Clan Lockhart - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Origins of the Clan

The Clan Lockhart arrived in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

among the waves of Normans who arrived after the Norman conquest of England

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

in 1066. The Lockharts settled in Lanark

Lanark

Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....

and Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

where the towns of Symington, South Ayrshire

Symington, South Ayrshire

Symington is a conservation village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located in Symington Parish, covering 0.41sq Km, and lies close to the A77 road from Ayr to Glasgow...

, Symington, South Lanarkshire

Symington, South Lanarkshire

Symington is a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 3 miles southwest of Biggar, 10 miles east of Douglas and 13 miles southeast of Carluke...

and Stevenson

Stevenson

Stevenson is an English language patronymic surname meaning "son of Steven". Its first historical record is from pre 10th century England. People with the name include:* Alexandra Stevenson , U.S. tennis player...

remain to mark the past influence of Simon and Steven Locard. The exact date when the lands of Lee came into the family is not known, but 1272 is traditionally accepted.

14th Century and the Crusades

Symon Locard, 2nd of Lee

Simon Locard

Sir Symon Locard, 2nd of Lee was a Scottish knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence. He accompanied Sir James Douglas in their curtailed attempt to carry the heart of Robert the Bruce to the Holy Land in 1330.-Family:...

, won fame for himself and his family in the wars against the English when he fought alongside King Robert the Bruce and was knighted for his loyal service. Sir Symon accompanied 'Good Sir James Douglas

James Douglas, Lord of Douglas

Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...

' of the Clan Douglas

Clan Douglas

Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...

when he took the heart of Robert the Bruce

Robert I of Scotland

Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

on the crusades in 1330. It was Sir Symon who carried the key to the casket in which the heart was carried. Symon rescued the casket and heart and returned it to Scotland after James Douglas had been killed in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It is said, the arms of a 'heart within a fetterlock', and the name in its present form came into use.

The Lee Penny

During the crusades of the 14th century the Lockharts brought back a precious heirloom, a touch piece which has been treasured ever since. It is known as the "Lee Penny". At the Battle of Teba

Battle of Teba

The Battle of Teba took place in August 1330, in the valley below the fortress of Teba, now a town in the province of Málaga in Andalusia, southern Spain...

in Spain, Sir Simon Lockhart

Simon Locard

captured a Moorish Emir and received from the man's mother as part of his ransom an amulet or stone with healing powers. The Prince's mother told Sir Simon that the stone was a sovereign remedy against bleeding and fever, the bite of a mad dog, and sickness in horses and cattle. The stone is dark orange in colour and oblique in shape and was later set in a silver coin which has now been identified as a four penny piece from the reign of King Edward IV. The Lee Penny is kept in a gold snuffbox which was a gift from Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

, Empress of Austria to her general Count James Lockhart

James Lockhart

James Lockhart of Lee and Carnwath, Count Lockhart-Wischeart of the Holy Roman Empire, , was a Scottish aristocrat with a successful military career.-Early years:...

in 1789.

The fame of the Lee Penny spread through Scotland and Northern England and there are many recorded occasions when it was employed with apparent success. The coin was exempted from the Church of Scotland's prohibition on charms and was lent to the citizens of Newcastle during the reign of King Charles 1 to protect them from the plague. A sum of between £1000 and £6000 was pledged for its return. The penny gained further fame in the nineteenth century for inspiring Sir Walter Scott's 1825 novel The Talisman.

16th Century

The 7th Laird was knighted by King James IV of Scotland

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

and in 16th century the 8th Laird was involved in a case of forgery. His son, Alan, 9th Laird, was sentenced to the block for the slaughter of David and Ralph Weir, on separate occasions, and with this family they seem then to have been in constant feud. His sentence was revoked, and he received 'remission' in 1541.

17th Century

Sir George Lockhart

George Lockhart (advocate)

Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath was a Scottish lawyer.The son of Sir James Lockhart of Lee, laird of Lee, he was admitted as an advocate in 1656. He was knighted in 1663, and was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in 1672. He was celebrated for his persuasive eloquence...

(1630–1689) was the second son of Sir James Lockhart, Lord Lee, Lord Justice Clerk and became one of the most famous advocates at the Edinburgh Bar

Faculty of Advocates

The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...

. He became Lord President of the Court of Session in 1685 and was M.P. for Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

in both the English and Scottish Parliaments. His knighthood was conferred in 1663 and the Carnwath

Carnwath

Carnwath is a moorland village on the southern edge of the Pentland Hills of Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about south of both Edinburgh and Glasgow...

and Dryden estates acquired by him in 1681. He was murdered on Easter Sunday on his way home from church by a dissatisfied litigant named Chiesly of Kersewell and Dalry.

George Lockhart

George Lockhart

Sir George Lockhart of Lee , of Carnwath, South Lanarkshire, also known as Lockhart of Carnwath, was a Scottish writer, spy and politician.He was the son of Sir George Lockhart of Lee....

, Second of Carnwath (1673–1732) was a fervent Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

; he became Principal Agent to the exiled King James after the Rising of 1715. He was one of the Commissioners for the Treaty of Union, and the only one against it. He was one of the earliest of the agricultural improvers. He married Euphemia Montgomery

Clan Montgomery

-Origins of the Clan:Clan Montgomery originated in Wales, and emigrated to Scotland in the 12th century as vassals of the FitzAlans. The family derives its surname from lands in Wales, likely from the Honour of Montgomery which was located near the Shropshire lands of the FitzAlans...

, daughter of the ninth Earl of Eglinton; they had fourteen children. He died as the result of a duel.

18th Century

Count James Lockhart

James Lockhart

James Lockhart of Lee and Carnwath, Count Lockhart-Wischeart of the Holy Roman Empire, , was a Scottish aristocrat with a successful military career.-Early years:...

, Nineteenth of Lee (1727–1790) was the second son of The Hunting Laird and married three times. He had through these marriages, two daughters and two sons; his son Charles succeeded him. Being the second son, employment in Britain was difficult; from his youth he showed an interest in the army. His brief life account in “Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Osterrich” says Thirst for action and an inclination for warfare led him at a very early age into military service; as a young man he was a soldier in Persia under Shah Nadir. After many years of adventures in various countries he entered the Austrian service
As a soldier of fortune, James joined Maria Theresa of Austria’s army at the end of the War of Austrian Succession, as a low ranking soldier. By the time of his death in 1790, he had gained a reputation for bravery, and on 17 March 1782 he was created a Count of The Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the grandson of Maria Theresa, the title being Count Lockhart-Wishart of Lee & Carnwath. He inherited Lee & Carnwath on the early death of his brother George. He kept a close eye and interest in the Estate, but spent the majority of his time in the service of the Austrian Royal Family where he was regarded in the highest esteem.

Clan Castle

The seat of the Chief of the Clan Lockhart is at Lee Castle

Lee Castle, South Lanarkshire

Lee Castle, also known as The Lee, is a castellated mansion in Auchenglen, a branch of the Clyde Valley in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located south of Braidwood, and north-west of Lanark...

near Lanark