William Stewart of Caverston and Traquair (died 1605), was a Scottish landowner and Captain of Dumbarton Castle.
Career He was a brother of Sir John Stewart of Traquair.Iain MacPhail, Dumbarton Castle (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1979), p. 74. His lands were at Caverston, or Caberston, sometimes given as "Taberstoun". Caverston was a property of the Traquair Stewarts in Innerleithen parish with a fortified house. No visible traces of Caberston Tower remain.Caberston Tower, HES/RCAHMS Canmore Regent Moray gave William Stewart a charter of the lands of "Caverstoun" in January 1568, which notes that the lands in Peeblesshire were formerly held from the Earl of Bothwell and were part of the Barony of Crichton.Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1963), pp. 19-20 no. 85.
Anthony Standen wrote a narrative describing the escape of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, from Holyrood Palace in March 1566. In one version of this account, Standen mentions that William Stewart accompanied his older brother and the royal party on the ride to Dunbar Castle.Joseph Stevenson, History of Mary Stewart by Claude Nau (Edinburgh, 1886), p. ciii.
Stewart was appointed an extraordinary attendant at the court of James VI of Scotland in 1580.John Spottiswoode, History of the Church of Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1850), p. 269.Bowes Correspondence (London, 1842), p. 155. An extraordinary postholder was not expected to be present at court at all times, unless required by the Lord Chamberlain, and might not have a fee.David Crawfurd, Memoirs of the affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1753), p. 321. He was one of the 25 gentlemen appointed to ride and pass to the fields with James VI in May 1580, with Roger Aston, Patrick Hume of Polwarth, John Stewart of Baldynneis, John Carmichael, and Walter Stewart of Blantyre.National Records of Scotland, E34/35 fol. 8v.
In 1580 Stewart captured John Cunningham of Drumquhassil in Edinburgh. Drumquhassil had opposed the delivery of Dumbarton Castle to the king's favourite Esmé Stewart. Drumquhassil surrendered the keeping of Dumbarton to Stewart, with an inventory of the munitions and furnishings. The inventory gives useful information about locations in the castle, including the "chamber between the craigs" that can still be visited today.Iain MacPhail, Dumbarton Castle (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1979), pp. 74, 132-3. Stewart and Drumquhassill signed the inventory on 27 August 1580. After this, Stewart was officially the deputy captain of Dumbarton.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, 1578-1585, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1880) pp. 320, 379.
Esmé Stewart, Duke of Lennox, rewarded Caverston for his loyalty with the tenancy of the lands of Inzertoun in Dalkeith.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, 1578-1585, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1880) p. 588. When Lennox was threatened by the Raid of Ruthven, he fled to safety at Dumbarton.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), pp. 179-180.
In March 1583, Stewart swore an oath of his continuing loyalty and service to James VI as captain of Dumbarton.William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland, 1581-1583 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 347 no. 368. In May he was asked to open and inspect a locked chest containing Esmé Stewart's letters at Dumbarton with Walter Stewart of Blantyre. They were looking for a copy of the Articles of Association, a scheme to return Mary, Queen of Scots to power in Scotland.Bowes Correspondence (London, 1842), pp. 446-7, 541.
In August 1583, after the fall of the Gowrie Regime, the English ambassador Robert Bowes heard that Stewart would also get the role in the royal wardrobe held by James Murray.William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland, 1581-1583 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 575 no. 591.
In September 1583 he mediated between James Stewart, Earl of Arran and Colonel Stewart who were contesting the reward of a forfeited estate, called an "escheat".William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland, 1581-1583 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 616 no. 644. He joined the Privy Council in June 1584,David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, 1578-1585, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1880) p. 675. and was made Commendator of Dryburgh Abbey in 1584 and 1585, replacing David Erskine. This was a position giving a valuable income.Ricard Fawcett & Richard Oram, Dryburgh Abbey (Stroud, 2005), p. 36.
In May 1585 Stewart came to Edinburgh with the king's letter asking the town council for a loan of 1000 merks, for soldiers for the English border.James David Marwick, Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1573-1579 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 415.
In 1585 the former royal favourite James Stewart, Earl of Arran was said to have embarked on a boat in Ayrshire carrying royal jewellery including "Kingis Eitche" or "Great H of Scotland".John W. Mackenzie, A Chronicle of the Kings of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 139. William Stewart of Caverston or William Stewart of Monkton negotiated the recovery of the royal jewels from the Earl of Arran and his wife Elizabeth Stewart, Lady Lovat, about ship on the Fairlie Roads.David Moysie, Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), pp. 55-6.Thomas Thomson, Collection of Inventories (Edinburgh, 1815), pp. 316-320. Stewart delivered the "Great H" into the "king's own hands".David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1585–1592, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1881), p. 41.
In 1585 Stewart gave up the keeping of Dumbarton Castle to Lord John Hamilton for a time.Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, vol. 3 (1814), p. 404.
Rebel follower of the Earl of Bothwell The lawyer and historian David Moysie mentions that William Stewart was a follower of Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell and took part in the Raid of Holyrood in 1591. He was forfeited with the other raiders in May 1592.David Moysie, Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 94.
Laird of Traquair He inherited the lands of Traquair from his older brother John Stewart in 1594, and became known as "William Stewart of Traquair".Walter Scott, Border Antiquities of England and Scotland, vol. 2 (London, 1817), p. 195. At the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle in August 1594 he was of the men appointed to carry the "paill", a red velvet canopy held up with four poles over Prince Henry during the ceremonies.William Fowler, A True Reportarie (Robert Waldegrave, Edinburgh, 1594) Traquair also held up the canopy at the baptism of Prince Charles in 1600.James Maidment, Ancient Heraldic and Antiquarian Tracts (Edinburgh, 1837), pp. 57, 59.
In 1597, Anne of Denmark arranged a loan for the dowry of one her maidens of honour, Jean Stewart, who was marrying Gilbert Kennedy of Bargany and Ardstinchar.A chronicle of the kings of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 156: Robert Pitcairn, Historical and genealogical account of the principal families of the name of Kennedy (Edinburgh, 1830), p. 24. She asked William Stewart of Traquair, who was Jean Stewart's brother-in-law, to be a guarantor or cautioner for the loan. Eventually, the Traquair Stewarts became liable for the loan.The Melros Papers, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1837), pp. 205-6: See also Jean Drummond's letter in the National Library of Scotland Adv. MS 31.1.1 vol. 6/35.
William Stewart contributed 8 kids, 15 moor fowls, 2 black cocks, 28 capons and a roe deer to a banquet at Holyrood Palace for Anne of Denmark's brother, Ulrik, Duke of Holstein on 30 April 1598.HMC Report on the manuscripts of Colonel David Milne Home of Wedderburn Castle (London, 1892), pp. 68-9.
He died on 20 May 1605.Walter Scott, Border Antiquities of England and Scotland, vol. 2 (London, 1817), p. 195.
Contemporaries called William Stewart There were several men called William Stewart active in this period, including: William Stewart of Houston, known as Colonel Stewart.David Stevenson, Scotland's Last Royal Wedding (Edinburgh, 1997), p. 121. William Stewart, of Dundee, skipper and captain of one of the ships of James VI in Denmark.Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020) p. 50.Annie I. Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593-1595, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 196-7. William Stewart also served as skipper of the Bruce for George Bruce of Carnock.Calendar State Papers Scotland, 13:1 (Edinburgh, 1969), pp. 345-7, TNA SP 52/63/68. William Stewart of Monkton (d. 1588), Provost of Ayr. William Stewart, valet of the king's chamber.James Thomson Gibson Craig, Papers Relative to the Marriage of King James the Sixth of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1828), Appendix II, p. 17, Appendix III, p. 24: Amy Juhala, 'For the King Favours Them Very Strangely', in Miles Kerr-Peterson and Steven J. Reid, James VI and Noble Power (Routledge: Abingdon, 2017), p. 174. William Stewart, a servant of Regent Morton mentioned in Morton's "Confession".John Graham Dalyell, Journal of the Transactions in Scotland, by Richard Bannatyne (Edinburgh, 1806), p. 513
Robert Bowes' letter of 19 September 1583 to Francis Walsingham mentions Arran's brother William Stewart of Monkton, Colonel William Stewart, and William Stewart of Caverston.William Boyd, Calendar of State Papers Scotland, 1581-1583 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 616 no. 644.
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