Eaglesham
Principal Sources
OSA Vol 2 No 11 1791
The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol VII, Edinburgh, 1845:
Eaglesham pp 383-405, dated 1840. (NB Table p 399).
OPS I pp 98-99 Appendix p 508
RMS III (3251) 1546
RMS IV (1674) 1565, (2544) 1576, (2572) 1576
RMS V (965) 1586
RMS VII (557) 1611 on original of 1610, (591-2) 1611
RMS X (323) 1654 on original of 1652
RSS III (1381) 1545, (1906) 1546, (1910) 1546, (2957) 1548
GD3/1/1/20/3 1528
GD3/1/1/40/9 1513
GD3/1/10/1/2 1541
GD3/1/10/31 [1520]
GD3/1/10/41/1 1484
GD3/1/10/41/12 1576
GD3/1/10/43/1 1450
GD3/1/10/43/3 1503
GD3/1/10/43/5 1508
GD3/1/10/43/6 1509
GD3/1/10/43/7 & 9 1609
GD3/1/10/45/1 1545
GD3/1/10/45/2 1622
GD3/1/10/50/1 1659
GD3/1/10/51/2 1571
GD3/1/10/55 1531
GD3/1/10/56/1 1566
GD3/1/10/57/3&4 1652
GD3/1/10/63 1573
GD3/1/10/72/11 1613
ER XVIII pp 390-1 1545
Renfrew Retours (23) 1607, (43) 1617, (159) 1661, (178) 1678
Crawfurd, G., A Genealogical History of the Royal and Illustrious Family of the Stewarts, from the year 1034 to the Year 1710 …, Edinburgh, 1710. (Hereafter ‘Crawfurd’).
Robertson, G., A general description of the Shire of Renfrew …, Paisley, 1818 (Hereafter ‘Robertson(1818)’). Table of Property p 246
Descriptions of the Sheriffdoms of Lanark and Renfrew, compiled about 1710 by William Hamilton of Wishaw, Maitland Club, Glasgow, 1831 pp 118-121. According to Hamilton, the Earl of Eglintoun held most of the parish in property and was superior of the remainder. (This means he held the whole parish ‘in property or tenandry’ in the sense that he was feudal superior or overlord of those farms which were not actually in his own possession).
Fraser, W., The Cartulary of Pollok-Maxwell, Edinburgh, 1875, p 360 No 12 1580
Fraser, W., Memorials of the Montgomeries, Earls of Eglinton, Edinburgh, 1859, Vol II, No 23 1392, No 39 1450, No 40 1454, No 92 1512, No 117 1528, No 124 1531
Munimenta Alme Universitatis Glasguensis. (Records of the University of Glasgow). C. Innes. Maitland Club, Glasgow, 1854, Vol 1, p 297.
Cowan, I.B., Mackay, P.H.R., & Macquarrie A., (eds.), The Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland, Scottish History Society, Edinburgh, 1983
Maps (available via the National Library of Scotland digital Map Library – online)
Pont (33)
Gordon (55)
Blaeu (Renfrew)
Roy (PC)
Ainslie (1796)
Thomson(1826)
One of the most important sources for the farms of Eaglesham is found under RHP3 in the National Records of Scotland (NRS). RHP stands for Register House Plans and this collection refers to the Eglinton estates owned by the Montgomery family. Many of the Eglinton farms were in Ayrshire but the Montgomeries also owned the Baronies of Eastwood (q.v.) and Eaglesham, in Renfrew. The Barony of Eaglesham in RHP3 contains no less than 66 coloured farm-plans drawn up by John Ainslie in 1789. A particularly attractive feature of these plans is that all but 5 of them contain a delightful little vignette of the farm buildings. Occasionally these are ruinous which helps us further with working out contemporary settlement. The originals are not available to view in NRS but you can see digital images via the ‘Virtual Volumes’ facility in their search room in Edinburgh. Alternatively you can order digital copies.
RHP3 comprises some 173 plans which cover a number of baronies in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. In the table I have given the Eaglesham farms specific numbers to indicate which image I am referring to. For example, RHP3/95 in the table refers to the Plan of Comrigs which is Plan No 6 in the Eaglesham series.
The first element of the place-name Eaglesham suggests ‘eccles’ which was a name attached to some of our earliest church-sites. It implies a Brittonic rather than a Gaelic origin. It is the only ‘eccles’ name surviving in Renfrewshire although examples are also found in Bute and on the east side of the River Leven in Lennox. As suggested in the table it is also possibly the site of a ‘pennyland’ valuation imposed by the Norse settlers in the period c. 1000-1060. It is one of the few kirks in Renfrewshire where Paisley Abbey was not given the patronage.
Eaglesham was reputed to be 100m AE. It was originally part of the grant made by David I to Walter fitz Alan c. 1157-8 and probably passed to the Montgomery family shortly after.
We have many references to the 100m of Eaglesham. This, and the fact that the whole parish belonged, in property or tenandry, to the family of Montgomery from, probably, the second half of the twelfth century supports this figure. There are 62m 4s 2d in the table. We could increase this figure for properties where we have valuations for part only. So, we know the value of Nether Borland, but not Over Borland, South Moorhouse but not North Moorhouse, Meikle Bennan but not Little Bennan, Nether Revoch but not Over Revoch. However I have not estimated extra merklands here because I cannot prove these farms were in equal halves. They probably were for the Nether/Over or North/South examples. Meikle and Little sound more unequal.
Both Purves and Stewart give 100m for the Lordship of Eaglesham.
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