Margaret Kennedy, Countess of Cassilis (died 1580) was a Scottish aristocrat.
Margaret Kennedy, Countess of Cassilis (died 1580) was a Scottish aristocrat.
She was a daughter of Alexander Kennedy. [2] Her first husband was Hugh or John Wallace of Craigie. According to some sources, their daughter, Margaret Wallace, married Alan Cathcart, 4th Lord Cathcart. [3] She had two sons, the Laird of Craigie and William Wallace of Failford. [4]
In 1540 she married Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis (1515–1558). Their children included:
The Countess of Cassilis is said to have had a relationship with her contemporary John Faa, a leader of the gypsies. The story is told in a ballad, The Raggle Taggle Gypsy , including in some versions the execution of John Faa at the dule tree of the Place of Casillis. A later countess, Jean Hamilton, wife of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis is also suggested as the subject of the ballad. [8]
After the death of her second husband, her son, now Earl of Cassilis, granted her the Place of Casillis with its gardens and orchard as a residence (Casillis House, between Maybole and Dalrymple [9] ), with a third part of the meadow of Blairbowie as her terce or widow's portion. A second gift was a grant of a rental from the lands of Craigmalloch (near Loch Doon castle) and livestock on the lands of Kerry Castle, and pasturing in the Forest of Buchan (in the parish of Kells). He also gave (or returned to) his mother silver plate, with furnishings including a bed hung with black velvet and black damask curtains, and four pieces of tapestry which were in the family house in Edinburgh. [10]
In January 1576 she heard that her son by her first marriage, the Laird of Craigie, was negotiating to sell the lands of Ferstoun to Regent Morton. She was the rightful owner of a third of this property in her lifetime, and she instructed her son-in-law, Patrick Vaus to discuss her rights with the Regent, as her son had not yet informed her of the deal or offered any settlement to her. She also told him that George Corrie, Laird of Kelwood, [11] had been taken from Thomastoun Castle to Craigneil near Colmonell. The Laird had been taken prisoner by her grandson Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassilis for withholding a valuable gold artefact or coin discovered in a barn. [12]
In November 1578 she wrote to her daughter Katherine from Maybole Castle about some goods that she wished to be bought for her. She wanted velvet for a cloak, of the same type and pattern as her doublet and skirt. The cloak should be lined with rabbit fur, with a facing or collar of "mertrix" (marten) fur. She wanted a pair of plain bracelets with a lock or clasp, and a "tablet" or locket with a "just dyackle" in it, perhaps a sundial or compass. [13] The locket was to contain scented "must". She could supply a pearl for it more cheaply than the £3 Scots her daughter had been quoted. She wanted a petticoat of fur. She also required an estimate for a low "laich bed" made from pine wood, and had already discussed the details of it. It should cost £3. As a postscript, the Countess added that she had seen a "rammage" velvet skirt belonging to Elizabeth Durham, the wife of the President of Session, which was the right stuff for her cloak. [14] [15]
Marquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassilis. The title Earl of Cassilis had been created in 1509 for the 3rd Lord Kennedy. This title had been created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1457. The 1st Marquess had been created Baron Ailsa in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 12 November 1806.
Clan Kennedy is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Maybole is a town and former burgh of barony and police burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It had an estimated population of 4,580 in 2022. It is situated 9 miles (14 km) south of Ayr and 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The town is bypassed by the A77.
Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa, KT, FRS, styled Lord Kennedy between 1792 and 1794 and known as the Earl of Cassilis between 1794 and 1831, was a Scottish peer.
Glenluce Abbey, near to Glenluce, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery called also Abbey of Luce or Vallis Lucis and founded around 1190 by Rolland or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland. Following the Scottish Reformation in 1560, the abbey fell into disuse.
Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis was a Scottish landowner, soldier, politician, and judge. He served as Treasurer of Scotland.
David Kennedy, 3rd Lord Kennedy and 1st Earl of Cassilis was a Scottish peer, the son of John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy. He was born about 1463, in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland. He was a Privy Councillor of King James IV and was created Earl of Cassilis by him in 1502. He was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
Sir Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch, or Patrick Vaus, was a Scottish judge and diplomat.
Dunduff Castle is a restored stair-tower in South Ayrshire, Scotland, built on the hillside of Brown Carrick Hills above the Drumbane Burn, and overlooking the sea above the village of Dunure.
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.
Margaret Stewart, Mistress of Ochiltree was a courtier in the household of Anne of Denmark in Scotland and looked after her children Prince Henry, Princess Elizabeth, and Charles I of England
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.
William Wallace of Failford,, was a Scottish courtier and landowner.
Elizabeth Stewart, Countess of Arran was a Scottish noblewoman and political intriguer. Several accounts of her actions and ambition were written by her political enemies.
Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar and Kenmure, was a Scottish courtier, landowner, and supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Margaret Lyon was a Scottish aristocrat and landowner.
Thomas Kennedy of Bargany was a Scottish courtier and landowner.
Dorothea Stewart, Countess of Gowrie was a Scottish aristocrat. The dates of the birth and death of Dorothea Stewart are unknown.
Maybole Castle is a 16th-century castle located on High Street in Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Originally built for the Earls of Cassillis, it is an L-shaped construction with Victorian two-storey extensions. It is associated with a legend of John Faa, in which an earl killed Faa and imprisoned his wife, the Countess of Cassilis, in the castle.
Thomas Kennedy of Culzean was a Scottish landowner involved in a feud and a murder victim.