Robert Colville of Cleish (1532-1584) was a Scottish courtier. He was the eldest son of Robert Colville of Cleish (1508-1560) and Francesca Colquhoun. His grandfather was Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss (d. 1540). His younger brother was John Colville the political intriguer. His father was killed on 7 May 1560 at the

Siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after an English force arrived to attempt to assist in removing the ...

. Colville's family home was

Cleish Castle Cleish Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Kinross-shire, Scotland. It is sited south-west of Kinross and west of the hamlet of Cleish. It was built by the Colville family, who owned it until 1775. It was restored and remodelled in the mid ...

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

which he rebuilt and extended. Colville was Master of Household to

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his ...

. He was involved in negotiations with England after the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots. He brought instructions from the leaders of the King's Party to the English soldier

Nicolas Errington Nicolas Errington (died 1593) was an English soldier, military engineer, and administrator. The surname was sometimes written Arrington or Aryngton, or Heryngton. Career Errington was a Captain based in the garrison at Berwick-upon-Tweed. He was ...

, for the

Earl of Sussex Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel (up to 1243) were often also called Earls of Sussex. The fifth creation came in the Peera ...

in May 1570. The Scottish lords wanted an English army to enter Scotland and subdue the supporters of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

. In February 1572, during the

Marian Civil War The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against ...

Regent Mar John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar (died 28 October 1572) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. He was the custodian of the infant James VI of Scotland and Regent of Scotland. Erskine was a son of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret C ...

sent him and the Justice Clerk

John Bellenden John Bellenden or Ballantyne ( 1533–1587?) of Moray (why Moray, a lowland family) was a Scottish writer of the 16th century. Life He was born towards the close of the 15th century, and educated at St. Andrews and Paris. At the request of ...

to greet two English ambassadors, Thomas Randolph and

William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshi ...

, in Edinburgh and invite them to supper. Cleish carried letters for the Regent and his wife Annabell Mar. Colville managed the rendition of the

Earl of Northumberland The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...

, who had been involved in the English rebellion known as the "

Rising of the North The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of ...

". He brought the Earl from

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1 ...

Coldingham Priory Coldingham Priory was a house of Benedictine monks. It lies on the south-east coast of Scotland, in the village of Coldingham, Berwickshire. Coldingham Priory was founded in the reign of David I of Scotland, although his older brother and predec ...

and delivered him to Lord Hunsdon at

Eyemouth Eyemouth ( sco, Heymooth) is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name comes from its location at th ...

on 28 May 1572. He was clerk to the

Treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre-Act of Union 1707, Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the Ne ...

from 1571 and collected taxes for

Regent Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581, aged 65) was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had b ...

. Colville obtained a gift of wardship of some lands without paying a duty called "composition" directly to the treasury, but apparently paying Morton an equivalent sum by bond. This may be evidence of unusual practice or corruption of the finances of Scotland in Morton's favour. In November 1573 he was granted lands on the island of

Gairsay Gairsay (Old Norse: ''Gáreksey'') is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, located in the parish of Rendall, off the coast, astride one of the approaches to the bays of Firth and Kirkwall. It is about long and wide and includes one conical hill ...

in Orknay which came to the crown after the suicide of James Sinclair of Sanday. At the end of Morton's regency, Colville was Master and Commander of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

during a crisis in August 1578 which involved him taking artillery from the castle to

Bannockburn Bannockburn (Scottish Gaelic ''Allt a' Bhonnaich'') is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing int ...

where there was a stand-off with Morton's enemies. In July 1583 he fell out of favour with the

Earl of Gowrie Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient ...

and was ordered to go to confinement in

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle ( gd, Dùn Breatainn, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumba ...

. His brother John Colville was to go to

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. Instead, Robert Colville went to

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

to declare his innocence. After receiving little comfort from the young king, he secretly went into exile in England. He met

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

at Durham in September. His brother Harry Colville became minister of

Orphir Orphir (pronounced , Old Norse: Jorfjara/OrfjaraPedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)) is a parish and settlement on Mainland, Orkney. It is approximately southwest of Kirkwall, and comprises a se ...

and

Stenness Stenness (pronounced ) ( non, Steinnes; nrn, Stennes) is a village and parish on the Orkney Mainland in Scotland. It contains several notable prehistoric monuments including the Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar. Geography S ...

on Orkney, and Provost of Orkney. He was involved in the trial and torture of

Allison Balfour The 1594 trial of alleged witch Allison Balfour or Margaret Balfour is one of the most frequently cited Scottish witchcraft cases. Balfour lived in the Orkney Islands of Scotland in the area of Stenness. At that time in Scotland, the Scottish ...

and her family at

Kirkwall Castle Kirkwall Castle, also known as King's Castle, was located in Kirkwall, the main settlement in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. Built in the 14th century, it was deliberately destroyed in 1614. The last ruins were cleared in the 19th century. The cas ...

for witchcraft in 1594. He was murdered in 1596.

Marriage and family

He married Margaret Lindsay (d. 1601) daughter of John Lindsay of Dowhill and Marjorie Stewart. Their children included: * Robert Colville of Cleish (d. 1634), who married Beatrix Haldane, daughter of John Haldane of Gleneagles. This Robert Colville, as Baillie of the Lordship of

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

, with other lairds and officials of Culross burgh convened a witch trial in 1621 to investigate the case of Christiane Cooper, accused of using charms.

David Masson David Mather Masson LLD DLitt (2 December 18226 October 1907), was a Scottish academic, supporter of women's suffrage, literary critic and historian. Biography He was born in Aberdeen, the son of William Masson, a stone-cutter, and his wi ...

, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1895), p. 472. * Elizabeth Colville, who married James Lindsay of Dowhill and Kinloch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colville, Robert 16th-century Scottish people 1532 births 1584 deaths