Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss
1425 - 1502
Margaret Livingstone (Drumry), his wife
Sir David Wemyss? son and heir Sir John Wemyss of that Ilk being a minor, of only 5 years old in 1430 fell under the tutor of his Uncle Michael of Wemyss. He married in 1447 Margaret, the daughter of Sir Robert Livingstone of Drumry. The charter granted by Sir Robert Livingstone to his daughter and son-in-law describes him as "of Drumry and of the barony of Lochere," and shows that though so much had been given up to him in property, he also exercised a joint superiority over other parts of the estate held by the family of Wemyss before 1296. West Wemyss, remained with David Wemyss, while it drew closer the relationship between the families, and saved John Wemyss from any claim which the Livingstones could make on his estate through their descent from any former co-heiress of Wemyss.
In about the year 1460, perhaps at the coronation of King James the Third in that year, the laird of Wemyss was raised to the rank of Knighthood. He still held the superiority of his half of the lands of Inchmartin, and in 1461, he and David Ogilvy, younger of Inchmartin, exchanged charters of their respective lands. Sir John Wemyss granted to Ogilvy the half lordship of Inchmartin, while he received in return a charter of Ogilvy?s lands of Wemyss-shire and others, namely, one-ninth of Wemyss, three-fourths of Dron, in Fifeshire, and one-sixth of Elcho, with Elcho Castle, in Perthshire.
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Picture Page for Elcho Castle
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The
Elcho Castle
From this picture taken in the spring of 1997, we can see the front view of what still remains of Elcho Castle. There is even still a small section of the original wall in front. Although it is not confirmed, the castle was most likely built in the third quarter of the sixteenth century. The house was never intended to stand in isolation. The remains of a range that ran along one side of the main courtyard of the castle have the initials IEW on the gable, perhaps in reference to John earl of Wemyss. Around the house and the courtyards immediately associated with it would have been a small dependent township, of which the modern farm and houses in the area are the successors. There was a small boat anchorage below the castle at the junction of the River Tay with the burn which runs down the east side of the castle. Boats may also have been able to enter the quarry immediately north of the castle, which used to be flooded and connected to the river by a short cut.
Having been built at a time when domestic comfort, convenience and privacy were all coming to be regarded as increasingly desirable by the great landholders Sir John would have benefited by the fascinatingly ingenious response to both the defensiveness still needed and the comforts desired. The accommodations of Elcho Castle in Sir John?s time were of a very high standard together with a considerable degree of security. The walls are mainly of rubble masonry, much of which may have been taken from the quarry to the north. The windows, doorways, and corners are of dressed ashlar. Originally all of this would have been covered by lime render, making any irregularites that are now evident, and slight traces of this render may still be seen.
Towards the entrance courtyard on its south side, the house presented an elongated facade with a square entrance tower at its western angle. Although not symmetrical this facade was carefully composed to give an appearance of measured regularity. At the wall head the massing was enlivened by a restrained display of turrets, dormers and concisely-rooted turrets. The tower, which had the only entrance to the house at its base, was the only part of the house to have an open wall-walk behind a parapet, giving it external something of the appearance of a distinct tower house.
The flanks of the courtyard in front of the house were probably originally defined by ranges, of which part of that on the west survives. At the south-eastern angle of the courtyard, behind the modern house, is a round tower from which it was possible to fire along the adjoining courtyard walls, and there may have been similar towers at the other angles. There were probably further courtyards to contain ancilary buildings such as stables and farm buildings, and there would also have been gardens and orchards.
Because of the quarry to the north there was no need for defensive walls to the rear of the castle. The face of the rear is much less regular, with three unequally spaced towers along its length. From the picture, also taken in the spring of 1997 it is clear that there was much less effort to create impressive architecture on the rear and most of the latrine chutes are concentrated on this side as well.
The single entrance doorway at the base of the south-west tower opened onto the spacious spiral main stair within the tower, which rose no higher than the principal rooms on the first floor. Members of the family and their visitors would proceed straight up the stair to that level, because the kitchen and associated larders and storerooms occupied the whole of the ground floor. These are all covered by stone vaulting which created a fire-proof barrier and gave greater structural strength to the building as a whole. Piercing the walls of the ground floor are seventeen gun-loops, which would have effectively discouraged all but the most persistent unwanted visitors. In the sills of some of these loops are still wooden battens with a central hole, which would have allowed the hand-held guns to be swiveled through the splayed mouth of the opening. Though there are windows at this level, they are smaller than those at the upper levels and stoutly barred. The kitchen is the first of the rooms to open off the corridor along the courtyard side of the ground floor. It has a large arched fireplace, within which most of the cooking took place over an open fire, and at the back of which is a domed bread oven. From the storeroom next to the kitchen a spiral service stair led to the upper stories of the house, allowing servants to carry food both to the hall and bedchambers.
The Hall was the main room on the first floor. It was a splendidly proportioned space warmed by a fireplace in the south wall. The entrance end of the hall was almost certainly partitioned off by a timber draft screen, which would have left the fireplace centrally positioned within the hall. Opening off the screened-off vestibule was a small storage room. Two of the three stairs which intercon-nected the upper stories of both the main block and the two towers at the west end of the building, though one of those stairs does not open onto both of the upper stories in the main block. Four large windows lighted the hall which would have glazing in their upper parts and wooden shutters behind; externally these windows had massive grilles as a security measure. Originally the walls of the hall were plastered.
Opening off the far end of the hall was the doorway to the rooms which probably served as the lodging of the owner. The main room was a large square chamber, with a smaller inner chamber beyond; within the inner chamber was a mural latrine, with a chute leading down to a cess chamber on the rear side of the house. This lodging was the finest in the house, and there are traces of an elaborate plaster cornice which was added at the junction of the wall and ceiling, probably in the early seventeenth century. When furnished, adorned with hangings and with a fire burning in the fireplace, it must have provided delightful accommodations for Sir John and the later owners of the house.
But many of the other lodgings and bedchambers on the two upper floors of the castle much have been almost as handsome, and one of the great delights for visitors to Elcho might have been the beautiful view looking out from these upper rooms. There were a number of individual chambers, while other chambers also had inner chambers or dosets. The scale of these varied considerably, and in some cases floor levels were carefully modified to achieve the best proportions. Still all of the chambers had separate access from one of the three spiral staircases, so that their occupants could have complete privacy. Each chamber was also equipped with it's own fireplace and latrine. Most of these rooms would have been for members of the Wemyss family, their guests and important members of their household.
The earlier mentioned charters were both granted at Perth on the same day. King James the Third confirmed them on 10th August 1468. Sir John Wemyss was to have regress to Inchmartin, should he be ejected from the lands of Wemyss-shire and others named, and at the same time he gave letters of reversion of the lands of Wester Inchmartin according to the decree-arbitral.
In 1484 Sir John was one of the conservators of the three-year truce with England. Also after living with his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Livingstone of Drumry for forty years, they were divorced in 1489, for unknown reasons. They are said to have parted amicably. Just about one year after the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Western Isles was overthrown by the King of Scots, Margaret died in about 1494.
Sir John Wemyss may be said to have died fighting. Unlike those of his ancestors who had died fighting in battles for Scottish independence, Sir John?s fights were in the law courts. There are detailed accounts of litigations in the courts, normally concerning land matters in Sir William Fraser?s book. His last recorded act, shortly before his death, was to appoint procurators to pursue on his behalf his own son and heir, Sir John Wemyss of Strathardle, Andrew Kinninmonth of that ilk, and others. A security given by the elder Sir John on behalf of the younger for the sum of 396 merks due as tocher to Andrew Kinninmonth on his marriage with Agnes Wemyss, grand-daughter of the pursuer, was to be annulled, while Sir John of Strathardle was to relieve his father of that sum. Sir John Wemyss died on May 13, 1502 at the age of seventy-six. By his will he appointed certain executors, but they declined to accept office, and David Wemyss, the testator?s grandson and heir, was appointed executor active before the end of May 1502.
Elcho Castle
