Clan Cunningham is a Scottish clan . The traditional origins of the clan are placed in the 12th century. However, the first contemporary record of the clan chiefs is in the thirteenth century. The chiefs of the Clan Cunningham supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence . In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Clan Cunningham feuded with the Clan Montgomery . Historically, the chief of Clan Cunningham held the title of Earl of Glencairn . However, in modern times the chief of the clan is Cunningham of Corsehill. On 18 December 2013, Sir John Christopher Foggo Montgomery Cunninghame, Baronet of Corsehill, was recognized by Lord Lyon as Clan Chief after the chiefship had been vacant for over 200 years.
118-519: Cunninghame is in the northern part of Ayrshire . Fredric van Bassen stated that in the year 1059, King Malcolm rewarded Malcolm, son of Freskin with the Thanedom of Cunninghame . The progenitor of the family known as Cunningham was Warnebald, who received a grant for the land of the Manor Cunningham between 1135 and 1140. The story that related to King Malcolm says that the son of Friskin, obtained
236-680: A Protestant convert, but he was distrusted by Scottish Calvinists who noticed the physical displays of affection between him and the king and alleged that Lennox "went about to draw the King to carnal lust". In August 1582, in what became known as the Ruthven Raid , the Protestant earls William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie and Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus lured James into Ruthven Castle , imprisoned him, and forced Lennox to leave Scotland. On 19 September 1582, during James's imprisonment, John Craig , whom
354-643: A registration county . There was an Ayrshire constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1868, when the constituency was divided into Ayrshire North and Ayrshire South . During the whole of the 1708 to 1868 period, and until 1950, the burghs of Ayr and Irvine were parliamentary burghs , represented as components of Ayr Burghs . In 1832 Kilmarnock became
472-671: A secret correspondence with James to prepare in advance for a smooth succession. With the queen clearly dying, Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne in March 1603. Elizabeth died in the early hours of 24 March, and James was proclaimed king in London later the same day. On 5 April, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise that he did not keep), and progressed slowly southwards. Local lords received him with lavish hospitality along
590-515: A Catholic ceremony held at Stirling Castle . His godparents were Charles IX of France (represented by John, Count of Brienne ), Elizabeth I of England (represented by the Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford ), and Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (represented by ambassador Philibert du Croc ). Mary refused to let the Archbishop of St Andrews , whom she referred to as "a pocky priest", spit in
708-567: A description of the poetic tradition in his mother tongue of Scots , applying Renaissance principles. He also made statutory provision to reform and promote the teaching of music, seeing the two in connection. One act of his reign urges the Scottish burghs to reform and support the teaching of music in Sang Sculis . In furtherance of these aims, James was both patron and head of a loose circle of Scottish Jacobean court poets and musicians known as
826-458: A great deal of money, his account of the circumstances was not universally believed. In 1586, James signed the Treaty of Berwick with England. That and his mother's execution in 1587, which he denounced as a "preposterous and strange procedure", helped clear the way for his succession south of the border. Queen Elizabeth was unmarried and childless, and James was her most likely successor . Securing
944-435: A head when James finally called a Parliament in 1621 to fund a military expedition in support of his son-in-law. The Commons on the one hand granted subsidies inadequate to finance serious military operations in aid of Frederick, and on the other—remembering the profits gained under Elizabeth by naval attacks on Spanish gold shipments—called for a war directly against Spain. In November 1621, roused by Edward Coke , they framed
1062-484: A king may impose new laws by royal prerogative but must also pay heed to tradition and to God, who would "stirre up such scourges as pleaseth him, for punishment of wicked kings". Basilikon Doron was written as a book of instruction for the four-year-old Prince Henry and provides a more practical guide to kingship. The work is considered to be well written and perhaps the best example of James's prose. James's advice concerning parliaments, which he understood as merely
1180-477: A large manufacturing plant near Ayr from about 1976 until the company was taken over by Compaq in 1998. Some supplier companies grew up to service this site and the more distant IBM plant at Greenock in Renfrewshire . Scotland's aviation industry has long been based in and around Prestwick and its international airport , and although aircraft manufacture ceased at the former British Aerospace plant in 1998,
1298-622: A line under the feud. In 1513 Cuthbert Cunningham, earl of Glencairn was killed at the Battle of Flodden . The fifth Cunningham Earl of Glencairn was a Protestant reformer and a patron of John Knox . The English saw the Reformation as an opportunity to discomfort the Scottish Crown and Glencairn was accused of being in their pay. Glencairn rose up against Mary, Queen of Scots and at the Battle of Carberry Hill in 1567 where she surrendered, Glencairn
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#17328443107221416-433: A lump sum of £600,000 to pay off the king's debts plus an annual grant of £200,000. The ensuing prickly negotiations became so protracted that James eventually lost patience and dismissed Parliament on 31 December 1610. "Your greatest error", he told Salisbury, "hath been that ye ever expected to draw honey out of gall". The same pattern was repeated with the so-called " Addled Parliament " of 1614, which James dissolved after
1534-514: A meeting with Tycho Brahe , James and Anne returned to Scotland on 1 May 1590. By all accounts, James was at first infatuated with Anne and, in the early years of their marriage, seems always to have shown her patience and affection. The royal couple produced three children who survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales , who died of typhoid fever in 1612, aged 18; Elizabeth , later queen of Bohemia ; and Charles , James's successor. Anne suffered from recurrent bouts of sickness and
1652-449: A mere nine weeks when the Commons hesitated to grant him the money he required. James then ruled without parliament until 1621, employing officials such as the merchant Lionel Cranfield , who were astute at raising and saving money for the crown, and sold baronetcies and other dignities, many created for the purpose, as an alternative source of income. Another potential source of income was
1770-529: A new translation and compilation of approved books of the Bible to resolve discrepancies among different translations then being used. The King James Version , as it came to be known, was completed in 1611 and is considered a masterpiece of Jacobean prose. It is still in widespread use. In Scotland, James attempted to bring the Scottish Kirk "so neir as can be" to the English church and to reestablish episcopacy ,
1888-545: A parliamentary burgh, to be represented as a component of Kilmarnock Burghs until 1918. Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs were districts of burghs , and quite different in character from later Ayr and Kilmarnock constituencies. From 1918 to 1983 Ayrshire and Buteshire were treated as if a single area for purposes of parliamentary representation, with their combined area being divided into different constituencies at different times. Scottish local government counties were abolished in 1975, in favour of regions and districts , but
2006-618: A peace policy, and tried to avoid involvement in religious wars , especially the Thirty Years' War that devastated much of Central Europe. He tried but failed to prevent the rise of hawkish elements in the English Parliament who wanted war with Spain. He was succeeded by his second son, Charles I. James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . Mary and Darnley were great-grandchildren of Henry VII of England through Margaret Tudor ,
2124-573: A period of decline and disrepute. Salisbury's passing gave James the notion of governing in person as his own chief Minister of State, with his young Scottish favourite Robert Carr carrying out many of Salisbury's former duties, but James's inability to attend closely to official business exposed the government to factionalism. The Howard party (consisting of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton; Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk; Suffolk's son-in-law William Knollys, Lord Knollys ; Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham ; and Thomas Lake ) soon took control of much of
2242-405: A petition asking not only for war with Spain but also for Prince Charles to marry a Protestant, and for enforcement of the anti-Catholic laws. James flatly told them not to interfere in matters of royal prerogative or they would risk punishment, which provoked them into issuing a statement protesting their rights, including freedom of speech. Urged on by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham , and
2360-696: A policy that met with strong opposition from presbyterians . James returned to Scotland in 1617 for the only time after his accession in England, in the hope of implementing Anglican ritual. James's bishops forced his Five Articles of Perth through a General Assembly the following year, but the rulings were widely resisted. James left the church in Scotland divided at his death, a source of future problems for his son. Throughout his life James had close relationships with male courtiers, which has caused debate among historians about their exact nature. In Scotland Anne Murray
2478-575: A principal cause of the Highlanders' shortcomings and sought to abolish it. It was against this background that James VI authorised the " Gentleman Adventurers of Fife " to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis " in 1598. James wrote that the colonists were to act "not by agreement" with the local inhabitants, but "by extirpation of thame". Their landing at Stornoway began well, but the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod. The colonists tried again in 1605 with
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#17328443107222596-695: A process "specifically aimed at the extirpation of the Gaelic language, the destruction of its traditional culture and the suppression of its bearers." In the Northern Isles , James's cousin Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney , resisted the Statutes of Iona and was consequently imprisoned. His natural son Robert led an unsuccessful rebellion against James, and the Earl and his son were hanged. Their estates were forfeited, and
2714-617: A significant number of aviation companies are still based on the Prestwick site. However, unemployment in the region (excluding the more rural South Ayrshire) is above the national average. Throughout the 17th century, huge numbers of people from Ayrshire moved to Ulster , the northern province in Ireland , as part of the Plantation of Ulster , many of them with surnames such as Burns, Hamilton, Morrow, Stewart, Flanagan, Kennedy and Cunningham. Today,
2832-579: A single parliament for England and Scotland. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and English colonisation of the Americas began. At 57 years and 246 days, James's reign in Scotland was the longest of any Scottish monarch . He achieved most of his aims in Scotland but faced great difficulties in England, including the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and conflicts with the English Parliament . Under James,
2950-543: A stock as to praise fools ... You see how many things you did not well ... I wish you would make use of your liberty with more modesty in time to come". As James's reign progressed, his government faced growing financial pressures, partly due to creeping inflation but also to the profligacy and financial incompetence of James's court. In February 1610, Salisbury proposed a scheme, known as the Great Contract , whereby Parliament, in return for ten royal concessions, would grant
3068-478: Is well known that the king of England / fucks the Duke of Buckingham". Buckingham himself provides evidence that he slept in the same bed as the king, writing to James many years later that he had pondered "whether you loved me now ... better than at the time which I shall never forget at Farnham, where the bed's head could not be found between the master and his dog". Buckingham's words may be interpreted as non-sexual, in
3186-590: The Ayrshire and Arran lieutenancy area . The largest settlement in Ayrshire by population is Kilmarnock , closely followed by Ayr , the county town . Ayrshire is roughly crescent-shaped and is a predominantly flat county with areas of low hills; it forms part of the Southern Uplands geographic region of Scotland. The north of the county contains the main towns and bulk of the population. East of Largs can be found
3304-584: The Authorized King James Version ), and the 1604 revision of the Book of Common Prayer . Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the wisest fool in Christendom ", an epithet associated with his character ever since. Since the latter half of the 20th century, historians have tended to revise James's reputation and treat him as a serious and thoughtful monarch. He was strongly committed to
3422-402: The Battle of Langside , forcing her to flee to England, where she was subsequently kept in confinement by Elizabeth. On 23 January 1570, Moray was assassinated by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh . The next regent was James's paternal grandfather, Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox , who was carried fatally wounded into Stirling Castle a year later after a raid by Mary's supporters. His successor,
3540-557: The Castalian Band , which included William Fowler and Alexander Montgomerie among others, Montgomerie being a favourite of the king. James was himself a poet, and was happy to be seen as a practising member of the group. By the late 1590s, James's championing of native Scottish tradition was reduced to some extent by the increasing likelihood of his succession to the English throne. William Alexander and other courtier poets started to anglicise their written language, and followed
3658-496: The County of Bute . For lieutenancy purposes, the last lord-lieutenant of the county of Ayrshire was made lord-lieutenant for the combined area of the four districts when the reforms came into effect in 1975, with the lieutenancy area being renamed Ayrshire and Arran in 1996. In 1996 the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and Ayrshire was divided between the unitary council areas of East Ayrshire (covering
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3776-433: The English Parliament , "compassed with one sea and of itself by nature indivisible?" In April 1604, however, the Commons refused his request to be titled "King of Great Britain" on legal grounds. In October 1604, he assumed the title "King of Great Britain" instead of "King of England" and "King of Scotland", though Francis Bacon told him that he could not use the style in "any legal proceeding, instrument or assurance" and
3894-555: The Lordship of the Isles by James IV of Scotland in 1493 had led to troubled times for the western seaboard. James IV had subdued the organised military might of the Hebrides , but he and his immediate successors lacked the will or ability to provide an alternative form of governance. As a result, the 16th century became known as linn nan creach , the time of raids. Furthermore, the effects of
4012-625: The Orkney and Shetland islands were annexed to the Crown. In 1597–98, James wrote The True Law of Free Monarchies and Basilikon Doron ( Royal Gift ), in which he argues a theological basis for monarchy. In the True Law , he sets out the divine right of kings , explaining that kings are higher beings than other men for Biblical reasons, though "the highest bench is the sliddriest to sit upon". The document proposes an absolutist theory of monarchy, by which
4130-608: The Popish Recusants Act , which could require any subject to take an Oath of Allegiance denying the pope's authority over the king. James was conciliatory towards Catholics who took the Oath of Allegiance, and tolerated crypto-Catholicism even at court. Henry Howard, for example, was a crypto-Catholic, received back into the Catholic Church in his final months. On ascending the English throne, James suspected that he might need
4248-654: The Ragman Rolls , swearing fealty to Edward I of England in 1296. Bruce being generous to his supporters and after his victory, the lands of Lamburgton were added to that of Kilmaurs in 1319 by royal charter. Sir William Cunningham of Kilmaurs was amongst the Scottish noblemen offered as a hostage to David II of Scotland 's English captors in 1354. Sir William's eldest son, also named William, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Denniston of that Ilk and acquired through her substantial lands including Glen Cairn and Finlayston in Renfrewshire . Sir William Cunningham's grandson
4366-606: The Scottish Civil War , William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn supported Charles II of England . In 1653 Glencairn raised a force to oppose General Monk . In August of that year Glencairn went to Lochearn in Perthshire where he met with some of the Highland clan chiefs. In 1654, with a body of fighting men, Glencairn took possession of Elgin . He then announced a commission to raise all of Scotland against Oliver Cromwell but
4484-554: The Ulster Scots dialect is largely an offshoot of the version of Lowland Scots spoken in Ayrshire. The Ulster Scots dialect is still widely spoken throughout County Antrim and in parts of County Down and County Londonderry , as well as still being widely spoken in West Tír Eoghain and parts of County Donegal (chiefly East Donegal and Inishowen ). Commissioners of Supply were created in 1667 for each shire, and formed
4602-480: The Witchcraft Act 1563 . Several people were convicted of using witchcraft to send storms against James's ship , most notably Agnes Sampson . James became concerned with the threat posed by witches and wrote Daemonologie in 1597, a tract inspired by his personal involvement that opposed the practice of witchcraft and that provided background material for Shakespeare's Macbeth . James personally supervised
4720-510: The coronation was preached by John Knox . In accordance with the religious beliefs of most of the Scottish ruling class, James was brought up as a member of the Protestant Church of Scotland , the Kirk. The Privy Council selected George Buchanan , Peter Young , Adam Erskine (lay abbot of Cambuskenneth ), and David Erskine (lay abbot of Dryburgh ) as James's preceptors or tutors. As
4838-522: The council areas of East Ayrshire , North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire . It has a population of approximately 366,800. The electoral and valuation area named Ayrshire covers the three council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire, therefore covering the whole historic county of Ayrshire but also including the Isle of Arran , Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae from the historic county of Buteshire . The three council areas together also form
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4956-442: The "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare , John Donne , Ben Jonson , and Francis Bacon contributing to a flourishing literary culture. James was a prolific writer, authoring works such as Daemonologie (1597), The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible into English (later named after him,
5074-598: The 13th century or earlier, and which may have been the birthplace of Robert the Bruce . The historic shire or sheriffdom of Ayr was divided into three districts or bailieries which later made up the county of Ayrshire. The three districts were: The area used to be heavily industrialised, with steel making , coal mining and in Kilmarnock numerous examples of production-line manufacturing, most famously Johnnie Walker whisky. In more recent history, Digital Equipment had
5192-591: The Clan Cunningham's Kerelaw Castle . This was part of a century-long feud that had apparently started when the office of Baillie in Cuninghame, held by the Cunninghams, was awarded to the son of Lord Montgomerie on 31 January 1448-9. The two clans had been on opposing sides at the Battle of Sauchieburn , with Hugh Montgomery among the victorious rebels, and Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn slain with
5310-645: The Duke of Buckingham" whom the king would, recalled Sir Edward Peyton , "tumble and kiss as a mistress". Restoration of Apethorpe Palace , Northamptonshire, undertaken in 2004–08 revealed a previously unknown passage linking the bedchambers of James and Villiers. Some biographers of James argue that the relationships were not sexual. James's Basilikon Doron lists sodomy among crimes "ye are bound in conscience never to forgive", and James's wife Anne gave birth to seven live children, as well as suffering two stillbirths and at least three other miscarriages. Contemporary Huguenot poet Théophile de Viau observed that "it
5428-488: The Earl had been organized and the Lady or some say a servant girl who was also a Cunningham, climbed to the battlements after the meal to hang out a white table napkin and thereby sprung the trap. Thirty Cunninghames attacked the Earl as he crossed Annick Ford and cut his servants to pieces; the Earl himself was dispatched with a single shot from the pistol of John Cunningham of Clonbeith Castle . His horse carried his dead body along
5546-523: The Earl of Glencairn's brother the Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, Alexander of Montgreenan, thought to have instigated Hugh's murder. He rode to Montgreenan and shot the Commendator at his own gate. The government of King James VI of Scotland eventually managed to make the chiefs of the two clans shake hands. In 1661 Lord High Chancellor William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn, married Margaret Montgomery, daughter of Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton, drawing
5664-541: The Earl of Mar, "took a vehement sickness" and died on 28 October 1572 at Stirling. Mar's illness, wrote James Melville , followed a banquet at Dalkeith Palace given by James Douglas, Earl of Morton . Morton was elected to Mar's office and proved in many ways the most effective of James's regents, but he made enemies by his rapacity. He fell from favour when Frenchman Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny , first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley and future Earl of Lennox , arrived in Scotland and quickly established himself as
5782-465: The English succession became a cornerstone of his policy. During the Spanish Armada crisis of 1588, he assured Elizabeth of his support as "your natural son and compatriot of your country". Elizabeth sent James an annual subsidy from 1586 which gave her some leverage over affairs in Scotland. Throughout his youth, James was praised for his chastity, since he showed little interest in women. After
5900-642: The Firth of Clyde are part of Ayrshire, the chief of these being Horse Isle , Lady Isle and Ailsa Craig . The main rivers flowing to the Clyde coast are, from north to south, the following: The area that today forms Ayrshire was part of the area south of the Antonine Wall which was briefly occupied by the Romans during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (see: Roman Britain#Occupation and retreat from southern Scotland ). It
6018-537: The Gunpowder Plot was atypical. Instead, it was the previous session of 1604 that shaped the attitudes of both sides for the rest of the reign, though the initial difficulties owed more to mutual incomprehension than conscious enmity. On 7 July 1604, James had angrily prorogued Parliament after failing to win its support either for full union or financial subsidies. "I will not thank where I feel no thanks due", he had remarked in his closing speech. "... I am not of such
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#17328443107226136-473: The Privy Council, as well as five Scottish nobles. In the early years of James's reign, the day-to-day running of the government was tightly managed by the shrewd Cecil, later Earl of Salisbury , ably assisted by the experienced Thomas Egerton , whom James made Baron Ellesmere and Lord Chancellor , and by Thomas Sackville , soon Earl of Dorset , who continued as Lord Treasurer . As a consequence, James
6254-616: The Reformation were slow to affect the Gàidhealtachd , driving a religious wedge between this area and centres of political control in the Central Belt . In 1540, James V had toured the Hebrides, forcing the clan chiefs to accompany him. There followed a period of peace, but the clans were soon at loggerheads with one another again. During James VI's reign, the citizens of the Hebrides were portrayed as lawless barbarians rather than being
6372-811: The Renfrewshire Heights, which continue south to the hill-country around Blae Loch . Southern Ayrshire shares with the Galloway counties some rugged hill country known as the Galloway Hills . These hills lie to the west of the A713 (Ayr to Castle Douglas road) and they run south from the Loch Doon area almost to the Solway Firth . To the east of this route through the hills lie the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills which lie to
6490-544: The Spanish ambassador Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar , James ripped the protest out of the record book and dissolved Parliament. In early 1623, Prince Charles, now 22, and Buckingham decided to seize the initiative and travel to Spain incognito, to win Infanta Maria Anna directly, but the mission proved an ineffectual mistake. Maria Anna detested Charles, and the Spanish confronted them with terms that included
6608-633: The Tower of London, where he had been placed at the king's request. Among those convicted of the murder were the Earl and Countess of Somerset; the Earl had been replaced as the king's favourite in the meantime by Villiers. James pardoned the Countess and commuted the Earl's sentence of death, eventually pardoning him in 1624. The implication of the king in such a scandal provoked much public and literary conjecture and irreparably tarnished James's court with an image of corruption and depravity. The subsequent downfall of
6726-510: The area controlled by the county council when it was created in 1890, being deemed capable of running their own services. In 1930 the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 was implemented. This brought Ayr and Kilmarnock under the control of the county council, and re-designated all burghs as either large burghs or small burghs . Ayr and Kilmarnock were both classed as large burghs, allowing them to retain control of many functions, whilst
6844-402: The area of the former Kilmarnock & Loudoun District and Cumnock & Doon Valley District), North Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Cunninghame District Council) and South Ayrshire (covering the area of the former Kyle and Carrick District). The boundaries of the historic county of Ayrshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being
6962-454: The child's mouth, as was then the custom. The subsequent entertainment , devised by Frenchman Bastian Pagez , featured men dressed as satyrs and sporting tails, to which the English guests took offence, thinking the satyrs "done against them". Lord Darnley was murdered on 10 February 1567 at Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, perhaps in revenge for the killing of Rizzio. James inherited his father's titles of Duke of Albany and Earl of Ross . Mary
7080-497: The context of 17th-century court life, and remain ambiguous despite their fondness. It is also possible that James was bisexual. When the Earl of Salisbury died in 1612, he was little mourned by those who jostled to fill the power vacuum. Until Salisbury's death, the Elizabethan administrative system over which he had presided continued to function with relative efficiency; from this time forward, however, James's government entered
7198-435: The county council was abolished and its functions were transferred to Strathclyde Regional Council . The county area was divided between four new districts within the two-tier Strathclyde region : Cumnock and Doon Valley , Cunninghame , Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Kyle and Carrick . The Cunninghame district included the Isle of Arran , Great Cumbrae and Little Cumbrae , which had until then been administered as part of
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#17328443107227316-573: The county's other burghs were all classed as small burghs, ceding many functions to the county council. The 1929 act also abolished the parish councils. In Ayrshire in excess of 30 parishes were consolidated into ten district councils . The District Councils were Ayr, Cumnock, Dalmellington, Girvan, Irvine, Kilbirnie, Kilmarnock, Maybole, Troon and Saltcoats. Ayrshire County Council was based at County Buildings in Wellington Square in Ayr. In May 1975
7434-434: The cradle of Scottish Christianity and nationhood. Official documents describe the peoples of the Highlands as "void of the knawledge and feir of God" who were prone to "all kynd of barbarous and bestile cruelteis". The Gaelic language, spoken fluently by James IV and probably by James V, became known in the time of James VI as "Erse" or Irish, implying that it was foreign in nature. Parliament decided that Gaelic had become
7552-557: The creation of any new constituency names. A number of railway lines connect the towns of northern Ayrshire to each other and also to Glasgow, as well as south to Stranraer and south-east to Dumfries . Ferries link Ayrshire to the islands of Arran and Great Cumbrae in Buteshire . Glasgow Prestwick International Airport , serving Glasgow and the west of Scotland more generally, is located 32 miles (51 km) away from Glasgow in Ayrshire; it provides various passenger flights to Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland. The name Glasgow
7670-463: The crossing had been abandoned, James sailed from Leith with a 300-strong retinue to fetch Anne personally in what historian David Harris Willson called "the one romantic episode of his life". The couple were married formally at the Bishop's Palace in Oslo on 23 November. James received a dowry of 75,000 Danish dalers and a gift of 10,000 dalers from his mother-in-law, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow . After stays at Elsinore and Copenhagen and
7788-438: The defeated James III. A longstanding rivalry (principally over the Bailieship of Cunninghame) was now a vendetta. During the 16th century, the long-running feud continued. Edward Cunningham of Auchenharvie was slain in 1526 and Archibald Cunningham of Waterstoun in 1528; the Montgomery's Eglinton Castle was burned down by the Cunninghams in the same year. In April 1586, Hugh Montgomery, 4th Earl of Eglinton, aged twenty-four,
7906-440: The eldest son and heir apparent of the monarch automatically became Duke of Rothesay and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland . Five days later, the English diplomat Henry Killigrew saw the queen, who had not fully recovered and could only speak faintly. The baby was "sucking at his nurse" and was "well proportioned and like to prove a goodly prince". He was baptised "Charles James" or "James Charles" on 17 December 1566 in
8024-456: The end of the thirteenth century. The son of the Laird of Kilmaurs was Hervy de Cunningham who fought for Alexander III of Scotland at the Battle of Largs in 1263 against the Norse invaders. The following year he received a charter from the king confirming all of his lands. During the Wars of Scottish Independence the Cunninghams were supporters of the Bruces in their fight for Scottish independence. However prior to this their name appears in
8142-471: The entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire . Its principal towns include Ayr , Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland, it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into
8260-400: The first of James's powerful favourites. James was proclaimed an adult ruler in a ceremony of Entry to Edinburgh on 19 October 1579. Morton was executed on 2 June 1581, belatedly charged with complicity in Darnley's murder. On 8 August, James made Lennox the only duke in Scotland. The king, then fifteen years old, remained under the influence of Lennox for about one more year. Lennox was
8378-481: The first year of his reign, despite the smoothness of the succession and the warmth of his welcome: the Bye Plot and Main Plot , which led to the arrest of Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham and Walter Raleigh , among others. Those hoping for a change in government from James were disappointed at first when he kept Elizabeth's Privy Councillors in office, as secretly planned with Cecil, but James soon added long-time supporter Henry Howard and his nephew Thomas Howard to
8496-619: The government and its patronage. Even the powerful Carr fell into the Howard camp, hardly experienced for the responsibilities thrust upon him and often dependent on his intimate friend Thomas Overbury for assistance with government papers. Carr had an adulterous affair with Frances Howard, Countess of Essex , daughter of the Earl of Suffolk. James assisted Frances by securing an annulment of her marriage to free her to marry Carr, now Earl of Somerset. In summer 1615, however, it emerged that Overbury had been poisoned. He had died on 15 September 1613 in
8614-555: The king had personally appointed royal chaplain in 1579, rebuked him so sharply from the pulpit for having issued a proclamation so offensive to the clergy "that the king wept". After James escaped from Falkland on 27 June 1583, he assumed increasing control of his kingdom. He pushed through the Black Acts to assert royal authority over the Kirk, and denounced the writings of his former tutor Buchanan. Between 1584 and 1603, he established effective royal government and relative peace among
8732-504: The king to London after 1603. James's role as active literary participant and patron made him a defining figure in many respects for English Renaissance poetry and drama, which reached a pinnacle of achievement in his reign, but his patronage of the high style in the Scottish tradition, which included his ancestor James I of Scotland , became largely sidelined. From 1601, in the last years of Elizabeth's life, certain English politicians—notably her chief minister Robert Cecil —maintained
8850-466: The king's "head court", foreshadows his difficulties with the English House of Commons : "Hold no Parliaments," he tells Henry, "but for the necesitie of new Lawes, which would be but seldome". In the True Law , James maintains that the king owns his realm as a feudal lord owns his fief, because kings arose "before any estates or ranks of men, before any parliaments were holden, or laws made, and by them
8968-521: The king's person occurred in August 1600, when James was apparently assaulted by Alexander Ruthven , the younger brother of John Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie at Gowrie House , the seat of the Ruthvens. Ruthven was run through by James's page John Ramsay , and the Earl of Gowrie was killed in the ensuing fracas; there were few surviving witnesses. Given James's history with the Ruthvens and the fact that he owed them
9086-399: The lands from Malcolm III of Scotland after he had sheltered him under hay in a barn and this is said to have given rise to the family's coat of arms which is of a shake-fork, as well as the motto Over fork over . Sir George Mackenzie states that the coat of arms allude to the office of Master of the King's Stables. The Cunninghams were certainly well settled in the parish of Kilmaurs by
9204-564: The last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who died childless. He continued to reign in all three kingdoms for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean era , until his death in 1625. After the Union of the Crowns, he based himself in England (the largest of the three realms) from 1603, returning to Scotland only once, in 1617, and styled himself " King of Great Britain and Ireland ". He was an advocate of
9322-555: The lords, ably assisted by John Maitland of Thirlestane , who led the government until 1592. An eight-man commission known as the Octavians brought some control over the ruinous state of James's finances in 1596, but it drew opposition from vested interests. It was disbanded within a year after a riot in Edinburgh, which was stoked by anti-Catholicism and led the court to withdraw to Linlithgow temporarily. One last Scottish attempt against
9440-514: The loss of Lennox, he continued to prefer male company. A suitable marriage, however, was necessary to reinforce his rule, and the choice fell on fourteen-year-old Anne of Denmark , younger daughter of the Protestant Danish king Frederick II . Shortly after a proxy marriage in Copenhagen in August 1589, Anne sailed for Scotland but was forced by storms to the coast of Norway. On hearing that
9558-433: The main administrative body for the area until county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 . The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries of many of Scotland's counties; in the case of Ayrshire the two parishes of Beith and Dunlop , which had both straddled Ayrshire and Renfrewshire , were brought entirely within Ayrshire. The burghs of Ayr and Kilmarnock were both excluded from
9676-473: The necessary finance, they prevailed upon James to call another Parliament, which met in February 1624. For once, the outpouring of anti-Catholic sentiment in the Commons was echoed in court, where control of policy was shifting from James to Charles and Buckingham, who pressured the king to declare war and engineered the impeachment of Lord Treasurer Lionel Cranfield, by now made Earl of Middlesex , when he opposed
9794-633: The negotiations for almost a decade. The policy was supported by the Howards and other Catholic-leaning ministers and diplomats—together known as the Spanish Party—but deeply distrusted in Protestant England. When Walter Raleigh was released from imprisonment in 1616, he embarked on a hunt for gold in South America with strict instructions from James not to engage the Spanish. Raleigh's expedition
9912-439: The next reform of constituency boundaries was not until 1983. Constituencies covering Ayrshire may be listed by periods as below, but the story is somewhat more complicated than the lists may imply: until 1918, Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs included burghs lying outside both Ayrshire and Buteshire; a particular constituency name may represent different boundaries in different periods; in 1974, there were boundary changes without
10030-446: The older sister of Henry VIII . Mary's rule over Scotland was insecure, and she and her husband, being Roman Catholics , faced a rebellion by Protestant noblemen. During Mary's and Darnley's difficult marriage, Darnley secretly allied himself with the rebels and conspired in the murder of the queen's private secretary, David Rizzio , just three months before James's birth. James was born on 19 June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle , and as
10148-475: The plan on grounds of cost. The outcome of the Parliament of 1624 was ambiguous: James still refused to declare or fund a war, but Charles believed the Commons had committed themselves to finance a war against Spain, a stance that was to contribute to his problems with Parliament in his own reign. After the Gunpowder Plot, James sanctioned harsh measures to control English Catholics. In May 1606, Parliament passed
10266-471: The prospect of a Spanish dowry from a marriage between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain . The policy of the Spanish match , as it was called, was also attractive to James as a way to maintain peace with Spain and avoid the additional costs of a war. Peace could be maintained as effectively by keeping the negotiations alive as by consummating the match—which may explain why James protracted
10384-577: The repeal of anti-Catholic legislation by Parliament. Though a treaty was signed, Charles and Buckingham returned to England in October without the infanta and immediately renounced the treaty, much to the delight of the British people. Disillusioned by the visit to Spain, Charles and Buckingham now turned James's Spanish policy upon its head and called for a French match and a war against the Habsburg empire. To raise
10502-595: The rising was a failure. Glencairn however escaped with his life and after the Restoration he was made Lord Chancellor of Scotland. In 1669 Sir John Cunningham of Caprington, a lawyer, was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles II. At the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the British artillery which fired grapeshot at the advancing Jacobites was Captain Cunningham's Company, although its commander, Archibald Cunningham, had been dead for two months. Alexander Cunningham
10620-639: The route and James was amazed by the wealth of his new land and subjects, claiming that he was "swapping a stony couch for a deep feather bed". James arrived in the capital on 7 May, nine days after Elizabeth's funeral. His new subjects flocked to see him, relieved that the succession had triggered neither unrest nor invasion. On arrival at London, he was mobbed by a crowd of spectators. James's English coronation took place on 25 July at Westminster Abbey . An outbreak of plague restricted festivities. The Royal Entry to London with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson
10738-470: The same result, although a third attempt in 1607 was more successful. The Statutes of Iona were enacted in 1609, which required clan chiefs to provide support for Protestant ministers to Highland parishes; to outlaw bards; to report regularly to Edinburgh to answer for their actions; and to send their heirs to Lowland Scotland , to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. So began
10856-495: The side of the river, still known as the 'Weeping', 'Mourning', or 'Widows' path. A wave of bloody revenge swept over Cunninghame and elsewhere. Cunningham relatives, friends, and supporters were killed without mercy. Aiket was killed near his home; Robertland and Corsehill escaped to Denmark. Clonbeith was traced to a house in Hamilton, possibly Hamilton Palace and hacked to pieces by Robert Montgomery and John Pollock. Robert also killed
10974-492: The skilled diplomacy of the delegation, in particular Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, now Earl of Northampton . James celebrated the treaty by hosting a great banquet. Freedom of worship for Catholics in England, however, continued to be a major objective of Spanish policy, causing constant dilemmas for James, distrusted abroad for repression of Catholics while at home being encouraged by the Privy Council to show even less tolerance towards them. A dissident Catholic, Guy Fawkes ,
11092-443: The south east of Dalmellington and south of New Cumnock . Glen Afton runs deep into these hills. Ayrshire is one of the most agriculturally fertile regions of Scotland. Potatoes are grown in fields near the coast, using seaweed-based fertiliser, and in addition the region produces pork products, other root vegetables, and cattle (see below); and summer berries such as strawberries are grown abundantly. A number of small islands in
11210-512: The support of Catholics in England, so he assured Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland , a prominent sympathiser of the old religion, that he would not persecute "any that will be quiet and give but an outward obedience to the law". In the Millenary Petition of 1603, the Puritan clergy demanded the abolition of confirmation , wedding rings, and the term "priest", among other things, and that
11328-609: The third consecutive Scottish monarch to ascend to the throne as an infant. The care of James was entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Mar , "to be conserved, nursed, and upbrought" in the security of Stirling Castle. James was anointed King of Scotland at the age of thirteen months at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, by Adam Bothwell , Bishop of Orkney , on 29 July 1567. The sermon at
11446-481: The title was not used on English statutes. James forced the Scottish Parliament to use it, and it was used on proclamations, coinage, letters, and treaties in both realms. James achieved more success in foreign policy. Never having been at war with Spain, he devoted his efforts to bringing the long Anglo–Spanish War to an end, and a peace treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1604, thanks to
11564-435: The torture of women accused of being witches. After 1599, his views became more sceptical. In a later letter written in England to his son Henry, James congratulates the prince on "the discovery of yon little counterfeit wench. I pray God ye may be my heir in such discoveries ... most miracles now-a-days prove but illusions, and ye may see by this how wary judges should be in trusting accusations". The forcible dissolution of
11682-504: The wearing of cap and surplice become optional. James was strict in enforcing conformity at first, inducing a sense of persecution amongst many Puritans; but ejections and suspensions from livings became rarer as the reign continued. As a result of the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, some Puritan demands were acceded to in the 1604 Book of Common Prayer , though many remained displeased. The conference also commissioned
11800-513: The whole body of the State in general". The sensational discovery of the "Gunpowder Plot", as it quickly became known, aroused a mood of national relief at the delivery of the king and his sons. The Earl of Salisbury exploited this to extract higher subsidies from the ensuing Parliament than any but one granted to Elizabeth. Fawkes and others implicated in the unsuccessful conspiracy were executed. The co-operation between monarch and Parliament following
11918-456: The young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning. Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy, as outlined in his treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos . In 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle, leading to several years of sporadic violence. The Earl of Moray defeated Mary's troops at
12036-450: Was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. Although he long tried to get both countries to adopt a closer political union, the kingdoms of Scotland and England remained sovereign states , with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, ruled by James in personal union . James
12154-610: Was a disastrous failure, and his son Walter was killed fighting the Spanish. On Raleigh's return to England, James had him executed to the indignation of the public, who opposed the appeasement of Spain. James's policy was further jeopardised by the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War , especially after his Protestant son-in-law, Frederick V, Elector Palatine , was ousted from Bohemia by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II in 1620, and Spanish troops simultaneously invaded Frederick's Rhineland home territory. Matters came to
12272-579: Was a historical writer who was the British envoy to Venice from 1715 to 1720. Charles Cunningham was famous for his historical paintings, some of which are in Hermitage Palace in Saint Petersburg and also in Berlin . William Cunningham of Robertland was a friend of the poet Robert Burns . Allan Cunningham was a poet and writer who some believe was only eclipsed by Burns himself. Alan Cunningham's work
12390-723: Was added in front of Prestwick as per American military airport naming conventions, as the airport was in the past oft-used as a stopover by US military personnel on their way to and from military bases in Germany . Moreover, it is known in rock history as the only place in Britain visited by Elvis Presley , on his way home from army service in Germany in 1960. 55°30′N 4°30′W / 55.500°N 4.500°W / 55.500; -4.500 James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625)
12508-544: Was already unpopular, and her marriage on 15 May 1567 to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell , who was widely suspected of murdering Darnley, heightened widespread bad feeling towards her. In June 1567, Protestant rebels arrested Mary and imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle ; she never saw her son again. She was forced to abdicate on 24 July 1567 in favour of the infant James and to appoint her illegitimate half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray , as regent . This made James
12626-480: Was created Lord Kilmaurs in 1462 and then later Earl of Glencairn . One of his younger brothers was the ancestor of the Cunninghams of Caprington branch of the clan who later achieved their own prominence. Other distinguished branches of the clan are the Cunninghams of Cunninghamhead, the Cunninghams of Aitket, the Cunninghams of Robertland, and the Cunninghams of Corsehill. In 1488 the Clan Montgomery burned down
12744-522: Was deferred to 15 March 1604. Dekker wrote that "the streets seemed to be paved with men; stalls instead of rich wares were set out with children; open casements filled up with women". The kingdom to which James succeeded, however, had its problems. Monopolies and taxation had engendered a widespread sense of grievance, and the costs of war in Ireland had become a heavy burden on the government, which had debts of £400,000. James survived two conspiracies in
12862-437: Was discovered in the cellars of the parliament buildings on the night of 4–5 November 1605, the eve of the state opening of the second session of James's first English Parliament. Fawkes was guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gunpowder with which he intended to blow up Parliament House the following day and cause the destruction, as James put it, "not only ... of my person, nor of my wife and posterity also, but of
12980-455: Was free to concentrate on bigger issues, such as a scheme for a closer union between England and Scotland and matters of foreign policy, as well as to enjoy his leisure pursuits, particularly hunting. James was ambitious to build on the personal union of Scotland and England to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law, a plan that met opposition in both realms. "Hath He not made us all in one island," James told
13098-674: Was inhabited by the Damnonii , who are presumed to have been Britons . Later, it formed part of the British Kingdom of Strathclyde , which was incorporated into the Kingdom of Scotland during the 11th century. In 1263, the Scots successfully drove off the Norwegian leidang -army in a skirmish known as the Battle of Largs . A notable historic building in Ayrshire is Turnberry Castle , which dates from
13216-667: Was known as the king's mistress. After his accession in England, his peaceful and scholarly attitude contrasted strikingly with the bellicose and flirtatious behaviour of Elizabeth, as indicated by the contemporary epigram Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est regina Iacobus (Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen). Some of James's biographers conclude that Esmé Stewart, Duke of Lennox; Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset ; and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, were his lovers. John Oglander observed that he "never yet saw any fond husband make so much or so great dalliance over his beautiful spouse as I have seen King James over his favourites, especially
13334-560: Was one of the commanders. He is said to have then ordered the destruction of the Chapel Royal at Holyrood . The Cunninghams were among the Scots who were undertakers of the Plantation of Ulster . Sir James Cunningham who married a daughter of the Earl of Glencairn was granted five thousand acres in County Donegal . The name Cunningham is in the top seventy-five most common in Ulster . During
13452-457: Was seriously ill from 1617. James visited Anne only three times during her last illness. She died before her husband , in March 1619. James's visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch-hunts , sparked an interest in the study of witchcraft , which he considered a branch of theology. He attended the North Berwick witch trials , the first major persecution of witches in Scotland under
13570-510: Was supported by Sir Walter Scott who provided for Cunningham's children after his death. Clan Cunningham castles, castle houses, and great estates: Ayrshire Ayrshire ( Scottish Gaelic : Siorrachd Inbhir Àir , pronounced [ˈʃirˠəxk iɲiˈɾʲaːɾʲ] ) is a historic county and registration county , in south-west Scotland , located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde . The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers
13688-473: Was the land distributed, which at first was wholly theirs. And so it follows of necessity that kings were the authors and makers of the laws, and not the laws of the kings." In the 1580s and 1590s, James promoted the literature of his native country. He published his treatise Some Rules and Cautions to be Observed and Eschewed in Scottish Prosody in 1584 at the age of 18. It was both a poetic manual and
13806-674: Was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII , King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He acceded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother was forced to abdicate in his favour. Four regents governed during his minority , which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583. In 1589, he married Anne of Denmark . Three of their children survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick , Elizabeth , and Charles . In 1603, James succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I ,
13924-506: Was traveling to Stirling to join the Court having been commanded to attend by the King, accompanied only by a few domestic servants. He stopped at Lainshaw Castle to dine with his close relative, a Montgomery, the Lord of Lainshaw, whose Lady was a Margaret Cunningham of Aiket Castle, with sisters married to John Cunningham of Corsehill and David Cunninghame of Robertland . It seems that a plot to kill
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