GLENDONWYN,
GLENDONING, or GLENDINNING,
a surname derived from the territory anciently known by that name, which
comprehended a considerable district of Eskdale, Eusdale, Liddesdale,
and the western parts of Teviotdale. In the reign of Alexander the Third
this territory was possessed by Adam de Glendonwyn, whose son, Sir Adam
de Glendonwyn, was a faithful adherent of King Robert the Bruce, and a
constant companion of James Lord of Douglas, called “the good Sir
James.” As many of his lands were held of the house of Douglas, in 1313
he obtained a discharge of the feu duties from Archibald Douglas, lord
of Galloway. He had four sons, namely, sir Adam, his heir; Sir Simon,
killed at the battle of Otterbourne in 1388, at the side of the earl of
Douglas; Matthew, bishop of Glasgow from 1389 to 1408; and Sir John, who
was one of the conservators of the peace with the English in 1398.
The eldest
son, Sir Adam, was general receiver of all the earl of Douglas’ rents;
and he, and sir Henry Douglas of Lugton, were sent as envoys to King
Richard of England, then in Picardy, when that monarch swore to the
observation of a truce at Lenlyngham, 18th June 1389. He
appears to have been much about the court of King Robert the Third, as
he is witness to many of the charters of that king. He died in 1397. His
son, Sir Simon de Glendonwyn, had a share in the achievements of both
the third and the fourth earls of Douglas, and was concerned in all
their transactions. In 1398 he became, with his uncle, Sir John, surety
to the English for keeping the peace in all the earl of Douglas’ lands
on the borders. From King Henry the Fourth he had letters of
safe-conduct, in 1405, to travel through England in company with several
other knights; and in 1406 he got other two safe-conducts to go to the
English court, with Archibald and James, sons of the earl of Douglas,
and other noblemen and gentlemen. In an indenture made between King
Henry and Archibald, earl of Douglas, dated London, 14th
March, 1407, Sir Simon is a witness, and when the earl, then a prisoner
in England, in 1408, obtained leave to go to Scotland, upon his giving
security to return, his own two sons, with Sir Simon, became hostages
for him. By his wife, Lady Mary Douglas, daughter of Archibald, fourth
earl of Douglas, and first duke of Turenne, he had three sons; Sir
Simon, his heir; John de Glendonwyn, who, following the fortunes of the
ninth earl of Douglas, settled in England, and was progenitor of several
of his name in that kingdom.
Sir Simon, the
eldest son, was knighted by James the Second, by whom he was held in
great favour. Vested with the most extended justiciary powers within his
own lands, particularly in Glendonwyn, and with the privilege of
regality throughout Eskdale, of which he was hereditary baillie, – that
office having been conferred on his father by charter dated 26th
April 1407, – Sir Simon was one of the most potent barons in the kingdom
of his time. In 1449 he was one of the guarantees of a treaty of peace
with King Henry of England, the other guarantees being the earls of
Douglas, Angus, Ross, Murray, Crawford, &c.; and he was among several
great lords who were guarantees of the peace in subsequent years. In
1458 he obtained a confirmation of the barony, baronial rights, and
patronage of what is now the parish of Parton, in the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, by which he and his descendants were afterwards designed,
and which is now the title of the representative of this ancient family.
His son, John
de Glendonwyn of Glendonwyn and Parton, died in the autumn of 1503. He
was succeeded by his son, Ninian, whose great-great-grandson, John de
Glendonwyn, the eleventh baron mentioned in Douglas’ Baronage, joined
Montrose on his first setting up the king’s standard at Dumfries in the
spring of 1644, for which, on 27th May of that year, he was
denounced a traitor, and forfeited. All his goods and gear were sold by
Robert Gordon, commissary of Dumfries, on 29th October
thereafter, part whereof being bought back by friends for the benefit of
his wife and children. He himself took refuge on the continent, where he
remained till the Restoration.
The male line
of the family ended in 1720, but Robert, the last laird, left a
daughter, Agnes Glendonwyn, who married James Murray of Conheath, and
that gentleman, in consequence, assumed the surname and arms of
Glendonwyn instead of his own.
The House of Glendinning
