THE property of John Buchanan Hamilton of Spittal Leny and Bardowie, is situated in the parish of Baldernock and county of Stirling on the margin of' the loch of Bardowie, and about six miles from Glasgow.
The lands of Buthernock, which included Cartenvoch or Bardowie, were originally granted by Maldoven and Malcolm, Earls of Lennox in the thirteenth century, to the ancient family of Galbraith, Cragin or Craigmaddie Castle being the manor placed. (1)
The ancestor of the family of Hamilton of Bardowie seems to have been Hamilton, fifth son of David Hamilton, Lord of Cadzow, and Janet Keith his wife, heiress through her mother of the Galbraiths. He came into possession about the beginning of the fifteenth century.
Between forty and fifty years ago there was a very fierce and amusing controversy on the subject of this ancestor between the learned Dr. Hamilton of Bardowie and the late most accurate antiquarian and genealogical writer, John Riddell, advocate. The ancestor assigned to the family in this notice of the Hamiltons is Mr. Riddell's choice. The whole controversy will be found in Anderson's "House of Hamilton" "Dr. Hamilton's Memoirs of the House of Hamilton corrected" and Mr. Riddell's "Reply to the Mis-statements of Dr. Hamilton of Bardowie."
From this John Hamilton the estate descended in the male line to John Hamilton who, dying without issue in 1739, was succeeded by his brother Robert, who also died childless. Their sister Elizabeth then inherited the estate, and, having married Thomas Buchanan of Spittal, carried on the line of the family. Her three eldest sons died without issue, and the fourth, the late Dr. Francis Buchanan Hamilton, succeeded. He was the author of "An Account of Nepaul" and other works on India. (2) He established his claim to be Chief of the Clan Buchanan, (3) and thus his son, John Buchanan Hamilton, who succeeded to the estates on his death, is both Buchanan of that Ilk, and head of the ancient family of Bardowie. (4)
It is unknown when Bardowie was built, but the family seem to have adopted it as their residence in 1550, when they removed there from their old castle of Craigmaddie. (5)
(1) Origines Parochiales.
(2) House of Hamilton.
(3) Burke's "Landed Gentry."
(4) House of Hamilton.
(5) Bardowie though a very interesting old place can hardly be called one of the "Old Country Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry," as the Hamiltons of Bardowie had little or nothing to do with the good old town. It has however been often the residence of citizens of Glasgow, and notably in modern days the late excellent and popular Sheriff Logie was long its tenant.
Back to Contents