Destruction of the Graham Clan
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THIS BOOK IS PRESENT IN OUR LIBRARY THROUGH THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS OF ST. MICHAEL'S ALUMNI TO THE VARSITY FUND 7>A W THE RESEARCH LIBRARY Condition of the Border at the Union Uniform in Style with this Volume THE COMMERCIAL RELATIONS OF ENGLAND AND PORTUGAL OTHERS TO FOLLOW GILNOCKIE TOWER AND HOLLOWS BRIDGE Condition of the Border at the Union Destruction of the Graham Clan By John Graham SECOND EDITION LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited New York : E. P. DUTTON & CO. 1907 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED, BY KIND PERMISSION, TO The Right Honourable LORD MUNCASTER, LORD-LIEUTENANT OF CUMBERLAND PREFACE Much light has recently been thrown upon a peculiarly interesting period of Border history by the diligent researches of Sir Maxwell Lyte and his colleagues of the National Manuscripts Commission. Although we have abundant records of all the great Border events of the sixteenth century down to the death of Elizabeth, it is surprising how little we accurately know of the barbarous methods employed in the final overthrow of the Border clans at the time of the Union of the two King- doms, when James Stuart of Scotland mounted the throne as James the First of Great Britain. And yet there was nothing in the history of that memorable reign (save perhaps the gunpowder plot) of greater political importance, and surely there was nothing of greater dramatic interest. Curiously, neither Hume nor Lingard give so much as a single page to the discussion of this great question which stood supremely first among the ix X PREFACE problems calling for solution, by reason of the great change in the government of the two kingdoms. One might almost be inclined to think there had been a conspiracy of silence, arising from a sense of shame, regarding the dark details of Court intrigue, confiscations, banishments, and indiscriminate execu- tions in the Border towns, which stained the opening years of the United Kingdom. The largest clan in number, at this period, though of small importance as a fighting force, was that of the Grahams of Eskdale. Their lands were the most valuable and extensive on the Border, and the natural fertility of the soil had begun to lure the community, in continually increasing numbers, into the peaceful pursuits of tillage. Still a large number of the clan were avowed raiders, as their fathers had been, but neither better nor worse than their neigh- bours of other clans on both sides of the Border. And the only apparent reason why immediate and merciless destruction fell upon the Grahams on the accession of King James, was their possession of those valuable acres which the King had been persuaded to confer, as a free gift, upon one of his worthless favourites, who chanced to be a personage of importance in the north country. PREFACE xi Among the descendants of the Eskdale clan there are stories in circulation to this day of the calamities which overwhelmed the homes of their forefathers in the days of King James, but these woeful tales of ancient date, with little or no historical corroboration, had for the most part faded away into the category of myths. Even the Border ballad writers, to whom we are so much indebted for our knowledge of the deeds of other days, are silent regarding the enormities of the Eskdale crusade. We are therefore greatly indebted to the indefatigable industry of the National Manuscripts Commission in bringing to light from the archives of various historical mansions on the Border, papers and letters, giving so much interesting— indeed, in some cases, almost sensational con- firmation, of much that had come to be considered as old wives' stories, or little more than historical cobwebs. The most valuable collection of these ancient papers is that belonging to Lord Muncaster, at Muncaster Castle. They are kept in large iron boxes in the Muniment Room (a curious vaulted chamber con- xii PREFACE structed in the thickness of the wall, in this fine old border mansion), and in these documents we have a fairly perfect record of the extraordinary proceedings at Carlisle, where King James' Com- mission met, ostensibly for the general pacification of the Border, but really for a very different purpose. Thinking it might be interesting to many of my Border friends, especially those of my own race, I have made a selection from those papers of certain of the most remarkable facts which I shall en- deavour to string into narrative as clearly as one unpractised in the art of literary exposition may hope to succeed in doing. At the outset, however, I find the task I have set myself involves a good deal more labour and research than I anticipated, as no clear understanding of the evil conditions existing on the Border at the time of the Union is possible without a preliminary glance at the extraordinary current of political events which gave birth to, and gradually developed, the system of raiding or rieving. How the Moss-trooper grew into power and importance as a defender of his country's frontier, and why he was allowed to attain to fighting PREFACE Xlll capabilities so dangerous and difficult to control, has been so exhaustively dealt with by Mr Bruce Armstrong in his History of Liddesdale, and by the Rev. Robert Borland in his Border Raids and Raiders, that I would recommend the perusal of these excellent works to all who are keenly inter- ested in Border lore. It will, however, be necessary in this little book to glance at several of those critical events of the sixteenth century which engendered the fierce international hatred, mainly instrumental in creating that unprecedented com- pound of humanity in which were mingled so many of the qualities we most admire, with others which we most abhor, known to history as the warrior, patriot, and freebooter of the Border. Some of those events, apart from their historical importance, possess a fascinating air of romance peculiarly their own. They exhibit so many instances of bravery, fidelity, and deeds of humanity even amidst the uproar and slaughter of the fray that to this day over the Border land, if anywhere, the spirit of chivalry has a traditional right to brood. J. G. HUNTINGSTILE, GrASMERE CONTENTS PAGE Preface -....-. vii CHAPTER I ORIGIN OF THE RAIDER Invasions of Edward — Sack of Berwick — Scott of Buccleuch—Methods of the Raider 1 CHAPTER II PRIMITIVE COURTS OF JUSTICE Punitive Expeditions under the Earl of Angus—Black- mail — Warden's Court — Abuse of power by the Warden—Formalities of the Court—Deadly Feuds —Beacon Lights—Debateable Land - 9 CHAPTER III LORD MAXWELL Invasion of Debateable Land by Lord Dacre—Defeated by the Armstrongs — Armstrongs excluded from Carlisle Market—Reprisals— Helplessness of Lord Dacre—Bothwell Keeper of Liddesdale—Unruly Barons of the West Marches—Advance of James V. towards the Border — Execution of Cockburn of - - - Henderland - . -22 xv XVI CONTENTS CHAPTER IV JOHN1E ARMSTRONG PAG Lord Maxwell and Charteris of Amisfield experts in cattle-lifting —Disobedience of the Border Barons —Maxwell's jealousy of Gilnockie—King James at Carlinrigg—Murder of Gilnockie - - 32 CHAPTER V WRATH OF KING HENRY VIII Loyalty of the Armstrongs shaken—Raids into Northum- berland—Anger of the English King—Invasion of Scotland under the Earl of Hertford — Second in- vasion under Euer—Battle of Ancrum Moor - 42 CHAPTER VI THE SEVENTH EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND Northumberland Warden of Eastern and Middle Marches —His great popularity on the Border—Hostility of Cecil—Catholic rising—Northumberland involved— Takes refuge in Liddesdale—Heroism of his devoted Wife ------- 48 CHAPTER VII NORTHUMBERLAND BETRAYED Treachery of Hector Armstrong of Harelaw—Northum- berland captured—A Prisoner in Loch Leven Castle —Sold to England by the Scottish Regent for ten thousand crowns - - - 66 CONTENTS XVU CHAPTER VIII THE COUNTESS BETRAYED PAGE Heroic efforts of the Countess to save her husband's life —Northumberland landed at Dunbar and executed at York—Widespread indignation at his death - 77 CHAPTER IX EXTENSIVE RIEVING Great claims for plunder on both sides of the Border— The Grahams accused as chief offenders - 86 CHAPTER X BUCCLEUCH AND KINMONT WILLIE Rescue of Kinmont from Carlisle Castle—Angry corre- spondence between Elizabeth and James—Lord Scrope invades Liddesdale—Barbarous treatment of Women and Children - - - -92 CHAPTER XI EMBARRASSMENT OF KING JAMES Buccleuch imprisoned in Blackness Castle—Surrenders to Queen Elizabeth—Carey's terror of his Prisoner— Buccleuch pardoned—His memorable reception by Queen Elizabeth - - - - 100 XVlll CONTENTS CHAPTER XII ACCESSION OF KING JAMES The Grahams—Their Settlement in Cumberland—Union of the Kingdoms—Enthusiastic Reception of King James in England—His extraordinary Vanity— Belief in his own Wisdom—Belief in Witchcraft— The impecunious Scottish Nobility—Bestowal of Titles and Rewards ----- 105 CHAPTER XIII THE KING'S PASSION FOR FAVOURITES His Desire for complete Incorporation opposed in both Countries—The Favourites Somerset and Buckingham—Plain Speaking on the Part of Foreign Ambassadors - - - - 117 CHAPTER XIV THE EARL OF CUMBERLAND Lord Cumberland English Warden of the Western Marches—His Favour with the King—Denuncia- tion of the Grahams—Moral and Social Condition of the Cumbrian Gentry in 1605—Odious Criminals sheltered by the Authorities—Disturbances of the f 111 Week '—The Lands of the Grahams confiscated and conferred as a Free Grant upon Lord - - - Cumberland . - - 125 CHAPTER XV COMMISSION APPOINTED Commissioners for the Pacification of the Border—All local Men selected — Sir Wilfred Lawson — One hundred