The History of Cousland Village
Cousland - The story so far...
Excerpts from The Big Cousland Dig - findings from an archaeological project to discover the real history of Cousland Village.
The village of Cousland has a long and varied history documented as far back as 1110 when William St. Clair was the Fourth Baron of Roslin; Third Baron of Pentland becomes the First Baron Cousland. There is mention of Cousland in a charter of William The Lion around the late 12th century that may relate to the lands, being in some way connected with the Abbey of Dunfermline.
In the late 19th century and again in 1957, stone coffins (or cists) were found in the area known as Windmill Plantation – and the dimensions of the burials (long cists) point to an Early Historic (perhaps even 8th-10th century AD) date. There are also several enclosures located by RCAHMS in the surrounding countryside attributed to the Iron Age or even Bronze Age however it is the later Medieval village that would have stood roughly where the present village stands today.
After the Cousland Big Dig in 2008, it was possible to tell the story of the village from the 12th century to the present. Cousland Castle dates from the late 15th century but this structure extends in the 16th century to become a house with courtyard and it is very possible that Mary Queen of Scots comes here after the battle of Carberry Hill.
The Mary Queen of Scots Connection
In 1494 Cousland passed to the Ruthvens – William 1st Lord Ruthven d.1528 (his mother was a Cranstoun of that ilk which explains a connection to the area. His eldest son died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513) The castle that now stands in the corner of the Walled Garden , could indeed have been built at this point, as the style does indicate a late 15th century origin, and would correlate well with a new lord of the lands of Cousland.
Interestingly in 1509 there is mention of dedication of chapel to St Catherine by William Lord Ruthven and his wife, Isobel Livingston.
Only 18 years later, Cousland would have witnessed the terrible Battle of Pinkie in 1547. The Ruthven's do not seem to be involved at Pinkie as the now elderly William, the second Lord is active in Perth and Patrick, his son, is pro-English at this point and is even trying to surrender Perth to the English. Therefore the story that the English burn the castle at Cousland would not make sense, given that, at this time, the Ruthven are friendly with the English.
On the evening of 9 March 1566 Ruthven made a dramatic appearance in the queen's chamber in Holyroodhouse while Mary was at supper with her friends. Ash-white from his illness, visibly wearing full armour under his nightgown, he demanded, ‘Let it please your majesty that yonder man David come forth of your privy chamber where he hath been overlong’ (Fraser, 252), before giving a barely coherent recitation of the secretary's misdeeds. His accomplices then dragged Riccio out of the room and stabbed him to death, after which Ruthven returned to the queen's presence and asked for wine.
Ruthven remained on guard with his men at the palace for two days, assuring the queen's attendants and the burgesses of Edinburgh that no harm was intended to the queen.
Some of Ruthven's force guarding the palace came from Cousland with have records of at least two of his tenants being there.
April 6th 1566 John Hunter in Cowsland and John Smith elder in Cowsland (among others from Dalkeith, Musselburgh etc) found surety to underlie the Law for the treasonable watching, warding and imprisoning of our sovereign lady in her Palace of Holyrood.
1567 - Mary surrenders to the confederate lords at Carberry Hill. The army of the lords halts at Cousland for about eight hours.
15 June 1567 - “the lords made great haste until they came to the Magdalen brig at Musselburgh and there the two armies being in each others sight strove continually from five o clock in the morning till noon against each other to have the advantage and pre-eminence of the sun and therafter the lords strove so for the sun that they passed to Cousland, and the Queen's grace and her army remained on the height at Carberry where they stayed til eight hours at night.”
Ruthven is active at the battle of Langside against Mary and after in the post 1570 civil war as a King's man. As warden of the East march he is active in Lothian in 1573. As treasurer he finds himself liable for overspending by the Duke of Lennox – this will lead to him ‘wadsetting’ Cousland to raise cash (using it as security for loans) In 1580 Cousland is used as security again and life rent to James Richardson of Smeaton from 1585. This is registered in the Books of Council and session the Register of Deeds at NAS.
1582 – Ruthven Raid: in increasing financial trouble, Gowrie kidnaps the King “The duke [of Lennox's] regime had spent lavishly on the royal household, moreover, and as treasurer Gowrie was obliged to cope with the resulting deficits, to the extent of having to wadset his own lands (including Cousland) in order to support the financial burdens of his office. The result was the coup d'état of 23 August 1582 known as the Ruthven raid , whereby Gowrie, supported by the earls of Angus and Glencairn and by many lairds and ministers, seized the person of the king and ousted Lennox from power. As befitted the man who gave his name to the raid, Gowrie was a leading figure in the regime that followed. He took steps to protect his own interests—one of the purposes of a tax imposed in April 1583 was to repay the crown's debts to himself—but his administration also made efforts to control royal household expenditure.”
1584 – The execution of Gowrie, forfeiture of Cousland and other lands to Earl of Arran. Though Gowrie is initially pardoned after he falls from power, his enemies soon move against him. He's accused of witchcraft, treason and conferring with a sorcerer, found guilty of treason, Gowrie was executed at Stirling on 4 May 1584 and all his lands were forfeited.
1588 - John as the 3rd Earl and 6th Lord Ruthven. In the year 1600 is the infamous but little known ‘Gowrie conspiracy’ with John alleged to have been involved in a plot to assassinate James VI – a plot that left him and his younger brother and heir Alexander dead after which he was posthumously attainted for treason. Once again, only 14 years after their lands had been returned, the Gowries forfeit everything.
Cousland is forfeited and gifted by the Crown to Sir Hugh Herries for his part in rescuing the King from the supposed assassination attempt but the lands are still in the hands of Dorothea Stewart the widowed countess, so he is given a pension from Scone until he can possess the lands fully.
Teinds continue to go to Dunfermline the Abbey revenues now belong to Anne of Denmark, The Queen, and this teind, or debt, indeed stretches back to the medieval period and is only fully paid off by the Dalrymples in the mid 19th century. Within an Act in favour of Sir Hugh Herries regarding an infeftment to be made to him of the lands of Cousland and 20 chalders of victual out of Scone we find the following line, which clearly states the tower and fotalice is still standing, and obviously roofed.
The Witch Hunts
Sir George Hay was an influential and powerful man and also an early industrialist with patents for iron and glass manufacture, he was also the Lord Chancellor of Scotland (1622). When Cousland was under his ownership they have a witch-hunt in the year 1630.
We know the 'witches' were held in the tolbooth in Cousland, which could have been the castle, given that it is the only secure building in the settlement. The suggestion is that the number of people involved represents a local dispute behind the accusations.
In the 1690s the Dalrymples of Oxenfoord & Stair take possession of the lands of Cousland. It may be no coincidence that the Dalrymples take over the lands then, the same time as the collapse of Scotland’s fortunes with the Darien Adventure. And perhaps it is here that we can see the origins of a new life for Cousland, with the construction of a model village, blacksmith, windmill, pottery and Walled garden.
Currently the pottery is being investigated, and shows the possibility of being an early transitional pottery of the mid 18th century where English potters (one being James Belfield - the father of the founder of the Prestonpans pottery of the same name) brought the new technology for white and creamwares to Scotland.
A Cousland blacksmith's role in the Battle of Prestonpans 1746 During the research for the Big Dig, a Jacobite poem was found in the National Library of Scotland which extols the bravery of the wrights (blacksmiths) of Cousland and Ormiston in fighting for the 'Roman who flew to Scotland', at the battle. It is known that the Jacobite army passed along the Bellyford Burn and who knows may have had their swords sharpened at Cousland Smiddy by the Reid's, who are named in the poem as joining the army and were the blacksmiths at that date.
The Big Cousland Dig report
Full report with references and images can be viewed online or in the libraries of Historic Scotland, RCAHMS and Midlothian Council Local Studies.