William MacDowall (died 1580) was a Scottish priest and Master of Works 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 Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, her mother

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

, and

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

. The title 'sir' was used in Scotland by a priest without a master's degree. The name appears variously as McDowgall, McDougall, McDowall etc., in printed records, he signed accounts MAKDOUELL.

Career

He was first employed by

John Scrimgeour of Myres John Scrimgeour of Myres Castle near Falkland, Fife was Master of Work for royal buildings for James V and Mary, Queen of Scots, and Precentor of the Scottish Chapel Royal. Career He and his father held their lands by right of an hereditary o ...

in 1535, managing the stone quarry during the building of

Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

. During the Rough Wooings he was involved in the fabrication of arms at

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. ...

. Later he worked on the building of fortifications against the English for

, 1554–56, and collecting taxes to fund these defensive works. In Spring 1558 he worked on repairs to the forewall of Edinburgh Castle and the parapet of David's Tower, and Holyroodhouse. From August to October 1558 he was busy directing works on the Island of

Inchkeith Inchkeith (from the gd, Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area. Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for u ...

, including the construction of a munition house, to complete an artillery fortress designed by the Italian military engineer and architect Lorenzo Pomarelli. As master of work for Edinburgh burgh council, MacDowall measured quantities and made contracts with masons, including works at Newhaven. For

St. Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

he procured timber for roofing the Consistory in 1555 and wainscot in 1557 for the seating of Our Lady's Aisle. After the death of Mary of Guise he remained in Edinburgh Castle and was charged with neglecting his duties as a warden and Master of St. Pauls Work. He was allowed the use of a little house in St Paul's Work. After the

reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

of 1560, MacDowall was excluded from the town works, which recommenced with the conversion of a part of St Giles Kirk into a new Tollbooth. Although MacDowall was not again employed by the town, he worked for

, and repaired a pair of organs at Holroodhouse. He visited the island of

with Captain Robert Anstruther on 12 September 1561 to direct repairs to the fortress. In November 1561, with David Rowan, an expert gunner from Edinburgh castle, he surveyed the fortifications at

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scott ...

. MacDowall was working at

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 ...

in October 1566, on an archery range at Holyroodhouse in February 1567, and other projects at

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...

and Edinburgh Castle. Works continued in Edinburgh from August 1567 to February 1568, and with repairs at

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blacknes ...

to December. As master of work he surveyed the work of craftsmen appointed by the crown to look after the palaces; such as William Robertson, the slater, and Steven Loch, glass-wright, both appointed by Mary, Queen of Scots 28 April 1562. In September 1570 he began work at Stirling Castle, and the Edinburgh mint at Holyrood, and the stables there in March 1573. In April 1574 he began supervising the construction of the iconic half moon battery at Edinburgh Castle. His yearly salary was by now £150 Scots. As master of work 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 ...

, he built a gallery at Stirling Castle, and another gallery at Holyroodhouse, which was painted by

Walter Binning Walter Binning, or Bynning was a painter in 16th-century Edinburgh. There were several painters and glaziers called "Binning" working in Edinburgh and for the royal court in 16th-century Scotland. It has been speculatively suggested that there was ...

. In October 1579 he completed works in preparation for the ceremonial entry of

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 ...

into Edinburgh. In November he prepared a sand arena or tournament course for "

running at the ring Running at the ring or tilting at the ring was an equestrian tournament activity practiced at European royal courts. Participants rode at full speed to thrust the point of the lance through a ring or to hook a ring and carry it off. A performer was ...

" at Holyroodhouse for the young king. By this time, his successor

Robert Drummond of Carnock Sir Robert Drummond of Carnock (died 1592) was Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland from 1579 to 1583. This was the responsibility for building and repair of palaces and castles. His appointment was made to be "as Sir James Hamilton of Finnart ...

had already been appointed. At the end of December 1579, MacDowall delivered the foundation deeds of St. Paul's hospital to the burgh council. He died soon after. On 10 February 1580, burgh officials distributed money amongst the poor of St. Paul's Hospital from a box found in his possession, and the town council appointed his successor at St. Paul's Hospital on 3 June 1580.

Church appointments

The historian

Gordon Donaldson Gordon Donaldson, (13 April 1913 – 16 March 1993) was a Scottish historian. Life He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald RoadEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1912 off Leith Walk in northern Edinburgh on 13 April 1913 the so ...

noted MacDowall as an example of a pluralist since in addition to wages and fees for his royal building work, as a priest MacDowall not only gained by royal patronage the incomes from several altars and churches but also exemption from paying dues back to the crown. MacDowall gained the vicarage of the parish of Leswalt in

Whithorn Whithorn ( �ʍɪthorn 'HWIT-horn'; ''Taigh Mhàrtainn'' in Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian ...

diocese on 1 January 1559. After William's death, in March 1580, his vicarages of Leswalt and Inch, were given to Richard Waus, a natural son of Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch. Drummany (

Dalmeny Dalmeny ( gd, Dùn Mheinidh, IPA: �t̪uːnˈvenɪʝ is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the tradit ...

) was given to its Minister, George Lundy, after James, son of James Stewart of

Craigiehall Craigiehall is a late-17th-century country house, which until 2015 served as the Headquarters of the British Army in Scotland. It is located close to Cramond, around west of central Edinburgh, Scotland. Craigiehall was designed by Sir Willia ...

, was found inadequate to be appointed Reader.

Bannatyne's Memoriall Buik

George Bannatyne George Bannatyne (1545–1608), a native of Angus, Scotland, was an Edinburgh merchant and burgess (title), burgess. He was the seventh of twenty-three children, including Catherine Bannatyne, born of James Bannatyne of Kirktown of Newtyle in Fo ...

(1545–1608), an Edinburgh merchant who made a collection of Scottish poetry, compiled a family "Memoriall Buik" in which he recorded the names of the godparents of his siblings. The list includes William (1557), and another priest sir Robert Danielstoun or Denniston, Parson of Dysart (1551) whose brother served as a master of work, and keeper of

.Theo Van Heijnsbergen, 'Literature and History in Queen Mary's Edinburgh', in ''Renaissance in Scotland'', (Brill, 1994), p. 225.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdowall, William Masters of Work to the Crown of Scotland Scottish architects 16th-century Scottish people Court of Mary, Queen of Scots 16th-century architects Scottish Roman Catholic priests Tax collectors Scottish military engineers 1580 deaths Year of birth unknown Renaissance architecture in Scotland