James IV established his headquarters at Upsettlington on 5 August 1497 during an attack on Norham Castle. Here James played cards with the Spanish ambassador Pedro de Ayala. The approach of an English army led by the Earl of Surrey forced James to abandon the siege of Norham. Surrey marched towards Ayton Castle and by 21 August 1497 peace was negotiated and James sent orders to stop re-inforcements coming to Ayton.[2]
Soon after, James IV built a new church called Our Lady Kirk of Steill at Upsettlington. Originally, the church served two parishes, Horndene and Upsettlington.[3] It is said that James founded the new church in gratitude for his safe crossing of the River Tweed, or to commemorate the siege of Norham Castle in 1497 and its peaceful conclusion. An inscription already illegible by the late 18th-century recorded that the church was founded by James in 1500, marking the Christian jubilee year.[4]
Ladykirk church from the churchyard
The construction was first supervised by Sir Patrick Blacader from 1500 when he was allocated £40 from wool customs for the construction.[5] Blacader's chaplain William Wilkinson managed the accounts, and was given money by Walter Ogilvy. From 1504 onwards the works were directed by George Ker of Samuelston. In May 1504 the glazier Thomas Peblis visited to measure the windows for glass.[6]
James IV visited in August 1501, and a church organ was brought for this occasion. Payments for the Kirk were listed in the royal accounts under the same 'buildings' heading as for the king's palaces and the ships of the Royal Scots Navy.[7] A chasuble embroidered with the royal arms, with an alb, and an altar frontal of arras-work were provided in March 1505, and the building work continued.[8] In legend, the foundation of the church became associated with visits of James IV to Lady Heron of Ford, and the defeat of the Scottish army at Flodden.[9] Subsequently, the church was an important meeting place on the border.
James gave the lands of Upsettlington and Holywell, with fishing rights, and the patronage of the new church to Alexander Lord Home. Lord Home had been the patron of the previous church.[10] In the 16th-century fishing rights at Holywell were disputed between Lord Home and the English Norham castle.
↑ Tytler, Patrick Fraser, History of Scotland, vol.1 (1841), pp.73-4: Rymer, Foedera, vol.2, p.551
↑ Thomas Dickson, Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. clvi-clvii.
↑ There were remains of another building called the 'chapel park' north of Upsettlington in the 19th-century, New Abridged Statistical Account (1857), p.198 fn. citing Fullarton's Gazetteer; this has been suggested to be the site of the earlier 'Wester Upsettlington' church, see RCAHMS Canmore
↑ R. Lambe, ed., An exact and circumstantial history of the battle of Floddon. In verse, (London 1774). p. 95 (n. 349)
James IV was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchieburn, following a rebellion in which the younger James was the figurehead of the rebels. James IV is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy, which included the founding of two royal dockyards and the acquisition or construction of 38 ships, including the Michael, the largest warship of its time.
Margaret Tudor was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency. Margaret was the eldest daughter and second child of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of King Henry VIII of England. By her line, the House of Stuart eventually acceded to the throne of England, in addition to Scotland.
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, by his first wife, Catharina de Moleyns. The Duke was the grandfather of both Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Katherine Howard and the great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1513, he led the English to victory over the Scots at the decisive Battle of Flodden, for which he was richly rewarded by King Henry VIII, then away in France.
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was a battle that was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory. The battle was fought near Branxton, in the county of Northumberland, in northern England, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. In terms of troop numbers, it was the largest battle ever fought between the two kingdoms.
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Norham is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Berwick on the south side of the River Tweed where it is the border with Scotland.
Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Water. The land has been in the ownership of the Maitland family since 1587, and Thirlestane served as the seat of the Earls of Lauderdale. The castle was substantially extended in the 1670s by the first and only Duke of Lauderdale. Further additions were made in the 19th century. The castle is now cared for by a charitable trust, and is open to the public.
The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England in 1502. It agreed to end the intermittent warfare between Scotland and England which had been waged over the previous two hundred years, and, although it failed in this respect, as hostilities continued intermittently throughout the 16th century, it led to the Union of the Crowns 101 years later.
Janet Kennedy, was a Scottish noble and the mistress of King James IV of Scotland.
Norham Castle is a castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle saw much action during the wars between England and Scotland.
Stichill is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Roxburghshire, a division of the Scottish Borders. Situated 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the Burgh of Kelso, Stichill lies north of the Eden Water and 5 miles (8.0 km) from the English Border at Coldstream.
In July 1482 an English army invaded Scotland during the Anglo-Scottish Wars. The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and its castle were captured and the English army briefly occupied Edinburgh. These events followed the signing of the Treaty of Fotheringhay, 11 June 1482, in which Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, the brother of James III of Scotland declared himself King of Scotland and swore loyalty to Edward IV of England. The follow-up invasion of Scotland under the command of Edward's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester failed to install Albany on the throne, but Berwick has remained English ever since the castle surrendered on 24 August. The English army left Edinburgh with a promise for the repayment of the dowry paid for the marriage of Princess Cecily of England to the Scottish Prince.
Don Pedro de Ayala also Pedro López Ayala was a 16th-century Spanish diplomat employed by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile at the courts of James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. His mission to Scotland was concerned with the King's marriage and the international crisis caused by the pretender Perkin Warbeck. In his later career he supported Catherine of Aragon in England but was involved in a decade of rivalry with the resident Spanish ambassador in London. Ayala was a Papal prothonotary, Archdeacon of London, and Bishop of the Canary Islands.
Sir Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, also known as Greysteil, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier, who served as Treasurer of Scotland, and was three times Provost of Edinburgh.
Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March. He fought at the Battle of Flodden where his forces defeated the English right wing before the Scottish army was destroyed. After the battle, he resisted the regency of John Stewart, Duke of Albany and was captured and executed for rebellion.
The Treaty of York (1464) was made between England and Scotland on 1 June 1464 at York and was intended to establish 15 years of peace. Previously Scotland had supported the defeated House of Lancaster in the English civil War of the Roses.
Isobel Hoppar or Hopper was a Scottish landowner and governess of Margaret Douglas. She was a powerful political figure in Scotland during the youth of King James V, and her wealth and influence attracted misogynous comment from her faction's enemies.
Andrew Aytoun, was a Scottish soldier and engineer, and captain of Stirling Castle.
Walter Merlioun, was a Scottish master mason based in Edinburgh.
John Oliphant, 2nd Lord Oliphant was a Scottish landowner.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
