Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home (died 1575) was a Scottish nobleman and Warden of the Eastern March.

Early life

Alexander Home was the son of George Home, 4th Lord Home and Mariotta Haliburton. He became Lord Home on the death of his father who was injured in a skirmish with the English two days before the

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk, Lothian, River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the U ...

Marriages

In 1537 Alexander was contracted to marry a natural daughter of

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

and Elizabeth Beaton. However, he first married Margaret Ker of Cessford, a daughter of Sir Walter Ker of Cessford. Their daughter Margaret married George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal. He subsequently married Agnes Gray, daughter of Patrick, Lord Gray, and widow of Sir Robet Logan of

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

. Their son was Alexander Home, 6th Lord Home.

Rough Wooing

Alexander was captured by the English while riding on Falside Bray on 9 September 1547 the day before the battle of Pinkie. Both William Patten and

Jean de Beaugué Jean de Beaugué, was a French soldier who served in Scotland in the 1540s during the war of the Rough Wooing. He wrote a memoir of the fighting, which first published in 1556 is still an important source for historians. Much of the book concerns t ...

related how his mother Mariotta Haliburton was then compelled to negotiate the surrender of Hume Castle to the English. Alexander was then taken hostage to England, but returned in 1548 and was quickly able to organise the recapture of Home Castle, with his brother Andrew Home. In June 1562, Alexander sent a letter to

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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

saying that

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

was preparing a large fleet to send to aid the Protestants in France. She showed this to the English diplomat at her court, Thomas Randolph who laughed at it. Randolph recorded her reply which hints both at Elizabeth's meanness and Home's motive;

"Well, you knowe that my lord Hume hathe a castle to keape - I wyll not be verie hastie to beleeve, nor I dowbt no suche daynger as he meanethe, and I trust that for the matters of France that there wilbe accordethe, so that your mestres shall not neade to be at anye suche charge."

Civil war and imprisonment

At first Alexander supported Regent Moray against

in the Scottish civil war and Moray gave him the Commendatorship of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

. In March 1569 Regent Moray went to

Liddesdale Liddesdale is a district in the Roxburghshire, County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland. It includes the area of the valley of the Liddel Water that extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, Dumfries and ...

to punish the border people. Moray was accompanied by Lord Home, Ker of Cessford, Ker of Ferniehirst, and Scot of Buccleuch and 4000 men. After holding unsatisfactory talks with the local leaders, "the best of the surname men", Moray burned the farmsteads in Liddesdale, and did not leave one house standing. He stayed at Mangerton, then had the house blown up with gunpowder and returned to Jedburgh. In December 1571 Regent Mar blamed his wife Agnes Gray Lady Home, for his revolt and as a supporter of Elizabeth's rebels, now fugitives from the

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

. Lord Home changed sides and joined the garrison loyal to Mary in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

. He was imprisoned when the castle fell in May 1573 to an English force led by William Drury in May 1573. Agnes Gray, Lady Home, had loaned the commander of the castle, William Kirkcaldy of Grange £600 Scots to help pay the garrison. As security Kirkcaldy gave her fifteen diamonds and a pearl necklace from the

jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots The jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) are mainly known through the evidence of inventories held by the National Records of Scotland. She was bought jewels during her childhood in France, adding to those she inherited. She gave gifts of ...

. She had to surrender these jewels without payment to the Privy Council at Holyrood House on 4 July 1573. The necklace was described as "a carcan of gold and perll, the gold annamalit (enamelled) reid the string grene". In June 1574 Agnes Gray wrote a long letter to Queen Elizabeth, who had written to Regent Morton in her husband's favour. She wanted to offer redress for previous actions that had offended Elizabeth, such as receiving her rebels including Leonard Dacre, whose father had been a friend to her husband's father. She hoped Elizabeth could tell her what to do to please Regent Morton. The English ambassador Henry Killigrew discussed removing cannon from Hume Castle, requiring a manifest from Lady Home or her husband, a condemned prisoner. There was controversy over whether some guns belonged to the earl, the crown of Scotland, or the Laird of Restalrig. Agnes gave him a memorandum of the cannon at Hume in September 1574.''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 21–3 no. 13, p. 26 no. 17, p. 57 no. 50, pp. 155–6 no. 164. Alexander Home, Earl of Home, died in 1575. His widow Agnes Gray then married the Master of Glamis.

References

* ''Historical Manuscripts Commission, 12th Report and Appendix; Duke of Athole and Earl of Home'' (London, 1891). {{DEFAULTSORT:Home, Alexander Home, 5th Lord 1575 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Court of James V of Scotland Court of Mary, Queen of Scots Scottish soldiers 16th-century Scottish peers Scottish people of the Rough Wooing Year of birth unknown

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...