A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GILCHRISTS

 by

ROBERT W. GILCHRIST - 1997

Posted here by Kind Permission of Bob and Peggy's daughters, Erin Feliciano and Lynley Force,
and supplied to the Mag by Dean Gilchrist  deanotow@att.net  Ocala, Fl.  352-854-1440
 

The Third Part

All that’s left of Fincharn Castle

               The Royal Commission on the
Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
(Including the National Monuments Record of Scotland)
54 Melville Street Edinburgh EH3 71-IF
Telephone 03 1-225 5994/5

Your reference

Our reference

                                                                                                      Date          24- August    1984

Dear Mr Gilchrist

Please excuse my delay in dealing with your letter of 4 June I have been busy in Argyll for much of’ the summer. You have probably heard from Mrs Greenshields, to whom I passed on a good deal of historical material about Fincharn Castle which will I hope be useful to you. I will deal briefly with the architecture of the castle, which in my view suggests that it was indeed built in the 13th century, when the MacGilchrists were lords of Glassary. You will see from the enclosed copy plans that it is a rectangle, with the main hall on the upper floor, and there is no evidence that it rose higher than that; there was probably a parapet round the roof. These ‘hallhouses’ in the west seem mostly to belong to the 13th century, and the MacNachtan castle of Fraoch Eilean at the north end of Lochawe, c.1267, is similar.

We have not yet photographed Fincharn, but I enclose a spare slide and copies of some c.1870 views, which will show you how much of the ruin survives.

Yours sincerely,                                                                  I Fisher

Quarterly, First, or, a Lion Rampant,

THE MACGILCHRISTS OF LENNOX

There was yet another family of MacGilchrists to appear in western Scotland with their origin being derived from the ancient Earls of Lennox whose lands once occupied the region of Dunbartonshire bounded by Loch Lomond, Loch Long, and Loch Fyne. With the discovery of new information has come increasing probability that most of those who bore the MacGilchrist, and later Gilchrist, name in western Scotland were of this family line.

The first recorded Earl of Lennox was Alwyn MacArkyll who was elevated to the position of earl by King Malcolm IV. The earldom was established on lands granted by King Malcolm III to Alwyn’s grandfather, Arkyll, son of Aykfrith, a Saxon lord who had possessed a large estate in Northumberland. Having played a major role in an unsuccessful revolt against William the Conqueror, Arkyll fled in 1068 to the safety of Scotland. Arkyll, the son of Arkyll, inherited his father’s lands in Dunbartonshire and passed them to his son Alwyn. Alwyn, First Earl of Lennox, died during the reign of Malcolm IV and was succeeded by his son Alwyn who became the Second Earl of Lennox. By the end of the thirteenth century the Earls of Lennox had become recognized as being among the most powerful nobles in the kingdom of Scotland.

Alwyn, son of Alwyn, married Eva, daughter of Gilchrist, Second Earl of Menteith who held the position of Heritable Justiciar of Kintyre; to this family was born a number of sons, the oldest of whom, Malduin, became the Third Earl of Lennox upon his father’s death in 1224. To his younger brother, Gilchrist (believed to be Alwyn’s fourth son), Malduin granted in 1225 the lands of Arrochar on the northwest side of Loch Lomond, as well as the northern Loch Lomond islands of Elanvow, Elanvanow, Elanrouglas, and Elaig. Mr. John Gray, a respected historian living in Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, has related discovering an early map on which the upper two-thirds of the Parish of Arrochar was identified as “MacGilchrist’s Land” (recorded as Makgillchreist). Mr. Gray states that to the holdings acquired from Malduin, Gilchrist added the lands of Glenfalloch and Glendochart with his marriage to a Lothian heiress. It believed that he may have also come to possess the lands of Loch Goil and Loch Tay. Mr. Alastair Campbell of Airds, the Chief Executive for the Duke of Argyll, as well as Unicorn Pursuivant of the Court of the Lord Lyon, states that “MacGilchrist’s Land” appears on a number of ancient charters dealing with the lands located at the upper end of Loch Long.

ARMS: Argent, a saltire engrailed, between four roses, gules.
(Four red roses separated by diagonal red stripes on a white shield)

There were three successive MacGilchrist generations that followed Gilchrist as Lords (or, Lairds) of Arrochar. In his authoritative book: THE CLANS, SEPTS, AND REGIMENTS OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS, Mr. Frank Adam stated (Page: 243) that the family first made Inveruglas the seat of its authority, then Tarbert (on Loch Lomond), and lastly Arrochar. From this family would descend the

Clan MacFarlane.

Gilchrist’s elder son, who became the Second Lord of Arrochar, was Duncan MacGilchrist; he married Matilda the daughter of Malcolm, Fourth Earl of Lennox, who in turn was an avid supporter of the patriot hero William Wallace. Duncan participated in the great Viking defeat in the Battle of Largs in 1263, and it is he who it is believed hid his family from the invading Norse at a point midway between Arrochar at the head of Loch Long and Tarbet on Loch Lomond. In 1296, the year that he died at an advanced age, he signed the Ragman Roll, a pledge of submission to the English King Edward I. Concerning this Dr. George F. Black in his book: THE SURNAMES OF SCOTLAND (Page 497) stated: “Duncan MacGilchrist of Leuenaghes (i.e. Lennox) rendered homage in 1296 at Berwick-on-Tweed (Bain, II, p. 204). The seal attached to his homage bears an eight-rayed figure and S’ Dvncan McGhilc.” Mr. John Gray states that it is this Duncan MacGilchrist that is buried in the Kilkivan Cemetery in Kintyre just west of the city of Campbeltown.

The Third Lord of Arrochar was Malduin MacGilchrist, the son of Duncan. (Possibility exists that his name may have been Malcolm.) Malduin, it is known, was an ardent supporter of Robert the Bruce, even providing the future king with protection when he fled through the Lennox.

Becoming the Fourth Lord of Arrochar was Malduin’s son, Parlan (Gaelic for Bartholomew). It would be from Parlan MacGilchrist, an outstanding warrior who gained fame at the age of fifteen by leading an assault on the Vikings in the Battle of Largs that the family would acquire the surname of MacFarlane. Of great interest, however, is the statement made by Mr. Donald Whyte in his book, SCOTTISH SURNAMES & FAMILIES (Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 1996, pg. 172) that not all members of the clan changed their name from MacGilchrist to MacFarlane. Nevertheless, according to Mr. William Buchanan of Auchmar in his book, AN INQUIRY INTO THE GENEALOGY AND PRESENT STATE OF ANCIENT SCOTTISH SURNAMES (pub. 1820) the MacGilchrists would be regarded as a cadet of the Clan MacFarlane.

The oldest finding of the name of GILCHRIST on the Kintyre Peninsula is in
the Kilkivan Cemetery which is located approximately four and one half
miles west of Campbeltown on the road to Machrihanish. Therein can be
found the above Medieval tombstone, one of eight dating from the
14th to the 15th century. The inscription, written in Latin and
in Lombardic capitals, reads as follows:

HIC IACET DO/NCAVS

CRI/STIN I

(“Here Lies Duncan, Son of Gilchrist”)

It is believed that the grave is that of Duncan MacGilchrist, Second Lord of Arrochar.

Taken from: lona School 14th - 15th Century
Extract taken from ARGYLL, Vol. 1, KINTYRE
The University Press, Edinburgh: Page 128

INVERUGLAS CASTLE

This castle is found on Inveruglas Island in Loch Lomond, a few hundred yards from the shore, 3.9 miles north of Tarbet Hotel on the A82 highway.

The castle was built and used by the Clan MacFarlane as their principle stronghold until it was destroyed by Cromwell’s troops in retaliation for the Clan’s support of the Royalist cause. The ruins consist of a large square fort with two round towers located at diagonal corners. The walls were built of stone, two to three feet thick in most places. It is believed that the roof was supported by wooden beams, in that fragments of beams can still be observed.

This castle can be seen from the main A82 highway 6.2 miles north of Tarbet Hotel.

On this island ore the ruins of a house used by the MacFarlanes after Inveruglas Castle was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s troops. In the writings of Alexander Graham of Duchray (1724) he states: “The Laird of Macfarlan has a house in one of these Isles called Island Vow. . . and another house now ruinous in ane island called Island Douglas about three miles below the former.” The island’s name means: “island of stores”, and because it lies halfway between the lands of the MacFarlanes and those of the MacGregors it is possible that it may have been a place where the two clans interchanged their spoils by barter.

Part of the ruins of the house built on the island of
I Vow which was used in 1724

              ISLAND I VOW

In the next issue I will try to post more of this fascinating history - Ian

The Late Bob and Peg Gilchrist

    Robert W. Gilchrist (1939 - 1998 ) of Titusville, Florida and his wife Peggy, were killed in a tragic automobile accident on April 8, 1998. Both were dedicated teachers and active members of the Park Avenue Baptist Church for over 30 years. Bob specialised in history. Shortly before the accident, he was a guest speaker at the dedication of the restored Mill Prong House near Raeford, North Carolina which was built by his 4th Great Grandfather, John Gilchrist, in 1802. Bob loved his family history, and had planned his third trip to Scotland to renew friendships and continue his research. He made many significant contributions to his heritage, and was honored by the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh with a request for a copy of his 1997 book. In his memory, portions of this 1997 book have also been placed on the internet at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~steve/robertwg/  in the hope that it will kindle the interests of others to follow his footprints and continue his quest for knowledge of the Gilchrist family.

Wee Drams

Page  2:    A History of the Gilchrists - continued

Page  3:    In Campbeltown Yet Again.

Page  4:    The Lowland Church of Campbeltown from its Foundation ........... - Part Four

Page  5:    Heather MacFarlane's Page - 1

Page  6:    A Nonagenarians Memoirs

Page 7:     Heather MacFarlane's Page - 2