Robert Logan of Restalrig
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig (c.1555-July 1606) was a Scottish knight involved in the Gowrie House affair of 1600.
The Logan family lived at Lochend Castle
near Restalrig
, and others of the name had been Provost of Leith
. In 1430, an ancestor, also called Sir Robert Logan (d.1439), and his wife Dame Katherine founded the monastery of St Anthony which was near South Leith Parish Church
with an outlying chapel at Arthur's Seat
in Holyrood Park
, which survives as a ruin. Robert inherited Fast Castle
as 'nephew' and heir of Elizabeth Martene, Lady Fastcastle, widow of Cuthbert Home who had fallen at Flodden Field. His father was also called "Robert Logan of Restalrig," his mother was Agnes Gray, daughter of Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray
. After Robert Logan senior died she married Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home
.
Robert firstly married Elizabeth MacGill, daughter of David MacGill of Cranston-Riddell, then Jonet Ker and thirdly Marion Ker.
During the Scottish civil war in 1573, Robert Logan supported Mary, Queen of Scots by joining William Kirkcaldy of Grange
in defending Edinburgh Castle
in the Queen's name. On 29 July 1586, he wrote from Restalrig to Archibald Douglas in London, offering his service to Francis Walsingham
. Logan conveyed letters secretly from England for the Master of Gray
. In 1597 he surrendered a number of lands and rights connected to Fast Castle (but not the Castle itself), which he had inherited from Sir George Ogilvy of Dunlugus, to the Hume of Wedderburn
family. The rights included the keeping of Berwick Castle
, which had not been in Scottish hands since 1482.
Robert Logan died before May 1608, the last of his line. His first wife, Elizabeth MacGill, after their divorce married Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean, Tutor of Cassilis
.
, at Perth
on 4 August 1600 by the confession of George Sprot of Eyemouth
. In 1608, after Robert Logan's death, Sprot confessed he had seen letters from Gowrie to Logan at Fast Castle and Gunnisgreen. Sprot understood from Logan's servant that if the king was successfully abducted, Logan would be rewarded with the gift of Dirleton Castle
.
Sprot described a letter signed "Restalrig" which he claimed was written by Robert Logan to Gowrie, which he had obtained from Logan's illiterate servant, James Bour. Logan offered Gowrie and his brother the use of Fast Castle to settle their plot. He recommended that "the matter" be settled soon at the King's buck hunting. In this letter, Robert said the matter in hand was like a strange tale of a gentleman of Padua.
George Sprot was hanged at the Market Cross of Edinburgh
for foreknowledge of the conspiracy on 12 August 1608. The story was doubted at the time, Sprot having first withdrawn his confession, John Spottiswoode
who was present at Sprot's hanging thought his tale, "a meer invention of the man's own brain." Spottiswoode did not think it likely that Gowrie would have plotted with Logan.
The Logan family were then forfeited by the Parliament of Scotland
, including Logan of Restalrig's eldest son, also called Robert. The records of Parliament include the text of five alleged letters from Robert to Gowrie. The Kirk Minister of Coldingham, Alexander Watson, testified that the spelling and hand of the letters was that of Logan. Watson made detailed comment on the habits of Logan's orthography
.
The Logan family lived at Lochend Castle
Lochend Castle
Lochend House, also known as Restalrig Castle and Lochend Castle, is an occupied house, incorporating the remains of a 16th-century L-plan tower house, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the Lochend area, about east of Edinburgh Castle, between Holyrood Park and Calton Hill...
near Restalrig
Restalrig
Restalrig is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of the A199 road, and to the east of Lochend, with which it overlaps. Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road at Jock's Lodge, to Leith Links at the south edge of...
, and others of the name had been Provost of Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
. In 1430, an ancestor, also called Sir Robert Logan (d.1439), and his wife Dame Katherine founded the monastery of St Anthony which was near South Leith Parish Church
South Leith Parish Church
South Leith Parish Church or Kirk is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its kirkyard is the burial place for John Home, author of Douglas, and John Pew, the man from whom the author Robert Louis Stevenson reputedly...
with an outlying chapel at Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat may refer to:* Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, in Scotland* Arthurs Seat, Victoria, locality and hill in Australia* Arthur's Seat, Maharashtra, locality and plateau in India* Arthur's Seat a promontory on Otago Peninsula, New Zealand...
in Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It has an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of whin providing a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape within its area...
, which survives as a ruin. Robert inherited Fast Castle
Fast Castle
Fast Castle is the ruined remains of a coastal fortress in Berwickshire, south-east Scotland, in the Scottish Borders. It lies north west of the village of Coldingham, and just outside of the St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve, run by the National Trust for Scotland...
as 'nephew' and heir of Elizabeth Martene, Lady Fastcastle, widow of Cuthbert Home who had fallen at Flodden Field. His father was also called "Robert Logan of Restalrig," his mother was Agnes Gray, daughter of Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray
Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray
Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray was a Scottish landowner and Sheriff of Angus active during the war of the Rough Wooing as a supporter of the Scottish Reformation.-Family:...
. After Robert Logan senior died she married Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home
Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home
Alexander Home, 5th Lord 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.-Marriages:...
.
Robert firstly married Elizabeth MacGill, daughter of David MacGill of Cranston-Riddell, then Jonet Ker and thirdly Marion Ker.
During the Scottish civil war in 1573, Robert Logan supported Mary, Queen of Scots by joining William Kirkcaldy of Grange
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange , Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange , a member of an old Fife family...
in defending Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
in the Queen's name. On 29 July 1586, he wrote from Restalrig to Archibald Douglas in London, offering his service to Francis Walsingham
Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham was Principal Secretary to Elizabeth I of England from 1573 until 1590, and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence methods both for espionage and for domestic security...
. Logan conveyed letters secretly from England for the Master of Gray
Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray
Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray , known most of his life as Patrick, Master of Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician during the reigns of James VI of Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots.-Early life:...
. In 1597 he surrendered a number of lands and rights connected to Fast Castle (but not the Castle itself), which he had inherited from Sir George Ogilvy of Dunlugus, to the Hume of Wedderburn
Wedderburn Castle
Wedderburn Castle, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th century country house. It is the historic family seat of the Home of Wedderburn family, cadets of the Home family .-History:...
family. The rights included the keeping of Berwick Castle
Berwick Castle
Berwick Castle is a ruined castle in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.The castle was founded in the 12th century by the Scottish King David I. In 1296-8, the English King Edward I had the castle rebuilt and the town fortified, before it was returned to Scotland...
, which had not been in Scottish hands since 1482.
Robert Logan died before May 1608, the last of his line. His first wife, Elizabeth MacGill, after their divorce married Sir Thomas Kennedy of Culzean, Tutor of Cassilis
John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis
John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis was a Scottish peer, the son of Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassilis.He succeeded to the titles of 7th Lord Kennedy and 5th Earl of Cassillis on 14 December 1576....
.
Logan and the Gowrie House affair
Robert Logan was implicated in the alleged attempt to abduct James VI of Scotland by John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of GowrieJohn Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie
John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie was a Scottish nobleman, the second son of William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie and his wife Dorothea Stewart...
, at Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
on 4 August 1600 by the confession of George Sprot of Eyemouth
Eyemouth
Eyemouth , historically spelt Aymouth, is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north-south A1 road and just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It has a population of circa 3,420 people .The town's name comes from its location at...
. In 1608, after Robert Logan's death, Sprot confessed he had seen letters from Gowrie to Logan at Fast Castle and Gunnisgreen. Sprot understood from Logan's servant that if the king was successfully abducted, Logan would be rewarded with the gift of Dirleton Castle
Dirleton Castle
Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around west of North Berwick, and around east of Edinburgh...
.
Sprot described a letter signed "Restalrig" which he claimed was written by Robert Logan to Gowrie, which he had obtained from Logan's illiterate servant, James Bour. Logan offered Gowrie and his brother the use of Fast Castle to settle their plot. He recommended that "the matter" be settled soon at the King's buck hunting. In this letter, Robert said the matter in hand was like a strange tale of a gentleman of Padua.
George Sprot was hanged at the Market Cross of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
for foreknowledge of the conspiracy on 12 August 1608. The story was doubted at the time, Sprot having first withdrawn his confession, John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode
John Spottiswoode was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland and historian of Scotland.-Life:...
who was present at Sprot's hanging thought his tale, "a meer invention of the man's own brain." Spottiswoode did not think it likely that Gowrie would have plotted with Logan.
The Logan family were then forfeited by the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
, including Logan of Restalrig's eldest son, also called Robert. The records of Parliament include the text of five alleged letters from Robert to Gowrie. The Kirk Minister of Coldingham, Alexander Watson, testified that the spelling and hand of the letters was that of Logan. Watson made detailed comment on the habits of Logan's orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
.