Margaret Purves and George Litilljohn had a booth on Edinburgh’s royal mile, selling hats and textile accessories. They also supplied goods to stallholders known as “cramers” for resale. Much of their stock was imported from Flanders and debts for merchandise in Flemish money are listed in Margaret’s 1606 will. The business model seems very similar…
Hugh Paterson of Bannockburn and the Countess of Moray’s funeral
Hugh Paterson was a lawyer, joint deputy-keeper of the signet, and builder of Bannockburn House. He was made a baronet in 1686, apparently by the influence of Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray. Paterson had worked for the earl’s mother Margaret Home, Countess of Moray. She bequeathed him a small necklace of pearls, bracelets, and…
Visiting coal works in Fife, 1683
Margaret Home, Countess of Moray, died in 1683. Her son, Alexander Stuart, Earl of Moray, and Secretary of State for Scotland, was in London. His son, Charles Stuart, was in Edinburgh and Fife in May 1683, settling her affairs with their factor Hugh Paterson of Bannockburn. They made inventories, discovered a cache of silver plate…
Jewels and costume of Annabell, Countess of Mar
Clothes and jewellery in a will of Annabell Murray, Countess of Mar A will of Annabell Murray, Countess of Mar (died 1603), dated 16 November 1602 is held by the National Library of Scotland.1 Various bequests detail her magnificent jewellery and costume. Annabell was the keeper of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle, and took part…
Toothache and the Death of Jean Savage Paulet, Marchioness of Winchester
Jane Savage Paulet, Marchioness of Winchester, by Gilbert Jackson Mary Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wrote to her daughter, Grace, Countess of Home, on 22 April 1631 with news of the death of Lady Jane Savage. She had died following treatment for an infection in her mouth: '... your cosen the Lady Marquis of Winchester is dead,…
Copying a recipe book of physic circa 1638
The Countess of Home and her daughter, the Countess of Moray, bought stills and limbecks in London, and a 'warm cupboard' for sweet meats used for setting marmalade in glasses Mary Sutton Dudley, Countess of Home, wrote to her daughter, Margaret, Lady Doune, with advice about the sickness of her child Francis. She mentioned that…
Rebecca Graham makes a band, 1603
Rebecca Graham worked making textiles in Edinburgh, weaving fringes and passementerie. She made a band or sash for Elizabeth Stewart in 1603, the younger sister of Margaret Stewart, Countess of Nottingham. Graham's business can be compared with the London silkwomen, who worked in a legal framework giving them some exemption from customs of coverture that…
An emerald jewel of Mary, Queen of Scots
When Mary, Queen of Scots was deposed and a prisoner in Lochleven Castle, her half-brother James Stewart was made Regent of Scotland. As Regent Moray he needed money to rule and to subdue his enemies, the supporters of his sister. He raised funds by coining her silverware, and asking his treasurer Robert Richardson and his…
An exchange of prisoners in 1523
While looking for details of life at Aberdour Castle in the seventeenth century, I found a letter from 1523, addressed to George Douglas of Pittendreich from Antony Ughtred, captain of Berwick. The English soldiers named here were called 'whitecoats'. Ughtred wanted to return Scottish prisoners in an exchange at Bunkle castle, near Reston in the…
Lord Elgin’s advice and instructions for buying a Van Dyck
Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin (1599-1663) was keen to acquire a portrait that he had heard was a masterpiece, the sitter being someone he admired. He was anxious this new treasure would not be spoiled in transit. He sent these instructions to his cousin Alexander Bruce at the Hague on 15 September 1659. Bruce had…
Objects and the Archive 