Morton Regent Border Riding 1574

Who Fought

History & Significance

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581) was a Scottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant, David Rizzio, and king consort Henry Darnley. He was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four since he won the civil war that had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots. However, he came to an unfortunate end, executed by means of the Maiden, a predecessor of the guillotine.

James Douglas was the second son of Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich, Master of Angus, and Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of David Douglas of Pittendreich. He wrote that he was over 61 years old in March 1578, so was probably born around 1516. Before 1543, he married Elizabeth, daughter of James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton, and became known as the "Master of Morton". In 1553, James Douglas succeeded to the title and estates of his father-in-law, including Dalkeith House in Midlothian and Aberdour Castle in Fife. His wife, Elizabeth Douglas suffered from mental illness, as did her two elder sisters Margaret and Beatrix, who were married to Regent Arran and Robert Maxwell, 6th Lord Maxwell. James and Elizabeth's children did not survive to adulthood, except three daughters who were declared legally incompetent in 1581. James also had five illegitimate children.

At the start of the war now known as the Rough Wooing, James Douglas, as Master of Morton, was briefly beseiged at the Castle of Dalkeith by Regent Arran for his "affection to England". James and his brother David communicated with Henry VIII of England on the possibility of their surrendering Tantallon Castle to the English army that burnt Edinburgh in 1544. The English commander Lord Hertford wrote to the Master of Morton in April 1544, discussing his journey towards Berwick-upon-Tweed, and hoping he could leave the castles of Dalkeith and Tantallon in the hands of allies.

However, four years later he defended Dalkeith Castle against the English and was captured in June 1548, "sore hurt on the thigh", and taken as a hostage to England. After the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550, James was exchanged for the English soldier John Luttrell, returned from captivity in England, and began to use his title of "Earl of Morton".

James's political activities and allegiances during the Scottish Reformation were at first equivocal in 1559, but in February 1560 he signed the Treaty of Berwick which invited an English army into Scotland to expel the Catholic regime of Mary of Guise. He took part in the unsuccessful embassy to England in November 1560 to treat for the marriage of Elizabeth I of England to James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran. On their way back from London, Grey de Wilton hosted the Scottish ambassadors at Berwick and gave James a personal tour of the latest fortifications there.

The ground they fought on

The site of Morton Regent Border Riding 1574 lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is felsic-rock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Morton Regent Border Riding 1574

Penchrise Pen, fort 635m SW of Penchrise Farm Cottage

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~0.2 mi

Penchrise Pen is a hillfort of Iron Age date situated in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland, 635 metres south-west of Penchrise Farm Cottage. The fort occupies a defensible position on high ground underlain by a Carboniferous to Permian igneous intrusion of felsic composition, which would have pr…

Pen Sike,earthwork 300m SW of Penchrise Pen

Scheduled monument · ~0.5 mi

Pen Sike is an earthwork situated 300 metres south-west of Penchrise Pen in Roxburghshire, Scottish Borders. The monument lies on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a Wenlock-age wacke formation that underlies much of this upland region. This geology would have provided the underlying substrate for the…

Dodburn Hill,earthworks & homestead

Scheduled monument · ~0.9 mi

Dodburn Hill is an earthworks and homestead site located in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument sits on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a wacke formation dating to the Wenlock period of the Silurian, which provides the underlying geology of much of this region. The site is protected…

Newton Hill,fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~0.9 mi

Newton Hill is a hillfort of Iron Age date situated in Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders. The monument occupies a naturally elevated position with commanding views across the local landscape, a characteristic site choice for fortifications of this period. The underlying bedrock belongs to the…

White Hill,fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.1 mi

White Hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort situated in Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. The monument occupies ground composed of Hawick Group wacke, a sedimentary bedrock formed during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. This geology has weathered to create the undulating terrain characte…

Blakebillend, tracked target range, 750m WNW and 570m and 740m NW of Penchrise Peel

Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Blakebillend is a tracked target range situated on the slopes of the Roxburghshire hills, approximately 750 metres west-north-west of Penchrise Peel. The monument lies on bedrock of the Hawick Group, a formation of wacke stone laid down during the Wenlock period of the Silurian era. The underlyin…

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• James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton · Wikipedia
• Timeline. Fire and blood: key events in Border history · reivers.info
• The History of the Border Reivers · Historic UK