William Hay of Lochorwart and Yester

SIR WILLIAM HAY OF LOCHERWORTH

Sheriff of Peebles

Biographical Summary

The Scots Peerage VIII: pp. 423-7

Genealogy

1. The Scots Peerage VIII : 423-7

SIR WILLIAM HAY, son of Sir Thomas, was Sheriff of Peeblesshire. His mother was Jean or Joanna, eldest daughter of Sir Hugh Gifford of Yester, the head of an old family which settled in Scotland in the reign of David I., and obtained from that monarch lands in East Lothian. William the Lion conferred upon him the barony of Yester. In the course of time the parish which bore that name came to be popularly called Gifford. His grandson, Hugh Gifford, was one of the guardians of Alexander III. and his queen. He was regarded as a skilful magician, and several anecdotes are told of his magical art, and his control over demons and the powers of nature. Fordun mentions that in Gifford’s castle there was a capacious cavern, said to have been formed by magical art, and called in the country, ‘Bo-Hall,’ that is, Hobgoblin Hall. Sir David Dalrymple, in his ‘Annals,’ says, ‘A stair of twenty-four steps led down to this apartment, which is a large and spacious hall, with an arched roof; and though it has stood for so many centuries, and been exposed to the external air for a period of fifty or sixty years, it is still as firm and entire as if it had only stood a few years. From the floor of this hall another stair of thirty-six steps leads down to a pit, which hath a communication with Hope’s Water.’ This ancient and strong castle, which stands on an elevated peninsula, near the junction of two streams, has long been in ruins, though the Goblin Hall was tenanted by the Marquis of Tweeddale’s falconer so late as 1737. Sir Hugh’s appearance and dress are vividly described by Sir Walter Scott in the third canto of ‘Marmion;’ and of the hall he says—

‘Of lofty roof and ample size,

Beneath the castle deep it lies;

To hew the living rock profound,

The floor to pave, the arch to round,

There never toiled a mortal arm

It all was wrought by word and charm.’

Sir Hugh Gifford’s heiress brought the barony of Yester into the Tweeddale family, and they quartered the arms of Gifford with their own.

The church of Yester, of which Sir William obtained the patronage along with the estate, was originally called St. Bathan’s. It was converted by him into a collegiate establishment for a provost, six prebendaries, and two choristers; and in this state it continued until the reformation.

Though the Hays were henceforth designated as of Yester, they still continued to reside at Neidpath Castle, on the banks of the Tweed, near Peebles. In all probability the newer part of that castle was built by Sir William in the early part of the fifteenth century. For the sake of security the walls of the new structure were made enormously thick and strong; but a serious mistake was committed in a military point of view, in allowing the old castle to remain, for its walls were greatly inferior in strength and thickness to those of the new part of the fortress, and the old part consequently formed its vulnerable part as soon as artillery came into use.

Sir William took for his second wife, Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Hay, of Errol, and had issue by both wives. The first bore to him three sons and three daughters, the second a son and a daughter. The eldest son, William, predeceased him; the second son, Thomas, was one of the hostages for James I. in 1423, when his income was estimated at six hundred marks yearly. He survived his father only four years, and died unmarried in 1432. He was succeeded by his brother, DAVID, who married the sister of the first Earl of Angus, and relict of the first Lord Forbes. He obtained with her the lands of Gliswell and Torbirus.

Father Hay states that there was a double marriage, on the authority of a document at Hermiston, dated 4th December, 1409, and of a bond, dated 12th December, 1410, given by the Countess of Mar for one hundred pounds Scots to Sir William Hay of Locharward, ‘because William, Earle of Angus, her sone, married Margaret Hay, his daughter.’ It thus appears that the sister of the first Earl of Angus married Sir William Hay’s son, and the daughter of Sir William married the Earl of Angus.

Links

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjhonson/Royals/G...
• http://community-2.webtv.net/NUbrubun55/GIFFARDOFYESTER/page2.html

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http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/index1668.htm

Sir William HAY Knight was born 1365 in Yester, East Lothian, Scotland. He died 6 Apr 1421 in Yester, East Lothian, Scotland. William married Alice BORTHWICK on 1389 in Yester, East Lothian, Scotland.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hwbradley/aqwg189...

In May 1400 William Hay of Yester accompanied George the 'Red' Douglas Earl of Angus of Tantallon castle to a meeting at Bothwell castle with Archibald the 'Grim' 3rd Earl of Douglas , to defuse an ongoing feud between the 'Red' Douglas and James Douglas of Dalkeith (Archibald's ally) over possession of the lands of Liddesdale. The 'Red' Douglas and his allies had burnt the lands around Dalkeith castle and other estates throughout Scotland "To recover from James Douglas all mails and rents of Liddesdale which he wrongfully occupies." Eventually an agreement was made where the 'Red' Douglas faction would end their attacks in exchange for some of the Liddesdale lands.

In 1402 William Hay of Yester marched on Newcastle with the Scots army under the command of Archibald 4th Earl of Douglas . After retiring from Northumberland the Scots carrying much booty were intercepted and routed by 'Hotspur' Percy and his expert Welsh archers at the Battle of Homildon Hill , near Wooler. William Hay along with the Earl of Douglas was among the many nobles unhorsed and captured during the battle. By 1403 Hay of Yester was back in Scotland signing land charters for the still captive Earl of Douglas. At this time a dispute arose between the Percies and King Henry IV of England over who could claim the ransom money for the many Scots nobles taken at Homildon. This led to open rebellion where 'Hotspur' Percy led Welsh and English rebels against King Henry at the Battle of Shrewsbury . During the battle 'Hotspur' was killed and the rebels defeated.

In 1407 the Earl of Douglas appointed 'his very dear squire' William Hay as Sheriff of Peebles. Later he also gave Hay lands in Galloway. By 1418 Douglas orderd his men to 'impose distress' on the people of Galloway for refusing to pay their rent to their new Master William Hay. Showing that he like his father Archibald the 'Grim' ruled by fear and force of arms.

In 1409 Margaret, daughter of William Hay, married William the 'Red' Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus in an attempt to bring the 'Red' Douglases back into the fold of the 'Black' Douglas camp. With the death of William Hay in 1420, his son Thomas took over as Lord of Yester.

• http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:William_Hay_%289%29