When Mary of Guise went to Dumbarton to put her daughter on a boat to France in August 1548, it was thought she would sail with Mary, Queen of Scots to Whithorn. The Master of Ruthven wrote to the English commander, Lord Grey of Wilton, that "For newes, the Queenes grace of Scotlande taketh shyppeborde…
A few details of Mary's household and her travels in 1564 are known from an account of payments made by George Wishart of Drymme, which was published for the first time by the Scottish History Society in 2025.1 Mary's trip to the north of Scotland included hunting in Glentilt, (4 July).2 Wishart's account includes payments…
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…
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…
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,…
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 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…
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…
Katherine Erskine married Thomas Hamilton, later 2nd Earl of Haddington, and was known as Lady Binning. She died in 1635, and her mother Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar, was anxious to recover jewels which her servant Charles Mowatt had pawned. He had also died. Marie Stewart gave her agent John Wallace an inventory of the…
Around six letters sent to Agnes Leslie, Lady Lochleven survive, four in the National Library of Scotland and two in the National Records of Scotland. Two letters are about cheese: cheese bought in Stirling by her agent Alexander Bruce, and cheese gifted to Marion Douglas, wife of the keeper of Edinburgh Castle, George Douglas of…
Objects and the archive 