Battle of the Spoiling of Ochiltree
Who Fought
History & Significance
Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree (c. 1521–1591) fought for the Scottish Reformation. His daughter married John Knox and he played a part in the defeat of Mary, Queen of Scots at the battle of Langside.
Andrew's father, Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Avondale, exchanged his lands and title to become Lord Ochiltree.
Lord Ochiltree became a Protestant when Scotland was still a Catholic country. When resistance to the Catholic religion and the rule of the Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise, began to grow, Ochiltree was one of the first of the Lords of the Congregation who marched to Perth in June 1559, and joined up with the rest at Edinburgh by 1 July. Ochiltree was a signatory to the Congregation's letters to Elizabeth I of England and William Cecil on 19 July 1559. John Knox wrote the letters, which state their "whole intent" was to remove superstition and "maintain the liberty this our country from the tyranny and thraldom of strangers." Cecil replied mentioning the example of the polity of Denmark, and wondering what place the Hamiltons, the former Duke of Châtelherault, the Earl of Arran and Lord David Hamilton might have in their scheme.
On 27 April 1560, Ochiltree signed the "Band of the Scottish Nobility", which pledged to expel French troops from Scotland and assist the English army, which had entered Scotland under the terms of the Congregation's Treaty of Berwick. John Knox later wrote in his History of the Reformation in Scotland that Ochiltree was "a man more likely to look for peace than fight in the causeway."
Lord Ochiltree's daughter Margaret married John Knox in 1563. His second son James Stewart became the powerful Earl of Arran in the 1580s. His eldest son Andrew, Master of Ochiltree, died before him, in 1578. The Master of Ochiltree's wife Margaret, Mistress of Ochiltree, was an important royal servant, and at least three of her daughters were ladies in waiting to Anne of Denmark.
Lord Ochiltree died in November 1591. He was succeeded by his grandson, Andrew, 3rd Lord Ochiltree, who later became Andrew Stuart, 1st Baron Castle Stuart.
Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree married Agnes Cunningham of the Caprington family. Their children, and grandchildren included;
Andrew Stewart, known as the Master of Ochiltree (d. 1578). He married Margaret Stewart (d. 1627), daughter of Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, who was known as the Mistress of Ochiltree, and was a member of the households of Anne of Denmark and Prince Henry. Their children included;
Andrew Stuart, 1st Baron Castle Stuart, who became the 3rd Lord Ochiltree.
Josias Stewart of Bonington, who was a supporter of and conspirator with the Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell and in 1595 revealed information to the Privy Council of Scotland about a band or league between the Earl and the Catholic rebel Northern earls. He was the executor and administrator of Jean Stewart, Lady Bargany and her son Thomas Kennedy, see below.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of the Spoiling of Ochiltree lies on Scottish Coal Measures Group, bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.
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- History of the house of Ochiltree of Ayrshire, Scotland · Archive.org
- Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree · Wikipedia
- Gilbert Kennedy of Bargany and Ardstinchar · Wikipedia
- Ochiltree Castle · Canmore (Historic Environment Scotland)