The arms of Douglas of Mains were not
registered with the Lord Lyon King of Arms until 1672, however it was
known to have been used for many years before that date.
The Arms for the Cadet Branch of Mains are as follows;
Argent a Fesse Chequy Gules and of the first between three Mullets in
Chief Azure and a man's Heart in base proper
The arms are based on those of the Earl of Douglas, which
at the time the Mains branch was established, had three stars,
but an uncrowned heart. The addition of a fess chequy
represented the Lennox land (inherited through the Galbraiths)
that formed the estate. The fess of the Stewart Earls of Lennox
arms was a silver and blue check, but the Mains family changed
the check colour to red (an old Lennox colour) Crest - An Oak Tree Proper
Motto - Quae Serrata Secura |
The Douglases of Mains are a branch of the Clan
Douglas, related to the Lords of Douglas through Archibald I, Lord of
Douglas. The first Laird obtained land through marriage into the
Galbraith family, which had been granted land in New Kilpatrick by Maldowen, Earl of Lennox.
The family produced minor nobles in the Scottish court, perhaps the most
notable of which was Malcolm Douglas, the 8th Laird, executed for
treason in Edinburgh for conspiracy in the Raid of Ruthven. His second
son, Robert Douglas, was made Viscount of Belhaven and is buried in
Holyrood Abbey.
The family intermarried in the Glasgow area, having links with the
Campbells of Blythswood, with landed families across Scotland (including
the Duke of Douglas) and more latterly the United Kingdom.
The title became extinct in the 20th century; the last 33.5 acres of the
estate (including the house) was sold to Dunbartonshire county and was
subsequently used for the erection of the secondary school, Douglas
Academy, in Milngavie prior to the death of the last heir (Lt-Col
Archibald Vivian Campbell Douglas) in 1977
The Douglases of Mains are related to the Lords of Douglas through
Archibald I, Lord of Douglas (born before 1198 died ca. 1238), whose
first son was William Longleg, Lord of Douglas and whose second son was
Andrew Douglas of Hermiston. The title Laird of Mains was created in
1373, when Nicholas Douglas, son of the fourth Lord of Hermiston married
Janet Galbraith, from whom he obtained the lands of Mains. However it
was not until 1672 that the 11th Laird registered the coat of arms with
the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Tracing the ownership of the title becomes increasingly difficult from
the beginning of the 18th century, as the title became junior to the
Campbells of Blythswood, with both titles being held by the same family,
but never by the same individual. The title become extinct (in 1928)
when the last heir (Archibald Vivian Campbell Douglas) was granted a
disposition to break the hereditary ownership of the estate (and
therefore enabling him to sell it). Archibald VC Douglas was
subsequently father to two daughters. He died at his home, Laraich, 2
miles west of Aberfoyle on 28 October 1977.
THE DOUGLASES OF MAINS IN KILPATRICK, AND ARLEHAVEN IN STRATHBLANE.
Extracted from:
The Parish of Strathblane and Its Inhabitants from
Early Times: A Chapter of Lennox History, by John Guthrie Smith; 1886
The first of this family in the West of Scotland was Nicolas
Douglas,
brother of Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith. He married
Janet, one of the
co-lieiresses of ihe great Lennox family of
Galbraith, and
with her he received, as her share of their
barony, the lands of Mains and possibly ArlehavenX1X. Nicolas Douglas is
witness to a charter by his brother, 7th June, 1396, and his seal is
appended to his brother's will, dated 19th December, 1392. Without
tracing the Mains family step by Step, It is cnough to say that with
varying fortune the descendants of Nicolas Douglas and Janet Galbriuth
have held Mains in property and Arlehaven but only in superiority now
to the present day.
Alexander Douglas of Mains, a
distinguished member of the family, married about 1518 Margaret, eldest
daughter of Mathew Earl of Lennox. His son Mathew, the succeeding laird,
was one of the party under Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill, who surprised
and took Dumbarton Castle in iS71. The next possessor of Mains was
Malcolm, whose tragical story is related in the life of Sir James
Edmonstone of Dunireath a little further on. XXXXXXXXXXXX
Robert
Douglas, second son of the unfortunate Malcolm, was early in life page
of honour to Henry Prince of Wales, and was afterwards in office at
the Courts of King James VL and King Charles 1. He was a member of the
Privy Council, and in 1633 he was created Viscount Belhaven. He died
childless in t639, and was buried in the Abbey of Holyrood, where, says
Crawford, his hisiorian, a monument was erected on which was carved an
epitaph giving an account of the "remarkable actions" of this worthy
scion of a Strathblane race. Since the beginning of last century the
families of Campbell of BIythswood and Douglas of Mains have been
intermingled in a most confusing way, the result being that while the
Campbells of BIythswood are almost entirely Douglas, the Douglases of
Mains are a good deal Campbell The well known and witty Margarct
Douglas, who married in 1758 Archibald Duke of Douglas, was a daughter
of the house of Mains.
The [present] proprietor of Mains,
Archibald Campbell Douglas, is the representative of a race who, though
they have never resided in it, have been connected with Strathblane for
well nigh five hundred years. Mr. Douglas married in 1867 Eliza
Christian, only daughter of Robert Spier of Culdees, and niece of the
late Sir Robert Milliken Napier of Napier, Bart.
The arms of
Douglas of Mains, as illustrated by the two woodcuts given above, are a
capital example of the ancient custom, which prevailed both in England
and Scotland, of families adopting as part of their arms the principal
bearing of the great Earl or overlord who was their superior. Thus when
Nicolas Douglas came into the Lennox towards the close of the fourteenth
century, he added the well-known saltire of the Lennox to the chief
charged with two mullets, the family arms of Douglas of Dalkeith. His
beautiful little seal, a copy of which Mr. Corner has skilfully engraved
from a cast of No. 259 of Mr. Laing's collection, shows how he arranged
the addition. It represents a lion, whose head in this, the only known
impression, has unfortunately been broken off, supporting between his
fore paws a shield charged with the Lennox saltire, and on a chief the
Douglas mullets. The well-known Douglas heart, which had been only
lately adopted by the Douglas family viz., in 1343, by William first
Earl of Douglas was at that time no part of the Dalkeith arms.
Some branches of the Douglas family bear this heart ensigned with a
crown; when it was first introduced it was uncrowned.
Alexander
Douglas of Mains married, as already shown, Margaret, eldest daughter of
Mathew Earl of Lennox, second of the Stewart Earls, and the arms of the
family of Mains were thereupon completely changed. The saltire of the
old race of Lennox disappeared, and the fesse checque of the new line of
Earls took its place; another mullet was added to the two already in
chief, and an uncrowned heart was placed in base, and these are the arms
now borne by the family. The fesse checque of the Stewart Earls of
Lennox was azure and argent; but, apparently to keep up some connection
with the old Earls of Lennox, the Mains family changed the tincture to
gules the old Lennox colour and or. The reason the third mullet was
added was no doubt because the Douglases of Dalkeith or Morton, the
original head of the Mains family, had it so; and the uncrowned heart
was also by this time part of the Douglas arms.
The Earls of Morton
of the present day seem, however, to bear the heart crowned.
No
doubt the Mains family thought it a feather in their cap when the laird
married a daughter of the Earl of Lennox, and lost no time in
commemorating the grand marriage by this change of arms. They would have
been wiser if they had left them alone, for the beautiful, simple coat
of Sir Nicolas Douglas brought out the antiquity of their race in a way
the present coat fails to do. The two mullets and the absence of a heart
showed they were very old Douglases, and the saltire showed their
connection with the original and very ancient line of Lennox.
*
In the woodcut of the present arms of Douglas of Mains the bearings on
the shield are taken from a funeral escutcheon in the Lyon Office
(figured in volume i. p. no, Scottish Arms), The Crest and Motto are
those now in use by the family.
X1X There is a place which
appears in the Chartulary of Lennox as a
Galbraith possession, in Strathblane,
under the name of Achrefmoltoune or Aclitofinoltoune. This is
probably Atlehaven.
Nicholas Douglas, 1st Laird of Mains and
of Dounteray
b. ABT 1350 of Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. AFT 1392 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
Parents:
Father: John Douglas,
4th Lord of Herdmanston (Hermiston?)
Mother: Agnes Munfode
Marriage 1: Janet Galbraith,
SEP 1373, from whom he obtained the land of
Mains.
(2)
Children
-
James, 2nd Laird of Mains)
James Douglas, 2nd Laird of Mains
and of Dounteray
b. ABT 1374 of Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. AFT 1420
Parents:
Father: Nicholas Douglas, 1st Laird of
Mains
Mother: Galbraith, Janet (Heiress of Mains)
Marriage 1: Unknown
Children:
1. James, 3rd Laird of Mains
(1)
James Douglas, 3rd Laird of
Mains and of Dounteray
b. ABT 1409 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. 1490
Parents:
Father: James Douglas, 2nd Laird of
Mains
Mother: Unknown
Marriage 1: Catherine Maxwell b. ABT 1409,
Marriage: ABT 1435
Children:
1. William Douglas, 4th Laird of Mains
2. David Douglas
3. Patrick Douglas
4. Humphrey Douglas
William Douglas,
4th Laird of Mains
b. ABT 1436 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. AFT 1491
Parents:
Father: James Douglas, 3rd Laird of Mains
Mother: Catherine Maxwell
Marriage 1: Elizabeth Houston,
b. ABT 1440, Marriage: ABT 1466
Children:
1. John Douglas, 5th Laird of Mains
2. Robert Douglas
3. William Douglas
John Douglas, 5th Laird of
Mains
b. ABT 1467 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. 1513 Battle of Flodden, Northumberland, ENGLAND
Parents:
Father: William Douglas, 4th Laird of Mains
Mother: Elizabeth Houston
Marriage 1: Margaret Kincaid, Marriage: ABT 1497
Children:
1. Alexander Douglas, 6th Laird of Main
Douglas, Alexander (6th Laird of Mains)
b. ABT 1498 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
Parents:
Father: John Douglas, 5th Laird of
Mains
Mother: Margaret Kincaid
Marriage 1: Margaret Stewart, dau of
Matthew, 2nd Earl of Lennox,
b. ABT 1497, Marriage: 1518
Children:
1. Matthew Douglas, 7th Laird of Mains
Matthew Douglas, 7th Laird of Mains
b. ABT 1519 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. AFT 1571
Parents:
Father: Alexander Douglas, 6th Laird of
Mains
Mother: Margaret Stewart, daughter of the earl of lennox, as her second
husband. Marriage 1: Margaret Buchanan,
b. ABT 1523, Marriage: ABT 1539
Children:
1. Malcolm Douglas, 8th Laird of Mains
Malcolm Douglas, 8th Laird of
Mains
b. BET 1540 AND 1548 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. 9 FEB 1585 executed for treason at Edinburgh, Midlothian, SCOTLAND
Parents:
Father: Matthew Douglas, 7th Laird
of Mains
Mother: Margaret Buchanan
Marriage 1: Janet Cunningham, Marriage: 1562
Children:
1. Alexander Douglas, 9th Laird of Mains
2. Robert Douglas, 1st Viscount Belhaven
3. Malcolm Douglas, ,b. BET 1565 AND 1585
4. William Douglas, b. 1566
5. James Douglas, b. 1568
6. George Douglas, b. 1560
Alexander Douglas, 9th Laird of
Mains
b. ABT 1563 Mains, New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, SCOTLAND
d. ABT 1618
Parents:
Father: Malcolm Douglas, 8th
Laird of Mains
Mother: Janet Cunningham, (Cuninghame) , Daughter of
John Cuninghame, Laird of Drumquhasle, Master of the Household to
James VI.
Marriage 1: Grizell Henderson,
b. ABT 1570 of Fordell, Fife, SCOTLAND
Children:
1.
Sir Robert Douglas of Blackerstone,
Marr his cousin Susanna
Douglas, and had issue
2. Sir Archibald Douglas, 10th Laird of Mains
3.
Mary Douglas
Archibald Douglas, 10th Laird of Mains
(dspm)
Parents:
Father: Alexander Douglas,9th Laird of
Mains
Mother: Grizell Henderson,
Marriage 1: Isabel Elphinstone, dau of Sir
George Elphinstone
Notes:
1. James may have
previously known as being of Lethcamrach, with his son William also being
of Lethcamrach (or Ledcameroch).
2. Lands obtained from the Galbraiths are listed
here>>>
3. Research required:
JOHN DOUGLAS of Maynes, heir of Walter
Douglas of Kay- toune, his father (This Walter of Kaigtown and his
son, John)
WALTER DOUGLAS of Hayistoun, heir of
Malcolme Douglas of Hayistoun, (In Baljafray, Kilpatrick)
4. Alexander Douglas of Mains married, as already shown,
Margaret, eldest daughter of Mathew Earl of Lennox, second of the
Stewart Earls, and the arms of the family of Mains were thereupon
completely changed. The saltire of the old race of Lennox disappeared,
and the fesse checque of the new line of Earls took its place; another
mullet was added to the two already in chief, and an uncrowned heart was
placed in base, and these are the arms now borne by the family. The
fesse checque of the Stewart Earls of Lennox was azure and argent; but,
apparently to keep up some connection with the old Earls of Lennox, the
Mains family changed the tincture to gules the old Lennox colour and
or. The reason the third mullet was added was no doubt because the
Douglases of Dalkeith or Morton, the original head of the Mains family,
had it so; and the uncrowned heart was also by this time part of the
Douglas arms. The Earls of Morton of the present day seem, however, to
bear the heart crowned.
No doubt the Mains family thought it a
feather in their cap when the laird married a daughter of the Earl of
Lennox, and lost no time in commemorating
the grand marriage by this
change of arms. They would have been wiser if they had left them alone,
for the beautiful, simple coat of Sir Nicolas Douglas brought out the
antiquity of their race in a way the present coat fails to do.
The
two mullets and the absence of a heart showed they were very old
Douglases, and the saltire showed their connection with the original and
very ancient line of Lennox.
Continues on page 2
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