1888 Gordons of Haddo & Methlick
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Transactions OF THE BANFFSHIRE FIELD CLUB. THE STRATHMARTINE BanffshireTRUST Field Club The support of The Strathmartine Trust toward this publication is gratefully acknowledged. www.banffshirefieldclub.org.uk Thursday, November 15, 1888. MEETING AT BANFF. THK usual meeting of this Club was held on Thursday evening in Innes's Hall, Banff—Mr Ramsay, in the absence of the President, in the chair. The usual routine business was transacted. GORDON OF HADDO AND METHLICK. The Rev. William Temple, F.S.A. Scot., St Margaret's. Forgue, read a paper on the Family of Gordon of Haddo and Methlick, now represented by the Earl of Aberdeen. ' Fortuna sequatur ne nimium.' HADDO HOUSE Is a spacious and elegant mansion in the Palladian style, built after designs by Baxter of Edinburgh; enlarged and a chapel added by Mr Street of London in 188 . The policies are of great extent, and of much beauty The paintings in the house are very interesting -Besides specimens of many of the continental schools, there are portraits of all the Earls, and of Sir John Gordon who suffered for his loyalty to Charles I. According to Dr Skene.Keith of Keithhall it had a deer park in his time 120 years old. The site of the old house of Kelly is not known. It is believed to have been at some distance from the pre- sent mansion, but both name and situation have been The first acquisition by the Gordon family was a portion of Haddo; after that the 'Two Methlicks;' then a portion of Kelly ; and gradually the whole emerged and consolidated into their property of Haddo and Methlick. The earliest notice of Methlick or 'Methlayk' is about the beginning of the 14th century. 13-- There is a charter by John de Barclay, Lord of Pitnacaldore to William de Camera, Lord of Auchna- ways of all the lands of Methlayk in the shire of Aber- Banffshiredeen to be held of the King in capite Field, sealed with the Club seal of William de Fotheringay, knight. In 1378 there is a charter by Robert III., King of Scotland, to his esquire, David Foulerton. for his faith- ful service, of the lands of the • Two Methlaykis.' whioh were unrighteously possessed by William de Melgedrum, 4 and which came into the King's hands by the verdict of an assize, which sat at Kincardine in the Mearns on the 11th of December 1375, to be held by the said David, rendering to the King and his heirs Kings of Scotland one shilling of silver, at the chief messuage of the lands, on the feast of Pentecost yearly. Among the witnesses are the King's eldest sou( the Bishop of St Andrews, the Earl ol Carrick, Steward of Scotland, &c., &c. In 1467 there is a charter by William de Foulerton do Aberawne to James Gordon of an annual rent of ten merks ouat of the lands of Haldauch, dated at Aberdeen July 1467. This is the lirst connection of the Gordons of Haddo with land in the county of Aberdeen which is evidenced by existing records. Two years afterwards they acquired tho whole of Haddo and the shadow half of Meikle Methlic. In 1469 there is a charter by the said William de Foulerton de Aberawne to the said James Gordon of the lands of Haldauch and the shadow half Meikle Methlick, excepting one croft of the said lands called 'Le Chrysti's croft,' dated 22nd June 1469. 1471. There are letters of resignations into tho King's hand by William do Foulerton of the lands of Haw. dauch of Methlyk with half of Meikle Methlyk. This was a preliminary to the Gordons getting a charter of said lands from the crown. KELLY. In 1261 Kelly belonged to Alexander Cummin, Earl of Buchan. In that year he founded an hospital in the Newburgh "actum apud Kell.y in Buchan die veneris proxima post, Festum Sancti Matthaei, 1261' 1272. There is a charter for an hospital at Turriff also given at Kelly, 3rd Feb. 1272, by Alexander Cummin, Earl of Buchan, in presence of Alexander III. King of Scots, Reginald Cheyne, father and son • William de Melgdrum, and Walter, rector of the church of Fo- veran. 1433. Robert de Erskine is owner of Kelly, in that year be gives to ' Dilecto nostro domino Willelmo de Forbes militi totaim nostram terram de Lasgowny jacentem in baronià nostra de Kelly.' In 1436 he grants the same land de Lasgowny to Gilbert Menzies, having evidently retained the superiority. In 1489 there is a Crown charter—' Alexandro do Erskine of the lauds of the barony of Kelly.' BanffshireSeven years before the lasFieldt mentioned one, ther Clube is a charter by David Annand of Ouchterellon, to Patrick Gordon of Methlick, of his lands of Kelly, with the lands of "Owerhill" (Ordhill ?), dated at Aberdeen, 12th February 1482.' This is the first acquisition by the Gordon family of a portion of the barony of Kelly. There is afterwards a disposition of another portion—viz.. Mains of Kellie— Lord Erskine, his father, of the lands of Mains of Kellie and others, to James Gordon, of Haddoch, pay- ing £6 0s. 4d. to the Abbot and Convent of Lendors, dated at Stirling, 19th October 1553. The whole barony, as well as Haddo and Methlic, gradually became the property of this branch of the Gordon family. The Family. With regard to their descent Dr Jos. Robertson, our greatest cbartulary authority, in writing of the family of Gordon of Haddo thus remarks :—' Some genealogists have sought to engraft this branch upon the parent stem before it was transplanted to the North, towards the end of the 14th century. But no evidence has been produced in support of this claim, and modern research holds by the tradition that the house descends from one of the illegitimate brothers of Sir Adam Gordon, who was slain at Homildon in 1402. His first possession seems to have been Methlic, on the Banks of the Ythan.' There is reason to believe that these brothers were cousins German of Sir Adam Gordon, who fell at Homildon, as will be seen in our notes on the familys of Gordon of Pitlurg and Straloch. In the above quotation from Dr Robertson, Methlic is mentioned as being their first possession, but the charters already quoted show it was Haddo, situated on the south bank of the Ythan, opposite Gight. According to Crawford, the author of a Peerage, this family is descended from Sir Wm. Gordon, who swore fealty to Edward I.. but of this there is no chartular or othor evidence, and Sheriff Riddell, one of the best authorities on Peerage law, pronounces this ' deduction to be fabulous.' ^ John Gordon of Essie, or Scourdargue, as to whose status (see article on Pitlurg), married Margaret Maitland, daughter of Robert Maitland, Laird of Gight (see article Pitrichie), by whom he had three sons. I. John Gordon of Auchleuchries. II. Wm. Gordon of Tillytarmont. III. James Gordon, ancestor of the Gordons of Haddo and Methlic. II. This James Gordon of Haddo and Methlic married Canea Harper, half portioner of Methlic, of which her father, John Harper, called in the Latin of the charters, ' Johannes de Catharista ' was the owner. In a MS. genealogy preserved at Parkhill, apparently drawn up by Robert Gordon of Straloch, Canea Harper is styled ' heretrix of Methlic.' The late John Stuart, LL.D., so long the moving spirit of the Spalding BanffshireClub, accepted the fact of the Fieldmarriage of James Club Gordon to the heiress of James Harper. The MS. of 1580, in the possession of C. E. Dalrymple, Esq., calls her 1 ane gentlewoman called Harper.' She probably had the ' sunny half of Methlic.' We see that her ' charter per John, Master of Erskine, with consent of 6 husband acquired the shady half in 1469. But no charter of 'the sunny half' is now known to exist. In another MS. she is called Caney Harper. In con- nection with her name, we may refer to a note p. 324 Col. for shires of Aberdeen and Bantf, where a docu- ment is quoted referring to some intromissions with the lands of Qwiltis of Scheves by William Drumbreck, and ' Caney Gordon ' bis spouse. This was probably a daughter of Caney Gordon, married to a neighbour Drumbreck of Drumbreck, the seat of the family of that name, in the neighbourhood of Methlick. In the British Museum Library, there is a MS. with the arms of the Gordons of Haddo—'Azure three boars' heads coupè, or, differenced with a crescent for a younger brother," this would point to his being a second son, and not a third, as given in the Balbithan MS. In another MS., these are quartered with a harp in the second and third quarters, probably for Catharista —i.e., Harper of Methlick. James Gordon and Canea Harper had issue:— I. Patrick Gordon, of whom afterwards. II. Robert Gordon of Fetterletter had issue a daughter, who was 'ane heretrix,' and married Sir George Gordon of Shires, Knight, • which knight has conquested a great living to the augmentation of his house, and built a great strength thereon, with great policies, and most agreeable to such a nobleman of his estate.' III. Alexander Gordon, Bishop-elect of Aberdeen, formerly Chanter and Dean of Moray. In the Balbithan MS., it is recorded:—' Alex. Gordon had many bastard children—viz., David Gordon of Savoch, &c." Two are recorded in the following charter of lands — Alexandra Gordon et Jacobo Gordon fratribus, bas- tardis filiis naturalibus Magistri Alexandri Gordon pre- oentoris Moraviensis, June 1506.' Another charter :—• Alexandra Gordon filio carnali Alexandri Gordon precentoris Moraviensis, 1509 ' Through the influence of the Earl of Huntly, he was appointed in 1515 Bishop of Aberdeen, and died 30th June 1518.