Sir Robert Gordon of Lochinvar

Biographical Summary

"Sir Robert Gordon, of Lochinvar, co Kirkcudbright, and of Stichill, co Roxburgh, son and heir of Sir John Gordon, of the same, by his 2nd wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John (Maxwell) Lord Herries [S], was born, about 1585; was one of the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber; succeeded his father, 23 August 1604; was M.P. [S] for Kirkcudbright 1612; had a grant of the Barony of Galloway in Nova Scotia, 8 November 1621, and a charter of the Barony and Lordship of Charles' island 1 May 1626, with, (as is somtimes, though, probably erroneously, conjectured) the grant of a Baronetcy [S]. He appears to have been Governor of Nova Scotia. He married Isabel, daughter of William (Ruthven), 1st Earl of Gowrie [S], by Dorothea, daughter of Henry (Stewart), Lord Methven [S]. She was divorced from him, and married, as the second of his three wives, Hugh (Campbell), 1st Lord Campbell of Loudoun [S], who died 15 December 1622. He died November 1626."

SOURCE: Complete baronetage; Cokayne, George E. (George Edward); 1900; Vol. II; page 314

Other References

• Darryl Lundy's Peerage page on Robert Gordon

  ---

Kenmure became a property of the Gordon family from 1297, when they arrived from Berwickshire. The Gordons built a castle on an island in Lochinvar, some 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north.[5] An early castle which stood here was destroyed or damaged by opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots, who marched through the south-west after they defeated her supporters at the Battle of Langside (1568).[6]

Sir Robert Gordon of Lochinvar was created a baronet in 1626, and in 1633 his son Sir John Gordon was created Viscount of Kenmure by Charles I in 1633. The core of the present building is the castle which was largely erected in the 17th century, though possibly including earlier building work. The castle was laid out on the west and south sides of a courtyard, with the north and east sides formed by a high wall. The entrance gate in the north wall was flanked by towers at the two northern corners.[3] The 6th Viscount took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715 and was subsequently beheaded and his estates forfeit. By 1790 Kenmure Castle was described as a ruin.[4]

The viscountcy was restored to Captain John Gordon in 1824, though it has been dormant since the death of his nephew, the 8th Viscount, in 1847. The castle was extensively remodelled and modernised in during the 19th century, when the courtyard wall and the north-east tower were removed with the use of gunpowder.[6] The south range was rebuilt in around 1840,[2] and in 1879 the Sheffield-based architect Matthew Ellison Hadfield was employed to remodel the west range.[7] Further extensions were made in 1908.[7] Around 1958 the building was partly demolished and the roof removed. The remains of the castle were listed in 1971, and the site was scheduled in 1998.[2]

A 17th-century sundial from Kenmure is now in Dumfries Museum.[3]