Search the Site
The Airlie Lineage
The Airlie lineage can be traced back to 1172, when the third son of the Earl of Angus was knighted, and assumed the surname of Ogilvy. His descendant was created Lord Ogilvy of Airlie in 1491 for services as created Lord Ogilvy of Airlie in 1491 for services as Ambassador to Denmark. The Earldom of Airlie was conferred on the 7th Lord Ogilvy in 1639 for services to Charles I.
Airlie Castle is the original home of the Ogilvy's of Airlie and the "Lands of Eroly", as it was then known. It came into the possession of the family in 1432, the new owner being Sir Walter Ogilvy. King James I regarded him as one of his most trusted Councillors and granted him a licence to erect "his Tower of Eroly", and no better site could have chosen as a fortress, with the rivers Isla and Melgum running through deep and beautiful gorges on three sides.
The family resided in Airlie until 1641, when the castle was burnt to the ground by the Earl of Argyll, head of the Campbell clan. Neither Lord Airlie nor Lord Ogilvy were in residence at the time, the former being in York with Charles I.
After the burning of Airlie Castle the family moved to Cortachy Castle, which had been acquired form their kinsman, Sir Thomas Ogilvy of Inverquharity, in 1625. This has been the main residence of the family since that date.
Support and loyalty to the crown has continued until the present day and throughout the last century members of the family served the Royal Family in one capacity or another. Mabel.Countess of Airlie, was Lady in Waiting to the Princess of Wales, later Queen Mary, for 52 years. The present Lord Airlie's father was Lord in Waiting to King George V and subsequently Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. His brother, Bruce Ogilvy, was an equerry to the Prince of Wales, who subsequently became Edward VIII. The present Lord Airlie was Lord Chamberlain to the Queen and Head of Her Majesty's Household from 1984 to 1997, and the present Lady Airlie has been the Queen's Lady in Waiting since 1973.
It is also worth noting the close association that existed between the family and Sir James Barrie. He was a godfather to Sir Angus Ogilvy and planted a sycamore tree in 1935 in the American Garden at Cortachy.
Kinnordy & the Lyells
Charles Lyell, who was born in 1734 at Carcary, by Montrose, became and apprentice clerk to a Montrose merchant and then joined the Royal Navy. Clearly he had a successful career as a naval secretary, since he was able to retire in 1782 and he bought the estate of Kinnordy and Shielhill.
His son, Charles, a talented botanist and Italian scholar, had a family of three soms and seven daughters. While he continued to run the Kinnordy estate, much of his time was spent in Hampshire.
The oldest of the three sons, also Charles, developed an early interest in Geology, his early thought and sketches on the subject centred around Kinnordy. He later became one of the leading scientists of the nineteenth century. His best-known work is 'Principles of Geology 1830-1833'. He became a Baronet and a Fellow of the Royal Society. On his death in 1875 he was buried in Westminster Abbey in London.
In area the estate of Kinnordy has changed very little in two hundred years while the nature of farming has adapted to changing needs. Tenanted farms, some in the 4th or 5th generation of the same family, make up the greater part of the estate. The Loch of Kinnordy was partially drained in the 1740s to obtain marl, a valuable fertiliser. Today the loch remains an area of marsh, and a source of scientific study, attracting a wide variety of bird life. Ornithologists of all ages come from far and near to observe the many species of wading birds and waterfowl.
Kinnordy House, which formed part of the estate in 1780, was demolished in 1880 and the existing house built in the Scottish baronial style.
Kinnordy House in 1940, when the young Lord Lyell installed his wife and son from the house in London, had not been a home since 1928. The house had no central heating, and, but for a simple 50 volt generator, no electricity. Lady Lyell set about decorating the rooms one by one, furnishing them in style and had electricity installed in 1950.
The present Lord Lyell, also Charles, is the great-great-great-great-great grandson of the first Charles Lyell. Born in 1939, he is the third Baron, succeeding to the title on the death of his father in 1943 (Lord Lyell V.C., was killed in action with the Scots Guards).
Educated at Wellbury and Eton College, he spent two years in the Scots Guards from 1957 to 1959 and then studied at Oxford University. He later became a Chartered Accountant and following two periods in the City of London, he took his seat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords. He became successively a Whip, a Lord in Waiting (Government Whip) and Minister in Northern Ireland between 1974 and 1989. He is still a member of the house, currently serving as Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman. This allows him to spend his free time at Kinnordy.
Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle is the family home of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The castle was originally a hunting lodge for the Kings of Scotland and has been a royal residence since 1372. In that year Robert II, the first Stewart King of Scots, granted to Sir John Lyon of Forteviot, the thaneage of Glamis for Services to the crown. Four years later Sir John Lyon married the King's daughter, Princess Joanna, and was made Chamberlain of Scotland. Glamis then became a feudal barony.
These were turbulent time in Scottish history and the Lyon family has its share of tragedies. Sir John was murdered in his bed; his grandson, Patrick was held hostage by the English; Lady Glamis, widow of John, 6th Lord Glamis was, after a trumped-up charge of witchcraft, burnt outside Edinburgh Castle and for a period Glamis was sequestrated by King James V. On the accession of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Lyon Family regained their home and enjoyed a long period of prosperity and influence in Scottish and British sovereignty.
The 9th Lord Glamis was created Earl of Kinghorne in 1606 and in 1677, Patrick, the 3rd Earl, became Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Under Patrick's good management the family prospered and he was responsible for remodelling the castle from its original five storey "L" shaped tower block. In 1679 he added the west wing giving a false symmetry to the building. He swept away the courtyard buildings, laid out the main avenue at 45 degrees to the castle, so that the large stair became the centre of the composition. He richly furnished the interior much as it is today.
The Bowes-Lyon name came about when