| Clan Lockhart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Motto | Corda Serrata Pando (I open locked hearts - a pun on the clan name)[1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Lanarkshire,Dumfriesshire,Edinburghshire, andPeeblesshire | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Ranald Lockhart of the Lee, 27th of the Lee, Baron of Carnwath, Braidwood, Walston, Dryden, Covington, Milntown, Westshield and Newholm | |||
| Chief of the Name and Arms of Lockhart | |||
| Historic seat | Lee Castle | ||
| |||
Clan Lockhart is an ancient family from theScottish Lowlands.
Taking their name fromLocard orLokart in early times, it changed withSymon Locard, 2nd of Lee in 1330.
The Lockharts were a powerful family, and certainly one of the most prominent families in lowlandScotland during the Middle Ages. The Lockharts gained vast territories throughout theLowlands, inLanarkshire,Dumfriesshire,Edinburghshire, andPeeblesshire. Although the Lockharts are a lowland family they are now recognised by the Lord Lyon as a clan.
The name Lockhart was speltLocard orLokart in early times, The modern spelling (Lockhart) seems to have been introduced in 1330, and refers to the crusades.[2]
The history of the Locards dates back to 1066, the family being among those that fought in the Norman Conquest of William the Conqueror. The Locards like many other Scottish families came fromEngland toScotland after they had been dispossessed of lands byWilliam the Conqueror.[2] In the twelfth century there were Lockards nearPenrith in the twelfth century and also inAnnandale.[2] In Annandale the town ofLockerbie is said to have been named after them.[2] The chiefly family finally settled inAyrshire,Dumfriesshire,Peeblesshire andLanarkshire where they have held lands for over seven hundred years.[2]
A charter of 1323 is the earliest paper in the family archives, in which Sir Symon Locard bound himself and his heirs to pay an annual rent of £10 out of the lands of Lee andCartland, South Lanarkshire.[2] (The exact date when the lands of Lee came into the family is not known, but 1272 is traditionally accepted.) Stephen Locard, grandfather of Sir Symon, founded the village of Stevenson in Ayrshire. His son Symon acquired the lands in Lanarkshire, and like his father, called a village which he founded, Symons Toun (today calledSymington) after himself.[2]
Symon Locard, 2nd of Lee, won fame for himself and his family in theWars of Scottish Independence against the English when he fought alongside kingRobert the Bruce and was knighted for his loyal service.[2]
Sir Symon accompanied 'Good Sir James Douglas' of theClan Douglas when they set out for the Holy Land where they set out to take the heart of Robert the Bruce.[2] It was Sir Symon who carried the key to the locked silver casket in which the heart was carried.[2] In Spain, James Douglas had been killed fighting theMoors and command of the Scottish Knights fell upon Symon Locard, he then rescued the silver casket and heart. Locard finding it impossible to go to Jerusalem returned to Scotland returning the heart of the king to the Abbey of Melrose and the bones of Sir James Douglas to St. Bride’s Kirk. To commemorate Sir Symon Locard's part in the crusade and the honour done to the family at some later date the name was changed to Lockheart and afterwards abbreviated to Lockhart. The king's heart within a fetterlock was from then on included in the family arms with the motto "Corda Serrata Pando" (I open locked hearts).[2]
During the crusades of the 14th century the Lockharts brought back a precious heirloom.[2]Sir Simon Lockhart captured aMoorishamir in battle and received from the man's mother as part of his ransom an amulet or stone with healing powers.[2] The amir's mother told Sir Simon that the stone was a sovereign remedy against bleeding and fever, the bite of amad dog, and sickness in horses and cattle.[2]
The dark red stone was later set in a silver coin which has now been identified as afourpenny piece from the reign of KingEdward IV.[2][3] The Lee Penny is kept in a goldsnuffbox which was a gift fromMaria Theresa of Austria, Empress of Austria to her general CountJames Lockhart in 1789.[2]
The fame of the Lee Penny spread through Scotland and Northern England and there are many recorded occasions when it was employed with apparent success. The coin was exempted from theChurch of Scotland's prohibition on charms and was lent to the citizens ofNewcastle during the reign of KingCharles I to protect them from theplague. A sum of between £1000 and £6000 was pledged for its return.[4] The penny gained further fame in the 19th century for inspiring SirWalter Scott's 1825 novelThe Talisman.[2][5]
In 1547 Alan Lockhart of Lee was killed at theBattle of Pinkie Cleugh.[2]Sir James Lockhart of Lee (b.1594) was appointed byCharles I of England as a gentleman of the Privy Council and was knighted.[2] He was also appointed to the Supreme Court Bench taking the title ofLord Lee.[2]
During theWars of the Three Kingdoms he was a zealous royalist and was captured atAlyth in 1651.[2] His son was SirWilliam Lockhart of Lee who was a distinguished soldier and fought at theBattle of Worcester as a royalist in 1651.[2] However he later reconciled withOliver Cromwell and married Cromwell's niece.[2] As a result, he was not in favour with the Stuart monarchs when they were restored in 1660 and made his home inFrance.[2] He later campaigned on the continent andCardinal Mazarin offered to make himMarshal of France.[2]
SirGeorge Lockhart (1630–1689) was the second son of Sir James Lockhart, Lord Lee, Lord Justice Clerk and became one of the most famous advocates at theEdinburgh Bar. He became Lord President of the Court of Session in 1685 and was M.P. forLanarkshire in both the English and Scottish Parliaments. His knighthood was conferred in 1663 and theCarnwath and Dryden estates acquired by him in 1681. He was murdered onEaster Sunday 1689 on his way home from church by a dissatisfied litigant named Chiesly of Kersewell and Dalry.[citation needed]
George Lockhart, Second of Carnwath (1673–1731) was a ferventJacobite; he became Principal Agent to the exiled King James after theJacobite rising of 1715. He was one of the Commissioners for the Treaty of Union, and the only one against it. He was one of the earliest of the agricultural improvers. He married EuphemiaMontgomery, daughter of the ninth Earl of Eglinton; they had fourteen children. He died as the result of a duel.[citation needed]
James Lockhart inherited the estates in 1777 and saw service on the continent where he rose to become a count of the Order of Maria Theresa and a general of that empress's imperial forces.[2]
Following the death of his father Angus in 2015 the current chief is Ranald Lockhart of the Lee, 27th of the Lee, Chief of Clan Lockhart,Baron of Carnwath, Braidwood, Walston, Dryden, Covington, Milntown, Westshield and Newholm.[6]
The usual tartan for the Lockhart's is a Green coloured pattern known as the Lockhart Tartan.
| Tartan image | Notes |
|---|---|
| Clan Lockhart tartan, This tartan was recorded prior to the launch of The Scottish Register of Tartans. |
