky and oxin, and a horse for the said malis. The Lords
avisit, decrete, and ordain that the said Thomas sal rest or deliver and gif
again to the said Isabel the said malis in safer (sae far) as he has tane up fra
hir since the 13th June last bygane: And likewise the said Lord (Seton) the
said ky, oxen and horse. (Acta Dominorum Auditorum).
The case is discussed further on p. 509.
Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins (over 153,000
names). Internet.
William de Cranstoun1
M, #72802, b. 1478, d. 5 August 1515.
Father: John Cranstoun1 d. a 4 Nov 1494.
William de Cranstoun was born in 1478 at of Cranstoun, Scotland; 30 in
1508.1 He married Margaret Home circa June 1503; Dispensation.2
William de Cranstoun died on 5 August 1515.1
Child: John Cranstoun+1 d. 1552.
Clan Macfarlane.
Margaret home is supposed to have married William Cranstoun of Cranstoun
and then James Murray of Falahill.
Burkes Landed Gentry 1850 reports that James's wife was a daughter of Sir
John Cranstoun of that ilk . However, The Scots Peerage (Cranstoun) reports
that Margaret Home was Sir John's daughter-in-law (rather than daughter),
having married Sir William Cranstoun of Cranstoun before she married James
Murray. [1]
John Cranstoun1
M, #72804, d. after 4 November 1494
61
John Cranstoun was born at of Cranstoun, Scotland.1 He died after 4
November 1494.1
Child: William de Cranstoun+1 b. 1478, d. 5 Aug 1515
Citations
1. [S11564] The Scots Peerage, Vol. II, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, p.
589.
Archibald Allan, 1900. History of Channelkirk. Edinburgh. James Thin, 54 and
55 South Bridge. p. 410
At Stirling, 27th June 1545, Queen Mary confirms to John Sinclair of
Hirdmanstoun and Margaret Sinclair his wife, the home lands of
Hirdmanstoun, two parts of the Mains of Pencaitland called Coddikis, etc.,
etc., and two parts of the lands and steading of Carfray and Mill in
Lauderdale, and by annexation within the barony of Hirdmanstoun. The
other parts of Carfrae are evidently at this time separated from the Sinclair
interest, and presumably these were Headshaw and others which were in
the hands of the Homes.
p. 411-412.
The Maitland family have slowly crept into the place and power in
Lauderdale which were anciently held by the De Morvilles, and in thus, in
a sense, returning to them, even though as bond, Carfrae was, as it were,
coming back to the original status which it enjoyed before the Sinclairs of
Herdmanstoun possessed it. This also appears to be the first time that any
Maitland obtained a landed interest in Channelkirk parish.
The above Sir Richard Maitland, father of Mary, is well known for his
honourable connection with poetic literature. He is the "Auld Lettingtoun,"
"the old Larde of Lethingtoun" of Knox's History.* He was a worthy
descendant of the "Auld Maitland" of the thirteenth century, who defended
his castle so doughtily, and who was as devout as he was brave. Robert
Maitland, descended from the "grey-haired knight," appears to have
acquired the lands of Lethington about the close of the fourteenth century
from the Giffords of that Ilk. From Robert, in successive generation, there
were William, and from William, John, and from John another William
who was the father of the poet. Sir Richard, "the old larde," born in 1496.
Sir Richard was married about 1530 to Mary Cranston, daughter of Sir
Thomas Cranston of Crosby, a younger branch of the Cranston House,
and had seven sons and four daughters. Mary, who obtains from Sir
William Sinclair the annual return of no merks from his estate, as above,
was Sir Richard's third daughter, and was married to Alexander Lauder of
Hatton.
William Maitland of Lethington and his family had a connection with Lauder
and, presumably, Channelkirk.
62
The Scottish Nation. Maitland.
William Maitland of Lethington, was father of William Maitland of
Lethington, described as a man of great bravery and resolution, who was
killed at Flodden, with his sovereign, James IV., with whom he was in high
favour. By his wife, Martha, daughter of George Lord Seton, he had a son,
Sir Richard Maitland, the celebrated collector of the early Scottish poetry,
after whom the Maitland Club has been called, and a memoir of whom is
given afterwards. Sir Richard married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas
Cranstoun of Crosbie, and with four daughters, had three sons, the eldest
being William, the personage so well known in the history of the reign of
the unfortunate Mary, as “Secretary Lethington.” Sir John, the second son,
was lord high chancellor of Scotland and first lord Maitland of Thirlestane.
James Gairdner (editor) 1892. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry
VIII, Volume 13 Part 1: January-July 1538.
1537. Coldstreme, 22 Oct. English syes:—Gelbart Swynno, Edw.
Muschens, Wm. Bucton, John Folbery, John Selby of Gryndon Reghte,
George Selby of Gryndon. Scots' syes:—John Hume of Hume, Robyn
Hume, Thome Kare (Ker?) of Chernsyde, Stevyn Brumfelde, Cuthbart
Cranston, Nicholl Brumfelde.
1537. Coldstreme, 10 Oct. England:—The lard of Gadareghte, Herre
Collingwode, John Kare, Mehell Muschens, Wm. Bucton. Scotland:—
Robyn Hume, the lord of Blenherne, the lord of Belle, George Crawe
(Crowe, Craw), Nicholl Brumfelide, Cuthbert Cranston.
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
Another family of the name, the Cranstouns of Corsbie in Berwickshire,
were at one period of some consideration on the borders. In 1530, Jasper
Cranstoun of Corsbie was one of the Berwickshire barons who were
proceeded against for neglecting to fulfil their bonds "to keep good rule
within their respective bounds," as was also John Cranstoun of that ilk.
They found surety to stand their trial, when required, and also submitted
themselves to ‘the king’s will.’ On June 20, 1548, Cuthbert Cranston of
Dodds found George Lord Hume security for himself and fifteen others to
underlie the law for treasonable assistance afforded to "our old enemies" of
England, and on 9th October following Cuthbert Cranston of Mains
found caution to answer for the same crime. Cuthbert Cranstoun of
Thirlestanemains and Thomas Cranstoun of that ilk were among thirtytwo border barons who subscribed a bond at Kelso, 6th April 1569, for
preserving the peace of the borders, against the thieves of Liddesdale,
Eskdale, Euesdale, and Annandale, the Armstrongs, Johnstones, Elliotts,
&c. On November 9, 1570, Sir William Cranstoun of Dodds,
commissary of Lauder, found security to underlie the law for the slaughter
63
of James Brownlee. In Birrell’s Diary, under date October 20, 1596, there
is the following entry: "Gilbert Lawder slain at Linlithgow by the
Cranstouns."
thepeerage.com.
George Nisbet of that Ilk1
d. 14 January 1600
George Nisbet of that Ilk was the son of Adam Nisbet of that Ilk.2 He
married Elizabeth Cranstoun, daughter of Cuthbert Cranstoun of
Thirlestane Mains, in 1551.1 He died on 14 January 1600.1
He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) (Scot) 1560–61 Scot 1560.1
Succeeded bro.1
Child of George Nisbet of that Ilk and Elizabeth Cranstoun
Sir Philip Nisbet+2 d. 1630.
NISBET: Chart 1, Sheet 2 - Swinton Family Society.
www.swintonfamilysociety.org/...Olver/Nisbet_Ch1_Sh2.pdf
Elizabeth Cranstoun dau of Cuthbert Cranstoun and Isobell Hume.
Note the following possible connection, some time later, to Forman.
FamilySearch. Margaret Nisbit m. William Formane, 6 June 1626,
Innerwick, East Lothian, Scotland.
The Scots peerage.
592 . MAKGILL, VISCOUNT OF OXFUIRD.
5. Helen, married, first, to Thomas Cranston, second son of William
Cranston of Cranston ; 2 secondly, before 1563, to William Knowis, 3 and
had issue ;* and perhaps thirdly, to Simon Ourrie.
James Pringle 2012, pers. com.
In October 1540 Alexander gets sasine to his Caverton lands. Craigleith is
recorded as occupied by him in 1541 and Williamhope is also claimed by
him. In 1555 half of Craigleith is let to Walter Riddell of that Ilk. Also in
1555 Alexander and his son George are convicted of maltreating David,
son of Alexander of Trinlyknowe and they pay a £20 fine to the Controller.
In 1563 Cranston of that Ilk and Alexander and his son George find
caution to underlie the law at the next ayre at Selkirk, the former slaying
three cattle on Williamhope belonging to the latter; and the latter for
convoking the lieges and slaying eleven cattle on Hawthorn adjoining,
pertaining to the former, and mutilating John Scott of his right arm. In
1565 the Controller summoned James, brother of John Cranston of that
Ilk, and Alexander, whom he had warned to vacate Williamhope, and the
Lords order both to remove. Alexander had issue: George (his heir),
64
Robert, who had a son George, legitimised in 1577 and Catherine who
married Laurence Symson of Craighouse, near Edinburgh.
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
Of this name were several ministers eminent in their day. The first minister
of the parish of Liberton, Mid Lothian, after the Reformation was Mr.
Thomas Cranstoun, who had previously been minister of Borthwick. He
entered to his stipend, (which only amounted to two hundred merks, or
eleven pounds two shillings and twopence,) at Lammas 1569, and was
translated to Peebles at Whitsunday 1570.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83,
Appendix to The Register of Dryburgh. No. XLIV Rental of Dryburgh [Circa
1580].
In the first the Kyrkis set for mony. Then on the next page:Cheingill Kyrk. Item set the ane half to the Gudman of Theirlstane
manes and the uther half to Forman Lyoune. Harra for the payment of .....
66 pounds 13s. 4d.
Liber S Marie de Dryburgh: registrum cartorum abbacie premonstratensis de
Dryburgh [edited by John Spottiswoode]. Bannatyne Club Publication no 83.
The Preface, p. xvi.
Under the date of the 23d of February, 1582-83, is an action at the
instance of Margaret Hoppringill, relict of Adam Frenche of
Thornedykis, and Robert, son and apparent heir of the said deceased
Adam, and executors testamentars confirmed to him, against Cuthbert
Cranstoun of Thirlstanemains, Thomas Cranstoun, in Rymmiltoun,
his son, William Nesbit in Bellielaw, George Young in Ledgirtwod, and
Robert Scot in Rymmiltounlaw, for the violent spoliation from the lands of
Jordanhill, mains of Thornydykis and Langriggis, lying in the sheriffdom
of Berwick, pertaining to the pursuers, in 1569 and 1573 of diverse oxen,
kye, horses, sheep, goods, and gear.
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
In the year 1582 Thomas Cranstoun of Morristoun, or Murieston,
descended from Cranstoun of that ilk, was one of the jury on the trial of
George Hume of Spott, indicted for being concerned in the murder of Lord
Darnley, when Hume was acquitted. In 1591, John Cranstoun of
Morristoun granted, with his wife, Barbara, a reversion of the lands of
Toderick. In the following year Thomas Cranstoun, younger of
Moriestoun, and his brother John Cranstoun were amongst the persons
summoned on a charge of treason, and forfeited, for assisting the turbulent
65
earl of Bothwell in his nocturnal attack on the palace of Holyroodhouse,
and Thomas Cranstoun was denounced rebel for not appearing to answer
for the same. William Cranstoun, the son of the above Thomas
Cranstoun and Barbara his wife, married Sarah, daughter and heiress of
Sir John Cranstoun of that ilk, the first Lord Cranstoun, afterwards
noticed. On June 11, 1600, Sir John and his son William were indicted
for the reset of the said Thomas Cranstoun, a declared traitor, and on 19th
June they produced the king’s warrant that proceedings should be stayed
against them, when they were commanded to their lodgings. John
Cranstoun did not receive a remission of his forfeiture till 1611.
Exchequer Records: Benefices, Teinds and Stipends. National Archives of
Scotland. E53/37.
Discharge by Ninian Forman, reader at Chirnside, to Walter Mower, clerk
of exchequer, for £12 consigned by John Cranstoun of Moreistoun as
factor to John Cranstoun, prebendary of Chirnside. 22 Nov 1586.
Archibald Allan, 1900. History of Channelkirk . James Thin, 54 and 55 South
Bridge, p. 108.
"Holy Water Cleuch." This place, so styled yet by the inhabitants of the
district, lies but a few hundred yards directly west from the Church, and its
cooling waters still flow fresh and pleasant, and are gratefully prized by
both man and beast. The first mention of it which we have been able to
discover is, indeed, long subsequent to the days of St Cuthbert. It is given
in 1588 as the western boundary of the "Sucken" of the Kirklands of
Channelkirk, in a charter granted by King James VI. to James Cranstoun,
son to Robert Cranstoun of "Faluod-scheill" (Fowlshiels, Selkirk).
Archibald Allan, History of Channelkirk, 1900. “The Stipend”. p. 298 ctd -299.
. . . . John's sons, Thomas and John, were also, with many others, subject
to a process of treason raised in 1592 in Parliament, and their posterity was
disinherited. But in 1604 His Majesty restores to "his heines lovit Maister
Thomas Cranstoun of Morestoun," and John Cranstoun, his brother
germane, their "lyffes, landis, gudis," etc., and rehabilitates their posterity
in their said rights.
Alexander Cranstoun, mentioned below, is served heir to his father,
Thomas Cranstoun of Morestoun, in Burncastle, in Lauder, September 4,
1607. The same year he also holds Ernescleuch and Egrop, and in 1609
gets Birkensyde, as heir to Cuthbert Cranstoun.*
Sir Robert Formane was doubtless a relative of Archbishop Andrew
Forman, Superior of Dryburgh, during the reigns of James IV and James
V. About 1512 he was Commendator of Dryburgh Abbey, resigned in
1506 (?1516), and died in I522. The Forman family was of Hatton
66
(Hutton), Berwickshire, and Sir John Forman, brother of Andrew, married
Helen Rutherford, one of the heiresses of Rutherford of Rutherford in
Teviotdale.
It appears that Cuthbert Cranstoun and Sir Robert Forman divided
Channelkirk teinds between them in the lease. In subsequent leases, at
least, the Cranstoun share was always a half of the teinds, and probably no
more was ever held by that house.
When the Reformation came, great changes took place in the payment of
ministers, but as Channelkirk had no minister till 1611, it is a clear
inference that nearly all its emoluments went into the secular purse.
Wickipedia. William Cranstoun, 1st Lord Cranstoun.
Cranstoun was the son of John Cranstoun of Morriestoun and grandson
of Cuthbert Cranstoun of Thirlestanemains, belonging to one branch of
a prominent Lowland family, whose estates had since at least the 14th
century ( been centred on Cranston (or "Cranstoun"), in Midlothian, and
Denholm, in the Borders.[1]
The last Cranstoun of Cranstoun - Sir John, who was still alive in June
1609 - left five daughters, of whom William married the second, Sarah.
Their contract of marriage was dated December 1580.[1]
Career
King James appointed Cranstoun to the position of Captain of the Horse
Garrison, or King's Guard, under the Earl of Dunbar, Lieutenant of the
Borders. In 1605 he was keeper of Lochmaben Castle and a deputylieutenant of the Borders.[1]
Cranstoun rapidly acquired a reputation for extreme ruthlessness. On one
occasion, the inhabitants of Dumfries conspired unsuccessfully to
assassinate him and he more than once received blanket pardons or
indemnities, holding him harmless in respect of prior atrocities.[2] The
summary approach adopted by Lord Dunbar and Cranstoun (hang first and
try afterwards) became known as "Jeddart Justice".[3]
In 1608, Cranstoun represented the small barons of Roxburghshire in the
Convention of Estates.[4] He was raised to the peerage, as Lord Cranstoun,
by patent dated 19 November 1609. In 1611 he was promoted to succeed
Lord Dunbar as Lieutenant of the Borders and was appointed to the Privy
Council.[1]
Sir John Balfour Paul's The Scots Peerage records of him that:
"He was a man of singular energy and fearlessness, and though his
relentless rule on the Borders of necessity made him many enemies, yet his
persistence therein brought back that region to a state of law and order
such as it had not known for many years, and from which it never really
again lapsed."
Cranstoun died in June 1627.
67
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
In March 1612, Alexander French of Thorniedykes and James Wight, his
nephew, were found guilty of the slaughter of John Cranstoun, brother of
Patrick Cranstoun of Corsbie, and beheaded on the Castlehill of
Edinburgh; and on 3d September 1613, Gilbert Cranstoun, uncle of the
said Patrick, was tried and found guilty of stealing a gray stallion from the
stables of his nephew, and of various other acts of theft, and of shooting
George Home of Bassendean in the thigh, committed in September 1609,
and hanged for the same on the Castlehill of Edinburgh.
Hume, earl of Marchmont.
8. Elisabeth or Isabel, married, first, to Thomas Cranston.
Presumably refers to a descendant.
John Cranstoun1
M, #72805
Father Cuthbert Cranstoun1
John Cranstoun was born at Morriestoun, Scotland.1
Child: William Cranstoun, 1st Lord Cranstoun+1 d. Jun1627.
1.[S11564] The Scots Peerage, Vol. II, edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, p.
592.
Cuthbert Cranstoun1
M, #72806
Cuthbert Cranstoun was born at of Thirlestanemains, Scotland.1
Child •
John Cranstoun+1
The Scottish Nation. Cranston.
Mr. John Cranstoun was minister of Liberton from 1625 to 1627.
Home, William of St Leonards And Cranston. Marriage: Cranstoun,
Elizabeth.
Children:
* Home, Abraham of Kirklands+
* Home, Alexander of St. Leonards
* Home, James
* Home, Ninian+
* Home, Marian
* Home, William of Kerneycleugh
* Home, Margaret
* Home, Bessy
68
* Home, Alison
* Home, Archibald of Logartwood
Died: 1587.
His father was Andrew Home, parson of Lauder. Andrew was son of David
Home, 3rd baron Wedderburn and Isabella Pringle.
Hume, Margaret Marriage: Cranston, Thomas of Corsbie (Sir ).
Margaret married Sir Thomas Cranston of Corsbie. (Sir Thomas Cranston of
Corsbie was born in 1593 in Crailing, Roxburghshire, Scotland and died in
Fermanagh, Ireland.)
Margaret Hume was dau of Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Agnes Home.
Full text of "Genealogical notes anent some ancient Scottish families"
George Broun, second son of George Broun of Colstoun, and Euphemia
Hoppringle, had a charter of the barony of Thornydykes, &c., lying in the
shires of Berwick and Edinburgh, 23 February, 1633, on the resignation
of John Cranstoun, with consent of Lord Cranstoun (Reg. Mag. Sig.,
Lib. 54, No. 114), from whom is descended Sir William Broun, Baronet of
Colstoun, who represents the family in the male line. (See below.)