Andrew Aytoun (died 1547), was a Scottish soldier and engineer, and captain of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

Aytoun worked for

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

, whose reign lasted from 1488 until his death at the

battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

in 1513. He was regarded as a member of the king's household and bought livery clothes in " Rissilis" black.

Career

He was Chamberlain of the royal estates in Stirlingshire and Strathearn. He was appointed Baillie of Stirlingshire and Keeper of Stirling Castle in February 1501. He was also given a tack of lands at Inveralloun and the West part of

Tillicoultry Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...

. From 1497 to 1508 he was master of building work at Stirling Castle, receiving £1,180 Scots in March 1505, and £445 in August 1506 with another £60 for hauling timber in October. The "King's Old Building" at Stirling Castle was completed by

Walter Merlioun Walter Merlioun, was a Scottish master mason based in Edinburgh. Working for James IV Merlioun worked on a number of buildings in Scotland including castles and churches for James IV of Scotland. Henry Merlioun, who built Ravenscraig Castle for ...

. The fore-work or gateway was also built at this time, by master masons John Lockhart and John Yorkstone, who managed their own budgets. Lockhart was a valued servant of James IV and had a royal pension of £20 in 1508. On 28 July 1497, at "Corriwale Hawch" he delivered a sum of money to Robert Ker, Master of Artillery, who had refurbished the great cannon Mons Meg and was hauling it to

Norham Castle Norham Castle (sometimes Nornam) is a castle in Norham, Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle saw much actio ...

. Aytoun may have caught up with Ker and the cannon near "Currie Wood" south of Edinburgh, at

Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval Scotland, Scottish fortifications. It is located south-east of Edinburgh, to the east of the village of Borthwick, on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall ...

. In September 1502 he was paid for the expenses of a royal household in Stirling which included the children of the king and Janet Kennedy, their nurses and female servants, the court embroiderers, Besse Hag, and Thomas Fleming. The king had gone on a pilgrimage to

Whithorn Whithorn (; ), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by ...

without these women. Aytoun also paid for the attendance of a physician, Doctor Ogilvy, and for washing the clothes or swaddling of the youngest children, and the women who rocked their cradles. They stayed again in September 1503, and

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...

came from

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...

. Aytoun obtained a dairy cow, fed the swans, stocked the fish-ponds with trout and pike, and supplied rushes for the floors of the bedchambers. On 20 October 1503 Aytoun helped Margaret Tudor move from Stirling back to Linlithgow. In July 1505 James IV gave him two shillings for the care of a sick man at the castle. In May 1506 he went to

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

to buy cart horses, and in June bought taffeta cloth for the king's hat from a Stirling merchant. In August 1506 he paid the king's painter and sent "Irish" prisoners, followers of the

Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...

, from Stirling to Edinburgh.

Haven of the Pool of Airth

In September 1506 Andrew Aytoun was paid for making a dock for ship building at the Pool of

Airth Airth () is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked ...

on the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic name for the ...

. His work was recorded as "casting of the dock in the Poll of Erth to the schip". James IV was a frequent visitor to the dock at Airth, as his one surviving household account book for 1512 shows.

Alchemy at Stirling Castle

In November 1506 Aytoun paid the king's painter again, and also gave money to the alchemist Caldwell who was working in Stirling Castle with a furnace in an effort to make the fifth element known as "quinta essentia". Aytoun provided coal and charcoal for the alchemist's furnace in February, April, and May 1507. Aytoun had supplied earthenware pots,

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, and eggs to Alexander Ogilvy for the project in September 1503. The apothecary John Mosman also contributed to the alchemical work. The remains of a floor with heat-cracked tiles discovered at the castle by archaeologists at the "Ladies' Lookout" is believed to be the site of the workshop Aytoun provided for Caldwell, or perhaps represents a kitchen. The burnt area is discussed as an "oven".

Later life

In August 1507 Aytoun was the keeper of Donald of the Isles at Stirling Castle, and spent £17 on his prisoner's clothes. James IV gave him the lands of Nether Dunmure, or Denmuir, in the parish of

Dunbog Dunbog is a parish in the county of Fife in Scotland which is now (since 1983) united with the neighbouring parish of Abdie, Dunbog kirk closing at that time. The name of the parish possibly derives from the Scottish Gaelic, ''Dùn Bolg'', meaning ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in 1507 for his good service. In January 1508 James IV gave his offices of keeper of Stirling Castle and Baillie of Stirlingshire to Alexander Elphinstone and his English wife,

Elizabeth Barlay Elizabeth Barlay or Barlow (died 1518) was an English lady in waiting to Margaret Tudor the wife of James IV of Scotland. Background Details of her English family are obscure. She may have been a daughter of John Barlow and Christian Berlay, or t ...

. Andrew Aytoun died in September 1547.

Marriage and family

Andrew Ayton married Isobel Kencragie. Their children included: * John Aytoun * Robert Aytoun of Inchdairnie * Andrew Aytoun of Kinaldie, who married Mary Lundie, their son was the poet Robert Aytoun.Charles Roger, ''Poems of Sir Robert Aytoun'' (Edinburgh, 1844) p. 152.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aytoun, Andrew Scottish soldiers Court of James IV of Scotland 1547 deaths People of Stirling Castle