William Murray of Tullibardine (died 1583) was a Scottish courtier and leader of the Clan Murray.
Family background William Murray was the son of William Murray of Tullibardine (d. 1562) and Katherine Campbell, daughter of Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy (d. 1513) and Margaret Moncreiffe.
Career Mary, Queen of Scots, visited him at Tullibardine on 16 November 1562,Edward Furgol, 'Scottish Itinerary of Mary Queen of Scots, 1542-8 and 1561-8', PSAS, 117 (1987), microfiche, scanned and on 31 December 1566.George Chalmers, Life of Mary Queen of Scots, vol. 1 (London, 1818), p. 199.Retha Warnicke, Mary Queen of Scots (Routledge, 2006), p. 135.
In March 1565, "young Murray of Tullibardine" was said to have carried a message from the Earl of Bothwell to Queen Mary. The Earl wanted to return from exile in France.Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1563-1569, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 129 no. 153. When Lord Darnley was made Lord of Ardmanoch and Earl of Ross at Stirling Castle on 15 May 1565, he was one of 14 men who were made knights.Julian Goodare, 'Queen Mary's Catholic Interlude', in Mary Stewart Queen in Three Kingdoms: Innes Review, vol. 37 (1987), p. 158: Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 161 no. 181. Murray was given the office of foud of Shetland, a kind of bailiff in charge of collecting customs due the crown, on 29 July 1565.Peter Anderson, Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney Lord of Shetland (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1982), p. 47: Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, 5:2 (Edinburgh, 1957), pp. 186-7 no. 3014. Murray was the official collector of feudal dues paid in agricultural produce including the "fat goods" of oil and butter and cloth known as "wadmell".John H. Ballantyne & Brian Smith, Shetland Documents, 1195–1579 (Lerwick, 1999), pp. 111–112 no. 153.
After the murder of Lord Darnley, Tullibardine's brother James Murray of Pardewis set up painted papers on Edinburgh's tolbooth slandering Mary, Queen of Scots.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1887), p. 500. He offered to fight with the Earl of Bothwell in May 1567 to prove his guilt in the murder of Lord Darnley by combat.Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1563-1569, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 328.
On 9 August 1567 the English ambassador in Edinburgh Nicholas Throckmorton interviewed Murray, trying to work out the politics of his brother-in-law, the Earl of Mar, and the intentions of the Scottish lords towards the deposed and imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots. Tullibardine discussed how she was expendable to the Hamilton family's cause.Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1563-1569, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. 373-4, 376.
Later that month, Murray and William Kirkcaldy of Grange took ships and chased the Earl of Bothwell to Shetland,Joseph Stevenson, Selections from Unpublished Manuscripts (Glasgow: Maitland Club, 1837), pp. 294, 301.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1887), pp. 545–546. but the earl escaped. Tullibardine continued the pursuit for a time.David Reid, Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 2005), p. 171: Agnes Strickland, Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, vol. 1 (London, 1842), pp. 244-248: Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1563-1569, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), pp. 394-5. Some of the ships came from Dundee, including the James, the Primrose, and the Robert.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1545-1569, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. 544.
At the same time, his brother James Murray was made "customar" of Edinburgh, in place of James Curl, collecting taxes duties from merchants owed to the crown.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 58-9. Tullibardine was involved, requesting James Curl return some unlawfully impounded English cloth.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1545-1569, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 547, 559.
When Regent Morton made a progress in September 1575, Murray and the Earl of Montrose escorted him from Stirling Castle to Kincardine Castle and he had dinner at Tullibardine the day after.George R. Hewitt, Scotland under Morton (John Donald, 1982), pp. 42–43. Murray's sister was the influential Annabell Murray, Countess of Mar (died February 1603), who was the keeper of the young James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle. There was a story, promoted by the secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, John Lesley, that the king found the "testament of Bothwell" in Tullibardine's papers in 1577 and was pleased to hear a story that showed his mother as innocent, for a change.
In March 1579, as Comptroller of the king's household Murray told the Privy Council that he had commissioned and made a proclamation authorising Jerome Bowie's "visiting, tasting, and uptaking of wines for his Majesty's house at reasonable prices". Several merchants failed to comply. The Provost of Edinburgh Archibald Stewart and others came to argue the merchants' case, but the Privy Council was not impressed and set prices for wines sold to Bowie.David Masson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1578-1585, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1880), pp. 116-8.
On 24 April 1579 the Earl of Atholl died shortly after attending a banquet at Stirling Castle. His wife, Margaret Fleming (who had been married to Murray's brother-in-law, Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine), was also unwell. A rumour started that they had been poisoned.George Hewitt, Scotland Under Morton (Edinburgh, 1982), pp. 70-1. Agnes Graham, the wife of William Murray of Tullibardine, wrote to Annabell Murray assuring her that the Countess of Atholl's complaints against her were "forged lies".John, 7th Duke of Atholl, Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine families (Edinburgh, 1908), pp. 44-5.
He was Comptroller of Scotland. He resigned the office in August 1580 due to ill-health and James VI gave it to his son John.Keith Brown, Noble Power in Scotland (Edinburgh, 2011), p. 182.Bowes Correspondence (London, 1842), p. 113. The privy seal letter appointing his son as his substitute describes his faithful service and the present "inhabilitie of his persoun, being subject to infirmitie and seiknes, speciallie the gut" (gout). His wife, Agnes Graham, was also unwell, which meant that he wished to remain at home rather than attend at court.Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1966), pp. 404-5 no. 2470.
He died in 1583.
Family William Murray married Agnes Graham, a daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose, and Janet Keith. Their children included: John Murray, 1st Earl of Tullibardine Captain George Murray, who was with James VI in Denmark.David Stevenson, Scotland's Last Royal Wedding (Edinburgh, 1997), p. 121. Alexander Murray of Drumdewan,Register of the Great Seal, 1593-1608, no. 871. made a gentleman of the king's forechamber in June 1580.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 140: Gordon Donaldson, All The Queen's Men: Power and Politics in Mary Stewart's Scotland (Batsford, 1983), p. 65. William Murray, made a gentleman of the king's forechamber in June 1580.Steven J. Reid, The Early Life of James VI, A Long Apprenticeship (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2023), p. 140: Gordon Donaldson, All The Queen's Men: Power and Politics in Mary Stewart's Scotland (Batsford, 1983), p. 65: Jean Murray, who married James Henderson of Fordell.William Ross, Aberdour and Inchcolme (Edinburgh, 1885), p. 340.Anna E. C. Simoni, "John Wodroephe's Spared Houres", Studies in Seventeenth-century English Literature, History and Bibliography (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1984), p. 226.
A sister of Agnes Graham, Jonet Graham, married his cousin, Andrew Murray of Balvaird and Arngask. Their children included: Andrew Murray of Balvaird and Arngask (d. 1590). Patrick Murray of Geanies or Gleanis David Murray, 1st Viscount of Stormont (d.1631).
John Murray of Pardewis was a brother of William Murray, the Comptroller.RPS, 7 (Edinburgh, 1966), p. 366 no. 2221.
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