Seven Centuries

The lives of the Lairds of Lee and Carnwath illustrate the religious, domestic, agricultural and political history of Scotland over seven centuries. In Seven Centuries the changing role of the Scottish landowner is traced through feudal times to the present day.

Several members of the family had distinguished careers, notably Sir William Lockhart, Cromwell’s ambassador to France, and his brother Sir George, a great jurist, who became President of the Court of Session and was ultimately murdered by a dissatisfied litigant.

Both Sir George’s sons were involved in the Jacobite Risings and his eldest son was one of the Commissioners for the Treaty of the Union and the only one opposed to it. A later member of the family was created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire.

Simon Macdonald Lockhart also edited To My Pocket, the personal cash book of the Laird of Carnwath between the years 1758 – 1763. Both books provide a unique reference source for historians as well as being a fascinating record of the lives of the Lockharts of Lee and Carnwath, one of the most influencial Scottish families.