Gavin Hamilton, Provost of the Collegiate Church of Bothwell

GAVIN HAMILTON

Provost of the Collegiate Church of Bothwell

Gavin Hamilton is the fourth son of Sir James Hamilton of Cadzow. Memoirs of the House of Hamilton

On 23 August 1468 Gavin Hamilton conveyed the ten pound lands of old extent of Orbiston (Osbarnstoun) to his eldest son, Master Robert Hamilton, at that time canon of the Cathedral Church of Glasgow but afterwards chancellor there. Confirmation undrer the Great Seal of Scotland was granted to Robert before 31 December 1468. In the event of Master Robert dying without having had any children to succeed him, the lands were entailed to his brother Thomas Hamilton, canon of Dunkeld, whom failing to Thomas's bastard brother John Hamilton and his lawful heirs: "Joh. de H. fratri carnali dicti Tho. et heredibus ejus masculis de corpore ejus legitime procreatis". In the event that John Hamilton failed to produce any legitimate male heir the lands were to pass to his brother Archibald and his heirs: "Arch. de H. fratri germano dicti Joh. et heridibus", whom failing to his brother Gavin: "Gawane H. fratri germano dicti Arch. et heredibus". Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, AD. 1424-1513, charter number 985 on pp. 203-04

On 1 May 1502 Robert Mayne, Rector of Monyabrack in the dioces of Glasgow, gifted certain lands in and arround Linlithgow to the Church of Michael the Archangel there. His gift was made in free alms: "in puram elemosinam" for the provision of a chaplain to celebrate mass in perpituaty for the souls of King James III, King James IV and his wife Margaret, James, Lord Hamilton, and his wife Marie, Sir James Hamilton their son, Master Gavin Hamilton, Provost of Bothwell, and Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavill. Confirmation granted under the Great Seal of Scotland on 16 May 1502 Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, AD. 1424-1513, charter 2646 on p. 562

Death

Gavin Hamilton of Orbiston may have died before 19 January 1489-90, the date upon which his son James took formal possession of the lands of Holme, Howholme and St. Lauransland. National Records of Scotland, Erskine Writs, reference GD1/129/3/1

Evidence Published by the National Records of Scotland

19 January 1489-90: Sasine in favour of James Hammiltoun [Hamilton] of Schawfield, as lawful and nearest heir of Gavin Hammiltoun of Orbistoun, of the lands of Holme, Howholme and St Lauranslande; on chancery precept to John Nasbeth, lord and baron of the 1/2 barony of Dalzell, and superior of above lands. National Records of Scotland, Erskine Writs, reference GD1/129/3/1

Sources

1. Darryl Lundy's Peerage http://thepeerage.com/p11034.htm#i110332
2. [S8] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 4. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition.
3. John Anderson, Historical and Genealogical Memoirs of the House of Hamilton with Genealogical Memoirs of the Several Branches (John Anderson, junior, Edinburgh MDCCCXXV), pp.270-76 https://archive.org/stream/historicalgeneal00ande#page/270/mode/1up
4. [S280] Stirnet Genealogy, Peter Barns-Graham, Hamilton01 (Reliability: 3)

Notes

1. The Scots Peerage (Abercorn) reports that at least Thomas, David and Gavin were natural sons who were later legitimated. Jean's name is found in "The House of Hamilton" but not in The Scots Peerage.
2. Urbanstoun or Osbernstoun formed part of the Barony of Bothwell, and on the lands was a chapel which was endowed by Walter Olifard, Lord of Bothwell, with ¹10 yearly from the "lands of Osbernstoun."
3. Walter Olifard died in 1242. His granddaughter and heiress married William de Moravia or Murray, who thus became Lord of Bothwell. Archibald the Grim, third Earl of Douglas, afterwards became possessed of the Barony through his marriage with Joanna, heiress of Thomas Murray, and he gave Orbistoun as an endowment to the Collegiate Church of Bothwell by a charter dated in 1398.
4. Gavin Hamilton, fourth son of Sir James Hamilton of Cadzow, was Provost of the Collegiate Church about the middle of the fifteenth century, and, with the consent of the Convent and Chaplains of Bothwell, granted in 1468 a charter of Osbernstoun to his sons, of whom the third, John, seems to have ultimately been the possessor. [http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/smihou/smihou079.htm]

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Apley has been home to seven generations of the same family. A programme of preservation and archiving of historical records and important artworks is currently underway and it is the Estate’s intention to share interesting historical points of reference with the community to enrich our understanding of Apley through the centuries. A number of our tenant’s have lived on the Estate for decades and have seen many changes in a number of ways. We are hoping to build a social archive by interviewing and recording their experiences and knowledge that would otherwise be lost.

Estate History

The Apley estate as we currently know it was created from 1585 when William Whitmore, a haberdasher from London whose family already owned land around Claverley, bought land in Stockton Parish from the Lucy family of Charlcote. The Whitmores owned and expanded Apley for the next 300 years during which time members of the family were MPs for Bridgnorth.

The Whitmores build the first house at Apley at the end of the 16th Century. In 1811 Apley Hall was rebuilt & enlarged by Thomas Whitmore to become a mansion in the ‘Strawberry Hill’ Gothic fashion popular at the time under the direction of the architect John Webb. During the later part of the 18th Century the parkland surrounding the mansion was landscaped & planted, turning Apley Park into one of England’s most important & imposing estates.

Queen Victoria & Prince Albert shortlisted Apley Hall as one of their chosen country retreats before finally settling on Sandringham in Norfolk. Furthermore, it also rumoured that Adolf Hitler had earmarked Apley for his residence following a successful invasion of the British Isles. Apley Hall is widely regarded as the primary inspiration for PG Wodehouse’s Blandings Castle occupied by Lord Emsworth & his prize pig the Empress of Blandings.

Apley was sold by the Whitmores in 1867 for a then record sum to William Orme Foster, an ironfounder from Stourbridge whose business Foster & Rastrick had been responsible for designing & building the first steam train run in the USA – the Lion of Stourbridge.

The estate had been allowed to deteriorate during the latter years of the Whitmores’ ownership & the new owners immediately began a programme of improvement & refurbishment to the farmland, the estate cottages & the farm buildings. The new farm buildings at Apley Home Farm were highly innovative for the time, built to the standard of railway architecture & including steam driven machinery & a piped water supply to the farm buildings & field troughs. In its heyday the estate employed more than 100 people in the Hall, its formal & kitchen gardens, the estate woods, on the farm & as gamekeepers.

During World War II much of the parkland was given over to food production for the war effort & the Hall became a convalescent home for injured soldiers. The deer herd was culled to make way for more productive cattle & pigs & the arable acreage was increased. Stockton Buildings, now the location of Apley Farm Shop, was run as a dairy enterprise with prizewinning Dairy Shorthorn cattle, producing milk, butter & locally known Apley cheese.

The owners of the estate have always farmed part of the estate themselves. As recently as the latter part of the last century, the estate’s own farms employed 12 people producing potatoes, sugar beet & arable crops as well as sheep, pigs, cattle & dairying. Change in the farming environment has accelerated over the last 25 years & the estate no longer produces milk & has also ceased keeping sheep & pigs.

The closure of the sugar beet factory at Allscott in 2006 has had a significant impact on the estate farm & led to further changes. The farms currently employ 4 people full time farming over 2000 acres mainly with arable crops & beef cattle. These are usually sold through the local markets & often are amongst the best in sale.

Major A W Foster, died in 1960 & being unmarried was the last of the family to live at Apley Park. It was converted in 1962 into a state run boarding school (one of only two in the country) & remained so until 1987. In the 1990s it was sold to a developer & eventually converted into 19 apartments.

Although modern day farming practices have changed the estate, its heartland remains very much intact under the ownership of Lord [Gavin] Hamilton, 5th baron Hamilton of Dalzell.

At Apley preservation of our heritage is one of our key focuses and is the forefront of any project that we undertake. Landscapes and buildings with rich historical and heritage value are carefully protected at the same time as ensuring their continued productive use.

Apley has plans to sympathetically and sustainably restore all of its historical buildings and put them into use. The 18th century Parkland is currently the subject of a project working with guidance from Natural England and a team of specialised individuals to preserve its important historical & ecological features.

Source: Apley and our Heritage
Added by Janet Milburn 6/24/22