James Duncan of Ratho (died 1639) was a Scottish tailor and landowner who worked for

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

in England. Anne of Denmark 1605

Costume

Duncan had family connections at Colpy near Culsalmond in Aberdeenshire, in the lands of

Henrietta Stewart Henrietta Stewart (1573–1642) was a Scottish courtier. She was the influential favourite of the queen of Scotland, Anne of Denmark. Life Henrietta Stewart was the daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, favourite of James VI of Scotlan ...

, a favourite of Anne of Denmark, and her husband

George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly (156213 June 1636) was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century, and around the time of the Union of the Crowns. Biography The son ...

, and at the Mote of Errol and Gourdiehill in Perthshire. After the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single ...

in 1603, Duncan came to England and was appointed a yeoman of the robes and master tailor to Anne of Denmark, the wife of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

. An account made by a member of Princess Elizabeth's household, Anne Livingstone, or by the Princess herself, records payments to "James Duncan's man" for carrying gowns from Winchester and Salisbury to Nonsuch and Oatlands. As well as working on the queen's clothes, her robes and "

bodies Bodies may refer to: Literature * ''Bodies'' (comics), a 2014–2015 Vertigo Comics detective fiction series * ''Bodies'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Jed Mercurio * ''Bodies'', a 1977 play by James Saunders * ''Bodies'', a 2009 book by Susie Orba ...

", Duncan supplied costume for her

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

s, including ''

The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses ''The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses'' was an early Literature in English#Jacobean literature, Jacobean-era masque, written by Samuel Daniel and performed in the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace on the evening of Sunday, 8 January 1604. One o ...

'' in January 1604. His work for the masque may have involved selecting garments from the wardrobe of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

with the Countess of Suffolk and

Audrey Walsingham Lady Audrey Walsingham (; 1568–1624) was an English courtier. She served as Lady of the Bedchamber to queen Elizabeth I of England, and then as Mistress of the Robes to Anne of Denmark from 1603 until 1619. Family connections Sometimes called ...

to be cut up and recycled. Duncan received £5 yearly as a fee as a yeoman of the wardrobe, and £36 as the master tailor by letters patent. In July 1614 he was given an allowance for livery for life. He was also paid for work and materials supplied to the queen. His English will was proved in June 1639, giving his London residence as the parish of

St Ann Blackfriars St Ann Blackfriars was a church in the City of London, in what is now Ireland Yard in the ward of Farringdon Within. The church began as a medieval parish chapel, dedicated to St Ann, within the church of the Dominicans (the order after whom ...

. His wife was Ellen Duncan, and they had three daughters, Isobel, Sara, and Lucie. His kinswoman Christian Kalehoose lived with them.

Landowner

Duncan bought land and houses around Edinburgh and in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

. He acquired lands in Monktonhall in 1612 and a servant of another court tailor, Alexander Miller, was a witness to the transaction. He bought the estate of

Bonnington Bonnington is a dispersed village and civil parish on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh in Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located to the south of the town of Ashford on the B2067 ( Hamstreet to Hythe road). Bonningt ...

and Hillhousefield (in

Pilrig Pilrig is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The name probably derives from the long field (rig) on which a peel tower (pil/peel) stood. There is evidence of a peel tower situated on an area of higher ground above the Water of ...

and North Leith) from Sir Lewis Craig in 1621. He also acquired lands in

Ratho Ratho () is a village in the rural west part of the City of Edinburgh council area, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian (historic), ...

from Thomas Otterburn of Redhall and John Marjoribanks, and was known as "James Duncan of Ratho". His house at Ratho, the Place of Ratho, was called "Marjoribanks", a name and surname supposedly derived from a grant of the Ratho lands to

Marjorie Bruce Marjorie Bruce or Marjorie de Brus (1316 or 1317) was the eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the only child born of his first marriage with Isabella of Mar. Marjorie's marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland, gave r ...

, a daughter of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. James Duncan placed his properties in the hands of his heirs, his cousins, James Duncan (died 1641), a son of Gilbert Duncan in "Colpnay" near Culsalmond, and Robert Duncan, a son of Peter Duncan in Gourdhill. Duncan had already transferred his property in Monktonhall, which was within the dower lands of Anne of Denmark in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

, to his cousin James Duncan in 1620. This James Duncan became the second "James Duncan of Ratho". His son, the third James Duncan of Ratho (died 1646), married Isabella Foulis. They had a daughter, Elizabeth Duncan. Following his death, Isabella, Lady Ratho, married Major William Murray at Ratho in 1648.John Anderson, ''Calendar of Laing Charters'' (Edinburgh, 1899), p. 613 nos. 2621: Francis J. Grant, ''Canongate Marriages'' (Edinburgh: SRS, 1915), p. 179.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, James 1639 deaths Household of Anne of Denmark 17th-century Scottish businesspeople 17th-century fashion Scottish tailors Expatriates in the Kingdom of England