William Stewart of Grandtully (1567–1646) was a Scottish landowner and courtier. Adam de Colone09

St Mary's Chapel, Grandtully - Painted Ceiling - geograph

Career

He was a son of William Stewart or Steuart of Grandtully (died 1574) and Isobella Stewart, a daughter of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl. It is said that he was brought and educated with

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 ...

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. A royal charter of 1602 reflects this, noting that he was in the king's service "since his coronation". Stewart was described as a "page of honour" at court in 1585. The chronicle attributed to David Moysie says that this man (described as the Laird of Grandtully, nephew of the Earl of Atholl) and his kinship friends, declared to James VI in 1579 that

John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl (died 25 April 1579), called the Fair, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier. He was favoured by Mary, Queen of Scots, but later turned against her. Biography Stewart was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atho ...

had been poisoned at a banquet at a Stirling Castle. He had an older brother, Thomas Stewart, who became Laird of Grandtully. William became Laird of Banchrie. Before his death in 1611, Thomas feued the lands of Grandtully to William, who was then known as the "feuar of Grandtully". William Stewart became a gentleman of the king's bedchamber in May 1594. He helped save the king from the

Gowrie Conspiracy John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c. 1577 – 5 August 1600), was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King ...

at Perth on 5 August 1600 and James VI rewarded him with the forfeited Ruthven castle of Trochrie near Little Dunkeld and the barony of Strathbran. A privy seal letter of November 1600 describes him as a "daily servitor" of the king. He is said to have made additions to Trochrie Castle which featured his initials and heraldry. He does not seem to have resided at court in London after the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

. His home was at

Grandtully Grandtully (''pronounced as "Grantly" and sometimes also spelt "Grantully"'') is a small village in Perthshire, Scotland. It is situated close to the River Tay, about from Pitlochry. It has a population of approximately 750 inhabitants. Paris ...

where he refurbished St Mary's church with a wooden vault painted with vignettes around the year 1636. He also came to own

Murthly Castle Murthly (Scottish Gaelic ''Mòrthlaich'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, southeast of Dunkeld, and north of Perth. Perth District Asylum, later known as Murthly Hospital, was opened in t ...

. His portrait was painted by Adam de Colone and a copy of this picture still hangs at Murthly. He died in 1646 and was buried at Grandtully.

Marriage and children

He married Agnes Moncreiff. Her monogram and heraldry appears in the chapel at Grandtully. Their children included: *Thomas Stewart of Grandtully (1608-1688), who married Grizel Menzies. Their daughter Grissel Stuart married John Drummond of Logiealmond. *Henry Stewart *William Stewart

Other contemporaries called William Stewart

It is not clear if this William Stewart was same man as the valet of

who accompanied him to Denmark in 1589 and acted as his pursemaster, whose career is described here:

William Stewart (courtier) William Stewart (floruit 1585–1600) was a Scottish courtier. In 1591 William Stewart was described as a valet in the chamber of James VI. The other valets in 1591 were William Murray, John Gibb, and John Stewart of Rosland. He may have been t ...

. There were several men called William Stewart active at Scottish court in this period, including: *

William Stewart of Houston Sir William Stewart of Houston (c. 1540 – c. 1605) was a Scottish soldier, politician and diplomat. He is often known as "Colonel Stewart", or the Commendator of Pittenweem. Life He began his career as a soldier in the Netherlands, where he ...

, a soldier and diplomat, known as Colonel Stewart, who also attended James VI in Denmark. * William Stewart, of Dundee, skipper, captain of one of the ships of James VI in Denmark, and the "Bruce" of

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. *

William Stewart of Monkton William Stewart of Monkton and Carstairs (died 1588) was a Scottish landowner and courtier. He was a son of Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree and Agnes Cunningham. His elder brother was James Stewart, Earl of Arran and his sister Margaret Stewar ...

(d. 1588), Provost of Ayr. *

William Stewart of Caverston William Stewart of Caverston and Traquair (died 1605), was a Scottish landowner and Captain of Dumbarton Castle. Career He was a brother of John Stewart of Traquair, Sir John Stewart of Traquair House, Traquair. His lands were at Caverston, or Ca ...

, and subsequently Laird of

Traquair Traquair ( gd, Cille Bhrìghde) is a small village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders; Counties of Scotland, until 1975 it was in the county of Peeblesshire. The village is situated on the B709 road south of Inn ...

, Captain of

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. * William Stewart, a retainer of 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 ...

, participant in the

Raid of Holyrood The Raid of Holyrood was an attack on Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh on 27 December 1591 by Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell in order to gain the favour of King James VI of Scotland. Background Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell was a nephew o ...

in December 1591. * William Stewart, a servant of

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 ...

mentioned in Morton's "Confession".

John Graham Dalyell Sir John Graham Dalyell (August 1775 – 7 June 1851) was a Scottish advocate, antiquary and naturalist Life The second son of Sir Robert Dalyell, fourth baronet, who died in 1791, by Elizabeth, only daughter of Nicol Graham of Gartmore, Perthshi ...

''Journal of the Transactions in Scotland, by Richard Bannatyne'' (Edinburgh, 1806), p. 513
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References

External links

Grandtully, St Mary's Church, HES/RCAHMS Canmore

Portrait of William Stewart by Adam de Colone, Philip Mould

Trochry Castle, HES/RCAHMS Canmore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, William Court of James VI and I 16th-century Scottish people 17th-century Scottish people 1567 births 1646 deaths