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The family arrived in Scotland
on the wave of Normans who came north in the century after the invasion of England in
1066. They came by a westerly route and settled mainly in Lanark and Ayr shires where the
towns of Symington and Stevenston remain to mark the past influence of Simon and Steven
'Locard'. That the family soon acquired prominence is shown by the frequency of the name
in records of the 12/13th centuries.
Simon, 2nd of Lee, accompanied 'Good Sir James'
Douglas when he took the heart of Bruce on crusade in 1330, and that he, who carried the
key to its casket, rescued and returned it to Scotland when the Good Knight perished in
Spain. Thenceforth, it is said, the arms of a 'heart within a fetterlock', and the name in
its present form came into use. The 7th Laird was knighted by James IV and in 16th century
the 8th Laird was involved in a case of forgery. His son, Alan, 9th Laird, was sentenced
to the block for the slaughter of David and Ralph Weir, on separate occasions, and with
this family they seen then to have been in constant feud. His sentence was revoked, and he
received 'remission' in 1541. |
