Sir Symon Locard (1300)

He fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the struggle to free Scotland from English domination, and was knighted for his loyal service. He was among the knights, led by Sir James Douglas, who took Bruce’s heart on the crusade in 1329 to atone for his murder of John Comyn in the church of Greyfriars in 1306. Douglas carried the king’s heart in a casket, of which Sir Symon carried the key.

The crusade ended prematurely when Douglas was killed fighting the Moors at Teba in Spain. To commemorate Sir Symon’s part in this adventure and the honour done to the family at some later date the name was changed to Lockheart and afterwards abbreviated to Lockhart.

Sir George Lockhart (1630-1689)

He was the second son of Sir James Lockhart, Lord Lee, Lord Justice Clerk and became one of the most famous advocates at the Edinburgh Bar. He became Lord President of the Court of Session in 1685 and was M.P. for Lanarkshire in both the English and Scottish Parliaments. His knighthood was conferred in 1663 and the Carnwath and Dryden estates acquired by him in 1681.

He was murdered on Easter Sunday on his way home from church by Chiesly of Kersewell and Dalry, a dissatisfied litigant.

George Lockhart, Second of Carnwath (1673-1732)

A fervent Jacobite, he became Principal Agent to the exiled King James after the Rising of 1715. He was one of the Commissioners for the Treaty of Union, and the only one against it. He was one of the earliest of the agricultural improvers.

He married Euphemia Montgomery, daughter of the ninth Earl of Eglinton; they had fourteen children. He died as the result of a duel.

Count James Lockhart, Nineteenth of Lee (1727-1790)

James was the second son of The Hunting Laird and married three times. He had through these marriages, two daughters and two sons; his son Charles succeeded him. Being the second son, employment in Britain was difficult; from his youth he showed an interest in the army. His brief life account in “Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Osterrich” says “…… Thirst for action and an inclination for warfare led him at a very early age into military service; as a young man he was a soldier in Persia under Shah Nadir. After many years of adventures in various countries he entered the Austrian service……”

As a soldier of fortune, James joined Maria Theresa of Austria’s army at the end of the War of Austrian Succession, as a low ranking soldier. By the time of his death in 1790, he had gained a reputation for bravery, and on 17th March 1782 he was created a Count of The Holy Roman Empire by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the grandson of Maria Theresa, the title being Count Lockhart-Wishart of Lee & Carnwath.

click for larger imageHe inherited Lee & Carnwath on the early death of his brother George. He kept a close eye and interest in the Estate, but spent the majority of his time in the service of the Austrian Royal Family where he was regarded in the highest esteem. Proof of this is a small gold and enamelled snuff box, given to him by Maria Theresa to hold the Lee Penny. This is still in the family’s possession today. His coat-of-arms are engraved in stone and inset on the Estate office wall.

John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854)

He was one of the leading figures of the literary world of his day. He went up to Oxford University
at the age of thirteen and, on leaving, soon made his mark as a writer and more famously as a critic, earning the nickname of The Scorpion, so biting were his reviews.

He married Sir Walter Scot’s daughter Sophia and had three children. One of them was Hugh Littlejohn to whom Walter Scott dedicated his famous history of Scotland, Tales of a Grandfather.

He is best known for his biography of Sir Walter Scott which was hailed as the second finest biography ever written – after Boswell’s life of Samuel Johnson.

Sir James Haldane Lockhart (1858-1937)

A Sinologist, he was born on the family estate of Ardsheal in Argyll. He was dux of George Watson’s College, Edinburgh and Greek gold medallist at Edinburgh University. He was appointed a Hong Kong Cadet in 1878 and supervised Britain’s acquisition of the New Territories in 1898 and was the first Special Commissioner of them.

A Confucian, he was fluent in several Chinese dialects and an expert numismatist. He died in London in 1937, leaving his considerable collection of Chinese art and papers to his former school.