Blairs Castle - Home of the Earls of Atholl

BLAIRS CASTLE, SEAT OF THE EARLS OF ATHOLL

 



 

Blairs Castle stands in its own grounds near to the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire Scotland.  It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray and historically was the seat their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current Duke lives in South Africa.

 

Blair Castle is said to have been started in 1269 by John I Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died c. 1275), a northern neighbour of David I Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl (died 1270), who started building on the Earl's land while he was away on crusade.  Upon his return, the Earl complained about the interloper to King Alexander III, won back his land and incorporated the tower that had been built into his own castle.  David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl (died 1326), forfeited the titles and estates after rebelling against Robert the Bruce in 1322. The earldom was granted to a number of individuals until 1457 when James II granted it to his half-brother John Stewart (1440–1512).  John Murray, son of the second Earl of Tullibardine was created Earl of Atholl in 1629, and the title has since remained in the Murray family.

 

The oldest part of the castle is the six-storey Cummings or Comyn's Tower, which may retain some 13th-century fabric, though it was largely built in the 15th century. The extensions which now form the central part of the castle were first added in the 16th century. The apartments to the south were added in the mid-18th century to designs by architects John Douglas and James Winter. The south-east range, incorporating the clock tower, was rebuilt by Archibald Elliot after a fire in 1814. Finally, the castle arrived at its present form in the 1870s, when David Bryce remodelled the whole building in a Scots Baronial style, and added the ballroom.

 

The castle also provides the garrison for the Atholl Highlanders, the private army of the Duke of Atholl, noted as the only legal private army in Europe.

 

The castle is a category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens. 

James Cockburn - the family Goldsmith

JAMES COCKBURN - THE FAMILY GOLDSMITH

In this blog I am going to write a short story about my 8x great grandfather, James Cockburn born in July 1648 in Edinburgh to John Cockburn, Tailor and his spouse Sara Inglis.  John was the second son of Sir William Cockburn of Langton Estate and his wife Lady Helen Elphinstone, daughter of Alexander the 4th Lord Elphinstone and his wife the Honourable Janet Livingstone.  John's elder brother William inherited the Baronetcy in 1628 upon the death of his father.

John chose a different path when it came to his profession, settling on being a Master Tailor, living in the Canongate area of Edinburgh, which was the hub of business at the time in 17th century Edinburgh.  On 22 February 1644 he married Sara Inglis, daughter of Thomas Inglis and Margaret Dalziel. Of the couple's 8 children, James was the 3rd eldest and eldest of the sons.

For his profession, James chose to be a goldsmith/silversmith and on the 15th July 1661 he was apprenticed at age 13 years to David Boige, a Master Goldsmith based in Edinburgh.  Under David's tutelage, he underwent an 8-year apprenticeship and on the 17th July 1669 he was admitted as a Freeman of Edinburgh, after making (for his essay) a silver bowl with a cover, and a plain gold ring.  This was made in the shop of James Symontoun and the essay masters were Edward Cleghorne and John Cockburne.  However just before this event, he became a Burgess of Edinburgh by right of his late father who passed in 1658 and who also was a tailor, Burgess and Guildbrother.

In 1670, James went on to marry the first of his three wives, marrying Catherine Balconquell in Tranent, East Lothian.  They went on to have 6 children, however it is believed that only two of them survived infancy.  Catherine died around 1677 and one year later, James married Magdalen Scott, and they produced 13 children with a few of them dying in infancy.  Whilst enjoying their married life, James's professional life went on from strength to strength.

In 1686 until 1688 James became the Dean of the Company of Goldsmiths and during this time he made a pair of silver tankards, of which their is only one from this century left in Scotland.  This was purchased from a sale and saved for the nation and is now on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The only surviving tankard made by James Cockburn in 1675
that is on display at the Museum of Scotland

In 1687, James was made a Deputy-Master of the Mint in Edinburgh and in 1695 he deposited around £20,000 Scots in the newly set up Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh.  Having done this, he was made Treasurer of the Bank as well as a Director.  In 1696, James went on to purchase the estate of James Cockburn, first Baronet of Cockburn, who was a distant cousin.  The first Baronet of Cockburn had accrued a lot of debts after lending financial assistance to Archibald Cockburn of Langton.

Despite having amassed a small fortune by 17th century standards, James was about to suffer a setback in his personal life as in 1698, his wife Magdalen died.  She was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard alongside his other children who had passed before.  James set about immersing himself in his work and Directorship of the Bank and in April 1700 he met and married Margaret Bruce, a sister of his apprentice, Robert Bruce, who himself, became a Master Goldsmith.  They were only married a few months when James took ill and died in November 1700 at home in Edinburgh's Canongate area.  He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard on 6 November 1700 alongside his wife Magdalen and his children.

I have since visited Greyfriars Kirkyard and unfortunately I could not find his last resting place as it is now likely to be unmarked.  I am liaising with other family members of the extended Cockburn family  to raise funds to have a bench placed within the Kirkyard grounds to commemorate James's life and work.  I hope that this will take place some time next year.

I recently found photographs of other works that James was involved in during his career such as the re-engraving of the Strathmore salver, a silver spoon made for a M. Bannin as well as a Monteith.  I also discovered a photograph of a piece of silverwork, known as a silver caster that was made by his once apprentice, Robert Bruce.

 

Strathmore Salver, originally made by Alexander Scott and re-engraved by James Cockburn

 

 

Silver Spoon made by James Cockburn

 

 

A Monteith, made by James Cockburn

 

 

Silver Caster, Made By Robert Bruce, protege of James Cockburn

 

 

Notable Nobles on the Tree

SIR RICHARD MAITLAND

LORD LETHINGTON



Coat of Arms of the Maitland Family

SIR RICHARD MAITLAND (LORD LETHINGTON) was a Scottish lawyer, poet, and collector of Scottish verse, born in 1496. His father, Sir William Maitland of Lethington and Thirlestane, fell at the Battle of Flodden Field in Northumberland; his mother was a daughter of George, Lord Seton.

He studied law at the university of St Andrews, and afterwards in Paris. His castle at Lethington was burnt by the English in 1549 and he was, in 1552, one of the commissioners to settle matters with the English about the debateable lands. About 1561 he seems to have lost his sight, but this did not render him incapable of attending to public business, as he was the same year admitted an ordinary lord of session with the title of Lord Lethington, and a member of the privy council; and in 1562 he was appointed keeper of the Great Seal. He resigned this last office in 1567, in favour of John, prior of Coldingham, his second son, but he sat on the bench till he attained his eighty-eighth year. He died on the 10th of March 1586.

His eldest son, by his wife Mary Cranstoun of Crosbie, was William Maitland (q.v.): his second son, John (c. 1 5451 595), was a lord of session, and was made a lord of parliament in 1590, with the title of Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, in which he was succeeded by his son John, also for some time a lord of session, who was created Earl of Lauderdale in 1624.

One of Sir Richard's daughters, Margaret, assisted her father in preparing his collection of old Scots verse.  The poems of Sir Richard Maitland, none of them lengthy, are for the most part satirical, and are principally directed against the social and political abuses of his time. He is chiefly remembered as the industrial collector and preserver of many pieces of Scots poetry. These were copied into two large volumes, one in folio and another in quarto, the former written by himself, and the latter by his daughter. After being in the possession of his descendant the Duke of Lauderdale, these volumes were purchased at the sale of the Duke's library by Samuel Pepys, and have since been preserved in the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge. They lay there unnoticed for many years till Bishop Percy published one of the poems in his Reliques of English Poetry. Several of the pieces were then transcribed by John Pinkerton, who afterwards published them under the title of Ancient Scottish Poems (2 vols., 1786.)  The Scottish Text Society has undertaken an edition of the entire manuscript. Maitland's own poems were reprinted by Sibbald in his Chronicle of Scottish Poetry (1802), and in 1830 by the Maitland Club, named after him, and founded for the purpose of continuing his efforts to preserve the remains of early Scots literature. Sir Richard left in manuscript a history of the family of Seton, and a volume of legal decisions collected by him between the years 1550 and 1565. Both are preserved in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; the former was published by the Maitland Club, in 1829.

Script of Sir Richard Maitland in his own hand

 

Sir Richard is connected to my tree because his daughter, Helen Maitland married into the Cockburn family from Clerkingtoun East Lothian, making him my 12th Great grandfather and therefore a direct descendent.  To date, I have not come across any photographs/paintings of him that survive but will post one should it come to light. 

Life as a Domestic Servant in Service

DOMESTIC SERVANT

A domestic servant had only two choices depending on their situation at hand.  They had to become a live-in servant or live outside of the home they are servicing; and in most cases, men and women who entered into this type of workforce had no choice but to live within the confines of the home chosen for them.  These men and women who entered into this kind of labour were more than likely very poor and (in some cases lonely); some were young children and teenagers whose parents needed the extra income to make ends meet for the family and had no other choice but to send their young one's off to a workhouse to learn to become a domestic servant.  The youngest a domestic servant started out if they were children was 7 years old; but if you were a young man or woman (teenager mostly) you started at the age of 14.  Depending on what kind of labour you'd be doing as a servant, these young men and women lived within the confines of a workhouse -- which was kind of like a boot camp for domestic servants -- and you were literally taught how to do all the jobs expected of you as a servant of some kind.  Sometimes this schooling took only a year, in other cases two years. 

Most of the men and women who were chosen for a job was chosen for that specific job according to their height, weight, build and stature, and most of all their looks.  The prettier you were, more than likely your job would be to show you off in front of visitors.  A beautiful young woman would be chosen domestic jobs such as serving tea, child care or chambermaid services to the mistresses of the household (whenever the lady of the house wanted to go shopping or travelling she would take the young girl with her as a need for extra hands to carry her bags and purchases).

A handsome young man would be chosen for domestic jobs such as being a footman, servant to the butler, or a man servant to the man of the house (where he was rendered the same chore as the female servant being extra hands for their master whenever he wanted to shop or travel).  Being a beautiful servant also had it's benefits for some.



For all the other men and women who weren't as beautiful or too common looking, they were chosen for much hard working jobs with even lesser benefits than their counterparts who were beautiful.  Their chores included scullery and kitchen chores and cleaning up the rest of the house.  When they did their chores these women and men were not to be seen or heard by the owners of the home; and their daily chores took up most of the day leaving them very little time to eat or take a break;  if they were lucky and their were enough servants in the house to divvy up the chores equally, they would be lucky enough to have three meals a day (although they had to be consumed in very little time) while most households that couldn't afford as many, the servant or servants may have been allotted only two meals a day.  Not much when you need an energy boost in the middle of the day.

The life of a domestic servant was not a glamorous lifestyle or a labour of love.  If you found yourself as a domestic servant in this time period, more than likely it was because it was the only job that insured you a somewhat cleaner place to live (instead of out on the dirty streets or in alley-ways), food to eat every day (instead of searching in someone else's trashcan), and it also (in most cases) insured you a pension when your retirement day came along should you decide to stick with this job for the duration of your life.  The unglamorous choice of labour meant that you would find yourself working long hours, doing lots of back-breaking chores, along with catering to the master and the lady of the house, and your reward was nothing except your pay, which wasn't much during this time.

Numerous members of both our families sought out work as domestic servants, either in the towns they lived in within middle class families, or with a neighbouring farmers family.  Most of the work for a female would have been similiar to what has already been mentioned, and was certainly not glamorous.

Domestic Service in the 1920's







The Occupation of a Market Gardener

MARKET GARDENER



Market gardening is both a very old way to farm and a very new and popular one. The market gardener is someone who has a small area of land. The term small can be used in comparison to most large commercial farms, where acres possessed can be in the tens of thousands. Typically small could mean anywhere from one to a couple of acres to 50 or over. On this land the farmer grows whatever he or she wishes, but instead of growing it for commercial markets, produce is usually sold at places like farmer’s markets, or to small local grocery stores and restaurants. Sometimes the market gardener maintains a sales site on his or her land and sells directly to customers from the farm.

 The farmer and family do much of the work involved in market gardening. Occasionally if a farm is on the larger side, workers might be hired on a temporary basis to harvest fruit or for other tasks. Yet just about every market gardener can attest that they perform hard physical labour to grow fruit and veggies. Part of the appeal of this type of farming to many consumers is that growing methods used are frequently organic, since this not only may reduce work, but also reduces costs. However some profits can be lost due to crop loss that may occur with organic farming, though there are many interventions that may save crops.

Produce being sold at a Farmers Market

I noted in some of my research that quite a few of my Bayne/Bain ancestors were Market Gardeners and labourers on the farms.  This was mainly in the Fife region and the last relative I have recorded in this occupation was my great great grandfather Robert Bayne.

Vegetables grown in a Market Garden

The Occupation of a Water Baillie/Bailiff

WATER BAILLIE/BAILIFF

In Scotland, under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003, a modern water bailiff is appointed by District Salmon Fishery Boards or the Scottish Government, and are responsible for enforcing laws relating to salmon and trout. Although not police officers, they have certain statutory powers of entry, search, seizure and arrest under the Act. It is an offence to obstruct them.

Water bailiffs may enter and remain upon land in the vicinity of any river or of the sea coast at any time for the purpose of preventing a breach of the provisions of the Act, or detecting persons guilty of any breach of those provisions. If they wish to enter land not in the vicinity of the sea or coast, they must obtain a warrant from a sheriff or justice of the peace.

Water bailiffs may also:

•  examine any dam, fixed engine or obstruction, or any lade, and for that purpose enter on any land;
•  stop and search any boat which is used in fishing or any boat which there is reasonable cause to suspect of containing salmon or trout;
•  search and examine nets or other instruments used in fishing or any basket, pocket or other receptacle capable of carrying fish, which there is reasonable cause to suspect of containing salmon or trout illegally taken;
•  seize any fish, instrument or article, boat or vehicle liable to be forfeited in pursuance of this Act.

They may search stationary vehicles if they believe that an offence against any of the provisions of the Act has been committed and that evidence of the commission of the offence is to be found in a vehicle on private land adjoining any water or in a stationary vehicle on a public road adjoining such water or land.  They may "seize and detain" any person found committing an offence against the Act and deliver such person to a constable.

Water bailiffs cannot enforce protection orders made under Section 48 of the Act.

In victorian times, a Water Baillie, would also undertake the opening and closing of the locks on canals, depending where they were based.  My great grandfather, George Patterson was employed as a water baillie on the canals in East Lothian and as well as undertaking most of the aforementioned duties, he also issued out the fishing permits and operated the canal locks.



Occupations linked to the family tree

Mining in Lanarkshire

Coal was the fuel that powered the Industrial Revolution. The reliance on steam engines meant a huge increase in the demand for coal and the men women and children who mined it, particularly so in the mining areas of Scotland. In 1781 the first ironstone works in Lanarkshire started at Wilsontown in Carnwath. Early coal mines were cut into exposed rock faces at the side of rivers, which also applied to shale mines (paraffin).

For centuries, people in Scotland and Britain had made do with charcoal if they needed a cheap and easy to way to acquire fuel. What ‘industry’ that existed before 1700, did use coal but it came from coal mines that were near to the surface and the coal was relatively easy to get to. Two types of mines existed: drift mines and bell pits. Both were small scale coal mines and the coal which came from these type of pits was used locally in homes and local industry.

However, as the country started to industrialise itself, more and more coal was needed to fuel steam engines and furnaces. The development of factories and the improvement of the steam engine further increased demand for coal. As a result coal mines got deeper and deeper and coal mining became more and more dangerous. Coal shafts could go hundreds of feet into the ground. Once a coal seam was found, the miners dug horizontally. However, underground the miners faced very real and great dangers.

The people who worked the Scottish mines, although their wages were relatively high, lived in conditions approximating legal serfdom. If a pit was sold, they became the property of the new owner; children were often bound to the coal master for life at baptism. The masters were obliged in return to keep them all their days, in sickness and old age and to provide a coffin for their burial. This extraordinary set of affairs, was sanctioned by Scots law in 1606. This meant among other things, that miners could not remove themselves from that occupation. Beggars, tramps and those guilty of minor crimes were forced into lifelong bondage in the mines. This law was not changed until 1775 when it was then allowed that all new men entering the mines were allowed to be free, however it was not fully remedied until 1799.

The 1800's saw a massive rise in the amount of coal and iron mines as the industrial revolution swung into full effect. In 1879 there were 314 iron-works with 5149 puddling furnaces and 846 rolling mills in operation in Lanarkshire and in 1881, 392 coal pits and 9 fireclay pits. This labour force was found principally in Irish emigrants who were refugees from the suffering and deprivation caused by the potato famine in Ireland. Places like Blantyre were reputed to be, at this time; "a district of pits, engine houses, smoke and grime", this description no doubt led to the nickname the town endured for many years as "Dirty Auld Blantyre".

Lanarkshire was rich in coal, with numerous early mines scattered over the county. Around 1910 the actual amount of working collieries reached their peak with around 200 in the county. Between the wars mining started to decline and miners had to travel to work, or be re-housed near the pits

Mining was a dangerous occupation not only from injury, but problems caused by damp and breathing in coal dust, the mining Unions having to fight hard to improve working conditions. In the early days women and children were employed underground to haul coal,  but conditions gradually improved  with women and children doing pit head work only.

 

Working Conditions

Although the law relating to miners had been changed for the better at the turn of the century, life was still very harsh for miners & their families in the mid 1800's. Miners were expected to work at least a daily twelve hour shift on weekdays, reduced hours on Saturday, and Sunday being the day of rest. Working in the mines was very dangerous & unhealthy and most miners who survived the physical dangers inherent in the working environment eventually succumbed to mine-related respiratory diseases such as silicosis in later life.

One of the more dangerous risks of mining, was that of the gas referred to as "Firedamp". Firedamp was/is a highly explosive gas found in coal mines, it is easily ignited by flame, friction or electrical energy.

It's principal constituent is Methane or as it is sometimes referred to "Marsh Gas". This gas was found in most of the pits in the Lanarkhire area and often large volumes of it would be broken into during the mine workings, resulting in "blowers". Men employed as "Firemen" under the supervision of a "Firemaster" had the responsibility of checking the pits for the build up of firedamp and other dangerous gases such as "Afterdamp", i.e. Carbon Monoxide, which is poisonous & Carbon Dioxide, which suffocates.

These gases were removed by various means including ventilation forced by furnaces and steam and or by "burning off" in small pockets. The firemen & firemaster would normally carry out their checks prior to the commencement of the day's work.

The miners working down the mines soon realised that the dangerous conditions which prevailed there should be compensated for by an increase in wages. However, when the miners lodged their claim with the pit owners they were rejected. The result of this was that the miners withheld their labour and went on strike. This initial strike was quickly curbed by the mine owners who promptly sacked all those miners refusing to return to work. Not only were these miners sacked but they and their families were evicted from their homes onto the streets. There was some resistance to the action of the mine owners but this resistance was short-lived as the police and "auxiliaries" were brought in to enforce the will of the owners upon the miners and their families, often by extremely forcible means.

Lady Victoria colliery, Newtongrange, Edinburgh