MSS. OF DUKE Bellenden of Broughton, and Innes of Innes. The costly litigation is OF ROXBURGHE. Said to have ruined General Ker of Littledean, although he was gene

rally admitted to have been the heir male of the Kers of Cessford. His estate of Littledean was sold and now forms part of the beautiful estate of Lord Polwarth on the banks of the Tweed, opposite his principal residence of Merton House. The ruined Tower of Littledean is still a prominent feature in the landscape there. The tradition in the neighbourhood of Littledean is that General Ker died deep in poverty, and his funeral was meanly attended, mainly through his unsuccessful claim to the coveted Dukedom of Roxburghe.

Such is a general description of the long line of possessors of the muniments which are here reported. As they relate almost entirely to the family of Ker of Cessford, a few notices of the early members of that family may here be given.

The origin of the family of Ker of Cessford now represented in the female line by the Duke of Roxburghe, as already stated, has, like that of the Kers of Ferniehirst represented by the Marquis of Lothian, K.T., been the subject of discussion. It has been stated by peerage writers that the two families respectively descend from two brothers of Anglo-Norman lineage who settled in Scotland in the thirteenth century. But no positive proof of that assertion is known to exist. The descendants of the two families of the name of Ker had long continued contentions about the precedency of the one family over the other. These contentions led to bloodshed. In 1590, Robert Ker of Cessford, afterwards first Earl of Roxburghe, killed William Ker of Ancrum, the head of the rival house of Ferniehirst. The proceedings for repairing that murder are fully detailed in the report. As might be expected, these proceedings are not the only instances of the Sovereigns of Scotland having great trouble in staunching the feuds between other families, notably the Turnbulls of Minto, Kirkpatricks of Kirkmichael, and the Charteris of Amisfield.

The earliest of the name of Ker in record is Robert Ker, who appears in 1231 in connection with lands in the north of England. In 1296 several of the name of Ker in the counties of Peebles, Edinburgh, Ayr, and Stirling, did homage to King Edward the First at Berwick, and others are mentioned in connection with the shire of Aberdeen, but none of these can be claimed with certainty as the ancestor either of the family of Lothian or that of Roxburghe.

The next who appears on record is John Ker, in the county of Roxburgh, who acted as a juror on various occasions during the English occupation of that county in the year 1357. He was no doubt the same who is designed in the second charter now reported on [No. 2 infra] as John Ker of the Forest of Selkirk or Ettrick, who received in 1358 from John of Coupland a grant of the lands of Altonburn, in the county of Roxburgh. These lands belonged previously to Adam of Roule who bestowed them upon John of Coupland and Joanna his wife [No. 1 infra] from whom they passed to John Ker. John Ker of Altonburn married a lady whose Christian name was Mariota, but of what family she was there is no evidence, though she may have been a relation of the William and Christian Blackden who are named in writ No. 3 infra.

The next member of the family who is noted in the writs now reported on is Richard Ker of Altonburn who was succeeded in his lands by his brother Andrew Ker [No. 4 infra]. This Andrew Ker, although retoured heir to his brother in 1438, appears as the Laird of Altonburn some time previous to that year. In or about 1430, he had a lease of the lands of Primside; in 1434, he received a charter of the lands of Borthwickshiels,

OF ROXBURGHE,

and in 1443 a grant of the mains of Hownam [Nos. 10, 31 and 39 MSS. OF DUKE infra]. His son Andrew Ker succeeded in 1445 [No. 43 infra], and it was he who, in 1453, entered into the mutual bond of maintenance [No. 5 infra] with a neighbouring laird, Sir Robert Colville of Oxnam, while in 1454 he received in exchange for his lands of Hownam-mains a bond of manrent [No. 6 infra]. These documents are among the earliest of their class in the south of Scotland.

This Andrew Ker was more than once accused of traitorous correspondence with the English. He was twice solemnly tried for this crime and each time was acquitted. The first time in 1456 [No. 7 infra] he was accused of bringing Englishmen into his own neighbourhood to Eckford, Crailing, Grimslow, and Jedburgh, and burning the district, but at a later date the accusation took a wider range. He was a vassal of the great Earls of Douglas, and adhered to their fortunes to the last, and when they were expelled from the country, he appears, after the death of King James the Second, in 1460, to have joined the party of Robert Lord Boyd, who seized the reins of power during the minority of King James the Third. Ker was one of those who actively took part in carrying off the young King from Linlithgow to Edinburgh on 9th July 1466, the audacious step which secured the supreme power to the Boyds. For these and other offences Ker was at a date not very long after the downfall of that faction brought to trial, and, with better fortune than the Boyds, was acquitted [No. 54 infra]. The reference in the accusation to the battle between the English and Scots, where the Laird of Rutherford was slain, may refer to the battle of Arkinholm in 1454, but more probably to some obscure conflict between the two nations. The accusation of complicity in the treasonable killing of the Chancellor Lord Avandale, must refer only to a meditated attack upon that nobleman, as he survived for many years afterwards.

Andrew Ker, who was the first to hold the lands of Cessford, of which he had a Crown charter in 1467 [No. 27 infra], was succeeded by his son Walter, who, however, was not his eldest son as is usually stated. The eldest son, as appears from writs here reported on, was also named Andrew, but appears to have died without other surviving issue than one daughter, Margaret Ker, who, in 1479, renounced all claim and right which she had to the barony of Cessford in favour of her uncle, Walter Ker [No. 28 infra]. Margaret Ker's mother may have been of the Hepburn family, and appears to have married, secondly, one of the Lords Haliburton.

It is unnecessary to trace the descent of the family of Ker of Cessford, generation by generation, but notice may be taken of the later lairds of Cessford immediately preceding the creation of the title of Lord Roxburghe in the year 1599. They successively held the office of Warden of the Middle Marches, and it is in this capacity that they appear in the present report. The document [No. 61 infra] dealing with the provisions for fortifying the castle of Langholm and others, is without date, but appears to refer to the early part of the reign of Queen Mary, during the regency of her mother, when French troops were for a time employed in Scotland. As Warden, the Laird of Cessford received from Queen Mary the three letters [Nos. 70, 71, and 72 infra], the second of which is of special interest, as it announced the Queen's intention of visiting Teviotdale, a visit made memorable by her ride from Jedburgh to Hermitage Castle, for the purpose of visiting James, Earl of Bothwell, who had shortly before been wounded in a border raid.

The clerical adventurer who figured as a Roman Catholic priest,

MSS. OF DUKE and also as a Protestant clergyman at the same time, whose exploits are OF ROXB TRGHE. recorded in No. 74 infra, and upon whom Lord Roxburghe, as warden,

was to do justice, is apparently not known to the ecclesiastical annalists of the period, and his identity has not been ascertained. In No. 63 infra, a remarkable series of papers is referred to in connection with the long continued feud between the Kers of Cessford and the Kers of Ferniehirst. Lord Roxburghe, while still the young Laird of Cessford, had in 1590 killed William Ker of Ancrum, the head of the rival house, and now in 1605 and 1606, by the influence of King James the Sixth and the Privy Council of Scotland, a formal process of legal reconciliation between the families was gone through. Lord Roxburghe signed a document, in which he acknowledged his regret for the murder; compensation amounting to 10,000 marks was paid to the aggrieved party, and letters of forgiveness were given by them, which put an end to the open feud.

Attention may here be specially directed to No. 107 infra, the Book of Family and Household expenses of the same first Lord Roxburghe, who was advanced to the Earldom of Roxburghe in 1616. The entries in the book, which are authenticated by Lady Jane Drummond, his Countess, range from 30th June 1619 to 9th March 1630, and are of much interest. A fuller detail is given on a later page. Nos. 65-69 infra contain the last wills of certain members of the family, including Robert, second Earl of Lothian, and the first and second Earls of Roxburghe. The last historical document in which any of the family are personally interested will be found at No. 108 infra, where the fifth, or Innes, Duke of Roxburghe, gives his boyish recollections of the rebellion of 1745, and his later experiences of the campaign of 1760 and 1761 in the Seven Years war.

The first portion of the writs now reported on are old charters of lands which have been or are now in possession of the Kers of Cessford. Of these lands Altonburn is the first territory with which the name is connected by genealogists. The earlier writs of Altonburn [Nos. 1 and 2], and also those of Primside [No. 39-41 infra], give some information about an old family of the name of Roule or Rule, the male heirs of which appear to have failed before 1440 when there were four coheiresses, who disposed of their lands to Andrew Ker of Altonburn. They held also the lands of Plenderleith and Hyndhope [No. 38 infra], which they disposed of in like manner.

The lands of Borthwickshiels in Roxburghshire are dealt with in Nos. 9-14 infra]. In the first writ, dated c. 1425, they are in the possession of Sir William Douglas of Strathbrock, who acquired them by marriage or descent from an heiress of Sir Laurence Abernethy. He granted the lands to George Crichton of Cairns, who sold them to the Kers. This George Crichton was afterwards created Earl of Caithness. He is said to have had two wives, but the name of the second only has hitherto been known. The relationship, however, stated by Sir William Douglas, implies that Crichton was his son-in-law.

The lands of Cessford, as already indicated, were held by the Kers only from the year 1467. Their history before 1325 is uncertain, though they seem to have belonged to Roger Moubray, one of those barons who had joined the English faction. In that year King Robert Bruce bestowed them on Sir William St. Clair of Herdmanston [No. 22 infra], from whom they descended to Sir John St. Clair who in 1376 resigned them [No. 23 infra] to Walter St. Clair. The latter left an heiress, Christian St. Clair, who married Sir William Cockburn, and she and her husband had a dispute about the estate with Sir William

OF ROXBURGHE,

Douglas of Auld Roxburgh, which, in 1416, was brought before the MSS. OF DUKB Regent, Robert Duke of Albany, and his council. The Act giving a temporary decision [No. 24 infra] is stated at length, as it is a hitherto unknown Act of a general council or parliament, and thus supplies an addition to the scanty records of Scottish Parliaments.

In 1447, the lands of Cessford were in possession of James first Lord Hamilton, who granted them to a kinsman of his own, Robert Grahame son of Marion Oliphant. She was the daughter of Sir John Oliphant of Aberdalgic, and is said to have married Sir William Grahame of Kincardine, but really married his younger brother Robert. Lord Strathallan, in his history of the House of Drummond, states that her marriage was arranged in 1399, when it was agreed that Robin de Graham should marry Marion Oliphant, with many remarkable and singular conditions, very well worthie of the observing." Of this marriage there were, as appears from No. 26 infra, issue four sons.

The writs of Caverton, Nos. 16-21 infra, are chiefly interesting in so far as they show the existence of a family of Fotheringham in the county of Roxburgh having similar arms, but apparently distinct from the branch which settled in the shire of Forfar. Writ 16 infra appears to be a curious form of lease or mortgage. The lands were acquired by the Kers in 1473.

The writs of Sprouston referred to in Nos. 45-50 relate to the possession of part of the lands by the family of Cranston, and of another portion by the monks of the Charterhouse, a monastery near Perth, founded by King James the First. The writs of Sprouston, taken in connection with the following writ, No. 51, enable us to state that the castle of Newark on the Yarrow, commemorated in the "Lay of the last Minstrel," was used as the residence of the Earls of Douglas between 1432 and 1446. It is referred to in the Register of the Great Seal so early as 1423, but the Earls seem to have occupied an older residence known as Etybredshiels, which stood not very far from the new building, though its exact whereabouts cannot now stated.

be

Among the miscellaneous writs, the first [No. 53 infra] is of special interest, as it details the fees payable to the usher of the Exchequer at an early date in Scottish history. The office at that period, the reign of King David the Second, was occupied by a family called "de Capella" or Chapel. King Robert the Second granted it to William. de Camera or Chambers from whom it descended by marriage to the family of Waus or Wans of Meiny. John Waus of Many resigned the office in 1565, and it was conferred on Sir John Bellenden, of Auchnoul, justice clerk, ancestor of Lords Bellenden, the last of whom was for a short time fourth Duke of Roxburghe as above explained.

Nos. 56 and 58 are papers illustrative of the unsettled condition of Scotland, the first writ being a remission by King James the Fifth to the Border clan of Turnbull, chiefly residing in the valley of Rule water; while the other is a "letter of slains," or assurance of safety of life and limb given to a murderer by the kin and relatives of the person or persons slain, a pecuniary compensation, however, being made to the aggrieved parties. No. 59 is of the same character, being a decree pronounced by Mary of Guise, Queen Dowager, and Regent of Scotland, widow of King James the Fifth, who herself had become arbiter in a feud between the Kirkpatricks of Kirkmichael (cadets of the family of Closeburn) and the Charterises of Amisfield, in which blood had been shed on both sides. The decree ordained money compensation and restoration of goods.

MSS. OF DUKE

Of the Papal bulls, fourteen in number [Nos. 76-86, and 88, 89], OF ROXBURGHE. relating to the Abbacy of Kelso, only the first has been previously printed in the Bannatyne Club edition of the Register 1846. The other thirteen are now printed for the first time. They chiefly relate to the affairs of the Abbey itself. Attention, however, may be drawn to No. 78, a bull by Pope Honorius III., taking under his protection the " rector " of the wilderness ("heremi") of Merkingly, with his goods. It is not clear where this Merkingly was, but from the references to it in the register of the Abbey of Kelso, where Walter of Bolbech grants to the monks the hermitage which is called Merchingleye near Marchingburn, it appears to have been in Liddesdale, on the English side of the border. It is probably from this "hermitage," which is described as founded in a waste district, that the famous Castle of Hermitage in the same neighbourhood took its name. The bull [No. 81 infra] may also be noticed which forbids the monks to show hospitality to women, or to allow travellers of that sex to pass the night within the gates of the monastery, or even in its granges, giving as one reason, that women attracted by the hospitality of the abbey made while travelling long and useless stay there. The form of oath, No. 87, is given at length, as although comparatively modern, no similar document appears to exist showing the vows of allegiance taken to the Papal See by Scottish Abbots.

The other papers relating to Kelso are not of special importance, the principal ones, including the great charter by King Malcolm the Fourth, and the rentals having been already printed in the "Liber S. Marie de Calchou," published by the Bannatyne Club in 1846. The charter of Malcolm is considered to be, as a writing, one of the most remarkable of Scotch charters. It is well written, but its chief interest is derived from the initial letter "M" which is beautifully illuminated, and is believed to perpetuate two of the earliest Scotch portraits,―those of the founder of the Abbey, King David I., and of his youthful grandson Malcolm, the granter of the writ. This illuminated letter gives a favourable idea of the art of miniature as practised in the monastery in the twelfth century. The list of pensions detailed in No. 94 as paid out of the abbey revenues, and the statutes, No. 95 infra, for the regulation of the burgh of Kelso, are of some interest.

The documents, reported on under the head of "Bellenden Papers," are, as explained, only a few selected from a considerable number. They are papers which came into the family of Roxburghe with William, the seventh and last Lord Bellenden, who became, in 1804, fourth duke of Roxburghe. He was descended from John Ker, fourth son of William second Earl of Roxburghe, who, in 1671, was served heir of entail to his cousin, William Bellenden, first Lord Bellenden. The mother of the latter was Margaret Ker, sister of the first Earl of Roxburghe, and his father was Sir James Bellenden of Broughton, near Edinburgh, descended from a family of lawyers and statesmen. One of these, Thomas Bellenden, Director of Chancery and Justice Clerk, is mentioned in No. 96 infra in letters of maintenance in his favour by George Crichton, Bishop of Dunkeld, of date 1530. He was succeeded by his son Sir John Bellenden, also Justice Clerk, who married Barbara, daughter of Sir Hugh Kennedy, of Girvanmains, Queen Mary of Guise herself signing the marriage contract, No. 98. Of the same family also was probably Christian Bellenden, Prioress of the Convent of Saint Catherine of Sienna, near Edinburgh.

No. 101 infra is chiefly interesting on account of the persons to whom it refers, being a simple draft contract about lands between