Sir David Cunningham of Robertland, in Ayrshire, was Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland from 1602 to 1607, and

Surveyor of the King's Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

in England from 1604 to 1606

Career

Exiled for murder

Involved in the murder of the Earl of Eglinton in 1585, Cunningham spent some time in exile at the royal court of Denmark, and the Danish government wrote to James VI of Scotland to reconcile him with Eglinton's heirs. His lands passed to Lord John Hamilton, but for a time Robert, Master of Eglinton was allowed to hold the House of Robertland with six men. He was rehabilitated in 1589, when James VI himself travelled there to meet and marry

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

. A Danish journal records that on 27 November 1589, the Danish ladies-in-waiting asked

Jens Nilssøn Jens Nilssøn (in Latin ''Joannis Nicolai'') (1538–1600) was a Norwegian clergyman, educator, poet and author. He served as the Bishop of Oslo from 1580 to 1600. Biography Nilssøn was born in Oslo, Norway. After the death of his father, his mo ...

Bishop of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. It w ...

to discuss the case with John Maitland, Chancellor of Scotland. The ladies, bishop and chancellor then had an audience with James VI at the

Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo The Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo (''Oslo Bispeborg'') was the residence of the Roman Catholic bishops of Oslo. The estate is located in what is now called Gamlebyen (old town) in Oslo, Norway. Various remnants of the medieval bishop's original pal ...

and he granted a pardon. James' mother-in-law

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (''Sophia''; 4 September 1557 – 14 October 1631) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to Frederick II of Denmark. She was the mother of King Christian IV of Denmark and Anne of Denmark. She was Regent of Schl ...

wrote to him on 30 December, thanking him for pardoning Robertland.

Scottish courtier

On arrival in Scotland he was appointed as 'sewer' or 'principal server' to Queen Anne, a courtier who attended to the royal person at mealtimes, and a role once occupied by James Hamilton of Finnart for James V. In January 1592 Robertland was imprisoned on suspicion of helping the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

who had made a raid on Holyrood Palace. On 14 March 1598 the

Duke of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had hi ...

, brother of Anne of Denmark, came to Edinburgh after travelling incognito through England, and announced himself to Robertland, who notified the queen who summoned James VI and the

Duke of Lennox The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...

. The Duke was subsequently treated with great honour and expense, sent on a tour of Scotland with

William Schaw William Schaw (c. 1550–1602) was Master of Works to James VI of Scotland for building castles and palaces, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of Freemasonry in Scotland. Biography William Schaw was the second ...

, and banqueted in Edinburgh the house of John MacMorran, now called Riddle's Court.

Master of Work and Surveyor

He was appointed Master of Works to the king and queen on 13 July 1602 after the death of

. He followed the court of King James to England, having first been

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1604, and then made Surveyor of the King's Works in England between 1604 and 1606. He resigned the Surveyorship to

Simon Basil Simon Basil (fl. 1590 — 1615) was an English surveyor or architect, who held the post of Surveyor of the King's Works, 1606-15. Works Simon Basil's first recorded appearance, in 1590, was drawing a plan of Ostend, a military objective at the tim ...

in April 1606.McKean, Charles (2001). ''The Scottish Chateau''. Sutton Publishing. . p.158. As a new year's gift in January 1606, Cunningham presented the king with "a platt of an upright", a drawing of the elevation of a building. Significant buildings and monuments in Scotland in his time of office include; the Kennedy Aisle at

Ballantrae Ballantrae is a community in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The name probably comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Baile na Tràgha'', meaning the "town by the beach". Ballantrae has a primary school. The beach consists of shingle and sand an ...

for

Jean Stewart, Lady Bargany Jean Stewart, Lady Bargany (c.1577 – 1605) was a Scottish lady in waiting to Anne of Denmark. She was a younger daughter of Andrew, Master of Ochiltree and Margaret Stewart, Mistress of Ochiltree. Jean was a maiden in the household of Anne o ...

Marriage and family

David Cunningham the Surveyor is sometimes confused with a younger namesake cousin,

David Cunningham of Auchenharvie David Cunningham of Auchenharvie (died 1659) was the absentee owner of Auchenharvie Castle and a courtier in London. He was an administrator of royal rents to Charles I of England. A large number of his letters are preserved in the National Records ...

, who corresponded with the surveyor's grandson Sir David Cunningham, 1st Baronet, of Robertland David Cunningham married Jean Cunningham, a daughter of

Alexander Cunningham of Aiket Alexander Cunningham of Aiket (died 1592) was a Scottish landowner. He was a son of John Cunningham and Helen Barclay, daughter of the Laird of Corfin. Aiket Castle is in Dunlop parish in Ayrshire. Alexander Cunningham of Aiket is frequently c ...

. Their children included: *David Cunningham of Robertland (d. 1619) *Christiern Cunningham *Frederick Cunningham *John Cunningham One son was a gentleman of the chamber to Count Maurice in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was arrested in Hull while bringing muskets for James VI in August 1599.

John Duncan Mackie John Duncan Mackie CBE MC (1887–1978) was a distinguished Scottish historian who wrote a one-volume history of Scotland and several works on early modern Scotland. Biography Born in Edinburgh, Mackie was educated at Middlesbrough High ...

, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 13 part 1 (HMSO: Edinburgh, 1969), p. 541.

References

* Aonghus MacKechnie, 'Sir David Cunningham of Robertland: Murderer and 'Magna Britannia's' First Architect', ''Architectural History'', vol. 52 (2009), pp. 79–115 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, David Scottish architects Masters of Work to the Crown of Scotland

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...