The Cunninghams of Drumquhassle were a family of the landed gentry in Scotland from the early 16th century to the mid-17th. They are linked to the Cunninghams of Kilmaurs in Ayrshire, being descended through junior lines via the Cunninghams of Polmaise. At their greatest extent, their lands included Mugdock-Mitchell and the house at Killermont (in modern-day Bearsden), covering the part of parishes of Strathblane and New Kilpatrick. John Cunningham, the third laird held several positions of responsibility within the Scottish court, including Master of the Royal Household for James VI and a Collector General of tax during the regency of the Earl of Lennox, but his involvement in the power struggles between the Scottish nobility and the court of Elizabeth I also led to his demise and he was executed for treason in 1585. Over the next century, the family lost its land and power – in the mid-17th century, the Cunninghams sold their country house in Drumquhassle in rural Stirlingshire and it passed to the Govane family.
Lineage The Cunninghams of Drumquhassle (alternative spellings include Drumwhassle and Drumquhassill, meaning ridge with the castle (a Roman fort was built there) ) were descended from one of the younger sons of Sir Robert Cunningham of Kilmaurs, and then through one of the younger sons of Andrew Cunningham of Polmaise, named Alexander. This Alexander Cunningham (first Laird of Drumquhassle) married Margaret Park (about 1502), and in this way acquired three quarters of the lands of Mugdock (the remainder, including the castle, was in the hands of the Clan Graham)). Alexander's son and heir, Andrew, married Mary, the daughter of Robert Erskine, 4th Lord Erskine, and their son John became the third Laird prior to July 1548. John married Isobel Cunningham (Janet, according to some records) a relative and co-heiress of the Polmaise estate. On 27 May 1556, her sisters (Margaret and Katherine) sold their parts of Polmaise to John and Isobelle. It was under the third laird that Drumquhassle was made a barony, with Drumquhassle Castle as its principal seat.
John and Isobelle had quite a large family, with six sons and three daughters. John (successor and fourth Laird after 1585) William of Polmaise (accused of conspiracy to treason related to the Raid of Ruthven, August 1584) Robert of Drumbeg, married Elspeth Buchanan and became ancestor of the 1st Baron Rossmore Cuthbert, Provost of the Collegiate church of Dumbarton Edward Matthew Janet, married Malcolm Douglas of Mains in 1562 Egidia, married Robert Semple of Fullwood Mary, married Peter Napier of Kilmahew
John (the fourth Laird) was named in a 1587 Act of the Parliament of Scotland as one of "The General Band" of Landowners, and he continued to carry some of his father's high profile. He had at least two sons by Margaret Elphinstone, the eldest of which was also called John. After her death, he married Elizabeth (daughter of Lord Boyd, prior to 6 February 1575/76) and Killermont was resigned to him by his father after their marriage. John became the fifth laird in 1590, sold Killermont House in 1628 and died without issue 1635. He was succeeded by his brother James as sixth laird. James' son (also James) is believed to have inherited the title (of seventh Laird) and little else about 1660. The house at Drumquhassle passed into the ownership of the Govane family who rebuilt the house in Drymen, Stirlingshire.
Political influence
Reign of Mary, Queen of Scots In 1544, the Laird of Drumquhassle was a supporter of his kinsman William Cunningham, Earl of Glencairn and the Earl of Lennox at the Battle of Glasgow (about a mile East of the modern city centre). The battle against the Governor of Scotland, Regent Arran, was bloody and the Earls lost, and many nobles and common men were killed, including Glencairn's son. Because of the uncertain date of death of the second laird, this individual could be either the second or third laird.
The third Laird of Drumquhassle, John Cunningham, inherited a combination of land ownership and a network of relatives and kin of importance. In October 1551, Regent Arran applied to Edward VI for a "safe-conduct" – a passport, for the Laird to travel to France for year via England with six companions.Bain, Joseph, ed., Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol.1 (1898), p.188 no.383 He became "Baillie, Chamberlain, Receiver of the Earldom of Lennox and Lordship of Darnley" – effectively the Earl of Lennox's right-hand man, and responsible for the Earl's financial matters. The Lennox lands included Drumquhassle and Loch Lomond in Dunbartonshire. John Cunningham of Drumquhassle was active in Scottish politics as at least as early as August 1560, when he is recorded as being present at the Scottish Reformation Parliament.
He seems to have been involved in protecting the Queen's interests in Edinburgh, and in June 1561, he was noted as a member of his kinsman Lord Mar's garrison at Edinburgh Castle, when he was involved in a debate about the retention of the town's artillery in the Castle. By April 1563, Drumquhassle is named again regarding the Burgh of Edinburgh, this time in the context of making preparations to protect the town from uprisings.
He was a suspect in the murder of David Rizzio on 9 March 1566.Henry Ellis, Original Letters, series 1 vol. 2 (London, 1824), p. 221. In July 1567, Drumquhassle was one of the group of seventy-five nobles and commissioners who signed Articles at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, effectively making Scotland a Protestant nation and paving the way for the demission of Mary as Queen regnant. These articles also ensured that the infant James would be brought up as a Protestant and therefore acceptable to the English as a future king, which ultimately led to the creation of the modern United Kingdom.
Regency of the Earl of Moray 1567–1570
In 1567, James VI was crowned king at 13 months old, and James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, who was Mary, Queen of Scots' legitimated half-brother, became Regent. In December that year, Drumquhassle assisted in the summons for treason of the Earl of Bothwell, who was alleged to have murdered Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, Mary Queen of Scots husband, and father of the future James VI. In 1568 Drumquhassle was appointed Master of the Household of James VI at Stirling Castle.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI: A Long Apprenticeship, 1566–1585 (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 34: HMC 16th Report Mar & Kellie (London, 1904), pp. 18-21.
Regency of the Earl of Lennox, 1570–71
Following the assassination of Moray, the Regency passed to the Earl of Lennox, who was James VI's grandfather (through Lord Darnley). Drumquhassle brought the English army to Edinburgh in April 1570 as part of actions to bolster the position of Lennox as Regent during the early days of the Lang Siege. In July 1570, Drumquhassle was chosen as Collector General for a special tax levied to raise funds necessary to send ambassadors to England. It was also during this period that Dumbarton Castle was held by John Fleming for the supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill led the attack to regain control of the castle, while Drumquhassle supported with his men. Drumquhassle was made Captain of Dumbarton Castle after its surrender, and he appears to have later held this post concurrently with Master of the Royal Household, for which he is recorded as having received payments from the Treasurer of Scotland. Along with Matthew Douglas of Mains, all were discharged of any crimes committed during the action by an act of parliament.
Regencies of the Earl of Mar, 1571–72 and the Earl of Morton, 1572–1578
After death of Lennox, John Erskine, Earl of Mar became regent for about a year, but was effectively under the control of the Earl of Morton, who became Regent of Scotland in 1572. John Cunningham of Drumquhassle was Mar's cousin through his mother, Mary Erskine.
During this period, influential members of the Scottish court were paid pensions from the Treasury of England, presumably for influence over James, the heir presumptive of the English throne. The English pension list for June 1574 shows Drumquhassle being given £150, and the following citation: "Drumwhessle; able to persuade by credit and counsel, especially about the King and Argyll, and apt to do good by the commodity of his office of Dumbarton, which he commands."
Morton himself fell from favour when the Frenchman Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny, first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley, and future Earl of Lennox, arrived in Scotland, quickly establishing himself as the first of James's powerful male favourites. Morton was forced to resign in April 1578, and Drumquhassle and John Seton of Touch (as commissioners appointed by the king) accepted the surrender of Edinburgh Castle from George Douglas of Parkhead (Earl Morton's brother).George R. Hewitt, Scotland Under Morton, 1572–80 (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1982), p. 56. This marked the end of Morton's power in Scotland. The declaration of James VI on 13 August 1578 stated that it was his "will and pleasure is also that the laird of Drumquhassle shall be free from his horning, to the effect he may render his account and thereafter return to his charge"
Early part of reign of James VI, 1578–1585 In 1578 the Earl of Morton was deposed as Regent of Scotland and later accused of "art and part" in the murder of James' father, Lord Darnley, eleven years earlier. At this time that things started to turn sour for John Cunningham of Drumquhassle, and in July 1578 he received a summons to appear before the King and Privy Council at Stirling Castle to give his accounts for the Earldom of Lennox. He declined, sending a message that he feared for his life as the principal keepers of Stirling Castle were his "unfriends". Drumquhassle and his eldest son were the subject of a summons for treason in 1579, but the details of the summons are missing from the parliamentary record. In March 1580, James VI elevated his favourite, the French-born Esmé Stewart, sieur d'Aubigny, to Earl of Lennox and in August 1581 to Duke of Lennox, the highest noble and only duke in Scotland.
Despite Drumquassle's summons in 1579, it appears he escaped the charge, because he continued to act in public life and as an officer of the Lennox; in August 1580, d'Aubigny sought to take Dumbarton Castle under his direct control, intending to demote Drumquhassle from captain to constable, losing his authority to pay or move soldiers. The English ambassador Robert Bowes reported to Francis Walsingham that Drumquhassle asked for his advice, but within a matter of days, the gates of Edinburgh had been closed by d'Aubigny in order to detain Drumquhassle.George R. Hewitt, Scotland Under Morton, 1572–80 (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1982), p. 74. Drumquhassle was forced to deliver Dumbarton Castle to d'Aubigny (agreeing a bond of £40000 Scots to do so). It was believed that d'Aubigny's sudden actions were the result of the interception of letters from England to Drumquhassle. Elizabeth I instructed Bowes to persuade Drumquhassle to retain control of Dumbarton Castle if possible, but the speed of events left the English powerless, with Bowes suggesting that Drumquhassle had expediently agreed to give up the castle, writing "the man hath more wit than honesty."