Sir David Cunningham of Robertland , in Ayrshire, was Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland from 1602 to 1607, and Surveyor of the King's Works in England from 1604 to 1606
Sir David Cunningham of Robertland , in Ayrshire, was Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland from 1602 to 1607, and Surveyor of the King's Works in England from 1604 to 1606
Involved in the murder of the Earl of Eglinton in 1585, Cunningham spent some time in exile at the royal court of Denmark, and the Danish government wrote to James VI of Scotland to reconcile him with Eglinton's heirs. [1] His lands passed to Lord John Hamilton, but for a time Robert, Master of Eglinton was allowed to hold the House of Robertland with six men. [2]
He was rehabilitated in 1589, when James VI himself travelled there to meet and marry Anne of Denmark. A Danish journal records that on 27 November 1589, the Danish ladies-in-waiting asked Jens Nilssøn, Bishop of Oslo to discuss the case with John Maitland, Chancellor of Scotland. The ladies, bishop and chancellor then had an audience with James VI at the Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo and he granted a pardon. [3] James' mother-in-law Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow wrote to him on 30 December, thanking him for pardoning Robertland. [4]
On arrival in Scotland he was appointed as 'sewer' or 'principal server' to Queen Anne, a courtier who attended to the royal person at mealtimes, and a role once occupied by James Hamilton of Finnart for James V. [5]
In January 1592 Robertland was imprisoned on suspicion of helping the Earl of Bothwell who had made a raid on Holyrood Palace. [6]
On 14 March 1598 the Duke of Holstein, brother of Anne of Denmark, came to Edinburgh after travelling incognito through England, and announced himself to Robertland, who notified the queen who summoned James VI and the Duke of Lennox. The Duke was subsequently treated with great honour and expense, sent on a tour of Scotland with William Schaw, and banqueted in Edinburgh the house of John MacMorran, now called Riddle's Court. [7]
He was appointed Master of Works to the king and queen on 13 July 1602 after the death of William Schaw. [8] He followed the court of King James to England, having first been knighted in 1604, and then made Surveyor of the King's Works in England between 1604 and 1606. He resigned the Surveyorship to Simon Basil in April 1606. [9]
As a new year's gift in January 1606, Cunningham presented the king with "a platt of an upright", a drawing of the elevation of a building. [10]
Significant buildings and monuments in Scotland in his time of office include; the Kennedy Aisle at Ballantrae for Jean Stewart, Lady Bargany. [11]
David Cunningham the Surveyor is sometimes confused with a younger namesake cousin, David Cunningham of Auchenharvie, who corresponded with the surveyor's grandson Sir David Cunningham, 1st Baronet, of Robertland [12]
David Cunningham married Jean Cunningham, a daughter of Alexander Cunningham of Aiket. Their children included:
One son was a gentleman of the chamber to Count Maurice in the Netherlands. He was arrested in Hull while bringing muskets for James VI in August 1599. [13]
Walter Stewart, 1st Lord Blantyre (1555–1617) was a Scottish courtier and politician. He was Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland from 1582 to 1596 and Treasurer of Scotland from 1596 to 1599.
George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar, KG, PC was, in the last decade of his life, the most prominent and most influential Scotsman in England. His work lay in the King's Household and in the control of the State Affairs of Scotland and he was the King's chief Scottish advisor. With the full backing and trust of King James he travelled regularly from London to Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed.
John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, of Lethington, Knight (1581), was Lord Chancellor of Scotland.
William Schaw was Master of Works to James VI of Scotland for building castles and palaces, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of Freemasonry in Scotland.
The Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland. The main buildings were; Holyroodhouse; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; Linlithgow Palace; and Falkland Palace. The position was roughly equivalent to that of Surveyor of the King's Works in the English Royal Household. The emergence of the position reflected a shift in responsibility from the masons, or administrators in holy orders, to designers with little hands-on knowledge of stonemasonry. Earlier holders of the office were often courtiers: James Hamilton of Finnart was the king's kinsman; John Scrymgeour was a heraldic expert; while William Schaw, an administrator, was a key figure in the development of Freemasonry, itself a 'craft' having little to do with building. Later holders filled a role similar to that of architects in the modern sense. Some Masters were craftsmen; Robert Robertson, who was master of work at Stirling Castle after the execution of the aristocrat Hamilton of Finnart, was a carpenter. During the reign of James V there was also a Principal Master Wright or carpenter, John Drummond of Milnab, and as well as building works he was concerned with the artillery and its logistics.
Sir Robert Drummond of Carnock was Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland from 1579 to 1583. This was the responsibility for building and repair of palaces and castles. His appointment was made to be "as Sir James Hamilton of Finnart had it."
The Castle and Barony of Robertland is located near Stewarton, off the B769 road, in the old district of Cunninghame, Parish of Stewarton, and now part of East Ayrshire, Scotland.
Sir Peter Young (1544–1628) was a Scottish diplomat, Master Almoner, and tutor to James VI of Scotland.
Sir Richard Cockburn of Clerkington, Lord Clerkintoun (1565–1627) was a senior government official in Scotland serving as Lord Privy Seal of Scotland during the reign of James VI.
Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar (1576-1644) was a Scottish courtier. She was the daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox and Catherine de Balsac d’Entragues (d. c.1631) and a favourite of James VI of Scotland. After her marriage, as was customary in Scotland, she did not change her name, and signed her letters as "Marie Stewart".
Elizabeth Schaw was a Scottish courtier and a lady-in-waiting to Anne of Denmark.
John Arnot of Birswick (Orkney) (1530–1616) was a 16th-century Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1587 to 1591 and from 1608 to death. He was Deputy Treasurer to King James VI.
Gilbert Kennedy of Bargany and Ardstinchar was a Scottish landowner and murder victim. Kennedy had inherited a long-standing family feud with John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis, on the death of his father, Thomas Kennedy of Bargany. On 11 December 1601 he met the Earl and his followers at Pennyglen near Maybole and was murdered with a lance thrust in his back.
The masque at the baptism of Prince Henry was a celebration at the christening of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle, written by the Scottish poet William Fowler and Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores.
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Jean Stewart, Lady Bargany was a Scottish lady in waiting to Anne of Denmark. She was a younger daughter of Andrew, Master of Ochiltree and Margaret Stewart, Mistress of Ochiltree. Jean was a maiden in the household of Anne of Denmark and her mother was the senior lady in waiting. Her marriage is of special interest to historians.
Robert Jousie was a Scottish textile merchant, financier, and courtier. He was involved in the collection and administration of the English subsidy of James VI.
Robert Douglas, Provost of Lincluden was a Scottish landowner, courtier, and administrator.
Hugh Montgomerie, 4th Earl of Eglinton (1563–1586) was a Scottish landowner.
Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) was the wife of King James VI and I, and as such Queen of Scotland from their marriage by proxy on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619. When Anne intended to sail to Scotland in 1589 her ship was delayed by adverse weather. Contemporary superstition blamed the delays to her voyage and other misfortunes on "contrary winds" summoned by witchcraft. There were witchcraft trials in Denmark and in Scotland. The King's kinsman, Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell came into suspicion. The Chancellor of Scotland John Maitland of Thirlestane, thought to be Bothwell's enemy, was lampooned in a poem Rob Stene's Dream, and Anne of Denmark made Maitland her enemy. Historians continue to investigate these events.